Feb 16, 2018 - The WAN Show Document

[LinusTech]

 

 

Twitter actually made money!

Source 1: http://angdnews.com/twitter-turns-profit-for-the-first-time-in-12-years/

Source 2:

 

• Twitter Inc has finally turned a quarterly profit. It took 12 years.

• The profit was modest: $91 million on $732 million in revenue.

• The shares soared as much as 30 percent, the most since Nov. 7, 2013

• But don’t get too excited:

  • Total advertising revenue was only up 1% year-over year

  • 2017 as a whole was down 6% from 2016

 

HomePod stains your furniture permanently

Source 1: GoodBytes https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/896453-apple-homepod-smart-speaker-stains-your-furniture-permanently/

Source 2: https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2018/2/14/17012382/apple-homepod-white-ring-wooden-table-staining-issue-problem

Source 3: Sonos does too: https://www.macrumors.com/2018/02/15/sonos-homepod-white-rings-on-wood/

 

• The silicone base of the HomePod has been shown to an cause a white ring to form on wooden furniture it’s placed on.

• Apple has confirmed the issue, stating that “the marks can improve over several days after the speaker is removed from the wood surface,”

  • the company also recommended that users “try cleaning the surface with the manufacturer’s suggested oiling method” if the white rings don’t fade.

• The HomePod support page says

  • the marks are caused by “oils diffusing between the silicone base and the table surface.”

  • “We recommend placing your HomePod on a different surface.”

• Why not just put a cloth underneath it? The tweeters fire down, so putting it on cloth messes with the reflectivity of the sound.

• Enterprising companies have already found a way to capitalise on the situation, offering leather pads for your HomePod to sit on:

  • https://www.padandquill.com/leather-coaster-for-homepod.html

• Wouldn’t Apple have known about this? Why didn’t they warn consumers sooner?

 

AMD sending out free processors

Source 1: https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2018/02/amd-sending-out-free-processors-to-solve-firmware-flashing-catch-22/

Source 2:

 

• Many new owners of AMD’s new Ryzen 3 2200G and Ryzen 5 2400G CPUs with integrated Vega graphics are learning that their motherboards lack the firmware to operate with integrated graphics.

• Some mobos support installing firmware updates without a working CPU, but many do not.

• So stuck:

  • to flash the firmware you need a working CPU,

  • but your CPU will only work if you can flash the firmware first.

• To help you out, AMD will send you a "boot kit" to flash your firmware.

  • What that actually means is that you'll get a free CPU—a dual core A6-9500

  • You’re supposed to send the CPU back once you’re up and running

  • ...but apparently you don’t have to send its heatsink back…

 

Google Removes Ability To View Images, Now Requires You To Save Them To Your Account.

Source 1: NonaHexa https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/896244-google-removes-ability-to-view-images-now-requires-you-to-save-them-to-your-account/

Source 2: https://petapixel.com/2018/02/09/google-tweak-image-search-help-protect-photographer-copyrights/

Source 3: https://www.androidauthority.com/extensions-view-image-button-available-838477/

 

• Google has removed the “View Image” button, which directly links to high-res photos, and will be making its copyright notice more prominent for users.

• The change is the result of a partnership between Google and the stock photo agency Getty Images, which has been lodging “anti-competitive” complaints against Google for making high-resolution stock photos easily downloadable through Google Images.

  • “This is a benefit to all image owners globally and we expect this to have a positive impact on traffic to our site.”

• Less than 24 hours later, there are already browser extensions for Chrome and Firefox that bring the button back.

  • These extensions probably won't last long, especially on Chrome

• The change won’t stop people, but it does add more friction...UNLESS you use James’ method:

  • Right Click on the Google Image and select “Open Image in New Tab”

 

What’s Coming Out on Floatplane? Go Over Current Week.

Rapid Fire

New iOS Text Bomb from India

Source 1: Bensemus https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/896893-indian-character-crashes-ios-112x-macos-watchos-and-10/

Source 2: https://openradar.appspot.com/37458268

 

• iOS users are suffering from yet another text bomb, which is when your iOS 11 device crashes simply from receiving a text.

• This time the culprit is a character from the Telugu language, a Dravidian language spoken in India by about 70 million people, roughly five per cent of the country's population.

• As apps including try and fail to load the character, users can get trapped in an endless loop of crashes.

• Vulnerable apps include but are not limited to:

  • iOS Springboard

  • WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Outlook for iOS, Gmail

• The only way to protect yourself is to update to the iOS 11.3 beta

 

Nvidia Code Name Confusion

Source 1: cluelessgenius https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/896406-nvidia-next-chip-now-called-turing-update/

Source 2: fake news https://www.reuters.com/article/us-nvidia-results-research/frenzied-demand-for-nvidias-graphic-chips-shoot-prices-through-the-roof-idUSKBN1FT2AW

Source 3: https://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/nvidia-turing-ampere-graphics-cards-gtc-2018/

 

• There’s been a roller coaster of confusion around the code names for NVidia’s upcoming chips:

  • First we thought everything was going to be Volta

  • Then last week heard that Ampere would be taking over

  • Now there’s a new name, Turing

• The current consensus is that Ampere will be for gaming and Turing will be for a new cryptocurrency-focused lineup of cards. Volta is the underlying architecture of both.

  • Alan Turing was a seminal cryptographer and programmer, as seen in the movie Imitation Game

• But there is also speculation that Nvidia scrapped the Ampere code name altogether because it’s used by an ARM-based server maker of the same name.

 

Waymo Gets O.K. for 1st Driverless Ride-Hailing Service

Source 1: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-02-16/waymo-gets-o-k-for-commercial-driverless-ride-hailing-service

Source 2:

 

• Alphabet’s Waymo got a permit in late January from the Arizona Department of Transportation to operate as a Transportation Network Company

• This allows Waymo’s fleet of driverless Chrysler Pacifica minivans pickup and drop off paying riders in Arizona through a smartphone app or website that will compete with Uber and Lyft.

• The service will initially have “thousands” of cars

• Prices could be competitive given there’s no driver to pay.

• History:

  • Last year, Waymo started a free "early rider program" in the Arizona capitol, where hundreds of people use a Waymo app to hail and use cars within a 100-square-mile radius.

  • In November, it began testing vehicles in parts of the city without a driver at the wheel

 

$50m in crypto stole by Ukranian Group via Google AdWords

Source 1: Energycore https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/896923-more-than-50m-in-crypto-stole-by-ukranian-group-coinhoarders-via-google-adwords/

Source 2: https://www.newsbtc.com/2018/02/15/hackers-coinhoarder-steal-more-than-50-million-in-cryptocurrencies-using-google-ads/

 

• A team of Ukrainian hackers dubbed CoinHoarder has stolen more than $50 million in cryptocurrency from users who thought they were accessing Blockchain.info, one of the most popular providers of virtual currency wallets.

• The thieves bought Google ads on popular search keywords related to cryptocurrency like “blockchain” or “Bitcoin wallet”

• Fooled into believing they had come to the right place, victims then entered private information that allowed the hackers to gain access to their actual wallets and take their virtual currency.

• The ads included “spoofed” links with small mistypes like “blokchien.info/wallet” and “block-clain.info,” which sent visitors to pages that mirrored actual websites Blockchain.info and Blockchain.com

• The massive phishing campaign lasted over 3 years, surging in late 2017 as prices rose.

• CoinHoarder is not the only group doing this, not by a long shot.

• Underbanked residents of African countries such as Nigeria and Ghana made up the majority of those who landed on the malignant websites

 

NCIX Richmond Auction

Source 1: Mr Easter https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/896697-ncix-richmond-bc-auction-massive-blow-out-of-computers-and-tv%E2%80%99s/

Source 2: https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/ncix-bankruptcy-auction-vancouver-february-2018

 

• NCIX Richmond will be liquidating inventory and assets on Wednesday Feb 21 in a giant auction

• The hoard includes:

  • Electronics: televisions, computers, computer parts, monitors, speakers, headphones, hard drives, and software.

  • Office equipment: desks, chairs, cubicles

  • Warehouse equipment: pallet racking, stock racking, conveyors

  • Packaging equipment: scales, wrappers

• Should we be on location? We could make a video...

 

Low Power APUs are coming

Source 1: AluminiumTech https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/896408-ryzen-3-2200ge-and-ryzen-5-2400ge-spotted-ultra-low-power-desktop-ryzen-vega-apus-coming-soon/

Source 2: https://www.anandtech.com/show/12428/amd-readies-ryzen-3-2200ge-ryzen-5-2400ge-apus-with-reduced-tdp

 

• AMD is preparing to release low-power versions of its new Ryzen desktop APUs.

• The new Ryzen 3 2200GE and Ryzen 5 2400GE chips will have a 35 W TDP and will operate at lower frequencies when compared to the 45-65W Ryzen 3 2200G and the Ryzen 5 2400G

• Both APUs feature four Zen cores as well as Radeon Vega graphics, but their exact specs and configs are yet to be disclosed.

• According to ASUS, the Ryzen 5 2400GE will feature four cores with SMT operating at 3.2 GHz

  • (down from 3.6 GHz of the Ryzen 5 2400G).

• Meanwhile, the Ryzen 3 2200GE appears to feature four cores without SMT working at 3.2 GHz

  • (down from 3.5 GHz of the 2200G)

• The 35W Ryzen APUs will enable AMD to compete for OEM SFF and ultra-slim Mini-ITX DIY builds

 

Twitch launches always on chat Rooms for channels

Source 1: https://techcrunch.com/2018/02/15/twitch-launches-always-on-chat-rooms-for-channels/

Source 2:

 

• Twitch has debuted an always-on chat room feature called “Rooms.”

• Rooms are custom chat spaces that are available from the channel page itself, and can be set up by anyone on their own account.

  • At launch, creators can only host 3 Rooms

• Channel owners have the option to create a “Room” for a specific group of users – like their channels’ subscribers, moderators, followers, or others with a shared interest, like spoilers, for example.

  • That latter use case represents a topic that would make sense to hide from the publicly accessible main group chat.

• But Rooms can also be used by groups who may have otherwise dominated the main Stream Chat

• Rooms are active even when the creator isn’t streaming.

 

SpaceX launching First satellite for Global Internet this Sunday

Source 1: saravanak85 https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/895673-spacex-to-launch-a-satellite-for-low-cost-internet-global-internet-this-week/

Source 2: http://angdnews.com/spacex-set-to-launch-first-prototype-starlink-satellites-for-low-cost-internet/

Source 3: https://www.cnet.com/news/spacex-falcon-9-internet-satellites-sunday-launch/

 

• The first test satellites for SpaceX’s global internet constellation will launch on Sunday, after the project was announced 3 years ago.

• The company’s Starlink service aims to provide low-cost internet across the world, and provide a communications network for future Mars missions.

• Two satellites called Microsat-2a and Microsat-2b that will be launched as a secondary payload alongside a primary mission launching the Spanish government's "Paz" satellite.

• SpaceX hopes to have its global internet service up and running by the middle of the 2020s.

 

Rumour: Google Game Console

Source 1: TheBeastPC https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/895301-a-google-game-console-codenamed-yeti-could-take-on-mainstream-consoles/

Source 2: https://www.pcworld.com/article/3253900/consumer-electronics/yeti-google-game-console-streaming-service.html

 

• A rumoured Google service called Yeti would  allow users to stream games from remote servers to play on a Chromecast or a new console made by Google.

• The service would be subscription based

• The console is still being developed, perhaps for a reveal at Google’s fall hardware event?

 

Bitcoin energy use in Iceland set to overtake homes

Source 1: mark_cameron https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/895952-bitcoin-energy-use-in-iceland-set-to-overtake-homes-says-local-firm-bbc-news/

Source 2: http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-43030677

 

• This year, electricity use at Bitcoin mining data centres is likely to exceed that of all Iceland's homes, according to analyst Johann Sigurbergsson

• He added that he expects Bitcoin mining operations will use around 840 gigawatt hours

• He estimated that the county's homes use around 700 gigawatt hours every year.

  • If Iceland took on all of the proposed Bitcoin mining ventures, there simply wouldn't be enough electricity to supply them all, he added.

• Iceland has population of around 340,000 people

THQ Nordic snaps up the rights to Saints Row with acquisition of Koch Media

Source 1: SC2Mitch https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/896344-thq-nordic-snaps-up-the-rights-to-saints-row-dead-island-and-more-with-an-acquisition-of-koch-media/

Source 2: https://www.gamespot.com/articles/saints-row-metro-dead-island-publisher-koch-media-/1100-6456770/

 

• THQ Nordic, the Austria-based company currently in possession of the Darksiders, Red Faction, and de Blob properties, has acquired Koch Media, the parent company of Dead Island, Saints Row, and Metro publisher Deep Silver.

• The deal was worth $149 million.

• THQ Nordic now owns all of Koch Media's assets, which includes its studios, intellectual properties, and licenses, such as the Metro game series.

• Koch Media's business also includes films, which are created "primarily for German and Italian speaking territories."

• Koch's studios will continue to operate as normal, with both Volition and Dambuster working on new, unannounced AAA games, in addition to 4A's Metro Exodus

[Guest]

Just what I WANted.

[Shreyas1]

Huh... that's kinda cool of AMD

[Canada EH]

just read what I was interested in

 

Crypto Hack looks good

 

Is that coin long gone?

How many people involved?

Would they convert to cash as fast as possible and skip town?

Or is it just "lost"?

 

I mean really, I would just convert to $50M in cash, bury $10M in 4 different holes in places only I would know to look.

Then skip the country.

 

You could live like Kaspersky in Belize.

[Hussain36]

Not much of existing news recently

 

[kameshss]

3 hours ago, LinusTech said:

 

NCIX Richmond Auction

Source 1: Mr Easter https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/896697-ncix-richmond-bc-auction-massive-blow-out-of-computers-and-tv%E2%80%99s/

Source 2: https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/ncix-bankruptcy-auction-vancouver-february-2018

 

• NCIX Richmond will be liquidating inventory and assets on Wednesday Feb 21 in a giant auction

• The hoard includes:

  • Electronics: televisions, computers, computer parts, monitors, speakers, headphones, hard drives, and software.

  • Office equipment: desks, chairs, cubicles

  • Warehouse equipment: pallet racking, stock racking, conveyors

  • Packaging equipment: scales, wrappers

• Should we be on location? We could make a video...

Yes, Thanks.

[Murasaki]

I do remember twitter sponsored ads but they've totally disappeared, can definitely say they dont have ads to serve lol. If theres anything its probably on the mobile app because ofcourse mobile.

[Egg-Roll]

I'd like to point out to Linus that many companies actually have shitty first quarters, not just online advertisers

 

Also while no one physically showed up all the interruptions they did for the jerky...

 

 

For Maxine's shortened name, it's not so much a nickname more like what happens in a lot of companies it just naturally happens, tho I've yet to be called by my first name at a workplace yet  As for the people in Twitch, yea... Many people don't get that shortened male names can also be for women too...

 

Maybe @LinusTech should educate twitch a bit with this link 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unisex_name#Nicknames

[Murasaki]

2 hours ago, Egg-Roll said:

snip

oh no forgot about the bingo dammit

[piemadd]

I thought my article about people running into the glass at Apple's headquarters would make it...

[DarKnight1346]

I built the extension Linus was talking about in WAN show: https://x25.co/hcPU9ciWvNa

[Streetguru]

Guru Larry covered the Bamco Patent for Loading Games

 

It was never valid in the first place because old PC games had "Load In" games when loading times were insane
 

 

[STRESSMASTER]

How do I get to the floatplane forum like I see on the WAN show?