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WEEKLY NEWSLETTER 29 MAY - 03 JUNE 2023
Hello and Welcome,
Meetings This Week
NO MEETINGS
Meeting Next Week
2023/05/06 — 18:00-20:00 — June, Tue — Main Meeting
Schedule of Current & Upcoming Meetings
First Tuesday 18:00-20:00 — Main Meeting
First Saturday 13:00-14:00 — Penrith Group
Second Tuesday 18:00-20:00 — Programming
Third Tuesday 10:00-12:00 — Tuesday Group
Third Saturday 14:00-16:00 — Web Design
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Go to the official Sydney PC Calendar for this month's meeting details.
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Penrith meetings are held every 2nd month on the 1st Saturday from 1-2 pm. The following meetings are in July, September and November 2023.
ASCCA News:Tech News:
One in Three Used Drives is Not Secure
See the InfoPackets article by John Lister on May 19, 2023, at 01:05 pm EDT.
A data recovery firm found 3.1 million "deleted" files on a second-hand hard drive. It also found 35 per cent of drives had readily-restorable files.
The experiment by Secure Data Recovery comes with a prominent warning. It's a company that helps people recover deleted or corrupted files from their own drives, so it has an interest in highlighting that such recovery is possible.
That said, in this experiment conducted for Tech Radar, the company only tackled those drives where recovering data proved a straightforward task. (Source: techradar.com)
This involved buying 100 hard drives, all traditional models with moving parts rather than solid-state drives. The company says that 35 drives had quickly recovered "deleted" files. Of the rest, 30 were damaged enough that they'd have required additional steps.
One In Three Secure
A further 34 were classed as sanitized. That means they had no data, or the drives had been overwritten with random, meaningless data. The Department of Defence recommends doing this three times to get an acceptable level of security. Just one of the hundred drives had been encrypted before being sold.
Among the 35 drives with readily recoverable data, one stood out with 3.1 million recovered files. The rest had a combined 2.6 million files, meaning an average of over 75,000.
Unfortunately, this is a problem that has been solved previously. News reports dating back at least 18 years include similar experiments with similar results. One high-profile case in 2009 involved a drive bought on eBay that turned out to have sensitive details of US air defence systems. (Source: dailymail.co.uk)
Physical Destruction Safest
Secure Data Recovery's Jake Reznik noted that the most secure way to avoid the problem is to destroy a drive physically, for example, by shredding, drilling or disintegrating the drive's platter, the spinning part that physically holds the data. For safety reasons, this is usually best done by professional specialists — but if you plan to resell or re-use the drive, this is not the best choice.
Instead, Reznik suggests using multiple rewrites of the entire drive with random data testing to ensure none of the original data is recoverable.
Future AMD CPUs Will Have Hybrid Cores, Just Like Intel
See the How-To Geek article by AROL WRIGHT | @arolwright | MAY 19, 2023, at 11:41 am EDT.
Big, performance-oriented cores and small, efficient cores was a concept that was previously exclusive to smartphones. Intel brought to the PC ecosystem, and now AMD plans to make processors with the same hybrid architecture.
AMD's CTO, Mark Papermaster, has confirmed that, on future AMD Ryzen chips, we'll see "high-performance cores mixed with power-efficient cores mixed with acceleration." AMD has already talked about its efficiency cores, called Zen 4C, which are due to appear in the next-generation Epyc server chips. They have yet to land on desktop PC processors, though, and the CTO confirmed that it's happening after the interviewer said "absolutely" when pressed about the use of hybrid cores on desktop PCs.
The current top-end AMD chip, the Ryzen 9 7950X, features 16 cores but are all identical Zen 4 cores. On the other hand, Intel uses a mix of performance and efficiency cores, bringing the core count up (to 24 cores on the Intel Core i9-13900K, to be precise). This change would see AMD also use hybrid cores, exposing itself, and its chips, to the advantages these chips bring.
We'd need to see AMD's offering (the company is not expected to announce its following Ryzen chips until next year anyway) to give more concrete opinions on this matter. But right now, things are looking great.
NIO May Offer EVs With Solid-State Batteries This Year
See the INSIDE-EVs article by Steven Loveday on May 12, 2023, at 9:00 am ET.
While it seems far-fetched, a recent filing shows NIO may soon offer upgraded batteries from semi-solid-state battery supplier WeLion.
EVs will get solid-state batteries soon.
Based on information recently shared by China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology about upcoming models sold in China, NIO will be upgrading the batteries in some of its EVs soon. Interestingly, the battery cells specified will come from a semi-solid-state battery supplier.
There has been news about solid-state battery breakthroughs for years, and the battery technology has been proven to work as advertised. However, according to most experts in the field, it's not yet ready for electric cars. This could change at any time, but while we've been waiting for that to happen, numerous companies have had to delay their promises.
In this case, it's not as though NIO came forward and made a big announcement to the world that it will officially be the first EV maker to equip production passengers cars with solid-state batteries. Instead, the news came much more quietly.
Just last week, China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology released an updated list of models that will be sold in China in the future. Electrek says the ministry provides the information regularly to point out specification changes as part of China's regulatory process.
The exciting part is that NIO filed to expand battery specifications for three models on the list. While the filing doesn't specifically call out solid-state battery cells by name, it confirms that the battery upgrades will come from Huzhou WeLion Technology Co Ltd., a subsidiary of NIO's semi-solid-state battery supplier WeLion New Energy Technology.
The information also doesn't specify which vehicles will get the new battery technology. However, it does mention that two NIO SUVs and one NIO sedan are getting battery upgrades.
It's important to note that at the beginning of 2021, NIO said it had plans to fit the ET7 sedan with a 150 kWh solid-state battery pack. The Chinese automaker still needs to follow through with those plans or share many details related to their progress. However, in February 2023, NIO founder and president Qin Lihong said customers could get the 150 kWh pack this summer.
There are still plenty of questions here, and cost will likely be a huge deterrent. If NIO does offer the pack as an option, it will be costly. We will have to wait and see how this all pans out, but it may be safe to say that NIO is well on its way to being one of the first EV makers to offer solid-state tech, and it appears it may do so with the help of WeLion.
Source: Elektrek
Fun Facts:
Why I Don't Trust Push-Button Start in Cars
See the ReviewGeek article by ANDREW HEINZMAN | @andrew_andrew__| MAY 18, 2023, at 1:16 pm EDT.
Key Takeaway: Push-button start adds to the complexity of a car's electrical system, creating new opportunities for failure, recalls, or trips to the dealership. I don't trust this feature because I fear that it'll cost me extra time and money.
It's getting easier to find a car with a push-button start. And while I understand the popularity of this feature, keyless ignition could be more exciting to me. It increases the complexity of a vehicle, meaning that it can make electrical repairs, recalls, and key replacements much more frustrating.
Before we get into this, I should clarify that push start and keyless entry are highly convenient. This technology may also reduce car theft — as a Kia owner, I see the appeal here. My concerns mainly revolve around reliability, self-sufficiency, and cost.
What Happens When There's a Problem?
At a fundamental level, keyless and keyed starter systems are similar. Whether you push a button or twist a key, you complete a circuit between your car's battery and starter motor. This gets the engine going, so the circuit to the starter motor is no longer needed — a push-button vehicle will automatically stop cranking. Still, in a keyed ignition, you let the key return to its "on" position.
Both starter systems rely on some digital components, at least in modern vehicles. If your car has an engine immobilizer (and all cars sold in the U.S. after 1998 do), it won't start without an original key or key fob (or a smartphone, in some vehicles). A transponder within your key or key fob is used for verification.
This is just a basic overview of how a starter system works in gas (or petrol) vehicles. And already, it's clear that many things can go wrong. Physical components wear out, wiring can be damaged, and computers sometimes need to be fixed. If damaged or poorly maintained, other parts of the car can also prevent the engine from turning over.
Some of these problems can be fixed at home, if necessary. And the minor issues aren't too difficult to get around — sometimes you have to crank an engine for a long time to get it going (and hopefully address the problem when you have time). But this is where I start to get wary of push-button starters; they're similar to traditional starters, yet they require several new components that can break.
For example, a push-button starter needs to "know" when to stop cranking the engine. There are a few different ways to do this (some cars wait for the engine to hit a certain RPM), but regardless of the implementation, this process requires extra electrical components. And when you add more stuff to a car, more stuff can go wrong.
Not to mention, keyless ignitions require robust safety features. For example, drivers may leave their engine running in the garage or exit their vehicle before it's parked. These instances of "forgetfulness" have been linked to several deaths, so carmakers are eager to build new safety features for their keyless ignition vehicles. Unfortunately, these safety precautions add more points of failure to the car.
There's also the key fob itself. Some cars only have a keyless ignition, so you're stuck in a pickle if you lose or break your key fob (by dropping it in a pool or whatever). These keyless ignition fobs cost hundreds of dollars to replace at the dealership.
Long and Expensive Repairs
Expensive car repairs
Modern vehicles are highly complex, mainly due to digital components. An engine may stop working because a tiny sensor failed, for example. This complexity becomes apparent when something goes wrong — car repairs are frustratingly slow and expensive.
Now, diagnosing a problem is simple. Before a mechanic takes apart a car, they use sophisticated equipment to pinpoint where a problem is coming from. Even if a mechanic has an obscure error code, they're usually experienced enough to get a general idea of what's wrong. (There are exceptions. For example, some problems can only be identified using specific diagnostic tools, which you may only find at your dealership.)
The real difficulty comes after diagnosing a problem. New cars take a lot of work to take apart. And electrical components, like sensors, wires, and circuit boards, are rarely repaired. Instead, they are replaced — automotive repairs often descend into an endless loop of "replace this part, see if it works." It's usually a cost-effective option, but it can also be expensive, and you may need to wait for parts to be ordered.
This process can (but only sometimes) add to your car's time in the shop. It can also inflate your bill. Not only are you paying for extra labour, but you have to pay for replacement electrical components. Even a simple wiring harness can cost a ridiculous amount of money. This sort of repair work can be swift and cost-effective, but it depends on the problem, the diagnostics' accuracy and the mechanic's skills.
Usually, lengthy and expensive repairs are just part of owning a car. Today's vehicles are complicated because they're safer, more enjoyable, and more environmentally friendly than before.
Keyless ignition systems are a small luxury. And if a keyless ignition system were to fail for some reason, this small luxury could increase the time and cost of repairs. It is not a great trade-off.
Keyless ignition could pay off when it's time to sell your car. Not only is it an expensive trim option, but it's probably the future of the automotive world. Even if you run into a problem with your keyless ignition system (and most people won't), an increased trade-in value may be worth the headache.
Carmakers Love Push-Button Start for a Reason
As I've repeatedly mentioned throughout this article, push start is a significant convenience. It also (supposedly) reduces car theft and may help your car retain some resale value. I don't blame anyone for enjoying keyless ignition; I'm just explaining why it gives me the heebie-jeebies.
Anyway, here's something to chew on — how do carmakers benefit from this technology? Keyless ignition is a popular feature that increases the price of a car. A push-button start is an excellent way to make money. But are there any additional benefits for car manufacturers?
One of the "hidden" benefits I mentioned on earlier is that a push start might get you into the dealership. Even if a keyless ignition system works fine, it may be affected by a recall, or you may lose your key fob (which costs a lot of money to replace). In either case, you must visit the dealership, where you'll be encouraged to pay for maintenance (oil change, new filters, tyre rotation, etc.) and pestered about vehicle trade-in deals.
I'm not saying that push-button start is some evil ploy. It's just a cool feature that customers enjoy. But it's one of those complicated things that may force you to visit the dealership. And I hate seeing the dealership.
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Bob Backstrom
~ Newsletter Editor ~
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