extremetech.com

I am glad end-users no longer have to manually set the CPU voltage for a new chip using a series of jumpers or DIP switches, knowing if they got it wrong, they’d fry the CPU, the motherboard, or both. There’s one specific way in which the computers of the late 1990s and early 2000s blow the machines of today out of the water: achievable price/performance ratios. Back then, Duron’s didn’t like to hit high bus speeds and generally could not boot at a 133MHz FSB clock. Computers today are a hell of a lot better than the Windows 98SE machines that typify the era I’m discussing, but they aren’t necessarily quite as much fun.

‘Oumuamua passed through our neighborhood during summer and fall 2017, but astronomers with the Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System (Pan-STARRS1) didn’t spot it until October 17 that year. The researchers believe the object got a gravitational boost during its long journey to our solar system, possibly from planet or star. If there are between one and three detectable interstellar objects hitting Earth every 30 years, astronomers could plan ahead to collect more data. That would give researchers a chance to take measurements of the debris where the object breaks up, which might offer clues as to the composition of another solar system.

The Israeli Beresheet moon lander didn’t complete its mission, crashing into the moon instead of landing softly. That’s a setback for Israel’s space ambitions, but the mission might not be a complete loss. An experimental NASA payload from the Beresheet spacecraft might still be intact someplace on the lunar surface. MIT’s David Smith is the principal investigator for NASA’s ‘Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter (LOLA) instrument aboard the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) spacecraft.

Or, put differently, Microsoft hates meetings and screen-sharing just as much as you do, and is still trying to find a better way to bring all of these capabilities together in a form that provides better tools during meetings without making you want to die. The Surface Hub 2S will launch in June for $8,999, though the extra bells and whistles raise the total price to nearly $12,000. Included is a 50-inch 3:2 IPS 60Hz display (3840×2560) with an Intel 8th Gen Core i5 CPU, 8GB of DDR4, and 128GB of internal storage. Microsoft has worked with Steelcase to design a wall mount ($250) or a stand/easel ($1,449) to hold the screen.