NASA's first-ever asteroid sample coming to Earth on September 24

NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft is set to deliver the first-ever US sample collected from asteroid Bennu on September 24. The capsule, containing rocks and dust, will land in a Utah desert and provide new insights into the formation of our solar system and the role of asteroids in delivering water and organic molecules. The sample will be preserved for future research and distributed to scientists globally. The achievement is commemorated by a stamp issued by the US Postal Service. https://ift.tt/lAbOgWy

A look at chip equipment makers, like Applied Materials, pushing the boundaries of sculpting materials at the atomic level, in a quest to make chips faster (Christopher Mims/Wall Street Journal)

Christopher Mims / Wall Street Journal:
A look at chip equipment makers, like Applied Materials, pushing the boundaries of sculpting materials at the atomic level, in a quest to make chips faster  —  Few people outside of semiconductor manufacturing have ever heard of Applied Materials and its competitors—but what they do is more essential …

WhatsApp releases Channel alerts in Android beta, may soon bring reply feature

WhatsApp is reportedly working on a new feature that will allow users to reply to channel updates. The feature was discovered in the 2.23.20.6 update for beta users on Android. It will include a reply indicator and added privacy to protect users' phone numbers. This feature will enhance channel conversations and provide users with a way to actively participate and share their thoughts and opinions. https://ift.tt/OA8aS3x

How to use NameDrop on iPhone

With the release of iOS 17, iPhone users can now use a new feature called NameDrop to easily share contacts and other files. To use NameDrop, both devices need to be running iOS 17 and the feature is only available on iPhone XS and newer models. Users can turn on NameDrop by going to Settings, General, and AirDrop. To share contacts, simply bring the iPhones close together and a connection will be established. For sharing photos, videos, and files, users can select the file and choose AirDrop. Both devices should have AirDrop turned on and set to Contacts. https://ift.tt/0xtUfWb

Amazon plans to introduce limited ads in Prime Video in the US, the UK, Germany, and Canada early in 2024; ad-free tier will cost $2.99/month extra in the US (Jake Rudnitsky/Bloomberg)

Jake Rudnitsky / Bloomberg:
Amazon plans to introduce limited ads in Prime Video in the US, the UK, Germany, and Canada early in 2024; ad-free tier will cost $2.99/month extra in the US  —  Prime will also include an ad-free option for an additional $2.99 per month in the US, while pricing in other countries will be published later …

EU regulators fine Intel €376.36M over "a previously established abuse of dominant position", after an EU court overturned a €1.06B fine in January 2022 (Stephanie Bodoni/Bloomberg)

Stephanie Bodoni / Bloomberg:
EU regulators fine Intel €376.36M over “a previously established abuse of dominant position”, after an EU court overturned a €1.06B fine in January 2022  —  - Fine follows ruling by court upholding part of EU's case  — EU initially fined Intel a then-record penalty in 2009

Tecno Phantom V Flip vs Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5: How the two flip phones compare

Tecno has introduced its latest foldable smartphone, the Tecno Phantom V Flip. It features a clamshell design, MediaTek Dimensity chipset, and a 4,000 mAh battery. The phone has a circular external display, leather finish back panel, and a 64MP dual rear camera. It runs on Android 13 and comes with fast charging support. https://ift.tt/A5p4xUn

Coalition: ransomware victims reported an average $365K+ loss in H1 2023, up from $227K+ in H2 2022; the average ransom demand was $1.62M, up 74% from 2022 (James Reddick/The Record)

James Reddick / The Record:
Coalition: ransomware victims reported an average $365K+ loss in H1 2023, up from $227K+ in H2 2022; the average ransom demand was $1.62M, up 74% from 2022  —  A cyber insurance firm reported a significant jump in the number of claims during the first half of the year, adding that damages caused by attacks has also increased.

Cisco plans to acquire cybersecurity company Splunk for $157 per share in cash, up 31% on Splunk's September 20 closing price, in a deal valued at ~$28B (Molly Schuetz/Bloomberg)

Molly Schuetz / Bloomberg:
Cisco plans to acquire cybersecurity company Splunk for $157 per share in cash, up 31% on Splunk's September 20 closing price, in a deal valued at ~$28B  —  Cisco will pay $157 a share in cash, the companies said in a statement Thursday.  That represents a 31% premium to Splunk's previous closing price on Wednesday.

Layer 2 blockchain Optimism sells 116M tokens worth $157M to seven buyers in a "private" sale, after airdropping 19.4M tokens to 31K+ users earlier this week (Oliver Knight/CoinDesk)

Oliver Knight / CoinDesk:
Layer 2 blockchain Optimism sells 116M tokens worth $157M to seven buyers in a “private” sale, after airdropping 19.4M tokens to 31K+ users earlier this week  —  The token sale was described as a “planned event.”  —  The foundation behind layer2 blockchain Optimism …

Source: Google has extensively discussed dropping Broadcom for AI chips as early as 2027 to design its own TPUs, aiming to save billions of dollars annually (Wayne Ma/The Information)

Wayne Ma / The Information:
Source: Google has extensively discussed dropping Broadcom for AI chips as early as 2027 to design its own TPUs, aiming to save billions of dollars annually  —  Google executives have extensively discussed dropping Broadcom as a supplier of artificial intelligence chips as early as 2027 …

Japanese chipmaking equipment maker Kokusai Electric plans to raise ~$750M in an IPO on October 25 in Tokyo at a ~$2.95B valuation, pricing shares at ~$12.78 (Reuters)

Reuters:
Japanese chipmaking equipment maker Kokusai Electric plans to raise ~$750M in an IPO on October 25 in Tokyo at a ~$2.95B valuation, pricing shares at ~$12.78  —  Chipmaking equipment maker Kokusai Electric said on Thursday it plans to list on the Tokyo Stock Exchange on Oct. 25 …

Korean game publisher Krafton says Dead Space developer Striking Distance's CEO Glen Schofield, COO, and CFO are leaving, months after its new game flopped (Jason Schreier/Bloomberg)

Jason Schreier / Bloomberg:
Korean game publisher Krafton says Dead Space developer Striking Distance's CEO Glen Schofield, COO, and CFO are leaving, months after its new game flopped  —  Video-game developer Striking Distance Studios, a subsidiary of Korean publisher Krafton Inc., is appointing new management several months …

The Biden administration awards $238M via the Defense Department to set up eight chip research hubs, one of the earliest releases of the nearly $53B CHIPS Act (Ana Swanson/New York Times)

Ana Swanson / New York Times:
The Biden administration awards $238M via the Defense Department to set up eight chip research hubs, one of the earliest releases of the nearly $53B CHIPS Act  —  The $238 million in grants will set up eight research hubs, as a small slice of the federal money that will go to chip companies and research facilities in the coming months.

Amazon's Eero announces the Eero Max 7, its first router to support Wi-Fi 7, offering 2.4GHz, 5GHz, and 6GHz and "up to 4.3 Gbps" wireless throughput, for $600+ (Wes Davis/The Verge)

Wes Davis / The Verge:
Amazon's Eero announces the Eero Max 7, its first router to support Wi-Fi 7, offering 2.4GHz, 5GHz, and 6GHz and “up to 4.3 Gbps” wireless throughput, for $600+  —  Eero has announced a powerful new top-of-the-line router called the Eero Max 7.  It's Eero's first router to support …