According to The Verge, Sonos has abandoned its plans to release a streaming video player this year. From the report: The news was announced by the company's leadership during an all-hands call today. That product, codenamed Pinewood, was set to be Sonos' next major hardware launch. It was already deep into development and has spent months in beta testing. But now the team behind it will be reassigned to other projects as interim CEO Tom Conrad reprioritizes the company's future roadmap and continues what he hopes will be a turnaround from a bruising 2024. He told employees that a push into video from Sonos is off the table "for now." [...]

Pinewood was designed to offer many of the same streaming video apps as other devices on the market along with deep universal search and content aggregation. But as I reported last month, Sonos also intended for it to double as an HDMI switcher and support passthrough functionality for gaming consoles, 4K Blu-ray players, and more. The box was also set to allow new configurations of surround sound systems using Sonos' many speakers.

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: On Wednesday, Google DeepMind announced two new AI models designed to control robots: Gemini Robotics and Gemini Robotics-ER. The company claims these models will help robots of many shapes and sizes understand and interact with the physical world more effectively and delicately than previous systems, paving the way for applications such as humanoid robot assistants. [...] Google's new models build upon its Gemini 2.0 large language model foundation, adding capabilities specifically for robotic applications. Gemini Robotics includes what Google calls "vision-language-action" (VLA) abilities, allowing it to process visual information, understand language commands, and generate physical movements. By contrast, Gemini Robotics-ER focuses on "embodied reasoning" with enhanced spatial understanding, letting roboticists connect it to their existing robot control systems. For example, with Gemini Robotics, you can ask a robot to "pick up the banana and put it in the basket," and it will use a camera view of the scene to recognize the banana, guiding a robotic arm to perform the action successfully. Or you might say, "fold an origami fox," and it will use its knowledge of origami and how to fold paper carefully to perform the task.

In 2023, we covered Google's RT-2, which represented a notable step toward more generalized robotic capabilities by using Internet data to help robots understand language commands and adapt to new scenarios, then doubling performance on unseen tasks compared to its predecessor. Two years later, Gemini Robotics appears to have made another substantial leap forward, not just in understanding what to do but in executing complex physical manipulations that RT-2 explicitly couldn't handle. While RT-2 was limited to repurposing physical movements it had already practiced, Gemini Robotics reportedly demonstrates significantly enhanced dexterity that enables previously impossible tasks like origami folding and packing snacks into Zip-loc bags. This shift from robots that just understand commands to robots that can perform delicate physical tasks suggests DeepMind may have started solving one of robotics' biggest challenges: getting robots to turn their "knowledge" into careful, precise movements in the real world. DeepMind claims Gemini Robotics "more than doubles performance on a comprehensive generalization benchmark compared to other state-of-the-art vision-language-action models."

Google is advancing this effort through a partnership with Apptronik to develop next-generation humanoid robots powered by Gemini 2.0. Availability timelines or specific commercial applications for the new AI models were not made available.

Roomba maker iRobot has warned it may cease operations within 12 months unless it can refinance debt or find a buyer, just one day after launching a new vacuum cleaner line. In its March 12 quarterly report, the company disclosed it had spent $3.6 million to amend terms on a $200 million Carlyle Group loan from 2023, as U.S. revenue plunged 47% in the fourth quarter.

"Given these uncertainties and the implication they may have on the Company's financials, there is substantial doubt about the Company's ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least 12 months from the date of the issuance of its consolidated 2024 financial statements," the company wrote.

The robot vacuum pioneer has initiated a formal strategic review after a failed Amazon acquisition, the departure of founder Colin Angle, and layoffs affecting over half its workforce. iRobot cited mounting competition from Chinese manufacturers and expects continued losses for "the foreseeable future."

Amazon, Alphabet's Google and Meta Platforms on Wednesday said they support efforts to at least triple nuclear energy worldwide by 2050. From a report: The tech companies signed a pledge first adopted in December 2023 by more than 20 countries, including the U.S., at the U.N. Climate Change Conference. Financial institutions including Bank of America, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley backed the pledge last year.

The pledge is nonbinding, but highlights the growing support for expanding nuclear power among leading industries, finance and governments. Amazon, Google and Meta are increasingly important drivers of energy demand in the U.S. as they build out AI centers. The tech sector is turning to nuclear power after concluding that renewables alone won't provide enough reliable power for their energy needs. Microsoft and Apple did not sign the statement.

AmiMoJo shares a report from Electrek: The U.S. installed 50 gigawatts (GW) of new solar capacity in 2024, the largest single year of new capacity added to the grid by any energy technology in over two decades. That's enough to power 8.5 million households. According to the U.S. Solar Market Insight 2024 Year in Review report (PDF) released today by the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) and Wood Mackenzie, solar and storage account for 84% of all new electric generating capacity added to the grid last year.

In addition to historic deployment, surging U.S. solar manufacturing emerged as a landmark economic story in 2024. Domestic solar module production tripled last year, and at full capacity, U.S. factories can now produce enough to meet nearly all demand for solar panels in the U.S. Solar cell manufacturing also resumed in 2024, strengthening the U.S. energy supply chain. [...] Total US solar capacity is expected to reach 739 GW by 2035, but the report forecasts include scenarios showing how policy changes could impact the solar market. [...] The low case forecast shows a 130 GW decline in solar deployment over the next decade compared to the base case, representing nearly $250 billion of lost investment.

An anonymous reader quotes a report from TechCrunch: There's a power crunch looming as AI and cloud providers ramp up data center construction. But a new report suggests that a solution lies beneath their foundations. Advanced geothermal power could supply nearly two-thirds of new data center demand by 2030, according to an analysis by the Rhodium Group. The additions would quadruple the amount of geothermal power capacity in the U.S. -- from 4 gigawatts to about 16 gigawatts -- while costing the same or less than what data center operators pay today. In the western U.S., where geothermal resources are more plentiful, the technology could provide 100% of new data center demand. Phoenix, for example, could add 3.8 gigawatts of data center capacity without building a single new conventional power plant.

Geothermal resources have enormous potential to provide consistent power. Historically, geothermal power plants have been limited to places where Earth's heat seeps close to the surface. But advanced geothermal techniques could unlock 90 gigawatts of clean power in the U.S. alone, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. [...] Because geothermal power has very low running costs, its price is competitive with data centers' energy costs today, the Rhodium report said. When data centers are sited similarly to how they are today, a process that typically takes into account proximity to fiber optics and major metro areas, geothermal power costs just over $75 per megawatt hour. But when developers account for geothermal potential in their siting, the costs drop significantly, down to around $50 per megawatt hour.

The report assumes that new generating capacity would be "behind the meter," which is what experts call power plants that are hooked up directly to a customer, bypassing the grid. Wait times for new power plants to connect to the grid can stretch on for years. As a result, behind the meter arrangements have become more appealing for data center operators who are scrambling to build new capacity.

MojoKid writes: AMD just launched its latest flagship desktop processors, the Ryzen 9 9950X3D. Ryzen 9 9950X3D is a 16-core/32-thread, dual-CCD part with a base clock of 4.3GHz and a max boost clock of 5.7GHz. There's also 96MB of second-gen 3D V-Cache on board. Standard Ryzen 9000 series processors feature 32MB of L3 cache per compute die, but with the Ryzen 9 9950X3D, one compute die is outfitted with an additional 96MB of 3D V-Cache, bringing the total L3 up to 128MB (144MB total cache). The CCD outfitted with 3D V-Cache operates at more conservative voltages and frequencies, but the bare compute die is unencumbered.

The Ryzen 9 9950X3D turns out to be a high-performance, no-compromise desktop processor. Its complement of 3D V-Cache provides tangible benefits in gaming, and AMD's continued work on the platform's firmware and driver software ensures that even with the Ryzen 9 9950X3D's asymmetrical CCD configuration, performance is strong across the board. At $699, it's not cheap but its a great CPU for gaming and content creation, and one of the most powerful standard desktop CPUs money can buy currently.

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: HP, along with other printer brands, is infamous for issuing firmware updates that brick already-purchased printers that have tried to use third-party ink. In a new form of frustration, HP is now being accused of issuing a firmware update that broke customers' laser printers -- even though the devices are loaded with HP-brand toner. The firmware update in question is version 20250209, which HP issued on March 4 for its LaserJet MFP M232-M237 models. Per HP, the update includes "security updates," a "regulatory requirement update," "general improvements and bug fixes," and fixes for IPP Everywhere. Looking back to older updates' fixes and changes, which the new update includes, doesn't reveal anything out of the ordinary. The older updates mention things like "fixed print quality to ensure borders are not cropped for certain document types," and "improved firmware update and cartridge rejection experiences." But there's no mention of changes to how the printers use or read toner.

However, users have been reporting sudden problems using HP-brand toner in their M232-M237 series printers since their devices updated to 20250209. Users on HP's support forum say they see Error Code 11 and the hardware's toner light flashing when trying to print. Some said they've cleaned the contacts and reinstalled their toner but still can't print. "Insanely frustrating because it's my small business printer and just stopped working out of nowhere[,] and I even replaced the tone[r,] which was a $60 expense," a forum user wrote on March 8. HP said in a statement: "We are aware of a firmware issue affecting a limited number of HP LaserJet 200 Series devices and our team is actively working on a solution. For assistance, affected customers can contact our support team at: https://support.hp.com." It's unclear how widespread the problems are.

Adafruit Industries used large language model (LLM) tool Claude Code to streamline hardware development, writes managing director ptorrone.

In a demo video Limor 'Ladyada' Fried compares the LLM's command-line interface to working with the build-automation tool CMake or "a weird cross between IRC and a BBS." The first step was converting a PDF of the hardware's datasheet into text, and Claude Code first displays the appropriate Bash command, while asking "Do you want to proceed?" ("What's nice is that it doesn't make changes, even though it has write access to files in the directory...") Eventually from the data sheet it creates things like an accurate register map, C++ headers, and even license text — and more.

"We are using it to automate parts of the coding and debugging process for an Arduino-compatible Metro Mini board with an OPT 4048 color sensor," writes ptorrone: Using Claude Code's shell access, we can compile, upload, and test code in a semi-automated workflow, allowing the LLM to suggest fixes for errors along the way... While the AI isn't perfect for high-level driver development, it's proving VERY useful for tedious debugging and super-fast iterative improvements, bringing hardware automation closer to ...reality.
In the video Fried describes it like this. "I have a full debugging cycle, where I'm there — I'm like driving the car — but I have this copilot that's telling me where to go..."

"I feel like I'm getting closer to having a semi-automated way of doing driver development."

"The ubiquitous ESP32 microchip made by Chinese manufacturer Espressif and used by over 1 billion units as of 2023 contains an undocumented 'backdoor' that could be leveraged for attacks," writes BleepingComputer.

"The undocumented commands allow spoofing of trusted devices, unauthorized data access, pivoting to other devices on the network, and potentially establishing long-term persistence." This was discovered by Spanish researchers Miguel Tarascó Acuña and Antonio Vázquez Blanco of Tarlogic Security, who presented their findings yesterday at RootedCON in Madrid. "Tarlogic Security has detected a backdoor in the ESP32, a microcontroller that enables WiFi and Bluetooth connection and is present in millions of mass-market IoT devices," reads a Tarlogic announcement shared with BleepingComputer. "Exploitation of this backdoor would allow hostile actors to conduct impersonation attacks and permanently infect sensitive devices such as mobile phones, computers, smart locks or medical equipment by bypassing code audit controls...."

Tarlogic developed a new C-based USB Bluetooth driver that is hardware-independent and cross-platform, allowing direct access to the hardware without relying on OS-specific APIs. Armed with this new tool, which enables raw access to Bluetooth traffic, Targolic discovered hidden vendor-specific commands (Opcode 0x3F) in the ESP32 Bluetooth firmware that allow low-level control over Bluetooth functions. In total, they found 29 undocumented commands, collectively characterized as a "backdoor," that could be used for memory manipulation (read/write RAM and Flash), MAC address spoofing (device impersonation), and LMP/LLCP packet injection.

Espressif has not publicly documented these commands, so either they weren't meant to be accessible, or they were left in by mistake.
Thanks to Slashdot reader ZipNada for sharing the news.

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: On Thursday, music labels sought to add nearly 500 more sound recordings to a lawsuit accusing the Internet Archive (IA) of mass copyright infringement through its Great 78 Project, which seeks to digitize all 3 million three-minute recordings published on 78 revolutions-per-minute (RPM) records from about 1898 to the 1950s. If the labels' proposed second amended complaint is accepted by the court, damages sought in the case -- which some already feared could financially ruin IA and shut it down for good -- could increase to almost $700 million. (Initially, the labels sought about $400 million in damages.) IA did not respond to Ars' request for comment, but the filing noted that IA has not consented to music labels' motion to amend their complaint. [...]

Some sound recording archivists and historians also continue to defend the Great 78 Project as a critical digitization effort at a time when quality of physical 78 RPM records is degrading and the records themselves are becoming obsolete, with very few libraries even maintaining equipment to play back the limited collections that are available in physical archives. They push back on labels' claims that commercially available Spotify streams are comparable to the Great 78 Project's digitized recordings, insisting that sound history can be lost when obscure recordings are controlled by rights holders who don't make them commercially available. [...] David Seubert, who manages sound collections at the University of California, Santa Barbara library, told Ars that he frequently used the project as an archive and not just to listen to the recordings.

For Seubert, the videos that IA records of the 78 RPM albums capture more than audio of a certain era. Researchers like him want to look at the label, check out the copyright information, and note the catalogue numbers, he said. "It has all this information there," Seubert said. "I don't even necessarily need to hear it," he continued, adding, "just seeing the physicality of it, it's like, 'Okay, now I know more about this record.'" [...] Nathan Georgitis, the executive director of the Association for Recorded Sound Collections (ARSC), told Ars that you just don't see 78 RPM records out in the world anymore. Even in record stores selling used vinyl, these recordings will be hidden "in a few boxes under the table behind the tablecloth," Georgitis suggested. And in "many" cases, "the problem for libraries and archives is that those recordings aren't necessarily commercially available for re-release."

That "means that those recordings, those artists, the repertoire, the recorded sound history in itself -- meaning the labels, the producers, the printings -- all of that history kind of gets obscured from view," Georgitis said. Currently, libraries trying to preserve this history must control access to audio collections, Georgitis said. He sees IA's work with the Great 78 Project as a legitimate archive in that, unlike a streaming service, where content may be inconsistently available, IA's "mission is to preserve and provide access to content over time." "That 'over time' part is really the key function, I think, that distinguishes an archive from maybe a streaming service in a way," Georgitis said. "The Internet Archive is not hurting the revenue of the recording industry at all," Seubert suggested. "It has no impact on their revenue." Instead, he suspects that labels' lawsuit is "somehow vindictive," because the labels perhaps "don't like the Internet Archive's way of pushing the envelope on copyright and fair use."

"There are people who, like the founder of the Internet Archive, want to push that envelope, and the media conglomerates want to push back in the other direction," Seubert said.

Warner Bros. Home Entertainment has confirmed widespread issues affecting DVDs manufactured between 2006-2008 that are experiencing premature disc rot. The company is offering replacements for affected titles but no refunds, even when replacements aren't possible.

The problem manifests in various ways: complete disc failure, freezing midway through playback, or menu issues. Movie critic Chris Bumbray recently discovered several of his classic film DVDs had deteriorated, including titles not available digitally. DVD collectors have documented this issue for years via YouTube and forums, with speculation that a Pennsylvania manufacturing plant used subpar materials.

Brother has rejected claims that its firmware updates intentionally disable printer functionality when third-party cartridges are installed. The controversy emerged after a YouTube video by Louis Rossman, which has garnered over 160,000 views, alleged the company had joined competitors in anti-consumer practices. The allegations stem from online reports, including a 2022 Reddit post claiming firmware update W1.56 disabled automatic color registration on a Brother MFC-3750 using non-Brother toner, rendering it "effectively non-functional."

In a statement to Ars Technica, Brother explicitly denied these accusations: "Please be assured that Brother firmware updates do not block the use of third-party ink in our machines." The company said it recommends genuine supplies for "optimal performance" and performs a "Brother Genuine check" during troubleshooting, which may have caused "misunderstanding."

China plans to commercialize nuclear fusion for emissions-free power generation by 2050, with its first operational project expected around 2050 after a demonstration phase starting in 2045. Bloomberg reports: China National Nuclear Corp. (CNNC) last year formed an industry alliance and set up a new national fusion company, the China Fusion Corp. It has attracted about 1.75 billion yuan ($240 million) in investment from CNNC and Zhejiang Zheneng Electric Power Co. for cutting-edge tokamak devices, which use magnetic fields to confine and control superheated plasma to produce power without emissions or significant radioactive waste. CNNC also plans to scale up production of its homegrown designs for regular nuclear fission reactors and small modular reactors over the next five years, the company's Vice General Manager Xin Feng said at the briefing.

China is set to leapfrog the US and France as the owner of the world's biggest reactor fleet by 2030. About 10 new reactors have been approved every year since power shortages emerged in 2022 and the country is expected to keep up that pace through 2030 to meet climate goals, CNNC said on Friday.

Fabled RepairTuber and right-to-repair crusader Louis Rossmann accuses Brother of implementing forced firmware updates that block third-party ink cartridges and remove older firmware versions from support portals. These updates also prevent color calibration with aftermarket ink, rendering cheaper cartridges unusable. Tom's Hardware reports: As mentioned in the intro, Rossmann has seen two big issues emerge for Brother printer users with recent firmware updates. Firstly, models that used to work with aftermarket ink, might refuse to work with the same cartridges in place post-update. Brother doesn't always warn about such updates, so Rossmann says that it is important to keep your printer offline, if possible. Moreover, he reckons it is best to keep your printers offline, and "I highly suggest that you turn off your updates," in light of these anti-consumer updates. Another anti-consumer problem Rossmann highlights affects color devices. He cites reports from a Brother MFP user who noticed color calibration didn't work with aftermarket inks post-update. They used to work, and if the update doesn't allow the printer to calibrate with this aftermarket ink the cheaper carts become basically unusable.

Making matters worse, and an aspect of this tale which seems particularly dastardly, Rossmann says that older printer firmware is usually removed from websites. This means users can't roll back when they discover the unwanted new 'features' post-update. While he admittedly can't do much about these printer industry machinations, Rossmann says it feels important to document these changes which show that property rights for individuals are disappearing. Additional info about Brother's issues are available on Rossmann's wiki.

Earth's core "burns with an estimated forty-four trillion watts of power," the New Yorker reminds us — enough to "satisfy the entire world's energy needs" with a power source that's carbon-free, ubiquitous — and unlimited. (Besides running 24 hours a day, one of geothermal energy's key advantages is "it can be used for both electricity and heating, which collectively account for around 38% of global climate emissions...")

And one drilling expert tells them there's been an "exponential spin-up of activity in geothermal" energy projects over the last two years. (Ironically it was the fracking boom also brought an "explosion of new drilling practices — such as horizontal drilling and magnetic sensing — that inspired a geothermal resurgence.") In 2005 one research team calculated that just 2% of the heat just four miles underground in America "could meet the entire country's energy needs — two thousand times over," according to the article.

So their new article checks in on the progress of geothermal energy projects around the world, including a Utah company using a diamond-bit drill to dig nearly a mile into the earth to install a 150-ton steel tube surrounded by special heat-resistant cement — all to create "a massive straw" for transporting hot water (and steam). The biggest problem is drilling miles through hot rock, safely. If scientists can do that, however, next-generation geothermal power could supply clean energy for eons... At 6:15 P.M. on May 3rd, cement had started flowing into the hole. Four hours later, part of the cement folded in on itself. The next morning, the cement supply ran out; the men had miscalculated how much they needed. This brought the three-hundred-million-dollar operation to a maddening halt... The cement truck from Bakersfield arrived around 8:30 P.M. By ten-thirty, the men were pouring cement again, gluing the enormous metal straw in place. Next, the team scanned the borehole with gamma rays...

"Thousands of buildings across the United States are staying cool with the help of cutting-edge batteries made from one of the world's simplest materials," reports the Washington Post — ice. When electricity is cheap, the batteries freeze water. When energy costs go up, building managers turn off their pricey chillers and use the ice to keep things cool. A typical building uses about a fifth of its electricity for cooling, according to the International Energy Agency. By shifting their energy use to cheaper times of day, the biggest buildings can save hundreds of thousands of dollars a year on their power bills. They can also avoid using electricity from the dirtiest fossil fuel plants. In places where the weather is hot and energy prices swing widely throughout the day — for instance, Texas, Southern California and most of the American Southwest — buildings could cut their power bills and carbon emissions by as much as a third, experts say...

When every building is blasting its air conditioner at the same moment on a hot day, power companies often fire up backup generators, known as peaker plants, which are generally extra pricey and polluting. If utilities avoid using peaker plants, they'll pollute less and save money. Last year, the Energy Department struck a tentative $306 million loan deal with the ice-battery-maker Nostromo Energy to install its systems in 193 California buildings to make energy cheaper and cleaner while lowering the state's blackout risk.
"The batteries themselves are huge..." the article acknowledges, citing one in New York City that uses 100 parking spot-sized tanks "which collectively make 3 million margaritas' worth of ice each night... But that's starting to change." (And they believe new smaller designs "could bring the batteries into smaller buildings and even houses.") Wherever they can squeeze into the market, ice batteries could be a cheaper and longer-lasting option than the lithium-ion batteries that power phones, cars and some buildings because their main ingredient is water, experts say. The pricey chemicals in a lithium-ion cell might degrade after 10 years, but water never wears out.
And according to the article, one company has already installed ice batteries in over 4,000 buildings...

Can a new 3D-printing technique shorten 3D printing times to just seconds? A team of researchers in Europe has modified Tomographic Volumetric Additive Manufacturing, which can "create entire objects in one shot by shining light patterns into liquid resin," according to the 3D Printing Industry blog. (The liquid resin then solidifies when the light intensity is high enough...) While this approach can fabricate support-free, micro-scale parts within tens of seconds, it is "highly inefficient." This is because under 1% of the encoded light reaches the resin vial. Conventional TVAM can also lead to unwanted distortions and poor resolution due to light blurring and projection artifacts. To address these limitations, the researchers developed HoloVAM, a new technique that uses a 3D hologram instead of conventional volumetric light projections. This approach reportedly boosts light efficiency by 20 times, resulting in faster and more accurate 3D printing.

According to their paper, published in Nature Communications, HoloVAM successfully fabricated several millimeter-scale objects in under 60 seconds with fine details as small as 31 micrometers...

They believe this new approach offers value for medical bioprinting applications, thanks to HoloVAM's use of "self-healing beams." These can generate and retain their shape when passing through materials, which is particularly valuable when 3D printing with cell-laden bio-resins and hydrogels.
Thanks to Slashdot reader BizarreVR for sharing the news.

A German nuclear fusion startup called Proxima Fusion has unveiled its "Stellaris" fusion power plant designed to operate reliably and continuously without the instabilities of tokamaks. It's backed by $65 million in funding, with plans to build a fully operational fusion reactor by 2031. TechCrunch reports: Tokamaks and stellarators are types of fusion reactors that use electromagnets to contain fusion plasma. Tokamaks rely on external magnets and an induced plasma current but are known for instability. Stellarators, by contrast, use only external magnets, which, in theory, enable better stability and continuous operation. However, according to Dr. Francesco Sciortino, co-founder and CEO of Proxima Fusion, Proxima's "Stellaris" design is the first peer-reviewed fusion power plant concept that demonstrates it can operate reliably and continuously, without the instabilities and disruptions seen in tokamaks and other approaches.

Proxima published its findings in Fusion Engineering and Design, choosing to share this information publicly to support open-source science. "Our American friends can see it. Our Chinese friends can see it. Our claim is that we can execute on this faster than anyone else, and we do that by creating a framework for integrated physics, engineering, and economics. So we're not a science project anymore," Sciortino told TechCrunch over a call. "We started out as a group of founders saying it's going to take us two years to get to the Stellaris design ... We actually finished after one year. So we've accelerated by a year," he added.

Chinese robotics company Zhongqing Robotics (also known as Engine AI) posted a video of what is claimed to be the world's first humanoid robot front flip. New Atlas reports: Ten years ago, this kind of stuff simply did not exist. And now you can buy your very own open-source PM01 robot for US$13,700, according to EngineAI's website. Its specs aren't bad: 5-DoF (degrees of freedom) in each arm and six per leg. That's 23-DoF in body movement in total. The bot also boasts 221 lb-ft of torque (300 Nm), which seems like quite a punch when the little guy is only 4.5 ft (138 cm) tall and weighs 88 lb (40kg). You can watch the video here.