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Gambling is big business, and a casino’s revenue will make the highest of high-stakes bets on the floor look like peanuts. Therefore, casinos implement rigorous procedures and processes, to make sure there is no cheating by customers. However, compared with computers, some security researchers reckon gambling regulations and security technologies are “a bit out of date.” and this leads to interested parties fabricating its own proof of concept tools, using the Raspberry Pi Zero.

Last September there was a particularly controversial Los Angeles Hustler Live Casino game streamed on YouTube. To cut a long story short, a relative novice bluffed a veteran, and Wired reports that “thousands of outraged poker players,” cried foul play, implying the novice had cheated in some way.

A subsequent months-long casino investigation concluded there was no foul play. However, the conclusion grated with Joseph Tartaro, a computer researcher and consultant with security firm IOActive. What particularly inflamed Tartaro’s spider senses was that the Deckmate shuffling machine (which some had suspected as being compromised) was totally beyond suspicion. “The Deckmate shuffling machine is secure and cannot be compromised,” stated the investigation conclusion, rather too confidently.

This statement was like showing a red rag to a security bull. It was even more interesting as a topic for further investigation, as the Deckmate is the most widely used automated shuffling machine in casinos.

Thus, a months-long investigation into Deckmate technology, by Tartaro and IOActive colleagues, began. The results were presented at the Black Hat security conference in Las Vegas on Tuesday.

IOActive acquired a few Deckmate machines and talked with experienced operators and engineers. Interestingly, the newest version is the Deckmate 2, often sits under a table next to players’ knees, and the device has an exposed USB port. If hackers have access to the device, then all bets are off. 

The security researchers found that a hacking device inserted into the Deckmate 2’s USB port could “alter the shuffler’s code to fully hijack the machine and invisibly tamper with its shuffling.” Most people with a little knowledge of cards and gambling (or even movies featuring gambling) know that knowledge is power in these card games. In other words, someone who could garner any extra knowledge of the cards dealt could have a small to massive advantage.

The hacking device used by IOActive for its proof-of-concept casino cheating demonstration, plugging into the Deckmate 2 USB interface, was based around a Raspberry Pi Zero. IOActive say that a determined cheater could probably fashion a purpose-built device with the same functionality in a form factor as small as a typical USB dongle. With bags of money at stake, a cheater might be tempted to invest.

Moreover, you don’t even to be a card-playing genius to make sense of the Deckmate 2’s data, it even has a built-in camera, for deck verification purposes. IOActive found that the camera feed could be accessed to learn the entire order of the deck in real time. An obvious cheating method which could stem from this is that visual data could be sent to a nearby smartphone via Bluetooth, which the IOActive team also tested. The second person could work in cahoots with the player at the table, to signal a decision or strategy. 

Tartaro said of the rather extensive sounding Deckmate 2 hack: “Basically, it allows us to do more or less whatever we want … We can, for example, just read the constant data from the camera so we can know the deck order, and when that deck goes out into play, we know exactly the hand that everyone is going to have.”

There were some other interesting research findings shared by IOActive. The team noted that the original Deckmate has no USB port, but could be tampered with in other ways, especially if there was a willing casino insider. Also some Deckmates were said to include a cellular modem for the manufacturer to monitor them. This opens it up more attack surfaces for man-in-the-middle attacks, or cellular signal spoofing.

Looking at quotes in the Wired report, the makers of the Deckmate series Light & Wonder, seemed to exhibit a head-in-the-sand approach to the warnings from IOActive. The firm stated that there is no known evidence of one of their devices being hacked on the Casino floor. However, an exec from the International Gaming Standards Association which sets standards in casinos, talked constructively about assembling a technical committee to look into IOActive’s findings. Ideas for better security were already suggested like removing the external USB port or some software / firmware modifications. We think it is probably a good idea to view IOActive’s work as constructive criticism, rather than dismiss it out of hand.

Backside power delivery network (BS PDN) for next-generation chips is a well-known and widely discussed advantage of future process technology. While Intel and TSMC have talked about BSPDN for a while, Samsung only recently shared details about its backside power delivery experiments. It appears the company expects quite noticeable advantages from this innovation.

In a paper presented at the VLSI Symposium in late June, Samsung Electronics reported that the application of a backside power delivery network resulted in a 14.8% reduction in the area of an undisclosed processor compared to the traditional frontside PDN, reports The Elec (via @harukaze5719). Meanwhile, the paper specifically highlighted two Arm circuits, where they observed area reductions of 10.6% and 19%, respectively. A 10% to 19% die area reduction is a major advantage as it enables one to either pack 10% to 19% more transistors and gain performance or reduce the costs of a given chip.

Another thing that Samsung mentioned in its paper was a 9.2% reduction in the wiring length. The backside power rail typically enables thicker wires with lower resistance and, therefore, can drive higher currents for higher performance. A further reduction of wiring length will also bring additional performance advantages.

Additional benefits facilitated by backside power delivery that Samsung revealed were design technology co-optimization knobs that enabled 3.6% Fmax improvement, a 2.4% reduction of standard block area, and 1.6% standard block performance improvement.

Earlier this year, Intel detailed its PowerVia backside power delivery network that will be used for its 20A (2nm-class) fabrication technology and beyond. The benefits of using a backside power rail are widely recognized, and Samsung’s findings prove the theory. Power wires can be made more substantial by shifting power rails to the rear and isolating them from I/O wiring. This thickening reduces resistances in the final production stages, enhancing performance and decreasing energy use. Additionally, this separation leads to a reduced logic area, resulting in cost savings.

Samsung has not disclosed when it plans to implement its BS PDN and with which node. The company is currently polishing off its 2nd Generation 3nm-class gate-all-around transistors-based SF3 fabrication technology and aims to use it for mass production in 2024. The company also has SF3P and 2nm-class SF2 due in 2025. While it is unlikely that Samsung will use a backside power rail for SF3 next year, the company may consider implementing its BS PDN in SF3P or SF2 in 2025.

New Apple iPhone 14 owners should think about the accessories they want for their new handset not long after unboxing it. Like with last year’s iPhone 13s, this year’s models don’t come with ac power adapters, so that’s one thing you’ll probably need to have on hand. If you plan on going all-in on wireless charging, you can take advantage of the best MagSafe technology with the many accessories to choose. We’ve tested out some of the best iPhone accessories available, from the Apple AirTag to wireless headphones to phone cases, and gathered the best ones here.

Apple MagSafe wireless charger

There are often better and cheaper alternatives to Apple’s first-party accessories, but the company’s MagSafe wireless charger is worth considering if you have a new iPhone. Like all other MagSafe accessories, this charging pad uses magnets to attach to the back of the latest iPhones and it’s surprisingly strong. Not only can you safely pick up your handset and use it with the disk still attached, but the iPhone can dangle by the charger’s cord without falling off. (You still probably shouldn’t do this.)

The charging plate itself is about a quarter-inch thick so it barely adds any heft to the iPhone. The magnets only attach to the latest iPhones, but it will still charge older models wirelessly, going back to the iPhone 8. I only wish the cable were longer than three feet so that you had more leeway to use your iPhone on the couch or in bed while powering it up.

Apple’s MagSafe charger accessory comes in at $39 (although we’ve seen it go on sale a few times), but if you want to spend a bit less, Spigen’s $25 ArcField magnetic wireless charger is a decent dupe. It’s magnets are nowhere near as strong as those on the Apple MagSafe charger — so you definitely shouldn’t pick up your iPhone by this cable — but it’ll power up your handset and stay put while doing so.

Mophie 4-in-1 wireless charging mat

You may have accumulated a number of devices that support wireless charging at this point and Mophie’s 4-in-1 charging mat is an easy way to power them all. It’s an 11-by-8-inch rectangle with four spaces for different items to charge simultaneously. Two of those spots are large enough to accommodate smartphones while the other two in the center are smaller and fit things like AirPods perfectly. It also has an optional attachment for an Apple Watch, which means it could actually charge up to five devices at the same time.

I found the mat useful as a charging hub, turning to it each night to charge my iPhone, Apple Watch and AirPods Pro. It’s worth noting that both my iPhone and my AirPods Pro live in cases, and I didn’t have to remove either in order to charge them with Mophie’s mat. But while the mat’s size allows it to do a lot at once, it’s also tough to find a big enough spot for it. It’ll fit on most nightstands, but you may have to rearrange things first. Mophie has a 3-in-1 wireless charging station that takes up less space and has dedicated spots for your iPhone, Apple Watch and AirPods.

AirPods

It’s well known now that Apple AirPods are the best wireless earbuds for those with iPhones. Apple made its standard AirPods even better with the introduction of the third-generation models, which have an improved design, noticeably better sound and longer battery life. We appreciate the new “contoured” design, which is way more comfortable than previous AirPods, and the H1 chipset makes features like hands-free Siri and speedy pairing and switching between iPhone, iPad, and Mac possible. They’re well worth their $179 price tag — but if that’s a bit steep for you, Beats’ new Studio Buds are a good alternative. At $150, they have the same H1 chip inside along with balanced sound that doesn’t sacrifice the punchy bass that Beats devices are known for.

Anker Nano II 45W GaN charger

While Apple’s 20W charger works just fine, you can opt for a more versatile adapter in Anker’s Nano II 45W charger. Not only can it fast-charge an iPhone, but it can also power up a 2020 MacBook Air at full speed, along with mid-sized devices like iPads. This USB-C power adapter is 34 percent smaller than other 45W chargers, and it uses GaN technology to prevent overheating. We also appreciate that its connector prongs flip down to make the adapter even more compact when you need to travel with it. The 45W model will set you back $40, but Anker also makes a 30W version and a 65W two-port model for when you want to charge your phone and your laptop at the same time.

Apple’s AirTags make it easy for iPhone users to locate things they might misplace. Just attach one of the tiny Bluetooth trackers to your keys, backpack or wallet and then use the Find My app to keep track of them. If you know your stuff is within reach, you can force the AirTag to play a tune to lead you to it. And when you truly don’t know where something is, you can enable Lost Mode to be automatically notified when the Find My network locates the item. AirTags only have compatibility with iPhones, but iPhone users have other Bluetooth tracker options (namely Tile’s). But Apple’s gadgets have a convenience level that’s similar to AirPods — your iPhone will automatically identify a new Apple AirTag nearby and immediately pair with it, and it’s quite simple to manage multiple AirTags in the Find My app.

Anker 623 MagGo 2-in-1 Wireless Charging Station

Apple’s MagSafe technology makes it much easier to go all-in on wireless charging, and Anker’s 623 MagGo 2-in-1 charging station is a great pick to keep by your bedside or on your desk. The cylindrical gadget is slightly smaller than a soda can, and its top can flip upward up to 60 degrees to let you charge your phone at an angle that makes the screen easier to see. And when you do that, you free up the second wireless charging pad sitting underneath it, where you can power your AirPods at the same time. We like this stand for its clever design, but also because it’s weighted and has a non-slip bottom; it’s not going anywhere once you pick a spot for it. Plus, there’s a light ring on the bottom that glows every time you magnetically snap your phone into place. And when you buy the charging station, you’ll also get Anker’s 20W USB-C charger and a connecting cable, so you have everything you need to use it immediately after unboxing.

Anker Powerline II USB-C to Lightning cable

We’ve been fans of Anker’s Powerline charging cables for a long time and its Powerline II USB-C to Lightning cord is no exception. First, it’s more affordable than Apple’s — you’ll pay $19 for a three-foot cable from Apple, whereas Anker’s three-foot cord costs $13. It also has MFi-certification, which means it’s passed enough tests to get Apple’s seal of approval as a safe, reliable iOS accessory. While not all of them are made out of braided nylon, those that don’t still have a 12,000-bend lifespan so you can use it without fear of wire fraying after a few weeks. Anker also has a similar USB-C to C cable in the Powerline III series that should work well for charging the latest iPads and MacBooks.

Belkin MagSafe Car Vent Mount Pro

Belkin’s MagSafe car mount is easier to use than one of those fussy clamps you pray will stay put on a vent while you’re driving. The strong magnets truly make this one of the best iPhone accessories — the iPhone 14 snaps into place on the mount’s credit-card sized plate and doesn’t budge even if you have to quickly swerve to avoid hitting a squirrel. The clip that attaches to your car’s vent is also quite snug and you can swivel your cell phone into landscape or portrait mode.

Even if you don’t drive to work on a daily basis anymore, this will come in handy on the days you’re in the office and when you need to consult Google Maps during your next roadtrip. Just remember that this mount won’t charge your iPhone; it’s just a magnetic holder. You can, however, weave a charging cable through an opening in the back of the mount so you can neatly power up your phone while driving.

Peak Design Mobile Tripod

There are plenty of ways to prop up your iPhone, but Peak Design’s mobile tripod is one of the more elegant solutions I’ve tried. This iPhone accessory is a 0.3-inch thick plate made of anodized aluminum with strong magnets inside and three legs that fold down and out. It attaches to the back of the latest iPhone and delivers a generous lift off the surface it’s sitting on. Out of all of the stands I’ve used, it’s the one that looks and feels most like a tripod thanks to its micro ball-head, which lets you adjust the angle of your phone nearly 360 degrees, and its three legs, which provide much more support and functionality than your standard phone-case kickstand.

The Mobile Tripod is a solid option for those who use their phone cameras for everything from family photos to vacation landscape shots, and those who want to use their phone almost as a second screen while traveling. It’s a bit steep at $80, but you’re paying for a sturdy accessory with a thoughtful design — plus the Peak name. Of course, there are plenty of more affordable MagSafe phone stands such as Moft’s Snap-On Stand and Wallet, which props up your iPhone while holding a few credit cards, Anker’s MagGo phone grip, and the now-ubiquitous PopSockets. Just keep in mind that, while MagSafe accessories like these are convenient, they ultimately won’t be as sturdy as something securely snapped onto your smartphone. All of the MagSafe stands, wallets, chargers and other accessories I’ve tried eventually fell off if I applied enough force.

Spigen Ultra Hybrid case

There are many more MagSafe cases available now than there were just a year ago, and they run the gamut from affordable to quite expensive. You could always go with one of Apple’s first-party options, but just know that even if you like the style of the company’s silicone cover or its hard-shell clear cases, you can probably find a decent dupe for much less money. We’ve got a whole list of the best iPhone cases we’ve tried, and a good all-purpose option is Spigen’s Ultra Hybrid MagFit case. It’s a clear cover that has anti-yellowing properties, which should keep your iPhone 14 Pro looking clean and new for longer than other cases, and it’ll work well with any screen protector you might already have on your phone. Raised edges help protect the screen and camera array from making too much contact with other surfaces, and you’ll be able to use it with any magnetic accessories you want.

The Raspberry Pi community is huge and a great place to make friends—literally. Today we’re showing off one of the coolest friends you can make with the help of our favorite SBC. This bipedal companion robot was created by maker and developer Dan Nicholson and relies on a Raspberry Pi as it’s main driving component. It’s also aided by a couple of custom PCBs as well as an Arduino.

According to Nicholson, the goal of this project wasn’t just to make a cool bipedal robot but also to develop something that others could experiment with at home. Whether you’re new to robotics or a well-seasoned pro, this project was intended to be a platform for makers of any ability to explore and build upon. It’s intentionally modular and can work with a variety of systems, components.

This is the third iteration of his work which has been progressing over a few years. The first was mostly just a proof of concept while the second was a more impressive albeit less stable edition. You can see how far along this third version has come by checking out the playlist on YouTube he shared detailing version 2’s creation.

There are quite a few pieces in this robot created from scratch just for the project. You can find two custom PCBs—one for the Pi 3B+ and one for the Arduino Pro Mini that controls the servos. The body is also 3D printed with files available for anyone to download and print at home. A Google Coral TPU is attached to the head to enhance the Pi’s image processing capability. Additional components include things like a camera module, microphones, buttons, a microwave sensor and even a snazzy NeoPixel LED ring for one of the eyes.

The software for the project is also open source and available for anyone to check out. There is a full build guide over at GitHub which includes detailed information for specific parts of the project like setting up speech recognition and implementing a battery monitor for power management.

If you want to get a closer look at this Raspberry Pi project, check out the video shared to YouTube showing it off and explore the project in greater detail over at GitHub. Be sure to follow Dan Nicholson for future updates, as well.

Gaming keyboards are plentiful and diverse right now. You can buy them in black or white, wired or wireless, and with at least a dozen key switch options. And every year they’ve gotten bigger and more complex, with media buttons and macro keys and bright rainbow LED backlighting. However, this past year has seen some manufacturers go in the opposite direction, introducing 60 percent keyboards that are cute and compact, taking up less desk space. But are they worth buying?

How many keys does a 60 percent keyboard have?

Kris Naudus / Cunghoctin

First off, it’s worth noting that the best gaming keyboards tend to follow one of three different configurations. The most common one is the full-size keyboard, which will usually have somewhere between 100 and 110 keys, depending on whether the manufacturer includes media buttons or macro keys. There’s always a function row located along the top of the keyboard, and a number pad on the far right. Most gamers will prefer a full-size model rather than a compact keyboard because it lets them perform many different functions with just one press, and set up macros for activities that aren’t already built-in to the keyboard.

Tenkeyless decks have been pretty common for a while now; those are keyboards that omit the number pad on the right. That’s it. They still have function keys and media controls, but they’re narrower since they omit 17 keys. Yeah, it’s actually more than 10 keys but “seventeenkeyless” doesn’t have the same ring to it. Gamers might opt for one of these when they need a little more space on their desk, and they don’t need a quick way to enter numbers or do calculations (which is my number one use case for the right-hand pad).

Then there are 60 percent keyboards which, as the name indicates, drop 40 percent of the standard keyboard size and only have 61 keys. Not only do they just remove the num pad, but the function keys are gone, along with the arrow keys and those weird system keys like “print screen” and “home” that are only useful when you happen to need them. On some computers they don’t even work.

On a 60 percent keyboard you’ll access these buttons by using the function key; there’s no standard layout between companies so you’ll have to learn new hotkeys and shortcuts if you switch between manufacturers like Razer, HyperX or Corsair. They also lack built-in wrist rests that would make them more ergonomic, though the height is at least adjustable.

Razer also just introduced a 65 percent keyboard, a less common configuration which keeps the arrow keys and some functions but still tosses the rest to maintain a reduced profile. This is probably a preferred option if you use the arrow keys a lot. I need them because I edit a lot of text, and some games may use them instead of the standard WASD array for controlling your character.

What are the benefits of a 60 percent keyboard?

Kris Naudus / Cunghoctin

With so many functions removed, why buy a 60 percent keyboard? The number one reason to use a compact keyboard is space of course. If you’re gaming in tight spaces or just have a lot of crap on your desk like I do, not having to shove stuff aside just to make some elbow room is nice. It’s especially helpful if you tend to eat near your computer, as a 60 percent keyboard’s small size makes it easy to push out of the way to rest a plate or bowl on your desk. It actually keeps the keyboard a lot cleaner, too, since I can easily shake crumbs out of it with one hand.

A smaller keyboard size also makes it more portable, obviously, with a 60 percent keyboard taking up less space than a laptop in your bag, though it’s still a little thick. They do have lower-profile keys than standard decks at least, though if thickness is your number one concern then carrying around a mechanical keyboard is probably not for you.

One big feature that doesn’t get talked about a lot is that all of the recent 60 (and 65) percent decks are not wireless keyboards and use detachable USB-C cords. So if you switch between workspaces often, you can easily leave a cord at each desk to quickly plug in your keyboard. As someone who tests a lot of keyboards I’ve found this handy because I have connection options and can switch out the deck and leave the cord intact. It’s often a real pain to have to unplug cords and untangle them from my office setup every time I try a new keyboard, but for the 60 percent models I’ve been using the same wire for all of them.

The best for most gamers: Razer Huntsman Mini

The best of the major 60 percent keyboards out there right now is the Huntsman Mini. It uses Razer’s opto-mechanical switches, which I haven’t been too fond of in the past, but the company seems to have made some changes that make it a much more pleasant typing experience. This gaming keyboard is quiet and smooth with good response time, though people who prefer a springy key feel should look elsewhere. It’s not a wireless keyboard, so if you take it on the go you’ll need to make sure you always have a USB-C cable handy. The Huntsman Mini gaming keyboard also comes in white, which means it’ll blend into your decor more than most gaming accessories, especially if you choose to customize the LED lighting effects.

Pros: Attractive; good typing feel; comes in white.

Cons: No wireless connectivity; not everyone will be a fan of opto-mechanical keys.

Runner up: HyperX Alloy Origins 60

If you need a solid, sturdy brick of a 60 percent keyboard, the HyperX Alloy Origins 60 is a mechanical deck on a metal baseboard. The downside is that it’s heavier than the other options on the market, so it might not be the best if you’re aiming to keep your travel bag as light as possible. But if you’re a particularly rough typist this is the one with the build quality that will best hold up against hard keystrokes. It also earns points for being the one 60 percent keyboard that puts the secondary arrow functions at the bottom right of the deck where you’d normally look for those, instead of tucking them away in the middle.

Pros: Solidly built; lower price point than other 60 percent options; well-placed arrow keys.

Cons: Heavy; no wireless.

The best with arrow keys: Razer BlackWidow V3 Mini HyperSpeed

Razer’s BlackWidow line has long been a favorite of the gamers here at Cunghoctin, and the V3 Mini is no exception. Unlike the other keyboards on this list it’s a 65 percent keyboard, which means it still has arrow keys and a column of miscellaneous keys on the right side that can double as macro buttons. There are two switch types available to suit different typing preferences, either clicky and tactile (green) or linear and silent (yellow). It’s worth noting that the latter description is the company’s term for it, and the V3 Mini’s typing is still noticeably audible to those around you.

Pros: Two types of key switches available; has both 2.4G and Bluetooth connectivity; includes keys other keyboards don’t have.

Cons: Expensive; the lip at the bottom is bulky.

A cheaper but underwhelming option: Corsair K65 RGB Mini

Corsair usually makes pretty great keyboards, but I couldn’t necessarily say that of the K65 RGB Mini, its entry into the 60 percent market. The materials and overall durability were substandard for the company, with a plastic casing that felt hollow and keys that made a ringing noise when hit. But it’s not a completely terrible accessory, and users already invested in Corsair’s iCUE software might want to keep their accessories streamlined under one customization suite instead of having to bounce between different interfaces. If that isn’t a concern for you, the HyperX Alloy Origin 60 is the best budget option.

Pros: Uses Corsair’s iCUE software; key feel is good.

Cons: Cheap materials; noisy typing experience; no wireless.

We’ve all been in Samsung’s position, promising something before quickly realizing we couldn’t, or didn’t want to, actually follow through. But the Korean giant might get a record for the speed at which it walked back its initial pledge. It had intended to give Galaxy S23 owners the . Users in the US, Germany and South Korea would be able to see what tweaks the company had added to Android 14 and see what worked, and what didn’t.

Or that was the plan. Not long after the news dropped, Samsung began to walk back its promise. It told Cunghoctin (and the rest of the media) it would delay the launch of the beta test until further notice, but with no justification. The initial announcement disappeared from Samsung’s press site, and everyone’s left mulling what could have been so problematic as to require this sort of scorched-earth approach.

—Dan Cooper

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The biggest stories you might have missed

No spoilers here, I promise.

Michael Gibson / Paramount+

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds . “Hegemony” pits the Enterprise crew against a formidable foe that requires every bit of their collective cunning for them to triumph. I jotted down nine thoughts both about this episode and also about the shape of the second season more generally. Which, it’s easy to say, has cemented itself as the best run of a live-action Trek in the streaming era.

A cynic might say this is to fend off antitrust action.

Amazon is , including Lark & Lo, Goodthreads and Stone & Beam. Reports say it’s canning 27 out of 30 brands, with Amazon saying the marques haven’t resonated with consumers. A cynic might argue this is Amazon getting its house in order ahead of potential antitrust action by the FTC. The US has previously probed Amazon’s ability to spot popular products made by third party sellers on its platform and produce a homegrown, er, variation under one of its own brands.

Including the company’s first paying customer.

Virgin Galactic

Yesterday saw Virgin Galactic’s . It included its first paying customer, former Olympian Jon Goodwin, who coughed up $250,000 for his ticket all the way back in 2014. He was joined by a mother and daughter team of Keisha Schahaff and Anastatia Mayers, who won their seats in a fundraising draw. The stream of the event is available and, I’ll be honest, it’s worth a watch just for the chest-tightening moment when the crew starts floating in zero gravity.

Because, sure, that’s its priority right now.

Xwitter CEO Linda Yaccrino has announced as part of its plan to become an “everything” app. The CEO said video calls would bolster work to turn X into a global town square, full of people exercising their right to free expression. Given the sort of free expression the company is currently endorsing, you might want to stick to your free video calling platform of choice — it’s not as if we’re hurting for those right now.

Tweaks include widescreen support, 120Hz refresh rates and 4K.

Bethesda Softworks

The long-awaited remaster of Quake II wasn’t just announced, it’s . If you own the original on GOG or Steam, you’ll get a free bump to the new edition, with plenty of modern-day quality-of-life upgrades. The remastered edition also includes content cut from some versions and the original expansion packs, as well as a new expansion from MachineGames. Well, that’s your weekend sorted.

TSMC is facing opposition over its decision to bring 500 workers from Taiwan to its delayed Arizona fab to complete installation. The fab is not set to come online until 2025. An Arizonian labor union and two political action committees (PACs) have started a campaign to prevent foreign workers from obtaining visas and coming to the country, reports AppleInsider. 

The “Stand with American Workers” campaign, backed by Arizona Pipe Trades 469 (a labor union), Revitalize Arizona (a PAC), and Residents for Accountability (a PAC) is urging residents to contact local congressional and senate leaders. They demand that TSMC’s foreign worker visas be denied, insisting that the company should employ locals, especially given the CHIPs Act’s implication of predominant U.S. employment.

“The CHIPS Act promised to amp up domestic manufacturing, generate employment opportunities, fortify supply chains, and bolster emerging industries,” a statement by the campaign reads. “Instead, Arizona workers are getting the boot in favor of cheap labor, taking a major toll on American workers and their families.”

The campaign claims TSMC is showing disregard for American labor and the CHIPs Act’s principles. Arizona Pipe Trades 469 additionally argues that TSMC is prioritizing profits over worker safety and falsely portrays the skills of the Arizona workforce. They offer a formal letter for individuals to send to representatives, emphasizing these points.

TSMC workers relocating to the U.S. require EB-2 visas, reserved for those with ‘exceptional ability.’ The Arizona Pipe Trades 469 union believes this is a breach of TSMC’s commitment to American jobs and has petitioned Congress to block these visas. 

Nonetheless, TSMC reiterated its respect for local trade unions and its intention not to replace local workers with foreign staff. TSMC emphasizes that the addition of 500 skilled professionals from Taiwan will not impact the hiring of 12,000 local employees or TSMC’s broader U.S. recruitment plans. 

To celebrate the upcoming launch of Bethesda’s new space game Starfield, AMD has unveiled a new set of limited-edition Ryzen 7 7800X3D CPUs in celebratory boxes and Radeon RX 7900 XTX graphics cards featuring the game’s white, blue, red, and yellow color theme. There will be 500 units of each built in total, including 7800X3Ds and 7900 XTXs, but sadly AMD is not planning on selling any of these units to its wider audience. Apparently, its plan is to aim these limited-edition products at collectors instead, with giveaways starting at Quakecon.

What’s clear is that the two units are not for sale. It’s in the fine print in AMD’s announcement video, and can also be seen in AMD’s dedicated Starfield page:

“Explore the galaxy with unparalleled freedom with a Limited-Edition AMD Radeon™ RX 7900 XTX GPU and AMD Ryzen™ 7 7800X3D CPU. Inspired by the first new universe from Bethesda in over 25 years, our custom shrouded GPU evokes the boundless creativity and unique style of Starfield™. With just 500 graphics cards and CPUs being produced, they’re bound to be the most sought-after collector’s items in the cosmos.”

The limited edition Starfield Ryzen 7 7800X3D will come in a custom-painted Starfield-themed box, featuring the game’s black, white, and orange color theme as well as the Starfield logo on the side of the box. AMD says the box is the only custom design of the unit, with the chip itself apparently not having any sort of Starfield branding on it.

Conversely, the Starfield limited edition RX 7900 XTX is a custom reference design, featuring a painted shroud. The new paint job replaces the standard black paint scheme with a white color theme, accented by blue, red, yellow, and orange stripes and indentations. The full list of changes includes a matte white finish for the shroud and backplate, with black-painted heatsink fins and fans (like the standard design). The Radeon logo has been painted in a red and white finish, and the right end of the shroud has been painted entirely red, with a circular logo stamped on the side as well. The entire card is also stamped in unique spaceship text and features two white LED strips surrounding the middle fan (which we suspect might be RGB enabled). The little red stripe painted on the heatsink fins of the original card has also been changed to incorporate blue, yellow orange, and red stripes.

Again, it’s sad to see that AMD won’t be selling any of these units to mainstream consumers, but it sounds like there will be chances to win them. Don’t forget, AMD’s Starfield Game Bundle is still available if you want to get the game for free with the purchase of a qualifying Ryzen CPU Radeon GPU or AMD-powered system.

After the U.S. government imposed crippling sanctions against select Chinese high-tech and supercomputer companies through 2019 and 2020, firms like Huawei had to halt chip development; it is impossible to build competitive processors without access to leading-edge nodes. But Jiangnan Computing Lab, which develops Sunway processors, and National Supercomputing Center in Wuxi kept building new supercomputers and recently even submitted results of their latest machine for the Association for Computing Machinery’s Gordon Bell prize.

The new Sunway supercomputer built by the National Supercomputing Center in Wuxi (an entity blacklisted in the U.S.) employs around feature approximately 19.2 million cores across 49,230 nodes, reports Supercomputing.org. To put the number into context, Frontier, the world’s highest-performing supercomputer, uses 9472 nodes and consumes 21 MW of power. Meanwhile, the National Supercomputing Center in Wuxi does not disclose power consumption of its latest system.

Interestingly, the new supercomputer seems to be based on the already known 390-core Sunway processor that derive from the Sunway SW26010 CPUs and have been around since 2021. Therefore, the new system increased the number of processors, but not their architectural efficiency, so its power consumption is likely to be gargantuan. Meanwhile, actual performance of the machine is unknown, since scaling out has its limits even in the supercomputer world.

The National Supercomputing Center in Wuxi has not disclosed performance numbers of its new supercomputer, and it is hard to make any estimations about its performance at this point. The reason why we called it ‘exascale’ is because its predecessor, the Sunway Oceanlite from 2021, was estimated to offer compute performance of around 1 ExaFLOPS.

Meanwhile, engineers revealed the workload that it used the machine for. Apparently, the the group created a new code for large whirlpool simulations to address compressible currents in turbomachinery. They applied it to NASA’s grand challenge problem using an advanced unstructured solver for a high-pressure turbine sequence with 1.69 billion mesh components and 865 billion degrees of freedom (variables).

Given how complex the simulation is, it is likely that the machine is indeed quite powerful. Meanwhile, there is no word whether the simulation was conducted with FP64 precision, or precision was sacrificed for the sake of performance.

Right now at Amazon, users can find the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D CPU for its lowest price to date. This processor has been priced around $320 lately but right now is marked down to just $269.

We reviewed the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D when it first debuted and recognized it at the time as of the fastest processors for its price. Today’s discount only enhances that benefit. Our biggest drawbacks were its lack of overclocking support and integrated graphics. It has great performance and is currently at a price well worth a look if you’re on an AM4 motherboard.

The AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D has 8 cores and a total of 16 threads. It has a base speed of 3.4 GHz but can reach 4.5 GHz with Max Boost enabled. According to the official specifications from AMD, the Ryzen 7 5800X3D has 96MB of L3 cache.

User’s can expect PCIe 4.0 support as well as the ability to install up to 128GB of DDR4-3200. This processor does not come with a stock cooler and you’ll definitely be better off using a liquid cooler to get the most out of it performance-wise.

Visit the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D product page at Amazon for purchase options.

Intel recently disclosed Downfall, a security vulnerability that affects multiple generations of Intel processors – some of which used to be the best CPUs on the market. The chipmaker has rolled out an updated software-level microcode with a fix for the flaw. However, it has caused some alarms since there’s a potential claimed performance impact of up to 50% on AVX2 and AVX-512 workloads involving the Gather instruction.

As a quick recap, Downfall (CVE-2022-40982) is associated with the memory optimization feature inside Intel processors. Downfall exploits the Gather instruction, which speeds up the processor where Intel chips fetch data scattered in different places in the memory. The Gather instruction inadvertently exposes internal hardware registers to software, allowing the latter to tap into data kept by other software. Downfall affects Intel mainstream and server processors, spanning from the Skylake to the Rocket Lake microarchitecture. Therefore, you’re likely affected unless you own one of Intel’s more recent processors, such as Alder Lake, Raptor Lake, or Sapphire Rapids. Intel has put up an extensive list of all the affected chips.

The main concern is how the mitigation will affect the performance of Intel processors. Leading Linux publication Phoronix has evaluated the impact of the Downfall mitigations on Linux. The news outlet tested a pair of Xeon Platinum 8380 (Ice Lake) processors, a Xeon Gold 6226R (Cascade Lake) chip, and a Core i7-1165G7 (Tiger Lake) part. Phoronix utilized diverse real-world software packages that form part of the Intel oneAPI software.

The two Xeon Platinum 8380 were around 6% slower in OpenVKL 1.3.1. With OSPRay 2.12, Phoronix recorded performance hits of up to 34%. The mitigations caused significant decreases in AI workloads, such as Neural Magic DeepSparse 1.5, Tencent NCNN, and QMCPACK, with up to 17% reductions.

The Xeon Gold 6226R benchmark results revealed similar performance deterioration. The Cascade Lake chip lost up to 33% in OSPRay 2.12 and up to 20% in Neural Magic DeepSparse 1.5.

As for the Core i7-1165G7, Phoronix only ran three benchmarks on it, but they were enough to show the performance degradation from the Downfall mitigations. For example, the Core i7-1165G7 delivered 11% lower performance in OpenVLK 1.3.1. On OSPRay 2.12, the mitigations shaved off between 19% to 39% of performance from the Core i7-1165G7.

The good news from Phoronix’s initial set of results is that the performance decrease from the Downfall mitigation was lower than Intel’s forecasted 50% overhead. However, the bad news is that the performance penalty is still significant. AVX instructions aren’t limited to AI or HPC workload tests, either. You can find them in other workloads, such as video encoding or transcoding. Logically, it would be interesting to see which workloads are negatively impacted by the Downfall mitigations. From Phoronix’s preliminary tests, HPC workloads are the most affected.

The microcode update isn’t mandatory. If you want to turn off the mitigation, Intel offers an opt-out mechanism to restore your processor’s performance in vectorization-heavy workloads. Then there is the debate on the complexity of successfully carrying out a Downfall attack. The exploit sounds like a difficult feat overall, but ultimately, it depends on whether you value your security more than performance or vice versa.

The prospects of LK-99, the controversial substance that its discoverers claim is a room temperature superconductor, living up its hype are dimming. In recent days, many scientists have synthesized the substance and published studies showing that it does not have superconductive properties, at least in the form that they tested it. However, two papers published to pre-print scientific repository Arxiv posit that LK-99 could, maybe, prove to be a superconductor if only some doping were applied.

Doping LK-99 is exactly what it sounds like: you take something that wasn’t in the original recipe (in this case, for lead-apatite) and you put it inside the system to improve its performance. In this case, the new results, penned by Liang Si et al and Korotin et al, find reason to believe that doping LK-99 by inserting extraneous atoms (which weren’t supposed to exist in the original system) might result in the claimed superconductivity. We say “might” because they haven’t actually created and doped the substance.

Although initial analysis from other teams found that LK-99 already had the ‘Fermi’ flat bands necessary for electrons to cross unimpeded and frictionlessly (as they’d need for the zero resistance claim to be true), others have theorized that it needs some help getting there: there’s still work to do to even understand LK-99. Achieving the exactly-precise configuration of particles and quantum particles (quanta) is hard. 

There are two kinds of LK-99 researchers right now: the experimentalists (who have attempted to synthesize LK-99 and physically verify its properties) and the software simulation wizards (they’re all still quantum scientists, just to be clear). Those who have actually attempted to synthesize LK-99 and then analyze the sample have found no real proof of superconductivity. Some have shown the substance magnetically levitating and researchers at Southeast University in Nanjing claim that they measured zero resistance at -163 degrees celsius.

The computer models are more bullish, positing that there are scenarios where this could become a superconductor. None of them prove so conclusively – they’re just simulations, after all. And these simulations too have to make assumptions based on the available LK-99 data.

Confirming this gap between theory and practice, there are also new results on the experimental front. The work done by Andrew McCalip on LK-99 synthesis resulted in a small LK-99  fragment, which was analyzed with the help of the USC Materials Consortium. The conclusion is what we’d expect, as we’ve covered here at Tom’s Hardware: the biggest issue stems with the experimental synthetization process.

Andrew McCalip explains how even by using 99.99%-purity precursors (precursos being the initial chemical agents made to react with one another to generate the final compound), there were still enough impurities in them that their resulting LK-99 included micrograms of simple iron (Fe). Iron being a ferromagnetic material, its presence (even in the decimals) was enough to induce magnetic responses in the LK-99 samples they cooked. When you’re dealing with the quantum realm, even a wary, unwelcome subatomic particle can throw a wrench at the partying particles.

There’s a chance that this is what the end of the LK-99 road looks like; a field of failed replications finding solace in the presence of other elements that might be the cause of LK-99’s behavior. But there’s also a chance that this isn’t the end of the line, and that increased scrutiny and improvements to the synthetization process (perhaps paired with some additional data from Korea) will approximate theory and practice.

Published results looking at LK-99 will only increase in the foreseeable future, as different teams across the world finish their replication and simulation attempts. It remains to be seen how history remembers LK-99; perhaps it’s just the latest overhyped disappointment. Or maybe doping will change the game. However it ends, it was a fun run where material science inspired the public’s imagination. 

As stocks of the many Raspberry Pi models steadily improve, we’re now coming to the end of a difficult period for the Raspberry Pi community and the world at large. So how bad was it and how is it improving? To learn this we contacted RPiLocator, a service that sprang up to help Raspberry Pi fans to locate precious Raspberry Pis. Thanks to the analytics data provided by RPiLocator we can see the highs and lows of the last year. 

Using the number restocks as a proxy for product availability, we can see that Raspberry Pis as a whole were 271% more available in July 2023 than July 2022 (394 restocks versus 106). And, among particular models of Pi, the Pi Zero 2 W grew the most going from 1 to 56 restocks year-over-year. 

We have chosen to look back to May, June and July 2022 and compare those months to 2023, to see how things have changed for the better after million unit months were predicted. We also take a look at the holiday season of December 2022, when Raspberry Pi CEO Eben Upton announced that more units would hit the sales channels.

Some caveats about our data: We’re measuring restocks, not sales / produced units and it covers all of the official resellers across the world. So stock may have only been available in one or two countries (and not necessarily the U.S. or UK). We’re only able to measure “weeks in stock” not hours or days so that the model was in stock somewhere for some portion of a week, which could have been less than a day. Raspberry Pi now remains in stock for longer, fewer restocks are required.

Two boards that have remained in stock throughout have been the Raspberry Pi Pico and Raspberry Pi Pico W. These boards may not have gigahertz CPUs and oodles of RAM, but for microcontroller projects they are cheap, easy to source and very easy to use.

Restock Data at a Glance

While we don’t know how many Raspberry Pi units were sold, we do know how many restocks were made in a 78 week period between February 6 2022 and July 30 2023 across all of the global official resellers tracked by RPiLocator. 

The Raspberry Pi 4 is the clear winner, being in stock for 76 out of 78 weeks, and receiving 918 restocks across all of the official resellers. How many units does that translate to? We don’t know, but a restock will not be in single digits. 

In second place, and quite a surprise, is the Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4. The CM4 was in stock for 70 out of 78 weeks and received 388 restocks. The Raspberry Pi saw over 2.4 times more restocks than the CM4. The reason for this is highly likely to be the specialized nature of the CM4, used more in embedded and industrial applications than the full-size Pi 4. This means that more of the CM4 units were sent to industrial customers for use in its products. 

The Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W was released in late 2021, but you would be forgiven for thinking that it was a dream. Stock of the Zero 2 W has been low to none for quite some time. In the same 78 week period, the Zero 2 W was restocked 210 times, and was in stock for 52 weeks. Remember that this is across a global reseller network. There were no restocks between 21 August 2022 and 18 September 2022, a long five week period. 

The older Raspberry Pi Zero W (in stock 29/78 weeks, 236 restocks) board was not restocked between February 6 2022 and January 8 2023, a 48 week period! This doesn’t exclusively mean that the Zero W was out of stock, it could also mean that demand was low and that no further stock was required. But given the global supply shortage, and the eagerness of the community, the former is the most likely scenario.

Raspberry Pi also produced Raspberry Pi 3 and Compute Module 3 units. “Why?” we hear you ask? Well if you don’t need the power of Pi 4, or the Zero form factor, then an older Raspberry Pi will do the job just fine. The Raspberry Pi 3 was the third most in stock board, in stock for 55 out of 78 weeks and seeing 294 global restocks. The last Raspberry Pi 3 restock was 23 July 2023.

Bringing up the rear, in last place is the Compute Module 3 which was out of stock for an incredible 71 out of 78 weeks and saw just 11 restocks. There has not been a restock since May 21 2023. The Compute Module 3 was the last to use the SODIMM form factor that was preferred for Compute Modules. The Compute Module 4 introduced two rows of connectors that attached to breakout points on the Compute Module IO board.

Holiday Cheer

In a December 12 blog post, Upton announced that extra units would be passed on to resellers for single unit sales. “As a thank-you to our army of very patient enthusiast customers in the run-up to the holiday season this year, we’ve been able to set aside a little over a hundred thousand units, split across Zero W, 3A+ and the 2GB and 4GB variants of Raspberry Pi 4, for single-unit sales.” 

These units hit resellers between December 18 and the end of 2022. On December 18 2022, we saw 14 Raspberry Pi restocks, versus 10 the week previous. The Compute Module 4 saw a jump from 4 restocks to 13. On December 25, restocks were lower, returning to a pre-announcement level. January 1 2023 saw restocks drop further. 

Source: Eben Upton’s tweet.

After this blip, things returned to normal (for a post pandemic supply chain) for the first half of the year. But, June 2023 is where we start to see an uptick in Raspberry Pi availability. Eben Upton, Raspberry Pi CEO released a statement via a Raspberry Pi Community Events newsletter which stated from July 2023 we could expect to see a million units per month. 

For Q1 of 2023, there were 800,000 Raspberry Pi units made (we don’t have a breakdown of how many per model). That is three months production and the worst it has been since 2015. The reason for this is down to pulling stock for the holiday period of late December. In May we saw 612,000 units, June 788,000 which saw actual production matching Upton’s predictions.

 Looking Back: Comparing July 2022 to July 2023 

A year ago, the global chip supply shortage cast a shadow on many aspects of our lives. The Raspberry Pi, initially, weathered the early days of the shortage, but late 2021 saw a gradual decrease in the supply of Raspberry Pi. It wasn’t a constant downtrend, more of a roller coaster effect that saw a glut of stock hit resellers to be eagerly purchased.

Since Upton announced that million unit months were ahead, we have seen a steady increase in the number of restocks, and that means more Raspberry Pi are flooding into the sales channels. How does this period in 2023 compare to 2022?

In May 2022 we saw 68 global restocks of Raspberry Pi 4, compared to just 53 in May 2023. In fact restocks most models of Raspberry Pi were down in May 2023 when compared to 2022, the only ones to buck the trend were the Zero W (0 versus 46 in May 2023) and the Compute Module 3 (0 versus 2 in May 2023). 

June 2022 and there are 46 restocks of the Raspberry Pi 4 and 16 for the Compute Module 4. Looking to June 2023 and the number of Pi 4 restocks has doubled to 92, while the CM4 receives just nine. Big surprise of this month is 49 Raspberry Pi Zero W in June 2023 versus zero in June 2022. 

July 2023 is where we see the biggest number of restocks. Leading the charge is the Raspberry Pi 4 with 238 restocks, versus just 53 in July 2022. The next biggest restock was for the Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W, seeing 56 restocks in July 2023 versus one in July 2022. More Raspberry Pi 3 (36 in 2023, 2 in 2022) and Raspberry Pi Zero W (33 in 2023, 0 in 2022) provide a plentiful, lower cost and adequate platform for most projects. The Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4 is hanging in with 31 restocks in 2023, but a might 50 in 2022. Obviously a large chunk of CM4 stock is going to industrial customers.

The Last Sixty Days

The last 60 days has seen the Raspberry Pi 4 be the clear winner for restocks at 330. In second place is the Raspberry Pi Zero W with 82, and third is the Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W with 62. Things are looking much better as resellers are clearly getting more product.

RPilocator has a record of the top five resellers per Raspberry Pi board and we can see that the usual suspects (Adafruit, The Pi Hut and Pimoroni) are not in the top spot for any of the boards. Adafruit came second for Raspberry Pi 4 restocks, with 32 restocks in a 60 day period. UK reseller Pimoroni came fifth with 16. 

As per Upton’s predictions, it seems that 2023 is looking much brighter for our favorite single board computer.

While Intel has revealed that its codenamed Lunar Lake processor due in 2024 will be based on a brand-new microarchitecture that will deliver unprecedented performance-per-watt efficiency, it never disclosed anything else about the CPU. Yet, the latest update of Intel’s PerfMon software (discovered by @InstLatX64) fills some gaps. 

As it turns out, Intel’s Lunar Lake will pack Lion Cove high-performance cores as well as Skymont energy-efficient cores. The software does not disclose core count or peculiarities of the Lion Cove and the Skymont microarchitectures, but it clearly reveals that the upcoming Lunar Lake processor will indeed use all-new microarchitectures and, at least based on Intel’s claims, will deliver unprecedented performance efficiency.

Intel’s Lunar Lake will inherit disaggregated multi-chiplet design from Meteor Lake and Arrow Lake client CPUs, but it is expected (based on the schematic images that Intel is publishing) bring it to a new level and split the things up a bit further. Also, Intel’s Lunar Lake will use the company’s 18A (1.8nm-class) fabrication process for its compute tile, which will enable Intel pack in more RibbonFET transistors and improve performance thanks to backside power delivery. 

For now, it is hard to estimate performance advantages enabled by the new Lion Cove and Skymont microarchitectures as well as Intel 18A process technology over Arrow Lake CPU, but Intel itself sets pretty high expectations for its 2024 CPU part.

Despite the fact that AMD’s Zen 1 architecture is immune to the recent ‘Inception’ vulnerability affecting modern Zen 3 and Zen 4 CPUs, another vulnerability has been found that affects Zen 1 CPUs specifically. According to a report by Phoronix, a new Zen 1 vulnerability was found that can release potentially sensitive data if the CPU divides an integer calculation by the number 0 in Linux operating systems.

According to commentary made by AMD Linux developer Borislav Petkov, the bug specifically leaves “stale quotient data” after a Zen 1 CPU divides an integer calculation by 0 in certain circumstances. The fix involves doing a “dummy division 0/1 before returning from the #DE exception handler in order to avoid any leaks of potentially sensitive data.”

Thankfully the Linux community has already issued a bug fix, resolving the issue. Petkov authorized a Linux kernel patch to work around the vulnerability. The patch was merged into Linux 6.5 kernel today and is set to be back-ported to all stable Linux kernel releases as well. So if you are running an OS featuring an older Linux kernel, you don’t have to upgrade to the latest Linux kernel version to get the new fix.

Interestingly there is also another workaround method that doesn’t involve kernel updates. Apparently, the vulnerability can be neutralized by disabling Symmetric Multi-Threading on Zen 1 CPUs as well. This method obviously has its flaws, since it reduces the performance benefits SMT offers on AMD CPUs, and in many cases, it also disables sleep mode due to an architectural limitation. But it is a good way to temporarily patch the vulnerability for Linux users that are waiting for the kernel patch to be released for their specific OS.

This issue is reminiscent of a similar problem on Intel’s Skylake chips from several years ago, where disabling Intel’s HyperThreading technology patched some security holes on those chips.

Thankfully the issue appears to be Linux-specific and does not affect Windows operating systems. Plus the vulnerability is already being actively patched for Linux users. However, the same cannot be said of the two other vulnerabilities affecting modern AMD CPUs and Intel CPUs, Inception and Downfall, right now.