Tech

AMD's new line of Ryzen 3000 desktop CPUs will benefit from the same 7nm manufacturing process as the company's new Navi-powered GPUs. Much of the tech community's hype is for the biggest and baddest of the bunch: the 16-core, 32-thread Ryzen 9 3950x. But there's an entire new line ranging from the $499 3950x down to a relatively-modest $199 3600X—and AMD is gunning for Intel every step of the way. I don’t think there’s any reason people would buy an Intel processor after we [launch the Ryzen 3000 line].Travis Kirsch, AMD Client Product Management Director What's really interesting is, this time around, AMD is not just pitching cheaper parts and "good-enough" performance—the company is claiming top-dog stats, along with thermal and power efficiency wins. The Ryzen 9 3700x is listed at $329, while Intel's i7-9700k is currently available for about $410. But according to AMD's slides, the Ryzen part also outperforms the i7-9700k across the board, and it draws … [Read more...] about AMD says its Ryzen 3000 isn’t just cheaper—it’s better

Graphics chip maker Nvidia is best known for consumer computing, vying with AMD's Radeon line for framerates and eye candy. But the venerable giant hasn't ignored the rise of GPU-powered applications that have little or nothing to do with gaming. In the early 2000s, UNC researcher Mark Harris began work popularizing the term "GPGPU," referencing the use of Graphics Processing Units for non-graphics-related tasks. But most of us didn't really become aware of the non-graphics-related possibilities until GPU-powered bitcoin-mining code was released in 2010, and shortly thereafter, strange boxes packed nearly solid with high-end gaming cards started popping up everywhere. From digital currencies to supercomputing The Association for Computing Machinery grants one or more $10,000 Gordon Bell Prize every year to a research team that has made a break-out achievement in performance, scale, or time-to-solution on challenging science and engineering problems. Five of the six entrants in … [Read more...] about Nvidia pushes ARM supercomputing

The SCB Easy mobile app features e-KYC, enabling customers to open accounts using facial recognition. Mobile banking usage has soared for every age group after digital transaction fees were scrapped a few years ago, but digital authentication, also known as electronic know-your-customer (e-KYC), is expected to open a new chapter in the online banking boom.Financial service providers that go digital face a dilemma. They are obliged to verify the identity of customers to comply with regulatory requirements, but they also strive to deliver a customer-friendly experience to keep existing customers and acquire new ones. An e-KYC process that is not burdensome solves both issues, verifying customers digitally so they don't have to waste time at branches. The technology paves the way for more banking services on mobile and electronic devices. With online verification, consumers, particularly those who are unbanked, can open new accounts, apply for loans online, take out new life … [Read more...] about E-KYC opens new chapter in banking

Facebook is moving into its next chapter as it rearranges the platform’s furniture and brings in  new tech to add to the social fun and respond to the shifting behaviour of its users. Sheryl Sandberg, the chief operating officer of Facebook Inc, said there have been rapid shifts in the behaviour of its users. The current shift has people moving from mainly participating in the News Feed and through public posts to now telling their stories. People want to share in different ways, she said at Facebook’s International Press Day last Wednesday. They want to share in one way and then in another and yet another. “The other thing we are very focused on, because it meets with our vision, which we have changed to focus on community, is the power of groups,” said Sandberg. She said staff are seeing more and more activity taking place in Facebook Groups, which users can set up to be public, private, secret or open. The Groups option is designed to bring … [Read more...] about Ever more ways to be SOCIAL

Amazon has shut down its social network-like feature on its site and app called Amazon Spark, in which Prime customers could post pictures of the products they’ve bought, according to TechCrunch. The company launched the service for Prime members in 2017. It prompted customers to pick a selection of interests in the section in the feature, and would then show you a feed of posts from users that related to those interests. The service seemed to be designed to replicate influencers using social networks like Instagram and Pinterest. Users could react to posts with a “smile” or a comment. TechCrunch noted that the site felt “too transactional” as compared to other social networks and never really took off. The page for the feature is no longer on Amazon and its app, and its URL now redirects to “#FoundItOnAmazon” for some users or to “Your recently viewed items and featured recommendations.” Amazon didn’t explain why it shut … [Read more...] about Amazon shut down Amazon Spark, its discovery shopping feature