Obama signs executive order to build first-ever exascale supercomputer

By Jamie Lendino

While the US has plenty of representation in the current TOP500 list of the fastest supercomputers in the world, it lost the #1 slot to China’s several years ago. President Obama wants to fix that immediately, and as such has signed an executive order Wednesday that dictates the creation of a coordinated federal strategy for high-performance computing (HPC) research, development, and deployment. It establishes the National Strategic Computing Initiative (NSCI) — tasked with building the first exascale (1,000-petaflop) system, and by extension the fastest supercomputer in the world.

Windows 10’s default privacy settings and controls leave much to be desired

By Joel Hruska

Windows 10 launched yesterday, so it’s time to focus in on some specific issues and evaluate the OS in bite-sized chunks. First up, we’re going to investigate the setup process, privacy options, user accounts, and some under-the-hood basics related to Windows Update and overall update control. Unlike some other writers on ExtremeTech, I deliberately held off spending much time in Windows 10 before Build 10240 so that I could experience the RTM version fresh and cover the changes as I discovered them.

Google brings deep neural networks to your phone with Translate

By John Hewitt

Google’s neural networks are good for more than just making trippy art. If you download and run the company’s latest translation app, you will be using a deep neural network — and not just through the cloud, but right on your own phone. The network instantly adds twenty additional languages to the existing seven that their app could decode before, but that’s just the beginning.

How to install Windows 10 in a virtual machine

• Grant Brunner on July 30

 
Windows 10 is officially available to the world, and it’s actually a fairly solid release. It’s not perfect, but it’s still worth checking out for the novelty factor alone. That being said, upgrading a production machine immediately after a major OS release is typically frowned upon. For those of us who want to try out all the new features without putting our productivity in jeopardy, virtualization is the best bet for the time being.
Thankfully, setting up Windows 10 in a virtual machine isn’t particularly difficult. I’ll walk you through the process from tip to tail, and by the end of this post, you’ll be ready to try out Cortana and the new Xbox app.

Despite recent claims, the EmDrive remains long on speculation, short on proof

• By Joel Hruska on July 30, 2015

A new report from German researchers has made waves by claiming to validate the performance of the controversial EmDrive, but many articles on the topic have vastly oversold the results. Let’s see if we can find some clarity here. To begin with, the EmDrive is what’s known as a resonant cavity thruster. It relies on a magnetron to produce microwaves and is designed to produce thrust towards the narrow end of the cavity.

Fixed Batman: Arkham Knight for the PC delayed until at least September

Ever since Batman: Arkham Knight vanished from store shelves amid controversy around the terrible condition of the PC port, there’s been questions about when the game might be back on store shelves. A new leaked email to EB Games suggests that the Caped Crusader won’t return to PCs to conclude his adventures for quite some time. “As previously advised,” read an internal EB Games email, “we have stopped sales of Batman: Arkham Knight PC while Warner and Rocksteady work on addressing performance issues with the game. The latest information from Warner is that the updates won’t be available until Spring. Due to this we have made the difficult decision to recall all PC stock from stores to return to the vendor until an acceptable solution is released.”

Windows 10 Updates will be mandatory for Home users — only Enterprise customers get long-term deferral Joel Hruska

Windows 10 is widely believed to have gone RTM this week, even if Microsoft isn’t formally calling it that, and new changes to the company’s License Agreement reflect that shift. According to the terms of the new agreement, Home users explicitly agree to receive mandatory updates from Microsoft with no ability to control the frequency of said updates.

New surgical handheld finds those tough-to-reach nerves and zaps pain John Hewitt

If your neurosurgeon asks you to”‘open wide,” don’t worry — you are not in the wrong place. That’s because many of the most sensitive nerves exiting the base of the brain and upper spine can best be gained through the oral cavity. The problem is that not only do all the neural highways and byways that intersect here at nerve central look exactly like each other, they also look very similar to blood vessels.

Is AMD designing Nintendo’s next-generation NX console? Joel Hruska

Yesterday, on AMD’s conference call, CEO Lisa Su announced that the company had recently added a new embedded design win to its portfolio, though without a firm date on when the company might recognize revenue from the win. One potential candidate for a hypothetical new device is Nintendo, which announced earlier this year that it would launch a new hybrid mobile device in 2016, codenamed the NX.

Buy the PlutoX7 and Basalt directly from our website

You can now buy our new PlutoX7 (8-core rugged tablet) and our Basalt rugged tablet directly from our website.
Just go here: http://cetrixrugged.com/ and use PayPal to get your hands on of our tablets today. 

Cetrix Introduces the PlutoX7 Rugged Octa-Core Android Tablet

For all those waiting for a powerful rugged Android tablet with 2GB of RAM, Cetrix is happy to announce that the long wait is finally over!
This octa-core power machine runs on a MTK6592 chipset with 1.7GHz of speed which makes the GPU Mali450MP4 and great for gaming.
Now, if 32GB of RAM isn’t enough to store all your favorite movies, games, pictures and other stuff on PlutoX7, you can always add another 64GB with a Micro-SD card.

You're invited on July 14

See more details in our Video:

3D printed bio-dough for your custom skeleton | ExtremeTech

3D printed bio-dough for your custom skeleton | ExtremeTech

Twitter discussion on #GamesCetrixPlutoX7

Join us for our July 14 discussion on Twitter at @7:30 pm (GMT) on #GamesCetrixPlutoX7 & let us know what you want in a gaming tablet.

Entertainment and Games, Anytime, Anywhere with the Cetrix PlutoX7 Rugged Octa-Core Tablet

Have you ever wished that you could watch your favorite movies or play your favorite games wherever your adventures happen to take you; whether it’s outdoors under the sun, in the rain, by the beach or in the sand? 

Well, we’re happy to announce that now you can do all that and more with the new PlutoX7.

It’s perfect for all your gaming activities, and supports 3D games, with its 8-core power and Mali450MP4 GPU. And of course, the IP67 rating allows you to take all that muscle wherever you want! 

Windows 10’s new WiFi Sense shares your WiFi password with Facebook, Outlook, and Skype contacts

• By Joel Hruska on July 2, 2015

As Windows 10 moves towards final status, some of the operating system’s new features and capabilities are getting attention. One new option, brought over from Windows Phone 8.1, is called WiFi Sense, but it’s debut on the desktop could be controversial given what the feature does. WiFi Sense will automatically connect you to detected crowdsourced WiFi networks, acquire network information and provide “additional info” to networks that require it (it’s not clear exactly what constitutes additional info), and can be used to automatically share your WiFi password with your contacts on Facebook, Skype, and Outlook.

Rosetta spots 18 sinkholes on the surface of comet 67P

• By Ryan Whitwam on July 2, 2015

Astronomers have long observed comets from afar, wondering what sort of processes on their surface result in the formation of the halo of dust and gas. Now that the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Rosetta probe has settled into orbit of comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko, we can get a closer look. The newest set of images released by the ESA depict 18 semi-circular pits or “sinkholes” where much of the comet’s tail is released in jets of dust and gas.

Best Android games: what you should be playing in 2015 - Scott Adam Gordon

Here at AndroidPIT we've compiled a list of the best Android games to help you navigate the Play Store's myriad of titles. Join us as we explore the various game genres and find all the best titles to install on your Android phone or tablet in 2015. Are you ready?

New Android games this month

Every single month we'll bring you scorching hot new games, plucked from the undiscovered depths of Play Store obscurity, so you always stay on the cutting edge of what's worth playing on your Android smartphone. Be the one to tell your friends what's worth playing right now.