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Hundreds of US Locations Had Their Hottest Year On Record

Slashdot.org - Mon, 01/06/2025 - 15:02
Communities across the U.S. experienced unprecedented warmth in 2024, with numerous cities breaking temperature records set just a year earlier. Phoenix recorded an average temperature of 90.5F and endured 70 days with highs at or above 110F, surpassing its previous record of 55 days. Major metropolitan areas including Chicago, Nashville, Washington, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, and Burlington, Vermont, all registered their warmest year. Even northern Maine cities like Caribou and Houlton saw record-breaking temperatures, reflecting broader global warming trends that made 2024 the hottest year on record worldwide.

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Intel Says New Laptop Chips Will Extend Computer Battery Life

Slashdot.org - Mon, 01/06/2025 - 14:25
Intel, which has been fending off mounting competition in notebook processors, says a new range of chips will help enable the longest battery life available in laptops. From a report: New computers based on the latest version of its Core Ultra processors will go on sale starting this month, the company said Monday at CES, an annual consumer electronics show. Intel was for decades the world's largest chipmaker thanks to its dominance of the computer processor market. Production technology stumbles and slow product introductions have opened the door to both long-time rivals and firms just entering the space. The company's board last month ousted its chief executive officer, citing the need to improve its offerings. The new chips, intended for corporate PCs and high-end consumer devices, are aimed at boosting performance in two areas the company considers key selling points: battery life and the ability to run artificial intelligence functions. According to Intel, an HP laptop that uses one of the new processors can run Microsoft's Teams software for as long as 10.5 hours on a single charge. It can go 20.3 hours between charges when the user is running Microsoft's cloud-based 365 suite, Intel added. By comparison, Intel says a Dell device using a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor can last as long as 9.2 hours and 18.5 hours, respectively, under those conditions.

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Microsoft's Bing Deploys Google-Mimicking Interface To Retain Search Users

Slashdot.org - Mon, 01/06/2025 - 13:48
Microsoft's Bing search engine has deployed a controversial interface change that mimics Google's appearance when users search for "Google" or "Google.com" while logged out, blog WindowsLatest reports. The new design adjusts the page layout to conceal Bing's search bar and navigation, displaying instead a Google-like interface with a central search box that redirects queries to Bing's results.

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A New Electricity Supercycle is Under Way

Slashdot.org - Mon, 01/06/2025 - 13:10
Global investment in electrical grid infrastructure is surging amid rising demand for power and the shift to renewable energy, reaching nearly $400 billion in 2024 from just over $300 billion in 2020. The International Energy Agency forecasts spending will hit $600 billion annually by 2030, driven by decarbonization efforts, electrification of transport and heating, and growing power needs from data centers and developing economies. Major equipment manufacturers including Schneider Electric, Hitachi, and Siemens Energy are expanding production capacity to address severe supply chain bottlenecks, with transformer prices up 60-80% since 2020 and wait times extending to five years.

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Microsoft Would Really Like You To Stop Using Windows 10 This Year

Slashdot.org - Mon, 01/06/2025 - 12:25
Microsoft is pushing users to upgrade from Windows 10 to Windows 11 ahead of the operating system's end of support in October 2025. The company's consumer chief marketing officer Yusuf Mehdi declared 2025 "the year of the Windows 11 PC refresh," positioning PC upgrades as more crucial than TV or phone purchases. The Verge adds: Mehdi believes that "Windows 11 is available at a time when the world needs it most" and that "the forefront of AI innovation will be realized on Windows."

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