Can We Disrupt the Data Center Designs?
The surge in data creation—projected to reach 181 zettabytes by 2025—has pushed data centers to consume 4‑5% of U.S. electricity and massive water volumes for cooling. Companies are experimenting with renewable power, nuclear PPAs, ocean‑water cooling, and even floating or offshore facilities to curb environmental impact. Parallel efforts focus on repurposing retired hardware, smartphones, and second‑life EV batteries to build micro‑server farms and reduce e‑waste. Experts stress that smarter architecture—separating compute from storage and leveraging edge processing—can deliver immediate efficiency gains while longer‑term concepts like space‑based centers remain distant.
Credo and Molex Shore up Their CPO Positions
Credo and Molex are strengthening their co‑packaged optics (CPO) capabilities through proposed transactions with DustPhotonics and Teraverse, respectively. The moves aim to broaden each company’s product portfolio and capture a larger share of the fast‑growing CPO market. In parallel, Openreach...
Intel’s New Wildcat Lake Chips Take Aim at the MacBook Neo with AI as the Differentiator
Intel unveiled its Core Series 3 "Wildcat Lake" processors on April 16, positioning them as AI‑enabled alternatives to Apple’s $599 MacBook Neo in the budget‑laptop market. Built on the 18A node, the chips combine two performance cores, four efficiency cores, Xe3 graphics and...
Permitting Hurdles and Labor Shortages Threaten AI Data Center Timelines
Almost 40% of U.S. data‑center projects face schedule risk, and 60% of those slated for next year haven’t broken ground, according to satellite‑based analysis by SynMax. Executives cite permitting bottlenecks, local opposition, and shortages of labor, power and equipment as...
Why This Sub-$300 Drone Might Be Enough for Most Creators
Skyrover introduced the S1, a sub‑$300 drone that matches the DJI Mini 4 Pro’s 4K/60 fps specs while adding a 48 MP sensor, 40‑minute flight time, and stronger AI‑assisted vertical tracking. The Mini 4 Pro, priced at $815, retains its premium edge...
Review: Movmax Blade Arm + Pocket Controller
Movmax has expanded from heavy‑duty cinema rigs into creator‑focused gear with the Blade Arm and Pocket Controller for DJI's Osmo Pocket 3. The Blade Arm uses a spring‑loaded dampening arm and an electronic suction cup that auto‑re‑pressurizes, eliminating the need for...
First Take on CadenceLive and Its AI Agent Stacks for EDA
Cadence Design Systems used its CadenceLive 2026 conference to unveil a hierarchical AI agent stack for electronic design automation (EDA). The stack features a central orchestrator that directs domain‑specific "super agents" to accelerate chip and system design workflows. Cadence’s senior...
Verizon Will Give You a Free iPad or Apple Watch with Your Next iPhone - How the Deal Works
Verizon is bundling a free iPad or Apple Watch with any iPhone purchase for customers who add a new line on its Unlimited Ultimate ($50/month) or Unlimited Plus ($40/month) plans. The promotion also covers Android shoppers, offering a Samsung tablet...
Secure Content Distribution At Heart Of New ATSC 3.0 Receivers For Consumers And Broadcasters
The ATSC 3.0 Security Authority (A3SA) is unveiling a new wave of secure NextGen TV receivers at NAB 2026, highlighting how over‑the‑air (OTA) broadcasts can be protected while delivering premium picture quality. More than 18.5 million U.S. households already own A3SA‑enabled...
SmallSat Europe Speaker Focus: Martin Langer, OroraTech
OroraTech secured a €20 million ($22 million) contract with Greece in 2025 to launch the first national wildfire early‑warning system, followed by a Can$72 million ($53 million) deal with the Canadian Space Agency for the 2029 WildFireSat mission. The Munich‑based startup designs its own...
Samsung Says Galaxy Z TriFold’s ‘Limited Run’ Is Now ‘Completely Sold Out’
Samsung announced that its limited‑run Galaxy Z TriFold is now completely sold out after a final restock on April 10. The three‑pane foldable, launched only months earlier, featured dual hinges and a 10‑inch inner display that set it apart from other devices....
Best Steam Deck Accessories 2026 - Our Top Gear for Any Gaming Handheld
The 2026 guide ranks the top Steam Deck accessories, from a sub‑$25 Jsaux 5‑in‑1 docking station to a budget‑friendly LG 24‑inch 144 Hz monitor. It highlights upgrades such as the TeamGroup MP44S NVMe SSD, Samsung Pro Plus microSD cards, and an Anker...
Single Switch High Gain DC-DC Quadratic Boost Converter for Renewable Energy Applications
Researchers Chakraborty et al. introduced a single‑switch quadratic boost converter that achieves high voltage gain for renewable energy systems. The prototype, rated at 200 W and 380 V input, delivers an 11.17× gain with only a 28 % duty cycle and reaches 96 %...
ASRock Expands AIO Cooling Lineup with Challenger LCD and Pro Series Models
ASRock announced a nine‑model expansion of its all‑in‑one liquid CPU cooler lineup, slated for release on April 24, 2026. The new Challenger series includes Digital variants with a 3‑inch 480×480 LCD that displays temperature, clock speed, and pump data, while the Challenger...
NVIDIA Revives RTX 3060 as Budget GPU Strategy Shifts in 2026
NVIDIA is set to revive its GeForce RTX 3060 12 GB graphics card, marking a shift in its entry‑level GPU roadmap for 2026. The move comes as the anticipated RTX 5050 9 GB, built on the newer Blackwell architecture, faces production delays. By leveraging the RTX 3060’s...
Intel Launches Core Series 3 “Wildcat Lake” Mobile Processors for Low-Cost Laptops
Intel unveiled the Core Series 3 "Wildcat Lake" mobile processors, a budget‑oriented offshoot of its flagship Panther Lake silicon. Built on the 18A node, the chips retain the latest CPU, GPU and NPU architectures but with a smaller die, single memory channel...
Xbox's Recent Battery Issue Was A Reminder To 'Earn Every Hour' With Players, Says Boss
Xbox recently discovered that new controllers were shipped without AA batteries, prompting the company to send free rechargeable batteries to affected customers. CEO Asha Sharma praised her team for the swift resolution and used the incident to stress the need...
Macnica Expands ST 2110 Platform With New MEP25 For 25gbe Media Workflows
Macnica announced the MEP25 SmartNIC, a 25‑GbE‑optimized media I/O card that extends its ST 2110 transport platform to standard compute environments. The FPGA‑based card offloads real‑time video, audio and metadata transport, reducing CPU load while preserving deterministic, low‑latency performance. At NAB,...
Arm Steps Deeper Into Silicon: Implications for the Semiconductor Value Chain
Arm Holdings announced its first full silicon product, the Arm AGI CPU, built on Neoverse V3 cores and fabricated by TSMC on a 3 nm process. The AI‑focused chip targets data‑center workloads and already has customers such as Meta, OpenAI, SAP,...
TSMC Says It Will Spend Close to $56bn to Keep up with Chip Demand
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) will invest close to $56 billion over the next two fiscal years to expand its production capacity and stay ahead of surging chip demand. The spending, the largest in the company’s history, targets new 3‑nanometer lines...
Meta's AI Spending Spree Is Helping Make Its Quest Headsets More Expensive
Meta announced a $50‑$100 price hike (12‑20%) for its Quest VR headsets, effective April 19, citing a global surge in memory‑chip costs. The increase coincides with Meta’s aggressive AI capital‑expenditure plan, targeting $115‑$135 billion in 2026, up sharply from $72 billion in...
DJI Pocket 4 Camera Becomes First Real Casualty of US FCC Ban
DJI unveiled the Osmo Pocket 4, a pocket‑sized gimbal camera featuring a 1‑inch CMOS sensor, 4K 240 fps video, 14‑stop dynamic range and 10‑bit D‑Log. It adds 107 GB of internal storage, up to four hours of recording, and enhanced AI tracking, gesture control,...
Everything Data Center Operators Need to Know About Dielectric Fluids
Liquid immersion cooling is gaining traction as data centers seek to manage high‑density workloads. Central to this approach are dielectric fluids—non‑conductive liquids that remove heat without risking short circuits. A growing market now offers petrochemical, synthetic, and plant‑based fluids, each...
Apex-RF To Launch RAINIER Wireless Camera Transmission System At 2026 NAB Show
Apex‑RF is debuting its RAINIER wireless camera transmission system at the 2026 NAB Show in Las Vegas. The solution delivers sub‑50 ms latency, 4K 12G SDR/HDR video, and Wi‑Fi 7 mesh networking across 5‑7.3 GHz. RAINIER combines video, camera control, intercom and IP infrastructure into...
U.S. Weather Agency’s New Mobile Fleet to Provide Rapid Storm Insight
NOAA’s National Severe Storms Laboratory unveiled three mobile weather radars, each mounted on heavy‑duty trucks for rapid deployment to tornadoes, wildfires, flash‑floods and severe wind events. The fleet includes two X‑band units, which excel at detecting small particles, and one...
Deals: Galaxy S26 Ultra + Buds 4 Pro $325 Off, Pixel 10 up to $354 Off, Pixelsnap Ring Stand, Anker...
Samsung is slashing prices on its flagship Galaxy S26 Ultra, offering a $325 bundle discount when paired with the new Galaxy Buds 4 Pro, and a separate $250 off white model on Amazon. Google’s Pixel 10 line sees its most affordable unlocked version cut by up...
I Ditched My iPhone's Hotspot for This 5G Travel Router - and I'm Never Going Back
Acer’s Connect M6E mobile hotspot replaces the iPhone’s tethering with a dedicated 5G router. It packs a MediaTek processor, 4 GB RAM, 16 GB storage and an 8,000 mAh battery that can stream video for 28 hours. The device supports nano‑SIM, eSIM and a virtual...
Rugged NDIR Gas Sensor
Honeywell unveiled its 4-Series NDIR hydrocarbon gas sensor, a rugged non‑dispersive infrared device built for both fixed installations and portable detectors used by field workers, miners and plant operators. The sensor incorporates an integrated condensation‑reduction system that clears excess moisture,...
Roku Surpasses 100M Global Households
Roku announced it has surpassed 100 million global streaming households, with roughly 75‑80 million located in the United States. The company’s Roku OS‑powered devices now command about 55 % of the connected‑TV market, outpacing Amazon Fire TV’s 35 % share. In Q4 2025 Roku...
Liquid Cooled Transmitters Get An Anywave NAB Show Spotlight
Anywave Broadcast is debuting the Magma LP, a liquid‑cooled TV transmitter designed for low‑power television (LPTV) owners, at the 2026 NAB Show in Las Vegas. Unlike traditional liquid‑cooled units, the Magma LP houses its heat exchanger, pump and plumbing inside the cabinet,...
Looking Good: HSA, FSA Cover Rx Meta AI Glasses Through Truemed
Truemed has added Meta’s prescription‑compatible AI glasses to its HSA/FSA marketplace, joining popular wearables like Garmin watches and Oura rings. The partnership lets employees purchase Ray‑Ban and Oakley AI glasses using pre‑tax funds directly from the manufacturers’ sites. Integrated features...
Elektor to Host EEI #59 on DIY Synths and the Formant
Elektor is hosting Engineering Insights #59 on April 29 to explore the Elektor Formant, a legendary DIY modular analog synthesizer first released in the late 1970s. The online session, free to register, will feature Girts Ozolins and Jacq Noise discussing the Formant’s...
How HPC And AI Digital Twins Accelerate Quantum Error Correction
Researchers from AWS, Quantum Elements, USC, and Harvard used AI‑powered digital‑twin technology on AWS’s HPC7a cloud instances to simulate a distance‑7 rotated surface code involving 97 physical qubits. The 75‑minute run on a single 96‑vCPU node captured realistic coherent and...
Amazon's Lenovo Chromebook for Just $60 Offers High Specs at a Low Price
Amazon is offering the Lenovo N21 Chromebook for just $60, a price that undercuts comparable Samsung models by roughly $30. The device packs an Intel Celeron N2840 processor, 4 GB of RAM, 16 GB of eMMC storage, and an 11.6‑inch touchscreen with...
Emulation-Based SoC Security Verification (U. Of Florida)
University of Florida researchers released a technical paper outlining how hardware emulation can strengthen pre‑silicon security verification for system‑on‑chip designs. The work surveys existing emulation‑based techniques—including assertion checking, coverage‑driven exploration, adversarial testing, information‑flow tracking, fault injection, and side‑channel analysis—and maps...
Surging Memory Costs Are Scuppering Digital Transformation Projects
Memory prices are spiking, forcing IT leaders to postpone or cancel digital transformation initiatives. A Vespertec survey shows 53% of respondents already feel the cost pinch, with 72% of those impacted delaying or scrapping projects slated for 2026. The primary...
"This Is a Practical Solution to a Big Pain Point in Many Vertical Farms"
SpectraGrow and Harvest Today unveiled the SLIM Lift System, a retractable LED lighting solution for high‑density vertical farms. The motorized lift retracts linear LED bars to the ceiling, clearing space for planting, harvesting and maintenance, and can support up to...
XPPen Launches Artist 16 3rd with the All-New X-Dial Shortcut and Upgraded X4 Smart Chip Stylus
XPPen unveiled the Artist 16 3rd, a 15.4‑inch portable drawing display priced at $319.99 for entry‑level creators. The device adds dual X‑Dial controls, eight shortcut keys, and a revamped X4 Smart Chip Stylus with 16,384 pressure levels and 30 ms latency. Its nano‑etched...
Cadence Expands AI And Robotic Partnerships With Nvidia And Google Cloud
Cadence announced expanded AI and robotics collaborations with Nvidia and Google Cloud at its CadenceLIVE event. The partnership integrates Cadence’s multi‑physics simulation tools with Nvidia’s CUDA‑X libraries, Omniverse and Isaac frameworks, enabling high‑fidelity digital twins for chip design, robotics and...
Archive of Byte Magazine, Starting with Issue #1 in 1975
Martin Research introduced the MIKE 2 and MIKE 3 microcomputer kits, offering a unique modular bus that supports both the Intel 8008 and 8080 processors. Users can start with the low‑cost MIKE 2 (8008) and upgrade to the more powerful MIKE 3 (8080) simply...
Backup Calling, Direct Voicemail Features in Smartphones Originated in India: Samsung Official
Samsung’s Noida research institute pioneered features such as backup calling, direct voicemail, privacy display, and AI‑driven call screening that now appear on the Galaxy S26 and other Samsung phones worldwide. The backup calling concept, inspired by India’s dual‑SIM usage, routes calls...
Nuvoton Releases 4.5W 402nm Violet Laser, Boosting Power Output by 1.5x
Nuvoton Technology of Kyoto announced mass production of its KLC434FL01WW violet laser diode, delivering 4.5 W at 402 nm—1.5 times the output of its previous 3 W model. The device uses proprietary facet‑coating and a high‑thermal‑conductivity TO‑9 package to boost wall‑plug efficiency and reliability....
When Wireless Looked Golden
Qualcomm CEO Sanjay Jha warned that wireless memory shipments would outpace PCs by 2008 and projected GHz‑speed chipsets within a year. He highlighted severe supply constraints for fabless firms and urged maintaining 80‑90% fab utilization for five years before building...
NetApp Enters Air-Gapped Google Distributed Cloud
NetApp has entered a four‑year enterprise agreement with Google to deliver its AFF, StorageGRID and Trident storage solutions on Google Distributed Cloud’s air‑gapped offering. The partnership, executed through World Wide Technology, makes NetApp the latest validated storage supplier for GDC’s...
Elon Musk Pushing Forward with Terafab at 'Light Speed' — Staff Reaching Out to Various Suppliers and Are Reportedly Willing...
Elon Musk’s Terafab project, launched in March 2026, received a $20 billion initial investment and is aggressively courting equipment suppliers such as Applied Materials, Tokyo Electron, Lam Research, and Samsung. The team is reportedly willing to pay premiums for priority pricing...
Amazon Eero Signal Review: 4G LTE Internet Backup for Your Eero Mesh Network
Amazon has introduced the Eero Signal, a $99 4G LTE backup device for existing Eero mesh networks. The unit plugs into an Eero satellite via USB‑C and automatically takes over when the primary broadband fails, typically within 20 seconds. Amazon...
I Tested the Cheapest HDMI 2.1 Cables I Could Find, and They Handled 4K Gaming Flawlessly
In a hands‑on test, author Ismar Hrnjicevic connected a gaming PC to a 4K TV using the cheapest HDMI 2.1 and DisplayPort 1.4 cables he could find. The low‑cost, Ultra‑High‑Speed certified HDMI cable sustained 4K @ 120 Hz, HDR, and FreeSync without any signal dropouts....
PCIM Expo 2026 Highlights SiC, GaN and Data Center Power Trends
The PCIM Expo & Conference returns to Nuremberg from June 9‑11, 2026, occupying roughly 40,000 m² and featuring more than 650 exhibitors from 27 countries. A new AI & Data Centers stage highlights the rising power‑conversion challenges of artificial‑intelligence workloads alongside traditional...
What Rising Rack Densities Mean for Power Connectors
AI-driven workloads are pushing rack power densities from the historic 3‑8 kW range to well over 100 kW, with some hyperscalers eyeing 1 MW per rack. The surge forces data centers to abandon traditional air‑cooling for liquid and immersion solutions, which dramatically improve...
Terra Drone Begins Operational Deployment of the “Terra A1” Interceptor Drone in Ukraine
Japanese drone maker Terra Drone has begun operational deployment of its Terra A1 interceptor drone with a Ukrainian military unit, marking the first combat‑proven field test of the system. The low‑cost platform, priced around $2,000‑$7,000 per unit, aims to counter...