Month: October 2018

Microsoft says PC players will be able to access a version of its all-you-can-download Xbox Game Pass subscription service some time in the future.

The news comes from CEO Satya Nadella, who mentioned the move offhandedly in response to a question about cloud gaming in a recent earnings call. Nadella said “increasing the strength of the community” around the Xbox brand is important to the company’s bottom line and that “obviously, bringing Game Pass to even the PC is going to be a big element of that.”

It’s not clear which PC games exactly would be included with such a subscription or whether PC games would require their own separate subscription on top of the existing console Game Pass. For years, Microsoft has been

promoting its “Play Anywhere” initiative

for games that you buy once and play across PC and console, though

we’ve run into trouble with that compatibility

in practical testing.

On a PC, Game Pass will compete with existing PC subscription services like Utomik, Humble Monthly, and the indie-focused Jump, all of which already provide unlimited access to anywhere from dozens to hundreds of games for a flat monthly fee. But Microsoft’s tight relationships with third-party publishers, and direct control over the Windows platform as a whole, might give its service a leg up.

Launched in early 2017, the $10-per-month Game Pass subscription on Xbox One gives players access to a shifting lineup that now includes more than 200 games from 11 studios.

Back in January, Microsoft promised every subsequent first-party Microsoft Studios game on Xbox One would be available to Game Pass subscribers on launch day. That move seems to have helped games like Sea of Thieves and Forza Horizon 4 both attract 2 million users each in their first week of sale.

And back in August, Game Pass and Xbox Live became part of

an “Xbox All Access” subscription plan

that offers users free console hardware with a two-year subscription agreement starting at $22 a month.

Elsewhere in the earnings call, Microsoft revealed it now has 57 million active Xbox Live users, up from 53 million a year ago but flat since the last quarter. Xbox software and services revenue was up 36 percent year over year, while hardware revenue was up 96 percent.

Slider phones are making a comeback! The quest to maximize smartphone screen space has created all sorts of strange compromises in the design of slab phones. The screen can only get so big before it encroaches on the space meant for the front-facing camera, and then what? Lately the answer has been to carve out a chunk of the screen to make room, but what if you just didn’t put the front-facing camera on the front? A new trend is arising that puts the camera on a slide-out or pop-up mechanism. Chinese smartphone giant BBK started the trend with the Vivo Nex and Oppo Find X. Huawei will soon be jumping on board with the Honor Magic 2, and, today, Xiaomi is making its official entry with the Xiaomi Mi Mix 3.

With no camera to worry about, the front of the Xiaomi Mi Mix 3 can house a 6.39-inch, 2340×1080 Samsung-made AMOLED display and… not much else. The screen is rectangular with no blemishes or interruptions. There’s a speaker grill on the top edge of the phone and then the bezels rapidly fall off, leaving you with basically an all-screen phone. Xiaomi says the Mi Mix 3 has a 93.4-percent screen-to-body ratio (although the company has provided inaccurate measurements of this stat in the past).

Just like an old-school Palm Pre or Nokia N95, the Mi Mix 3 is split vertically down the side into a front and back portion. The front half contains the screen and not much else, while the bottom half contains the battery, cameras, and processors. There’s a slider mechanism in between the two halves, so you can slide the screen down and the body up to reveal a new chunk of real-estate for the front camera. The slide-up area houses a 24MP front camera plus a second 2MP sensor to capture depth information for things like bokeh effects. The slider portion also seems to house the earpiece, and, presumably, it just passes through the speaker grill on the top.

Oh, snap!

Oppo really went overboard with the Find X slider, making it rise up and down with a tiny whirring motor. Here the slider needs to be started by hand, but after the initial push it becomes magnetically assisted. Here’s how Xiaomi puts it:

Mi MIX 3’s patented slider incorporates neodymium magnets that have been carefully calibrated. Once the screen is pushed down, the magnetic mechanism immediately kicks in and finishes the opening in a snap with just the right amount of force. Xiaomi has dedicated substantial resources to the production process to ensure the slider has a life expectancy of 300,000 cycles in lab tests.

It sounds like Xiaomi is not only bringing the slider phone back but also including a sweet snap action when it opens and closes. The top slider portion houses the earpiece for calls, so you slide the top part up to answer incoming calls. Hopefully this means you can also dramatically hang up on a call by slamming the slider down. (Please, Xiaomi!) When you’re not in a call, it appears the slider action is customizable, and you can have it open the selfie camera, start an app, or launch a shortcuts drawer.

The specs start about where you would expect: a 2.8GHz Snapdragon 845 (that’s 100MHz faster than normal!), 6GB of RAM, 128GB of storage, and a 3200mAh battery. There’s 10W wireless charging (with a charger in the box!), a rear fingerprint reader, and a dual 12MP camera setup in the rear. There’s no headphone jack. Like the first Mi Mix, rather than a glass back panel, Xiaomi is using ceramic.

This starting spec will run RMB 3,299 (~$475), but if that’s not enough RAM for you, you can upgrade to an 8GB model for RMB 3,599 (~$518). If that’s still not enough, the highest-end model, called the (deep breath) “Xiaomi Mi Mix 3 Palace Museum Edition,” has 256GB of storage and a whopping 10GB of RAM for RMB 4,999 (~$719).

If you haven’t guessed from the pricing yet, this phone is destined for China at launch, with other markets to be announced later. The Mi Mix 3 launches in China on November 1, and a “5G” version will supposedly launch some time next year.

Listing image by Xiaomi

This week Microsoft released a new blog dedicated to the Windows Kernel internals. The purpose of the blog is to dive into the Kernel across a variety of architectures and delve into the elements, such as the evolution of the kernel, the components, the organization, and in this post, the focus was on the scheduler. The goal is to develop the blog over the next few months with insights into what goes on behind the scenes, and the reasons why it does what it does. However, we got a sneak peek into a big system that Microsoft looks like it is working on.

For those that want to read the blog, it’s really good. Take a look here:

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/Windows-Kernel-Internals/One-Windows-Kernel/ba-p/267142

When discussing the scalability of Windows, the author Hari Pulapaka, Lead Program Manager in the Windows Core Kernel Platform, showcases a screenshot of Task Manager from what he describes as a ‘pre-release Windows DataCenter class machine’ running Windows. Here’s the image:

Click to zoom. Unfortunately the original image is low resolution

If you weren’t amazed by the number of threads in task manager, you might notice that on the side there’s a scroll bar. That’s right: 896 cores means 1792 threads when hyperthreading is enabled, which is too much for task manager to show at once, and this new type of ‘DataCenter class machine’ looks like it has access to them all. But what are we really seeing here, aside from every single thread loaded at 100%?

So to start, the CPU listed is a Xeon Platinum 8180, Intel’s highest core count, highest performing Xeon Scalable ‘Skylake-SP’ processor. It has 28 cores and 56 threads, and by math we get a 32 socket system. In fact in the bumf below the threads all running at 100%, it literally says ‘Sockets: 32’. So this is 32 full 28 core processors all acting together under one version of Windows. Again, the question is how?

Normally, Intel only rates Xeon Platinum processors for up to 8 sockets. It does this by using three QPI links per processor to form a dual-box configuration. The Xeon Gold 6100 range does up to four sockets with three QPI links, ensuring each processor is linked to each other processor, and then the rest of the range does single socket or dual socket.

What Intel doesn’t mention is that with an appropriate fabric connecting them, system builders and OEMs can chain together several 4-socket or 8-socket systems into a single, many-socket interface. Aside from the fabric to be used and the messaging, there are other factors in play here, such as latency and memory architecture, which are already present in 2-8 socket platforms but get substantially increased going beyond eight sockets. If one processor needs memory that is two fabric hops and a processor hop is away, to a certain extent having that data in a local SDD might be quicker.

As for the fabric: I’m actually going to use an analogy here. AMD’s EPYC platform goes up to two sockets, but for the interconnect between sockets, it uses 64 PCIe lanes from each processor to host AMD’s Infinity Fabric protocol to act as links, and has the benefit of the combined bandwidth of 128 PCIe lanes. If EPYC had 256 PCIe lanes for example, or cut the number of PCIe lanes down to 32 per link, then we could end up with EPYC servers with more than two sockets built on Infinity Fabric. With Intel CPUs, we’re still using the PCIe lanes, but we’re doing it in one of three ways: control over Omni-Path using PCIe, control over Infiniband using PCIe, or control using custom FPGAs, again over PCIe. This is essentially how modern supercomputers are run, albeit not as one unified system.

Unfortunately this is where we go out of my depth. When I spoke to a large server OEM last year, they said quad socket and eight socket systems are becoming rarer and rarer as each CPU by itself has more cores the need for systems that big just doesn’t exist anymore. Back in the days pre-Nehalem, the big eight socket 32-core servers were all the rage, but today not so much, and unless a company is willing to spend $250k+ (before support contracts or DRAM/NAND) on a single 8-socket system, it’s reserved for the big players in town. Today, those are the cloud providers.

In order to get 32 sockets, we’re likely seeing eight quad-socket systems connected in this way in one big blade infrastructure. It likely takes up half a rack, of not a whole one, and your guess is as good as mine on the price, or power consumption. In our screenshot above it does say ‘Virtualization: Enabled’, and given that this is Microsoft we’re talking about, this might be one of their internal planned Azure systems that is either rented to defence-like contractors or partitioned off in instances to others.

I’ve tried reaching out to Hari to get more information on the system this is, and will report back if we get anything. Microsoft may make an official announcement if these large 32-socket systems are going to be ‘widespread’ (meant in the leanest sense) offerings on Azure.

Note: DataCenter is stylized with a capital C as quoted through Microsoft’s blog post.

Related Reading

The European Parliament voted on Wednesday to enact a complete ban on some single-use plastics — such as drinking straws and disposable cutlery — across the European Union and a reduction on others in an effort to reduce ocean waste.

Members of the European Parliament passed the measure overwhelmingly, by a vote of 571 to 53, with 34 abstentions.

Before the legislation goes into effect, the European Parliament must negotiate with the European Council of government ministers from its member states. The council is expected to make a decision on Dec. 16.

“We have adopted the most ambitious legislation against single-use plastics. It is up to us now to stay the course in the upcoming negotiations with the Council,” Belgian MEP Frédérique Ries said in a news release. “It is essential in order to protect the marine environment and reduce the costs of environmental damage attributed to plastic pollution in Europe, estimated at 22 billion euros by 2030.”

The legislation calls for direct bans on single-use plastic items such as “plates, cutlery, straws, balloon sticks or cotton buds” by 2021.

Consumption of single-use plastics “for which no alternative exists,” such as single-use food boxes or containers for fruits, vegetables or ice cream, must be reduced by at least 25 percent by 2025, according to the legislation.

The measure also cracks down on fishing gear, such as monofilament fishing line, and tobacco waste. It seeks to reduce waste from tobacco products and cigarette filters containing plastic by 50 percent by 2025 and 80 percent by 2030.

“Member states should also ensure that at least 50 percent of lost or abandoned fishing gear containing plastic is collected per year, with a recycling target of at least 15 percent by 2025,” said the release. “Fishing gear represents 27 percent of waste found on Europe’s beaches.”

The measures also held tobacco producers and producers of fishing gear containing plastic more accountable — companies in those industries must cover the costs of waste collection for their products, “including transport, treatment and litter collection.”

The European Parliament also seeks to recycle a target of 90 percent of all recyclable drink bottles by 2025.

The measures are the latest in a growing, global movement to reduce single-use plastic waste. According to the European Commission, plastic makes up more than 80 percent of marine litter.

The United Nations announced last year that it was “declaring war” on ocean plastic:

“Each year, more than 8 million tonnes of plastic ends up in the oceans, wreaking havoc on marine wildlife, fisheries and tourism, and costing at least $8 billion in damage to marine ecosystems. Up to 80 per cent of all litter in our oceans is made of plastic.

“According to some estimates, at the rate we are dumping items such as plastic bottles, bags and cups after a single use, by 2050 oceans will carry more plastic than fish and an estimated 99 per cent of seabirds will have ingested plastic.”

The movement to eliminate plastic straws spread across the U.S. and other parts of the world this summer.

Starbucks said it would drop plastic straws worldwide by 2020, and Marriot International said it would do the same by next summer.

McDonald’s said it would use paper straws instead of plastic ones in some 1,300 restaurants in the U.K. and Ireland.

The

McLaren

Speedtail hypercar is finally here, and it’s a streamlined stunner. The whole car is slicker than a bar of soap, and everything about it is there to make it the fastest McLaren road car in history. Grilles and air intakes are kept small and out of the way. It has a long tapering tail. The front wheels have large smooth covers. One of the particularly curious parts is the rear active spoiler. It consists of flaps that appear to not have any kind of joint or gap where they lift.

The cockpit is suitably futuristic and unique, too. As the company previously mentioned, the seat is in the center, as with the old McLaren F1 road car. Immediately in front of the driver is the steering wheel and a main screen for instruments, and to either side are additional screens for other information and interfaces. At the base of either pillar are two smaller screens which are connected to cameras that substitute side mirrors for less drag. In what seems like a nod to airplanes, key controls including the gear select buttons and other knobs and switches are above the driver on the ceiling.

McLaren revealed about its ultimate Ultimate Series car on Friday, offering details only hinted at before. The automaker says the Speedtail is its most aerodynamic car ever, and that this was its “singleminded vision” — not hard to believe, looking at it: “A jaw-dropping elongated body makes it as much a work of art as a masterpiece of technology.” It’s also McLaren’s fastest, with a

hybrid

powertrain putting out over 1,000 horsepower.

Related Video:

SINGAPORE — When James Dyson, the billionaire British inventor of the bagless vacuum cleaner, unveiled a plan to build an electric car plant in Singapore, it raised a few eyebrows.

Not only does the land-starved city state have some of the highest average salaries in the world, but it has been nearly 40 years since Ford closed its factory in Singapore, effectively ending car production on the Southeast Asian island.

“It is a bit of a surprise because of the cost base and no other car manufacturing plant being here,” said Shantanu Majumdar, a regional director at consultancy JD Power.

Dyson said on Tuesday the decision was based on supply chains, access to markets and the availability of expertise, which offset the cost factor.

But what other factors could have influenced the decision? Why not head straight to the biggest electric vehicle market in the world, China, like rival Tesla?

Here’s a look at some of the less obvious pros and cons:

1. High costs vs. generous incentives

Compared with other global cities, Singapore has some of the highest average salaries in the world after tax, according to studies by Deutsche Bank. Land available for industrial use is scarce and expensive, and it ranks highly in general cost-of-living indexes.

But aside from its skilled engineers and scientists, for a high-tech firm like Dyson, Singapore offers generous incentive schemes.

Some schemes include tax breaks for five years, which can be extended, and grants that can cover up to 30 percent of the cost of projects to improve business efficiency. Singapore declined to comment on whether Dyson benefited from any such schemes.

To shore up productivity in its manufacturing sector, which makes up less than quarter of its output, Singapore has focused efforts on attracting high-end manufacturers and those who adopt automated production processes.

2. Small market vs. China gateway

Dyson may have decided to make electric cars in Singapore, but few are likely to be driven here or anywhere in Southeast Asia for that matter.

The number of privately owned electric vehicles in Singapore is in single digits, and Tesla CEO Elon Musk has criticized Singapore for not being supportive of electric vehicles.

Singapore is one of the world’s most expensive places to own a car because the government strictly controls the vehicle population by charging owners a variable rate for the right to own and use a vehicle for a limited number of years.

In the broader Southeast Asia, only 142 electric vehicles are forecast to be sold this year, data from consultant LMC Automotive shows.

By contrast, sales in China are forecast to almost reach 700,000 vehicles this year, more than double the combined sales from the United States and Europe.

But with one of the world’s busiest ports on its doorstep, Dyson can roll a car off the production line in Singapore and within the hour it can be on its way to China or other sizable electric vehicle markets like South Korea or Japan.

Dyson products — such as bladeless fans, air purifiers and hair dryers — are becoming a premium brand in China and other Asian markets. Asia accounted for more than 70 percent of Dyson’s growth last year, the firm said.

3. Familiarity vs. new frontier

Dyson’s history with Singapore probably also played a role.

It already employs 1,100 people in Singapore, making 21 million digital electric motors a year. It also has manufacturing hubs in Malaysia — connected to Singapore via two road bridges — and in the Philippines.

“This is obviously a surprise, but since Singapore is at the heart of Southeast Asia, Dyson would be best placed to source many components from neighboring countries and, locally, assemble and manufacture the high-tech car here,” said a corporate banker who deals with multinational firms in the region.

Another option for Dyson could have been to follow rival Tesla to the biggest market, China.

By the time Dyson’s first car is ready in 2021, Tesla may already be selling locally produced cars in China after it signed a deal with the Shanghai government for an 860,000 square meter plot of land to build its first overseas Gigafactory.

But China is becoming a crowded market for making electric vehicles, and the government is reining in subsidies.

Meanwhile, Singapore does have an extensive free trade agreement with China, which lists various car types and car parts in its tariff-reduction schedule.

Singapore’s Economic Development Board did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether electric vehicles would be eligible for exemptions under this arrangement.

JD Power’s Majumdar said intellectual property would be another consideration for Dyson.

“Intellectual protections are very strong in Singapore. … It is definitely an advantage. When you are in China … you may not be so comfortable on that part.”

Reporting by John Geddie and Aradhana Aravindan

Related Video:

EWG tested 28 brands of conventional oat-based cereals; they all had glyphosate residue, most of them above healthy standards.

Earlier this year, environmental health watchdog, Environmental Working Group, tested 45 conventional oat-based cereal products and found glyphosate in 43 of them. They’ve conducted a second round of testing and the results are as grim as the first time around. In the second set of tests, glyphosate – the active ingredient in Monsanto’s Roundup weed killer – was found in all 28 samples.

Glyphosate is a systemic, broad-spectrum herbicide that kills things not genetically modified to resist it. (That is, it doesn’t kill the genetically modified plants grown exclusively from Monsanto seeds.)

While the companies that make the products in question claim that there is no cause for alarm since the levels fall within regulatory limits set by the Environmental Protection Agency, the levels were nonetheless higher than what EWG scientists consider protective of children’s health with an acceptable margin of safety.

“Just because something is legal doesn’t mean it’s safe,” notes EWG. “Federal government standards for pesticides in food are often outdated, not based on the best and most current science. The EPA’s standards for pesticides and other chemicals are also heavily influenced by lobbying from industry.”

Glyphosate is the most commonly used herbicide across the globe. It is great at killing weeds … and that’s not all. It is classified by the International Agency for Research on Cancer as “probably carcinogenic” to people. It is also listed by the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment as a chemical known to the state to cause cancer.

The independent lab found that all 28 samples had levels above EWG’s health benchmark of 160 parts per billion (ppb). One product had a level of 2,837 ppb … nearly 18 times higher than EWG’s children’s health benchmark. EWG’s benchmark is based on the risks of lifetime exposure, because when a person consumes a small bit every day, it accumulates.

“How many bowls of cereal and oatmeal have American kids eaten that came with a dose of weed killer?” asks EWG President Ken Cook. “… if those companies would just switch to oats that aren’t sprayed with glyphosate, parents wouldn’t have to wonder if their kids’ breakfasts contained a chemical linked to cancer.”

The idea that chemicals linked to cancer our in our kids’ food is really just dreadful. The government standards are outdated and influenced by industry, and the bottom line is that we just shouldn’t be feeding our kids weed killer, no matter the level.

As Cook says, “Glyphosate and other cancer-causing chemicals simply don’t belong in children’s food, period.”

You can read more about the report, see which products were tested, and sign a petition at EWG.

Oh, and in the meantime, buy organic oat cereals.