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Comment Re: Astonishing one company can do this (Score 2) 156

Is that the Dell XPS P31F with the 15inch screen? I have that laptop, it's from 2015, it's an absolute workhorse, it even has an Nvidia graphics chipset, though the power cord is a pain. No Windows 11 for that model as it only supports TPM 1.2 with no option to upgrade. Earlier this year I put Debian 12 with XFCE on it and never been happier. Much snappier user interface and no more Wifi dropouts with the improved linux drivers. My son reports that minecraft runs at double the frame rate versus running it under Windows. Many more years of usage for this perfectly good hardware.

Comment Re: It's going the way of RS232 (Score 1) 243

by dunqstooze (#65661752) Attached to: 'USB-A Isn't Going Anywhere, So Stop Removing the Port'
I continue to be surprised by this, but all of the IT issued desktops (but not laptops) at my company have one RS232 port with the DB9 connector. I never see the IT people use them so not sure why they are there, and I sometimes ask the young engineers whether they know what that DB9 connector is used for and they never do. I personally use them a lot for work with embedded software. Of course, one port is never enough, so USB-A to RS-232/UART converters are obligatory.

Submission + - Chinese PhD student arrested smuggling biological materials, deleting evidence (foxnews.com)

Submitted by schwit1
schwit1 writes: Federal authorities expose Chinese national's attempt to bring concealed worm specimens to American laboratory

"The alleged smuggling of biological materials by this alien from a science and technology university in Wuhan, China—to be used at a University of Michigan laboratory—is part of an alarming pattern that threatens our security," U.S. Attorney Jerome F. Gorgon, Jr. said. "The American taxpayer should not be underwriting a PRC-based smuggling operation at one of our crucial public institutions."

This is less than a week after two Chinese nationals were arrested on federal charges for bringing 'head blight' fungus into US.

Submission + - Caffeine Has a Weird Effect on Your Brain While You're Asleep (sciencealert.com) 1

Submitted by alternative_right
alternative_right writes: Caffeine was shown to increase brain signal complexity, and shift the brain closer to a state of 'criticality', in tests run by researchers from the University of Montreal in Canada. This criticality refers to the brain being balanced between structure and flexibility, thought to be the most efficient state for processing information, learning, and making decisions.

Submission + - China's EV sales set to overtake traditional cars years ahead of west (ft.com)

Submitted by AmiMoJo
AmiMoJo writes: Electric vehicles are expected to outsell cars with internal combustion engines in China for the first time next year, in a historic inflection point that puts the world’s biggest car market years ahead of western rivals.

China is set to smash international forecasts and Beijing’s official targets with domestic EV sales — including pure battery and plug-in hybrids — growing about 20 per cent year on year to more than 12mn cars in 2025, according to the latest estimates supplied to the Financial Times by four investment banks and research groups. The figure would be more than double the 5.9mn sold in 2022.

At the same time, sales of traditionally powered cars are expected to fall by more than 10 per cent next year to less than 11mn, reflecting a near 30 per cent plunge from 14.8mn in 2022.

Submission + - China Tested Novel Stealth Jets, Launched New Class Amphibious Assault Ship (reuters.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Blurry images [and videos] of two seemingly new Chinese military aircraft with stealthy characteristics appeared online, with defense experts saying they were clearly advanced designs, but there was not enough detail for definitive conclusions. The larger of the two [tail-less] designs is roughly diamond-shaped, with three air intakes for its engines — two alongside the fuselage and one on top — an extremely unusual configuration. The smaller one has a more conventional layout. Both have the lack of 90-degree angles typical of stealth shaping, which is designed to reduce radar detection. Reuters confirmed a video showing the larger of the two new Chinese aircraft flying over Chengdu by matching nearby buildings, signage, logos and trees to satellite imagery and file images. The date could not be verified independently. Neither Chinese jet has an official designation that has been made public. Although the designs are novel relative to the rest of China's fleet, it is not possible to tell how stealthy they are, how maneuverable or fast they are, or what sort of "under the hood" avionics they carry — the sorts of detail needed to determine whether they are truly "next-generation" designs, five defense experts said. Separately, Chinese state media outlet Xinhua reported the People's Liberation Army Navy had launched its newest amphibious assault ship which has a full load displacement of more than 40,000 tons, features a double island superstructure, a full-length flight deck, and an electromagnetic catapult system allowing it to launch fixed-wing aircraft,

Submission + - US Treasury Says Chinese Hackers Stole Documents In 'Major Incident' (reuters.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Chinese state-sponsored hackers broke into the U.S. Treasury Department earlier this month and stole documents from its workstations, according to a letter to lawmakers that was provided to Reuters on Monday. The hackers compromised a third-party cybersecurity service provider and were able to access unclassified documents, the letter said, calling it a "major incident."

According to the letter, hackers "gained access to a key used by the vendor to secure a cloud-based service used to remotely provide technical support for Treasury Departmental Offices (DO) end users. With access to the stolen key, the threat actor was able override the service’s security, remotely access certain Treasury DO user workstations, and access certain unclassified documents maintained by those users." After being alerted by cybersecurity provider BeyondTrust, the Treasury Department said it was working with the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the FBI to assess the hack's impact.

Submission + - Billionaires and tech barons vying to build a private space station (telegraph.co.uk)

Submitted by fjo3
fjo3 writes: Axiom Space, a US business aiming to build its own station, has raised more than $500m (£400m). Vast, a space business backed by crypto billionaire Jed McCaleb, is plotting two stations before the end of the decade. Gravitics, meanwhile, has raised tens of millions of dollars for its modular space “real estate”. Nasa itself, along with other space agencies, is planning a further station, Lunar Gateway, which will orbit the Moon.

Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin has also announced plans to build a space station by 2027, called Orbital Reef, which it has described as an orbital “mixed-use business park”.

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