Packing plenty of power, the compact Lenovo ThinkStation P8 desktop workstation looks great on your desk, while offering plenty of room for customization, for anyone seeking a high performance juggernaut to handle intensive tasks including 3D rendering, graphics editing, and virtual simulations.

Having showcased the workstation previously, here’s a closer look at the Lenovo ThinkStation P8. Encased in a specially designed case with grey and black panels alongside red accents, the ThinkStation is unique in its outlook, providing a visual cue as to the performance capabilities within.

Powered by the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 7000 WX-Series processor pushes the performance scaling envelope a significant step further, raising the industry bar to 96 cores with the 7995WX., the P8 is a breeze to upgrade should anyone ever need more power.

The small panel by the left side of the tower makes for easy access to the components inside with a lift of a flap. With great power, comes the need for great cooling demands, the tower design is made to keep your components cool even amid intensive rendering and computational scenarios. 

Popping the panel open reveals expansion possibilities as users can pair the tower workstation with, including up to three NVIDIA RTX 6000 Ada-generation GPUs, or four RTX A4000 GPUs.

With plenty of space within, the massive heatsink keeps the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 7000 WX-Series processor cool as users put the workstation through its paces.

While it might be tempting to pack as much power into the workstation, the inner side of the panel gives us a peek at how much potential one could consider to maximise their workflow.

If you consider yourself an individual working on enterprise-level, intense graphical work or AI application workloads then the Lenovo ThinkStation P8 should be your first, and possibly last, PC of choice.

The crux of getting a rig this powerful boils down to how much time it can save for your workflow. Based on performance tests, the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 7000 WX-Series processor helps users save up to 27 minutes for every hour of productivity. Whether you are in the business of creative work, architecture or engineering, every second spent means more time focused on other parts of the business which require greater attention, or simply, getting more done in a shorter amount of time.

For a closer look at how Lenovo is making the best from what AMD has to offer, here’s a deeper overview of what the Lenovo ThinkStation P8 workstation PC can offer.

Gerald

Gerald currently straddles between his love of video games and board gaming. There’s nothing that interests him more than trying out the newest and fanciest gadget in town as well. He dreams of publishing a board game sometime in the future!

The post Peeking Under The Hood Of The Lenovo ThinkStation P8 Workstation Powered By AMD Processor appeared first on Geek Culture.

A powerful and reliable desktop will always prove useful in the workplace, especially when it comes to tackling intensive tasks. With the Lenovo ThinkStation P8 workstation PC, the tech giant is looking to deliver more cores, more graphic cards, and more power – in more ways than one. 

The high-end offering, which targets professionals handling enterprise-grade workloads such as real-time graphical work and AI applications, runs on the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 7000 WX-Series processors and includes the option for an AMD Radeon Pro W7900 graphics card, one of the best in its class. It features a processor built on AMD’s Zen 4 architecture, packing up to 86 cores and 192 threads, as well as a 5.3Ghz clock speed.

But there’s also a second configuration. Users will be able to pair the tower workstation with up to three NVIDIA RTX 6000 Ada-generation GPUs or four RTX A4000 GPUs, which improves video rendering, real-time ray tracing, and computer aided design speeds. AMD enthusiasts, meanwhile, can choose between up to four Radeon Pro W7600 graphics cards or as mentioned earlier, one AMD Radeon Pro W7900, with the latter supporting an output of up to 12K resolution at 120Hz, one 8K output, two 6K outputs, or four simultaneous 4K outputs.

Beyond that, AMD-equipped models have more to offer. Security, for instance, is heightened with the company’s Memory Guard, preventing unauthorised access to the memory. Likewise, Secure Boot allows for boot process authentication, rounding out the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO processor’s compatibility with Microsoft Pluton Security and OEM-level (short for ‘original equipment manufacturer’) security features. 

As the ThinkStation P8 runs on AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO, users will have access to robust management capabilities, such as remote BIOS updates, device provisioning for setting up desired configurations, and support for Microsoft Endpoint Manager. A particularly useful perk here is the ability to service devices even if they are offline or turned off, made possible by out-of-band management. 

Performance is naturally the last part of the equation. Built for both functionality and power efficiency, AMD Radeon PRO graphics cards boast multiple cores, high clock speeds, and maximum clock speeds based on the latest process nodes. Alongside AMD Radeon PRO integrated graphics processors, which generate less heat and result in longer battery life, the desktop is well-armed to take on any challenge. 

Storage capacity is available in spades, too. The ThinkStation P8 can fit up to seven M.2 PCle Gen 4 SSDs with RAID support, or up to three HDDs, up to 2TB of DDR5 memory, and seven PCle slots that deliver higher speed connectivity, lower latency, and more expansion capability. To eliminate network bottlenecks, Lenovo has included 10 Gigabit of onboard Ethernet. 

Alongside two USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 and two USB-A 3.2 Gen 2 ports on the front, the ThinkStation P8 will also ship with the following rear ports, offering a myriad of connectivity options: 

• 2x USB-A 2.0
• 3x USB-A 3.2 Gen 2
• 1x USB-C 3.2 Gen 2×2
• 2x Ethernet port 
• 1x audio line in
• 1x audio line out

The machine’s versatility fits Lenovo’s mould of constant innovation, with its ThinkStation P620 predecessor crowned as the first professional workstation to use AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO processors.

“At Lenovo, we understand that our customers need high-quality workstations that can adapt to their changing and diverse needs. That’s why we collaborated with AMD and NVIDIA to create the ThinkStation P8, a workstation that combines power, flexibility and enterprise-grade features,” said Rob Herman, vice president and general manager, Workstation and Client AI Business Unit, Lenovo.

With high power comes high cooling demands, however, so the company has turned to an optimised thermal design to accommodate all that extra heat. Adding to the user experience is its accessible and tool-less form factor, allowing users to easily replace, add, or remove various components. 

The Lenovo ThinkStation P8 powered by AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO WX-Series and NVIDIA RTX graphics cards will be available starting Q1 2024.

Si Jia

Si Jia is a casual geek at heart – or as casual as someone with Sephiroth’s theme on her Spotify playlist can get. A fan of movies, games, and Japanese culture, Si Jia’s greatest weakness is the Steam Summer Sale. Or any Steam sale, really.

The post Lenovo ThinkStation P8 Workstation PC Packs The Best Of AMD’s Hardware appeared first on Geek Culture.

Crunchyroll, the beloved Sony-owned anime streaming platform, is making a strategic move that mirrors Netflix by integrating mobile games into its subscription packages starting 7 November.

Known as the “Game Vault,” this fresh offering is exclusively accessible to Crunchyroll members enrolled in the Mega Fan or Ultimate Fan subscription tiers. The Mega Fan plan costs US$9.99 each month, while the Ultimate Fan tier, available only in the United States, is priced at US$14.99.

In addition to the current subscription perks, which encompass ad-free anime streaming, simulcast shows, digital manga access, and offline viewing, eligible members can now immerse themselves in a burgeoning collection of downloadable mobile games. Initially, these games are solely available on Android through the Google Play store, with iOS support arriving soon.

Much like Netflix’s analogous approach, Crunchyroll’s Game Vault will provide “premium” games devoid of ads or microtransactions. The initial lineup includes titles such as Captain Velvet: The Jump+ Dimensions, a tactical action game by developer Momo-pi; River City Girls, a beat-em-up from WayForward; Wolfstride, a single-player RPG by Ota Imon Studios; Behind the Frame: The Finest Scenery, a visual novel by Silver Lining Studio; and Inbento, a food-themed puzzler created by Afterburn.

Crunchyroll has promised to introduce new mobile games on a regular basis, and additional Game Vault features will be gradually introduced to maintain stability.

Crunchyroll previously collaborated with Capcom on Street Fighter: Duel, an RPG for mobile devices based on the fighting game franchise.

Edwin Teo

Edwin has been writing about gaming and entertainment news for almost a decade, and has loved video games, comic books, and movies longer than that. He loves interesting stories, immersive world-building, and adorable monsters.

The post Sony’s Crunchyroll Levels Up With Game Vault Subscription Service For Mobile appeared first on Geek Culture.

Not long ago, Nintendo replaced iconic voice actor Charles Martinet as the voice of Mario after 27 years in favour of the fresh-faced Kevin Afghani. Now, Sanrio is making a similar move by saying goodbye to Hello Kitty‘s longtime voice actress.

Megumi Hayashibara, renowned for voicing iconic anime characters like Rei in Neon Genesis Evangelion and Faye in Cowboy Bebop, has provided Hello Kitty’s voice for over three decades. However, as of 1 November, which coincides with Hello Kitty’s official birthday, Hayashibara has announced her departure from the role.

Hayashibara’s journey with Hello Kitty began in 1990 when she auditioned for the role as Sanrio was preparing to open its Sanrio theme park in Tokyo. Despite a few exceptions, she’s been the voice behind Kitty-chan ever since. Sanrio’s decision for this change came as a surprise to Hayashibara, who was informed of their choice by letter.

However, during a subsequent meeting with Sanrio staff, they discussed their vision for the character’s future, focusing on enhancing Hello Kitty’s global appeal, reaching out to Generation Z, and exploring the potential of artificial intelligence. Sanrio felt that with Hello Kitty approaching its 50th anniversary, this juncture would be a suitable time to transition to a new voice for the character. In line with this change, Miina Tominaga and Go Takahashi will also no longer voice Kitty-chan’s twin sister, Mimi, and boyfriend, Daniel, respectively.

Despite this significant change, Hayashibara views it as a positive moment and wishes the character well with her new voice. She likens her feelings to seeing a daughter leave home to get married, with no sadness or regret. For her, the legacy of Kitty-chan will continue, albeit with a new voice behind the beloved character.

This move highlights the ways that artificial intelligence is putting actors as well as voice actors in jeopardy of reducing their opportunity to work. In addition, it shows that, like Mario, Hello Kitty is a character defined by her iconic status and not by her voice.

Fans will just have to wait and see to find out what Hello Kitty will sound like in the future as she enters a new era.

Edwin Teo

Edwin has been writing about gaming and entertainment news for almost a decade, and has loved video games, comic books, and movies longer than that. He loves interesting stories, immersive world-building, and adorable monsters.

The post After Mario, Sanrio Is Now Dropping Hello Kitty Voice Actress After 33 Years appeared first on Geek Culture.

It was not so long ago that getting hold of a PlayStation 5 console was one of the hardest things to get. The same can also be said about the latest graphics card, where the lack of supply was exacerbated by the cryptocurrency rush. 

Fast forward to 2023, and supplies have stabilised, as tech manufacturing has accelerated and improved production and brought things back to normal, though it was an experience that left global chip maker Intel with a fire in its belly. Having announced its integrated device manufacturing (IDM) 2.0 vision in 2021, the company, which makes the bulk of processors for PC computers, is starting to see several initiatives come together somewhere closer to Asia, in Malaysia, where Intel has had a long history in the country, as Malaysia marked its first offshore site opening back in 1972.

This has contributed to Malaysia becoming the sixth largest exporter of semiconductors globally, with Intel contributing a significant 20 per cent to the country’s electrical and electronic exports.

Both of Intel’s Malaysian facilities in Penang and Kulim are involved in two aspects of the production line – assembling various components into the final product (or, officially known as packaging) and testing (ensuring all the components produced by Intel meet the standards and specifications for their customers).

In a recent press trip to PG16 and KM1 Intel facilities in Penang and Kulim, the American chip maker showcased its expansion efforts in the west Malaysian states, where it currently employs 15,000 staff in the country, with 6,000 based at its chip design centre. 

The bigger game plan for Intel in its expansion push is to take a bite out of the foundry business which is dominated by Asian chip giants, among them Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), Samsung, and GlobalFoundries. Traditionally, Intel had preferred to focus on its core competency, which is designing integrated circuits (ICs) and manufacturing its own products, but in recent years, it’s opened doors to other chip designers to manufacture ICs and achieve economies of scale by producing ICs for multiple customers.

With its sights set on becoming the second largest foundry by sales in 2029, Intel’s lofty goals are quite some distance away – its current foundry sales hit US$768 million in 2022, trailing behind Samsung Electronic’s US$20.8 billion achievement in the same year. 

In Malaysia, Intel’s manufacturing will soon be boosted by the addition of two new facilities, growing to 2 million square feet of built-up manufacturing space, that will augment its current processor assembly and test capabilities. In fact, one of the newest facilities that Intel has in place was set up in 2021 during the pandemic, with the conversion of existing office space to sort and prep chips for the next step in production. 

The facility is now fully operational, complete with automation to aid efficiency and achieve scale, and was one of the key aspects of the media tour that Intel presented.

At the heart of the newest facility, these massive cells seen above are stacked upon each other, and each has the combined length and height of a small truck, measuring in at about 7.62 meters long and 2.8 meters in height. Officially termed as a sort module, each cell can sort and test thousands of chips daily, and check for defects and measure performance. The facility runs around the clock to allow Intel to gain maximum utility. 

At the same locale, all test chips are ferried around the facility automatically with a robot that ships, loads, and unloads into the sort modules above. We’ve seen such robots of a similar nature used by Amazon in the past and they emit a constant, friendly jingle to announce their arrival down the path as opposed to an angry horn.

In fact, having to traverse around the facility requires us to be cautious and not bump into any of these robots as they go about their business.

With a presence in 10 locations globally, the Penang facility is growing its capabilities steadily as Intel spreads its bets with facilities in China, Costa Rica, and Vietnam, combined with its wafer fabrication plants in the United States, China, Israel, and Ireland.

Steve Long, corporate vice president of sales and marketing for Asia Pacific and Japan at Intel, noted that the company’s wide footprint in global production will be key in attracting customers for manufacturing and packaging services, “There is one company today that has the breath of resiliency and breadth of global presence already – That is Intel.”

We’ll check back at the end of this decade if Intel is able to achieve the lofty goals it has set for itself. Stay tuned.

Gerald

Gerald currently straddles between his love of video games and board gaming. There’s nothing that interests him more than trying out the newest and fanciest gadget in town as well. He dreams of publishing a board game sometime in the future!

The post Intel Showcases Its Foundry Ambitions As Manufacturing Expansion Plans Roll Out In Penang, Malaysia appeared first on Geek Culture.

Taiwanese hardware maker ASUS is rolling out an eco-friendly range of Enterprise computing options for partners looking at lowering the carbon footprint of running a business, with carbon-neutral and eco-friendly desktops, laptops, and all-in-one PC devices.

The ASUS Carbon Partner Services serves to support businesses in reducing carbon emissions, led by the ExpertBook B9 OLED and B5 OLED, and BR1402 series. Dubbed the world’s first carbon footprint and carbon-neutral verified business laptop, the 14-inch ExpertBook B9 OLED (B9400) offers an FHD 16:9 display at a resolution of 1920 x 1080, powered by the Intel Core i7-1255U Processor at 1.7 GHz. The laptop is constructed with post-industrial recycled metal, as well as FSC Mix-certified paper to reduce carbon footprint.

The ExpertBook B9 OLED and ExpertBook B5 OLED ultralight laptops offer top-of-the-line hardware, including the latest 13th Gen Intel Core processor. The ExpertBook B9 OLED is the first magnesium-lithium laptop from ASUS to employ Thixomolding, a manufacturing process that reduces waste by up to 29 per cent and is capable of shortening manufacturing time by up to 75 per cent. 

Constructed with up to 70 per cent of post-industrial recycled metal and packaged in materials certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), the ExpertBook B9 OLED is capable of reducing carbon emissions that exceed the Energy Star energy-efficiency standard by 44 per cent. 

The ExpertBook B5 OLED (B5602CVA) is the world’s lightest 16-inch business laptop with a 4K OLED screen display. Both devices have passed rigorous US military-grade durability standards and sport 13th Gen Intel Core processors.

The BR1402 is the world’s first 14-inch 2-in-1 rugged laptop for education and features a modular design for environmentally-friendly maintenance, while the newly-awarded ExpertBook B9 OLED was awarded the Sustainable Tech Special Award distinction in the Computex 2023 Best Choice Awards.

The intent of this range is to support businesses in achieving their own sustainability targets with nature-based carbon credits to offset emissions. 

Yonk

Yonk is a geek who is fortunate enough to have an equally geeky Star Wars fan for a wife, who owns a LEGO Millennium Falcon encased in a glass coffee table as their home’s centre-piece.

The post Computex 2023: ASUS Pushes Sustainability With Eco-Friendly Range, Led By ExpertBook B9 Laptop appeared first on Geek Culture.

Do you think references to people being “fat” and “ugly” are offensive? The Roald Dahl Story Company seems to think so.

The Netflix-owned company worked together with publisher Puffin Books (an imprint of Penguin Books) to carry out hundreds of edits across Roald Dahl‘s bibliography. These changes include the character Augustus Gloop from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory being referred to as “enormous” instead of “fat”. Meanwhile, the Oompa-Loompas are gender-neutral, and go by “small people” instead of “small men”. They are also no longer described as “tiny,” “titchy,” or “no higher than my knee”.

More examples include Miss Trunchbull, the villain in Matilda, being referred to as the “most formidable woman” instead of the “most formidable female.” What’s more, the titular character now reads Jane Austen (of Pride and Prejudice fame) instead of Rudyard Kipling (who wrote The Jungle Book).

This review was spearheaded by Puffin and Roald Dahl Story Company in 2020, before Roald Dahl Story Company was acquired by Netflix in September 2021.

Many critics have responded negatively to these edits, including Booker prize-winning author Salman Rushdie, who tweeted, “Roald Dahl was no angel but this is absurd censorship. Puffin Books and the Dahl estate should be ashamed.”

However, Roald Dahl Story Company defended its decision, saying, “When publishing new print runs of books written years ago, it’s not unusual to review the language used alongside updating other details including a book’s cover and page layout. Our guiding principle throughout has been to maintain the storylines, characters, and the irreverence and sharp-edged spirit of the original text. Any changes made have been small and carefully considered.”

They added, “As part of our process to review the language used we worked in partnership with Inclusive Minds, a collective for people who are passionate about inclusion and accessibility in children’s literature.”

Although Roald Dahl was responsible for a number of beloved books, the writer was a controversial figure because of antisemitic comments made throughout his life. The Dahl family apologised in 2020 “for the lasting and understandable hurt caused by some of Roald Dahl’s statements.”

Edwin Teo

Edwin has been writing about gaming and entertainment news for almost a decade, and has loved video games, comic books, and movies longer than that. He loves interesting stories, immersive world-building, and adorable monsters.

The post Critics Blast Move To Remove ‘Offensive’ Language In New Editions Of Roald Dahl’s Books appeared first on Geek Culture.

Twitter is committed to monetising its platform through various means. According to a report from The Information, the Elon Musk-run company intends to charge businesses US$1,000 per month to keep their gold checkmarks. There could also be an extra charge to add badges to every account affiliated with the brand.

This lines up with a screenshot posted by social media consultant Matt Navarra, which appears to show an email exchange of Twitter employees offering the price to businesses looking to sign up as a “Verified Organization.”

Gold Badges on Twitter was rolled out ahead of its Verification for Organizations program, formerly called Blue for Business. The feature allows companies to “verify and distinguish themselves on Twitter.” It also allows companies to place a small, hyperlinked version of their logo next to the gold check of other pages associated with their business, including employees and executives. For example, the account for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever has the Gold Checkmark as well as a Marvel logo next to it.

In addition to mass layoffs, this costly subscription is just one of the ways that Twitter is looking to increase revenue. According to Bloomberg, the social platform is US$12.5 billion in debt, incurred when Elon Musk took the social media juggernaut private last year. What’s more, Twitter is also facing a lawsuit for skipping out on US$1.9 million in payments to an advisory firm.

Edwin Teo

Edwin has been writing about gaming and entertainment news for almost a decade, and has loved video games, comic books, and movies longer than that. He loves interesting stories, immersive world-building, and adorable monsters.

The post Want A Gold Checkmark For Your Business On Twitter? It’ll Cost You US$1,000 appeared first on Geek Culture.

Having led the logistics and e-Commerce sector with its industry-leading automation that has defined the warehousing space, American Internet retail giant Amazon looks set to continue its dominance in the space as it has been testing new tech innovations to drive performance and capabilities in the sector, ahead of its competition, this time with the support from Amazon’s robotic teams.

At the recent Delivering the Future event, held at Amazon’s innovation labs and robotics manufacturing facility outside Boston, Massachusetts, the company showed new robotic enhancements that will improve the experiences of the warehouse staff and better serving the customer when these are eventually rolled out across its facilities.

With Sparrow, Amazon’s latest robotic arm, repetitive product picking tasks currently performed by workers can now be alleviated, as Sparrow is able to identify and sort over a million different individual items. This is an element which still requires human intervention before an order is boxed up and sent out the door, but the aim for Sparrow is to tap onto computer vision and AI, to help employees cut down repetitive motion when picking packages.

Sparrow joins previously announced Robin and Cardinal robot arms which were better equipped to handle products after they have been packaged into predetermined packaging and boxes.

The use of robotics does not end once the parcel leaves the warehouse, as Amazon is further exploring the use of drones to fulfill last mile delivery. Having announced a flying drone in the form of the MK27-2 drone earlier in 2022, it’s now testing a new MK30 drone that is smaller and lighter than its predecessor.

Other improvements to the drone include an increased flight range, ability to fly in light rain, and being capable to land in backyards. From the information revealed at the event, the drone ferries a maximum package load of up to 2.2kg.

The real challenge for the drones to see widespread adoption boils down to how regulators view the delivery devices, as a fleet of drones filling the skies over a city with parcels to deliver might not be the most noise-free activity, which is why Amazon is endeavouring to reducing the MK30 drone’s noise generated by 25%, through the implementation of custom designed propellors.

With Amazon’s drone delivery, known as Prime Air, slated to go live later in the year in two cities – Lockeford, California and College Station, Texas, there are still things to be done before they become a norm, but if it becomes a reality, instead of Santa dropping down from the chimney, it might be a flying drone with presents.

Gerald

Gerald currently straddles between his love of video games and board gaming. There’s nothing that interests him more than trying out the newest and fanciest gadget in town as well. He dreams of publishing a board game sometime in the future!

The post Amazon Expands Robotics Capabilities For Warehouse Picking And Drone Delivery In US appeared first on Geek Culture.

When it comes to e-commerce, speed is key. While it might be easy to keep an online inventory readily stocked, getting a product into a customer’s hands with haste is an endeavour Amazon has been relentlessly seeking to achieve.

Not satisfied with same-day deliveries, Amazon has evolved its delivery backend to offer sub same-day delivery for select products on their site for certain regions in the US. This means that from the moment of checkout, a customer could receive their order within five hours or less.

Having visited a facility in Bridgewater, Massachusetts, the combination of robots and an efficient workforce makes achieving such speeds possible. Unlike full-fledged fulfilment centres, a sub same-day facility does not carry a full range of items, but leans towards products that are high in demand and can be shipped out quickly, such as mobile phone chargers.

Organising the facility into specific areas where orders are sorted, picked, and packed, robots are key in helping Amazon achieve its delivery promise, and staff on the ground need not walk long distances to acquire items for shipment. Pretty much everything is handled within a small individual area, minimising wasteful motion.

Starting off with a sorting station, products are placed into cubby holes, each with labels to track individual items found within. The beauty here is that Amazon staff do not use a manual scanner to register each item as cameras are deployed to keep tabs on products being sorted away in a sub same-day facility. The system even illuminates cubby holes which are filled to capacity to encourage staff to file products away to a different section of the yellow rack.

Once filled, the entire yellow rack is moved around through the use of robots called drivers, which sit at the base of each stack. These drivers move autonomously and continually rotate racks with empty spaces to the sorting station.

These same drivers will also deliver products to another section of the Amazon sub same-day facility where products will be taken off the yellow racks and picked for packaging.

Once again, the area of operation is small and efficient. The staff has their hands freed up to handle only packages as a mounted scanner handles the rest.

Once picked, the products are packed and a shipping label is slapped on as an order makes its final journey out of the facility.

As the packages traverse the conveyor belt, there’s another sorting phase where each order is assigned to specific delivery routes to complete the journey in the Amazon sub same-day facility.

The 155,000-square-foot facility typically processes around 40,000 packages daily and is staffed by 85 individuals per shift. During peak periods like Black Friday, a network of sub-same day facilities can scale up to 1,000,000 packages daily to meet the demand of Amazon customers.

Globally, such facilities differ from market to market. However, it serves as a blueprint to give Amazon a good understanding and possibilities if such sub same-day speed is appreciated by the customer. In Singapore, Amazon Fresh offers a two-hour delivery window, which is critical when it comes to perishables, but we do have to consider how Singapore is geographically more compact compared to the US.

Regardless, with such speeds, we’re pretty certain that it’s this edge that will keep customers coming back for more.

Gerald

Gerald currently straddles between his love of video games and board gaming. There’s nothing that interests him more than trying out the newest and fanciest gadget in town as well. He dreams of publishing a board game sometime in the future!

The post A Peek Into Amazon Sub Same-Day Facility Where Orders Are Delivered Within Five Hours appeared first on Geek Culture.

Jabra recently showcased its extensive range of video conferencing solutions for hybrid work at InfoComm Southeast Asia 2022 in Bangkok, Thailand.

In recent years, no thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, the need for hybrid work is here to stay, and Jabra is at the forefront of it, reinventing video collaboration with its series of PANACAST, SPEAK and EVOLVE products. Be it working from home, from outside while on the go, or in the office, there is a solution for teams to work better and more efficiently.

Jabra’s recent research has shown that 63% of employees globally now say that hybrid work – where they split their time between the home, office, or any other location – is their ideal way of working. In fact, 80% of all meetings worldwide are now either fully virtual or hybrid, with only 20% happening fully in person.

The full range of hybrid work solutions can be found on Jabra’s website but here are four of our top picks showcased at the event.

Jabra PANACAST 50 video bar

Jabra’s PANACAST 50 video bar is able to deliver a seamless 180° panoramic 4K capture of the meeting room, so gone are the days of everyone huddling together to get into the camera’s field of view. This is thanks to its three 13-megapixel cameras. The built-in software can dynamically composite a close-up view of up to 4 active speakers in the meeting room. Audio-wise, the bar has 8 microphones with intelligent algorithms to reduce disruptive noise and 4 speakers to fill the room with high-definition audio.

To top it all off, it is even able to stream the whiteboard in real-time, even when it is angled sharply at the side wall of the meeting room. The intelligent software automatically corrects the perspective and even overlaps the writing over whoever walks in front of the whiteboard to write. So the contents are not obstructed at any point.

Jabra PANACAST camera

Also fitted with three 13-megapixel cameras, the PANACAST is the world’s first intelligent 180° panoramic 4K video solution. Think of it as a miniature version of the PANACAST 50 mentioned above, but for placing atop a computer monitor or laptop instead of below a meeting room TV. It also has the same intelligent zoom and real-time whiteboard streaming capabilities. It pairs up perfectly with the Jabra SPEAK 750 (as below) for an optimal combination of video and audio.

Jabra SPEAK 750 speakerphone

Jabra’s SPEAK 750 is a full duplex speakerphone that even holds up to 11 hours of battery life. Full duplex audio simply means everyone can speak and be heard simultaneously. It can be connected instantly to any laptop or smartphone via USB or Bluetooth. It even sports an omni-directional microphone that picks up sound from virtually any direction. It is ideal for a room of up to 6 people but you can pair up two SPEAK 750 devices to easily double the coverage. Pair it up with the PANACAST above and you have the perfect on-the-go audio and video solution.

Jabra EVOLVE2 85 headset

Jabra’s EVOLVE2 85 wireless headset is equipped with digital hybrid Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) and can last up to 37 hours of usage. It has 10 microphones and powerful leak‐tolerant 40mm speakers, along with soft memory foam pads, need we say more?

Regardless of tools on hand, the one thing Jabra is catering for is a continuation of a hybrid work arrangement that existing tools might not be equipped for, and with this range of tools, specific needs can now be addressed, said Mr Aurangzeb Khan, Senior Vice President, Intelligent Vision Systems, Jabra, especially in the face of new requirements that don’t necessarily apply to everyone.

“We think part of the magic of hybrid work is temporal offset by spatial offset – you can work at home or in a coffee shop or wherever. I can pretty much work anywhere there’s an Internet. But the other part is temporal offset. People with children or with elderly parents and caring for others, or even exercising. They want to take a piece of the day, and go do something and come back at night and finish the work. We fully believe in that, we support that in our own work culture. We think it’s really important to give people flexibility, as well as machines.”

For the full range of hybrid work solutions, do check out Jabra’s website.

Yonk

Yonk is a geek who is fortunate enough to have an equally geeky Star Wars fan for a wife, who owns a LEGO Millennium Falcon encased in a glass coffee table as their home’s centre-piece.

The post Reinvent Your Hybrid Work Setup With These Jabra Video Conferencing Solutions appeared first on Geek Culture.

MSI has updated the Summit Series, its high-end business laptops, with a few new features, including being powered by the latest 12th Gen Intel Core Processor. There’s also the Summit E14 Flip Evo, a new 14-inch convertible model that bridges the screen-size gap between the E13 Flip Evo and E16 Flip.

Here’s a quick explainer on MSI’s naming convention before we continue. The number in E13, E14 and E16 refer to the device’s screen sizes, of 13.4 inches, 14 inches and 16 inches respectively. Having a ‘Flip’ in the name means the laptop comes with a touchscreen, and can be converted into tablet mode.

The new E14 Flip Evo has the highest resolution amongst its siblings, at 2880 x 1800. The E13 Flip Evo, E14 Evo and E16 Flip Evo max out at 1920 x 1200, while the E16 Flip goes up to 2560 x 1600. The E16 Flip is also the only model in the series that comes with a discrete graphics card, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 laptop GPU.

Other than the display, the E14 Flip Evo and E14 Evo are largely similar, having the same battery, ports, and dimensions (314mm x 227.5mm x 17.9mm). They both come with 16GB LPDDR5 RAM and 1TB NVMe SSD, and weigh in at just 1.6kg.

These new Summit models also come with Tobii Aware, a head-tracking technology that locks the device if the laptop owner is not nearby or blurs the screen if a stranger walks behind the user. This form of security software gives users some added peace of mind when dealing with sensitive information, especially when working at an unsecured location.

The models also support Tile‘s item-finding technology. This is another layer of security for users who misplace their laptops. They can then utilise the free Tile app on smartphones or tablets to locate the missing laptops.

The Summit E13 Flip Evo starts from S$2,799, the Summit E14 Evo from S$2,269, and the Summit E16 Flip from S$3,199. There is no price for the E14 Flip Evo at the time of reporting.

Beyond the Summit Series, MSI has also refreshed its Prestige and Modern lineups, updating to the 12th Gen Intel Processor and coming in new chassis colours.

Jimmy Sho

Jimmy is on a never-ending quest to finish his ever-expanding library of games, but he keeps getting sidetracked by a mountain of books to read, and a trail of actual mountains he hopes to climb.

The post MSI Adds 14-Inch Convertible Laptop To Its 2022 Summit Business Lineup appeared first on Geek Culture.

While watching any crime or investigation show on TV there will always be someone who claims to have guessed who the perpetrator is before the ending is played – but how many can claim to have been a part of the crime-solving process to identify one?

At HTX, otherwise known as the Home Team Science and Technology Agency, their areas of expertise go way further than just scoping out crime scenes, covering the realms of cybersecurity, data science and AI, and even robotics. During the inaugural HTX Investigator’s Challenge (HTXIC), students from Junior Colleges, Institutes of Technical Education, Polytechnics and Universities formed teams to uncover clues and battle threats and scenarios which the HTX scientists and engineers may face from time to time.

The premise was simple. With a fictional terrorist plot unfolding over 12 hours, participants had to solve as many multi-disciplinary challenges as possible within that time period to neutralize the threat. The challenge was carried out in a fully gamified 3D environment – think of it like an MMORPG but with less annoying fetch quests all for the S$10,000 grand prize The folks who developed the challenges are HTX officers who actually apply such skills in their daily work.

“One of the game’s challenges is to try to clean the data and find the answers to the challenges. And because this is a huge part of a data scientist’s work, I thought it would be fun to incorporate it in the challenge itself,” according to Jason Ng, 25, a data scientist with HTX.

In order to solve Jason’s challenge, participants had to first deploy code in order to solve the puzzle. Failing to do so would have meant precious time wasted in wading through voluminous amounts of data points to extract what they actually needed.

“The method to solve this challenge is something I use in my code. So through these algorithms, participants would have a good glimpse of what data scientists actually do.”

Like Jason, being able to translate aspects of their work into challenges and deliver them to the participants was at the top of the minds of each HTXIC challenge developer.

“We wanted the participants to know what we really do behind the scenes, which may not be presented accurately on TV shows. By actually dusting the fingerprints, they get a taste of what we do. And in that sense, it also provides them with a challenge as well because even though you might know how to dust, there is always a chance you do not get a fingerprint,” explained Carys Hor, 24, a forensic specialist at HTX.

“So it becomes another problem and in this field you have to figure out – instead of fingerprint dusting alone, what else can you do?”

Indeed, just like life, there are rarely any straight answers but that’s really what makes a role at HTX even more exciting and interesting. With a glint in her eye, Carys shared that it was not something she thought about doing outright.

“I discovered this role by chance because it’s not a job you know a lot about other than what you caught on TV or movies. I joined HTX through the Associate Programme and was offered the option to specialise in forensics.”

The wide berth of skills and talents found at HTX appears to be a running theme throughout the organisation. After all, this was what attracted Sean Lim, 26, an engineer from the Robotics, Automation and Unmanned Systems (RAUS) Centre of Expertise to the organisation after a stint in academia. Upon joining HTX, Sean lent his expertise to the development of one of the HTXIC challenges that involved the taking down of a drone.

“There’s this concept called ethical hacking, which involves the process of detecting vulnerabilities in a system. The idea for this challenge was built on that concept,” said Sean.

“We left a “breadcrumb” trail of network tools on the desktop to clue participants in. Using these tools, participants could search for vulnerabilities in the drone application by listening in on interfaces for the relevant data packets. Upon obtaining the data packets, it would just be a matter of sending the correct landing command to the drone.”

But how does this all relate back to Sean’s everyday tasks at HTX? When it comes to drones and the like, robotics is his field of expertise.

“These robotic solutions we created may be amazing but what’s better is that they are applied in a useful manner. So think of robotics in search and rescue, inspection, and automation. It’s all towards the end goal of helping us humans. When we look at robotics, we are looking to take humans out of the danger zone. In search and rescue, instead of sending in firefighters, who have no idea what’s inside a hazard area, you can send in drones. Though the drones are expensive and might get destroyed, it’s certainly better than someone getting hurt.”

From our conversations with the folks at HTX, their goal seems pretty clear – to serve the common good by augmenting the Home Team’s capabilities to keep Singapore safe and secure. And it seemed almost apt that Sean was able to leave us with some pearls of wisdom as well.

“If you have a passion for science, technology, and engineering and you want to take it one step further beyond something commercial and purely research, HTX is a great place for you to see your engineering solutions and ideas come to life. These ideas that you generate always end up being put to good use and help people.”

If you are keen to learn more about HTX and what they do, their Centres of Expertise would be a good place to start. Who knows? You may become the next generation of scientists or engineers contributing innovative solutions to enhance Singapore’s safety and security!

Gerald

Gerald currently straddles between his love of video games and board gaming. There’s nothing that interests him more than trying out the newest and fanciest gadget in town as well. He dreams of publishing a board game sometime in the future!

The post 500 Participants Vying For $10,000 Cash Prize At Inaugural HTX Investigators’ Challenge appeared first on Geek Culture.

Anyone with children or planning for one will tell you how important postpartum care is. The custom exists in virtually every culture, and while practices may vary – all focus on allowing the new mother to rest and recuperate after the physically and mentally taxing ordeal of childbirth.

Built around this desire and need, Kai Suites is a state-of-the-art postpartum care centre situated in a sprawling but quiet haven along Dunearn Road. Mr. Kevin Kwee, co-founder of Kai and Singapore’s first luxury recovery centre after childbirth, founded the place with the belief that there is an intricate need in establishing an integrated wellness abode for mothers to recuperate after childbirth with the best standards in postpartum care.

At its core, Kai Suites seeks to provide comfort to mothers who have just given birth and entered the confinement process, with the priority of caring for both the mother and the baby’s well-being. To help alleviate the mother’s stress levels of looking after their infant round the clock, Kai Suites boasts a separate nursery that mothers can monitor remotely when they are away from their child to rest and recover.

Kai Suites’ ability to provide the very best of postnatal care comes down to the facilities’ attention to detail, made possible using cutting-edge surveillance technology and analytics software. Enter Canon; while better known for their products in consumer imaging technology, Canon’s work as a systems integrator have seen it help many businesses like Kai Suites digitally transform their business. Kai Suites’ collaboration with Kai Suites saw the installation of the AXIS Camera throughout the facility – enabling the care centre to stream high-definition real-time footage through the AXIS Camera Station app.

Its most obvious usage in the facility is the live monitoring of new-born infants who are not rooming-in with their mothers. The high-definition real-time footage allows recovering mothers to have ease-of-mind, while also providing other family members outside the facility an opportunity to check-in on the new-born child. With the pandemic, the latter feature has become crucial in ensuring that loved ones do not miss any precious moments, regardless of where they are.

The care centre’s collaboration with Canon has also seen the integration of innoVi, a cloud-based video analytics software by Agent Vi, alongside the use of the AXIS Camera systems. This AI-powered software is linked to the camera solutions and scans live footage to alert Kai Suites on potential threats, which help them in responding quicker to emergencies, helping the care centre deliver top-of-the-line security while keeping its workforce lean. The camera system also monitors the workflow in areas such as the kitchen, tracking productivity and helping the business to identify issues such as bottlenecking and peak timings so that it can optimise its manpower distribution.

Kai Suites offers consumers the best of luxurious care and top-grade security and monitoring for mothers as they experience a pampering process during their confinement period, after all, who can claim to have a tougher job than a great mum.

The Baroness

Passion and love mean little to the Baroness. No man can ever be her master. Where there’s terror to be sown and coin earned, that’s where she will be with guns akimbo.

The post Behind The Scenes At Kai Suites: A Look At The Technology Powering Singapore’s First Luxury Confinement Centre appeared first on Geek Culture.

Admit it, as much as we love remote working, the work-from-home arrangement in the ‘new normal’ comes with its own logistical nightmares. The abrupt change left many businesses that were reliant on paper documentation scrambling to ensure continued operability – resulting in a chaotic effort to manually port their documents online for employees to access at their convenience.

Enter Canon’s imageRUNNER ADVANCE (iR-ADV) DX C5800i series, a range of A3 colour laser mult-function device (MFDs) that go beyond the typical functions of a conventional MFD. Aside from copying, printing, faxing and scanning, the recently launched iR-ADV DX C5800i series adds a new innovative fifth function, MyFile, to address the growing need for digitisation, collaboration and cloud storage access.

MyFile automates scanning, naming, converting and filing of documents to popular cloud services such as Google Drive, Therefore Online, DropBox, BOX, OneDrive and Sharepoint Online among others. Users can set rules and pre-configure workflows to scan batches of repetitive documents such as invoices, delivery notes, picking lists and orders. As a result, users can automate the labour-intensive process of digitising documents while eradicating inefficiencies and errors caused by manual processes.

One Size Fits All

It is not only employees that hate the laborious task of scanning stacks of documents, employers too often dread the resources taken to undertake such menial tasks. The new iR-ADV DX C5800i series’ MyFile feature offers automated categorization and sorting of documents, saving the business and its employees precious manpower and time. In addition, its industry-leading scan speed of up to 270 images per minute (ipm) and its ability to scan papers of different sizes (up to A3 paper size) at a single go can help businesses to further reduce the time and effort needed during the scanning process.

Improving Efficiency

Those of us who work in an office will know the struggle of looking for a document that your colleague saved in a shared cloud drive. Non-standardised naming conventions, documents misplaced in separate folders are just some of the more common time-consuming issues we face daily in the workplace.

By using optical character recognition (OCR), MyFile can file different document formats and also extract key information or metadata from documents. MyFile works together with the iR-ADV DX C5800i series to streamline the document filing process, increase accuracy and efficiency – resulting in files that are organized according to the business’ standards and can be easily accessed for hassle-free collaboration between employees.

Security as a Priority

Security is a common concern for businesses and Canon’s iR-ADV DX C5800i series delivers on all fronts when it comes to document, network and device security. The MFD’s holistic approach incorporates a wide range of security features to safeguard businesses against cyber threats.

Most notably, the series uses Trusted Platform Module (TPM) 2.0 to safely encrypt critical data stored on the MFDs and complies with Common Criteria (CC) Hardcopy Devices Protection Profile (HCD-PP) certification, an international evaluation standard for information security. McAfee Embedded Control, a standard security feature on the MFDs effectively blocks the execution of unauthorised applications and prevents tampering of existing firmware to better protect businesses against malicious attacks.

After-Sales Service Commitment

To complement the new MFD, Canon has also launched its “Service Commitment 123” to provide world-class after-sales service which helps to ensure that the business runs uninterrupted.

• 1-Scan Service – Users can skip waiting in line for a customer service representative to attend to their call by scanning the QR code found on the printer label to get customer service.
• 2-hour Response Time – Canon will be assigning the nearest field engineer to respond within two hours. This ensures maximum device uptime and business continuity.
• 3-month Device Exchange Policy – Customers can exchange their Canon MFD for a new unit should it not perform up to the listed product specifications within 3 months from the date of installation.

The Baroness

Passion and love mean little to the Baroness. No man can ever be her master. Where there’s terror to be sown and coin earned, that’s where she will be with guns akimbo.

The post Canon Launches New Laser Multifunction Device To Automate Documentation Processes & Ease Remote Working appeared first on Geek Culture.