On hardware
- 200 seconds vs. 10,000 years
Google claims quantum supremacy with a 53-qubit chip. What the chip actually computed, why IBM disputes the number, and why there's still no workload.
2 min reads likes comments - Face ID: the 3D face is finally consumer hardware
The iPhone X projects 30,000 infrared dots onto your face to unlock the phone. Four years ago I was faking this in software from a single selfie.
2 min reads likes comments - Neuralink and the bandwidth argument
Elon Musk's new company wants a high-bandwidth link between brains and computers. The argument is about output speed. I think it's partly right, and too optimistic on timing.
2 min reads likes comments - Google built its own chip for neural nets
The Tensor Processing Unit has been running in Google's data centers for a year. When a company designs custom silicon for a workload, the workload is here to stay.
2 min reads likes comments - The screen finally feels how hard you press
3D Touch on the iPhone 6s, one year after I guessed pressure-sensitive phones were a couple of years away. How it measures force, and what it's for.
2 min reads likes comments - HoloLens maps your room before it draws on it
Microsoft's headset is mostly a sensing problem with a display attached. Why AR needs a model of the space before it can put anything in it.
2 min reads likes comments - What a light field actually is
Magic Leap raised $542 million without showing anyone a product. A look at the optics they're promising, and why it's so hard to wear on your head.
2 min reads likes comments - The watch taps your wrist, and touch becomes a channel
The part of the Apple Watch announcement I keep thinking about is a small mass on a spring, and what it says about how little computers use touch.
3 min reads likes comments