With all the new fabs being built in Germany and Japan, as well as the expansion of production capacity in China, TSMC is planning to extend its production capacity for specialty technologies by 50% by 2027. As disclosed by the company during its European Technology Symposium this week, TSMC expects to need to not only convert existing capacity to meet demands for specialty processes, but even build new (greenfield) fab space just for this purpose. One of the big drivers for this demand, in turn, will be TSMC's next specialty node: N4e, a 4nm-class ultra-low-power production node.

"In the past, we always did the review phase [for upcoming fabs], but for the first time in a long time at TSMC, we started building greenfield fab that will address the future specialty technology requirements," said Dr. Kevin Zhang, Senior Vice President, Business Development and Overseas Operations Office, at the event. "In the next four to five years, we actually going to grow our specialty capacity by up to 1.5x. In doing so we actually expanding the footprint of our manufacturing network to improve the resiliency of the overall fab supply chain."

On top of its well-known major logic nodes like N5 and N3E, TSMC also offers a suite of specialty nodes for applications such as power semiconductors, mixed analog I/O, and ultra-low-power applications (e.g. IoT). These are typically based on the company's trailing manufacturing processes, but regardless of the underlying technology, the capacity demand for these nodes is growing right alongside the demand for TSMC's major logic nodes. All of which has required TSMC to reevaluate how they go about planning for capacity on their specialty nodes.

TSMC's expansion strategy in the recent years has pursued several goals. One of them has been to build new fabs outside of Taiwan; another has been to generally expand production capacity to meet future demand for all types of process technologies – which is why the company is building up capacity for specialty nodes.

At present, TSMC's most advanced specialty node is N6e, an N7/N6 variant that supports operating voltages between 0.4V and 0.9V. With N4e, TSMC is looking at voltages below 0.4V. Though for now, TSMC is not disclosing much in the way of technical details for the planned node; given the company's history here, we expect they'll have more to talk about next year once the new process is ready.

Palo Alto Networks is acquiring IBM's QRadar cloud software and migrating customers to its Cortex Xsiam platform as part of a broader partnership aimed at expanding its consulting capabilities and customer base. The sum of the deal was not disclosed. CNBC reports: The move normally takes one to three months, Nikesh Arora, Palo Alto's CEO, told CNBC. Also, IBM will train more than 1,000 of its consulting employees on Palo Alto's products. [...] For IBM, a more robust lineup of contemporary security tools for consulting might help the company deliver on its stated goal of revenue growth in the mid-single digits for 2024. In the first quarter, revenue increased 3%, with a 2% bump in the consulting segment. Palo Alto is growing much faster than IBM. In the January quarter, revenue jumped 19%. The company will report results for the latest quarter on Monday. Palo Alto more than doubled in value last year and its stock is up 6% year to date, lifting the company's market cap past $100 billion. The stock rose more than 1% in extended trading. IBM is up close to 5% this year and is now valued at $154 billion. The companies said the transaction should close by the end of September, subject to regulatory approval and other conditions. [...] IBM will continue to sell its QRadar software for use in on-premises data centers. At the same time, IBM will suggest that clients using it consider switching to Palo Alto's Cortex Xsiam.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

An anonymous reader quotes a report from TechCrunch: Facebook and Instagram are under formal investigation in the European Union over child protection concerns, the Commission announced Thursday. The proceedings follow a raft of requests for information to parent entity Meta since the bloc's online governance regime, the Digital Services Act (DSA), started applying last August. The development could be significant as the formal proceedings unlock additional investigatory powers for EU enforcers, such as the ability to conduct office inspections or apply interim measures. Penalties for any confirmed breaches of the DSA could reach up to 6% of Meta's global annual turnover. Meta's two social networks are designated as very large online platforms (VLOPs) under the DSA. This means the company faces an extra set of rules -- overseen by the EU directly -- requiring it to assess and mitigate systemic risks on Facebook and Instagram, including in areas like minors' mental health. In a briefing with journalists, senior Commission officials said they suspect Meta of failing to properly assess and mitigate risks affecting children. They particularly highlighted concerns about addictive design on its social networks, and what they referred to as a "rabbit hole effect," where a minor watching one video may be pushed to view more similar content as a result of the platforms' algorithmic content recommendation engines. Commission officials gave examples of depression content, or content that promotes an unhealthy body image, as types of content that could have negative impacts on minors' mental health. They are also concerned that the age assurance methods Meta uses may be too easy for kids to circumvent. "One of the underlying questions of all of these grievances is how can we be sure who accesses the service and how effective are the age gates -- particularly for avoiding that underage users access the service," said a senior Commission official briefing press today on background. "This is part of our investigation now to check the effectiveness of the measures that Meta has put in place in this regard as well." In all, the EU suspects Meta of infringing DSA Articles 28, 34, and 35. The Commission will now carry out an in-depth investigation of the two platforms' approach to child protection.

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Russia is increasingly seeking to encourage and direct hackers to attack British and other western targets, the director of GCHQ has said in her first keynote speech as head of the British intelligence agency. From a report: Anne Keast-Butler said her agency was "increasingly concerned about growing links" between the Russian intelligence services and proxy hacker groups who have long taken advantage of a permissive environment within the country. "Before, Russia simply created the right environments for these groups to operate but now they're nurturing and inspiring these non state cyber actors," she said in a speech to the Cyber UK conference, in what she described as a "globally pervasive" threat. The spy chief, appointed last year to be the first woman to hold the role, referenced the threat from ransomware -- "the most acute and pervasive cyber threat" -- where cybercriminals, typically from Russia, take control of a company's data and systems and demand significant sums to regain access. GCHQ was "doing everything we can" to counter ransomware actors, Keast-Butler said, degrade their ability to attack systems across government and business and to "produce intelligence that means those involved in ransomware are held to account." There is "no hiding place" for cybercriminals she added.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Following Germany's Sovereign Tech Fund providing significant funding for GNOME, Rust Coreutils, PHP, a systemd bug bounty, and numerous other free software projects, the FFmpeg multimedia library is the latest beneficiary to this funding from the Germany government...

Samsung has released a response to Apple's recently criticized "Crush" ad, which featured the destruction of instruments, arcade games, and sculptures to promote the new iPad Pro. Apple subsequently apologized, with an executive admitting they "missed the mark." In a video titled "UnCrush," created by BBH USA and directed by Zen Pace, Samsung depicts a woman navigating debris reminiscent of Apple's ad, using a Galaxy Tab S9 and Galaxy AI to play guitar, in contrast to Apple's destructive message. "We would never crush creativity," the caption of Samsung's video reads.

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An anonymous reader shares a report: After launching a feature that adds more AI junk than ever to search results, Google is experimenting with a radical new feature that lets users see only the results they were looking for, in the form of normal text links. As in, what most people actually use Google for. "We've launched a new 'Web' filter that shows only text-based links, just like you might filter to show other types of results, such as images or videos," the official Google Search Liaison Twitter account, run by Danny Sullivan, posted on Tuesday. The option will appear at the top of search results, under the "More" option. "We've added this after hearing from some that there are times when they'd prefer to just see links to web pages in their search results, such as if they're looking for longer-form text documents, using a device with limited internet access, or those who just prefer text-based results shown separately from search features," Sullivan wrote. "If you're in that group, enjoy!" Searching Google has become a bloated, confusing experience for users in the last few years, as it's gradually started prioritizing advertisements and sponsored results, spammy affiliate content, and AI-generated web pages over authentic, human-created websites.

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Google and Samsung used to update smartphone software for only three years. That has changed. From a report: Every smartphone has an expiration date. That day arrives when the software updates stop coming and you start missing out on new apps and security protections. With most phones, this used to happen after about only three years. But things are finally starting to change. The new number is seven. I first noticed this shift when I reviewed Google's $700 Pixel 8 smartphone in October. Google told me that it had committed to provide software updates for the phone for seven years, up from three years for its previous Pixels, because it was the right thing to do. I was skeptical that this would become a trend. But this year, Samsung, the most profitable Android phone maker, set a similar software timeline for its $800 Galaxy S24 smartphone. Then Google said it would do the same for its $500 Pixel 8A, the budget version of the Pixel 8, which arrived in stores this week. Both companies said they had expanded their software support to make their phones last longer. This is a change from how companies used to talk about phones. Not long ago, tech giants unveiled new devices that encouraged people to upgrade every two years. But in the last few years, smartphone sales have slowed down worldwide as their improvements have become more marginal. Nowadays, people want their phones to endure. Samsung and Google, the two most influential Android device makers, are playing catch-up with Apple, which has traditionally provided software updates for iPhones for roughly seven years. These moves will make phones last much longer and give people more flexibility to decide when it's time to upgrade. Google said in a statement that it had expanded its software commitment for the Pixel 8A because it wanted customers to feel confident in Pixel phones. And Samsung said it would deliver seven years of software updates, which increase security and reliability, for all its Galaxy flagship phones from now on.

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L'Epic Games Store fête le lancement de ses "Méga soldes" en offrant un jeu qui mérite le coup d'œil pour les amateurs de RPG qui ne s'y seraient pas encore essayés : Dragon Age: Inquisition GOTY Edition. En bonne édition "Game Of The Year" qui se respecte, vous aurez droit à de nombreux contenus ad...

After bipartisan constituents introduced the Transparency in Charges for Key Events Ticketing (TICKET) Act in June 2023, the United States House of Representatives passed the legislation this week in the ongoing efforts to reform the ticketing industry. From a report: The bill received a substantial amount of bipartisan support, passing 338-24. This comes after the House of Representatives' Energy and Commerce Committee unanimously approved the bill 45-0 in Dec. 2023. It will, of course, now need to move through the Senate before President Joe Biden signs it into law, and there is currently no floor vote in place for the measure. If enacted, the TICKET Act will require ticket sellers to implement simple all-in pricing; ban speculative ticketing, where the seller does not have actual possession of the ticket; ban deceptive websites and website marketing; provide full refunds for any canceled event; offer comparable replacement tickets for any postponed event with buyers' approval; and require the FTC to issue a report on the BOTS Act Enforcement, which passed in 2016. Representatives Jan Schakowsky (IL-09) and Gus Bilirakis (FL-12) introduced the legislation last year "to improve transparency in the entertainment industry by requiring all event ticket sellers to display the total ticket price -- including all required fees -- in any advertisement, marketing or promotional materials." It was meant to mirror advertising guidelines for airline tickets and have full transparency throughout the purchasing process.

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A patch has been posted by Samsung engineers for implementing Flexible Data Placement (FDP) support within the Linux kernel's NVMe driver code. NVMe FDP allows for the host system to have more control over the placement of logical blocks on the storage device...

As more positive indications around AMD's OpenSIL effort for open-source CPU silicon initialization to eventually replace AGESA, both AMD and Supermicro are now collaborating with the Open-Source Firmware Foundation. Supermicro has also publicly shown off a platform with OpenSIL+Coreboot and is said to be exploring OpenBMC for future hardware...

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Petit bonus sympathique pour les possesseurs de machines embarquant une connexion Thunderbolt 4 ou 5, la fonction Thunderbolt Share améliorera leur communication.

Je me souviens des câbles RJ45 « droits » qui permettaient de dialoguer d’un poste à l’autre avant la vraie démocratisation du sans fil. On pouvait ainsi profiter d’un débit stable, rapide et sécurisé pour faire transiter des données. L’arrivée du Wi-Fi a évidemment rendu cette chose caduque même si pour beaucoup d’utilisateurs cela suppose de transférer via un stockage en ligne ou une pièce jointe un fichier au poste situé pourtant à quelques mètres de leur machine.

Avec Thunderbolt Share Intel veut améliorer cela en proposant une liaison directe d’un poste à un autre. La fonction sera réservée aux engin équipés des normes 4 ou 5 du format d’Intel ou aux machines proposant un USB4. Il offrira la possibilité de basculer un fichier d’une machine à l’autre par simple glisser-déposer. Comme on peut le faire d’une unité de stockage à une autre. Mais cela n’est qu’une facette de cette solution qui proposera également d’autres fonctions.

Pour  commencer on pourra synchroniser des répertoires. Vous travaillez toute la journée sur votre portable et le connectez à un dock Thunderbolt ou USB4 en fin de journée ? Pas de soucis, les répertoires identifiés seront synchronisés et vos données sauvegardées immédiatement. C’est l’assurance d’avoir des répertoires et des fichiers à jour.

Besoin de changer de machine, Thunderbolt Share permettra de transferer vos données en sélectionnant un ordinateur source et un ordinateur cible et en transférant toutes les données de l’un à l’autre automatiquement.

Partager son écran ?  Ce sera également possible avec certaines limites. Un FullHD à 60 images par seconde sera possible mais le rafraichissement sera en baisse si vous montez en définition.

Mais enfin et surtout, il sera possible de piloter un autre appareil via le câble : une fois le câble Thunderbolt Share connecté, votre souris et votre clavier mais également votre affichage pourront piloter l’ordinateur connecté. Ce dernier sera alors passif. Là encore c’est une bonne solution pour un usage sédentaire de votre machine mobile. Si votre poste de bureau est plus puissant ou plus ergonomique mais que vous travaillez également avec un engin mobile, le câble Thunderbolt Share permettra d’utiliser vos clavier, souris et écran à la place de ceux de votre portable. Pratique.

Il ne sera pas nécessaire d’avoir tous vos appareils compatible avec cette nouvelle norme, un seul suffira a assurer la viabilité des usages. Si votre Dock USB4, votre écran Thunderbolt 5 ou votre portable Thunderbolt 4 est certifié, il pourra se connecter à un autre engin à l’une ou l’autre de ces norme pour assurer tous les usages du procédé.

D’un point de vue plus économique, Intel va vendre des licences à ses partenaires. Fabricants de portables ou d’accessoires comme des docks devront ainsi s’acquitter d’une dîme pour intégrer la fonction à leurs appareils et assurer la certification. Plusieurs fabricants ont déjà signé : Acer, Lenovo, MSI et Razer chez les fabricants e machines. Belkin, Kensington et quelques autres chez les accessoiristes. Dernier détail, Thunderbolt Share ne sera exploitable que sous Windows

Source : Intel

Thunderbolt Share : les aventurier du câble magique © MiniMachines.net. 2024.

Le store d'Epic Games vous offre l'excellent jeu Dragon Age : Inquisition, dans sa version Édition Jeu de l'année, vous avez une semaine pour l'ajouter ici. Découvrez l'édition ultime de Dragon Age : Inquisition, lauréat de plus de 130 prix Jeu de l'année. L'Édition Jeu de l'année inclut le jeu acclamé par la critique, les 3 contenus téléchargeables (Les Crocs d'Hakkon, La Descente et Intrus) et bien plus encore. […]

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Japan's Toshiba said on Thursday it will cut up to 4,000 jobs domestically as the industrial conglomerate accelerates restructuring under new ownership. From a report: Toshiba delisted in December due to a $13 billion takeover by a consortium led by private equity firm Japan Industrial Partners, capping a decade of scandal and upheaval. The consortium's efforts to engineer a turnaround at Toshiba are seen as a test for private equity in Japan, which used to be seen as "hagetaka" or vultures due to its rapacious reputation. The restructuring amounts to up to 6% of Toshiba's domestic workforce. The company also said it would relocate office functions from central Tokyo to Kawasaki, west of the capital, and target an operating profit margin of 10% in three years.

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Visa is rolling out new technology that will allow the payments giant to share more information about customers' preferences [non-paywalled source] based on their shopping history with retailers as it seeks to remain a top player in the competitive e-commerce space. From a report: The data will be shared via the payments giant's proprietary "tokens," which provide an added layer of security between a consumer's bank information and a merchant. Shopping inclinations and other information based on past transactions -- such as preferred categories, like movies or golf -- will be shared via token with retailers with the consent of consumers. "It's almost entirely blind to almost all consumers," Visa Chief Executive Officer Ryan McInerney said in an interview of the company's token technology. "They just know their payments work better." The sharing of shopping data via token is one of a handful of innovations Visa unveiled at a conference in San Francisco, where it's based. Visa, one of the largest e-commerce technology companies in the world, is finding itself increasingly fending off competitors seeking larger slices of the fees merchants must pay to carry out consumer transactions.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Omniprésent sur l’écosystème gaming PC avec sa plateforme Steam, ses jeux à succès comme Counter-Strike 2 ou Dota 2 – deux des titres les plus joués sur cette plateforme – et désormais également pourvoyeur de consoles portables grâce à son Steam Deck, Valve est une entreprise dont les projets sont scrutés par certains, désirés par d'autres. Si c’est votre cas, sachez que l’entreprise fondée par Gabe Newell en 1996 est soupçonnée, depuis plusieurs mois, de préparer un nouveau jeu... [Tout lire]

11 bit studios, les créateurs de Frostpunk 2, la suite attendue du city-builder à succès, et SAPPHIRE Technology, concepteur de produits graphiques innovants, sont ravis de faire souffler un vent de fraîcheur sur le marché des cartes graphiques. Conçue à l'image des thèmes de Frostpunk 2, la SAPPHIRE AMD Radeon™ RX 7700 XT contient un carénage de ventilateur blanc givré et une plaque arrière en métal noir pétrole avec des accents rouillés. Dans la boîte, les joueurs trouveront également des bonus exclusifs : trois pins en émail, trois touches de clavier, un extracteur de touches et un code PC pour l'édition Deluxe de Frostpunk 2. Comme des vents glacés dans les rues de New London, la technologie de refroidissement Tri-X de la carte garantit que trois ventilateurs de couleur blanche assurent un refroidissement silencieux et efficace en créant une double couche de pression d'air vers le bas. La dernière architecture AMD RDNA™ 3 chiplet offre des performances même dans les réalités les plus dures, avec de solides performances de jeu dans les titres AAA en résolution Quad HD. […]

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À l'occasion dela GDC 2024, NVIDIA a officialisé ses GPUs B200 et GB200, dédiés à l'Intelligence Artificelle et dire qu'il s'agit de monstres de puissances est un doux euphémisme ! Les chiffres donnent le tournis, ne perdons pas de vue qu'il s'agit de puces spécifiques, très lointaines de nos GPUs personnels, le B200 a une conception de type MCM (multi-chip-module) et embarque donc deux dies, chaque die est composé de 104 milliards de transistors, grâce à la gravure TSMC N4P (4 nm), l'interconnexion prévue promet une bande passante de 10 To/s ! Chaque die dispose d'une interface mémoire de 4096 bits vers 96 Go de mémoire HBM3E (la bande passante maximale est de 8 To/s), soit un total de 192 Go pour la puce complète B200, NVIDIA a prévu une interface NVLink de 1,8 To/s pour la connectivité hôte ou la connectivité avec une autre puce B200. et#194;et#160; […]

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