Intel (INTC.O) announced on Monday that the first two advanced lithography machines from ASML Holding (ASML.AS) are now fully operational in its factories. Early data suggests these machines are more reliable than previous models.
At a conference in San Jose, California, Intel’s senior principal engineer, Steve Carson, revealed that the company successfully produced 30,000 silicon wafers in a single quarter using ASML’s high numerical aperture (NA) lithography machines. These wafers serve as the foundation for thousands of computing chips.
Intel was the first chipmaker to receive these next-generation machines last year. The technology is expected to enable the production of smaller, faster chips compared to earlier ASML models. This marks a strategic shift for Intel, which had previously lagged behind competitors in adopting extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography.
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It took Intel seven years to fully integrate the previous generation of EUV machines into production, a delay that contributed to losing its lead to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (2330.TW). The company faced challenges with the reliability of those earlier EUV models during the initial rollout.
However, Carson noted that ASML’s new high NA machines have proven to be about twice as reliable as their predecessors in early testing.
“We’re consistently producing wafers, which is a major advantage for the platform,” Carson said.
These new lithography machines, which use beams of light to print intricate patterns onto chips, also improve efficiency. Unlike earlier models that required multiple exposures to complete a process, the high NA machines can achieve the same results with just one exposure and significantly fewer processing steps.
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According to Carson, initial tests at Intel’s factories show that tasks requiring three exposures and approximately 40 processing steps with previous machines can now be accomplished with just a single exposure and only a handful of steps.
Intel plans to use these high NA machines to advance its 18A manufacturing technology, which is expected to begin mass production later this year with a new generation of PC chips. The company has also announced plans to fully integrate the machines into production for its upcoming 14A manufacturing technology, though it has not yet provided a timeline for mass production.
GMKtec has unveiled the K10, a mini PC designed as a mini server. Powered by the Intel Core i9-13900HK, a high-end processor from Intel’s Raptor Lake-H lineup, the K10 promises solid performance for demanding tasks.
The K10 boasts a large cooling system with a high-flow turbofan to maintain stable performance under heavy loads. It supports up to 96 GB of DDR5 RAM and offers three M.2 2280 slots for up to 12 TB of storage—ideal for both server and high-performance tasks.
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While aimed at server use, the K10 offers three modes, including a high-performance mode for gaming. However, its integrated GPU isn’t as powerful as dedicated graphics like the Radeon 780M.
Connectivity is another strong point, the K10 includes:
Additionally, the K10 supports 8K video output, which makes it a good option for tasks requiring high-quality visuals. Its compact design means it can fit easily into tight spaces, whether used in server racks or small offices.
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Currently available for reservation in China, GMKtec has not announced pricing or global availability yet.
Apple has now released the first beta of iOS 18.4 to developers, and while we're still awaiting some major Apple Intelligence features, there are many noteworthy updates in this release. Here’s a summary of the key changes, organized for clarity:
Priority Notifications: The Wiser Approach to Notifications Handling
iOS 18.4 introduces Priority Notifications, helping you focus on the most crucial alerts. By default, it’s off, but you can activate it under Settings > Notifications > Enable Priority Notifications. Once enabled, your phone uses Apple Intelligence to display important messages in a dedicated area of the Lock Screen.
Mail Categorization on iPadOS 18.4
The Mail app on iPadOS 18.4 gets an upgrade, automatically sorting incoming emails. Important emails will be in a Primary section, while others are categorized into Social, Deals, and Product Orders for easier management.
New Voices for Siri
Siri adds two new Australian voices in iOS 18.4, giving users more options for personalizing interactions with Apple’s virtual assistant.
Shortcuts Update: Convenient Access to Conversations
A new feature in Shortcuts allows users to set up actions to open specific conversations in the Messages app, making automation even more useful.
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Ambient Music Suitable for Any Emotion
Ambient Music is now part of Control Center in iOS 18.4. Users can choose from four categories: Sleep, Chill, Productivity, and Wellbeing, each providing a selection of soothing sounds. You can easily switch between them with a tap, though specific songs can’t be chosen directly from Control Center.
Cellular Signal in Control Center
The Cellular toggle now displays signal strength with clear, simple bars to better indicate connection quality.
Image Playground is Going Sketch Style
iOS 18.4 introduces a new Sketch style in the Image Playground feature, providing a hand-drawn look. Users can easily switch between the different styles using the "+" button in the app. The Winter Holidays theme has also been replaced with a fresh Spring theme.
More Noticeable Privacy Dots
iOS 18.4 enhances the visibility of privacy indicator dots, showing when the camera or microphone is in use. The dots are now positioned on the left side of the menu bar and are more noticeable against a black background.
Genmoji Icon is Getting a Label
The Genmoji icon on the emoji keyboard now has a label ("Genmoji") to make it easier to find and create your own custom Genmoji characters.
Preferred Language in Apple Maps
Users can now set their preferred language for Apple Maps, offering more personalization for navigation.
Support for 'My Number Card' in Wallet in Japan
iOS 18.4 introduces support for Japan's My Number Card Digital IDs in the Wallet app. This feature will be fully available by Spring 2025, allowing over 100 million Japanese residents to store their national ID cards securely on their iPhones.
CarPlay Home Screen Update
Some CarPlay users will now see a third row of icons, providing quicker access to apps without needing to scroll.
Default Translation and Navigation Apps
Users can now choose a different translation app as the default in Settings > Default Apps. EU users also have the option to select a third-party navigation app instead of Apple Maps.
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Mobile Device Management (MDM) Improvements
iOS 18.4 brings useful updates for MDM, including the ability to disable Apple Intelligence reports, Mail smart replies, and Safari’s content summarization. Admins can also prevent changes to default calling and messaging apps.
Vision Pro App and Guest Mode
A new Vision Pro app allows users to manage their headset, including app downloads, Personalized Spatial Audio adjustments, and serial number tracking. The app also enables Guest Mode management, making it easy for others to try the headset with limited access.
Apple plans to release iOS 18.4 to the public in April 2025, so keep an eye out for the stable version when it’s ready!
If you're familiar with OLED technology, you know one of its biggest advantages: the ability to turn off individual pixels, offering deeper blacks and potential power savings. Dark modes—available on most operating systems—are designed to save power by making backgrounds dark or black, and they also cater to those who simply prefer the look.
But what happens on older, still dominant display technologies like LCDs? The results suggest that dark mode may not save as much power as we’ve been led to believe, especially when it comes to LCDs. In fact, the study shows that many users turn up the brightness when using dark mode, potentially using more power than they would in light mode.
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The BBC’s research, published as part of the International Workshop on Low Carbon Computing (though not peer-reviewed), examined how the display settings affect power consumption. In this experiment, participants were asked to view the BBC Sounds homepage in both light and dark modes on a 2017 MacBook Pro with an LCD display. The participants were asked to adjust the brightness until they felt comfortable.
Interestingly, 80% of participants increased the brightness significantly when using the dark mode version of the site, compared to light mode. This, the study suggests, highlights a potential pitfall in assumptions about the energy efficiency of dark mode. The researchers concluded that “the energy efficiency benefits of dark mode are not as straightforward as commonly believed for display energy,” especially when users manually adjust brightness.
This experiment used an LCD laptop, which makes sense given that dark mode’s power-saving benefits are tied to OLED technology, where individual pixels can be turned off to reduce power consumption. On an LCD screen, however, the backlight remains on regardless of whether the screen is dark or light. As a result, dark mode doesn’t really offer significant power savings. The study suggests that, “given that most devices still use LCDs, where power consumption may not be reduced by displaying darker colours,” the broad claims of energy savings from dark mode may not be applicable to all devices.
While OLED displays can indeed save power by turning off pixels in dark areas of the screen, LCDs simply don’t have this capability. So while OLED technology has the potential to cut power consumption by up to 47% at full brightness, this won’t apply to most users on LCD screens.
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While the BBC’s findings were based on a sample size of just 10 participants, meaning it might not provide a universal answer to the question of dark mode's effectiveness, they provide an intriguing glimpse into the complexities of dark mode's impact on power usage.
In fact, a similar analysis by consultancy firm Valtech points to research from Purdue University that suggests dark mode savings range from 3-9% on OLED devices with auto-brightness, but could be as low as 0% for devices with LCD screens. Omdia, a research firm, estimated that OLED displays hold 53% of the smartphone market but only 14% of the tablet and laptop market by 2028, suggesting that for most users, dark mode’s energy benefits might be overstated.
Moreover, the study also points out that other factors—such as content color schemes, user behavior, and device type—could have a significant impact on power consumption. In this context, blanket claims about energy savings from dark mode should be reconsidered, especially for non-OLED devices.
Twitch has announced a significant change to its content storage policy. Starting on April 19, the platform will impose a 100-hour limit on highlights and uploaded content for streamers. Channels exceeding this limit will have their content deleted, starting with the least viewed highlights. This decision comes as part of Twitch's ongoing efforts to manage storage costs and improve viewer engagement through other more effective features.
According to Twitch's blog post, the move is a response to the ineffectiveness of highlights in driving engagement and discovery. While highlights were initially introduced to help streamers create quick, shareable snippets of their best moments, the platform found that other features such as Clips, Tags, and the Mobile Discovery Feed have been far more successful in attracting new viewers and fostering interaction.
The platform noted that, despite their low effectiveness, some streamers have accumulated thousands of hours of highlights and uploads over time. This has put considerable strain on Twitch's resources. With only 0.5% of active channels exceeding the 100-hour limit, the company believes that this change will help manage storage more efficiently, while still allowing for highlights and uploads to continue being a part of the service.
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The 100-hour cap will specifically apply to highlights (edited snippets of past broadcasts) and uploaded content. However, clips and past broadcasts (VODs) will not be impacted by the new policy. It's important to note that past broadcasts are already subject to automatic deletion after a certain period of time, so this policy change does not affect those.
Twitch recommends that streamers download or export their content before the April 19 deadline if they want to save it. For those who have accumulated more than 100 hours of highlights and uploads, Twitch will automatically start deleting the older content based on view count.
Unsurprisingly, the announcement has sparked backlash from some streamers. Many are frustrated by the storage limit, particularly considering that Twitch is owned by Amazon, a leading player in the cloud services industry through its AWS platform. Some streamers have pointed out the perceived irony of Twitch's storage restrictions, given Amazon’s vast resources in cloud infrastructure.
Despite these frustrations, Twitch maintains that the storage limits are essential to the platform’s ability to continue supporting highlights and uploads, while also investing in more effective engagement tools like Clips and the Mobile Discovery Feed.
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Twitch’s new storage policy could be the start of a trend in how major platforms handle user-generated content. It comes right after Facebook’s decision to limit the storage of live videos, keeping them only for 30 days before removal. While these changes from Twitch and Facebook might seem like individual updates, they could signal the beginning of something bigger in the industry.
With growing demand and rising costs, platforms may start rethinking how long they store user content. This could be the start of a wider trend where platforms shift from storing large amounts of data to focusing more on effective user engagement tools, all while making better use of their resources.