Computers & the Internet News and Discussions

[weatheriscool]

Google Is About to Force You to Use Generative Search
AI-generated summaries and roundups will appear at the top of your Google search results, whether you want them to or not.
By Adrianna Nine March 26, 2024

If you haven't already, you'll soon see AI-generated summaries and roundups at the top of your Google search results. Google's "Search Generative Experience," or SGE, was previously reserved for users who opted in. Still, now the tech giant plans to force it upon anyone who initiates a search from within the United States.

Introduced exactly one year ago, SGE uses AI to summarize definitions, product reviews, articles, and other content you'd typically have to do the hard work of clicking on yourself. The point, Google said, was to make the search experience easier so that "instead of asking a series of questions and piecing together that information yourself," Google could do it for you. While that alone sounds eerily dystopian, you didn't have to interact with SGE unless you opted into the feature voluntarily.

https://www.extremetech.com/internet/go ... -ai-search

[weatheriscool]

Blazing bits transmitted 4.5 million times faster than broadband
By Michael Franco
March 28, 2024
https://newatlas.com/technology/faster- ... ber-optic/

An international research team has sent an astounding amount of data at a nearly incomprehensible speed. It's the fastest data transmission ever using a single optical fiber and shows just how speedy the process can get using current materials.

In the UK, according to a report by regulatory group Ofcom published in September 2023, the average broadband speed in the country is about 70 megabits per second (Mb/s). While that's plenty of pipeline to watch tiny house tours, see robots do back flips, and check out the latest AI-generated videos, it's not really significant in the world of serious data transmission.

In that arena, world records are set at speeds of 319 Terabits per second (TB/s) and then broken a year later at one petabit per second (a petabit is one million gigabits). Of course that record then again gets trounced by another one that clocks an almost scary 22.9 petabits per second and so on and so on.

[weatheriscool]

[caltrek]

Internet Activity Plummeted As People Went Outside to Watch Solar Eclipse
by Michael Kan
April 9, 2024

Introduction:

(PC Mag) Apparently, the only thing that will get people to look up from their computers and smartphones is a natural phenomenon like a solar eclipse.

Internet use briefly plummeted on Monday in areas of North America where the total solar eclipse crossed overhead, according to internet infrastructure provider Cloudflare.

"Cloudflare's data shows a clear impact on internet traffic from Mexico to Canada, following the path of totality,” the company said in a report. The change was especially pronounced in Vermont, where internet traffic dropped 60% at 3:25 p.m. EST during a five-minute window, right as the Moon fully crossed the Sun’s path.

Meanwhile, Arkansas, Indiana, Maine, New Hampshire, and Ohio also experienced internet traffic decreases of 40% or more during their respective five-minute eclipse windows.

The trend even occurred in states where the eclipse could only be partially observed. For example, in Massachusetts and Kansas, internet traffic dropped around 30%, probably because over 85% of the sun was obscured in certain areas of each state, making the partial eclipse still worth seeing.

Read more here: https://www.pcmag.com/news/internet-ac ... -eclipse


Credit: NASA

[weatheriscool]

WD Unveils Portable Server With 368TB of Flash Storage
The Ultrastar Transporter is like a rolling server with a ton of high-speed storage.
By Josh Norem April 15, 2024
https://www.extremetech.com/computing/w ... sh-storage

Western Digital has unveiled a new portable server it calls the Ultrastar Transporter. It's essentially a rack-sized server you can toss in a briefcase and take anywhere. It also comes with 368TB of flash storage. The company calls it the pinnacle of network-attached storage, and it certainly beats the heck out of the lowly 32TB NAS device sitting on our desk.

WD's product page for the Transporter says it's for edge use cases, such as when a site's Internet goes down or is spotty, and you need a ton of high-performance storage pronto. Because it can be stuffed into a rolling hard case, you can just send it there and connect it directly to the network with its dual-port 200Gbe connections. WD doesn't say what kind of SSDs are inside, only that they're "enterprise NVME" drives.

[firestar464]

Security vulnerability in browser interface allows computer access via graphics card

https://techxplore.com/news/2024-04-vul ... phics.html

[weatheriscool]

Scientists Reveal Non-Volatile Memory Breakthrough
It could be the holy grail of NAND storage married with DRAM speed we've been waiting for all these years.
By Josh Norem April 23, 2024
https://www.extremetech.com/computing/s ... eakthrough

A long-running problem in the computer world is that DRAM is the fastest memory available but also volatile, so it can't hold onto its data when power is shut off. This makes it useless for data storage. On the other hand, we now have NAND flash, which is non-volatile, so it can keep data without needing constant power. But it's nowhere near as fast as DRAM, so both are required in current systems. Now, scientists in Korea have developed a prototype solution combining the best aspects of both technologies into a single memory device. This type of device—with the speed of memory but the ability to hold onto data without power—is the holy grail of storage and memory.

A team of researchers at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) has revealed its work on a new memory solution that uses phase-change memory. Phase-change memory (PCM) has been used in the past, but power consumption and manufacturing costs were sticking points, as TechRadar points out. However, this new version has reportedly resolved those issues by concentrating the phase change on a tiny area. Previous attempts involved using advanced lithography techniques and trying to shrink the devices themselves, which still resulted in high power consumption and exorbitant manufacturing costs.

[weatheriscool]

[Time_Traveller]

'Admin' and '12345' banned from being used as passwords in UK crackdown on cyber attacks

Monday 29 April 2024 09:29, UK



Common and easily guessed passwords like 'admin' or '12345' are being banned in the UK as part of world-first laws to protect against cyber attacks.

As well as default passwords, if a user suggests a common password they will be prompted to change it on creation of a new account.

It comes as a home filled with smart devices could be exposed to more than 12,000 hacking attacks from across the world in a single week, with 2,684 attempts to guess weak passwords on five devices, according to an investigation by Which?

Password managing website NordPass found the most commonly used passwords in the UK last year were 123456 and, believe it or not, password.

The new measures come into force in the UK on Monday, making it the first country in the world to introduce the laws.

https://news.sky.com/story/admin-and-12 ... s-13125565

[weatheriscool]

NASA Space Laser Beams Home Data at 267Mbps From 140 Million Miles Away
So far, the communication laser is even faster and more reliable than NASA had hoped.
By Ryan Whitwam April 30, 2024
https://www.extremetech.com/science/nas ... miles-away

NASA's Psyche spacecraft won't arrive at its namesake asteroid until 2029, but it's keeping busy during the long voyage. The agency's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) equipped Psyche with a brand-new kind of laser communication array, and this instrument just aced an important milestone test. NASA reports that Psyche's laser communicator has successfully beamed home data from a whopping 140 million miles away, beyond Mars's orbit.

Psyche carries a traditional radio-frequency transmitter, the mission's primary means of staying in contact with Earth. It talks to mission control via NASA's Deep Space Network, a collection of large radio receivers spread around the globe the agency uses to remain in contact with all current deep space assets. Psyche's early success with the Deep Space Optical Communications experiment could preview a time when the Deep Space Network is yesterday's news.

The experimental laser operates in the near-infrared spectrum. Earlier this month, the infrared laser successfully interfaced with the radio transmitter to transmit a copy of Psyche engineering data back to Earth. The team at JPL was able to compare the transmissions and confirm the demo laser was relaying everything correctly.

This test is important for two primary reasons. First, this is the first time it has sent data generated onboard Psyche during the mission. The last test in late 2023 sent a video of a cat (naturally) that had been loaded into Psyche's memory before launch. "We downlinked about 10 minutes of duplicated spacecraft data during a pass on April 8," said JPL's Meera Srinivasan. "Until then, we’d been sending test and diagnostic data in our downlinks from Psyche. This represents a significant milestone for the project by showing how optical communications can interface with a spacecraft’s radio frequency comms system."

[weatheriscool]

Windows 10 Climbs to 70% Market Share Despite Being 9 Years Old
People are switching from Windows 11 to Windows 10, somehow.
By Josh Norem May 2, 2024

Windows 11 has been in a head-to-head battle with Windows 10 since it launched in late 2021. Microsoft hoped the newcomer OS would displace the ragged veteran by offering new features, a more modern interface, and quality-of-life improvements. However, not everyone is on board with the "upgrade." According to Statcounter's latest numbers, Windows 10 gained market share among Windows users in April, climbing past 70% for the first time since late 2023.

The market analysis firm's April numbers show Windows 10 climbing almost one percentage point to hit 70.1% market share for Windows users. At the same time, Windows 11's market share dipped slightly to 25.69%, indicating the Windows 10 increase came directly at the expense of Windows 11. As far as how that's possible since Windows 10 hasn't been included on a new PC in quite some time now, we've heard reports recently of a lot of refurbished PCs being dumped in retail channels with Windows 10. They're being sold for a song even with 16GB of memory and an SSD, making them tempting purchases for home or business users with basic needs.

https://www.extremetech.com/computing/w ... -years-old

[firestar464]

Cybersecurity researchers spotlight a new ransomware threat – be careful where you upload files

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technolo ... r-AA1nYOTR

[weatheriscool]

Biden administration rolls out international cybersecurity plan

Source: Politico

05/06/2024 06:00 AM EDT

The Biden administration is rolling out a strategy Monday for how to build global cybersecurity cooperation, following years of stepped up threats from China, Russia and cybercriminals.

The State Department’s international cybersecurity strategy is the first articulated U.S. global cyber strategy in over a decade. If successful, it could elevate the U.S.’s role globally in countering cyber threats and creating global consensus on artificial intelligence, and position the U.S. against China in setting cybersecurity norms.

While the strategy will be formally unveiled by Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the RSA Conference in San Francisco on Monday afternoon, POLITICO was provided an early look at the document, which lays out four main areas of focus. These are promoting a secure digital ecosystem globally; upholding “rights-respecting” digital technology approaches with allied nations; building coalitions to counter malicious cyberattacks; and enhancing the cybersecurity resiliency of partner nations.

This final commitment includes a major focus on the State Department’s newly created Cyberspace and Digital Connectivity fund. The most recent round of federal appropriations signed into law by President Joe Biden gave the fund $50 million, intended to help allied nations enhance their cybersecurity. Before the fund’s creation, the U.S. gave one-time grants for this purpose to countries including Albania and Costa Rica following separate cyberattacks on government services in those nations.

Read more: https://www.politico.com/news/2024/05/0 ... n-00156190

[Time_Traveller]

US revokes licences for sales of chips to Huawei

8 May 2024, 06:08 BST

The US government says it has revoked some licences that allowed US chip makers to export certain goods to Chinese technology giant Huawei.

The Department of Commerce did not specify which permits were cancelled but the move follows Huawei's release of an AI-enabled computer powered by a chip created by Intel.

American chip maker Intel declined to comment to a request for comment from BBC News. The BBC has also contacted Huawei and San Diego-based chip giant Qualcomm for responses to the announcement.

Since 2019, the US has restricted technology exports, such as computer chips, to Huawei, citing alleged ties to the Chinese military.

"We have revoked certain licenses for exports to Huawei," the Commerce Department said in a statement on Tuesday, but did not give details of which permits had been withdrawn.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cgxwpql2e82o

[wjfox]

'Animal-centred internet' may be possible, scientists suggest

New research found that parrots preferred live video calls over recorded video messages - which may lay the foundations for an online world for animals, researchers said.

Thursday 2 May 2024 02:55, UK

An "animal-centred internet" - which could allow pets to interact with each other as well as humans - may be possible, scientists have suggested.

The findings come following a new study by researchers at the University of Glasgow found that parrots may prefer live chats with their friends over recorded messages - part of wider research that they said could pave the way for an online world for animals.

Scientists believe parrots prefer the video calls because they may be able to tell the difference between live chats and pre-recorded messages.

Lead author Dr Ilyena Hirskyj-Douglas, from the University of Glasgow's School of Computing Science, said the internet holds "a great deal of potential for giving animals agency to interact with each other in new ways".

https://news.sky.com/story/animal-centr ... t-13127000



PA

[firestar464]

nah I'm not getting my parrot hooked on skibidi parrot or trumpism

[weatheriscool]

Intel Announces Thunderbolt Share for PC-to-PC File and Device Sharing
Thunderbolt Share allows two PCs to be 'networked' together to share files, their screens, and connected devices.
By Josh Norem May 16, 2024

Intel has announced a new feature for Thunderbolt designed to make life easier for folks with both a laptop and a desktop (or just two different PCs they use frequently). Thunderbolt Share allows two PCs to be "networked" together via Thunderbolt to share files, their screens, and connected devices. Intel says this feature is now available to PC OEMs, who can license the technology for their prebuilt PCs, so DIY PC builders can't partake in the fun.

Thunderbolt Share lets two PCs be connected in several ways. Both can be connected with a physical Thunderbolt cable via a licensed Thunderbolt dock or with both PCs connected to a Thunderbolt display. For example, you'd have a laptop with a Thunderbolt 4 or 5 cable going from the laptop to a desktop PC, and then the PC connected to a monitor. You can then operate both computers on the same display with a mouse and keyboard, share files between them, and so forth. The connection between the computers is established via a new app that has to be downloaded onto both computers, but only one PC has to have a license for Thunderbolt Share.
Thunderbolt Share

https://phys.org/news/2024-05-webb-dist ... erger.html

[weatheriscool]

Toshiba Is Prepping Hard Drives With Capacity Beyond 30TB
The company will deploy both HAMR and MAMR to boost capacity beyond 30TB per drive in the coming years.
By Josh Norem May 16, 2024

Toshiba is firing a shot across the bows of both Seagate and Western Digital by declaring it has hard drives in its labs that are currently beyond 30TB thanks to the application of next-generation storage technologies. The company is currently working on hard drives with heat-assisted magnetic recording (HAMR) and microwave-assisted magnetic recording (MAMR), which it says will meet the growing needs of data centers and cloud providers when they arrive soon.

Toshiba states it has already demonstrated hard drives with capacities of 32TB with HAMR and 31TB with MAMR. The 32TB drive uses 10 disks with a capacity of 3.2TB per platter, which it says will be ready for sampling next year. That likely means they'll hit the enterprise market in 2026 and hopefully trickle down to consumers sometime after that. The 31TB drive uses 11 platters, which is the first time we can recall a single drive having more than 10 disks. Toshiba says both drives also use shingled magnetic recording (SMR) and improved signal processing to achieve these capacities.

https://www.extremetech.com/computing/t ... eyond-30tb

[weatheriscool]

After 7-Year Hiatus, Western Digital Unveils 6TB 2.5-Inch Hard Drives
After all this time, the company has added an additional terabyte to its external drives.
By Josh Norem May 17, 2024

https://www.extremetech.com/computing/a ... ard-drives

It's been a while since the tech world heard about a brand-new 2.5-inch hard drive. The technology seemed to peter out at 5TB long ago, while the rise of SSDs made 2.5-inch hard drives a dead-end technology. That is apparently not the case, however, as Western Digital has unveiled a new batch of 6TB portable hard drives, which offer the highest capacity available in a portable storage device.

Western Digital's new 6TB 2.5-inch hard drive is being deployed across several of its product lines, spanning its own products and SanDisk drives, which it also owns. The new drive is now available in the company's MyPassport line, WD Black P10 Game Drive, and the SanDisk Professional G-DRIVE ArmorATD drives. What's especially notable about the 6TB version is that it's a bit taller than the 5TB drive, according to AnandTech. This likely means the company stuffed another platter into the drive instead of increasing the areal density of its existing platters.

[Tadasuke]

This single website uses between 310 and 330 MB (!!!) of RAM on my computer in Google Chrome browser:



I remember browsing WWW using Sony PSP with 32 MB of total RAM back in 2005. Or earlier using a PC with 128 MB of total RAM.

This is crazy if you ask me. What is taking 326 MILLIONS BYTES? And this is no exception. It's especially crazy taking into consideration how RAM prices have been stagnating since December 2012. I know that Chrome is especially bad with how much RAM it uses for tabs, but for example Microsoft Edge still uses 110 MB for the same website.