Here are some ICT trends for year 2019 picked from various sources (linked to sources) and edited by me:
General: From AI to Moore’s Law, the entire industry is deep in the throes of massive changes. The future will be characterized by smart devices delivering increasingly insightful digital services everywhere. While CPUs continue to evolve, performance is no longer limited to a single processor type or process geometry.
Business: There seems to be a clear evidence from this research that businesses are adopting and looking to capitalise on the benefits of Big Data, the Internet Of Things and Sensor technology for their mobile workforces.
Open source: 2019 Will Be the Year of Open Source in software and even in hardware. We saw more activity in open source than ever before in 2018. And the momentum isn’t likely to slow down in 2019.
Web is mobile: According to the statistics of FICORA, Ofcom, the PC has lost its place as the first device and platform for web browsing. Almost half of the web browses the web with a smart phone, which places a requirement on all online services from shops to news sites.
Multiple devices: As the number of different IT devices continues to grow, there are more and more devices in use at the same time.
Situations and tasks that utilize and use multiple devices together have become commonplace. We need to think how how user interfaces could better support multi-device sharing.
Artificial intelligence: It seems that AI Market Ramps Everywhere. The AI term creates hope for some, fear for others, and confusion for all. Artificial intelligence (AI) is what the Internet of Things was two years ago – overhyped and not very well understood. The obvious shift is the infusion of AI (and its subcategories, machine learning and deep learning) into different markets. It seems that you don’t need to be artificial intelligence wizard anymore to use some AI – at best, implementation can be picked up by GitHub without really understanding anything. AI Still Has Trust Issues for many. There are also views that now hot artificial intelligence is the bubble that broke out last in the 1990s because at present, artificial intelligence and man form a bad cyborg. You need to separate AI Hype From Reality because it seems to be a miraculous thing where almost nobody knows what it is.
AI chips: While GPUs are well-positioned in machine learning, data type flexibility and power efficiency are making FPGAs increasingly attractive. Today, selling custom chips for artificial intelligence is still a small business. Intel, the largest manufacturer of computer processors, has appraised the current market at $2.5 billion, one half of one percent of the estimated value of the 2018 global semiconductor market. At a press event at the 2019 Consumer Electronics Show, Intel announced the Nervana Neural Network Processor (NNP-I), an AI chip for inference-based workloads that fits into a GPU-like form factor. Google and NXP advance artificial intelligence with the Edge TPU.
AI-driven development: AI-driven development looks at tools, technologies and best practices for embedding AI into applications and using AI to create AI-powered tools for the development process.
Huge data: It seems that It’s All About The Data. Data creation, management and processing always have been a winning business formula. It takes lots of data to train AI systems and IoT systems generate a lot of data.Data scientists now have increasing amounts of data to prepare, analyze and group — and from which to draw conclusions. The entire tech industry has changed in several fundamental ways over the past year due to the massive growth in data. Many data science tasks will be automated. Hardware and software are no longer the starting points for technology design. It’s now about data processing, flow and throughput.
Digital twins: A digital twin is a digital representation that mirrors a real-life object, process or system. Digital twins can also be linked to create twins of larger systems, such as a power plant or city. The idea of a digital twin is not new but is has become hot when AI and IoT were added to the mix.
Power consumption: Globally, ICT today consumes 8% of all electricity and doubles every year. I think we needs new semiconductor technologies and maybe also more optimized software that does more but consumes less power.
Memories: DRAM market growth stops in 2019. GDDR6 and HBM2 impacts system design. There is disparity between the different types of DRAM, from GDDR to HBM.
Faster storage: Apacer has CFexpress card, which supports PCIe and the new NVMe 1.3 protocol, transfers data at a rate of two gigabytes per second.
Heterogeneous architectures: Need for increased computing power requires new multi-processor architectures (hybrid processors). Heterogeneous design is changing the starting point for chip design so that integration is now more the real challenge rather than the processor core. Many ARM processors already use hybrid architecture. Intel has unveiled a new Foveros architecture that addresses the challenge of Arm processors.
Immersive technologies: Users can interact with the world with immersive technologies such as augmented reality (AR), mixed reality (MR) and virtual reality (VR). AR brings new possibilities. A smart space is a physical or digital environment in which humans and technology-enabled systems interact in increasingly open, connected, coordinated and intelligent ecosystems.
Open hardware: Can RISC-V – Linux of Microprocessors – Start an Open Hardware Renaissance? RISC-V is an open source processor command set that can be used with the same principles as Linux code. RISCV is now being firmly linked to Linux as the Linux Foundation and the RISC-V Foundation have agreed to work together to promote open code development and RISC-V deployment. For the first time, Arm architecture will be a serious challenger in millions, even billions of embedded devices. Companies like Hi-Five, NVIDIA and WDplan to release product with RISC-V in them. This year RISC-V does not compete with traditional CPUs on PCs. Also MIPS hardware architecture is opening up.
Containers: Is Kubernetes the new application server? If you thought there was a lot of chatter about Kubernetes in 2018, you ain’t seen nothing yet.
Software robotics: Software robotics becomes widely available. Robot Framework will be important on this.
Intel processors: Intel Announces Faster Processors Patched for Meltdown and Spectre, New Intel Architectures and Technologies Target Expanded Market Opportunities. Intel Demonstrates 10nm-based PCs, Data Center and Networking Systems, Next-Gen ‘Sunny Cove’ Architecture with AI and Crypto Acceleration, and 3D Logic Chip Packaging Technology. 5 Observations From Intel’s Event article says that mysterious locations, codenames and process delays are on the top of the list. Intel’s Foveros Lakefield technology for making smaller chips.
AMD processors: Ryzen mobile processors would begin showing up in ultrathin and gaming laptops by the end of the first quarter. AMD starts to use 7nm technology: Radeon VII GPU will be available and it is promised to be 27% to 62% faster, third-generation Ryzen desktop processor and second-generation EPYC server processor will be available starting later this year. AMD is challenging Intel in Chromebooks with A-Series CPUs and launching Ryzen Mobile 3000-Series chips with 2nd-generation Ryzen Mobile parts.
ARM processors: Taking aim at Intel, Qualcomm launches chip for business PCs. The Snapdragon 8cx series is Qualcomm’s first chip specifically designed for computers. Qualcomm’s pitch is that laptops using its chips will go days without needing to be plugged in, and will always be connected to the internet via cellular networks. The Snapdragon 8cx is also the world’s first 7-nanometer PC processor platform and promises superior performance for laptop. Intel’s position on laptops is very strong and Qualcomm has a big hill to get up if it really wants to challenge Intel’s PC side. Huawei Rolls 7nm ARM Server CPU Kunpeng 920 that is said to outperform ThunderX2, Ampere by 25%. Rumors are circulating that Apple will obsolete x86-based computers in favor of its own SoC-powered successors.
NVIDIA: RTX 2060 GPU was introduced. GeForce RTX™ graphics cards are powered by the Turing GPU architecture and the all-new RTX platform. This promises to give you up to 6X the performance of previous-generation graphics cards and brings the power of real-time ray tracing and AI to your favorite games. GeForce RTX 20 Series GPUs to gaming laptops.
Microsoft hardware: Microsoft reportedly working on Xbox and Windows webcams for 2019.
Windows security: Microsoft officially announces ‘Windows Sandbox’ for running applications in isolation.Microsoft’s coming ‘Windows Sandbox’ feature is a lightweight virtual machine that allow users to run potentially suspicious software in isolation. It could debut in Windows 10 19H1,
Storage: NVMe Hits a Tipping Point. A show dedicated to NVM Express (NVMe) next month solidifies an industry-wide sentiment that the host controller interface and storage protocol hit a tipping point in the last year. It is expected that we’re going to see the majority of new products coming out with NVMe. There are already relatively young NVM Express Over Fabrics (NVMe-oF) specification and even some hard disk enclosures using NVMe.
Fibre channel: Broadcom Nudges Fibre Channel to 64G using 64G optical modules (just starting to sample) and PCIe Gen 4 connections that are not yet generally available on x86 servers.
Faster PCIe:PCIe 4.0 is ready. The PCISIG organization has completed the new 4.0 version of the PCIe bus, and now the technology is expected to be deployed on the devices. It is possible to to get the full PCIe 4.0 speed with both copper and fiber. It seems that this year PCIe 4.0 comes to wider us for x86 servers.
FPGA: FPGA Graduates To First-Tier Status because FPGAs are better for certain types of computation than CPUs or GPUs.While GPUs are well-positioned in machine learning, data type flexibility and power efficiency are making FPGAs increasingly attractive.
Enterprise software:Legacy enterprise applications and software systems have a reputation for being clunky, expensive, and almost impossible to keep up to date. Rethink your enterprise software systems and consider whether cloud-based options like SaaS may better serve your needs. Office 365 is massively successful. AWS services are running the backend of thousands of major companies now. As internet connections and speeds increase, the cloud becomes more and more viable as it is more cost effective to centralize computer hardware reducing costs for companies and employee overhead.
Windows 10: Microsoft is building a Chromium-powered web browser that will replace Edge on Windows 10. Microsoft could be preparing to ditch the EdgeHTML layout engine of its unloved Edge browser in Windows 10 in favour of Chromium. Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) is improved. Microsoft new Windows 10 reserves ~7GB of disk space for updates, apps, and more to ensure critical OS functions always have space.
Light Windows: Microsoft is working on Windows Lite, a super lightweight, instant on, always connected OS that runs only PWAs and UWP apps, to challenge Chrome OS. Microsoft’s ‘Centaurus’ device is yet another potential piece of its Chromebook-compete strategy.
Coding for Windows: Microsoft has released a public preview of Visual Studio 2019 for Windows and Mac. Microsoft open sources its most popular Windows UX frameworks and says the first preview of .NET Core 3.0 is now available — Microsoft is open sourcing WPF, Windows Forms and Win UI via GitHub.
Quantum computing: Quantum computing is a type of nonclassical computing that is based on the quantum state of subatomic particles that represent information as elements denoted as quantum bits or “qubits.” Quantum computers are an exponentially scalable and highly parallel computing model. They can work well on some specific tasks suitable for them, but are not suitable for most generic computing tasks we are used to.
Blockchain: Blockchain is a type of distributed ledger, an expanding chronologically ordered list of cryptographically signed, irrevocable transactional records shared by all participants in a network. It can work with untrusted parties without the need for a centralized party (i.e., a bank). Businesses should begin evaluating the technology to see if it fits their business or not. You need to separate Blockchain hype from Reality because it seems to be a potentially miraculous thing where almost nobody knows exactly what it is to what it is good for. Check this related Dilbert comic.
Related predictions and trends articles:
Gartner Top 10 Strategic Technology Trends for 2019
Virtual reality implementation: observations and predictions
5 IT job trends to watch in 2019 – because success starts with talent
Digital transformation reality check: 10 trends
These are the 15 best US tech companies to work for in 2019, according to Glassdoor
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Tomi Engdahl says:
Google Finds It’s Underpaying Many Men as It Addresses Wage Equity
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/04/technology/google-gender-pay-gap.html
When Google conducted a study recently to determine whether the company was underpaying women and members of minority groups, it found, to the surprise of just about everyone, that men were paid less money than women for doing similar work.
Google has denied paying women less, and the company agreed that compensation among similar job titles was not by itself a complete measure of equity. A more difficult issue to solve — one that critics say Google often mismanages for women — is a human resources concept called leveling. Are employees assigned to the appropriate pay grade for their qualifications?
The company said it was now trying to address the issue.
“Because leveling, performance ratings and promotion impact pay, this year we are undertaking a comprehensive review of these processes to make sure the outcomes are fair and equitable for all employees,”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Chrome and Firefox Can Take Screenshots of Sites From the Command Line
https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/software/chrome-and-firefox-can-take-screenshots-of-sites-from-the-command-line/
Both Chrome and Firefox have the ability to take screenshots of web sites directly from the command line. This allows you to create scripts or scheduled tasks that automatically take screenshots of web sites at various intervals.
When using this feature, the browsers will be started in a headless mode, which means the browser will not become visible to the user and will close after performing the desired request. Headless mode makes it ideal when using this feature during scripted tasks as the browser windows will not appear and interrupt other tasks you are working on.
Using Chrome, you can take a screenshot of the first screen of visible content of a web page using the following command:
“[path_to_chrome]” –headless –screenshot=”[path_to]\image.png” “[url]”
To take a screenshot from the command line in Firefox, you would use the following command:
“[path_to_firefox” –screenshot [url]
Tomi Engdahl says:
Linus Torvalds pulls pin, tosses in grenade: x86 won, forget about Arm in server CPUs, says Linux kernel supremo
Processor designer says he’s right about one thing: The need for end-to-end dev platforms
https://www.theregister.co.uk/2019/02/23/linus_torvalds_arm_x86_servers/
Linux kernel king Linus Torvalds this week dismissed cross-platform efforts to support his contention that Arm-compatible processors will never dominate the server market.
Responding to interest in Arm’s announcement of its data center-oriented Neoverse N1 and E1 CPU cores on Wednesday, and a jibe about his affinity for native x86 development, Torvalds almost abandoned his commitment to civil discourse while doing his best to dampen enthusiasm for a world of heterogeneous hardware harmony.
“Some people think that ‘the cloud’ means that the instruction set doesn’t matter,” Torvalds said in a forum post. “Develop at home, deploy in the cloud. That’s bullshit. If you develop on x86, then you’re going to want to deploy on x86, because you’ll be able to run what you test ‘at home’ (and by ‘at home’ I don’t mean literally in your home, but in your work environment).”
Tomi Engdahl says:
http://www.etn.fi/index.php/13-news/9173-usb-4-on-taalla
Tomi Engdahl says:
With HoloLens 2 Microsoft Focuses on Mixed Reality’s Time to Value
https://www.designnews.com/design-hardware-software/hololens-2-microsoft-focuses-on-mixed-realitys-time-value/164385451960335?ADTRK=UBM&elq_mid=7696&elq_cid=876648
With the HoloLens 2 Microsoft is focusing on turning its mixed reality headset into a platform to create immediate value for design engineers and enterprises.
The new HoloLens 2 runs on the second-generation of Microsoft’s proprietary holographic processing unit (HPU), a processor optimized for running mixed reality apps and displaying holographic images. The HPU sits on a Qualcomm Snapdragon 850 platform, which combines a Qualcomm CPU and GPU. Qualcomm has particularly touted the Snapdragon 850 for its low power consumption and power management capabilities – an important factor when running the sort of graphically-intense mixed reality applications that Hololens handles.
The Story of Sega VR: Sega’s Failed Virtual Reality Headset
https://www.designnews.com/electronics-test/story-sega-vr-segas-failed-virtual-reality-headset/74451237860349?ADTRK=UBM&elq_mid=7696&elq_cid=876648
In 1991 video game giant Sega tasked its engineers with creating what would have been the first consumer VR headset. But the Sega VR was never released. Here’s why.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Tom McNamara / CNET:
Microsoft’s policy to give app developers up to a 95% cut of Store revenues, announced in April 2018, is now in effect; games will keep previous 70/30 split
Microsoft Store slashes revenue cut to just 5 percent; app developers get the rest
Developers will keep the remaining 95 percent, unless affiliate links are involved.
https://download.cnet.com/news/microsoft-store-slashes-revenue-cut-to-just-5-percent-app-developers-get-the-rest/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Kyle Wiggers / VentureBeat:
Microsoft rolls out new Skype for Web with HD video calling, built-in call recording, and redesigned notifications — Hate installing Skype? Good news: Microsoft’s revamping the messaging app’s browser-based client with a slew of new features. The Seattle company today announced the rollout …
Microsoft rolls out new Skype for Web with HD video calling, redesigned notifications, and more
https://venturebeat.com/2019/03/07/microsoft-rolls-out-new-skype-for-web-with-hd-video-calling-redesigned-notifications-and-more/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Cloud Computing Storms Ahead
https://www.eetimes.com/author.asp?section_id=36&doc_id=1334409
It feels like the winds are shifting in cloud computing. Better bring your umbrella.
When both Intel and Nvidia said in their latest quarterly announcements that data-center spending slowed, a chill went down my spine. With smartphones slowing and the internet of things rising slower than once hoped, the cloud has been one of the largest and most steady drivers in tech.
To some extent, the slowdown is the law of large numbers.
Prepare, but don’t panic.
Long term, AT&T and startups have been talking for some time about a new tier of the internet, sometimes called carrier edge networks. It’s mainly PowerPoint today, but I get that there’s a need to ensure good user experiences in part by providing local content-peering sites. Today, it’s anyone’s guess how and when these mini- and micro-data centers will be built.
Meanwhile, AI shines a stronger ray of hope. The data center is hungry for performance on deep learning. For example, Google’s TPUv3 uses liquid cooling, upping the ante on the first gen that packed a very large chip on a 2.5-D substrate with very large memory.
Every data-center vendor today is sprinkling their roadmaps with liquid-cooled systems, exotic chip packaging, and other ways to pull out all the stops on performance as CMOS scaling slows. These techniques carry fat price tags.
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/software/notepad-no-longer-code-signed-dev-wont-support-overpriced-cert-industry/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Wireshark 3 Released with New Npcap Windows Packet Capturing Driver
https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/software/wireshark-3-released-with-new-npcap-windows-packet-capturing-driver/
Tomi Engdahl says:
What’s happening in the OpenStack community?
In many ways, 2018 was a transformative year for the OpenStack Foundation.
https://opensource.com/article/19/3/whats-happening-openstack?sc_cid=7016000000127ECAAY
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.tietokeskus.fi/miksi-windows-autopilotista-kannattaa-kiinnostua-nelja-parasta-ominaisuutta/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=paidsocial&utm_content=autopilot
Tomi Engdahl says:
What is Scrum? A good, bad, and ugly answer.
https://community.atlassian.com/t5/Agile-discussions/What-is-Scrum-A-good-bad-and-ugly-answer/m-p/981507#M62%2F%3Futm_campaign=corporate_online-community_FY19Q2&utm_content=online-community-growth&utm_medium=paid-social&utm_source=facebook
Tomi Engdahl says:
Here are the most in-demand programming jobs and languages, according to Hired
https://techcrunch.com/2019/02/28/here-are-the-most-in-demand-programming-jobs-and-languages-according-to-hired/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Faces of Open Source: The Humans Behind the Movement
https://spectrum.ieee.org/geek-life/profiles/faces-of-open-source-the-humans-behind-the-movement
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://jfrog.com/whitepaper/devops-8-reasons-for-devops-to-use-a-binary-repository-manager/?utm_source=klogic_facebook&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=MediaBuy_Klogic_FB_SaaS_ARR_Content_14.10&utm_content=Kubernetes_All&utm_term=8-Reasons-for-DevOps-to-use-a-Binary-Repository_2
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://archive.org/details/softwarelibrary_msdos_games
Tomi Engdahl says:
CERN 2019 WorldWideWeb Rebuild
https://worldwideweb.cern.ch
http://theoldnet.com
Tomi Engdahl says:
Scaling PostgreSQL with Kubernetes Operators
https://opensource.com/article/19/2/scaling-postgresql-kubernetes-operators?sc_cid=7016000000127ECAAY
Operators let users create standardized interfaces for managing stateful applications, like PostgreSQL, across Kubernetes-enabled cloud environments.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Here are the most in-demand programming jobs and languages, according to Hired
https://techcrunch.com/2019/02/28/here-are-the-most-in-demand-programming-jobs-and-languages-according-to-hired/
AdChoices
Here are the most in-demand programming jobs and languages, according to Hired
Jonathan Shieber
@jshieber / 1 week ago
Software developer programming code on computer
Looking for a high-paying, in-demand job as a programmer? Learning to code for blockchain applications is the way to go, according to a survey from the job placement organization, Hired.
In a survey of 98,000 developers on the company’s platform, Hired assessed the kinds of jobs that are most in-demand; the languages that companies are most interested in hiring for; and the top average salaries for careers in several major technology markets, including London, New York, Paris and San Francisco.
The results — as they say — may surprise you.
Actually, they probably won’t. Across the industry, demand for blockchain engineers and security engineers has increased the most, according to Hired’s data. Companies requesting programmers with blockchain experience shot up a whopping 517 percent in 2018 from 2017, while company searches for security engineers were up 132 percent over the year-ago period, according to the company’s data.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Intel Labs Director Talks Quantum, Probabilistic, and Neuromorphic Computing
https://spectrum.ieee.org/tech-talk/computing/hardware/intel-labs-director-talks-quantum-probabilistic-and-neuromorphic-computing
Tomi Engdahl says:
“Hevonpaskaa” – Linus Torvalds tylyttää palvelinten Arm-suorittimia
https://www.tivi.fi/Kaikki_uutiset/hevonpaskaa-linus-torvalds-tylyttaa-palvelinten-arm-suorittimia-6759425?utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=Social&utm_campaign=TV_NA_03&utm_content=Ad+-+Post%3A+%2FTivi%2Fposts%2F10156086567162267
Linus Torvalds pulls pin, tosses in grenade: x86 won, forget about Arm in server CPUs, says Linux kernel supremo
https://www.theregister.co.uk/2019/02/23/linus_torvalds_arm_x86_servers/
Processor designer says he’s right about one thing: The need for end-to-end dev platforms
Tomi Engdahl says:
Apteekkien digitalisaatio ei ole tekniikkaa vaan palvelua
https://www.dna.fi/yrityksille/blogi/-/blogs/apteekkien-digitalisaatio-ei-ole-tekniikkaa-vaan-palvelua?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=artikkeli&utm_term=IoT&utm_campaign=natiivi&utm_content=apteekkien_digitalisaatio_ei_ole_tekniikkaa_vaan_palvelua
Tomi Engdahl says:
QuickLook for Windows 10 brings a useful Mac feature to PCs
A free utility in the Microsoft Store
https://www.theverge.com/2018/6/22/17492546/quicklook-windows-10-app-mac-pc
Tomi Engdahl says:
What happens when you move SIAM up a gear?
https://blog.oneio.cloud/resources/happens-move-siam-gear?utm_campaign=ONEiO-ReTa&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=display&utm_content=SIAM+up+a+gear&hsa_ad=6111920334986&hsa_grp=6111918797386&hsa_net=facebook&hsa_ver=3&hsa_cam=6111918789186&hsa_src=%5BSITE_SOURCE_NAME%5D&hsa_acc=46212948
Tomi Engdahl says:
MariaDB-pomolta täyslaidallinen: it-jätit ryöstökalastavat avointa koodia ja Amazon sabotoi kilpailijaansa
https://www.tivi.fi/Kaikki_uutiset/mariadb-pomolta-tayslaidallinen-it-jatit-ryostokalastavat-avointa-koodia-ja-amazon-sabotoi-kilpailijaansa-6760056?utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=Social&utm_campaign=TV_NA_03&utm_content=Ad+-+Post%3A+%2FTivi%2Fposts%2F10156093137462267
Tomi Engdahl says:
From VMWare to Canonical OpenStack
https://www.ubuntu.com/engage/vmware-to-openstack?utm_source=facebook_ad&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=FY18_Cloud_OpenStack_WBN_VMWareToOpenStack
Tomi Engdahl says:
How to pack an IT travel kit
https://opensource.com/article/19/3/it-toolkit-remote?sc_cid=7016000000127ECAAY
Before you travel, make sure you’re ready for challenges in hardware, infrastructure, and software.
Tomi Engdahl says:
What Programming Languages Engineers and Employers Love—and Hate
https://spectrum.ieee.org/view-from-the-valley/at-work/tech-careers/what-programming-languages-engineers-and-employers-loveand-hate
Tomi Engdahl says:
Which Software Engineers Get Paid the Most?
https://spectrum.ieee.org/view-from-the-valley/at-work/tech-careers/which-software-engineers-get-paid-the-most
Tomi Engdahl says:
Best programming languages for Hacking 2019
https://haxnology.com/best-programming-languages-for-hacking-2019/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Small Scale Scrum vs. Large Scale Scrum
https://opensource.com/article/19/3/small-scale-scrum-vs-large-scale-scrum?sc_cid=7016000000127ECAAY
We surveyed individual members of small and large scrum teams. Here are some key findings.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Windows 10 latest preview: Sandbox gets new features, but VMware’s still broken
Microsoft improves its Windows Sandbox feature for running risky apps in a safe container.
https://www.zdnet.com/article/windows-10-latest-preview-sandbox-gets-new-features-but-vmwares-still-broken/
Microsoft has served up some important improvements to Windows Sandbox, the space in the next version of Windows 10 for safely running untrusted executable files.
Windows Sandbox is set to debut in Windows 19H1, aka version 1903, which Microsoft is finalizing over the next few weeks for release this spring.
Microsoft introduced Windows Sandbox in the 19H1 preview build 18305 this past December, offering users an ephemeral, containerized desktop environment to run untrusted apps.
Windows Sandbox is available on Windows 10 Pro and Enterprise, and can be enabled from the Windows Features dialog in Control Panel.
Tomi Engdahl says:
CSS to get support for trigonometry functions
https://www.zdnet.com/article/css-to-get-support-for-trigonometry-functions/
CSS trigonometry functions approved but not expected to hit browsers any time soon.
The new trigonometry functions were approved at the end of February in a meeting of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) CSS Working Group.
The new functions approved and set to join the CSS standard are:
Sine – sin()
Cosine – cos()
Tangent – tan()
Arccosine – acos()
Arcsine – asin()
Arctangent – atan()
Arctangent (of two numbers x and y) – atan2()
Square root – sqrt()
Square root of the sum of squares of its arguments – hypot()
Power of – pow()
Tomi Engdahl says:
NVIDIA to buy supercomputer chipmaker Mellanox for $6.9B, beating out Intel and Microsoft
https://techcrunch.com/2019/03/11/nvidia-to-buy-supercomputer-chipmaker-mellanox-for-6-9b-beating-intel-in-a-bidding-war/
After several days of speculation, today NVIDIA confirmed that it would acquire chipmaker Mellanox for $6.9 billion, paying $125 per share in cash, in an ongoing consolidation of chipmakers — and in this case those making chips for supercomputers, a crucial market segment in this age of cloud services.
The deal is expected to close at the end of 2019.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Dean Takahashi / VentureBeat:
Intel and a consortium including Google and Microsoft debut CXL, a new open standard for faster interconnect between datacenter CPUs and accelerator chips
Intel and tech companies create CXL standard to link datacenter CPUs to accelerators
https://venturebeat.com/2019/03/11/intel-and-tech-companies-create-cxl-standard-to-link-datacenter-cpus-to-accelerators/
A consortium of technology companies has formed to create a new standard, called Compute Express Link, to provide an extra-fast interconnect between datacenter central processing units (CPUs) and accelerator chips.
The consortium includes Intel, Microsoft, Alibaba, Cisco, Dell EMC, Facebook, Google, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, and Huawei. The aim is to deliver breakthrough datacenter performance that can help computers keep up with the explosion of data in the age of the internet of things (IoT).
The new Compute Express Link (CXL) will accelerate rapidly growing data workloads, such as artificial intelligence and machine learning, rich media services, high-performance computing, and cloud applications.
The group has ratified the CXL Specification 1.0
“Google supports the open Compute Express Link collaboration,”
The accelerators include graphics processing units (GPUs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) and other purpose-built accelerator solutions. The technology is built upon the well-established PCIExpress (PCIe) infrastructure, leveraging the PCIe 5.0 physical and electrical interface to provide advanced protocol in three key areas: input/output protocol, memory protocol, and coherency interface.
“Microsoft is joining the CXL consortium to drive the development of new industry bus standards to enable future generations of cloud servers,”
“Facebook is excited to join CXL”
“The CXL is a direct competitor to CCIX and IBM’s OpenCAPI and Nvidea’s NVLink,”
“CXL was going to be … proprietary, but instead, at the request of Intel’s customers, the company has opened it as a consortium.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
http://www.etn.fi/index.php/13-news/9202-tablettiennuste-ei-ota-huomioon-taipuvia-kannykoita
Tomi Engdahl says:
Intel, RISC-V Rally Rival Groups
CXL, CHIPS Alliance extend competing processor ecosystems
https://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1334416
Intel and RISC-V backers announced rival alliances to nurture competing ecosystems around tomorrow’s processors.
Intel initiated Compute Express Link (CXL), an open chip-to-chip interconnect that it expects to use on its processors starting in 2021 to link to accelerators and memories. Other members include Alibaba, Cisco, Dell EMC, Facebook, Google, HPE, Huawei, and Microsoft.
Separately, a handful of RISC-V proponents launched the CHIPS Alliance, a project of the Linux Foundation to develop a broad set of open-source IP blocks and tools for the instruction set architecture. Initial members include Esperanto, Google, SiFive, and Western Digital. CHIPS stands for Common Hardware for Interfaces, Processors, and Systems.
The CHIPS Alliance is, by far, the most ambitious of the two efforts and is just one of several open-hardware initiatives in the works at the Linux Foundation.
Tomi Engdahl says:
PC, Tablet Shipments Forecast to Continue Falling
https://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1334422
Combined shipments of PCs and tablets are projected to continue falling through 2023, perpetuating a steady decline amid a changing personal computing landscape, according to market research firm IDC.
IDC (Framingham, Mass.) predicts that combined shipments of traditional PCs and tablet will decline to 391.1 million units in 2019, down 3.3% compared to 2018. Combined shipments of the devices also declined in 2018, despite growth in the commercial PC market, according to the firm.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Nvida Outbids Intel for Mellanox
https://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1334417
Nvidia has agreed to acquire networking IC vendor Mellanox Technologies for $6.9 billion to bolster its data center computing business, the company said Monday.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Intel CPU shortages to worsen in 2Q19, says Digitimes Research
https://www.digitimes.com/news/a20190308VL202.html
Shortages of Intel’s CPUs are expected to worsen in the second quarter compared to the first as demand for Chromebooks, which are mostly equipped with Intel’s entry-level processors, enters the high period, according to Digitimes Research.
Digitimes Research expects Intel CPUs’ supply gap to shrink to 2-3% in the first quarter with Core i3 taking over Core i5 as the series hit hardest by shortages.
The shortages started in August 2018 with major brands including Hewlett-Packard (HP), Dell and Lenovo all experiencing supply gaps of over 5% at their worst moment.
Tomi Engdahl says:
On the eve of Patch Tuesday, Microsoft confirms Windows 10 can automatically remove borked updates
Install. Uninstall. Boot. Repeat
https://www.theregister.co.uk/2019/03/12/windows_10_auto_uninstall/
Microsoft has quietly updated a support document to let us know that Windows 10 will have a crack at uninstalling borked updates – just in time for patch Tuesday.
Windows 10 endures enjoys a near constant stream of updates and patches to, as Microsoft put it, “keep your device secure and running at peak efficiency”. This is all well and good, but as a significant section of customers would agree, things sometimes go wrong and a hasty uninstall is required.
Microsoft has therefore tweaked Windows 10 to spot a recovery from a failed startup (after all, a reboot after a patch seems de rigueur, even in 2019) and bring a hobnailed boot down on the offending update.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Ensimmäinen Arm-tehoprosessori valmis datakeskuksiin
http://www.etn.fi/index.php/13-news/9209-ensimmainen-arm-tehoprosessori-valmis-datakeskuksiin
Neoverse-arkkitehtuurin myötä Arm tekee hyppäyksen uuteen suuntaan. Tähän asti verkkolaitteiden ja palvelimia kehittävät ovat lisensoineet Arm-arkkitehtuurin tehokkaimpia prosessoreja ja kehittäneet omat sovelluskohtaiset suorittimensa itse. Neoverse on valmis alusta laajoinen IP-kirjastoineen, jonka avulla myös sellaiset yritykset, joilla ei ole CPU-suunnittelija-armeijaa, voivat kehittää oman tuotteensa.
Neoverse-hankkeessa ovat mukana EDA-taloa Cadence, joka tuo kuvioon mukaan työkalujen lisäksi laajan IP-kirjaston ja Xilinx, jonka ohjelmoitavilla FPGA-piireillä tuleville palvelinkorteille saadaan datakeskuksissa tarvittavia kiihdyttimiä. Xilinx on samalla ainoa mahdollinen kumppani, kun Intel toteuttaa saman ostamansa Alteran FPGA-piireillä.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Finally, An Open Source Calculator
https://hackaday.com/2019/03/12/finally-an-open-source-calculator/
Microsoft has released the code for the Calculator app. This move is the latest in Microsoft’s efforts to capitalize on the Open Source community. Previous efforts have been the Open Sourcing of an extremely old version of DOS, and shoehorning Linux into Windows somehow in a way that’s marginally more user-friendly than spinning up a VM or popping over to your Linux partition. Oh yeah, Microsoft bought Github. Can’t forget that.
The release of the code for the Calculator app means now you too can truly verify all your calculations are correct. To build the Calculator app, you’ll need a Windows 10 computer and Visual Studio.
Windows Calculator: A simple yet powerful calculator that ships with Windows
https://github.com/Microsoft/calculator
Tomi Engdahl says:
Microsoft shows off Project xCloud with Forza running on an Android phone
https://techcrunch.com/2019/03/13/microsoft-shows-off-project-xcloud-with-forza-running-on-an-android-phone/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Microsoft now lets you stream PC games to an Xbox One and use a controller
https://www.theverge.com/2019/3/13/18263513/microsoft-xbox-one-pc-games-support-streaming-wireless-display-app-feature
Microsoft is now letting Xbox One owners stream their PC games to the console and use a controller to play them. A newly updated app, Wireless Display app, from Microsoft enables the support so you can play Steam games or other titles directly on an Xbox One. You can use a regular Xbox controller to control the remote PC, enabling game play or even the ability to use an Xbox for presentations.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Tom Warren / The Verge:
Microsoft demos its Project xCloud game streaming service with Forza Horizon 4 streaming to an Android phone, ahead of Google’s “future of gaming” event — Entering public trials later this year — Microsoft has provided a live demonstration of its upcoming Project xCloud game streaming service.
Microsoft demonstrates xCloud game streaming a week before Google’s ‘future of gaming’ event
Entering public trials later this year
https://www.theverge.com/2019/3/13/18263405/microsoft-xcloud-game-streaming-demo-video
Tomi Engdahl says:
HP Expands Laptop Battery Recall to 78,500 Units
https://www.tomshardware.com/news/hp-expands-battery-recall-mobile-workstations,38802.html
Here are the affected products listed in the expanded recall:
“The batteries were shipped with or sold as accessories for HP ProBooks (64x G2 and G3 series, 65x G2 and G3 series, 4xx G4 series), HPx360 (310 G2), HP Pavilion x360 11inch Notebook PC, HP 11 Notebook PC, HP ZBook (17 G3, and Studio G3) mobile workstations. The batteries were also sold as accessories or replacement batteries for the HP ZBook Studio G4 mobile workstation, HP ProBook 4xx G5 series, HP ENVY 15, HP Mobile Thin Clients (mt21, mt22, and mt31), or for any of the products listed above.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Microsoft open sources its data compression algorithm and hardware for the cloud
https://techcrunch.com/2019/03/14/zipline-microsoft-open-sources-its-data-compression-algorithm-and-hardware-for-the-cloud/
Microsoft open sourced the algorithm, hardware specification and Verilog source code for how it compresses data in its Azure cloud. The company is contributing all of this to the Open Compute Project (OCP).
Project Zipline, as Microsoft calls this project, can achieve 2x higher compression ratios compared to the standard Zlib-L4 64KB model. To do this, the algorithm — and its hardware implementation — were specifically tuned for the kind of large data sets Microsoft sees in its cloud. Because the system works at the systems level, there is virtually no overhead and Microsoft says that it is actually able to manage higher throughput rates and lower latency than other algorithms are currently able to achieve.
Microsoft is currently using this system in its own Azure cloud, but it is now also partnering with others in the Open Compute Project. Among these partners are Intel, AMD, Ampere, Arm, Marvell, SiFive, Broadcom, Fungible, Mellanox, NGD Systems, Pure Storage, Synopsys and Cadence.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Google Chrome is up to date
Version 73.0.3683.75 (Official Build) (64-bit)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SEszLdXMMu4