slashdot – Page 7 – Tech Today w/ Ken May

Moscow State University Releases 10th HEVC Video Codec Comparison

An anonymous reader writes: The Graphics and Media Lab Video Group of Moscow State University has released its tenth video codecs comparison. This latest comparison focuses on HEVC codecs and includes some non-HEVC codecs such as x264 and VP9. The report concludes that Intel’s MSS HEVC Software codec leads the pack in the “fast transcoding” use case whereas x265 takes the lead in the “ripping” use case. VP9 compares favorably to the HEVC codecs in the fixed quality and the speed versus quality test cases. See the PDF version of the report for more details. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

China’s Flash Consumption Grows To 30%; 8TB SSDs Are Coming

Lucas123 writes: Seven of the world’s top 10 smartphone vendors hail from China as does PC giant Lenovo, which is driving up the amount of NAND flash and DRAM the country consumes. This year alone, China is expected to purchase nearly 30% of the world’s NAND flash and 21% of its DRAM, according to a report from TrendForce. Additionally, state-backed companies are trying to break into Western markets with SSDs. For example, Sage Microelectronics (SageMicro), a four-year-old company based in Hangzhou, China, plans to release an 8TB SSD next month that will be based on eMMC flash, and it said it will release a 10TB drive next year. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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China’s Flash Consumption Grows To 30%; 8TB SSDs Are Coming

SIgn Of the Times: Calif. Privacy Protections Signed Into Law

The EFF reports a spot of bright news from California: Governor Jerry Brown today signed into law the California Electronic Communications Privacy Act. CalECPA, says the organization, “protects Californians by requiring a warrant for digital records, including emails and texts, as well as a user’s geographical location. These protections apply not only to your devices, but to online services that store your data. Only two other states have so far offered these protections: Maine and Utah.” The ACLU provides a fact sheet (PDF) about what the bill entails, which says: SB 178 will ensure that, in most cases, the police must obtain a warrant from a judge before accessing a person’s private information, including data from personal electronic devices, email, digital documents, text messages, and location information. The bill also includes thoughtful exceptions to ensure that law enforcement can continue to effectively and efficiently protect public safety in emergency situations. Notice and enforcement provisions in the bill provide proper transparency and judicial oversight to ensure that the law is followed. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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SIgn Of the Times: Calif. Privacy Protections Signed Into Law

NY Times Passes 1M Digital Subscribers

HughPickens.com writes: Many news organizations, facing competition from digital outlets, have sharply reduced the size of their newsrooms and their investment in news gathering but less than four-and-a-half years after launching its pay model the NY Times has increased coverage as it announced that the Times has passed one million digital-only subscribers, giving them far more than any other news organization in the world. The Times still employs as many reporters as it did 15 years ago — and its ranks now include graphics editors, developers, video journalists and other digital innovators. “It’s a tribute to the hard work and innovation of our marketing, product and technology teams and the continued excellence of our journalism, ” says CEO Mark Thompson. According to Ken Doctor the takeaway from the Times success is that readers reward elite global journalism. The Wall Street Journal is close behind the Times, at 900, 000, while the FT’s digital subscription number stands at 520, 000. “These solid numbers form bedrock for the future. For news companies, being national now means being global, and being global means enjoying unprecedented reach, ” says Doctor. “These audiences of a half-million and more portend more reader revenue to come.” Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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NY Times Passes 1M Digital Subscribers

On-Chip Liquid Cooling Permits Smaller Devices With No Heatsinks Or Fans

An anonymous reader writes: DARPA-funded research into on-chip liquid cooling has resulted in a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) liquid-cooled device that can operate at 24 degrees Celsius, versus 60 degrees Celsius for an equivalent air-cooled device. The cooling fluid resides only nanometers from the heat it must address, and operates so efficiently as to offer potential to stack CPUs and GPUs using copper columns, as well as dispensing with heat-sinks and fan systems. With those components removed, the system can facilitate far more compact designs than are currently feasible. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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On-Chip Liquid Cooling Permits Smaller Devices With No Heatsinks Or Fans

ALS Patients Use a Brain Implant To Type 6 Words Per Minute

the_newsbeagle writes: With electrodes implanted in their neural tissue and a new brain-computer interface, two paralyzed people with ALS used their thoughts to control a computer cursor with unprecedented accuracy and speed. They showed off their skills by using a predictive text-entering program to type sentences, achieving a rate of 6 words per minute. While paralyzed people can type faster using other assistive technologies that are already on the market, like eye-gaze trackers and air-puff controllers, a brain implant could be the only option for paralyzed people who can’t reliably control their eyes or mouth muscles. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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ALS Patients Use a Brain Implant To Type 6 Words Per Minute

Finnish Diver Finds German WWII Submarine Near Estonia

jones_supa writes: A wreck of a German submarine, presumed lost more than 70 years ago, has been discovered near the Estonian coast. The submarine, which dates back to the Second World War, was found by Finnish diver Immi Wallin in July. The U-679 was apparently the last lost German u-boat in the Gulf of Finland. It was presumed destroyed by depth charges in January, 1945. However, the wreck was found in its own patrol zone, sunk by an underwater mine. After the wreck was discovered, the first dive down to its 90-metre grave was undertaken by a six-person group on September 10. The mission was to investigate the condition of the submarine and photograph it. Wallin says that she believes the submarine had remained lost due to the great depth at which it was destroyed. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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Finnish Diver Finds German WWII Submarine Near Estonia

Ice-Age Fossils Unearthed At Construction Site In California

An anonymous reader writes: Constructions workers in Carlsbad, CA. have recently discovered Ice Age mammoth and prehistoric bison fossils during an excavation. The fossils were taken to the San Diego Museum of Natural History for examination and storage. “The bison fossil, which includes a skull and partial skeleton, is the most unusual and probably the most complete of the larger animals found at the project site. These are big animals, much larger than modern plains bison, ” said curator of paleontology at the San Diego Museum of Natural History, Tom Deméré. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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Ice-Age Fossils Unearthed At Construction Site In California

Printing Flexible Lithium-Ion Batteries

ckwu writes: The designs of pacemakers, watches, and other wearable gadgets have to be tailored around existing battery shapes, such as cylinders, coin cells, and rectangles. But a team of researchers hopes their fully printable, flexible lithium-ion batteries will one day free designers from these constraints. Battery shapes are now limited because of the need to contain liquid electrolytes. Two years ago, the researchers designed a printable, solid-state electrolyte composed of alumina nanoparticles and lithium combined with polymer that can be cured by ultraviolet light. In this latest work, they used a stencil printing technique to print full battery cells with the electrolyte and other printable materials for the electrodes. They printed batteries on paper and the curved surface of a glass mug. These printed Li-ion batteries can power small LEDs but still need a lot of improvements because they don’t last long before needing recharging. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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Printing Flexible Lithium-Ion Batteries

Windows 10 RSAT, Windows Server 2016 Technical Preview 3 Coming This Month

We’ve heard a lot lately about the release and reception of Windows 10; however, the Windows family includes more than just the most-seen desktop OS. Mark Wilson writes: Microsoft’s Gabe Aul has revealed that the company plans to release a new technical preview of Windows Server 2016 later this month. Responding to questions on Twitter, the company’s Corporate Vice President and face of the Windows Insider program also said that Windows 10 RSAT [Remote Server Administration Tools] will be launched in August. Unlike the preview builds of Windows 10, previews of the latest edition of Windows Server have been slower to creep out of Redmond. Sysadmins will be keen to get their hands on the latest builds to see just what direction Microsoft is taking with its server software after the decision to delay the launch. We don’t know anything about what the third technical preview of Windows Server 2016 might include, but it is likely to be little more than a collection of bug fixes and tweaks. It’s a little late in the game to expect any major changes to be made. Read more of this story at Slashdot.