Slowly but surely, ARM-based processors are finding their way into laptops. Qualcomm announced its 8cx chip for Windows laptops in 2018, but only a few devices have used it. Apple recently confirmed it would design its own ARM-based silicon for upcoming MacBooks, which might push the latest Qualcomm laptop chip forward on the Windows side. Qualcomm’s new chip is the . As the name implies, it’s very similar to the last-gen 8cx. Qualcomm hasn’t changed much about the core design here, so it has chosen not to discuss the performance gains in detail. Instead, all it’s said is that the 8cx Gen 2 will offer “generational performance and efficiency gains” compared with the last 8cx.
Back about two years ago, Nvidia launched Turing. I liked the architecture well enough, but I thought Nvidia had priced Turing far too high, and said so. How do things look two years later, with Ampere announced and coming in a matter of weeks? Pretty dang good. My only real problem with Turing was its launch price. Once Nvidia adjusted its pricing in 2019 to address AMD’s new Radeon 5700 and 5700 XT, the family of cards was a much better deal. With Turing, Nvidia had the difficult task of selling a GPU that was priced based on what it could do in the future.
Projectors can often provide the most appealing cinematic experience, but few rooms are set up to accommodate one without compromises that would defeat the purpose. After all, you don’t want people walking through the projector’s path every time someone gets up for a snack. Ultra short throw projectors can fit into more spaces, but they tend to lack the features of more traditional designs. The latest projectors from , however, offer larger projections and even HDR support. Naturally, both the support 4K resolution. The LSP9T has a maximum 130-inch projection size (measured diagonally), and the LSP7T is just a bit smaller at 120 inches.
In case the name Django only makes you think of a Jamie Foxx-Quentin Tarentino film, don’t feel bad. Outside tech circles, you’d be forgiven if you only attached that word to the silver screen. But among the digitally savvy, particularly those with some training in the Python programming language, Django has a different meaning. There, it’s a critical helping hand to getting software built and working correctly. The introduces users to Django’s power and utility, not to mention its ability to help push a web development career forward. For the uninitiated, Django is a Python web framework that offers developers a lot of shortcuts in the creation of a new app.
Today, Intel is formally launching its Tiger Lake family of CPUs, alongside its first public iteration of the Xe graphics architecture. We’ve covered Tiger Lake and its Xe GPU in previous deep dives, so I’ll refer you back to that coverage if you want additional details on the CPU and its overall product family. Tiger Lake is built using Intel’s 10nm “Superfin” technology and delivers significant frequency uplift. Willow Cove is otherwise largely identical to Intel’s previous design, Sunny Cove, but it uses a larger, non-inclusive L2 cache. Intel is claiming various performance benefits, like 2.7x content creation speed and up to 20 percent in office productivity.
Today you can get your hands on a 4K 43-inch Dell monitor that is available with hundreds cut off its retail price. Dell engineered this model to be a large display with tons of desktop real estate. This makes it easier to multitask on multiple windows at the same time. The display also has a high 4K resolution and a USB-C port that doubles as both a video connection and a charging port for compatible notebooks. Right now you can get this display from Dell marked down from $1,049.99 to just $710.99 with promo code STAND4SMALL.
If there is a buzzier tech buzzword than blockchaining, we haven’t heard it. As the backbone process that creates and fuels Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, it’s already proven to be a technology with wide sweeping implications. But as a philosophy centered on the decentralization, transparency and almost democratization of information, it could ultimately change the world fundamentally. Even now, experts are applying blockchaining technology to the music industry (), and exploring whether blockchaining might be the ultimate answer to . With that in mind, training like isn’t just a tech innovation you should learn. It’s a revolutionary technology and approach to data that everyone should learn.
SpaceX had hoped to launch a pair of Falcon 9 rockets on Sunday, but weather early in the day threatened to scuttle the entire event. However, the skies cleared just in time for SpaceX to . The launch of the SAOCOM 1B satellite was SpaceX’s 100th and its first-ever polar orbit insertion from Florida. In fact, it was the first by anyone in decades. Early on Sunday (August 30th), SpaceX had to scrap its planned launch of several dozen Starlink satellites. Things were looking grim until just minutes before the scheduled SAOCOM launch, but SpaceX was able to squeak by.
Samsung has announced the production of 16Gb LPDDR5 memory modules on its 10nm-class “1z” foundry node. These chips will be the first LPDDR5 modules built using extreme ultraviolet lithography, which both Samsung and TSMC are in the process of deploying. Samsung, however, made the decision to integrate EUV directly with its first-generation 7nm node, while TSMC decided to tackle that process in two steps. So far, TSMC seems to have made the better bet — though getting EUV LPDDR5 out the door should help Samsung fill foundry lines. The RAM is built at the second production line in Pyeongtaek, Korea.
