Computers articles

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Memory spiked first, CPUs followed, now PCBs could be the next victim of the AI boom

In a nutshell: The ongoing AI boom has already inflated the cost of memory, storage, and processors, with effects spilling over to electronics incorporating those components. The impact of AI data center expansion is not expected to subside anytime soon, and to make matters worse, the conflict between the US and Iran threatens to worsen supply chain disruptions while creating new ones.
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Apple turns 50 with a legacy of reinventing the personal computer

Through the looking glass: Apple turned 50 this week as a multi-trillion-dollar platform company built around the iPhone, the most successful product ever made, along with laptops, tablets, smartwatches, audio gear, and a multitude of digital services. But it all began as a bare circuit board passed around a hobbyist club in Silicon Valley.
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Tiny lab-grown brains could help build the next generation of computers

Biocomputing has left the realm of science fiction and entered the laboratory
Looking ahead: Swiss researchers are exploring the frontier of computing by creating processors from living cells, a field known as biocomputing. Their work, though inspired by concepts often seen in science fiction, relies on precise laboratory techniques and targets practical, real-world applications.
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Trump administration exempts phones, computers, CPUs, memory, and chipmaking tools from sweeping tariffs

The exemptions cover $390 billion in yearly US imports
Why it matters: The Trump administration has granted a reprieve to global technology manufacturers by exempting smartphones, laptops, CPUs, memory chips, and electronics to make semiconductors from its sweeping tariffs on imports – a move that could ease pressure on companies like Apple and Nvidia while offering relief to consumers.
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MIT scientists develop transistor with nanosecond switching and billion-cycle durability

The researchers say it "could change the world"
In a nutshell: Back in 2021, a team from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology made waves by creating an entirely new type of ferroelectric material. Now, those same researchers have one-upped themselves by using that substance to build a transistor that utterly smokes the conventional chips powering today's gadgets – with nanosecond switching speeds and incredible durability.
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Pioneer of minicomputer revolution Gordon Bell dies at 89

MIT prodigy who revolutionized computing from mainframes to minicomputers; his legacy endures
RIP: Gordon Bell, a true visionary of the computer age, has passed away at the age of 89. The computing luminary leaves behind an incredible legacy as one of the key architects who helped usher in the modern era of minicomputers and personal computing.