Tuesday, October 15, 2024

Renault reveals boxy reimagining of the classic R4, proving that electric SUVs don’t need to be bland and faceless

High on the fumes of lithium-ion battery production, Renault is continuing its trip down memory lane with the unveiling of the Renault 4 E-Tech at the Paris motor show. This retro-inspired crossover is just as nostalgic as the recently released Renault 5 but with added roominess and a workhorse demeanor.

The original Renault 4 of the 1960s was immediately embraced in its home country, as it was used to ferry everything from people to livestock in a robust, reliable package. Like the liberating Renault 5, the R4 sold in its millions.

This new-fangled all-electric version isn’t exactly faithful to the design language of its forefather but instead opts to offer a few subtle nods to the past. For example, there’s a modern take on the original car’s vertical grille and the cheeky rear quarter windows.

Around the back, there’s a more obvious play on the original R4 in the shape of the taillights, while the designers have even added plastic shrouding to the rear bumper, evoking the metallic hooks found on the cars of the 60s.

Renault 4 E-Tech

(Image credit: Renault)

Predictably, it is based on the same AmpR small vehicle platform as the Renault 5, but it features an increased ground clearance (some 1.2cm more than the Captur SUV) and generally improved interior roominess compared to the recent R5 reimagining.

There is more head and legroom for rear passengers, and the boot or trunk space is up to 420 liters, which is an increase of almost 100 liters over the Renault 5.

The French marque has also added lashing hooks, elasticated bands, and cubbyholes for stashing various objects in the back... there’s that utilitarian side coming through.

A neat feature that has been resurrected from the archives is a modern take on the classic canvas roof. Here, a plastic canvas roof can be opened electrically - or by using the AI voice assistant Reno - to act as a sunroof or peeled all the way back like a quasi-convertible.

Although, with roof bars fitted and standard, opening the canvas roof to reveal the bottom of a roof rack or top box probably won’t be as romantic as looking up at beautiful cote d'azur sunshine.

Analysis: Renault is on a roll

Renault 4 E-Tech

(Image credit: Renault)

With the recent launch of Renault 5, the unveiling of Renault 4 at the Paris motor show and an impending launch of an electrified Twingo (set to be the smallest and most affordable EV in the Renault stable) the French marque is going against the grain and offering style-focused battery electric vehicles that stand out from the crowd and aren’t solely reserved for the wealthiest buyers.

Like Renault 5, the R4 E-Tech will be offered with either 52kWh or 40kWh battery packs, mated to electric motors that develop between 120hp and 150hp. Depending on the size of the battery, the electric range is slated to be either 250 or 186 miles.

A similar infotainment offering is also on the cards, comprising twin 10-inch displays, complete with AI assistant Reno and a premium Harman Kardon sound system. The interior is similarly stylish, relying on soft-touch fabrics and retro-inspired touches to create a premium-feeling ambiance.

Prices haven’t yet been confirmed, but Renault says the 4 E-Tech will be marginally more expensive than the Renault 5, so we can expect prices to start at around £30,000 - or around $40,000/AU$58,500.

With the Kia EV3, the Skoda Elroq, the Dacia Spring and Hyundai Inster all tipped to go on sale next year, Europe is going to be faced with a healthy choice of smaller, more affordable electric vehicles that could finally turn the tide of faltering sales figures and hesitant buyers.

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Researchers turn to quantum techniques to boost noise-resistant nanoscale wireless communication between chips — a breakthrough that could revolutionize future tech

As computing shifts from single-chip processors to multi-chip systems, traditional communication methods, such as Network-on-Chip (NoC) and Network-in-Package (NiP), are becoming less efficient. To address these limitations, scientists are exploring terahertz frequencies for high-speed data transfer, despite the challenge of noise interference, which complicates data decoding.

A research team from universities in Australia and the US has been studying wireless communication at the chip level and looking at ways to reduce noise. By applying Floquet engineering, a quantum technique that manipulates electron behavior, they found they were able to improve terahertz signal detection.

When implemented in a two-dimensional semiconductor quantum well (2DSQW), the approach successfully mitigated noise and boosted signal clarity. The team’s findings suggest that this method could pave the way for more effective and reliable wireless communication between chiplets, offering a potential solution for the efficiency challenges faced in multi-chip systems.

Wide-ranging applications

The team also developed a dual-signaling system that uses two receivers to monitor noise levels and adjust signals in real-time, further reducing error rates.

Writing forTech Xplore, researchers Kosala Herath and Malin Premaratne explained, “By overcoming the challenges of noise and signal degradation, our dual-signaling technique marks a key advancement in developing high-speed, noise-resistant wireless communication for chiplets. This innovation brings us closer to creating more efficient, scalable, and adaptable computing systems for the technologies of tomorrow.”

Their findings were published in the IEEE Journal on Selected Areas in Communications.

As we previously reported, universities are also looking at ways of boosting the potential of terahertz technology in order to unlock bandwidth for future telecommunications.

The University of Adelaide has developed a polarization multiplexer that doubles data transmission capacity at terahertz frequencies, while researchers at the University of Notre Dame showcased a silicon topological beamformer chip capable of splitting a single terahertz signal into 54 smaller beams.

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Obscure monitor vendor debuts one of the most desirable laptops of the year: Sub-1kg, Intel Lunar lake CPU and a 14-inch display, but it will never go on sale outside of Japan

Monitor maker Unitcom has released the iiyama PC, featuring a 14-inch or 16-inch design and plenty of other attractive features.

The iiyama PC comes with Intel's Core Ultra Series 2 processors, known as Lunar Lake, and the body of the laptop uses magnesium alloy to make the device lightweight without sacrificing sturdiness.

Thanks to the alloy, the 14-inch version of the iiyama PC can weigh less than 1kg, which is extremely light for a laptop. For comparison, the 14-inch MacBook Pro weighs in at 1.55kg with the lightest M3 chipset.

iiyama PC - an unexpected surprise

Unitcom

(Image credit: Unitcom)

Anyone who has looked to travel with a laptop knows that weight is basically the most important consideration, and the iiyama excels in this regard.

There is also Wi-Fi 7 and support for Microsoft's new Copilot+ PC initiative, which requires the laptop to use newer Intel chips to unlock various AI features within Windows and its associated apps. There's also a 5MP webcam for good measure.

The best business laptop you can't buy

The downside to wanting Unitcom's iiyama PC is that sadly it will only ever be available in Japan. While that might suit some frequent travellers to Japan, for the rest of us, we'll have to resign ourselves to never getting our hands on one.

The iiyama PC comes in three versions, for 169,800 yen (£870) and 194,800 yen (£997) for the 14-inch model and 199,800 yen (£1,000) for the 16-inch model.

What is the best business laptop?

Seeing as the iiyama is not widely available, TechRadar has spent a lot of time checking out all of the best business laptops on the market.

In our considered opinion, the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Yoga Gen 8 is the best thing out there right now, offering up to 13th-Gen Intel Core i7, 1TB to 4TB of storage, and a pretty lightweight and portable design.

For anyone on a budget, we recommend the Acer Travelmate P4, which has slightly less impressive specs but can easily be upgraded, has decent battery life and a Thunderbolt port, and doesn't cost much at all.

Of course, we'd be remiss not to mention the Apple MacBook Air 15-inch (2023), a laptop that probably doesn't need much introduction. If you aren't tied into the Windows ecosystem (or have loose ties), then this is the MacBook for work. The MacBook Pro isn't bad either .

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Monday, October 14, 2024

Watch out Nvidia: AMD launches a new single-slot GPU for data centers – and it looks like an absolute beast

AMD has announced the Radeon PRO V710, a new GPU designed for access via Microsoft Azure, the exclusive cloud partner, as part of the company's family of visual cloud GPUs.

The V710 is available today in private preview, but anyone hoping to use it for a home PC setup will be disappointed, as the V710 features a single-slot design and passive cooling.

AMD built the V710 on the Navi 32 architecture, and there are 54 Compute Units, alongside 28GB of VRAM, 448 GB/s memory transfer rate, and 54MB of L3 AMD Infinity Cache tech. The company says the V710 is ideal for small to medium machine learning inference workloads and small model training via its open-source AMD ROCm software, which seeks to compete with Nvidia's CUDA.

The best data center GPU?

data centre

"With support for hardware virtualization implemented in compliance with the PCI Express SR-IOV standard, instances based on the Radeon PRO V710 can provide robust isolation between multiple virtual machines running on the same physical GPU and between the host and guest environments," says AMD. "The efficient RDNA 3 architecture provides excellent performance per watt, enabling a single slot, passively cooled form factor compliant with the PCIe CEM spec."

As Intel has fallen away, AMD has really cornered the market for data centre-level GPUs, and it shows.

Compared to AMD's RX 7700 XT, the V710 has twice as much memory, higher memory bandwidth, and a 500 MHz lower GPU clock. The company says that changes in the design locked it to 158 watts, or 35% less power compared to the GPU's gaming variant.

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Insta360 Ace Pro 2 leak suggests it could extend lead as world’s best 8K action cam

The Insta360 Ace Pro from November 2023 remains the most powerful action camera we've tested, but that looks likely to change soon – according to some leaked marketing materials that spill the beans on a new Ace Pro 2.

As always, the source of these leaks is the reliable @Quadro_News on X (formerly Twitter, below), who's posted some useful slides that give us an idea of what to expect from Insta360's flagship GoPro rival.

Previous leaks had already told us that the Ace Pro 2 is likely to have a 1/1.3-inch main sensor (this time with a 50MP resolution, rather than 48MP). But it seems that the new action cam will pair its 5nm AI chip with some new silicon called the 'Pro Imaging Chip'.

Exactly what the latter does isn't clear, but from the other slides it will seemingly boost software features like PureVideo, which primarily handles low-light performance. From a slide of leaked specs, it seems the Ace Pro 2 will now be able to shoot Active HDR footage at 4K/60p (rather than maxing out at 4K/30p), while PureVideo will now be available for 4:3 clips alongside the usual 16:9 aspect ratio.

Another slide shows Insta360's 'Memories Album', which will seemingly use AI to help organize and potentially edit your clips (a bit like GoPro's Quik app). The PR material separately adds that the action cam "delivers high image quality in conditions unavailable to other action cameras" (no prizes for guessing who Insta360 is referring to).

There's still no news on a release date sadly, but these leaks suggest it'll be worth waiting a week or two if you're about to pull the trigger on a GoPro Hero 13 Black or DJI Osmo Action 5 Pro.

Room for improvement?

Insta360 Ace Pro

(Image credit: Paul Hatton)

So far, it looks like the Insta360 Ace Pro 2 will be a relatively minor upgrade of the Ace Pro – and there's no news yet on if it'll support 10-bit color depth, which Insta360 previously confirmed isn't possible on the current model due to hardware limitations.

That would certainly be a benefit to pro shooters who want to edit their footage or shoot in a 'flat' log profile. But given our Insta360 Ace Pro review called that camera "an absolute monster" without 10-bit video, the feature may not prove to be a deal-breaker for many either way.

The Ace Pro currently sits third in our guide to the best action cameras, with its lofty $449.99 / £429 / AU$729 price tag being one of the few things holding it back from eclipsing GoPro and DJI.

If it could add features like 'log' recording and develop its AI-powered features beyond low-light noise reduction, then it may yet grab that top spot when it launches – hopefully very soon, if these leaks are any sign.

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Move aside H100, Huawei wants Chinese hyperscalers to use its new Ascend AI chip instead of Nvidia's workhorse, but it's going to be tough

The US restrictions on exporting advanced hardware have severely impacted the AI ambitions of many Chinese firms, limiting their access to powerful chips necessary for training large-scale AI models and handling complex computations. Companies like ByteDance and Alibaba, which rely on high-end processors for their AI operations, have been forced to turn to lower-spec GPUs like Nvidia’s H20 or seek domestic alternatives.

However, not all Chinese firms are equally affected by the US clampdown. Huawei, which has been developing its own AI chipsets like the Ascend 910B, and the Ascend 910C (which the company has just begun sampling) has been enjoying some success positioning itself as a domestic alternative to Nvidia.

During his keynote speech at the recent Huawei Connect 2024 event, the company’s deputy chairman, Eric Xu Zhijun, outlined the company’s strategy of building AI systems “that are accessible to every person, home, and organization” and announced plans to heavily invest in AI ecosystem development over the next five years, according to the South China Morning Post.

Expanding its cloud services

Regarding the US sanctions, Xu admitted, “The reality is that US restrictions on AI chips for China are unlikely to be lifted any time soon.” However, he also emphasized that these challenges present an opportunity for Huawei to expand its cloud services and offer local alternatives for AI infrastructure.

Huawei’s cloud computing unit has become a crucial growth area, generating 55.29 billion yuan ($7.6 billion) in revenue in 2023, marking a 21.9% year-on-year increase. “Cloud services are the best option for many companies that are looking to incorporate AI into their business,” Xu said. “By providing Ascend and AI model services, we aim to give every company real-time access to on-demand AI computing power, and enable more efficient model training and inference.”

At the event, Huawei also announced upgrades to its AI stack, collaborations with partners like China Mobile for autonomous driving networks, and plans to develop AI solutions for the automotive sector.

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Sunday, October 13, 2024

Quordle today – hints and answers for Monday, October 14 (game #994)

Quordle was one of the original Wordle alternatives and is still going strong now nearly 1,000 games later. It offers a genuine challenge, though, so read on if you need some Quordle hints today – or scroll down further for the answers.

Enjoy playing word games? You can also check out my Wordle today, NYT Connections today and NYT Strands today pages for hints and answers for those puzzles.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about Quordle today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

Quordle today (game #994) - hint #1 - Vowels

How many different vowels are in Quordle today?

The number of different vowels in Quordle today is 4*.

* Note that by vowel we mean the five standard vowels (A, E, I, O, U), not Y (which is sometimes counted as a vowel too).

Quordle today (game #994) - hint #2 - repeated letters

Do any of today's Quordle answers contain repeated letters?

The number of Quordle answers containing a repeated letter today is 1.

Quordle today (game #994) - hint #3 - uncommon letters

Do the letters Q, Z, X or J appear in Quordle today?

• No. None of Q, Z, X or J appear among today's Quordle answers.

Quordle today (game #994) - hint #4 - starting letters (1)

Do any of today's Quordle puzzles start with the same letter?

The number of today's Quordle answers starting with the same letter is 0.

If you just want to know the answers at this stage, simply scroll down. If you're not ready yet then here's one more clue to make things a lot easier:

Quordle today (game #994) - hint #5 - starting letters (2)

What letters do today's Quordle answers start with?

• R

• S

• E

• A

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

Quordle today (game #994) - the answers

Quordle answers for game 994 on a yellow background

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle, game #994, are…

  • ROGUE
  • STORY
  • EMCEE
  • AUNTY

More tricky words in today's Quordle; but then when was that not the case? ROGUE always trips me up, because for some reason I always play ROUGE first. EMCEE is a nightmare with its three Es and its uncommon MC bit in the middle. Yes, the other two are standard words, but when 50% of them are toughies, it ramps up the difficulty a lot.

How did you do today? Send me an email and let me know.


Daily Sequence today (game #994) - the answers

Quordle Daily Sequence answers for game 994 on a yellow background

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle Daily Sequence, game #994, are…

  • BORNE
  • RUDDY
  • CACHE
  • SMOKY

Quordle answers: The past 20

  • Quordle #993, Sunday 13 October: UNFIT, NYMPH, THUMB, PUREE
  • Quordle #992, Saturday 12 October: SAUCY, UNDUE, EGRET, HELLO
  • Quordle #991, Friday 11 October: RINSE, ANIME, PUSHY, ZEBRA
  • Quordle #990, Thursday 10 October: UNTIL, MARSH, METAL, WINDY
  • Quordle #989, Wednesday 9 October: TRIAL, HUSKY, DOWNY, TRADE
  • Quordle #988, Tuesday 8 October: TROUT, HATER, BARGE, DOZEN
  • Quordle #987, Monday 7 October: CAULK, HALVE, APING, HEATH
  • Quordle #986, Sunday 6 October: FUDGE, TENOR, BEGAT, ROUSE
  • Quordle #985, Saturday 5 October: ELECT, CROAK, FRISK, JAUNT
  • Quordle #984, Friday 4 October: ELFIN, GRAIL, PATIO, RECAP
  • Quordle #983, Thursday 3 October: TENTH, REMIT, CURVE, TOAST
  • Quordle #982, Wednesday 2 October: ARGUE, CRANE, TOKEN, PRINT
  • Quordle #981, Tuesday 1 October: FRILL, MADLY, GRANT, NYLON
  • Quordle #980, Monday 30 September: CRUSH, TARDY, TEACH, STUMP
  • Quordle #979, Sunday 29 September: SERIF, BORNE, WRITE, SLEEK
  • Quordle #978, Saturday 28 September: BUSHY, CIVIC, SNOUT, EQUIP
  • Quordle #977, Friday 27 September: GUEST, CHASM, ROOST, BASAL
  • Quordle #976, Thursday 26 September: STAGE, VOGUE, CLUMP, HEATH
  • Quordle #975, Wednesday 25 September: UMBRA, DADDY, GLAZE, PRANK
  • Quordle #974, Tuesday 24 September: SPACE, INNER, SPAWN, BEGAT


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TikTok's parent firm could shun Nvidia, AMD as reports claim it will use 100,000 Huawei AI chips to train its next-gen LLM

After US trade restrictions stopped Nvidia from exporting its advanced AI chips to China, the company responded by developing the H20 GPU, a modified version which complies with the regulations by offering lower performance levels while still meeting the AI processing demands of Chinese firms.

Although there is a thriving black market for Nvidia’s high-end GPUs, TikTok’s parent company ByteDance, already under intense scrutiny in the US, cannot afford the legal and reputational risks of engaging in such illegal markets, and so has been purchasing Nvidia’s lower-capability processors for its AI needs. ByteDance is reportedly the largest buyer of H20s in China, having spent over $2 billion on the hardware in 2024 alone.

While it is expected to continue using Nvidia GPUs, Reuters claims ByteDance is now shifting its attention towards domestic chip suppliers like Huawei to meet its AI ambitions.

Not without challenges

The report claims that ByteDance has purchased more than 100,000 Ascend 910B chips to date, making it one of the largest buyers of Huawei’s AI hardware in China, although as of July it had received less than a third of the order.

Training AI models is a computationally demanding process, which is why high-end GPUs like Nvidia’s are so in demand. Making the shift to Huawei’s Ascend chips might be a strategic move for the TikTok owner, but it won’t be without its challenges.

ByteDance’s existing AI models, such as Doubao and Jimeng, were built using more powerful hardware and are used in applications ranging from chatbots to text-to-video tools. The company's ultimate aim is to reduce its dependency on Nvidia, but the shift to Huawei’s Ascend chips could hinder its ability to train more complex models, Reuters says.

ByteDance’s strategy appears to be to navigate US trade restrictions while looking for local suppliers to help it maintain its competitive edge in AI, and beyond. The company recently invested in Xinyuan Semiconductors, a Chinese memory chip manufacturer, which could lead to developments such as a potential VR headset to compete with Meta's Quest and Apple's Vision Pro.

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Saturday, October 12, 2024

NYT Connections today — hints and answers for Sunday, October 13 (game #490)

Good morning! Let's play Connections, the NYT's clever word game that challenges you to group answers in various categories. It can be tough, so read on if you need clues.

What should you do once you've finished? Why, play some more word games of course. I've also got daily Wordle hints and answers, Strands hints and answers and Quordle hints and answers articles if you need help for those too.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Connections today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

NYT Connections today (game #490) - today's words

NYT Connections hints for game 490 on a purple background

(Image credit: New York Times)

Today's NYT Connections words are…

  • CARGO
  • BOULDER
  • CLAW
  • HAMMER
  • ANVIL
  • HORN
  • CALIFORNIA
  • COYOTE
  • EGG
  • STIRRUP
  • DRUM
  • TNT
  • CAPRI
  • HOOF
  • HONOR
  • NAIL

NYT Connections today (game #490) - hint #1 - group hints

What are some clues for today's NYT Connections groups?

  • Yellow: Hard body part
  • Green: Meep meep!
  • Blue: You wear them
  • Purple: blank [What a ball would do on a slope]

Need more clues?

We're firmly in spoiler territory now, but read on if you want to know what the four theme answers are for today's NYT Connections puzzles…

NYT Connections today (game #490) - hint #2 - group answers

What are the answers for today's NYT Connections groups?

  • YELLOW: MADE OF KERATIN
  • GREEN: ROAD RUNNER CARTOON STAPLES
  • BLUE: KINDS OF PANTS
  • PURPLE: ___ ROLL

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

NYT Connections today (game #490) - the answers

NYT Connections answers for game 490 on a purple background

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Connections, game #490, are…

  • YELLOW: MADE OF KERATIN CLAW, HOOF, HORN, NAIL
  • GREEN: ROAD RUNNER CARTOON STAPLES ANVIL, BOULDER, COYOTE, TNT
  • BLUE: KINDS OF PANTS CAPRI, CARGO, HAMMER, STIRRUP
  • PURPLE: ___ ROLL CALIFORNIA, DRUM, EGG, HONOR

  • My rating: Moderate
  • My score: 1 mistake

There are days when the NYT's difficulty ratings for Connections make no sense to me. Purple today is one of the 'blank' varieties, where you have to find the missing word that unites the four answers. These are typically the hardest, and always form (as far as I know) the purple group. But there's no way that today __ ROLL was tougher than the green ROAD RUNNER CARTOON STAPLES or blue KINDS OF PANTS group.

I solved them all, but only thanks to a love of Road Runner that dates back 40-odd years. I doubt everyone will be so lucky. And I would have had no chance of solving the blue group, because I've never heard of HAMMER PANTS or STIRRUP PANTS. Am I out of touch? Quite possibly…

How did you do today? Send me an email and let me know.


Yesterday's NYT Connections answers (Saturday, 12 October, game #489)

  • YELLOW: DRAPED ACCESSORIES SCARF, SHAWL, STOLE, WRAP
  • GREEN: TOLERATE BEAR, STAND, SWALLOW, TAKE
  • BLUE: BIRD ONOMATOPOEIA COO, GOBBLE, HONK, HOOT
  • PURPLE: STARTS OF CELL PHONE MAKERS APP, GOO, MOTOR, SAM

What is NYT Connections?

NYT Connections is one of several increasingly popular word games made by the New York Times. It challenges you to find groups of four items that share something in common, and each group has a different difficulty level: green is easy, yellow a little harder, blue often quite tough and purple usually very difficult.

On the plus side, you don't technically need to solve the final one, as you'll be able to answer that one by a process of elimination. What's more, you can make up to four mistakes, which gives you a little bit of breathing room.

It's a little more involved than something like Wordle, however, and there are plenty of opportunities for the game to trip you up with tricks. For instance, watch out for homophones and other word games that could disguise the answers.

It's playable for free via the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.



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Nvidia will be thrilled – Samsung’s archrival announces it has begun production of HBM3E that will be used in Blackwell Ultra GPUs

South Korean memory giant SK Hynix has announced it has begun the mass production of the world’s first 12-layer HBM3E, featuring a total memory capacity of 36GB, a huge increase from the previous 24GB capacity in the 8-layer configuration.

This new design was made possible by reducing the thickness of each DRAM chip by 40%, allowing more layers to be stacked while maintaining the same overall size. The company plans to start volume shipments by the end of 2024.

The HBM3E memory supports a bandwidth of 9600 MT/s, translating to an effective speed of 1.22 TB/s if used in an eight-stack configuration. The improvement makes it ideal for handling LLMs and AI workloads that require both speed and high capacity. The ability to process more data at faster rates enables AI models to run more efficiently.

Nvidia and AMD hardware

For advanced memory stacking, SK Hynix employs innovative packaging technologies, including Through Silicon Via (TSV) and the Mass Reflow Molded Underfill (MR-MUF) process. These methods are essential for maintaining the structural integrity and heat dissipation required for stable, high-performance operation in the new HBM3E. The improvements in heat dissipation performance are particularly important for maintaining reliability during intensive AI processing tasks.

In addition to its increased speed and capacity, the HBM3E is designed to offer enhanced stability, with SK Hynix’s proprietary packaging processes ensuring minimal warpage during stacking. The company’s MR-MUF technology allows for better management of internal pressure, reducing the chances of mechanical failures and ensuring long-term durability.

Early sampling for this 12-layer HBM3E product began in March 2024, with Nvidia’s Blackwell Ultra GPUs and AMD’s Instinct MI325X accelerators expected to be among the first to use this enhanced memory, taking advantage of up to 288GB of HBM3E to support complex AI computations. SK Hynix recently rejected a $374 million advanced payment from an unknown company to ensure it could provide Nvidia with enough HMB for its in-demand AI hardware.

“SK Hynix has once again broken through technological limits demonstrating our industry leadership in AI memory,” said Justin Kim, President (Head of AI Infra) at SK Hynix. “We will continue our position as the No.1 global AI memory provider as we steadily prepare next-generation memory products to overcome the challenges of the AI era.”

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Friday, October 11, 2024

Amazon's new AI guides know what you want to buy before you do

Amazon is infusing AI into a new facet of its online shopping experience with the release of its AI Shopping Guides. The new feature aims to take over the product research part of hunting for a product by employing generative AI models that make personalized companions for your search. You can try it on Amazon’s website and mobile app, though just in the U.S. for now, and see guides for more than 100 categories of products.

The AI Shopping Guides start with a standard search for an item. Along with the usual list, you’ll see an AI guide appear if there is one for the category you’re looking at. When you open the guidebook, you’ll see an AI-curated collection of information about the products, including basic information, charts comparing different specs, and reviews from previous purchasers. 

The AI models create guides that analyze all of the information Amazon has about the products available for sale and how people review them to write their own descriptions. It will even rewrite the descriptions so that you can understand some of the terms you might not know. The AI will then write custom recommendations for you based on its analysis of both the products and your own search and purchase history. Notably, using AI to keep scanning product listings means the AI Shopping Guides will stay up-to-date even as new products come out and old ones are updated or removed. 

Amazon AI Guides

(Image credit: Amazon)

Rufus Writes In

The AI Shopping Guides also act to augment the Rufus AI chatbot, which Amazon deployed to offer AI-powered research and recommendations. Rufus makes the AI Shopping Guides interactive by answering follow-up questions you might have, personalizing your look for a product even further by, for instance, answering a question about two similar products by not only comparing them to each other but to products in a similar category you might have previously bought.

Rufus also includes some suggestions based less on your history and more on what companies have paid to have advertisements relayed by the AI. Amazon has also hinted at plans to further personalize its recommendations by using (with your permission) data from Gmail and YouTube.

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Renault reveals boxy reimagining of the classic R4, proving that electric SUVs don’t need to be bland and faceless

High on the fumes of lithium-ion battery production, Renault is continuing its trip down memory lane with the unveiling of the Renault 4 E-...