This Warsaw-based start-up was founded in 2020, and aims to address the ‘performance bottleneck’ of high-volume data processing.

Read more: Oxla: Reducing the big costs of big data processing

Will Explore Feed help burst our respective Facebook bubbles?

Read more: Facebook officially rolls out Explore Feed to desktop and mobile

Gaming giant Razer had been rumoured to be working on a smartphone for some time.

Read more: Razer launches Android smartphone geared towards gamers

Samsung’s latest offering is unveiled at Mobile World Congress.

Read more: 8 things you need to know about the Samsung Galaxy S9

Irish tech player iKydz has revealed its own child-safe smartphone at Mobile World Congress 2018.

Read more: An Irish tech firm has developed a child-safe smartphone

A European initiative will see a quantum light source travel around Europe to 12 top laboratories in the space of a year.

Read more: Quantum on tour: Cutting-edge light source arrives in Cork

A number of new measures have been announced as part of Ireland’s national AI strategy, including expanded upskilling initiatives.

Read more: Irish Government unveils ‘refreshed’ national AI strategy

An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Guardian: Sweden has vetoed plans for 13 offshore windfarms in the Baltic Sea, citing unacceptable security risks. The country's defence minister, Pal Jonson, said on Monday that the government had rejected plans for all but one of 14 windfarms planned along the east coast. The decision comes after the Swedish armed forces concluded last week that the projects would make it more difficult to defend Nato's newest member. The proposed windfarms would have been located between Aland, the autonomous Finnish region between Sweden and Finland, and the Sound, the strait between southern Sweden and Denmark. The Russian exclave of Kaliningrad is only about 310 miles (500km) from Stockholm. Wind power could affect Sweden's defence capabilities across sensors and radars and make it harder to detect submarines and possible attacks from the air if war broke out, Jonson said. The only project to receive the green light to was Poseidon, which will include as many as 81 wind turbines to produce 5.5 terawatt hours a year off Stenungsund on Sweden's west coast. "Both ballistic robots and also cruise robots are a big problem if you have offshore wind power," Jonson said. "If you have a strong signal detection capability and a radar system that is important, we use the Patriot system for example, there would be negative consequences if there were offshore wind power in the way of the sensors."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

"AMD's Ryzen 7 9800X3D debuts with impressive performance gains, powered by advanced 3D V-Cache technology and improved thermal efficiency," writes Slashdot reader jjslash. "While the CPU shines as a top choice right out of the gate, AMD's history of quick price cuts suggests waiting could yield even better value for savvy buyers." TechSpot reports: Today we're finally able to show you how AMD's new Ryzen 7 9800X3D performs, and spoiler alert -- it's a real weapon that solves the issues we encountered with the non-3D Zen 5 chips before this. Without question, this is the best CPU released since the 7800X3D, making this launch particularly exciting. [...] For now, the 9800X3D is mighty impressive, the undisputed king of gaming, and it marks a historic milestone. We don't think AMD has ever been this dominant over Intel, certainly not in the last 15 years.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Starting November 11, TSMC plans to stop supplying 7 nm and smaller chips to Chinese companies working on AI processors and GPUs. "The move is reportedly to ensure it remains compliant with US export restrictions," reports The Register. From the report: This will not affect Chinese customers wanting 7 nm chips from TSMC for other applications such as mobile and communications, according to Nikkei, which said the overall impact on the chipmaker's revenue is likely to be minimal. TrendForce further cites another China-based source who claims the move was at the behest of the US Department of Commerce, which informed TSMC that any such shipments should not proceed unless approved and licensed by its BIS (Bureau of Industry and Security). We asked the agency for confirmation. Any moves by the silicon supremo is likely to be out of caution to pre-empt accusations from Washington that it isn't doing enough to prevent advanced technology from getting into the hands of Chinese entities that have been sanctioned. As TrendForce notes, it "highlights the foundry giant's delicate position in the global semiconductor supply chain amid the heating chip war between the world's two superpowers."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Sodium-ion batteries are cheaper than lithium-ion batteries — and they're also more environmentally friendly. And "In the past few years, sodium-ion battery production has increased in the United States," reports the Washington Post, with a new factory planned to manufacture them "in the same way as lithium-ion batteries, just with different ingredients. Instead of using expensive materials like lithium, nickel and cobalt, these will be made of sodium, iron and manganese..." Last month, sodium-ion battery manufacturer Natron Energy announced it would open a "gigafactory" in North Carolina that would produce 24 gigawatt hours of batteries annually, enough energy to charge 24,000 electric vehicles. But sodium-ion batteries are still early in their development compared with lithium-ion, and they have yet to hit the market on a massive scale. "It's unlikely sodium-ion could displace lithium-ion anytime soon," said Keith Beers, polymer science and materials chemistry principal engineer at technical consultancy firm Exponent... The biggest limitation of sodium-ion batteries is their weight. Sodium weighs nearly three times as much as lithium, and it cannot store the same amount of energy. As a result, sodium-ion batteries tend to be larger. Jens Peters, an economics professor at the University of Alcalá in Madrid, said the energy density could be improved over time in sodium-ion batteries. But, he added, "what we found out so far in our assessments is that it is not a game changer." Sodium-ion batteries are touted to be the environmentally friendly alternative to their lithium-ion counterparts, thanks to their raw materials. Sodium, iron and manganese are all abundant elements on the planet, so they require less energy to extract and cost less... Sodium-ion batteries also last longer than lithium-ion ones because they can withstand more charge cycles, said Wendell Brooks, co-CEO of Natron Energy. "Our product can have millions of cycles," said Brooks, "where lithium-ion would have three to five thousand cycles and wear out a lot faster...." Sodium-ion batteries aren't the best fit for smartphones or electric vehicles, which need to store lots of energy. However, one advantage is their low cost. And they could be a good candidate in situations where the size of the battery isn't a concern, like energy storage. "When something is built out to support grid or backup storage, it doesn't need to be very dense. It's staying put," Beers said. Natron will invest nearly $1.4 billion in the factory "to meet the rapidly expanding demand for critical power, industrial and grid energy storage solutions," according to their announcement. "Natron's high-performance sodium-ion batteries outperform lithium-ion batteries in power density and recharging speed, do not require lithium, cobalt, copper, or nickel, and are non-flammable... Natron's batteries are the only UL-listed sodium-ion batteries on the market today, and will be delivered to a wide range of customer end markets in the industrial power space, including data centers, mobility, EV fast charging, microgrids, and telecom, among others."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Renew Home says they're building a "virtual power plant" in Texas by "enabling homes to easily reduce and shift the timing of energy use." Thursday they announced a 10-year project distributing hundreds of thousands of smart thermostats to customers of Texas-based power utility NRG Energy, starting next spring. (Bloomberg calls them "AI-enabled thermostats that use Alphabet Inc.'s Google Cloud technology.") The ultimate goal? "Create a nearly 1-gigawatt, AI-powered virtual power plant" — equivalent to 1.9 million solar panels, enough to power about 200,000 homes during peak demand. One NRG executive touted the move as "cutting-edge, AI-driven solutions that will bolster grid resilience and contribute to a more sustainable future." [Residential virtual power plants] work by aggregating numerous, small-scale distributed energy resources like HVAC systems controlled by smart thermostats and home batteries and coordinating them to balance supply and demand... NRG, in partnership with Renew Home, plans to offer Vivint and Nest smart thermostats, including professional installation, at no cost to eligible customers across NRG's retail electricity providers and plans. These advanced thermostats make subtle automatic HVAC adjustments to help customers shift their energy use to times when electricity is less constrained, less expensive, and cleaner... Over time, the parties expect to add devices like batteries and electric vehicles to the virtual power plant, expanding energy savings opportunities for customers... Through the use of Google Cloud's data, analytics, and AI technology, NRG will be able to do things like better predict weather conditions, forecast wind and solar generation output, and create predictive pricing models, allowing for more efficient production and ultimately ensuring the home energy experience is seamless for customers. Google Cloud will also offer "its AI and machine learning to determine the best time to cool or heat homes," reports Bloomberg, "based on a household's energy usage patterns and ambient temperatures." It was less than a year ago that Renew Home was formed when Google spun off the load-shifting service for its "Google Nest" thermostats, which merged with load-shift management startup OhmConnect. Bloomberg describes this week's announcement as "Three of the biggest names in US home energy automation... coming together to offer some relief to the beleaguered Texas electrical grid." But they point out that 1 gigawatt is roughly 1% of the record summer demand seen in Texas this year. Still, "The entire industry has been built to serve the peak load on the hottest day of the year," said Rasesh Patel, president of NRG's consumer unit. "This allows us to be a lot more smarter about demand in shaving the peak."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Projects funded include a study to reduce seizures in epilepsy, the development of antimicrobial food packaging and the use of AI in speech and language therapy.

Read more: 290 ‘exceptional’ early-career researchers awarded €27.5m

Marine Institute’s Dr Niall McDonough talks about the upcoming Ocean Knowledge 2030 Conference and a new national marine strategy.

Read more: Why knowledge is vital for securing Ireland’s ocean economy

The largest number of doses (85pc of the allocation) will go to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the epicentre of the current outbreak.

Read more: WHO announces 899,000 mpox vaccines for nine African nations most affected

Led by Prof Breandán Kennedy, the research project will bring together 21 institutions from 11 countries.

Read more: UCD-led EU project aims to revolutionise biomedical research

To celebrate Science Week, we’ve put together a bumper list of 25 scientists based in Ireland who are innovating across STEM.

Read more: 25 scientists you need to know about

PwC highlights that the growing demand for energy continues to outpace the adoption of renewables.

Read more: We need to decarbonise 20 times faster to stay on target, PwC says

When users on X block someone, the blocked user will still be able to view their posts, but can't interact with them.

Read more: X officially allows blocked users to view public posts

The funding approved by Enterprise Ireland has been used by more than 400 companies to help reduce carbon emissions.

Read more: More than €55m granted to Irish companies for decarbonisation

The proposed ban includes those already on the platforms and those with parental consent.

Read more: Australian cabinet proposes social media ban for under-16s

The CEO of Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, had faced accusations that he had ignored and downplayed internal concerns raised about young users.

Read more: Zuckerberg not liable in social media harm lawsuits, judge rules

I like to bookend the New Year holiday with two posts, one looking back at the year that is ending (What Happened) and one looking forward to the year ahead (What Will Happen). This is the first of these two posts. The second one will run tomorrow. I ended my What Will Happen In 2023 […]

Over the last few years, I’ve moved my internet life from web2 to web3 and rarely use any web2 services anymore. So I am starting a series called “I’ve Moved Onchain” to explain this journey to everyone and today’s opening post is about blogging, naturally. I’ve blogged at AVC.com for a very long time. I […]

While many people in the creative industries are worrying that AI is about to steal their jobs, Oscar-winning film director James Cameron is embracing the technology. Cameron is famous for making the Avatar and Terminator movies, as well as Titanic. Now he has joined the board of Stability.AI, a leading player in the world of Generative AI. In Cameron’s Terminator films, Skynet is an artificial general intelligence that has become self-aware and is determined to destroy the humans who are trying to deactivate it. Forty years after the first of those movies, its director appears to be changing sides and…

This story continues at The Next Web

If you’ve ever seen yourself through a thermal imaging camera, you’ll know that your body produces lots of heat. This is in fact a waste product of our metabolism. Every square foot of the human body gives off heat equivalent to about 19 matches per hour. Unfortunately, much of this heat simply escapes into the atmosphere. Wouldn’t it be great if we could harness it to produce energy? My research has shown this would indeed be possible. My colleagues and I are discovering ways of capturing and storing body heat for energy generation, using eco-friendly materials. The goal is to…

This story continues at The Next Web

The US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is often held as a model for driving technology advances. For decades, it has contributed to military and economic dominance by bridging the gap between military and civilian applications. European policymakers frequently reference DARPA in discussions, as outlined in the 2024 Draghi Report, but an EU equivalent has yet to materialise. To create such an agency, the governance and management of European innovation programmes would need drastic changes. DARPA supports disruptive innovation Founded in 1958, DARPA operates under the US Department of Defense (DoD) with a straightforward mission: to fund high-risk technological…

This story continues at The Next Web

Whether you're building a holiday list for yourself or brainstorming ideas for the tech-inclined in your life, Google's Holiday 100 has you covered.

Can't be bothered to set up a new smart home gadget? Now you can let Gemini do it.

Look around a jobsite, and you’ll likely see many crew members wearing Red Wing boots.

The best time to perform any significant work on a school building is when school is out, but that was not possible in the case of Rome High School in Georgia.

R/J Group Inc. shows how offering feasible repairs in place of total replacements not only saved the customer money, but led to additional work.

Using McElroy Metal roofing and wall panels, this storage facility became the brand's "flagship self-storage facility" thanks to its aesthetics.

View the schedule of events taking place during Day Two of the International Roofing Expo's Virtual Edition.

The final day of the International Roofing Expo's Virtual Edition is packed with plenty of information and entertainment for attendees. View the schedule here!

In this session, learn about an exciting new nationwide apprenticeship program that addresses the workforce shortage plaguing the roofing industry.

The BBB International Torch Awards for Ethics recognize businesses that maintain outstanding dedication to upholding ethical business practices and promoting trust in the marketplace.  

Discipline and focus are more important than ever. The basic principles of time management have not changed. The tools are just different.

A lot of us don’t think about dying or becoming sick, but it happens. Here are some things you can do to prepare for the unexpected.

Advanced Roofing has grown into one of the elite commercial contractors in Florida with a commitment to quality and an eye for strategic diversification.

Quality and an excellent work ethic define this family-owned commercial contractor.

Within eight decades, Bradford Roof Management has grown from a small sole proprietorship in the local Billing, Mont. area into a small but mightily influential company whose name and intellectual property extend far beyond the Northern Rocky Mountain region.

CE REEVE Roofing, a Tecta America company, grew from a small roofing outfit to generating $60 million annual sales giant under Bryan Klepinger and Stacy Agnew.

3BL has ranked Owens Corning fourth in its 2024 100 Best Corporate Citizens list, recognizing the company's transparency and performance in ESG factors, marking its seventh top-10 appearance.

Roofing innovation: NanoTech Inc, a material science company pioneering a category of climate-resilient materials that enable environmental responsibility without sacrificing financial return, brings on multiple investors in an oversubscribed funding round to combat peak heat in the last weeks of summer.  

The history of coatings in roofing has been marked by innovation overcoming challenges, not unlike Inland Coatings; despite market shifts, the company's resilience and adaptability led to its revitalization through acquisitions and strategic leadership courtesy of private equity.

GAF's new membranes combine cool roof initiatives with the durability of modified bitumen and the aesthetics of a solar reflective bright white surfaced roof.

Shepherd has contributed to the CRRC for over a decade, including the CRRC S100 Consensus Body since 2023 and 10 years as a Technical Committee member.

There are many project scheduling methods and programs available out in the construction world.

Face masks aren’t the only way to stop the spread of COVID-19. Here are some viable alternatives that can keep workers safe.