Daily Tech News 6 December 2025

• I bought myself a mini-PC for Christmas. Minisforum X1-255.
  
  Not because I particularly need a new system, though this one is a lot better than my two existing Beelink units (twice the speed, memory*, and storage).
  
  Mostly because it comes with 64GB of RAM and only costs $50 more than the RAM alone.
  
  Looks like it's completely sold out in the US already.
  
  Update: Placed the order just four hours ago and it's already shipped. Should have it by Friday.
  
  * The existing units only came with 8GB of RAM, so as shipped the new one has eight times as much. But I already had RAM for those left over from upgrading my laptops, back when that was cheap to do.
  
  
  
• AI gadget makers are chasing problems that don't exist, says the CEO of AI gadget maker Logitech. (Tom's Hardware)
  
  That's a little unfair. Logitech's webcams use discriminative AI to keep you centered in the frame, for example, and to mute background noise. Other companies, though:

  Faber argued that the wave of AI-first gadgets released over the past year remains untethered from a clear purpose. Products such as the Humane AI Pin - acquired by HP in February - and Rabbit R1 launched with the promise of replacing parts of the smartphone experience, only to draw criticism for slow performance, limited features, and subscription-driven pricing.

  The upcoming unnamed product from OpenAI looks to be another screenless phone piece of overpriced junk.

  Their reception has shaped the debate around whether a general-purpose assistant belongs in a dedicated device at all. According to Faber, these early efforts solve little that a phone or PC cannot already handle, which is a view that has gained traction as both devices incorporate larger on-device models and tighter integrations with cloud assistants.

  As annoying as AI is, dedicated AI devices are even worse.

• AMD's upcoming "Gorgon" family Ryzen 470 CPU is basically just a Ryzen 370. (WCCFTech)
  
  I was comparing specs earlier. The Ryzen 370 has 12 CPU cores and 16 GPU cores, where the Ryzen 255 I just bought has 8 CPU cores and 12 GPU cores.
  
  But the 370 is just 20% faster than the 255 while the relevant Minisforum model is 60% more expensive.
  
  
  
• Intel chips could power iPhones in 2028. (WCCFTech)
  
  That's Intel as a manufacturer, not Intel as a designer. They'll still be "Apple Silicon", but Apple has booked space on Intel's 18A production line to start fabricating chips now that TSMC is 100% sold out.
  
  
  
• Meanwhile TSMC is scrambling to build an advanced packaging facility in the US because it is, well, 100% sold out. (WCCFTech)
  
  This of for chips like modern AMD and Intel CPUs, where multiple small dies are packaged together on a larger silicon substrate.
  
  
  
• Nimony is a compiler from the Nim team. (Nim-lang)
  
  It will become Nim 3.0 in time, but it is already a useful compiler if you're interested in high-performance code with built-in memory management.
  
  
  
• Two government contractors who were sentenced to prison in 2015 after being caught hacking government computers have been indicted for hacking government computers again after being rehired after their prison sentences ended. (Bleeping Computer)

  According to court documents, Muneeb Akhter deleted roughly 96 databases containing U.S. government information in February 2025, including Freedom of Information Act records and sensitive investigative documents from multiple federal agencies.
  
  One minute after deleting a Department of Homeland Security database, Muneeb Akhter also allegedly asked an artificial intelligence tool for instructions on clearing system logs after deleting a database.

  Fill the cell in with cement. Then go after whoever hired these people.
  

posted by Pixy Misa at 04:00 AM

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