Technology

A new satellite program backed by Google and global nonprofits is looking to mitigate destructive fire seasons.

• Google Drive adds thumbnail previews when watching videos
• Much like YouTube, it will let you spot exact moments in videos
• It'll be available to all Google Drive users soon

Scouring through videos to find the moment you need should soon get a lot easier thanks to a new update coming to Google Drive.

The cloud storage platform has revealed users will now be able to see a thumbnail preview image when hovering over a video's progress bar.

Much like when viewing a video in YouTube, this feature should allow users to quickly navigate around a video, making it easier to track down the specific moments they need.

Google Drive video thumbnails

(Image credit: Google Workspace)

"With the ability to find the right moments in videos, this update improves productivity and the overall video viewing experience in Google Drive," the company wrote in a Google Workspace updates blog post.

The feature will only be available for new videos uploaded to your Drive account via web or mobile app.

Users will then need to open the newly uploaded video in Drive web, and can then simply hover their mouse over the video progress bar to see thumbnail previews. Dragging your mouse along the progress bar will let you quickly run through the video using the thumbnails to find the spot you need.

What's even better is that the feature will be open to all users, with the company noting it will be on offer to all Google Workspace customers, Google Workspace Individual subscribers, and users with personal Google accounts.

It is rolling out now, and also won't require any extra admin control to utilize.

The feature is the latest in a series of Google Workspace upgrades aiming to boost productivity among users.

The company revealed a host of new AI tools and services for Google Workspace earlier this year, including Generated Background Images and Studio Look, Studio Lighting, and Studio Sound for Google Meet, as well as Translate for me, coming to Google Chat.

This was soon followed by a number of AI-powered office software upgrades at its Google Cloud Next 25 event designed to give users a productivity and creativity boost when they need it most, including new audio tools in Google Docs which can create listenable versions of your document, as well as upgraded analysis tools for Google Sheets to help get the most out of your data.

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• Battlefield 6 was officially revealed last week
• Now a reliable leaker has given us some potential insight into the game's battle royale mode
• It will allegedly take place in a coastal environment called Lydon Beach

Yet more information has leaked about the next entry in the Battlefield series, now officially titled Battlefield 6.

The game was revealed late last week with an explosive trailer that showed off its modern military setting and gritty, realistic tone. It confirmed that the title will be called Battlefield 6 and teased a further multiplayer reveal at the end of this month.

We won't have to wait that long for new details, however, thanks to the reliable Battlefield leaker 'Temporyal'. The user, who has a good track record when it comes to Battlefield data mining, shared a mock-up of the game's battle royale map assembled through information that they had collected.

The mode will allegedly take place in an environment known as Lydon Beach, a tropical-looking coastal location.

They also claim that the map will feature a wide range of points of interest, including a build-up area known as Main Street, industrial docks, and what appears to be a military base called Fort Lydon.

The map will even seemingly have a massive golf course, which has me hoping that we'll get the chance to mess around with some drivable golf karts. They also suggest that a metro system could be in the works, potentially allowing players to quickly travel around to different areas.

All in all, it looks like a pretty solid battle royale setting, with plenty of variety in terms of density and layout.

I've been playing plenty of Call of Duty: Warzone since the return of the Verdansk map earlier this year, but would happily jump ship for the opportunity to explore something a little fresher. I'm sure many other players would do the same.

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• Many organizations now have well-defined GenAI strategies, but are still worried about legacy infrastructure and security
• But NTT Data study finds many workers aren't ready
• Employees are worried that they don't have the right skills for AI

New research has highlighted the huge benefits AI tools could have on the healthcare sector, and while organizations appear to be vaguely ready for the tech, workers aren't.

Four in five healthcare leaders surveyed by NTT Data say they have a well-defined generative AI strategy, but only half of those say their strategy is strongly aligned with business goals.

Furthermore, only around half (54%) of all respondents rated their GenAI capabilities has high-performing, leaving plenty of room for improvement.

Healthcare workers aren't ready to benefit from AI

The news comes as the UK Government seeks to make the NHS the most AI-enabled health system in the world, as part of a 10-year plan, by equipping workers with trusted AI assistants to bridge ongoing skills gaps.

The benefits are clear: 94% agree that GenAI accelerates R&D to improve diagnostics, predictive analytics and task automation.

Artificial intelligence is now being seen as a driver of better patient outcomes and process adherence, but some challenges remain.

For example, three in four workers report skills shortages in working with GenAI. Companies are also worried about legacy infrastructure (91%), data privacy and PHI misuse (91%) and cybersecurity (58%).

In terms of their technical readiness, fewer than half have assessed their data or platform for GenAI readiness (48%) and invested sufficiently in data storage and processing (44%).

"To achieve GenAI’s full potential in healthcare, organisations must align the technology to their business strategies, develop comprehensive workforce training, and implement multi-layered governance strategies that prioritise people and keep humans in the loop," NTT Data North American SVP Sundar Srinivasan summarized.

Looking ahead, three in five (59%) are planning significant GenAI investments within the next two years, because most (87%) believe GanAI's benefits could outweigh legal and security risks.

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• Elden Ring Nightreign is finally getting a proper duos mode this week
• The update drops on July 30, along with numerous quality-of-life changes
• The latest round of Everdark Sovereign fights also arrives on July 31

The clouds part and the heavens shine through this week, as Elden Ring Nightreign is finally set to get one of its most heavily requested features, duo expeditions, in this week's update.

Announced via the official Elden Ring X / Twitter account, the update is set to land on July 30 for PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. Duo expeditions will finally let groups of two queue into a game, without the need to carry along a third random player.

A proper duos mode initially wasn't planned for Elden Ring Nightreign, but following feedback, developer FromSoftware initially confirmed a duos mode would arrive at a later date shortly after launch.

On July 30, 2025, take on Night's terrors as two kindred souls.Duo Expeditions will be added in patch 1.02 of #ELDENRING #NIGHTREIGN. pic.twitter.com/0JlELoqg0CJuly 25, 2025

We unfortunately don't have any details on how Nightreign will be balanced to support a party of two. Though after launch, solo expeditions were made much more manageable in a patch that reduced enemy health, boosted rune acquisition, and applied buffs unique to solo playthroughs. It's likely we'll see a halfway house between solo and full-squad expeditions here, then.

Duo expeditions aren't the only thing to look forward to in this week's patch, though. Players can also expect some quality-of-life features. In a follow-up post, the official Elden Ring X / Twitter account confirmed Relic filtering is getting a much-needed overhaul, with players now able to sort and search for Relics to a more granular degree.

Finally, FromSoftware has confirmed that the latest round of Everdark Sovereign bosses (even harder versions of the existing Nightlords) is set to arrive on July 31. These will be Tricephalos, Augur, Equilibrious Beast, and Fissure in the Fog.

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• Intel is looking for buyers of its Networking and Edge Group
• These areas accounted for 11% of Intel's total 2024 revenue
• The move comes as Intel layoffs continue to hit its workforce

Intel is planning to spin off its engine Networking and Edge Group as part of an ongoing company-wide effort to boost profitability.

The news was confirmed in an internal memo seen by CRN, authored by Sachin Katti, who has held a number of roles in Intel's Networking and Edge Group (NEX), including SVP, GM and CTO.

Although NEX will be spun off, Intel is set to remain a key investor, similar to its previous approach with Altera. That is, of course, if Intel is successful in finding a buyer.

Intel will spin off its Networking and Edge Group

An Intel spokesperson confirmed (via CRN): "We plan to establish key elements of our Networking and Communications business as a stand-alone company... Like Altera, we will remain an anchor investor enabling us to benefit from future upside as we position the business for future growth."

However, the company remains in the early stages of identifying potential investors.

In 2024, NEX generated around $5.8 billion in revenue for Intel, around 11% of the company's $53.1 billion in total annual revenue.

The move is the latets drastic action undertaking under the direction of new Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan, who promised big changes when he came on board earlier in 2025.

"Intel was once widely seen as the world’s most innovative company. There’s no reason we can’t get back there, so long as we drive the changes needed to improve," Tan shared with colleagues in April 2025.

Although most of the changes highlighted in Tan's memo to workers centered around humans – redundancies, a return-to-office and streamlined processes with fewer unnecessary meetings – the CEO has also been making changes to the company itself.

Nevertheless, with this news coming just days after we learned that Intel would be reducing its headcount even further, it marks a major milestone in Intel's history and one that workers will be paying close attention to.

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Creative work relies on technology. Instead of physical materials, a contemporary artist’s toolkit is largely digital, especially in the production world, where new resources emerge every day.

The repeating theme is AI, which creative studios are steadily adopting. It enables time-pressed artists to deliver work at speed, without sacrificing the human touch.

With the pace accelerating, keeping up with emerging platforms can give teams a real edge. Here are 12 AI tools redefining the stages of creativity – not as gimmicks, but as tangible working solutions.

1. Grip

(Image credit: Grip)

Speed and clarity are everything. Ideas need to quickly turn into pitch decks and deliverables otherwise, you risk losing client interest.

Grip enables artists to take a product and create its digital twin, ready for placement in any setting. Its ethically sourced generative AI model facilitates visual fine-tuning, allowing for the rapid creation of high-quality concept pieces.

2. Upscayl

(Image credit: Upscayl)

If you find yourself with pixelated reference images, open-source platform Upscayl converts them into a usable asset.

By restoring detail to low-res assets, teams can keep visual consistency without re-sourcing or recreating elements.

3. Viggle

(Image credit: Viggle)

A quick and easy way to share animations with clients is through Viggle, an AI motion capture platform that takes your footage and converts it into a stylised animation. Using generative AI prompts, your movement data can be transferred to any scene.

4. Leica Cyclone 3DR

With production underway, asset generation becomes the priority. Post-scan workflows can slow projects down, but Leica’s Cyclone 3DR addresses this by making it easier to segment, classify, and export individual assets from LiDAR captures.

It enables efficient environment building, especially when digital twins of real spaces are needed fast.

5. Vizcom

(Image credit: Vizcom)

Vizcom streamlines concept art for internal approvals or client reviews by converting sketches to 3D renders.

Using AI to retexture, recolour, and retouch, the software creates ready-to-use assets in minutes.

6. Gaussian Head Avatar

This research-driven tool creates 3D heads from just a photograph. Once created, users can customise hairstyle and proportions.

While not yet standardised in production, Gaussian Head Avatar opens up interesting applications for digital doubles, background characters, or stylised avatars that require volume but not photoreal precision.

7. Motorica

(Image credit: Motorica)

Once the assets are together, it’s time to begin animating. Browser-based Motorica requires 10 minutes of motion capture data to replicate an individual’s movement, then uses AI-powered prompts to generate consistent animation.

This makes it easier to prototype or expand performances without repeat capture, and is especially useful in stylised projects or large-scale simulations.

8. Colossyan

(Image credit: Colossyan)

When people-focused content is needed, but you don’t have a spokesperson, Colossyan presents a simple, AI-driven solution.

The platform generates an AI Avatar, and through a text-to-speech function, enables the avatar to lip-sync. It’s commonly seen in short-form content to add a personal touch – something brands are increasingly calling out for.

9. VASA-1

Sometimes, the best tools aren’t found in typical places. VASA-1 is a Microsoft research project that maps audio to facial animation.

It works for dubbing, creating content in different languages, or when you want to put visuals over a great soundbite. Although it’s not yet production-ready, it’s a tool to look out for.

10. Blend Now

(Image credit: Blend Now)

The main aim of AI tools is to cut down time for creatives, enabling their work to go further.

Blend Now does just that by removing backgrounds and replacing them with AI-generated ones.

While in-person shoots offer more depth and nuance, this is a simple way to repurpose content and keep it current for customers.

11. Beeble

(Image credit: Beeble)

Beeble does a similar task, but applies new backgrounds to videos. The AI-powered tool generates passes, removing the surrounding environment and all lighting.

The user applies new light sources according to the refreshed background, making the shot look natural and highly realistic – another option for those looking to refresh older footage.

12. Dream Machine

Edit elements within video – including lighting, wardrobe, and setting – using an AI inference.

The results tend to be mixed depending on the scale of the request, but the ability to test alternate creative directions without reshooting makes Dream Machine a useful option for short-form or commercial projects with rapid turnaround.

Navigate AI with intent

Above all else, AI tools are here to assist, not to replace creative work. Thanks to these new technologies, we can produce previews instantly, generate convincing videos for short-form content, and wrap up the editing process faster.

And as agentic AI draws closer, we’ll see even better ways to make creative work pop.

For now, the real advantage lies in careful selection. Forward-thinking teams are already testing and integrating these tools, using AI to reduce repetitive tasks and make space for important decisions.

And in an increasingly intense creative production landscape, modern technology is essential.

This article was produced as part of TechRadarPro's Expert Insights channel where we feature the best and brightest minds in the technology industry today. The views expressed here are those of the author and are not necessarily those of TechRadarPro or Future plc.

Once the exclusive domain of legal and compliance, data privacy is now a major responsibility for IT. When privacy issues emerge, IT professionals are on the spot, not necessarily as the team that absorbs privacy risk but the one accountable for the tools and visibility to proactively manage it.

When the board asks questions or when the auditors arrive, IT management must be ready with answers about checking the box for data privacy compliance, taking steps to mitigate third-party vendor risk, complying with reporting requirements and setting appropriate policies for data governance, especially around AI systems.

This is a tall order for data privacy and security and it’s compounded by the operational reality that available resources rarely match these expanding responsibilities.

Responsibilities and Reality

Several factors contribute to the disconnect between privacy expectations and operational capacities.

Privacy functions typically operate with minimal staffing while being organizationally siloed from IT operations. Yet IT leaders are expected to provide centralized accountability for privacy, yet they don’t always have the corresponding authority or visibility needed to support that responsibility.

Visibility. Data flows through IT systems, but its exact location and ownership often remain unclear. In other words, there’s no single source of data truth. Without unified monitoring of these complex pathways, privacy breaches become discoverable only after damage occurs.

Third Party Risk. Many privacy teams lack visibility into which vendors access personal data. This visibility gap creates compliance exposure that ultimately reflects on IT leadership and creates ownership confusion. Without protection and collaboration and shared visibility, things fall through the cracks.

Showing Proof. No one wants to get slammed with a violation for poor data handling. Authorities expect evidence that companies have taken steps to implement reasonable preventative measures –documentation many IT departments struggle to produce.

Dynamic data. Modern data environments create perpetual compliance challenges as data continuously streams in and throughout organizations. Maintaining accurate data inventories becomes nearly impossible through manual processes. Simultaneously, data subject requests (DSRs) are on the increase while records of processing activities (RoPAs) consume enormous legal and IT resources.

Furthermore, data integrations are a major concern. After all, who hasn't learned the hard way that not every catalog or pre-built integration supports every system, workflow, or business logic?

Best Practices

- Data mapping creates a dynamic data inventory that is direct and actionable for all involved to find clarity and purpose with enterprise data. Such an investor can facilitate the building joint workflows, clear responsibilities for data ownership so everyone is working through the same data inventory.

- Strive for more sophisticated automated behavior between tools and purpose. Automation helps to avoid repetitive tasks, delivers oversight, flags risks, track third party behavior and manages data integrations.

- In the aftermath of a breach, automation produces a record of that proves the checklist was complete, and appropriate steps were taken to avoid an incident. Auditors are less likely to issue steep fines for violations if IT can produce a report with this proof. Automation also frees up more time to analyze risk and refine processes.

- Take a no-code approach to integrations. No-code not only expands the number but enhances the quality of integrations. No-code enables each integration to be customized per the organization’s exact needs and on IT terms.

- Continue to focus on real-time visibility to enable the holy grail of the IT enterprise: monitoring and control

Helpful Capabilities

Data Mapping. Given the centralized role that CIOs and CISOs have for enterprise privacy, there’s a need strong collaboration and shared visibility with teams that are responsible for privacy yet have different priorities and reporting structures.

Data Mapping for inventory discovery and data classification are essential and typically done through a portal that provides a window on how data moves through the enterprises system and where personal data is accessed by which vendors.

By mapping and classifying data, a portal can enable one source of data truth for all aspects of privacy data and ensure that all privacy and legal teams are working with the same dynamic data inventory.

Automated Integrations. As more people exercise their data privacy rights, and more privacy mandates pass, the number of data subject requests has increased.

These requests are driving demand for automated processes that can keep pace with the time-consuming burden of foundational tasks like building and maintaining Records of Processing Activities (RoPAs) and Data Subject Requests (DSR). DSRs and ROPAs can result in data bottlenecks and constrained resources.

No Code Approach. Not only are privacy regulations complex and always changing, but the average organization also now connects to dozens of data sources, requiring big libraries of pre-built integrations and an API catalog rat race to build APIs.

When data reporting on this level starts to pile up, automated data integration becomes a game changer, so build data integrations that are easily facilitated with any backend system, platform, and SaaS apps. No-code integrations are a game changer in this respect. No-code allows IT teams to freely build, customize and maintain integrations that match internal systems, workflows, and logic - enabling faster deployment and easier maintenance of DSR handling, without developer overhead.

AI Agent. With all the complexity and intricacies of privacy management, there’s been an imbalance of resources and expectations, and it’s been ongoing for years. Automation has been helping to solve this imbalance, by cutting through the complexity. Now, core privacy tasks can be supported by an AI Assistant that can be purpose-built to automate core tasks, not just make suggestions.

AI agents are embedded with the privacy operations platform to intelligently analyze actual systems, how data is used and classified. It can help to build RoPAs automatically, freeing up valuable time for strategic initiatives. Beyond simply automating tasks, a privacy AI Agent can identify potential data risks, including shadow IT systems that lack necessary security controls to misclassified information.

Clear context on why these are risks along with actionable insights to help IT teams make informed decisions and mitigate potential issues proactively.

Summary

For IT, blind spots are not only a technical challenge but also organizational. Each exposure can be a chance to demonstrate strategic leadership by building greater trust with your team, users, privacy teams, and the board. Visibility also leads the way forward to getting ahead of regulatory changes.

Treating privacy blind spots seriously helps to build an agile, secure IT organization that is accountable, collaborative, and ready for growth. Forward-thinking IT leaders can turn compliance challenges into an operational advantage.

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This article was produced as part of TechRadarPro's Expert Insights channel where we feature the best and brightest minds in the technology industry today. The views expressed here are those of the author and are not necessarily those of TechRadarPro or Future plc. If you are interested in contributing find out more here: https://www.techradar.com/news/submit-your-story-to-techradar-pro

AI agents, the much-touted next phase of generative AI, have commanded enterprises’ attention. Right now, 61% of business leaders are actively adopting AI agents, according to a recent survey by my organization – with ambitious plans to scale them organization-wide.

The fixation is justified: agents can work autonomously, navigate complex workflows, learn from experience, and leverage other software as tools. They are a step change from AI that talks with you, like chatbots, to AI that works for you. The result is major productivity: Gartner estimates that by 2028, agents will automate 15% of day-to-day business decisions.

But business leaders shouldn’t mistake agents’ sophistication with omnipotence. Agents can fall into the same traps as older, less sophisticated software – including dreaded IT silos.

Battling silos

For decades, IT professionals have battled silos: applications, databases, and other systems that aren't interoperable. In the 1980s and 1990s, enterprises struggled to connect disparate applications into a single ERP solution.

Accounting, procurement, and sales workstreams were stubbornly separate – squandering coveted cross-company insights. More recently, enterprises have struggled to unify crucial customer data across disparate CRMs, and have also labored to integrate data spread across on-premise locations and multiple cloud environments.

No matter the decade or technology, the result of silos is always the same: wasted time, wasted resources, and wasted potential. When agents become trapped in silos, the outcome is no different. Their return on investment plummets, too.

We are already seeing agentic silos take shape. Enterprises are using agents with rigid divisions – one agent for sales activities, another for procurement tasks, a third for CRMs – with little connective tissue between them. What if those agents need to work together to troubleshoot a complex problem, like a sudden and unexpected shift in product demand?

If they’re siloed, they cannot pool their abilities and function as a whole greater than the sum of their parts. Not orchestrating agents is like hiring several subcontractors to build a house but restricting their tools and communication. The result is a poorly built house – or jumble of agents with poor performance.

Agents and silos

Agents can also be siloed from the technology that enterprises already have in place. Imagine an HR Agent tasked with orchestrating employee PTO – but unable to access certain calendar applications and documents.

Imagine an IT Agent tasked with troubleshooting software problems – but unable to access troves of past incident reports and help desk tickets. These agents would fail to complete their fundamental tasks, and the time and resources that went into building them would be wasted.

There is something deeply ironic about siloed agents. Agents' value lies in their very ability to traverse the full enterprise stack, bridging tools and processes that require human time and talent. When agents get stuck, they are a victim of the very problem they are trying to solve. Businesses are investing in the problem, not the solution.

Siloed agents have an additional pitfall: they need to be governed and secured piecemeal. Relying on an ad hoc, patchwork approach to governance and security means an agentic use case is likely to fall through the cracks. If this occurs, agents’ most valuable asset – their autonomy – can quickly turn into a liability. Issues like bias, drift, and security vulnerabilities are amplified by agents’ access and independence.

Reaching potential

For agents to reach their full potential, business leaders must first fix the fragmentation underneath. Enterprises need a single data fabric that can unify the structured and unstructured data that powers agents. While many enterprises haven’t achieved this yet, a growing number understand the value: 72% of leaders view their organization’s proprietary data as key to unlocking the value of generative AI, according to my company’s most recent CEO Study.

Enterprises also need a hybrid control plane automating the sprawling landscape agents work across, unifying APIs, apps, events, files, and mainframe data. And enterprises should invest in a central nervous system for their agents. The future is multi-agent: It will be teams of agents, rather than a single agent, that tackle complex tasks. Enterprises need a single hub to supervise and route those agents. In other words, enterprises need a general contractor for all those subcontractors.

The need for orchestration

Better integrated and orchestrated agents also boost observability. Rather than governing and securing agents piecemeal, enterprises can apply comprehensive rules and oversight from a single point. This also allows AI security teams and AI governance teams to collaborate: if a shadow agent deployment is spotted by security tools, it can quickly and automatically steer the agent into the proper governance workstream.

Enterprises are rightfully investing in agents. But if they want that investment to translate into impact, they should be making equal commitments to agent integration and orchestration. Otherwise, they will end up with a whole that is less than the sum of its parts. In 2025 and beyond, it won't just be the businesses with the best agents that win. It will be the businesses with the most flexible ones.

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This article was produced as part of TechRadarPro's Expert Insights channel where we feature the best and brightest minds in the technology industry today. The views expressed here are those of the author and are not necessarily those of TechRadarPro or Future plc. If you are interested in contributing find out more here: https://www.techradar.com/news/submit-your-story-to-techradar-pro

• Ryzen Threadripper Pro 9995WX now on sale with Zen 5, 96 cores, 192 threads
• AMD’s most powerful workstation CPU available from major retailers for $11,699
• Most professionals won’t need the 9995WX despite the impressive specs

The AMD Ryzen Threadripper Pro 9995WX is now available to buy from major retailers, including Amazon and Newegg, with a starting price of $11,699 - much cheaper than initial predictions.

It’s the top chip in AMD’s new Threadripper Pro 9000 WX-series and is built on the latest Zen 5 architecture, sporting 96 cores, 192 threads, and offers a boost clock of up to 5.4GHz.

The 9995WX uses TSMC’s 4nm process and fits the sTR5 socket. The CPU supports 8-channel DDR5-6400 memory, offers up to 148 PCIe lanes, and carries a 350W TDP.

For professional workloads

This processor is aimed at professional workloads that can scale across dozens of threads.

AMD lists compatibility with chipsets like Pro 695, TRX50, and WRX90.

The chip also supports ECC memory and includes features like AMD Pro technologies and EXPO for memory tuning.

For those running highly parallel tasks like visual effects rendering or scientific modeling, this processor can deliver impressive throughput, but at this price, it’s hard to recommend unless the application is truly pushing the limits of core count.

While AMD’s new CPU can deliver unmatched multi-threaded performance in the right environment, most professionals will likely find better value in AMD's lower-tier options (the EPYC 9655 matches Threadripper PRO 9995WX core count for less than half the price) or in Intel's workstation CPUs, depending on their specific use case.

With no integrated graphics, a discrete GPU is required. Cooling is also left to the buyer, as no cooler is bundled.

Unless you're operating in a niche that truly benefits from 96 cores, it’s unlikely to be the best choice or offer the best value for most users.

Buyers in the UK can, as always, expect to pay slightly more than their American counterparts. Novatech is currently selling the new chip there for £10,510, or around $14,205.

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Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for July 28.

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Samsung’s 61.44TB BM1743, its highest-capacity SSD to date, typically sells for $7,500, but it's currently listed on ServerSupply for $5,950, but with available discounts the final price drops to $5,593.

This brings the cost to under $0.09 per gigabyte, making it one of the best $/GB values in the ultra-high-capacity PCIe Gen5 category.

The drive is a 2.5-inch U.2 model built for read-intensive workloads. It features a PCIe 5.0 x4 NVMe interface, QLC V-NAND flash, and high sustained throughput.

Add an adapter

Read speeds top out at 14,200MBps, with write speeds reaching 2,100MBps.

Random performance peaks at 850,000 IOPS for reads and 30,000 IOPS for writes. Latency is 150 microseconds for reads and 30 microseconds for writes.

It’s rated for 0.26 drive writes per day and supports 29,153TB of total endurance.

Features include TCG Opal 2.0 encryption, AES-XTS 256-bit hardware encryption, enhanced power-loss protection, and full end-to-end data path integrity.

The SSD also includes static and dynamic wear leveling, plus support for advanced S.M.A.R.T. monitoring.

Power requirements are high. Read operations draw 23.8 watts, writes consume 24.7 watts, and idle power use is listed at 5 watts.

Despite being designed for enterprise systems, the BM1743 can be used with standard PCs and laptops via a USB adapter, making it a good choice for power users, creators, and developers (with pretty deep pockets) who need large, fast storage without building a server.

Products like the Sabrent EC-U2SA allow users to connect U.2 SSDs over USB 3.2. This adapter includes a 12V/2A power supply to handle high draw, supports TRIM and UASP, and works with both Windows and macOS.

The adapter is currently available to buy on Amazon for $34.99, down from its usual $59.99.

The SSD’s listed price on ServerSupply is $5,950, but a 5% discount is automatically applied at checkout and an additional 1% is available when using the retailer’s mobile app, bringing the final price to $5,593.

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• Lost yield from stochastics is costing chipmakers billions at advanced process nodes
• Current process control methods are not enough to solve high-volume stochastics failures
• New whitepaper outlines design and measurement solutions to close stochastics gap

A new whitepaper has claimed the semiconductor industry is losing billions of dollars due to something few outside the field have heard of: stochastic variability.

This form of random patterning variation is now considered the biggest hurdle to achieving high yields at the most advanced process nodes.

The paper was contributed by Austin, Texas-based Fractilia, whose CTO, Chris Mack, noted, “Stochastic variability is contributing to multibillion-dollar delays in introducing advanced process technology into high volume manufacturing.”

Affecting yield, performance and reliability

Mack further explained current process control strategies have not been able to address these random effects.

“Closing the stochastics gap requires completely different methodologies that device makers need to validate and adopt,” Mack said.

Fractilia defines this “stochastics gap” as the difference between what can be patterned in research and what can be reliably mass-produced at acceptable yields.

At the heart of this gap is a randomness rooted in the physics of materials, molecules, and light sources used in chip production.

Although these effects were once negligible, they now consume a growing share of the manufacturing error budget.

“We have seen our customers make dense features as small as 12 nanometers in research and development,” Mack said. “But when they try to move it into manufacturing, stochastic failures are affecting their ability to achieve acceptable yield, performance and reliability.”

The problem has grown alongside the rise of EUV and high-NA EUV lithography. These advances have allowed chipmakers to attempt even smaller features, but also made them more vulnerable to stochastic defects.

Unlike conventional variability, this type can’t be eliminated with tighter controls, it needs to be managed with probability-based design and measurement techniques.

“The stochastics gap is an industry-wide problem,” Mack said. “This issue can be minimized and controlled, but it all starts with accurate stochastics measurement technology.”

The whitepaper, which you can download here, includes an analysis of the problem and proposes stochastics-aware design, materials innovation, and updated process controls as the path forward.

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• A massive 28,000mAh battery makes the FOSSiBOT F107 Pro feel more like a rugged tablet
• FOSSiBOT F107 Pro blends 200MP photography with bulk, weight, and questionable image processing
• Starlight Night Vision from the F107 Pro could work, but only under ideal outdoor conditions

Night vision in smartphones has long been synonymous with grainy black-and-white images, often requiring infrared lighting to function.

The FOSSiBOT F107 Pro claims to challenge this status quo with what it calls “Starlight Night Vision,” a technology which promises full-color visibility in near-total darkness.

The core of the F107 Pro’s pitch lies in its ability to capture full-color imagery in lighting conditions as low as 0.0005 lux.

Color night vision at near-total darkness levels

For comparison, this device can capture decent images in an environment that's darker than a moonless night in the wilderness.

This feat is supposedly achieved through a large-aperture lens and an ultra-sensitive sensor that uses ambient light sources like stars and scattered moonlight.

If it works as advertised, it could be valuable for field professionals or extreme outdoor users.

But it’s worth asking how often such perfect low-light conditions align in real-world use, and whether typical users will experience the kind of visual clarity the device showcases in marketing materials.

In terms of photography specs, the rugged smartphone certainly doesn’t hold back.

A 200MP main camera and a 50MP wide-angle macro lens make for an ambitious setup, while a 32MP front camera rounds things out for video calls or vlogging.

Although large sensor numbers don’t always guarantee image quality, processing software and lens quality play a crucial role too.

And with rugged phones, camera optimization is often where manufacturers cut corners in favor of durability.

On the performance side, the F107 Pro runs on MediaTek’s Dimensity 7300 5G processor and boasts up to 30GB RAM (with virtual memory expansion) and 512GB of onboard storage, expandable to 2TB.

That’s enough power to multitask, store extensive media files, or run demanding business smartphone applications.

The phone also carries a massive 28,000mAh battery, which seems more aligned with rugged tablet territory.

While impressive, this also means a heavier, bulkier device, which everyday users may find less convenient.

This device is physically resilient, and it is built to survive drops, dust, water, and temperature extremes with MIL-STD-810H certification and IP68/IP69K ratings.

The F107 Pro may not replace a flagship for casual users, but it’s certainly built to compete in the niche market of field-ready devices.

Via Androidpc

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