Daily Tech News 20 November 2024

• Two undersea communications cables in the Baltic Sea, one between Germany and Finland and the other connecting Lithuania and Sweden, were cut on the same day and absolutely nobody believes it was an accident. (Tom's Hardware)

  "Nobody believes that these cables were accidentally severed," said [German Defense Minister Boris] Pistorius. "We have to know that, without knowing specifically who it came from, that it is a hybrid action, and we also have to assume that, without knowing by whom yet, that this is sabotage."

  
  
  
• Yeah, it was China. (MSN)
  
  The Chinese bulk carrier Yi Peng 3, en route from Ust-Luga in Russia to Port Said, was in the exact location of both cables at the moment they were cut, and was also tracked as slowing down both times.
  
  

• If Netflix can't make live streaming work, who can? (The Verge)
  
  Um, broadcast TV? Since the 1950s?
  
  
  
• Meanwhile Apple spent $20 billion on new films and television shows to attract 0.3% of viewing hours. (Ars Technica)
  
  This seems like a poor return on investment.
  
  
  
• If Microsoft can't make Flight Simulator work, who can? (Tom's Hardware)
  
  Well, Microsoft of 2020 could. The previous version still works and is still being updated.
  
  Flight Simulator 2024 is here, except it kind of isn't. It doesn't seem possible to actually download the game, ever. It recommends at least a 100Mbps internet connection and it downloads map data as you fly over it.
  
  
  
• Microsoft's Windows 365 Link device is Flight Simulator 2024 for the desktop. (The Verge)
  
  Not your desktop, though. At $349 this little box is slower than a $299 Beelink mini-PC and can't be used at all without a Windows 365 subscription. It doesn't actually run Windows itself; it streams it from Microsoft's servers.
  
  Who would want such a thing?
  
  Libraries, for example. If you have random patrons showing up to use your computers, and you don't know what they might use them for, this is perfect. Every time someone logs out, the entire system is wiped clean as if they had never existed - because the system is in the cloud. No data is stored locally at all.
  
  
  
• I came here to chew bubblegum and watch Earth-shattering kabooms, and we're all out of Earth-shattering kabooms. (Ars Technica)
  
  The sixth test launch of Starship went pretty smoothly. They called off the chopstick catch trick this time, but everything else went as planned.
  
  The next test is expected to show off Starship V2, slightly taller and with about 10% more thrust.

posted by Pixy Misa at 04:00 AM

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