Month: March 2025

Nvidia has launched all of the GeForce RTX 50-series GPUs that it announced at CES, at least technically—whether you're buying from Nvidia, AMD, or Intel, it's nearly impossible to find any of these new cards at their advertised prices right now.

But hope springs eternal, and newly leaked specs for GeForce RTX 5060 and 5050-series cards suggest that Nvidia may be announcing these lower-end cards soon. These kinds of cards are rarely exciting, but Steam Hardware Survey data shows that these xx60 and xx50 cards are what the overwhelming majority of PC gamers are putting in their systems.

The specs, posted by a reliable leaker named Kopite and reported by Tom's Hardware and others, suggest a refresh that's in line with what Nvidia has done with most of the 50-series so far. Along with a move to the next-generation Blackwell architecture, the 5060 GPUs each come with a small increase to the number of CUDA cores, a jump from GDDR6 to GDDR7, and an increase in power consumption, but no changes to the amount of memory or the width of the memory bus. The 8GB versions, in particular, will probably continue to be marketed primarily as 1080p cards.

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Scientists have long understood that microbes, zooplankton, and fish are vital sources of recycled nitrogen in coastal waters. But whales and other marine mammals like seals also help in this regard by releasing tons of nutrient-rich fecal matter into those waters. Now we can add whale urine to that list, according to a paper published in the journal Nature Communications.

“Lots of people think of plants as the lungs of the planet, taking in carbon dioxide, and expelling oxygen,” said co-author Joe Roman, a biologist at the University of Vermont. “For their part, animals play an important role in moving nutrients. Seabirds transport nitrogen and phosphorus from the ocean to the land in their poop, increasing the density of plants on islands. Animals form the circulatory system of the planet—and whales are the extreme example.”

Back in 2010, Roman co-authored a study in which they examined field measurements and population data to determine that whales and seals could be responsible for replenishing 2.3×104 metric tons of nitrogen per year in the Gulf of Maine alone. Specifically, they feed in deeper waters and then release "flocculent fecal plumes" (i.e., feces) at the surface, serving as a kind of "whale pump" that boosts plankton growth, among other tangible benefits.

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Two people in Oklahoma have likely contracted measles infections linked to a mushrooming outbreak that began in West Texas, which has now risen to at least 258 cases since late January.

On Tuesday, Oklahoma's health department reported that two people had "exposure associated with the Texas and New Mexico outbreak" and then reported symptoms consistent with measles. They're currently being reported as probable cases because testing hasn't confirmed the infections.

There was no information about the ages, vaccination status, or location of the two cases. The health department said that the people stayed home in quarantine after realizing they had been exposed. In response to local media, a health department spokesperson said it was withholding further information because "these cases don’t pose a public health risk and to protect patient privacy."

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The long-running rumors and hints that Microsoft is planning to enter the portable gaming market accelerated forward this week. That's thanks to a Windows Central report that Microsoft is planning to partner with a "PC gaming OEM" for "an Xbox-branded gaming handheld" to be released later this year. The device, code-named Keenan, will reportedly feature "Xbox design sensibilities," such as the branded Xbox guide button, but will almost certainly be a PC gaming device running Windows at its core.

Any Microsoft entry into the world of gaming handhelds will join a market that has become quite crowded in the wake of the Steam Deck's success. To make its own portable gaming effort stand apart, Microsoft will have to bring something unique to the table. Here are some of the features we're hoping will let Microsoft do just that.

A bespoke user interface

There's never been a better time to bring back the old Xbox 360 "blades" interface. Credit: Microsoft / Reddit

For decades, Windows has been designed first and foremost for the world of large monitors driven by a mouse and keyboard world. When hardware makers try to simply stick that OS into a handheld screen size controlled by buttons and analog sticks, the results can be awkward at best.

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Weitere Bestandteile des Telefónica-Mobilfunknetzes wandern in die Cloud des US-Konzerns Amazon. (AWS, Cloud Computing)

The iKOOLCore R2 Max is a mini PC that launched late last year as a small, versatile computer designed for use as a networking appliance or general purpose computer. It supports up to an Intel Core 3 N355 Twin Lake processor and 32GB of RAM. While the iKOOLCORE R2 I reviewed in 2023 was a […]

The post iKOOLCore R2 Max Review: Using this mini PC a network or storage appliance appeared first on Liliputing.

Von der Schwäche des früheren Marktführers Tesla profitiert derzeit der VW-Konzern. Das beliebteste Elektroauto bleibt der Elektro-Passat ID.7. (Elektroauto, Tesla)

When Ars finally drove the single-motor BMW i4 eDrive40 last year, we came away very impressed. Until then we'd only sampled the powerful twin-motor i4 M50, which is fast and fun but a bit too expensive, and it gives away a little too much range in the process. But neither of those is the model most people will buy. All-wheel drive is non-negotiable to car buyers in many parts of the country, and that means they want this one: the i4 xDrive40 Gran Coupe.

If the pictures are giving you a bit of deja vu, that's perfectly normal. Yes, it looks a lot like the BMW 430i Gran Coupe we reviewed yesterday, and the two cars share a lot more than just the CLAR platform that underpins much of BMW's current lineup.

All things being equal, designing a vehicle to be an electric vehicle from the ground up involves many fewer compromises than using a platform that has to cater not just to batteries and electric motors but also internal combustion engines and transmissions and gas tanks.

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Laptop computers have gotten pretty powerful in recent years, but desktops still have a few advantages. Want a user-replaceable CPU or GPU? With a few notable exceptions that’s not possible with laptops, but it’s pretty standard for desktops. And if you want to prioritize performance over battery life or portability, desktop hardware is usually the […]

The post This liquid-cooled “laptop” is a portable PC with a desktop CPU and up to RTX 5090 graphics (crowdfunding) appeared first on Liliputing.

Vodafone, a British telecommunications firm, will withhold bonuses from employees who fail to comply with its return-to-office (RTO) policy, The Register reported this week.

Last week, Vodafone reminded employees of its RTO policy requiring workers to be in-office “2–3 times a week, or at least eight days a month," according to a memo viewed by The Register. The memo also reportedly detailed the consequences of failing to adhere to the policy, which sets a guideline for compliance by the end of the company's first fiscal quarter in July:

Employees who are not fully compliant with our hybrid working policy by the end of Q1 may be subject to disciplinary action in line with policy. Continued non-compliance with attendance expectations could result in a final written warning, which would mean individuals are not meeting the minimum performance standards and therefore would not be eligible for a bonus in 2026 or in subsequent years in which a final warning is given.

The strict policy comes as tech and other firms struggle to get employees to voluntarily return to offices. In desperation, some companies have resorted to tactics like tracking employee badge swipes and VPNs. Vodafone is looking to lure employees into the office by threatening their income, similar to Dell’s approach of making remote workers ineligible for promotions.

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