• In addition to the Zen 5 desktop lineup, AMD has announced its first Zen 5 laptop CPUs, codenamed Strix Point.  (Tom's Hardware)
  
  These are mainstream chips with integrated graphics.
  
  Compared to the previous generation, the CPU cores increase from 8 to 12, and the graphics cores from 12 to 16.
  
  Eight of the twelve CPU cores are the smaller, slower, Zen 5c, so the 12 core model is probably equivalent to a 10 core Zen 5 CPU - or as fast as a 12 core Zen 4.
  
  The model I'm really waiting for is Strix Point Halo, with more than 16 CPU cores - we don't know exactly how many - and 40 graphics cores.  That hasn't been announced yet.
  
  
  
• Asus has announced several laptops based on the new AMD chips.  (Liliputing)
  
  None of them have the Four Essential Keys.
  
  No release dates yet but this particular model is listed for pre-order at Best Buy for $1399.
  
  
  

Tech News

• Intel also announced new laptop chips.  (AnandTech)
  
  Lunar Lake is due out by September, aimed at mainstream laptops.  Intel says that the new Performance cores offer 16% better IPC than the previous generation - exactly the same increase as AMD claims for Zen 5.
  
  Intel also claims that the Efficiency cores can provide 70% better single-threaded performance and 3x better multi-threaded performance than the previous E-cores in Meteor Lake.
  
  If that's accurate, it's a huge improvement, taking the E-cores (which were adequate but not good) to a level where they are directly comparable to Zen 5c.
  
  Lunar Lake will be followed up by Arrow Lake before the end of the year, by while Arrow Lake will have the new Performance cores, it might still have the older, slower Efficiency cores.
  
  So go for Lunar Lake?  Not so fast.  Lunar Lake will only be available with memory soldered directly onto the CPU, a maximum of 32GB.
  
  
  
• New York plans to restrict the use of social media recommendation algorithms for teenage users.  (CNBC)
  
  I...  Yeah.  Okay.  Good luck.
  
  
  
• If you have a third-party repair on your Google phone and send it in to Google for additional repairs...  They will just keep it.  (Android Authority)
  
  Because fuck you, that's why.
  
  
  
• After raising $100 million in capital, "AI fintech" startup LoanSnap is being sued, fined by federal and state authorities, and evicted.  (Tech Crunch)
  
  Well, it's a start, but let me know when it escalates to prison time. 
  
  
  
• Australia's "e-Safety Council" is now openly protecting pedophiles.  (Twitter)
  
  The tweet banned from view in Australia reports on an "LGBTQIA+ club" in a public school in Melbourne...  For children aged 8 to 12.
  
  The video and screenshots of the banned tweet have now been posted by an Australian senator, so the attempted silencing has had its usual effect.