So… There’s been a lot of technology news I’ve found really interesting over the last couple days, to the point that several things got cut so this didn’t become 3000 words. Summer usually isn’t this busy but here we are, with some of the most interesting things to me over the last couple days.
Valve Announces Steam Deck Portable PC Gaming Device
Long live handheld gaming! Portable PC’s arranged like a Nintendo Switch exist today, but they are often niche devices and very epensive. Valve is now getting into that space with the Steam Deck, a portable PC that looks a lot like a Nintendo Switch that plays PC games. The Steam Deck is powered by a custom, unspecified AMD Zen 2 CPU and RDNA 2 GPU. The Zen 2 CPU is a last generation part, but it is likely that Valve has been working with AMD for quite some time to build a custom part to work with the Steam Deck. Other specifications include a 1280x800 display, 64GB of slower eMMC memory or 256 or 512GB SSD’s, 16GB of RAM, and a 40Wh battery that is rated for anywhere between 2 and 8 hours, depending on the game being played. The device features 45W USB-C charging.
Notably, the Steam Deck does not run Windows out of the box. As it ships, it will come with SteamOS, a custom OS based on Linux. This means that only a subset of games will work with the Steam Deck. There is no official number but unofficial couns have aout 7,500 out of 54,000 games currently available on Steam running on SteamOS. However, because this is a PC, Valve says users can install Windows on it, providing they purchase a Windows license.
I’m very interested in this device, and I really want to get my hands on one. Valve is opening “reservations” on July 16th, and the device will ship in December. Pricing is $500 for the 64GB eMMC model, $660 for the 256GB model, and $820 for the 512GB model.
I’m currently accepting donations for my Steam Deck fund.
Telus, Bell, Rogers, and SaskTel Launch Low Cost Plans They Were Required by Law to Launch
Some time ago the CRTC issued a directive to Canada’s wireless carriers that required them to launch new, low cost plans for consumers. They were given until July 14th to launch them, and on the last possible day, here they are. The plans are a $35 plan that has unlimited phone and text, with 3GB of data, a $15 plan with 100 outgoing minutes paired with unlimited incoming calls, unlimited text messaging, and 250MB of data, and an “occasional” plan which includes at least 400 total phone call minutes, 400 text messages, and no data for a total of $100, with those minutes and text messages being good for one year.
On its face the $35 plan looks compelling, but it is worth noting that speeds are limited to the equivalent of 3G speed. That is… unfortunate.
Twitter is Shutting Down Fleets And I’m Sure There’s a Joke There
I’m going to try my best not to make the joke. Late last year Twitter announced a new feature called Fleets. Fleets were the company’s take on TikTok and Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts. Because every company thinks they need every feature. It appears that the users don’t think that every app needs every features, because after less than a year, Twitter is turning off the Fleets function. As of August 3rd, the feature is going away and will no longer be available. The company says it is because the feature did not get the engagement they wanted, which is a nice way of saying that no one used it.
I’m surprised to see Twitter cut bait on this feature so soon. Twitter has been trying very hard to increase engagement on the platform, and it feels like they could have done more to entice users to use fleets. But alas, it turns out that fleets were…. No, I’m not going to make the joke.
https://www.theverge.com/2021/7/14/22577166/twitter-fleets-shuts-down-stories-clone
Microsoft Brings Windows to Web Browsers…. For Businesses
Microsoft is adding a new feature to it’s Microsoft 365 suite for businesses, and this one has the chance to be huge. Cloud PC is exactly as it sounds, it allows users to access a Windows 10 environment from a web browser. In a present and future where people are working from home more often, the ability to log into “your computer” from any web browser has the chance to be a big feature. This feature is currently just for businesses, and does not come cheap. Published pricing starts at $31/user per month, and only goes up from there. Larger customers will likely get volume discounting, but this is unfortunately not something that every small business is going to be able to afford at the outset.
That being said, there is a lot of potential in this. The dream of the mainframe and thin client that has been around for decades may actually be coming, in the form of a full computer in the cloud.
https://www.zdnet.com/article/microsoft-brings-windows-to-the-cloud-with-windows-365-and-cloud-pc/
Silicon Shortage Starting to Ease, But Will Continue Into 2022
TSMC, which is the largest manufacturer of the electronic chips in our devices, has forecast that the chip shortage will continue into 2022, but that the shortage for the automotive industry will start to work itself out over the next quarter. That’s good news for auto makers who have had to shut down production lines, or alter vehicles to accommodate the fact that they haven’t been able to get all of their components. But for the rest of the industry, it means that electronic devices could still be in short supply for many months.
https://www.theverge.com/2021/7/15/22578361/tsmc-revenue-surge-chip-shortage-continues
REvil Ransomware Group Disappears From the Internet
Earlier this week the websites operated by the REvil group that took responsibility for the most recent large ransomware attack went down. No person or group is saying how or why the websites went down, and as of this writing there is still no answer as to who was responsible. It is worth noting that REvil was run by a group out of Russia, and US President Joe Biden has said that the US would retaliate against groups in Russia attacking US companies with ransomware.
https://www.engadget.com/ransomware-revil-disappears-from-the-internet-081251029.html
Netflix Will Tell Parents What Their Kids Are Watching
In an attempt to win over families, Netflix is debuting a couple features aimed at kids, and parents. Most amusingly, the company will begin sending bi-weekly emails to the primary account holder with details on what kids profiles on the account have been watching. Secondly, the company will begin curating top 10 lists for children’s content, something I’m surprised they didn’t already have.
https://www.engadget.com/netflix-parents-kids-emails-130039358.html
Amazon is Buying Facebook’s Satellite Internet Business
I don’t have a lot to add here, except to say I’m interesting to see if Amazon is buying this business in an attempt to create a publicly accessible internet like Starlink, or if they plan to use it internally for Amazon’s own logistics, which is its own massive business.
https://mobilesyrup.com/2021/07/14/amazon-acquires-facebooks-satellite-internet-team/
Clippy is coming back to Microsoft Office an an Emoji
Long Live Clippy
https://www.theverge.com/2021/7/15/22578352/microsoft-new-3d-emoji-clippy-windows-office