Category: Computing

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Google and Dell team up to take on Microsoft with Chromebook Enterprise laptops

Google is launching new Chromebook Enterprise devices that it hopes will draw more businesses away from Windows-powered laptops. Microsoft has dominated enterprise computing for years, but as businesses increasingly look to modernize their fleet of devices, there’s an opportunity for competitors to challenge Windows. Google is teaming up with one of Microsoft’s biggest partners, Dell, to help push new Chromebook Enterprise laptops into businesses.

Dell is launching Chrome OS on a pair of its popular business-focused Latitude laptops, offering both a regular clamshell design and a 2-in-1 option. While it might sound like just two existing Windows laptops repurposed for Chrome OS, Google and Dell have been working together for more than a year to ensure these new Chromebook Enterprise devices are ready for IT needs. That includes bundling a range of Dell’s cloud-based support services that allow admins to have greater control over how these Chromebooks are rolled out inside businesses.

It means IT admins can more easily integrate these Chromebooks into existing Windows environments and manage them through tools like VMware Workspace One. Microsoft and its partners have offered a range of admin tools for years, making it easy to customize and control Windows-based devices. Google has also tweaked its Chrome Admin console to improve load times, add search on every page, and overhaul it with material design elements.

Businesses will be able to choose from Dell’s 14-inch Latitude 5400 ($699) or the 13-inch Latitude 5300 2-in-1 ($819). Both can be configured with up to Intel’s 8th Gen Core i7 processors, up to 32GB of RAM, and even up to 1TB of SSD storage. The processor options are a little disappointing considering Intel just announced new 10th Gen processors, but the blow is softened slightly as both devices will offer LTE options and USB-C docking.

DELL WON’T BE THE ONLY OEM OFFERING CHROMEBOOK ENTERPRISE LAPTOPS

Google is now teaming up with a number of OEMs to better target enterprise customers. While Dell is the first OEM to announce Chromebook Enterprise laptops, there will be more. “This is not an exclusive with Dell,” explains John Solomon, vice president of Chrome OS at Google, in an interview with The Verge. “We’re launching with Dell first… but in the future we will be getting back to doing this more broadly with the ecosystem.”

You can imagine Lenovo and HP partnering to offer Chromebook Enterprise laptops in the future, just like they currently offer devices to both consumers and businesses. This tighter integration benefits OEMs as they can now bundle a larger stack of software and services on a Chromebook targeted at businesses.

Chromebooks have traditionally fared well in education but have had little traction in businesses that are used to relying on Windows. Google’s new focus is a significant change, but it doesn’t mean the company is suddenly going to attract business customers overnight. “Enterprise is more of a marathon than a sprint,” admits Solomon. “For Google this is a key moment for us to really telegraph that we’re very serious about the enterprise. This is not just a project that’s ‘well you know it’s like an experiment, we’ll see how it goes.’ This is a long term and serious commitment.”

Microsoft has tried to counter Chrome OS with Windows 10 S laptops

GOOGLE’S CHROMEBOOK ENTERPRISE PUSH IS A WARNING SHOT TO MICROSOFT

Microsoft’s response to this new Chromebook Enterprise offering will be telling. It has steadily been trying to counter Chrome OS with cheaper Windows-based laptops of its own, but that’s not a modern OS challenge. Microsoft is also currently working on a “Windows Lite” version of its operating system that will be far more cloud-powered to compete with Chrome OS. This stripped-down version of Windows could help Microsoft better compete with the modern benefits of something like Chrome OS. Microsoft has tried to counter Chrome OS with efforts like Windows 10 S in the past, but it’s always been more of a locked down version of Windows than anything truly modern.

”What I’ve read is that Microsoft is actually going to modernize their operating system, because they have an operating system that was actually architected for a world of IT that was very client-centric, very sort of heavy device,” says Solomon. Microsoft’s support of older applications, hardware, and even Windows versions is what sets it apart for IT admins right now, but Google is betting on its modern OS taking over.

”There’s a reason there’s not been malware attacks or viruses on Chromebooks, it’s a very tough surface for any bad actor to penetrate,” says Solomon. “I would imagine Microsoft are going to try to modernize their operating system and bring it to where IT is going, but they have the problem of legacy and we don’t.”

If Microsoft does try to create a more Chrome OS-like operating system, Google thinks it will still have the upper hand thanks to its investments in machine learning. “We’ve been working on Chrome OS for 10 years, it’s not just something we came up with last year,” explains Solomon. “We’ve developed areas that we’re innovating in, like machine learning — which is the core competency of Google — and we’re starting to apply it. We have a raft of features that we’re working on for management of the product through machine learning, and actually deep at the OS level. So, how you can optimize the CPU, battery, and display through that.”

Google’s partnership with Dell is a big warning shot to Microsoft and its Windows dominance, but it’ll be up to Google and its partners to really prove it will work. We’ve seen Google exit the tablet hardware business earlier this year, and its efforts to push Chrome OS onto tablets haven’t really worked out. Google now needs to prove it’s willing and able to provide flexible software and services that will convince businesses to make the big Windows switch. Solomon described enterprise as a marathon and not a sprint, but with Microsoft involved it’s going to be more like a really long boxing match between two of the world’s heavyweight tech companies.

Source: The Verge

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Baidu overtakes Google in global smart speaker market

Chinese search giant Baidu is now the world’s second biggest vendor of smart speakers, according to a new report from Canalys. The research firm says Baidu overtook Google to capture 17.3 percent of the global market with 4.5 million shipments in the second quarter of 2019, representing staggering year-on-year growth of 3,700 percent. Amazon remains the overall leader with more than 25 percent share of the market and 6.6 million shipments.

Baidu’s AI speakers run on an AI platform called DuerOS. The company initially targeted the high end of the market with the Teenage Engineering-designed Raven H speaker (above), but that product apparently sold poorly. More recently, Baidu has pushed sales of much less expensive models, with the basic Xiaodu speaker selling for as low as 89 yuan (~$12). Baidu overtook previous domestic leader Alibaba in the first quarter of this year in China, according to Canalys.GOOGLE’S NEST HUB COMES TO INDIA TODAY

It’s worth noting, of course, that Baidu and Google aren’t direct competitors — Baidu sells its products exclusively in its home market, while Google sells its products almost everywhere but China. But Baidu’s explosive growth over the past year demonstrates the size and the dynamics of the Chinese AI ecosystem. Last year CEO Robin Li said in no uncertain terms that Baidu wouldn’t be worried by the prospect of Google re-entering China.

Google has the advantage of being able to address other countries, however, and an example of that is today’s launch of the Nest Hub (previously Google Home Hub) in India, another potentially huge market. The smart display is selling for 9,999 rupees, or about $139. Gadgets360 reports that Google is bundling Xiaomi’s Mi Security Camera with the Nest Hub as a launch promotion.

Source: The Verge

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Disney+ will give subscribers four simultaneous streams and free 4K

Disney’s upcoming Disney+ streaming service is shaping up to be quite the deal. According to CNET, the service will launch on November 12th with support for four simultaneous streams and 4K included, all for the base price of $6.99 a month. Subscribers will also be able to create and manage up to seven profiles on a single account.

That will make it highly competitive with Netflix, which raised its prices earlier this year and has in place stricter limitations on simultaneous streams. Netflix now costs $9 a month for a standard definition plan with only one available stream. If you want HD streaming, you need to pay $13 a month, and that gets you two simultaneous streams. For 4K and four simultaneous streams, it’s $16 a month. (The company also recently bumped prices in the UK.)

Netflix’s price changes have been so dramatic, in fact, that CEO Reed Hastings blamed the hike for its dip in US subscribers last quarter, the first drop in domestic Netflix users since 2011. The setback slowed Netflix’s overall growth and caused its stock to tumble, too.DISNEY IS MAKING ITS UPCOMING STREAMING SERVICE HIGHLY COMPETITIVE WITH NETFLIX

Notably, Disney’s ESPN and Hulu bundle for Disney+ won’t have the same simultaneous streaming benefits. With the bundle, which will cost $12.99, subscribers will only get two simultaneous ESPN+ streams and one basic, ad-supported Hulu stream.

Of course, Netflix has much more robust library than Disney+ right now, but Disney is filling out its upcoming platform with a number of original shows. The streaming limitation and 4K news, which was disclosed during interviews at Disney’s D23 Expo, joins a flurry of new announcements regarding shows and films coming to Disney+ later this year. CNET also reports that Disney will be releasing new episodes of original series on Disney+ weekly, as opposed to all at once like Netflix, a strategy that will likely help it extend the lifespan of its earlier slate of programming while it plays catch up to competitors.

The company is bringing a Ms. Marvel series to its platform, as well as one centered on She Hulk and one on Moon Knight. Disney also today announced a live-action Lady in the Trampadaptationthat will be exclusive to Disney+ and confirmed the much-anticipated Obi-Wan Kenobi original series starring Ewan McGregor.

Prior to D23, Disney has promised a number of other enticing Disney+ benefits, including numerous other Star Wars series like The Mandalorianand a seventh season of The Clone Wars; shows focused on popular Marvel characters Hawkeye, Falcon / the Winter Solider, and Loki; and streaming exclusivity for a number of upcoming high-profile films like Frozen 2and the live-action The Little Mermaid.

Source: The Verge

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Intel introduces eight new 10th Gen Comet Lake processors

Intel has introduced a slate of new processors to add to its 10th Gen lineup. Today’s announcement focuses on its Comet Lake CPUs, resulting in even more Y- and U-series CPUs to decipher.

All eight of these new 10th Gen processors use Intel’s 14nm process, not Ice Lake’s 10nm process. That doesn’t make these bad, per se. Notably, the new Intel Core i7-10710U is its first hexacore U-series processor, and it features 12 threads and a higher max clock speed than some of Intel’s Ice Lake processors.

The new 14nm chips will lack the benefits that the 10nm chips have, though. On the whole, these likely won’t be as efficient nor will they tout the same kind of excellent battery life as machines that feature Ice Lake chips. None of them feature Intel’s Gen11 impressive integrated graphics, which it claims can handle some relatively smooth gaming at 1080p resolution. Comet Lake is instead using a previous version of its integrated graphics, as denoted by the lack of a “G” followed by a number in their model names. Basically, unless you buy a laptop that has dedicated graphics from AMD or Nvidia, these 10th Gen CPUs won’t be capable of a whole lot by themselves, depending on the games you like to play.

If you’re feeling confused due to the 10th Gen’s very strange naming convention, Intel just made it even more confusing. The clues to telling them apart are in their model names; you just have to know what to look for.

My colleague Sean Hollister wrote a piece that will help you break down exactly what makes one 10th Gen Ice Lake chip better than another. As for these Comet Lake CPUs, you can sort out these out by looking for “U” or “Y” in their model names, as shown in the photo above. Intel’s Ice Lake processors are technically U- and Y-series products, as well, but you won’t find it in the name. Instead, Intel differentiates those with by appending “G-number” to the end, indicating that they feature its new Iris Plus graphics.THE U-SERIES SUPPORTS FAST LPDDR4X MEMORY IN LAPTOPS

Ryan Smith of AnandTech also pointed out on Twitter that the new U-series chips will support fast LPDDR4x memory in laptops. So go on, Apple and other manufacturers, please leave DDR3 behind. Intel also deserves a nod for maintaining consistency across these new U- and Y-series chips with the same support for Thunderbolt 3 and Wi-Fi 6 found in other 10th Gen processors. The company’s press release states that some of these processors will appear in machines with the “Project Athena” sticker, which is its guarantee that they have been vetted and verified to last for nine hours.

You’re probably wondering where exactly you’ll find these CPUs. Intel says that they’ll be in machines by the time the holiday season rolls around. And while its more efficient, performant 10nm chips will land in pricier machines, these new processors will likely lead to an influx of slightly cheaper Ultrabooks, 2-in-1 laptops, and other slim form-factor PCs, which could even potentially include future Surface and MacBook products.

Source: The Verge

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Exclusive: Apple Arcade hands-on with early access trial games on Mac [Video]

Today I was able to go hands-on with an early preview of Apple Arcade, which Apple announced back during its March services-oriented event. Apple Arcade is an upcoming $4.99 a month gaming service that will allow gamers to play over 100 new and exclusive titles across platforms like the iPhone and iPad, Apple TV, and Mac.

We were able to gain access to a special internal early access program aimed at Apple employees, which allowed us to go hands-on with Apple Arcade on a MacBook Pro running the latest macOS Catalina beta. As was noted by 9to5Mac’s Gui Rambo, Apple is charging a small subscription fee of $0.49/mo to test Apple Arcade until iOS 13 launches later in the fall.

Subscribe to 9to5Mac on YouTube, and watch our hands-on video walkthrough, as we take Apple Arcade for a brief spin to highlight the six games — Way of the Turtle, Down in Bermuda, Hot Lava, Kings of the Castle, Sneaky Sasquatch, and Frogger in Toy Town — available during the initial early access period.

Apple Arcade can be found within the Arcade tab of the Mac App Store for early access members.

Before downloading any games to my Mac, I needed to click the Try It Free button to subscribe. Doing so provides early access users with one month of free Apple Arcade, with a $0.49 charge a month until iOS 13 lands.

Subscribing worked just like signing up to any other subscription within the Mac App Store. I simply clicked the Try button, entered my Apple ID password, and I was good to do. Once the subscription was confirmed, the ‘Try’ buttons next to each game transitioned into the familiar ‘Get’ buttons, which allowed me to download all six games locally to my Mac.

Apple Arcade hands-on video

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The game sizes will obviously vary depending on the type of game, and the type of assets included within each title. Flagship games like Hot Lava, for instance, came in at 4.7 GB. Each game has its own dedicated page on the Mac App Store, with auto-playing video previews at the top of the page, along with screenshots and compatibility information about the title below.

Apple Arcade Mac App Store

Keep in mind that these games are early access, meaning they’re essentially running early in-development builds of the game, and don’t fully represent what gamers will see once Apple Arcade goes live later in the fall. That said, the program gives us a good idea of what to expect from these six titles once Apple Arcade launches.

Apple Arcade MAS Way of the Turtle

Way of the Turtle

The first game that I tried was Way of the Turtle, a simple platform game that follows the adventures of a newly-married turtle trying to find his lost wife. The game is a mix of walking, jumping, and solving puzzles.

Way of the Turtle Apple Arcade

Way of the Turtle’s control scheme mixes elements of an automatic runner together with a hint of puzzle-oriented gameplay. It’s compatible with controllers, but it doesn’t feel as connected to the controller as traditional platformers due to the runner-style gameplay. That said, the control style means that it will work well enough across different input methods such as keyboards, touch screens, and controllers.

Down in Bermuda

Down in Bermuda is from Yak & Co, developers of the popular Agent A – A Puzzle in Disguiseadventure game. The point-and-click style adventure game stars the adventurous aviator Milton, who leaves his family behind to voyage across the Atlantic on the journey of a lifetime.

Down in Bermuda Apple Arcade

This appears to be a very early build of Down in Bermuda, but like Agent A, it features beautiful graphics with bold lines and colors. Once it’s complete it should translate well to all Apple Arcade platforms.

Sneaky Sasquatch

RAC7, the two-man team behind such titles as Dark Echo and Splitter Critters, are bringing Sneaky Sasquatch to Apple Arcade. The action/adventure escapade puts gamers in control of the titular character in search of food at a local campsite.

Sneaky Sasquatch Apple Arcade

During the action, which involves various amounts of stealth elements to avoid pesky park rangers, gamers can expect all sorts of crazy shenanigans involving various NPCs, humans, and animals alike. You’ll find the Sasquatch driving cars, shopping at stores, playing mini golf, and much more.

Sneaky Sasquatch Apple Arcade

It’s unfair to compare games at these varying stages of development, but Sneaky Sasquatch felt like the most complete game of the six that I tried. It features outstanding visual design, a wide variety of activities and control schemes, and humorous writing and NPC interactions. I’ll go out on a limb and say that Sneaky Sasquatch will be at the top of the list of games to try on Apple Arcade launch on day one.

Hot Lava

Klei Entertainment’s Hot Lava, which is available on Steam in beta, is a first-person action game that plays off the popular kids’ make-believe game where the floor is lava.

Apple Arcade Hot Lava

Hot Lava places gamers in such environments as schools, homes, and more. Players can run, jump, slide, hang on ropes, grab on edges, and employ a variety of other parkour mechanics to avoid the lava. For instance, once you get up to a certain speed you can “surf” along frictionless surfaces as you navigate treacherous terrain.

Apple Arcade Hot Lava

Although Hot Lava can be played with a mouse and keyboard, I think I’d much prefer using my Xbox controller. The game’s settings feature controller support but, in this particular build, it didn’t seem to be activated just yet.

When maxing out the visual settings, Hot Lava’s graphics hiccuped a bit on my base model 2019 MacBook Pro. Some of that could be due to unoptimized code in the early access beta. However, connecting my Blackmagic eGPU Pro made a world of difference in performance. If you plan on gaming on low-level Macs, it might be a good idea to look into an eGPU like the Razer Core X.

Apple Arcade Hot Lava

All of that said, there’s a reason why Apple’s showcased the Hot Lava trailer on stage at its streaming event earlier this spring. It’s ridiculously fun and features many hilarious throwback 80s-era elements. I have a feeling that this will be among the more popular Apple Arcade launch titles.

Kings of the Castle

Canadian-based Frosty Pop, creator of currently available iOS games like Kingpin Bowling, and High Dive, is no stranger to the iPhone and Apple TV as gaming platforms. The company’s first Apple Arcade game, entitled Kings of the Castle, adopts some of the same visual styling found in its previous titles.

Kings of the Castle is a multiplayer first-person action/adventure game but, in what is obviously a very early build of the title, gameplay is limited to single-player action on a single level.

Kings of the Castle game Mac

The game starts out with an eight-minute timer that counts down, while you traverse an island map in search of gemstones, and keys to unlock doors. Occasionally you’ll encounter enemies that require you react to certain on-screen prompts. It reminds me of a modified version of the Quick Time Events from Sega’s classic Shenmue.

Apple Arcade Kings of the Castle

Kings of the Castle is the most colorful game of the six previewed during the early access trial. It features basic platforming elements in 3D space that can be controlled by a hardware controller, but it’s too early to provide any real feedback about the experience.

Frogger in Toy Town

Developed and published by Konami specifically for Apple Arcade, Frogger in Toy Town is a take on the original Frogger game with 3D top-down elements. If you’ve ever played Frogger, which traditionally involves helping a frog cross a street and the various obstacles that come with it, then you’ll largely know what to expect.

Frogger in Toy Town Apple Arcade early access preview

In Frogger in Toy Town, each level is broken up into various sections. The Suburban Home level, for example, features three playable areas including the kitchen, living room, and front yard area. Each section features three separate objectives, such as completing a play-through without getting hit by a car, without drowning, without being burned by the stove, and rescuing froglets.

Like other games in the early access preview, Frogger in Toy Town is still in its early phase, and its gameplay and visual look is thus subject to change.

9to5Mac’s Take

Even in early access, it’s clear to me that Apple Arcade has a lot of potential. Now that we know that the monthly subscription price will be $4.99, I think it’ll be a no-brainer for anyone who enjoys playing games.

Remember, Apple Arcade will include access to 100+ games on demand for one low subscription fee. Even better is the fact that all games will be available across multiple Apple platforms like the Mac, Apple TV, and iOS devices.

Limited Internal Carry Test

Mac App Store Apple Arcade hands-on

What’s still unclear is how Apple will go about fully unifying the experience across individual games and across these platforms. As it stands now, each game feels like its own separate individual entity, with its own settings. It’ll be interesting to see if Apple will maintain the distribution method that they’re currently using in early access, or if it will take further steps to make the experience more cohesive and easy to use for casual gamers.

There’s also the matter of device support since the power of these devices can vary quite a bit. For example, my 2019 MacBook Pro, while adequate for most casual computing tasks, definitely struggled when running games like Hot Lava at high settings. I imagine that such games running on modern iPad or iPhone hardware would perform better on those platforms.

Apple Arcade Sneaky Sasquatch

Sneaky Sasquatch Apple Arcade hands-on

But what most impresses me about Apple Arcade is the quality of games like Hot Lava, and especially Sneaky Sasquatch, which seems to me like it’ll be a hit once it launches.

Even if only 25% of the games on Apple Arcade are as good as these titles, that’s still access to a whole lot of great games for a whole year for less than the price of a single AAA console title.

Do you plan on subscribing to Apple Arcade? What do you think about the early access games? Sound off down below in the comments with your thoughts and opinions.

Source: 9to5mac

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Trump says Tim Cook made ‘good case’ that trade war helps Samsung over Apple

President Donald Trump says Apple CEO Tim Cook “made a very compelling argument” that tariffs on China will hamper Apple’s ability to compete with Samsung. The pair had dinner on Friday night at the president’s golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, and Trump described the conversation to reporters from publications including Bloomberg, CNBC, and Fox News on the way back to Washington.

“I had a very good meeting with Tim Cook,” Trump said. “I have a lot of respect for Tim Cook, and Tim was talking to me about tariffs. And one of the things, and he made a good case, is that Samsung is their number-one competitor, and Samsung is not paying tariffs because they’re based in South Korea.”

“And it’s tough for Apple to pay tariffs if they’re competing with a very good company that’s not. I said, ‘How good a competitor?’ He said they are a very good competitor. So Samsung is not paying tariffs because they’re based in a different location, mostly South Korea but they’re based in South Korea. And I thought he made a very compelling argument, so I’m thinking about it.”

Most of Apple’s products are assembled in China and will be subject to an additional 10 percent import tax later this year. This is due to go into effect on September 1st for products like the Apple Watch and AirPods, though the iPhone, iPad, and MacBook lineup won’t be hit until December 15th after a delay to accommodate the holiday shopping season.

Samsung has a more diversified supply chain, with much of its manufacturing located in South Korea and Vietnam. As such, the company won’t be hit as hard by the Trump administration’s ongoing trade war with China. Apple is said to be looking at moving more of its manufacturing elsewhere.

Trump gave advance word of the dinner with Cook on Twitter Friday evening, saying Apple “will be spending vast sums of money in the US. Great!” though he doesn’t appear to have mentioned any details of further US investment in his comments to reporters.

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Segway-Ninebot introduces an e-scooter that can drive itself to a charging station

Segway-Ninebot has a solution for all of those dockless electric scooters that need to be gathered up every night for charging: build one that can drive itself to the charging station.

The Chinese scooter giant’s new self-driving scooter, the KickScooter T60, was introduced at an event in Beijing on Friday, according to Reuters. The scooter has three wheels (two in front, one in back), and it can supposedly use artificial intelligence and remote cloud capabilities to guide itself without a human rider.

The pain point for scooter operators is to better maintain the scooters at a lower cost,” Gao Lufeng, Ninebot chairman and chief executive, told Reuters.

There was no public demonstration of this capability, and the scooter is reportedly not expected to hit the road until early next year. But Ninebot said that Uber and Lyft, which have expanded into bike- and scooter-sharing, have expressed interest in the new scooter, according to Reuters.“WE HAVEN’T YET MADE ANY COMMITMENTS AROUND THIS PRODUCT.”

But that may not be entirely accurate. “We are always interested in seeing the latest innovations from potential partners like Ninebot, but we haven’t yet made any commitments around this product,” a spokesperson for Lyft said in a statement. A spokesperson for Uber declined to comment.

Formed in 2015 by the combination of Chinese electronics maker Ninebot and US mobility company Segway, the company quietly became a leading provider of electric scooters to rental startups like Bird and Lime. The company sold 1.6 million scooters in 2018, according to Reuters, citing a prospectus filed in April.

The KickScooter T60 is expected to sell for 10,000 yuan ($1,420), which is more than the company’s traditional scooters that sell to customers and scooter companies for $100 to $300 each.

The idea of dockless, electric scooters that can drive themselves to a charging station or a more optimal pickup spot certainly sounds useful on the surface. But it is likely to be cost-prohibitive for most scooter-sharing companies that are scrambling to bring in enough revenue to recoup the costs of their fleet operations. Uber is rumored to be interested in developing self-riding bikes and scooters, but it hasn’t confirmed that publicly.

Source: The Verge

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Is this the Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 Ti Super? New Nvidia graphics card appears

Fresh off the release of its Super RTX graphics cards, Nvidia might not be done giving AMD a run for its money. According to Tom’s Hardware, the Santa Clara company is working on an all-new graphics card that will likely surpass or match its most powerful models.

Nvidia hasn’t revealed any plans to design a Super version of its incredibly powerful Nvidia RTX 2080 Ti, but these new details certainly highlight the possibility.

AIDA64, a system information, diagnostics and benchmarking solution for Windows, recently added data in its changelog regarding a previously unannounced “Nvidia GeForce RTX T10-8” graphics card, teasing a graphics processor (GPU) that could be joining Nvidia’s highly popular gaming line.

It’s all about the die

Unfortunately, not a lot of information is available about this Nvidia GeForce RTX T10-8 card at this time. What we do know is that it’s based on Nvidia’s TU102 die, the very same found in the RTX 2080 Ti and GeForce Titan RTX, and that its current moniker highly suggests that it might be intended for the gaming market.

This new card could possibly be a ‘Black’ version of the GeForce Titan RTX, and boast a faster factory clock speed or more memory (as that card already uses a maxed-out TU102 die). 

However, it’s also likely that the GeForce RTX T10-8 will be something akin to a GeForce RTX 2080 Ti Super, which will put in it between these two cards as far as price and performance.

If this is indeed the Super version of the RTX 2080 Ti, we’re expecting more CUDA cores and faster memory at the very least, just like what Nvidia pulled with the RTX 2080 Super. To make it worth the upgrade for many users, however, we’d like to see a considerable performance boost. 

Ultimately, we don’t want to see another Nvidia RTX 2080 Super, which has been a bit of a letdown, as the performance increase it offers just isn’t enough to blow our minds. 

Will this Nvidia GeForce RTX T10-8 GPU end up being the most powerful RTX card yet, or will it live somewhere in between? Only the inevitable spec sheet and price will tell. 

Source: The Verge

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UPS has been quietly delivering cargo using self-driving trucks

UPS has had autonomous trucking startup TuSimple hauling cargo for it between Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona, since May as part of a newly publicized partnership between the two companies. The delivery giant made the announcement today alongside the news that its venture arm is taking a minority stake in TuSimple. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

TuSimple had previously run a partnership with the United States Postal Service in May, where the startup’s trucks carried mail on the 1,000-mile stretch between the USPS’s Phoenix, Arizona, and Dallas, Texas, distribution centers. That pilot has since ended, though the two sides are discussing “next steps,” according to a TuSimple spokesperson.TUSIMPLE IS BACKED BY NVIDIA AND CHINESE TECH COMPANY SINA

Founded in 2015, TuSimple uses Navistar trucks outfitted with the startup’s own self-driving tech, which sees the world largely through nine cameras. While each truck is outfitted with a pair of LIDAR sensors as well, the startup is focused on developing a vision-based autonomous system — similar to what Tesla uses in its cars. The startup is already backed by Nvidia and Chinese technology company Sina, and it has a headquarters in San Diego, California, and another in Beijing.

TuSimple says it has been helping UPS “better understand the requirements for Level 4 Autonomous trucking in its network” — a reference to the Society of Automotive Engineers’ scale for self-driving vehicles, where Level 4 refers to full autonomy that’s locked to a designated geographic location. The trucks in use still have a safety driver and an engineer on board who monitor the system, like many of the other self-driving pilot programs currently running in the United States.

There are a number of startups and established companies working on autonomous trucking, from Kodiak and Einride to Waymo and even Daimler. (Uber shuttered its program last summer after one of its self-driving SUV test vehicles killed a pedestrian.) TuSimple is one of the few hauling actual commercial cargo, albeit in a limited capacity on just a few routes.

The partnership with (and stake in) TuSimple is just the latest sign of UPS’s ambition to future-proof its business, especially as Amazon builds out its own delivery infrastructure. UPS is working on a drone delivery service, and it has electric trucks in the works, all while matching key Amazon features. Rival FedEx recently announced that it didn’t renew its contract with Amazon, though UPS is still working with the tech conglomerate for now.

Source: The Verge