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Lightspeed AI Computing Made Possible With a New Chip

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Lightspeed AI Computing Made Possible With a New Chip

To do the intricate math required for AI training, experts at the University of Pennsylvania have created a new microprocessor that runs on light waves rather than electricity. With this technology, computers could process information at a much faster rate and use less power overall.

The silicon-photonic (SiPh) chip design is the first to combine the technology of the silicon-photonic (SiPh) platform—which uses silicon, the inexpensive, abundant element used to mass-produce computer chips—with the groundbreaking research of H. Nedwill Ramsey Professor and Benjamin Franklin Medal Laureate Nader Engheta on manipulating materials at the nanoscale to perform mathematical computations using light—the fastest possible means of communication.

One path toward creating computers that surpass the capabilities of current chips—which are largely built on the same ideas as chips from the early days of the computing revolution in the 1960s—is the interaction of light waves with matter.

Taking advantage of the fact that Aflatouni’s research group has pioneered nanoscale silicon devices, “we decided to join forces,” adds Engheta.

Their objective was to create a platform that could carry out vector-matrix multiplication, a fundamental mathematical operation used in the construction and operation of neural networks, the type of computer architecture that underpins modern artificial intelligence systems.

According to Engheta, “you make the silicon thinner, say 150 nanometers,” but only in certain places, as opposed to using a silicon wafer of uniform height. Without the use of any additional materials, those height variations offer a way to regulate how light travels through the chip. This is because the height variations can be distributed to cause light to scatter in particular patterns, enabling the chip to execute mathematical operations at the speed of light.

Aflatouni says that this design is already ready for commercial applications and could be modified for use in graphics processing units (GPUs), the demand for which has increased dramatically with the widespread interest in creating new artificial intelligence systems, due to the limitations imposed by the commercial foundry that produced the chips.

“They can adopt the Silicon Photonics platform as an add-on,” says Aflatouni, “and then you could speed up training and classification.”

The chip developed by Engheta and Aflatouni offers advantages in terms of privacy in addition to speed and energy efficiency: Future computers equipped with such technology will be nearly impenetrable since multiple computations can occur concurrently, eliminating the need to keep sensitive data in working memory.

“No one can hack into a non-existing memory to access your information,” says Aflatouni.

Vahid Nikkhah, Ali Pirmoradi, Farshid Ashtiani, and Brian Edwards from Penn Engineering are the other co-authors.

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Apple’s own 5G modem-equipped iPhone SE 4 is “confirmed” to launch in March

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Tom O’Malley, an analyst at Barclays, recently visited Asia with his colleagues to speak with suppliers and makers of electronics. The analysts said they had “confirmed” that a fourth-generation iPhone SE with an Apple-designed 5G modem is scheduled to launch near the end of the first quarter next year in a research note they released this week that outlines the main conclusions from the trip. That timeline implies that the next iPhone SE will be unveiled in March, similar to when the present model was unveiled in 2022, in keeping with earlier rumors.

The rumored features of the fourth-generation iPhone SE include a 6.1-inch OLED display, Face ID, a newer A-series chip, a USB-C port, a single 48-megapixel rear camera, 8GB of RAM to enable Apple Intelligence support, and the previously mentioned Apple-designed 5G modem. The SE is anticipated to have a similar design to the base iPhone 14.

Since 2018, Apple is said to have been developing its own 5G modem for iPhones, a move that will let it lessen and eventually do away with its reliance on Qualcomm. With Qualcomm’s 5G modem supply arrangement for iPhone launches extended through 2026 earlier this year, Apple still has plenty of time to finish switching to its own modem. In addition to the fourth-generation iPhone SE, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo earlier stated that the so-called “iPhone 17 Air” would come with a 5G modem that was created by Apple.

Whether Apple’s initial 5G modem would offer any advantages to consumers over Qualcomm’s modems, such quicker speeds, is uncertain.

Qualcomm was sued by Apple in 2017 for anticompetitive behavior and $1 billion in unpaid royalties. In 2019, Apple purchased the majority of Intel’s smartphone modem business after the two firms reached a settlement in the dispute. Apple was able to support its development by acquiring a portfolio of patents relating to cellular technology. It appears that we will eventually be able to enjoy the results of our effort in four more months.

On March 8, 2022, Apple made the announcement of the third-generation iPhone SE online. With antiquated features like a Touch ID button, a Lightning port, and large bezels surrounding the screen, the handset resembles the iPhone 8. The iPhone SE presently retails for $429 in the United States, but the new model may see a price increase of at least a little.

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Google is said to be discontinuing the Pixel Tablet 2 and may be leaving the market once more

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Google terminated the development of the Pixel Tablet 3 yesterday, according to Android Headlines, even before a second-generation model was announced. The second-generation Pixel Tablet has actually been canceled, according to the report. This means that the gadget that was released last year will likely be a one-off, and Google is abandoning the tablet market for the second time in just over five years.

If accurate, the report indicates that Google has determined that it is not worth investing more money in a follow-up because of the dismal sales of the Pixel Tablet. Rumors of a keyboard accessory and more functionality for the now-defunct project surfaced as recently as last week.

It’s important to keep in mind that Google’s Nest subsidiary may abandon its plans for large-screen products in favor of developing technologies like the Nest Hub and Hub Max rather than standalone tablets.

Google has always had difficulty making a significant impact in the tablet market and creating a competitor that can match Apple’s iPad in terms of sales and general performance, not helped in the least by its inconsistent approach. Even though the hardware was good, it never really fought back after getting off to a promising start with the Nexus 7 eons ago. Another problem that has hampered Google’s efforts is that Android significantly trails iPadOS in terms of the quantity of third-party apps that are tablet-optimized.

After the Pixel Slate received tremendously unfavorable reviews, the firm first declared that it was finished producing tablets in 2019. Two tablets that were still in development at the time were discarded.

By 2022, however, Google had altered its mind and declared that a tablet was being developed by its Pixel hardware team. The $499 Pixel Tablet was the final version of the gadget, which came with a speaker dock that the tablet could magnetically connect to. (Google would subsequently charge $399 for the tablet alone.)

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Windows 11 PCs with Arm Processors now have an Official ISO for Clean Installations

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Power users occasionally prefer to start over when they acquire a new computer, so they follow the pro-gamers’ advice and reinstall Windows using a brand-new ISO image that comes straight from Microsoft and is free of bloatware and needlessly complex “driver management programs.” Up until recently, the new Snapdragon laptops’ more specialized version of Windows 11 didn’t support that.

The Windows 11 build on these new laptops is unusual because of the Arm64-based hardware, which differs from the typical x86 and x64 innards found in most laptops and desktops. Microsoft has finally released a disk image (or ISO file) for these devices after several months of waiting. To perform a direct reinstallation or make a bootable flash drive for a different device, you may now download it straight from Microsoft’s website. It is identical to the installation media utility that is currently available.

Be aware that there may be some glitches if you use this method for a fresh install. Compared to previous designs, the Snapdragon X system-on-a-chip has a lot fewer hardware variables, but because it’s so new, Windows Update might not include all the necessary components. You may need to use an Ethernet connection or the old-fashioned sneakernet to manually load drivers from another computer. You may also need to do some Googling to locate all the files you require for that.

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