Customized Apple-Themed Game Boy Color Doubles As An Apple TV Remote

Italian YouTuber Otto Climan modded an original Game Boy Color handheld to act as an Apple TV remote. Gizmodo reports: Otto Climan started with an original Game Boy Color handheld that they upgraded with a backlit LCD display because the GBC arrived well before Nintendo stopped using dim screens that strained your eyes. For the custom white case adorned with Apple’s…

Qualcomm’s New Snapdragon 870 Reheats the Snapdragon 865 for 2021 Phones

Qualcomm has announced a new mobile phone processor: the Qualcomm Snapdragon 870, a successor to last year’s Snapdragon 865 and 865 Plus models. To be clear, the 870 isn’t a new next-gen design — that title goes to the Snapdragon 888, which makes far more substantial improvements in performance and new features. From a report: The 870, on the other hand,…

The Galaxy S21 and S21+ Are Samsung’s New, More Affordable Flagships

An anonymous reader shares a report: 2020 was the year Samsung was forced to rethink its smartphone strategy. A pandemic-fueled global decline in sales and a frosty reception to its S20 lineup and the Galaxy Note 20, left Samsung looking up to another company for the first time in years. However, out of that moment came its most practical phone in…

BeagleV is a $150 RISC-V Computer Designed To Run Linux

New submitter shoor writes: Seeed Studios — the makers of the Odyssey mini-PC — have teamed up with well-known SBC vendor BeagleBoard to produce an affordable RISC-V system designed to run Linux. The new BeagleV (pronounced “Beagle Five”) system features a dual-core, 1GHz RISC-V CPU made by StarFive — one of a network of RISC-V startups created by better-known RISC-V vendor…

AMD Shows Off Impressive Ryzen 5000 Mobile Processors and 3rd Gen Epyc Server Chips

Advanced Micro Devices showed off some impressive Ryzen 5000 mobile processors today and teased the performance of its 3rd Gen Epyc server chips. From a report: Those chips are aimed at keeping AMD’s performance lead over its rival Intel in the mobile and server markets. AMD CEO Lisa Su showed off the new chips in a keynote speech at CES 2021,…

Intel Unveils New Core H-Series Laptop and 11th Gen Desktop Processors At CES 2021

MojoKid writes: At its virtual CES 2021 event today, Intel’s EVP Gregory Bryant unveiled an array of new processors and technologies targeting virtually every market, from affordable Chromebooks to enthusiast-class gaming laptops and high-end desktops. Intel’s 11th Gen Core vPro platform was announced, featuring new Intel Hardware Shield AI-enabled threat ransomware and crytpo-mining malware detection technology. In addition, the Intel Rocket…

Rediscovering RISC-V: Apple M1 Sparks Renewed Interest in Non-x86 Architecture

“With the runaway success of the new ARM-based M1 Macs, non-x86 architectures are getting their closeup,” explains a new article at ZDNet. “RISC-V is getting the most attention from system designers looking to horn-in on Apple’s recipe for high performance. Here’s why…” RISC-V is, like x86 and ARM, an instruction set architecture (ISA). Unlike x86 and ARM, it is a free…

Speculation Grows As AMD Files Patent for GPU Design

Long-time Slashdot reader UnknowingFool writes:
AMD filed a patent on using chiplets for a GPU with hints on why it has waited this long to extend their CPU strategy to GPUs. The latency between chiplets poses more of a performance problem for GPUs, and AMD is attempting to solve the problem with a new interconnect called high bandwidth passive crosslink. This new…

Hedge Fund Third Point Urges Intel To Explore Deal Options

Activist hedge fund Third Point LLC is pushing Intel Corp to explore strategic alternatives, including whether it should keep chip design and production under one roof, according to a letter it sent to the company’s chairman on Tuesday that was reviewed by Reuters. From the report: Were it to gain traction, Third Point’s push for changes could lead to a major…

Authorities Don’t Need To Break Phone Encryption in Most Cases, Because Modern Phone Encryption Sort of Sucks.

Matthew Green, a cryptographer and professor at Johns Hopkins University, shares in a series of tweets: My students Max and Tushar Jois spent most of the summer going through every piece of public documentation, forensics report, and legal document we could find to figure out how police were “breaking phone encryption.” This was prompted by a claim from someone knowledgeable, who…