DeepSeek’s tech fuelling China’s military
Published in AI


Avoiding US export controls 


A senior US official has accused DeepSeek of aiding the PRC’s military and intelligence operations by using Southeast Asian shell companies to sidestep US semiconductor export controls.

Noctua introduces NF-A12x25 G2 next-generation 120mm fan
Published in PC Hardware


New 120mm flagship fan

Noctua has introduced its next-generation flagship 120mm fan, the NF-A12x25 G2. The new fan has some big shoes to fill as the original NF-A12x25 was one of the best 120mm fans on the market, but the new one promises big improvements with a refined blade geometry and a novel motor design.

Samsung releases new Smart Monitor M-series
Published in News


Including OLED M9, M8, and M7 models

Samsung has updated its latest Smart Monitor lineup, including the flagship Smart Monitor, the flagship M9 (M90SF) model, as well as the updated M8 (M80F) and the M7 (M70Fl) models.

Musk threatens to lobotomise Grok again
Published in AI


Chatbot may not defy its billionaire dad

Elon Musk is once again throwing a wobbly at his own AI chatbot, Grok, for committing the cardinal sin of citing facts and accurately describing some of his sketchier online pals.

Huawei crows over China’s FTTR lead
Published in Network


Ultra-connected workforce

Huawei chair Xu Zhijun [pictured] reckons China’s fibre-to-the-room rollout is leaving the rest of the world in the dust.

TSMC still king of Foundry 2.0 while Intel chases its tail
Published in News


Intel claws second place as Samsung stumbles over its yields

TSMC is still lording it over the global chip foundry racket, holding on to a 35 per cent grip on what is dubbed the "Foundry 2.0" which covers everything from photomask manufacturing to chip packaging alongside the usual silicon stamping.

Nvidia's RTX 5050 is here, but it's not rocking any boats
Published in Graphics


2560 cores, 8GB RAM and just enough to call it an upgrade

Nvidia has finally stuck the GeForce RTX 5050 desktop GPU on its website, and while it’s not breaking any records, it’s clearly angling for the sweet spot of entry-level gamers who fancy a whiff of Blackwell architecture without torching their wallets.

Apple's CarPlay Ultra drives carmakers to hit the brakes
Published in Transportation


Luxury brands snub Apple’s dashboard land grab

The Fruity Cargo Cult, Apple’s latest attempt to colonise car dashboards with its CarPlay Ultra system has hit a wall, as several high-end carmakers politely told it to sod off.

Sophos finds ransomware crooks still getting paid
Published in News


But firms are coughing up less cash and recovering faster

Security outfit Sophos has released its latest State of Ransomware report and it paints a picture that’s still grim, but with a few green shoots for businesses sick of being fleeced.

Nordic buys Memfault
Published in News


Flogging a full-stack IoT dream, not just chips

Nordic Semiconductor has decided it’s had enough of being just another silicon pusher and snapped up its long-time partner Memfault, the cloud outfit best known for keeping IoT devices from going tits-up.