Tag: half
Intel’s Arc A770 GPU is Like an RTX 3070 For Half the Price
Every generation, graphics card (GPU) prices seem to be going up. NVIDIA’s new RTX 4090, for one, is a whopping $1,600. Intel’s debut in the gaming GPU space is coming with a promise to turn that tide around, starting with the Arc A770, promising high-performance promises at a fraction of the cost.
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Nearly half of UK’s offshore wind capacity owned by state-owned foreign entities
Almost Half of Industrial Robots Are In China
A majority of new industrial robots are used in electronics manufacture (for circuit boards, consumer electronics, etc.) and in automobile assembly, particularly in the surging production of electric vehicles (EVs).One must wonder why China, a country with so much cheap manual labor available, would opt for expensive robots with their special demands for tech support. China may have a giant population (1.4 billion people), but its workforce is actually decreasing, says the IFR, due to an increasing segment of its population aging and a growing competition for service jobs. China also expects a leveling off of its rural-to-urban migration. China’s government is determined not to let a declining workforce cause a drop in manufacturing, and as only a centralized, authoritarian government can, it has made robotizing a national priority and has mobilized its forces.
China’s latest five-year plan for the robotics industry, released in December 2021 by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), aims for nothing less than making China a world leader in robot technology and industrial automation. And it appears to be working. China went from 10 robots per ten thousand employees 10 years ago to 246 robots per ten thousand employees in 2020, the ninth best ranking in the world. To keep the robots state of the art and operational, China’s Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security introduced 18 new occupational titles in June, including “robotics engineering technician.”
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Ska Band Half Past Two Releases Music Video Shot Entirely In The Sims 3
Move over, AMVs–The Sims music videos are what’s hot right now and Orange County ska band Half Past Two is out to prove it. Earlier today, the ska ensemble released their music video for “Curtain Call,” which was shot entirely in The Sims 3.
The music video kicks off with a sim version of the band’s lead singer, Tara Hahn, riding her bicycle before kicking into the upbeat, pop-punk track. What ensues is a whole lot of Sim-ly hijinks involving trampolines, bull-riding, and the game’s infamous Dance Sphere.
Much like any other music video, this endeavor featured a director: Rae Mystic. While Mystic has shot plenty of music videos using more traditional methods (including some of Half Past Two’s previous videos), filming one entirely in The Sims 3 was a new and exciting challenge for them.
Interest rate raised by half a point to 2.25%, the highest level since 2008
Business energy prices to be cut by half expected levels
Star Citizen crowdfunding reaches half a billion dollars after a decade
Most games from major publishers don’t get development budgets anywhere close to half a billion dollars. Star Citizen — an indie game by some definitions of the term — recently blew past that number from crowdfunding. Furthermore, developer CIG raised $100 million of that money since last November, indicating investment…
The Moneyist: My second husband would like to inherit part of my home as he pays half the mortgage. I want 100% to go to my children. Who’s right?
Google Cancels Half the Projects At Its Internal R&D Group Area 120
Over the years, the division has launched a number of successful products, including the HTML5 gaming platform GameSnacks, now integrated with Google Chrome; an AirTable rival called Tables which exited to Google Cloud; an A.I.-powered conversational ads platform AdLingo, which also exited to Cloud; video platforms Tangi and Shoploop, which exited to Google Search and Shopping, respectively; the web-based travel app Touring Bird, which exited to Commerce; and a technical interview platform Byteboard, a rare external spinout. One of the projects now being cut with the changes is Qaya, a service offering web storefronts for digital creators, launched late last year.
The other six projects being canceled weren’t yet launched, but included a financial accounting project for Google Sheets, another shopping-related product, analytics for AR/VR, and, unfortunately, three climate-related projects. These latter projects had focused on EV car charging maps with routing, carbon accounting for I.T., and carbon measurement of forests. Google confirmed the changes in a statement to TechCrunch: “Area 120 is an in-house incubator for experimental new products. The group regularly starts and stops projects with an eye toward pursuing the most promising opportunities. We’ve recently shared that Area 120 will be shifting its focus to projects that build on Google’s deep investment in AI and have the potential to solve important user problems. As a result, Area 120 is winding down several projects to make way for new work. Impacted team members will receive dedicated support as they explore new projects and opportunities at Google.”
Read more of this story at Slashdot.