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In a nutshell: Intel wants to step in and help the automotive industry by creating chips for vehicles. CEO Pat Gelsinger said the company aims to produce the silicon within six to nine months. We heard last week that Gelsinger was one of several executives from top chipmakers and auto manufacturers set to meet with high-level officials within the Biden administration to discuss the semiconductor supply chain issues. Execs from Dell, Samsung, Ford, HP, AT&T, Alphabet, General Motors, and others attended the April 12 meeting. Following yesterday’s gathering, Gelsinger said Intel was talking to companies that design chips for automakers about manufacturing them in its fabs. The CEO last month unveiled plans to open up the company’s current and planned manufacturing capacity to other chipmakers through the launch of Intel Foundry Services. Intel is spending $20 billion on two new state-of-the-art fabs focused on EUV-based (extreme ultraviolet) process technologies at 7nm … [Read more...] about Intel in talks with automakers to produce vehicle chips as shortages bite

So you’re considering a projector? Perhaps you’re a movie fan who wants to curate their own home cinema night, popcorn and all. Or you’re a gamer who wants to step out onto a distant planet and blast life-sized aliens to smithereens? With the right projector you can do all of these things, and so much more. If you are indeed ready to take the plunge, or are looking to upgrade, there are a few considerations to take into account. Projectors require a little more planning and setting up when compared with televisions. To get the best out of one, you’ll need to attach it to the ceiling, as – unlike TVs – you’ll need distance between the lens and the screen to project. (Unless of course, you go for a short throw model, but we’ll talk a little more on this later.) A ceiling-mounted beamer also eliminates the possibility of shadows cast by passing people or pets. Not all need to be ceiling mounted as smaller projectors can be moved in and out of a room as needed, but Sony’s range … [Read more...] about Should I buy a Sony projector?

Many people like their work laptops tiny and light and their gaming laptops screamingly fast and crammed with the latest technology. Sadly, the laws of physics conspire to keep us from getting both in a single device, but Asus gives it a shot with the combination of its ROG Flow X13, a 13-inch, 2.9-pound two-in-one laptop, and the XG Mobile, a compact external-GPU-plus-dock combo device. The power pairing of the new eight-core AMD Ryzen 9 5900HS processor in the laptop and Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 mobile GPU in the external module combine to deliver a multifaceted, fast system that's imperfect, but still much more than the sum of its parts. 8.8 Asus ROG Flow X13 with XG Mobile $2,800 at Asus Like Clever way of combining a lightweight two-in-one with a performance gaming laptop Flow X13 has good performance and battery life by itself for its size Don't Like Not quite as plug-and-play with the XG Mobile as I'd … [Read more...] about Asus ROG Flow X13 with XG Mobile review: Almost the best of both worlds

Google has worked for years to position itself as a responsible steward of AI. Its research lab hires respected academics, publishes groundbreaking papers, and steers the agenda at the field’s biggest conferences. But now its reputation has been badly, perhaps irreversibly damaged, just as the company is struggling to put a politically palatable face on its empire of data. The company’s decision to fire Timnit Gebru and Margaret Mitchell — two of its top AI ethics researchers, who happened to be examining the downsides of technology integral to Google’s search products — has triggered waves of protest. Academics have registered their discontent in various ways. Two backed out of a Google research workshop, a third turned down a $60,000 grant from the company, and a fourth pledged not to accept its funding in the future. Two engineers quit the company in protest of Gebru’s treatment and just last week, one of Google’s top AI employees, a research manager named Samy Bengio who … [Read more...] about Google is poisoning its reputation with AI researchers

Roku on Tuesday announced its latest 4K media streamer, the Roku Express 4K+. In addition, the streaming-device maker launched a new optional voice-remote upgrade, the Roku Voice Remote Pro, a lightly updated version of its two-in-one Smart Soundbar called the Streambar Pro, and a Roku OS 10 software update for its family of video hardware, audio devices, and Roku TVs. A new 4K HDR streamer for $40 Further Reading Chromecast, Fire TV Stick, or Roku: What’s the best streaming stick for ~$50? Starting with the new streamer, the Roku Express 4K+ will cost $40 and replace the current Roku Premiere player when it starts shipping in mid-May. It has the similarly small and slightly curved design of the existing Roku Express, but now it can output 4K HDR video instead of basic 1080p. It won't support Dolby Vision HDR—that, along with Dolby Atmos audio, will remain limited to the high-end Roku Ultra —but it will support HDR10 and HDR10+. (The latter will also arrive on the … [Read more...] about Roku’s latest streaming device gives 4K, HDR, and a voice remote for $40