Tag Archives: processors

AMD security flaw found in Ryzen, EPYC chips

Researchers say they’ve discovered critical security flaws in AMD chips that could allow attackers to access sensitive data from highly guarded processors across millions of devices. Particularly worrisome is the fact that the alleged vulnerabilities lie in what’s designed to be the secure part of the processors — typically where your device stores sensitive data …

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Qualcomm Snapdragon 700 chips to boost AI on phones

You may no longer have to shell out big bucks to get high-end smartphone features like artificial intelligence. Qualcomm on Tuesday unveiled its newest processor family, intended to bring premium features to more affordable smartphones, particularly in places like China. The Snapdragon 700 series of chips will enable on-device artificial intelligence support, improvements to the camera, and better device performance …

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Samsung meets cryptocurrency with chips for mining Bitcoin

You’re not the only one who dreams of cashing in on cryptocurrency mania. Samsung’s right there with you. In its fourth-quarter earnings report Wednesday, the consumer-electronics purveyor and world’s largest chipmaker by revenue said it expects its foundry business to get a bump-up from “growing demand for cryptocurrency mining chips.” It also confirmed, separately, that it’s making such chips. “Samsung’s …

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Intel halts some chip patches as fixes cause problems

Intel pumped the brakes on updates to some of its processors Monday, telling phone and computer makers as well as users to stop updating systems until Intel finishes investigating why the patches were causing devices to reboot unexpectedly. The company recommends that manufacturers and users “stop deployment of current versions, as they may introduce higher than expected reboots and other …

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How to protect yourself from Meltdown and Spectre CPU flaws

On Wednesday, researchers revealed serious flaws in modern processors that could affect practically every Intel computer released in the last two decades — and the AMD and Arm chips in your laptops, tablets and phones, too. And on May 21, researchers found a fourth variant.  Read more here. The good news: Intel, AMD and Arm believe they can fix — …

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Photo format from Google and Mozilla could outdo Apple and JPEG

Last year Apple managed to shrink photo file sizes dramatically so you could cram twice as many photos onto your iPhone. But hold on, because that might not be the only game in town. Google, Mozilla and others in a group called the Alliance for Open Media are working on a rival photo technology. In testing so far, the images …

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A flaw like Meltdown or Spectre will probably happen again

After acknowledging a major security flaw in modern smartphone chips, the head of one of those chip design companies is delivering more grim news. “The reality is there are probably other things out there like it that have been deemed safe for years,” Arm Holdings CEO Simon Segars said in an interview last week at CES 2018 in Las Vegas. …

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Laptop team

In the midst of CES 2018, the slate of new computers on display, including laptops, 2-in-1 hybrids, desktops and tablets, felt a little dry. There were few revolutionary new designs, and only a handful of brand-new products — most were modest internal or external updates to existing lines from Dell, HP, Lenovo and others. But looking a little deeper, I …

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PC

The modern phone has become a ravenous technology black hole, absorbing digital music players, point-and-shoot cameras and even many tablets along the way. Screens got bigger, camera lenses got better, and work and entertainment apps improved. Aside from the iPad and a handful of budget tablets like Amazon’s Fire HD series, the standalone tablet has largely been subsumed by big-screen phones. Many thought the …

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Intel Hades Canyon NUC is the smallest VR gaming rig I’ve ever seen (hands

I love miniature gaming PCs, and Intel may have just trumped them all here at CES 2018 in Las Vegas. This is the Intel Hades Canyon NUC, a VR-ready gaming rig that’s just 1.2 liters in volume. It’s small enough to fit into a messenger bag, or even a very large purse — and yet it’s got enough power to …

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