September 29, 2017 - The WAN Show Document

[LinusTech]

 

 

Soundcloud link tbd

WeChat confirms that it makes all private user data available to the Chinese government

Source 1: posted by patrick3027 https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/838289-wechat-confirms-that-it-makes-all-private-user-data-available-to-the-chinese-government/

Source 2: http://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/companies/wechat-confirms-that-it-makes-all-private-user-data-available-to-the-chinese-government-2391847.html/news/business/companies/wechat-confirms-that-it-makes-all-private-user-data-available-to-the-chinese-government-2391847.html

 

• WeChat,, one of the largest chat apps in the world with over 662 million users, has confirmed in a recent a privacy statement that virtually all the private user information will be disclosed to the Chinese authorities.

• This became known during a recent update to the app: users are required to accept the privacy policy to get the update.

• The reading of this new privacy policy brings to light that the app will share a large volume of data it has with the Chinese regime in order to comply with the ‘applicable laws or regulations.’

• The app stores personal data including contacts and any information searched online while using the app.

• Of late the Chinese government has been aggressively following a policy to bring all online activities under its domain.

  • It recently blocked WhatsApp in China as part of a strategy to eliminate few remaining platforms available to countrymen beyond the official control.

• Beijing had also recently announced regulations that mandate that WeChat users will be liable and prosecuted for any information posted in the group that the government considered as objectionable.

 

1/2 - Intel Doesn't Want To Support Kaby Lake On Z370

Source 1: posted by NvidiaIntelAMDLoveTriangle https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/838352-i-knew-it-intel-doesnt-want-to-support-kaby-lake-on-z370/

Source 2: https://www.guru3d.com/news-story/intel-z370-chipset-could-support-kaby-lake-but-intel-will-not-allow-it.html

 

• Intel is enforcing the motherboard manufacturers to only support Intel 8th gen Coffee Lake processors on Z370.

• Motherboard manufacturers have confirmed that Z370 boards won’t support Kaby Lake for no reason other than Intel not wanting them to- it is merely firmware restriction.

• A future BIOS update could enable other processors.

• SPECULATION: According to some board partners the extra pins used on Z370 are merely supported voltage pahs- perhaps Coffee lake could have been supported on Z270...

 

2/2 - Coffee Lake has a reason not to run on Z270

Source 1: posted by Suika https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/840430-coffee-lake-has-a-reason-not-to-run-on-z270/

Source 2:

 

• Early engineering boards at Intel supported intercompatibility between Coffee Lake and Kaby Lake, but that this was eventually disabled in firmware.

• But there is a reason: Z370 contains trace optimizations for power delivery that are necessary to make Coffee Lake run optimally

 

AMD killing Crossfire

Source 1: posted by Syntaxvgm https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/838500-amd-killing-crossfire-branding-in-favor-of-mgpunot-to-be-confused-with-mobile-gpus/

Source 2:  https://www.pcworld.com/article/3227865/components-graphics/amd-radeon-phases-out-the-crossfire-brand-as-multi-gpu-gets-more-complicated.html

 

• Radeon is abandoning the CrossFire brand- this is a branding change, not a technical one.

• This is because AMD is making a big push for DirectX 12, Crossfire technically refers to DX11 applications.

• AMD will now use ‘multi-GPU’ or mGPU

 

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

Rapid Fire

Play Nintendo Switch games from your PC

Source 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=3&v=uTlwVyWobRc

Source 2: https://blog.parsec.tv/how-to-play-mario-kart-8-and-other-switch-games-with-friends-anywhere-in-the-world-without-a-894df4d6f415

 

• You can now play non-online, split-screen multiplayer games by connecting PCs to a network card plugged into a console!

• It’s made possible by a technology called Parsec

• Parsec allows for ultra-low latency connections between two gaming devices.

• See Source 2 for Hardware Requirements

 

Microsoft officially kills off Skype for Business

Source 1: posted by GoodBytes https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/839065-microsoft-offiically-kills-off-skype-for-buisness-microsoft-teams-will-repace-it/

Source 2: https://www.theverge.com/2017/9/25/16360072/microsoft-teams-replacing-skype-for-business

 

• Microsoft has announced that it plans to kill off Skype for Business in favor of Microsoft Teams.

• It has integrated Office 365 with Teams and has replaced Skype for Business as its primary client, serving as the enterprise-grade service for voice, video, and meetings.

• Teams will be getting some new features too:

  • hold calls,

  • transfer calls

  • Voicemail

  • audio conferencing.

• Teams will be working over the same infrastructure as Skype for Business. Thus both can function together.

• Skype for Business will run for the next year. (Oct 2018)

 

 

PlayStation Boss Sees Limited Potential for Handheld Gaming

Source 1: posted by anthonyjc2010 https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/839975-nobody-wants-a-handheld-console-the-future-of-a-playstation-handheld/

Source 2:

 

• Sony Corp.’s gaming chief Andrew House sees limited global potential for handheld gaming in the age of smartphones, saying that the company doesn’t have any concrete plans to take on Nintendo Co.’s Switch.

• Referring to handheld gaming outside of Japan and Asia he said: “We have not seen that as being a huge market opportunity,”

• Sony’s been selling portable gaming machines for over a decade but they haven’t caught on and sales are now falling

  • “The lifestyle shift toward the dominance of smartphones as the single key device that is always with you, was the determining factor.”

• Sony’s focus now is to deliver more products and services for the living room,

  • Virtual-reality

  • non-gaming entertainment such as TV shows and music,

  • with the PlayStation 4 console serving as a key digital entertainment hub.

 

SNES Mini is just an updated NES Mini?

Source 1: posted by WMGroomAK https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/840244-snes-mini-is-just-an-updated-nes-mini/

Source 2: https://www.overclock3d.net/news/systems/nintendo_s_snes_mini_uses_the_same_hardware_as_the_nes_mini/1

 

• Nintendo's upcoming SNES Mini console will utilize the same hardware as their existing NES Mini, with the new console only offering a change in the console's available ROMs and its external casing.

  • the same Allwinner R16 SoC

  • same four ARM Cortex A7 cores

  • same ARM Mali 400 MP2 GPU,

  • same 256MB of Hynix memory

  • same 512MB of NAND storage.

  • They didn't even change the shape of the PCB to better fit the device's external casing.

• Apparently there was not much reason to cancel production for the NES Min!

• Is there a chance modders could add SNES emulation to the NES Mini and vice-versa.?

 

Bell wants Canadians blocked from piracy websites

Source 1: http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/bell-piracy-website-blocking-internet-1.4308068

 

• telecom giant Bell Canada wants the federal government to fight piracy by blocking Canadians' access to piracy websites, and stiffening the penalties for violations.

• Rob Malcolmson, Bell's senior VP of regulatory affairs proposed the following:

  • an independent agency, such as Canada's broadcast regulator (the CRTC), would create a blacklist of sites that allow people to download or stream pirated content.

  • Internet service providers would then be required to prevent their customers from accessing the sites.

  • "So you would mandate all [internet providers] across the country to essentially block access to a blacklist of egregious piracy sites,"

• Canadians made 1.88 billion visits to piracy sites last year, according to Bell.

• Critics of Bell's plan claim it appears to involve no judicial oversight, which means it could lead to rampant internet censorship.

  • Some countries, like the U.K., routinely block targeted sites with court approval.

• Internet regulation in Quebec:

  • Quebec recently introduced a provincial law which would force internet providers to block users' access to online gambling sites not approved by the government.

• NAFTA Implications:

  • "Many influential American stakeholders" have complained about widespread piracy in Canada, the telecom said, which is "limiting the growth of the legitimate digital economy."

• Canadian Economy:

  • On the domestic front, Bell suggested beefed-up copyright enforcement would secure the future success of Canadian content providers by ensuring that they get paid for their work.

 

Razer Confirms Development of Gamer-Oriented Mobile Device

Source 1: https://esportsobserver.com/razer-confirms-new-mobile-device/

 

• Razer is officially developing a new mobile device “specifically geared towards gamers and entertainment.”

• Earlier this year, Razer acquired mobile startup NextBit, who had previously produced the NextBit Robin smartphone

• The creation of an original mobile device also opens up the potential for the Razer to invest in mobile esports, a growing space.

• Will it have a high refresh rate display?

 

Amazon announced SIX new Hardware Products

Source 1: https://techcrunch.com/2017/09/27/amazon-doubles-down-on-its-own-echo-hardware-even-as-it-increasingly-relies-on-third-parties/

Source 2:  https://www.theverge.com/2017/9/27/16374254/amazon-event-2017-news-recap-echo-spot-fire-tv-hardware

 

• At their secret event in Seattle, Amazon surprised everyone with 6 new hardware products:

• New Echo:

  • Refresh of the original

  • Smaller

  • Only $99

  • Cloth covered body

  • Dedicated woofer and tweeter

• Echo Plus

  • Same size as the original, but it will now act as a smart home hub

  • second-generation far-field voice recognition and enhanced sound.

  • Uses Zigbee as a low-power way to extend its wireless range.

  • Compatible with over 100 smart home devices that you can set up via voice, without any apps.

  • Comes with a Philips Hue smart light bulb in every box;

  • Available in black, white, and silver.

  • Comes out on October 31st for $149. Available for preorder today

  • Alexa can now add multiple events to a single command.

    • For instance, saying, “Alexa, good morning” can turn on the lights, open a smart window shade, get the weather, and command a teakettle to boil water in one fluid motion.

• The Echo Spot:

  • Sort of a crossover between the Echo Dot and Echo Show,

  • It’s a smart alarm clock that can make video calls, and be connected to external speakers via cable or Bluetooth.

  • 2.5-inch circular screen and a more curved edge.

  • can double as a nursery camera.

  • On sale December 19th for $130. Preorders are live now

• Echo Button

  • First in a line of “Alexa Gadgets” meant to enhance Echo devices

  • Pairs with Echo and used as imput for things like trivia games

  • Hockey puck sized

  • $20 per pair

• Echo Connect

  • Another Echo Gadget

  • Connects to your existing phone line or VoIP and allows your Echo speaker to act as a speakerphone.

    • call a contact from your phone's address book,

    • Call another landline number such as local businesses,

    • place international and emergency calls.

  • Ask Alexa via your Echo speaker to place a call and it'll dial through your Echo Connect.

  • Before you could only make calls from one Echo speaker to another Echo speaker, like an intercom system.

  • $35

• Fire TV 4K

  • 4K 60Hz

  • $70

  • Remote with voice control

  • Controllable by Echo devices

  • $100 less than Apple TV 4K

 

1/2 - Elon Musk pivots all SpaceX resources to Mars

Source 1: https://www.theverge.com/2017/9/29/16378802/elon-musk-mars-plan-rocket-spaceship-colonization-iac-2017

 

• Speaking at the International Astronautical Congress, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said he hopes to finance his plans to colonize Mars by making SpaceX’s entire current fleet of vehicles — the Falcon 9, the Falcon Heavy, and the Dragon spacecraft — obsolete.

• Musk said that SpaceX will eventually start stockpiling these vehicles and then focus all of its resources into developing the company’s next monster vehicle: the Interplanetary Transport System, codenamed the BFR (for Big Fucking Rocket).

  • “All our resources will turn toward building BFR,” Musk said. “And we believe we can do this with the revenue we receive from launching satellites and servicing the space station.”

• In addition to going to Mars, the BFR can be used to launch satellites, take cargo to the International Space Station, and even do lunar missions to set up a Moon base.

• Musk says eventually the company will use the ITS to do all of its space missions

 

2/2 - Elon Musk proposes using Rockets instead of Airplanes

Source 1: https://www.theverge.com/2017/9/29/16383048/elon-musk-spacex-rocket-transport-earth-travel

 

• Musk ended his talk by outlining how that same interplanetary rocket system could be used for long-distance travel here on Earth

• Musk showed a demonstration of the idea onstage, claiming that it will allow passengers to take “most long-distance trips” in just 30 minutes, and go “anywhere on Earth in under an hour” for around the same price as an economy airline ticket.

• The BFR would lift a massive spaceship into orbit around the Earth. The ship would then settle down on floating landing pads near major cities.

• Both the new rocket and spaceship are currently theoretical, though Musk did say that he hopes to begin construction on the rocket in the next 6-9 months.

• The ship would reach a speed of about 18,000 miles per hour at its peak which is more than an order of magnitude faster than the Concorde.

• What would the passenger experience be like?

  • The human body can withstand ~9g’s

  • The amusement park ride ‘The Gravitron’ is 2.5-3g’s

  • A typical rocket launch is 3 g’s.

 

USB group announces USB 3.2

Source 1:  posted  by NumLock21 https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/840683-usb-group-announces-usb-32/

Source 2: https://www.guru3d.com/news-story/usb-3-2-specification-published-and-announced.html

 

• The USB Implementers Forum has released the specifications for USB 3.2!

• The new standard will effectively DOUBLE the 10Gb speeds of USB 3.1 gen 2 to  20Gb/s Gbps.

• This will be done by adding two-lane operation over existing USB-C cables

  • Provided the cables have been certified for 10 Gbps SuperSpeed USB, as indicated by the presence of a SuperSpeed+ logo on the cable or its packaging.

• Both the host and the client will need to be compatible with the new standard.

 

iPhone 8 Swollen Batteries

Source 1: posted by VegetableStu

Source 2: http://www.hardwarezone.com.sg/tech-news-reports-swollen-batteries-inside-new-iphone-8-plus-surface-online

 

• New owners of the iPhone 8 Plus in Taiwan and Japan have found the their handsets completely swole!

• An apple fan from Taichung bought an iPhone 8 Plus last saturday, and after three days, using the original charger, the phone's body and screen split from a bloat which made a 0.5cm gap. This was identified as battery bloating causing the phone to be sent back to the manufacturer for investigation.

• Similarly, a twitter user in Japan twote on Tuesday, that he opened his newly bought 8 plus and the shell popped open with the screen bent outwards.

• "Unconfirmed reports state the iPhone 8 Plus uses the same battery manufacturer, Amperex Technology Limited (ATL), as the Samsung Galaxy Note 7."

[ProjectBox153]

I'm sad that I didn't get to see the full WAN Show. It's OK, I'm sure it was great, right?

[Daniel644]

#NotMyLuke

[NumLock21]

I could have sworn I made a post that says "2nd" in this thread. Did I not make that post?

 

 

 

[Beezohh]

I have created the timestamps for this show!
 3:42 - AMD killing Crossfire

12:00 - WeChat confirms that it makes all private user data available to the Chinese government

16:37 - Polaroid's New Camera

23:36 - Microsoft officially kills off Skype for Business

28:37 - SNES Mini is just an updated NES Mini?

35:33 - Sponsor: Freshbooks

36:48 - Sponsor: Savage Jerky

47:39 - Amazon announced SIX new Hardware Products

54:00 - USB group announces USB 3.2

1:00:42 - Razer Confirms Development of Gamer-Oriented Mobile Device

[Daniel644]

5 minutes ago, NumLock21 said:

I could have sworn I made a post that says "2nd" in this thread. Did I not make that post?

 

 

 

probably deleted for SPAM.

[Kobathor]

I wonder if Max knows, but full-size instant film has been doing pretty well recently. The Impossible Project has been making Polaroid-compatible film for a few years now, and they were doing great enough to be bought by Polaroid a month or so ago and completely switch back to the Polaroid brand. They introduced an improved formula for all their film and released their new camera.

[captain_to_fire]

To the angry people in the Twitch chat as well as in YouTube why Luke is not there. 

 

“I’m sorry Luke can’t come to the phone right now. Why? Oh, ‘cause it’s James.”

 

 

[The Ran]

How old is Linus again? I thought he was in his early 30s but unless he's in his 60s instant cameras have always existed in his lifetime.

[William Payne]

2 hours ago, Kobathor said:

I wonder if Max knows, but full-size instant film has been doing pretty well recently. The Impossible Project has been making Polaroid-compatible film for a few years now, and they were doing great enough to be bought by Polaroid a month or so ago and completely switch back to the Polaroid brand. They introduced an improved formula for all their film and released their new camera.

 

I think a polaroid is cool for random snapshots or whatever, impossible projects big problem though is that the film is so horrendously expensive for very few shots. 

[fourwordsalluppercase]

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8v3xrJEOHYrRWVtbEloeE03QUU/view?usp=sharing 

 

TWITCH CHAT ARCHIVE 

[Nicnac]

6 hours ago, William Payne said:

 

I think a polaroid is cool for random snapshots or whatever, impossible projects big problem though is that the film is so horrendously expensive for very few shots. 

I have an old polaroid that I never used just because the film is expensive and hard to get.

[Nicnac]

8 hours ago, hey_yo_ said:

To the angry people in the Twitch chat as well as in YouTube why Luke is not there. 

 

“I’m sorry Luke can’t come to the phone right now. Why? Oh, ‘cause it’s James.”

 

 

Look what you made them do!

[Kobathor]

10 hours ago, William Payne said:

 

I think a polaroid is cool for random snapshots or whatever, impossible projects big problem though is that the film is so horrendously expensive for very few shots. 

It's also cheaper after Polaroid bought them, down to ~$2 per print. It is expensive, even compared to regular film, but according to my mother (I AM TOO YOUNG TO KNOW) Polaroid film was around the same price when she was younger.

Now, there is definitely a difference, and the difference is digital cameras. Before, it was cool because you could take a picture and immediately see it. You can do that now for free on your phone. I still like it though.

[isavegas]

Linus was a bit of a dick in this WAN show. I like James. I mean, Luke is the best, but James is pretty damn cool.

[FartingBob]

Well i really like James doing WAN Show again!

[Delicieuxz]

At 28:40 in the show, the talk about the SNES Classic is that it's the same PCB as the NES Classic. But, as I posted in the LTT Tech News discussion on the subject, the two PCBs actually have a lot of differences between them in the smaller components. It would've been cool to hear what those components are likely contributing towards the operation of the devices, and what effects they could be having on the devices' abilities to run certain things.

 

 

[The Ran]

28 minutes ago, Delicieuxz said:

At 28:40 in the show, the talk about the SNES Classic is that it's the same PCB as the NES Classic. But, as I posted in the LTT Tech News discussion on the subject, the two PCBs actually have a lot of differences between them in the smaller components. It would've been cool to hear what those components are likely contributing towards the operation of the devices, and what effects they could be having on the devices' abilities to run certain things.

 

 

That large difference below the Nanya chip looks to be to accommodate some sort of connector, my best guess would be the extra eject button on the console does something. The other smaller differences near the top of the image are just small things like resistors, capacitors, etc., those could just be down to whatever stock they had available at the time of manufacturer (i.e. using two components of one value instead of two components of a different value). It could also be that they figured different component values simply worked better in some way. If you look at an early and late version of the same model of most products you'll probably find similar small differences.

[DoctorWho1975]

Max - YES! YES! YES!

[Alpha297]

So I just skimmed through this a little bit so I might have missed it, but where is Luke?

[Vantage9]

Please . . . Linus . . . go back and listen to this podcast with headphones on from like 45:00 to 1:10:00 or something.  The SOUNDS of you smacking on that fucking jerky the ENTIRE TIME is maddening.  I really like the content of your stuff, but this is killing me.

 

You go off about your childhood friend who wasn't polite enough to give you the good N64 controller, yet as an adult you don't know not to make thousands of people listen to & watch you chew for 20-30 minutes?  Your mics are too sensitive for that, man.  I can hear you trying to suck the jerky out from in between your teeth.  Its gross.