• While Microsoft really really wants you to use an online account the moment you install Windows, corporate customers really really don't want that, and indeed there is a new way to bypass it during the installation.  (Bleeping Computer)
  
  Farewell oobe/bypassnro.  Hello start ms-cxh:localonly.

• Microsoft's CTO says that 95% of code will be AI-generated within five years.  (Money Control)
  
  Given the mess his company is making, are we sure this isn't already true?
  
  
  
• RecipeNinja.AI is a new "vibe coded" website that will tell you how to make cyanide ice cream - and even worse things.  (404 Media)
  
  I'm not sure where I'm going to get four cups of platypus milk though.  Woolworths is out of stock.

  Which is how you end up with a Uranium Bomb recipe that calls for 1kg of uranium-235, or a recipe for Actual Cocaine, where the first step is "Acquire coca leaves from South America."

  Woolworths is out of stock of those as well.
  
  
  
• A Russian spy infiltrated ASML and NXP to steal the technical data for building 28nm fabs.  (Tom's Hardware)
  
  28nm is a good choice.  Reliable and cost effective.  Of course TSMC is rolling out 2nm right now, and Intel has entered early production on 1.8nm, so it's a bit like stealing the design of the F-4 Phantom - because that's all you have the ability to build.
  
  
  
• The Nintendo Switch 2 arrives on June 5 for $449.  (Liliputing)
  
  Compared to the previous model it has a bigger screen (7.9" vs. 6.2") running at a 1080p instead of 720p, and internal storage has been bumped from 32GB to a more respectable 256GB.
  
  Remove the controllers (which you can still do) and it could make a useful if somewhat chunky tablet.
  
  
  
• Automattic - the company that runs WordPress - continues to circle the drain, laying off another 16% of its staff.  (Tech Crunch)
  
  Not much longer before Mad King Matt Mullenweg has no subjects at all.
  
  
  
• My 128GB RAM kit arrived, and I also picked up a couple of XFX RX 580 graphics cards.
  
  These are not recent cards (the chip they use first appeared in 2016) and they're not fast cards (slower than AMD's latest integrated graphics) but they are cheap cards.  You can find no-name Chinese models on Amazon - new - for $85.  I paid about $100 for my name-brand models.
  
  (Yes, they're the slightly cut-down 2048 SP version, but they still have the full 8GB of RAM, and thanks to AMD's OpenGL updates can push Minecraft to 500 fps at 4k.)
  
  
  

Musical Interlude

Posted by: Joe Redfield at Friday, April 04 2025 03:27 AM (KOtXO)

Posted by: Rick C at Friday, April 04 2025 06:49 AM (NfZAu)

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• Intel has entered "risk production" on its new 18A process.  (Tom's Hardware)
  
  That's 18 angstroms - 1.8 nanometers - in case you were wondering.  Though it's just marketing; nothing about the process measures 18 angstroms.
  
  Risk production is when a new process seems to work, but nobody has used it in volume yet.  Hence the risk.
  
  Intel cancelled its planed 20A process, so this will be the first time we see new features like gate-all-around transistors from them.

• ARM plans to grow its datacenter market share from 15% to 50%.  (Tom's Hardware)
  
  This year.
  
  Which is comical.
  
  
  
• The 13 laws of software engineering.  (Manager.dev)
  
  Most of them apply to other schools of engineering as well.
  
  
  
• A judge has blocked Arkansas' online age verification law for infringing on free speech and being overbroad.  (Engadget)
  
  Such laws are not intrinsically bad, but in the US they must thread the needle of the Bill of Rights.  So far all have failed.
  
  In Australia we just got a similar law.  Nobody has yet said how it will be enforced.  Obviously it will infringe on free speech, but the government thinks that's just great and the main opposition party doesn't think it goes far enough.

• OpenAI has raised another $40 billion in funding, valuing the company at $300 billion.  (Tech Crunch)
  
  And claims that the service is used by 500 million people each week, which I rather doubt, unless they're counting everyone who uses a service that uses OpenAI in some way.
  
  So I guess we're not going to be rid of them any time soon.

• Micron is planning to increase memory prices, though it's not saying by how much or when.  (Tom's Hardware)
  
  It's a cyclical business, and the past couple of cycles killed off most of the major manufacturers, so I'm not going to object to them making money while there is money to be made.
  
  
  
• AI copilots are not a silver bullet.  (M Lagerberg)
  
  Though AI translation software seems much closer.  I didn't realise this post was translated from Dutch until I saw the notice at the bottom.
  
  The revolution vs. evolution bit wasn't anything special, though: The words are almost the same in Dutch and the translator only needed to adjust the spelling.
  
  
  
• Intel is planning to spin off its non-core assets.  (Thurrott)
  
  Though precisely what those are varies from day to day.
  
  
  

Musical Interlude

Posted by: normal at Tuesday, April 01 2025 11:35 PM (LADmw)

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