Prediction articles:
2020: A consumer electronics forecast for the year(s) ahead
AI Chips: What Will 2020 Bring?
CEO Outlook: 2020 Vision: 5G, China and AI are prominent, but big changes are coming everywhere
Top 10 Tech Failures From 2019 That Hint At 2020 Trends – Last year’s tech failures often turn into next year’s leading trends
Trends:
AMD’s 7nm Ryzen 4000 CPUs are here to take on Intel’s 10nm Ice Lake laptop chips
Top 9 challenges IT leaders will face in 2020: From skills shortages to privacy concerns
From the oil rig to the lake: a shift in perspective on data
In December 2020, the new IEC/EN 62368-1 will replace the existing safety standards EN 60950-1 and EN 60065-1
Use of technology money outside company IT department is the new normal
Tech to try:
12 Alternative Operating Systems You Can Use In 2020
CONTINUOUS INTEGRATION: WHAT IT IS AND WHY YOU NEED IT
Research:
Universal memory coming? New type of non-volatile general purpose memory on research, some call it UltraRAM.
1,318 Comments
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://etn.fi/index.php/13-news/10979-uusi-standardi-tuo-lisaa-tehoa-korttitietokoneisiin
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://etn.fi/index.php/13-news/11075-tylya-pelia-5-nanometrissa-huawei-ulos-nokian-kumppani-sisaan
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://etn.fi/index.php/13-news/11076-amerikkalainen-mips-prosessori-paatyi-kiinalaisomistukseen
Nykyisellään MIPS-arkkitehtuurilla ei ole mahdollisuuksia haastaa Arm-piirejä. Sen sijaan Arm:n suurimmaksi haasteeksi on nousemassa avoin RISC-arkkitehtuuri, joka on kehitetty Berkeleyn yliopistossa. Sen nimi on RISC-V.
Tomi Engdahl says:
As a Finn, this brings a bit of sentiment: Unity’s market cap ($19.22B) passed Nokia’s cap ($19.16B) today. Yeah, bullish day for U and bear market for almost all other stock, but still.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Tom Warren / The Verge:
Microsoft releases an overhauled Xbox app for Android in beta that includes the ability to remotely play Xbox games streamed directly from an Xbox One — Microsoft opens up Xbox remote play streaming to everyone with new Android app beta — Microsoft is releasing a new Xbox app …
You can now stream your Xbox One games to your Android phone for free
https://www.theverge.com/2020/9/21/21448979/microsoft-new-xbox-app-mobile-android-remote-play-beta?scrolla=5eb6d68b7fedc32c19ef33b4
Microsoft opens up Xbox remote play streaming to everyone with new Android app beta
Tomi Engdahl says:
DOS Subsystem for Linux
A WSL alternative for users who prefer an MS-DOS environment. This runs Linux inside of DOS, allowing you to exec Linux i686 binaries inside of a DOS terminal
https://github.com/charliesome/doslinux
Tomi Engdahl says:
Intel Slips, and a High-Profile Supercomputer Is Delayed
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/27/technology/intel-aurora-supercomputer.html
The chip maker was selected for an Energy Department project meant to show American tech independence. But problems at Intel have thrown a wrench into the effort.
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2020/08/25/assembly-language-for-real/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2020/07/20/finding-the-random-seed-of-minecrafts-title-screen/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Russell Kirsch: Pixel Pioneer And The Father Of Digital Imaging
https://hackaday.com/2020/08/20/russell-kirsch-pixel-pioneer-and-the-father-of-digital-imaging/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Microsoft Flight Simulator’s Data Insanity Spawns Enormous Buildings And Anomalies From OpenStreetMap
https://hackaday.com/2020/08/21/microsoft-flight-simultors-data-insanity-spawn-enourmous-buildings-an-anomalies-from-openstreetmap/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Assembly Language For Real
https://hackaday.com/2020/08/25/assembly-language-for-real/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Challenges At 3/2nm
New structures, processes and yield/performance issues.
https://semiengineering.com/challenges-at-3-2nm/
David Fried, vice president of computational products at Lam Research, talks about issues at upcoming process nodes, the move to EUV lithography and nanosheet transistors, and how process variation can affect yield and device performance.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySD7Cr-dJpU&feature=emb_logo
Tomi Engdahl says:
Microsoft will release a web browser for Linux next month. Repeat, Microsoft will release a browser for Linux – and it uses Google’s technology
This means Linus Torvalds has definitely won, doesn’t it?
https://www.theregister.com/2020/09/22/microsoft_edge_for_linux_october/
Microsoft Is Bringing Edge To Linux
https://linux.slashdot.org/story/20/09/22/1924237/microsoft-is-bringing-edge-to-linux?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Slashdot%2Fslashdot%2Fto+%28%28Title%29Slashdot+%28rdf%29%29
Tomi Engdahl says:
Emerging Memories May Never Go Beyond Niche Applications
https://www.eetimes.com/emerging-memories-may-never-go-beyond-niche-applications/
It is time for a frank discussion about emerging memories. Many have now been percolating for decades with the promise of displacing established incumbents such as DRAM and NAND flash.
But will emerging memories ever see the light of day? Despite research breakthroughs and new patents on potentially disruptive technologies, DRAM and NAND technologies continue to advance despite the slowing of Moore’s Law. That means the goal posts are always moving for the possible replacements. MRAM, ReRAM, FRAM and PCRAM are often discussed in the context of emerging use cases such as automotive, industrial Internet of things (IoT), edge computing and sensor nodes, even AI and machine learning. But they often fall short where its counts: reliability and longevity.
There are in fact niche applications for next-generation memories, and the opportunities are not dissimilar to legacy technologies that still reap healthy profit margins in smaller market segments. The reason? Legacy systems often represent the best solution for a specific problem.
Plenty of Life Left in ‘Legacy’ Memories
https://www.eetimes.com/plenty-of-life-left-in-legacy-memories/
Legacy memories are no longer lowly devices that hit their end of life (EOL) because a major vendor is focused on the latest and greatest. With a growing list of smart devices, AI-infused edge computing and the exponentially growing Internet of Things (IoT), “enduring” might be a better label for these entrenched memories.
Even with a DDR5 specification now available and emerging memories such as Intel’s Optane 3D Xpoint memory clearing the adoption hump, ever-changing economics still mean there’s a need for older, low-density memories, including older DRAM.
“In bygone days, DRAM was not used in smaller systems because they required a DRAM controller,” said Jim Handy, principal analyst with Objective Analysis. SRAM went into systems with small memory requirements; DRAM into the larger ones, accompanied by a controller used for larger memories.
“Moore’s Law has shrunk the cost of that controller down to nearly nothing,” Handy added.
While this has reduced the opportunities for SRAM, even though it’s appealing for high-speed systems, there remain plenty of applications requiring anything faster than SDRAM, DDR and DDR2 DRAM, the analyst said. LPDDR has solved some of the power problems that originally kept DRAM out of many portable applications.
“It used to be that SRAM was for low densities, low power and fast applications, but DRAM’s improvements have nibbled away at those markets,” Handy said. “This means that there is now a vibrant market for low-density DRAM that previously didn’t exist.”
Major memory vendors will continue to pursue leading-edge densities because they are fine-tuned to build hundreds of millions of identical parts to fill billion-dollar orders. “It’s less efficient for them to go after smaller opportunities,” Handy explained. “Yet, there are lots of these smaller opportunities out there, and they can be more profitable than the bigger part of the business.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.eetimes.com/how-innovative-technology-disrupts-the-electronics-distribution-industry/
Tomi Engdahl says:
IFTLE 462: If Not a Node then What?
https://www.3dincites.com/2020/09/iftle-462-if-not-a-node-then-what/
In the August issue of IEEE Spectrum magazine, Samuel Moore published an article entitled “The Node is Nonsense”. (Note: Samuel Moore not Gordon Moore) Let’s take a closer look at what Moore is trying to tell us and see how advanced packaging fits in.
Where the Node Came From
The node is nonsense
https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9150552
Tomi Engdahl says:
Text editor for developers. VS Code is objectively wildly popular. https://blog.robenkleene.com/2020/09/21/the-era-of-visual-studio-code/
Tomi Engdahl says:
The SHAKTI free and open source silicon project has reached another milestone with the boot-up of the Moushik, an Arduino-compatible SoC.
SHAKTI Announces Third Silicon Success with the Arduino-Compatible Moushik
https://abopen.com/news/shakti-announces-third-silicon-success-with-the-arduino-compatible-moushik/
The SHAKTI free and open source silicon project has reached another milestone with the boot up of the Moushik, an Arduino-compatible system-on-chip (SoC) and the group’s third successful silicon tape-out.
The SHAKTI project first announced its success in booting Linux on a home-grown RISC-V based processor back in 2018, initially on a chip built by US semiconductor giant Intel on a 22nm process, then on a chip built natively in India on a 180nm node at the ISRO Semiconductor Laboratory in Chandigarh.
Now, the SHAKTI team has announced its third physical chip: Moushik. “Moushik is a processor-cum-system on chip that would cater to the rapidly growing Internet of Things IOT devices that are integral part of smart cities of our digital India,” the team explains of the new device. “Three steps are involved in the making of a microprocessor chip: the design, the fabrication, and the post-silicon boot-up – all these steps were done in India.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Arm Delivers 64-Bit Real-Time Processor Core
The Cortex-R82 moves Arm’s real-time processing platform from 32 to 64 bits to match its 64-bit offerings.
https://www.electronicdesign.com/markets/automotive/article/21141945/arm-delivers-64bit-realtime-processor-core?utm_source=EG+ED+Auto+Electronics&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=CPS200918059&o_eid=7211D2691390C9R&rdx.ident%5Bpull%5D=omeda%7C7211D2691390C9R&oly_enc_id=7211D2691390C9R
Arm’s Cortex-R series, which targets real-time applications, has been a 32-bit platform since its inception. However, the addition of the Cortex-R82 pushes it into the 64-bit space (see figure). The Cortex-R52 brought multicore support with a 32-bit flair, but it only provided a memory protection unit (MPU) like prior versions of the R series. This is less of an issue for the application space where deterministic, real-time support is key. Likewise, the R series is typically part of a system-on-chip (SoC) that often include complementary Cortex-A and Cortex-M processor cores.
There’s a plethora of targets for the Cortex-R82. The Cortex-R is heavily used in the automotive space, where ASIL certifications are also the norm. Almost any real-time application that requires high-end computation support will be a Cortex-R82 candidate.
The Cortex-R82 adds a host of new features, including a virtual memory management unit (MMU) that allows operating systems like Linux to run on the platform. Real-time incarnations of Linux exist, but that’s not necessarily the use case for the Cortex-R82. Instead, it can easily handle a mix of operating systems and applications—the platform has the ability to partition and manage a combination of real-time and application-oriented software.
Virtual-memory support makes a Cortex-R82-only SoC platform practical for many applications. Nonetheless, chip designers will likely continue to combine Cortex-R, Cortex-M, and Cortex-A. What this does accomplish, though, is make it easier to integrate a system with Cortex-A and Cortex-R cores, since they have the same memory capabilities. Past SoCs with 64-bit Cortex-A and 32-bit Cortex-R required interesting memory interactions. Cortex-M cores are still only 32 bits, but their applications are often more of a black box when viewed from a Cortex-A application.
The Cortex-R82 can address up to a terabyte of memory. The MMU is optional as are many parts of any Cortex platform. One feature that Cortex-R developers can take advantage of is tightly coupled memory (TCM) for data and instructions. TCM is more efficient and deterministic compared to a cache.
Tomi Engdahl says:
TSMC to build 2nm wafer plant in Hsinchu
https://focustaiwan.tw/sci-tech/202009230017
Taipei, Sept. 23 (CNA) Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, said Wednesday it will build a sophisticated 2 nanometer wafer plant in Hsinchu.
On the sidelines of a technology forum held at SEMICON Taiwan 2020, TSMC Chairman Mark Liu said the choice of Hsinchu as the location for the 2nm process was aimed at balancing the company’s production in northern, central and southern Taiwan.
Liu told reporters that if a new 2nm wafer plant in Hsinchu cannot meet demand, TSMC will add production lines in Taichung, but the company also plans to expand capacity in northern Taiwan even after the 2 nm process plant is built.
He did not disclose the timetable for the 2nm wafer plant.
Currently, Hsinchu serves as a research and development hub for TSMC, while chip production using the 7nm process is based in Taichung and production using the 5nm process is based in Tainan.
In the second half of 2022, TSMC is scheduled to start mass production of the 3nm process, also in Tainan.
Those projects mean that in 2024 and 2025, TSMC will produce 60-70 percent of its chips in southern Taiwan
Tomi Engdahl says:
Top-10 semiconductor suppliers continue to grow in 2Q20, says Omdia
https://www.digitimes.com/news/a20200922PR203.html
Building on bullish growth in first-quarter 2020 in weak market conditions, the world’s top-10 semiconductor suppliers managed to continue their revenue growth at a rate of 2.4% in the second quarter of 2020, according to Omdia.
PC and server sales continue to grow driven by COVID lockdown restrictions as working and learning from home are becoming the new norm, said Omdia. Additional revenue growth has been enabled by OEM’s aggressive inventory strategies in anticipation of second half holiday sales.
The top-10 chipmakers collectively generated revenue of US$65.2 billion in the second quarter of 2020, when the total semiconductor market grew 1.1% sequentially, Omdia indicated.
“The top-10 semiconductor companies continue to control more of the semiconductor market,” said Omdia senior research analyst Ron Ellwanger. “They have gained nearly 3 percentage points share of the total market versus the same time last year (55.6% to 58.5%).”
Tomi Engdahl says:
All those ‘teleworking is the new normal’ predictions? Not so much, say bosses
Australian government survey’s post-plague adoption prediction finds only tiny future increase in usage
https://www.theregister.com/2020/09/25/telework_statistics_employers/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Productivity Keeping Pace With Complexity
https://semiengineering.com/productivity-keeping-pace-with-complexity/
Without productivity gains, design size and complexity would face huge headwinds. Those gains come from a diverse set of improvements.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Have Processor Counts Stalled?
https://semiengineering.com/have-processor-counts-stalled/
Have chips reached a plateau for the number of processor cores they can effectively make use of? Possibly yes, until you change the programming model.
Survey data suggests that additional microprocessor cores are not being added into SoCs, but you have to dig into the numbers to find out what is really going on.
The reasons are complicated. They include everything from software programming models to market shifts and new use cases. So while the survey numbers appear to be flat, market and technology dynamics could have a big impact in reshaping these trends in the future.
The current comparisons are highlighted in a just-released functional verification survey, conducted by Wilson Research and Mentor, a Siemens Business. The survey, based on 1,492 respondents — about half of whom were involved in ASICS — focuses on such aspects as chip size and processor count. The survey data shows a very slight increase in the “8 or more” category, but almost within the +/- 3% margin of error for survey. That puts it at roughly the same number as 2016. SoCs with two processors have decreased slightly compared to the previous two survey results.
“The number of processors has stalled in platforms like PCs or portable devices,” says Michael Frank, fellow and system architect at Arteris IP. “This has less to do with Moore’s Law leveling out than the fact that it’s getting very hard, from a software point of view, to find enough work for more processors. Unless you have highly parallel workloads, it is really really hard to keep all these cores busy.”
Workloads are shifting, too. “For mobile applications processors, which is the number one volume product, the general architecture seems to have settled out at a cluster of eight cores — at least for the time being,” says Larry Przywara, senior group director of marketing for Tensilica IP at Cadence. “What we are seeing is that the number of cores is going up for doing vision and AI types of workloads.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
It’s really great, but the limitations are becoming grating
THE NEW 2020 IPAD ISN’T ENOUGH FOR ZOOM SCHOOL
It’s really great, but the limitations are becoming grating
https://www.theverge.com/21451699/apple-ipad-2020-review-eighth-generation-bionic-processor-zoom
TheThe new 2020 edition of the iPad, now in its eighth generation, continues to be an iPad. It is very good at iPad things: watching movies, reading, browsing the web, editing photos, and so on. Starting at $329 for a 32GB version, it is a remarkable deal.
Tomi Engdahl says:
The 19 Gbps GDDR6X memory clock of RTX 3080 isn’t just arbitrary segmentation.
https://www.techpowerup.com/272420/the-reason-why-nvidias-geforce-rtx-3080-gpu-uses-19-gbps-gddr6x-memory-and-not-faster-variants
When NVIDIA announced its next-generation GeForce RTX 3080 and 3090 Ampere GPUs, it specified that the memory found in the new GPUs will be Micron’s GDDR6X variant with 19 Gbps speed. However, being that there are faster GDDR6X modules already available in a 21 Gbps variant, everyone was left wondering why NVIDIA didn’t just use the faster memory from Micron. That is exactly what Igor’s Lab, a technology website, has been wondering as well. They have decided to conduct testing with an infrared camera that measures the heat produced. To check out the full testing setup and how they tested everything, you can go here and read it, including watching the video embedded.
Micron chips like GDDR5, GDDR5X, and GDDR6 are rated for the maximum junction temperature (TJ Max) of 100 degrees Celsius. It is recommended that these chips should run anywhere from 0C to 95C for the best results. However, when it comes to the new GDDR6X modules found in the new graphics cards, they are not yet any official specifications available to the public.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Firefox usage is down 85% despite Mozilla’s top exec pay going up 400%
http://calpaterson.com/mozilla.html
Mozilla is in an absolute state: high overheads, falling usage of Firefox, questionable sources of revenue and now making big cuts to engineering as their income falls.
The stated reason for the cuts is falling income. Mozilla largely relies on “royalties” for funding. In return for payment, Mozilla allows big technology companies to choose the default search engine in Firefox – the technology companies are ultimately paying to increase the number of searches Firefox users make with them. Mozilla haven’t been particularly transparent about why these royalties are being reduced, except to blame the coronavirus.
I’m sure the coronavirus is not a great help but I suspect the bigger problem is that Firefox’s market share is now a tiny fraction of its previous size and so the royalties will be smaller too – fewer users, so fewer searches and therefore less money for Mozilla.
The real problem is not the royalty cuts, though. Mozilla has already received more than enough money to set themselves up for financial independence. Mozilla received up to half a billion dollars a year (each year!) for many years. The real problem is that Mozilla didn’t use that money to achieve financial independence and instead just spent it each year, doing the organisational equivalent of living hand-to-mouth.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Want to hire and retain high-quality developers? Give them stimulating work https://tcrn.ch/3mXb9RN
Tomi Engdahl says:
Learning these 10 basic terms will help you navigate the advanced IC #packaging labyrinth #ICDesign #integration #memory
https://buff.ly/2G7S6TZ
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.facebook.com/126000117413375/posts/3883219015024781/
//37 years ago today, the GNU project was announced by RMS. Happy birthday GNU. The GNU project is responsible for Free software movement. https://groups.google.com/forum/#!msg/net.unix-wizards/8twfRPM79u0/1xlglzrWrU0J
Tomi Engdahl says:
TSMC says US-China deleveraging could increase semiconductor costs
TSMC chairman says Taiwanese companies must improve technological capabilities in response to rising costs
https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/4015832
Tomi Engdahl says:
IC Packaging Technologies Contribute to Smaller, Faster, Cheaper Electronic Systems with Longer Battery Life
https://www.3dincites.com/2020/09/ic-packaging-technologies-contribute-to-smaller-faster-cheaper-electronic-systems-with-longer-battery-life/
During in-person and on-line meetings, I often discuss with friends the impressive progress our industry has made in the last 50 years following Moore’s Law. In 1981, when I joined the industry, on-die feature sizes were 3 microns (= 3000 nm). Today, some IC designers already rely on 3 nm features to integrate billions of transistors on a single die. However, until a few years ago, we rarely talked about the enormous progress the IC packaging industry has made in regard to pin/ball count and pitches, max power dissipated in a package, reduction in package footprint and height, power and signal integrity, cost per pin, etc.
Today’s market needs for much higher integration than a single-die SoC can offer economically, have finally drawn a lot of attention to the significant progress the IC packaging industry has made and clearly demonstrate how a big part of the total IC value creation is moving from the die/dice to the package.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Have Processor Counts Stalled?
https://semiengineering.com/have-processor-counts-stalled/
Have chips reached a plateau for the number of processor cores they can effectively make use of? Possibly yes, until you change the programming model.
Survey data suggests that additional microprocessor cores are not being added into SoCs, but you have to dig into the numbers to find out what is really going on.
The reasons are complicated. They include everything from software programming models to market shifts and new use cases. So while the survey numbers appear to be flat, market and technology dynamics could have a big impact in reshaping these trends in the future.
The current comparisons are highlighted in a just-released functional verification survey, conducted by Wilson Research and Mentor, a Siemens Business. The survey, based on 1,492 respondents — about half of whom were involved in ASICS — focuses on such aspects as chip size and processor count. The survey data shows a very slight increase in the “8 or more” category, but almost within the +/- 3% margin of error for survey. That puts it at roughly the same number as 2016. SoCs with two processors have decreased slightly compared to the previous two survey results.
“The number of processors has stalled in platforms like PCs or portable devices,” says Michael Frank, fellow and system architect at Arteris IP. “This has less to do with Moore’s Law leveling out than the fact that it’s getting very hard, from a software point of view, to find enough work for more processors. Unless you have highly parallel workloads, it is really really hard to keep all these cores busy.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Lenovo Begins Selling 30 Linux ThinkPads and ThinkStation PCs
https://linux.slashdot.org/story/20/09/28/012210/lenovo-begins-selling-30-linux-thinkpads-and-thinkstation-pcs?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Slashdot%2Fslashdot%2Fto+%28%28Title%29Slashdot+%28rdf%29%29
“More top-tier computer OEMs are now offering a broad assortment of Linux desktops,” reports ZDNet.
“In the latest move, Lenovo, currently the top PC vendor in the world according to Gartner, will roll Ubuntu Linux 20.04 LTS out across 30 of Lenovo’s ThinkPads and ThinkStations…”
While Lenovo started certifying most of its laptop and PC line on the top Linux distributions since June 2020, this is a much bigger step. Now, instead of simply acknowledging its equipment will be guaranteed to run Linux, Lenovo’s selling Ubuntu Linux-powered hardware to ordinary Joe and Jane users.
Lenovo to roll out Ubuntu Linux 20.04 LTS across nearly 30 ThinkPads, ThinkStations
https://www.zdnet.com/article/lenovo-to-roll-out-ubuntu-linux-20-04-lts-across-nearly-30-thinkpads-thinkstations/
First, Fedora, and now, Ubuntu Linux. Lenovo is getting serious about the Linux desktop, with support for almost 30 ThinkPads and ThinkStations.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Eric S. Raymond: Is Microsoft Switching To a Linux Kernel That Emulates Windows?
https://linux.slashdot.org/story/20/09/27/193250/eric-s-raymond-is-microsoft-switching-to-a-linux-kernel-that-emulates-windows?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Slashdot%2Fslashdot%2Fto+%28%28Title%29Slashdot+%28rdf%29%29
Most of Microsoft’s money now comes from its cloud service Azure, points out open-source advocate Eric S. Raymond. Now he posits a future where Windows development will “inevitably” become a drag on Microsoft’s business:
So, you’re a Microsoft corporate strategist. What’s the profit-maximizing path forward given all these factors? It’s this: Microsoft Windows becomes a Proton-like emulation layer over a Linux kernel, with the layer getting thinner over time as more of the support lands in the mainline kernel sources. The economic motive is that Microsoft sheds an ever-larger fraction of its development costs as less and less has to be done in-house. If you think this is fantasy, think again. The best evidence that it’s already the plan is that Microsoft has already ported Edge to run under Linux. There is only one way that makes any sense, and that is as a trial run for freeing the rest of the Windows utility suite from depending on any emulation layer.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Lenovo to roll out Ubuntu Linux 20.04 LTS across nearly 30 ThinkPads, ThinkStations
https://www.zdnet.com/article/lenovo-to-roll-out-ubuntu-linux-20-04-lts-across-nearly-30-thinkpads-thinkstations/
First, Fedora, and now, Ubuntu Linux. Lenovo is getting serious about the Linux desktop, with support for almost 30 ThinkPads and ThinkStations.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Windows to become emulation layer atop Linux kernel, predicts Eric Raymond
Happening in plain sight with Proton, WSL and Edge-for-Linux, says open source advocate
https://www.theregister.com/2020/09/28/eric_raymond_linux_beats_windows_prediction/
Open-source software advocate Eric S Raymond has penned an argument that the triumph of Linux on the desktop is imminent because Microsoft will soon tire of Windows.
Raymond’s argument, posted to his blog late last week, kicked off with some frank admiration for Windows Subsystem For Linux, the tech that lets Linux binaries run under Windows. He noted that Microsoft is making kernel contributions just to improve WSL.
Raymond is also an admirer of software called “Proton”, an emulation layer that allows Windows games distributed by Steam to run under Linux.
Raymond rated Proton as “not perfect yet, but it’s getting close”.
His next item of note was Microsoft’s imminent release of its Edge browser for Linux.
http://esr.ibiblio.org/?p=8764
Tomi Engdahl says:
Arm wants to obliterate Intel and AMD with gigantic 192-core CPU
https://www.techradar.com/uk/news/arm-wants-to-obliterate-intel-and-amd-with-gigantic-192-core-cpu
Arm has provided an updated roadmap on its Neoverse platform, first unveiled back in 2019, setting out more on what’s to come.
Current Neoverse N1 designs reach 128-cores and 128-threads, while future N2 products are expected to cement that design while significantly improving on all other metrics.
Focusing on pure performance at any cost, Arm Neoverse N2 designs will surely make Intel and AMD sit up and take notice. Built on a 5nm node, Perseus will offer up to 192 cores with a 350W TDP, rivalling and potentially surpassing EPYC and Xeon in key categories.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Coding Made Easy
The fun way to learn programming and develop problem solving & critical thinking skills! Ages 5-17
https://www.tynker.com/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Will RISC-V be a contender now that Nvidia is buying Arm?
https://venturebeat.com/2020/09/27/will-risc-v-be-a-contender-now-that-nvidia-is-buying-arm/
The microprocessor industry’s unfolding saga got a big plot twist a couple of weeks ago when Nvidia paid $40 billion to buy Arm, the world’s leading processor architecture.
That deal turned some heads, as it meant a proprietary parent company was taking over a business that openly licensed its architecture to all comers. Nvidia and Arm promised the ARM architecture would continue to be available for licensing, but you could see other players looking for a backup plan.
Tomi Engdahl says:
RTX 3080 Crash to Desktop Problems Likely Connected to AIB-Designed Capacitor Choice
https://www.techpowerup.com/272591/rtx-3080-crash-to-desktop-problems-likely-connected-to-aib-designed-capacitor-choice
Tomi Engdahl says:
Intel Core i9-10900K
https://uk.pcmag.com/chipsets-processors/127047/intel-core-i9-10900k
Intel’s 10th Generation Core i9-10900K mainstream flagship CPU excels in elite gaming scenarios, but its aging architecture can’t quite keep pace with AMD’s newer, nimbler 7nm designs on value and multi-threaded performance.
PROS
Very fast gaming results
Excellent single-threaded speed
Requires new motherboard socket, but compatible with existing mainstream Intel coolers
CONS
AMD’s 12-core Ryzen 3900X is a formidable foil, especially at current prices
Z490 platform doesn’t bring much new to the table, and high TDP mandates liquid cooling
A few platform teething issues in early going
The Core i9-10900K is the tip of Intel’s spear in its newest 10th Generation Core (“Comet Lake-S”) lineup of desktop CPUs.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Comet Lake-S: Reheating 14nm
The Core i9-10900K is, like all other Comet Lake-S chips in the full line, based on the same 14nm++ production process as 9th Generation desktop chips were.
https://uk.pcmag.com/chipsets-processors/127047/intel-core-i9-10900k
Tomi Engdahl says:
XPI-3128: A cheap single-board computer with Wi-Fi that is compatible with the Raspberry Pi ecosystem
https://www.notebookcheck.net/XPI-3128-A-cheap-single-board-computer-with-Wi-Fi-that-is-compatible-with-the-Raspberry-Pi-ecosystem.495683.0.html
The latest member of the Geniatech XPI family packs a Rockchip RK3128 chipset, along with up to 2 GB of RAM and 32 GB of storage. A Wi-Fi module can be added to go with the board’s four USB Type-A ports, HDMI port and 40-pin GPIO header. The Geniatech XPI-3128 starts at US$25 and can currently be configured up to US$35.
Geniatech has released another single-board computer (SBC) to add to its XPI series called the XPI-3128. The SBC follows other XPI devices by copying the form factor of the Raspberry Pi 3 Model B, although the inclusion of a daughterboard means that it is not a single-board computer, strictly speaking.
Tomi Engdahl says:
AMD Ryzen 5000 leak shows a powerful APU to strike back at Intel’s Tiger Lake
https://www.techradar.com/uk/news/amd-ryzen-5000-leak-shows-a-powerful-apu-to-strike-back-at-intels-tiger-lake
Provides more concrete evidence of these laptop chips, hinting that they might be here soon
AMD’s Ryzen 5000 low-power APUs for laptops (known as ‘Van Gogh’) will boast Navi 2 (RDNA 2) integrated graphics and support for DDR5/LPDDR5 memory, according to details gleaned from Linux updates.
Phoronix spotted the Linux kernel patches which provide more concrete evidence than we’ve previously seen that these Ryzen 5000 mobile APUs will have RDNA 2 graphics, and be built on Zen 2, with LPDDR5 support (as indicated by a previous rumor on Twitter).
Tomi Engdahl says:
AMD’s Azor: No Ampere-Like Shortages for RX 6000
https://www.tomshardware.com/news/amds-azor-no-ampere-like-shortages-for-rx-6000
Nowadays, the other big topic besides Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 30-series (codename Ampere) graphics card is their lack of availability at retailers. The GeForce RTX 3080 and RTX 3090 might be two of the fastest gaming graphics cards right now, but they’re worthless if consumers can’t buy them.
Tomi Engdahl says:
TSMC 2NM PROCESS MAKES A SIGNIFICANT BREAKTHROUGH
https://www.gizchina.com/2020/09/23/tsmc-2nm-process-makes-a-significant-breakthrough/
According to the Taiwan Economic Daily, TSMC’s 2nm process has made a major breakthrough. The research and development process is now in advanced stages. The company is optimistic that its risk trial production yield in the second half of 2023 can reach 90%. The supply chain also revealed that unlike 3nm and 5nm processes that use FinFET, TSMC 2nm process uses a new multi-bridge channel field effect transistor (MBCFET) architecture.
Thanks to the invention of FinFET, Intel launched a commercial 22nm FinFET in 2011. Since then, the FinFET industry has advanced the semiconductor manufacturing process from 22nm to 5nm today. However, the 5nm process has reduced the transistor to the atomic level. The diameter of silicon atoms is 0.117nm, and 3nm is almost the length of 25 silicon atoms connected end to end.
FinFET technology will stop at 4nm/3nm manufacturing process
To continue the process of miniaturizing semiconductors, new technologies need to be introduced. The GAA (Gate-all-around, around the gate) adopted by TSMC 2nm is also called GAAFET. It has the same concept as FinFETs. The difference is that the gate of GAA wraps around the channel. According to different designs, GAA also has different forms. The current four mainstream technologies are nanowires, sheet-like structure multi-way bridging fins, hexagonal cross-section nanowires, and nanorings.
The GAA technology introduced by Samsung is Multi-Bridge Channel FET (MBCFET), which is a multi-channel bridge fin with a plate-like structure. In the adoption of GAA technology, Samsung is even more radical. It is reported that Samsung 3nm will introduce GAA to increase its 3nm process performance by 35% and reduce power consumption by 50% compared to 7nm. However, TSMC will not introduce GAA technology until 2nm.
GAA can bring performance and power consumption reduction, but the cost is also very high. The cost of the 28nm process is $62.9 million, and 5nm will surge to $476 million. Samsung claims that the cost of its 3nm GAA may exceed $500 million.
Tomi Engdahl says:
EVGA confirms Nvidia RTX 3080 card capacitors caused crashes
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/evga-confirms-nvidia-rtx-3080-card-capacitors-caused-crashes/
An increasing volume of scattered reports are identifying crashes associated with factory-overclocked Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 graphics cards. Our sister-site Tom’s Hardware has identified a statement from EVGA that seems to confirm that a specific type of capacitor could be a contributing factor in these crashes. A previous report by website Igor’s Lab cited capacitors as the likely culprit behind crashes, instability, and black screens.
EVGA’s statement says that engineers were doing quality control on the new cards when they found that a specific 6-capacitor configuration “cannot pass the real world applications testing.” The replacement of some of the capacitors, called POSCAPS, with a larger number of alternate MLCC capacitors, fixed the problem. “This is why the EVGA GeForce RTX 3080 FTW3 series was delayed at launch,” said EVGA.
Tomi Engdahl says:
CrowPi2 Review : STEM education, Minecraft, and Raspberry Pi in a box
https://www.slashgear.com/crowpi2-review-stem-education-minecraft-and-raspberry-pi-in-a-box-24639564/