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Merlin eyes acquisitions after completing rare Boston tech SPAC deal

Mass High Tech News - Tue, 03/17/2026 - 3:54pm
Chief executive Matt George says the company will use its new status as a public company to pursue acquisitions and expand its military flight systems.

Amazon files plans for Gorham warehouse

Portland Press Herald Business - Tue, 03/17/2026 - 3:04pm
Protesters showed up outside Tuesday's community forum.

Samsung Ends $2,899 Galaxy Z TriFold Sales After Just Three Months

Slashdot - Tue, 03/17/2026 - 3:00pm
Samsung is reportedly ending sales of the Galaxy Z TriFold just months after launch, likely due to "high production costs" and limited supply. 9to5Google reports: The Galaxy Z TriFold launched in South Korea barely four months ago, arriving in Samsung's home market ahead of a larger debut in the U.S. and other markets in January. The $2,899 smartphone brought an entirely new form factor to the foldable market, but it's apparently very short-lived. Korean media reports (via SamMobile) that Samsung is planning to end sales of the Galaxy Z TriFold in Korea, with one more restock coming in the country this week. In the United States, the report mentions that the TriFold will be available until "the current production volume is sold out," which sounds like we might only get another restock or two here as well.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Nvidia Expects To Sell 'At Least' $1 Trillion In AI Chips By 2028

Slashdot - Tue, 03/17/2026 - 2:00pm
An anonymous reader quotes a report from TechCrunch: Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang threw out a lot of numbers -- mostly of the technical variety -- during his keynote Monday to kick off the company's annual GTC Conference in San Jose, California. But there was one financial figure that investors surely took notice of: his projection that there will be $1 trillion worth of orders for Nvidia's Blackwell and Vera Rubin chips, a monetary reflection of a booming AI business. About an hour into his keynote, Huang noted that last year Nvidia saw about $500 billion in demand for its Blackwell and upcoming Rubin chips through 2026. "Now, I don't know if you guys feel the same way, but $500 billion is an enormous amount of revenue," he said. "Well, I'm here to tell you that right now where I stand -- a few short months after GTC DC, one year after last GTC -- right here where I stand, I see through 2027, at least $1 trillion."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

These Sonos Over-Ear Headphones Are $100 Off

Wired Top Stories - Tue, 03/17/2026 - 1:45pm
This super comfortable headset has some top-tier active noise canceling. Unlike other headphones, it also integrates with your existing Sonos gear.

PTC teams up with Nvidia to speed robot design testing

Mass High Tech News - Tue, 03/17/2026 - 1:20pm
In Greater Boston, Nvidia is forging relationships with universities, ecosystem organizations and companies ranging from quantum to fusion energy.

Are Split Spacebars the Next Big Gaming Keyboard Trend?

Slashdot - Tue, 03/17/2026 - 1:00pm
"There are countless upgrades you could make to your gaming setup," writes PC Gamer's Jacob Ridley. "A wireless this, a bigger that, a faster thing. But how do you know what's going to be a genuine upgrade worth investing in? Personally, I think it might be split spacebars." His argument centers on the fact that spacebars take up a "greedy" amount of keyboard space -- space that could instead be divided into multiple keys for different actions, such as voice chat or melee attacks. From the report: While it's often very easy to reprogram your spacebar to do a different action via your keyboard's software, it's a lot harder to reprogram your brain to hit any other key when you try to jump in game. Spacebar makes you jump. Everyone knows that; it's practically etched onto your brain if you're a long-time mouse and keyboard player. So, why does a split spacebar help with that? It comes down to this: once you know which side of a spacebar you tend to thwack with your thumb, you can program the other side to do whatever you want. I hit the right-side of my spacebar every time when I'm typing. Therefore, when I started using a Wooting 60HE v2 with a split spacebar, I set the left-side to be the delete key; the keyboard lacking a dedicated delete key for its 60% size. Though for gaming, the split spacebar offers much more varied purpose. People do strange things with the WASD keys that I won't litigate here, but I'm pretty sure most gamers use their left thumb to strike the spacebar for gaming. Right? Right. If you fall into this category, you have the option of using the right-side spacebar for things like a chunky melee key, or, my personal favorite, an in-game voice chat key.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Dyson’s New PencilWash Is Here

Wired Top Stories - Tue, 03/17/2026 - 12:49pm
The debut follows the release of Dyson’s newest robot vacuum and a larger wet cleaner last week.

Member-Only Webinar: Inside the data center boom

Mass High Tech News - Tue, 03/17/2026 - 12:47pm
In our latest member-only webinar, we take a closer look at the data center boom and what it means for local economies, commercial real estate and more.

US SEC Preparing To Scrap Quarterly Reporting Requirement

Slashdot - Tue, 03/17/2026 - 12:00pm
The U.S. SEC is reportedly preparing a proposal to make quarterly earnings reports optional, potentially allowing companies to report results just twice a year. "The proposal could be published as soon as next month," reports Reuters, citing a paywalled report from the Wall Street Journal, adding that "regulators are in talks with major exchanges to discuss how their rules may need to be adjusted." Reuters reports: The SEC will vote on the proposal once it is published, after a public comment period which typically lasts at least 30 days, the report said. The WSJ report added that the rule is expected to make quarterly reporting optional and not eliminate it altogether. The proposed change in the reporting standard would allow listed companies to publish results every six months instead of the current mandate to report figures every 90 days. Trump, who first floated the idea in his first term as president, has argued the change in requirements would discourage shortsightedness from public companies while cutting costs. Skeptics, however, caution delaying disclosures could reduce transparency and heighten market volatility.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Asteroid Ryugu Has All of the Main Ingredients For Life

Slashdot - Tue, 03/17/2026 - 11:00am
Samples from the asteroid Ryugu contain all five nucleobases -- the key building blocks of DNA and RNA. "This strengthens the idea that asteroids may have brought the ingredients for the first living organisms to Earth long ago," reports New Scientist. From the report: Japan's Hayabusa 2 spacecraft visited Ryugu in 2018, where it shot two projectiles -- one small and one large -- into the surface of the asteroid and collected the resulting debris. It arrived back at Earth with the samples in 2020 and researchers have been analyzing these in detail ever since. Yasuhiro Oba at Hokkaido University in Japan and his colleagues examined two samples, one from the asteroid's surface and one comprised of subsurface materials excavated by the projectiles. In both, the team found all five primary nucleobases, which are the compounds that make up the nucleic acids DNA and RNA when combined with sugars and phosphoric acid. This isn't the first time that nucleobases have been found in asteroid samples: they have been seen in meteorites, too, and in samples from the asteroid Bennu. The researchers did find different abundances of the various nucleobases among the various samples, though, which hints that these compounds might be useful for tracing asteroids and meteorites back to the parent bodies that they broke off from in the distant past, as well as understanding the evolution of those parent bodies over time. The findings have been published in the journal Nature Astronomy.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Nvidia faces gamer backlash over 'breakthrough' AI graphics feature

BBC Tech News - Tue, 03/17/2026 - 10:12am
Nvidia says the tool will transform game graphics - critics warn it could squeeze out artistic expression.

Nvidia faces gamer backlash over 'breakthrough' AI graphics feature

BBC Tech News - Tue, 03/17/2026 - 10:12am
Nvidia says the tool will transform game graphics - critics warn it could squeeze out artistic expression.

I Clamp Every Accessory I Can to My Desk To Avoid Clutter, and You Should, Too

Wired Top Stories - Tue, 03/17/2026 - 8:38am
It’s time to clamp down on the chaos and clear your desktop with these clever mounted accessories.

Skylight’s Calendar 2 Review: Its Best Digital Calendar Yet

Wired Top Stories - Tue, 03/17/2026 - 8:01am
Skylight’s popular digital calendar gets its Goldilocks size. But like with the Calendar Max before it, you have to prepare your family for a full conversion to keep it useful.

Bills Would Ban Liability Lawsuits For Climate Change

Slashdot - Tue, 03/17/2026 - 7:00am
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Inside Climate News: Republican lawmakers in multiple states and Congress are advancing proposals to shield polluters from climate accountability and prevent any type of liability for climate change harms -- even as these harms and their associated costs continue to mount. It's the latest in a counter-offensive that has unfolded on multiple fronts, from the halls of Congress and the White House to courts and state attorneys general offices across the country. Dozens of local communities, states and individuals are suing major oil and gas companies and their trade associations over rising climate costs and for allegedly lying to consumers about climate change risks and solutions. At the same time, some states are enacting or considering laws modeled after the federal Superfund program that would impose retroactive liability on large fossil fuel producers and levy a one-time charge on them to help fund climate adaptation and resiliency measures. But many of these cases and climate superfund laws could be stopped in their tracks, either by the conservative majority on the U.S. Supreme Court or by the Republican-controlled Congress. Last month the court decided to take up a petition lodged by oil companies Suncor and ExxonMobil in a climate-damages case brought against the companies by Boulder, Colorado. The petition argues that Boulder's claims are barred by federal law, and if the justices agree, it could knock out not only Boulder's lawsuit but also many others like it. The court is expected to hear the case during its upcoming term that starts in October. There is also a possibility that Republicans in Congress will take action before then to gift the fossil fuel industry legal immunity, similar to that granted to gun manufacturers with the 2005 Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act. Sixteen Republican attorneys general wrote (PDF) to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi in June suggesting that the Department of Justice could recommend legislation creating precisely this type of liability shield. And last month, one Republican congresswoman announced that such legislation is indeed in the works. "The ultimate democratic institution in America is the jury," said former Washington Gov. Jay Inslee. Enacting policies that prevent or block climate-related lawsuits against polluters, he said, would effectively shutter "the doors of the courthouse to Americans that have been injured by oil and gas company pollution and by their lies and deceit about that pollution." "I really think it's an un-American effort to deny Americans the traditional right of access to a jury," Inslee said. Oil and gas executives are "terrified" by the prospect of having to stand before a jury and face evidence of their climate-change lies and deception, he added. "You'll see the steam coming out of the jury's ears when they hear about how they've been lied to for decades. [Oil companies] understand why juries will be outraged by it, and they are shaking in their boots. The day of reckoning is coming, and that's why they're afraid."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Quantum firm Qblox begins manufacturing, shipping in Massachusetts

Mass High Tech News - Tue, 03/17/2026 - 6:50am
The North American headquarters in Boston is expanding its footprint to include systems integration and logistics. Operations at the new facility begin April 1.

How to Set Up Your Own NAS Server for Backups and Content Streaming

Wired Top Stories - Tue, 03/17/2026 - 6:30am
A home network-attached storage (NAS) server is ideal for backups, content streaming, and more. It could even save you money in the long run.

Should You Leave Your Phone Charging Overnight?

Wired Top Stories - Tue, 03/17/2026 - 5:30am
It used to be common wisdom that leaving your phone charging overnight degrades the battery. But handset design has evolved to mitigate the harm caused by constant charging.

Hydropower Line From Quebec Could Power a Million NYC Homes

Slashdot - Tue, 03/17/2026 - 3:00am
The Champlain Hudson Power Express, a $6 billion, 339-mile buried transmission line, will soon deliver Canadian hydropower from Hydro-Quebec to New York City. The project could supply up to 20% of the city's electricity and power roughly one million homes throughout the year. "This is far and away the largest project I have ever worked on," said Bob Harrison, who has worked in infrastructure for 40 years and is the head of engineering for the Champlain Hudson Power Express. "We like to say it's the largest project you'll never see." The New York Times reports: The massive power project, expected to provide energy to a million New York City customers a year, travels underground and underwater, from the northern plains at the Canadian border to the filled-in marshlands of coastal Queens, much of it loosely following the Hudson River. Its construction included the underwater installation of more than two million feet of cable imported from Sweden. It also required special boats, loaded with equipment that could shoot water jets deep into the sediment, to create trenches for the cable. Then, when it came to placing cable beneath the landscape, more than 700 land-use easements were needed, plus an additional 1.55 million feet of cable. The Champlain Hudson Power Express has found a way to plug into the city, but it wasn't easy. The work included 10 new manholes and more than three miles of new underground circuitry, according to Con Edison, the city's primary electricity provider. "It was literally a hand weave under the streets of Queens," said Jennifer Laird-White, the head of external affairs for Transmission Developers. The hydropower travels from Canada via two buried cables that are as round as cantaloupes. Those lines snake for hundreds of miles under a lake, several rivers (including the Hudson for about 90 miles) and through buried trenches alongside train tracks and roads. The cables resurface in Astoria, Queens, where a converter station shapes, filters and refines the raw power into a product that New Yorkers can consume. In two cavernous rooms that could be mistaken for "Star Wars" sets, the electricity flows through 30 hanging structures encased in what look like metallic, dinosaurlike exoskeletons. Each one weighs about as much as a small humpback whale and contains microprocessors, thousands of valves and fiber wires. "I am still wowed when I walk into that facility," said Mr. Harrison, the engineer. "I mean, it is just mind-boggling."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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