Topps Blog

Friday, 10 March 2023

Meta May Take on Twitter with Decentralized, Text-Based Social Network

Ever since Elon Musk bought Twitter, there’s been a lot of chatter on the platform about one specific topic: where to go when Twitter dies. That’s primarily due to his decision to fire most of the staff, an ongoing theme of his rule. The site has also experienced a host of technical issues lately. This has led people to consider sites like Post or Mastodon, which are mere shadows of Twitter’s size. Now Meta might be stepping into the fray with its own solution. It’s confirmed it’s working on a standalone app to allow text-based updates among friends and followers.

A Meta-sized company stepping into this space is indeed big news. A spokesperson told Platformer in an email, “We’re exploring a standalone decentralized social network for sharing text updates. We believe there’s an opportunity for a separate space where creators and public figures can share timely updates about their interests.” The site reports that the project, P92, is run by the current Instagram head, Adam Mosseri. The app will reportedly be Instagram branded and use that platform’s credentials to log in.

What will differentiate this service from Twitter, as well as Meta’s existing services, is its decentralized nature. In that scenario, the users can make their own servers and set moderation rules, like how Reddit allows anyone to create their own subreddit. Everyone must still follow baseline rules, but they can be tweaked for individual topics according to the moderators’ preferences. According to Moneycontrol, Meta wants to use ActivityPub for its app, a decentralized social networking protocol that Mastodon is currently using.

Twitter is funding a small independent team of up to five open source architects, engineers, and designers to develop an open and decentralized standard for social media. The goal is for Twitter to ultimately be a client of this standard. 🧵

— jack (@jack) December 11, 2019

Former CEO of Twitter, Jack Dorsey, called for a decentralized version of Twitter in 2019 (above). His prime motivator was that centralized control over abuse and misinformation couldn’t scale without requiring too many moderators. Also, since leaving Twitter, he has begun working on his own “decentralized Twitter,” which just came out a week ago. His new App, Bluesky, is now available in beta form but is invite-only.

As far as Meta’s plans go, it’s unclear if it’s just an idea or if there’s code being written. However, unbeknownst to us, in December, Instagram rolled out a feature called Notes. According to Instagram, it is “a new way to share your thoughts using just text and emojis.” It’s thought that this may be fleshed out into the Twitter competitor.

When (or if) the app launches, users can transfer all their bio data from Instagram and share data between accounts. Over time there will be a “fork” where the two apps disconnect from each other. However, this could allow Meta to launch with a privacy policy and moderation teams already in place. Instagram also operates globally, making it a more attractive alternative to Twitter than competitors like Mastodon.

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Backblaze Publishes Lifetime Failure Rates for SSDs

(Credit: Backblaze) Cloud backup company Backblaze has become well-known for its hard drive and SSD failure rate reports. The interval of time it uses for its reports varies, as sometimes it’s quarterly, annual, or both. The company is using the longest reporting timeline we’ve ever seen this time. It’s shown the failure rates of all its SSDs since it began using them in 2018. It’s also offering insight into the SSDs’ operating temperatures over time. This answers the question of whether they run cooler than HDDs. Most of the SSDs fared quite well, with an annualized failure rate of less than 1%.

The report shows the lifetime failure rates of 2,906 SSDs in use as of the end of 2022. The company uses them as boot drives in its storage servers. Despite the “server” environment, Backblaze uses 13 different consumer SSDs. Also, the drives function like a consumer SSD as well. In addition to booting the OS, they read, write, and delete log files all day. The SSDs in its pods have the same workload too, making results directly comparable. One standout drive is an M.2 model mounted on a PCIe card, but the rest are SATA drives.

Lifetime failure rates for all 2,096 SSDs under Backblaze’s control. (Credit: Backblaze)

As you can see at the bottom of the chart in bold, the overall lifetime annualized failure rate (AFR) is 0.89%. That’s for all 2,096 drives since 2018, so pretty much what we expected in that they’re very reliable. For comparison, its lifetime AFR for hard drives is 1.39%. However, only three drives have seen enough usage to give Backblaze confidence in their failure rates. Of those three, the DellBOSS VD is the clear champion. For that drive, BOSS stands for Boot Optimized Storage Solution. With 411 running for over 230,000 days, the failure rate was 0.0%.

The runner-up is Seagate model ZA250CM10003, a 250GB SATA drive. It suffered an AFR of just 0.66% over 1,104 drives running for 724,240 days. The third place on the podium goes to the Seagate ZA250CM10002. This is also a meager 250GB SATA SSD with an AFR of 0.96% over 568,911 drive days. Both drive families showed failures over time. The Seagates suffered 13 and 15 failures over the four years, respectively. That directly correlates to how they were also the two drives with the most drive days. Most of the other drives with a 0.0% failure rate (Dell aside) either haven’t been running long enough, or there are not enough drives to give them confidence in their longevity rating.

(Credit: Backblaze)

Backblaze also looked at drive temps throughout 2022. As far as we can recall, this is a first for the company. Notably, the chart’s Y axis begins at 34C and ends at 36C. In other words, not much to see here, folks. The drives remain cool, and that barely changes. The report shows the drives changed by one degree Celsius all year, from 34.4 to 35.4. Interestingly Backblaze says the average temperature of its HDDs is just 29C. However, it thinks this is due to the placement of the drives in the system. Its pods full of hard drives receive the cool air first, so the SSDs are left to fend for themselves. It doesn’t mention if there’s any cooling directed at the SSDs, but given the temps, it seems like it doesn’t matter.

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HP Updating Printers to Block Third-Party Ink Cartridges

Our connected world makes it simple to send documents around the world in the blink of an eye, but heaven have mercy if you ever need to print one of them. Printers are perhaps even more frustrating than they were in the pre-internet era, thanks to the way companies like HP have chosen to increase profits. Despite customer backlash and a series of lawsuits, HP has stepped up the rollout of “Dynamic Security” features that block printing with third-party ink cartridges.

According to HP, Dynamic Security is all about “[protecting] the quality of our customer experience.” What it actually means is that an affected printer will check for an HP authentication chip in the cartridge, and if it’s not there, your printer will refuse to work. HP introduced Dynamic Security in 2016, and it has been forced to pay out several class action lawsuits in the intervening years. And yet, HP is still adding Dynamic Security to printers via firmware updates.

Reports of HP printers suddenly rejecting ink cartridges began increasing late last year as the company rolled out firmware updates. One Reddit user spurred a 1,000-comment discussion in recent days when they posted an image of an error message (see below) that appeared after a firmware upgrade. According to user /r/grhhull, their 3.5-year-old printer used to merely warn about potential quality issues with the cheaper third-party carts it was running. After the update, Dynamic Security refused to print without an authentic cartridge.

HP Dynamic Security error. Credit: /u/grhhull

The issue is all the more infuriating because it’s impossible to know which printers are affected. According to HP, its security updates may “block cartridges using a non-HP chip or modified or non-HP circuitry from working in the printer, including cartridges that work today.” Emphasis ours. This information is conveniently contained in a support article that no one is going to read before buying a printer. Although, HP slyly reminds Ars Technica that Dyanamic Security is mentioned on the printer box, implying that it’s on consumers to investigate this innocuous-sounding term.

Despite hints of a new approach, HP is still entrenched in the decades-old printer business model of losing money on the hardware to sell expensive ink cartridges, and it’s making its customers’ lives miserable as a result. For most machines that get a Dynamic Security update, you’re out of luck. The only way to continue using the printer you bought is to pay HP’s inflated price for ink or pay for a silly printing-as-a-service subscription. Some printers can circumvent the block, but only if they were manufactured before Dec 1, 2016. The overwhelming majority of replies in the Reddit thread suggest a different fix: stop buying HP printers.

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PS5 Sales Up 450%, Beating the Nintendo Switch in Japan

(Credit: Triyansh Gill/Unsplash) February 2023 was a good month for Sony. It smashed its PlayStation 5 sales total from February 2022 and kicked the Nintendo Switch out of its top-selling console spot in Japan, where Nintendo consoles have almost always dominated.

Japanese video game magazine Famitsu shared Wednesday that 366,982 PS5s sold in February 2023, up 457% from its comparatively measly 65,772 units sold in February 2022. This means Sony is well on its way to smashing FY2022’s sales to smithereens; February 2023 saw more unit sales than all of Q12023 saw, and FY2022 only sold 1,154,050 PS5s.

Why the contrast? Whether or not we wanted one, most of us remember how difficult it was to find a PS5 last year…or the year before that…or the year before that. The global chip shortage limited Sony’s ability to churn out its new console, and combined with high demand, that made retailers’ shelves barren. Sony even extended the PlayStation 4’s time on the assembly line to compensate for the PS5 shortage. It took until this year for Sony to declare the shortage over, and clearly, it wasn’t messing around.

(Credit: Alvaro Reyes/Unsplash)

The PS5’s success also means the Nintendo Switch may have finally met its match—at least in sales. Sony’s latest console has never beaten the Switch in Japan. It hasn’t even come close; despite landing in second place last year, the PS5 was miles behind the Switch at 942,798 and 5.3 million units, respectively. Sony fans got excited in early February after the PS5 stole the Switch’s leading spot in Japan, but few expected it to last as long as it did. Some think the PS5’s relative novelty, compared with the Switch’s age, might make it a more appealing console option for gamers who are choosing between one or the other.

It’s hard to say how long Sony’s victory over the Switch will last. In the meantime, Nintendo can wipe its tears because its software is still number one in Japan, at least for now. Kirby’s Return to Dream Land Deluxe topped 189,031 unit sales in Japan in February, while the controversial Hogwarts Legacy (only available on PS5 and Xbox) was the top-selling non-Nintendo title at 126,086 unit sales.

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Scientists Produce Healthy Mice Using Exclusively Male Cells

(Credit: Sangharsh Lohakare/Unsplash) Same-sex reproduction has historically required donor cells, as is the case with egg implantation and some instances of in-vitro fertilization (IVF). Thanks to genetic engineering, however, this might not always be the case. Scientists in Japan have successfully created eggs using male cells, resulting in the birth of several mice that were produced without mothers.

Renowned Kyushu University stem cell researcher Katshuhiko Hayashi presented his team’s achievement this week at the Third International Summit on Human Genome Editing in London. Hayashi had led his colleagues through “reprogramming” a male mouse’s skin cells into induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells, or former non-reproductive cells that can be engineered into various cell forms. Because male cells contain the XY chromosome combination, Hayashi had to remove the Y chromosome and replace it with an X chromosome from another cell. (Hayashi’s team attempted to devise a way to duplicate the first cell’s X chromosome but was unsuccessful, resulting in the need to pull from a donor.)

(Credit: Rama/Wikimedia Commons)

Hayashi implanted the makeshift eggs inside a mouse ovary organoid, a ball of tissues that function similarly to a natural ovary. After fertilizing the eggs with sperm, his team implanted the resulting 600 embryos into surrogate mice. Seven of these embryos became mouse pups, which grew into adults with normal lifespans and successful mating routines.

This research, which Hayashi has since submitted to scientific journals, is just the beginning. His team is now working to replicate their achievement using human cells, which they hope to turn into lab-created eggs. Scientists have made similar attempts before, but their cells have failed to advance past the meiosis stage, which is necessary for the development of eggs and sperm.

Should Hayashi and his colleagues successfully produce eggs in the lab, it could pave the way for novel infertility treatments and for same-sex procreation that incorporates both partners’ genes. Male couples who wish to produce children currently have to choose whose sperm will fertilize a donor egg, which is implanted in a surrogate mother for gestation. Developments like this one, however, could allow couples to use one person’s sperm to fertilize an egg made from the other person’s cells, or even allow a single person to produce a child using only their genes. Hayashi says this could be possible within a decade—but other scientists think that’s a bit optimistic.

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Researchers Develop Nanoparticle Paint Inspired by Butterfly Wings

Plasmonic paint applied to the wings of metal butterflies (Credit: University of Central Florida) Every paint in the world today takes on a specific color due to the presence of pigment molecules. They absorb some wavelengths of light and reflect others, but University of Central Florida researcher Debashis Chanda has devised an entirely new kind of paint inspired by butterfly wings. The so-called plasmonic paint uses nanoscale particles to create different colors without requiring multiple pigments.

Some pigments have been used for thousands of years, and others are more recent synthetic creations. The main drawback to this kind of coloration is that you need a new molecule for every color. In addition, some pigment molecules are rare or even toxic. For example, Cobalt Blue is one of the most popular shades of blue, but this mix of cobalt oxide and aluminum oxide is dangerous if ingested or inhaled.

Chanda based the plasmonic paint on butterfly wings, which have a property known as structural color. In butterflies, the geometric arrangement of colorless materials can reflect, scatter, and absorb light to produce different colors. The paint works in a similar way using aluminum and aluminum oxide nanoparticles. Chanda and his team created the starting material by coating a mirror with nanoparticles. The distance between the particles determines how it interacts with light and, therefore, the color we perceive when looking at it. To turn those surfaces into paint, the team chipped the nanoparticles off and mixed the flakes with a commercial binding agent.

Traditional paint fades over time due to the pigment molecules losing their ability to absorb photons. That’s not a problem with the nanotech paint described in the new study. The nanoparticles don’t change over time — they always refract light the same way. “Once we paint something with structural color, it should stay for centuries,” says Chanda.

Color flakes are mixed in a solution to create paint (Credit: University of Central Florida)

Photonic paint has some other useful qualities. Because it has a large area-to-thickness ratio, you need less paint to get the job done (a layer about 150 nanometers thick). Chanda estimates you’d need just three pounds of plasmonic paint to cover a Boeing 747, which usually requires more than 1,000 pounds of standard paint. That could mean major fuel savings. Plus, plasmonic paint reflects the entire infrared spectrum, keeping the material underneath 25 to 30 degrees Fahrenheit cooler compared with commercial paint, reducing energy usage on cooling.

Next, the team plans to conduct more research on the potential energy-saving properties of the paint and prove that it can be a viable commercial product. Currently, plasmonic paint can only be made in small batches with laboratory equipment, but commercial paint needs to be produced in much larger quantities.

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Thursday, 9 March 2023

Intel Asks Germany for Another $5 Billion to Build Megafab

(Credit: Intel) Over the past year, Intel has announced aggressive plans to increase the number of fabs it operates while spreading them across Europe (and America). This plan would help it achieve its “five nodes in four years” IDM 2.0 goal and offer the company some resiliency. Intel announced plans for new or expanded fabs in Italy, Ireland, Germany, France, and back home in Ohio. But unanticipated factors, such as continuing inflation and the war in Ukraine driving up energy costs, have made building costs skyrocket. Now Intel is telling the German government it still wants to build a fab there but will need more subsidies. The government already agreed to $7 billion, and Intel is asking for $4 to $5 billion more.

Word of Intel’s dilemma over its new fab in Magdeburg comes from Bloomberg. It notes Intel paused its construction plans at the end of last year when economic headwinds were affecting the PC industry. Several months later, it says it needs the government to pitch in more if it’s to begin construction soon. The site in Magdeburg was initially projected to cost around $17 billion. That cost has now reportedly ballooned to a staggering $30 billion. Luckily for Intel, the EU has its own version of the CHIPS Act, meant to spur semiconductor business across the region. Intel expects up to 40% of its fab costs to be covered by subsidies. Now that its prices have increased, it’s only right the government ponies up more cash, so the thinking goes. The EU bill earmarks $43 billion for semiconductor business expansion. The US version is around $52 billion.

Intel’s proposed site in Germany is in budgeting limbo. (Credit: Intel)

Intel had planned to produce Intel 18A (1.8nm) chips at the German location, according to Wccftech. It was also going to expand its fab in Ireland to handle the production of Intel 4 silicon (formerly 7nm). Additionally, it planned to build a new Italian site to manage back-end production and build a research center in France. Intel had budgeted up to $33 billion for all these sites across Europe. Now those funds will only cover one site, given the current costs.

Bloomberg’s sources indicate the plans for its Ireland and French facilities are still on track, but the German and Italian sites are now on hold. It will likely remain that way until Intel can secure new government funding. That could be more money or related infusions such as tax breaks or energy subsidies.

Intel hit a similar financial snag last year with its new fab in Ohio. It had to delay the facility’s groundbreaking, as the CHIPS Act hadn’t yet passed due to legislative wrangling. That bill did finally pass in July with bipartisan support. Intel formally broke ground on the site in September, and it’s expected to be online in 2025. The state of Ohio is giving Intel up to $2 billion in subsidies for the megafab.

The background to this sudden changing of plans is the horrid condition of the PC market. Intel has felt the brunt of it and posted its worst earnings in 20 years recently. Because of its current prospects, it’s begun tightening its belt to reduce costs by $10 billion annually by 2025. In the short term, it’s already cancelled an advanced sustainable Data Center R&D facility in Oregon.

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