Latest Tech News

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• Active 10 Pro from Blackview is a durable tablet for extreme environments
• Equipped with a 30,000mAh battery and 55W fast charging
• Features include 108MP camera, glove mode, and camping light

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You may not be too familiar with Blackview, but this Hong Kong-based technology brand has been producing rugged smartphones and tablets for over 11 years. The company’s BV9900 Pro is one of our favorite rugged smartphones, notable for its FLIR thermal imaging camera, among other features.

Now, Blackview’s new Active 10 Pro rugged tablet is (on paper at least) an equally impressive piece of tech, designed specifically for demanding environments.

The Active 10 Pro is available in black and orange and weighs 1214g. With dimensions of 267.6 x 179 x 19.5 mm, it’s a solidly built device rated IP68, IP69K, and MIL-STD-810H, ensuring it can withstand harsh conditions.

30,000mAh battery

Running on DokeOS_P 4.0 based on Android 14, the tablet features a 10.95-inch FHD+ IPS display with a 1920x1200 resolution and Corning Gorilla Glass 5 , along with a 90Hz dynamic refresh rate for smooth visuals.

The Active 10 Pro is powered by an octa-core MediaTek Dimensity 7300 processor, reaching speeds up to 2.5GHz. It offers 12GB of LPDDR5 RAM and 512GB of UFS 3.1 storage, expandable up to 2TB via TF card.

The Active 10 Pro boasts a substantial 30,000mAh battery with 55W fast charging, far surpassing most tablets, including Apple’s iPad lineup. For example, the iPad Pro 13-inch model, Apple’s most advanced tablet, has a 10,340mAh battery - significantly smaller than the Active 10 Pro's.

The tablet’s camera setup includes a 50MP Samsung JN1 front camera and a 108MP Samsung HM6 rear camera, plus an additional 20MP Sony night vision camera, promising high-quality imaging in various lighting conditions.

Audio is provided by dual Harman Kardon stereo speakers, and for connectivity it supports dual SIM cards and covers a wide range of network bands, from 2G to 5G. The device also offers NFC, Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.4, and compatibility with GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, and Beidou navigation systems.

The tablet includes an upgraded glove mode with 30% higher sensitivity, making it easier to use in harsh environments (the tablet can operate in temperatures from -40°C to +60°C). Additionally, it’s equipped with a 400lx super-bright camping light, providing illumination in low-light or outdoor situations.

There's no word on cost or availability for the Active 10 Pro yet, but Blackview's rugged products do tend to be competitively priced, offering good value for those seeking durability, functionality, and a really big battery.

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Latest Tech News

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• Concrete production, heavily cement-dependent, drives carbon emissions
• Essential building material contributes 6% of emissions globally
• Tech giants prioritizing sustainable construction with "green concrete"

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Tech giants are increasingly exploring ways to make data centers not only more energy-efficient but also more environmentally responsible in their construction.

For example, Microsoft is building data centers with cross-laminated timber (CLT) and, along with AWS, Google, and Meta, participates in the Open Compute Project Foundation (OCP), an organization dedicated to promoting and testing low-embodied carbon concrete - also known as "green concrete" - for data center construction.

Concrete production remains a significant source of carbon emissions, primarily due to cement, which is responsible for roughly 6% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Despite ambitious carbon-neutral goals, IEEE Spectrum reports Microsoft's emissions surged by over 30% in 2023, while Google’s emissions have risen nearly 50% over the past five years.

Concrete plays a critical role

Nearly a thousand companies are reportedly developing low-carbon concrete mixes and piloting carbon capture technologies to store CO₂ emissions generated during cement production.

This includes efforts by firms like Holcim and Heidelberg Materials, which are adapting technologies traditionally used in the oil and gas industry to capture and store CO₂ from cement plants.

The demand for data centers - and consequently for concrete - is rising, driven in part by the growth of AI. While the OCP has recently launched an initiative to deploy low-carbon concrete in data centers, the availability of sustainable concrete still falls short of global demand.

The versatile building material plays a critical role in the tech industry’s infrastructure, supporting everything from telecommunications to manufacturing. As tech-driven growth continues to increase demand for concrete, advancements in sustainable concrete production are essential. With a concerted shift toward low-carbon concrete, both hyperscale tech companies and governments have the power to drive the construction industry toward greater sustainability.

As IEE Spectrum sums up, “With a pivot to sustainability, concrete’s unique scale makes it one of the few materials that could do most to protect the world’s natural systems. We can’t live without concrete - but with some ambitious reinvention, we can thrive with it.”

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Latest Tech News

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• Bluesky has seen a million new users join since the US election
• Twitter (now known as X) is losing hundreds of thousands of users
• A Chrome extension lets you to find your friends from Twitter on Bluesky

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Bluesky may become the micro-blogging social media app of choice for disillusioned Twitter users, if current trends continue.

Hundreds of thousands of people are seemingly fleeing X (formerly Twitter) in the wake of the US election, according to The Economic Times.

It’s possible X chairman Elon Musk’s subsequent appointment to a new position in Donald Trump’s incoming government has pushed some politically conscious users away from the site.

The Verge reports that Bluesky Social has attracted more than a million new users to its decentralized micro-blogging service since the presidential election took place on November 4, suggesting some level of migration between the two social media services is possible.

After all, Bluesky is a remarkably similar platform to X, having begun as an experimental spin-off of what was then Twitter in 2019 under the leadership of founder Jack Dorsey.

As TechCrunch reports, Dorsey no longer sits on the board at Bluesky, and the company is now an independent public benefit corporation with CEO Jay Graber at the helm.

The Bluesky user base now stands at more than 15 million total users – a fair few less than the 586 million monthly active users on X, but still impressive for a platform that is technically independent of major social media companies.

What is Bluesky?

Bluesky offers a decentralized social media platform – that means the platform is not entirely controlled by one server or corporation.

When you log on to Bluesky, you also choose which instance you're signing in to.

Like fellow Twitter-like platform Mastodon, Bluesky can exist in multiple instances – meaning a version of the site can be set up to cater to certain communities.

(Image credit: Bluesky)

Otherwise, it’s essentially very similar to X, with short text-based posts, image and video sharing, liking and reposting, and individual profiles.

Its former relation to Twitter and ease of use have made Bluesky a prime candidate for those looking for X alternatives post-election.

How do I switch to Bluesky from Twitter?

You can join Bluesky by downloading the app from the App Store or Google Play Store, or heading to bsky.app, and setting up an account with an email address.

Migrating an X account to Bluesky is a larger task that takes a bit more work – and there are no official channels that enable this.

The Sky Follower Bridge extension for Chrome and Firefox enables users to find the users they previously followed and were followed by on X on Bluesky.

Adding the extension, and then running it while signed in to Bluesky and with Twitter open to either the Following, Followers, List or Blocked pages, returns a list of matched Bluesky accounts, produced by scraping information from the Twitter page.

As ZDNet reports, Twitter has taken action to block apps and processes from using screen scraping, so there's no saying how long Sky Follower Bridge will actually work for.

There’s no simple way to import X posts (tweets) to Bluesky, but Wikihow details a rather complex method to import posts by using Python and Terminal on a Linux or Mac computer. There doesn’t seem to be a way to import posts to Bluesky on mobile yet.

Bluesky seems poised to become an important player in the social media space as users, and even news outlets, leave X. For the latest updates as we hear them, be sure to keep up with our social media coverage.

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Latest Tech News

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• 8849 TANK Pad: rugged tablet with 10.95-inch FHD, 120Hz display
• Equipped with 21000mAh battery, 66W charging, dual-SIM 5G support
• Features laser projector, waterproof speakers, durable build for outdoors

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Earlier in 2024, I wrote about the 8849 TANK3 PRO, a rugged smartphone with a massive battery, DLP projector, 200-megapixel camera, and camping light. Now, 8849 by Unihertz is expanding its rugged device lineup with a tablet version, the 8849 TANK Pad.

The TANK Pad boasts a 10.95-inch IPS display with FHD resolution and a 120Hz refresh rate. The rugged tablet has IP68 and IP69K ratings, as well as MIL-STD-810H certification, enabling it to withstand drops, extreme temperatures, dirt, dust, and water.

Like the TANK3 PRO, the tablet’s rear shell includes a large camping light, ideal for outdoor use, and a pair of waterproof speakers rated at 105 dB, providing decent sound output in challenging environments. The camera system features a 50MP Sony IMX766 sensor on the rear, with a 32MP Sony IMX616 sensor on the front.

Large 21000mAh battery

The massive 23800mAh battery was arguably the main feature of the TANK3 PRO, and while the TANK Pad can’t match that, it does come with a large 21000mAh battery that supports 66W fast charging, offering extended use on a single charge.

The tablet runs Android 14 and is powered by a MediaTek Dimensity 8200 chipset. It comes with 16GB of LPDDR5 RAM, with the option for an additional 16GB in virtual memory, and 512GB of UFS 3.1 storage, expandable up to 2TB via microSD.

Connectivity includes dual-SIM 5G support, NFC, Bluetooth 5.3, and Wi-Fi 5. Additional features include a side-mounted fingerprint sensor, a USB Type-C port with OTG, an IR blaster, and a classic headphone jack.

As with the TANK3 PRO smartphone, the TANK Pad features a built-in DLP laser projector with an 854 x 480-pixel resolution, 100 lumens of brightness at the center, and 94% brightness uniformity. Its manual focus can be adjusted via a physical dial, with a range of 0.5 to 3 meters. For cooling, the device incorporates two waterproof outlets to vent hot air when the projector is in use.

With its waterproof speakers, powerful projector, and rugged durability, the TANK Pad, which retails for $799, has the potential to serve as a portable entertainment hub. We’ll be testing a review sample soon to find out if this device truly lets you create your very own mini outdoor cinema - even in the pool.

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Latest Tech News

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• High-performance mini PC with AMD Ryzen 9 and RTX graphics
• Supports up to 64TB storage with lightning-fast 10,000 MB/s speeds
• Features triple monitor support, Wi-Fi 7, and dual 10Gb Ethernet

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The Falco Prime A2 is a high-performance, budget-friendly mini PC currently seeking funding on Kickstarter.

Designed for content creators, media enthusiasts and gamers, this compact powerhouse is equipped with an AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX processor, optional NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 or 4070 mobile graphics, up to 64GB DDR5 RAM, and dual NVMe SSDs for the operating system.

The main selling point of the Falco Prime A2 is the 8x M.2 SSD bay that supports up to 64TB storage with read speeds up to 10,000 MB/s, allowing users to handle massive media libraries and high-speed data access. It also supports up to three monitors for a customizable multi-screen setup suited for different tasks, and network support comes in the form of Wi-Fi 7 and dual 10Gb Ethernet.

RAID

The mini PC offers two USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A ports (one front, one back), two USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C ports (one front, one back), and four USB 4 ports in the back for high-speed data transfer, along with a 3.5mm combo audio jack, and SD card and microSD slots for additional storage flexibility.

Users can configure RAID setups and choose between performance-boosting or redundancy options for the dual OS drives. The DDR5 RAM enhances data transfer rates and power efficiency, while a convection cooling system keeps the system running quietly and efficiently.

Early supporters on Kickstarter can secure the Super Early Bird price of $799 (a $500 discount from the $1,299 retail price), which includes the Ryzen 9 processor, RTX 4060M graphics, 32GB DDR5 RAM, and a 1TB SSD with the 8-slot SSD bay. Additional SSDs can be added to expand storage capacity further.

At the time of writing, the project has received $133,928 in pledges from 125 backers, well over the $5,000 goal, with 19 days to go. As with any crowdfunding project, backers should be aware that delays or changes to the final product can occur, and there's always a risk that the project may face challenges in production or fulfillment, so be warned.

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Latest Tech News

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• CERN uses over one exabyte of storage for research
• The research laboratory relies on PROMISE and Toshiba for its needs
• Toshiba will be supplying CERN with 20TB hard drives

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As you might expect, the world’s largest particle physics laboratory requires some pretty extensive data storage systems to support its research into fundamental questions about the universe.

With particle collision detectors at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) generating approximately 1TB of data per minute, CERN’s storage infrastructure rather obviously needs to be both high-capacity and highly reliable.

Since 2008, CERN has relied on PROMISE Technology’s VTrak J5800 24-bay JBOD enclosures and Toshiba’s Enterprise Capacity HDDs for its storage needs. The storage systems have inevitably evolved over time, beginning with 4TB hard drives and currently featuring Toshiba’s 18TB MG09 Series HDDs.

Supporting CERN’s future storage needs

Together, these systems provide CERN’s central data center with over one exabyte of storage, distributed across more than 120,000 hard drives housed in over 4,000 enclosures. This setup allows data from CERN to be shared with more than 170 research institutes around the world for analysis.

To meet increasing storage requirements, PROMISE Technology recently introduced the 60-bay VTrak J5960 JBOD enclosure, featuring ‘Greenboost’ technology to reduce power consumption by up to 30%. These will be used with Toshiba’s 20TB MG10 Series HDDs, and potentially its 28TB drives in the future.

“In our quest to unravel the mysteries of the universe, we need partners who understand the importance of data storage, reliability, and efficiency with solutions tailored to our unique needs," said Eric Bonfillou, Deputy Group Leader of CERN’s IT Fabric group.

“We continue to develop higher capacities, up to 30TB and beyond, as HDDs are and will remain essential for storing the exabytes of data that CERN and the entire world produce in a cost-effective and energy-efficient manner," added Rainer W. Kaese, Senior Manager Business Development, Storage Products Division at Toshiba.

Toshiba has released a new video showcasing its partnership with PROMISE Technology to enhance data storage solutions for CERN. You can watch this below.

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Latest Tech News

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• Fujitsu and AMD partner to develop energy-efficient HPC/AI platforms
• Partnership aims to broaden access to AI, support open-source
• Monaka chip features 288 cores, 2nm process, Armv9-A architecture

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Fujitsu and AMD have announced a new strategic partnership focused on developing HPC and AI platforms.

This collaboration will combine Fujitsu’s ARM-based processor technology with AMD’s GPU expertise, aiming to build energy-efficient and open-source solutions addressing the growing demand for diverse, cost-effective computing architectures.

The partnership, formalized in a memorandum of understanding, covers joint efforts in technology development, commercialization, and ecosystem expansion, with a goal of creating powerful computing platforms by 2027.

Instinct accelerators

Central to this partnership is Fujitsu’s next-generation Arm-based processor, the Monaka chip, set for release in 2027.

As we first reported in July 2024, Monaka will feature Armv9-A architecture, a 2nm process for high performance and power efficiency, and a 288-core structure (144 cores per socket). Notably, Monaka moves away from high-bandwidth memory in favor of PCIe 6.0 (CXL3.0), enhancing scalability and connectivity. This processor is expected to build upon Fujitsu’s work with the A64FX chip, used in the Fugaku supercomputer, and could support the upcoming FugakuNEXT project planned for 2030.

AMD will support Monaka with its Instinct accelerators, providing customers with flexible options for handling massive AI workloads while optimizing data center costs. The collaboration will also make use of AMD’s ROCm software stack and Fujitsu’s proprietary software, developing an open source ecosystem to accelerate the development of AI and HPC applications.

This joint venture will also involve global marketing efforts and customer engagement, as well as a shared customer center to support the development and implementation of AI technologies.

“By combining AMD’s innovative GPU technology with Fujitsu’s low-power/high-performance processor Fujitsu-Monaka, we seek to create an environment in which more companies will be able to utilize AI while reducing the power consumed by data centers," noted Vivek Mahajan, CTO of Fujitsu.

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