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Jonathan Terrasi

Jonathan Terrasi

Jonathan has studiously followed trends in technology, particularly in information security and digital privacy, since 2014 when he began teaching himself and developing proficiency in running Linux systems and deploying encryption.

Starting in early 2017, Jonathan became a guest columnist for Linux Insider as well as a research assistant with the Chicago Committee to Defend the Bill of Rights, positions which jointly helped launch a career as a freelance tech journalist and digital privacy advocate. Since then, Jonathan has produced original reporting from his coverage of multiple hacker conferences, and organized numerous digital privacy training sessions for Chicago-area internet users.

intel 10th gen ice lake processors strides in graphics chip

Intel’s long, painful struggle with 10nm production may finally be over

In an earnings call that it held last week, Intel CEO Bob Swan assured investors that the company's much-waylaid production capacity for their 10nm Ice Lake processor fabrication is now high enough to meet home consumer and enterprise data center customer demand.
Quantum Coding Microsoft Q#

What is quantum computing? The next era of computational evolution, explained

Quantum computing is becoming an increasingly important topic in the world of computing. But what is it really? Will it someday replace normal computers? Here is a guide on how quantum computers use quantum mechanics in their qubit hardware to revolutionize technology.
Samsung SSD drive with cover open and board exposed

Samsung has unearthed the secret path to immortal SSDs: failing in place

Today, Samsung announced advances in its solid state drive (SSD) software engineering that hold the potential to dramatically extend the lifespan of their server-grade storage devices. For these PCIe 4.0 devices, Samsung has invented a way to detect failures in NAND chips to extend SSD write cycles.
Scott Guthrie, executive vice president of cloud and enterprise at Microsoft

Microsoft sends developers a very early save the date for Build 2020

This week, Microsoft has released its major events lineup for the entire year of 2020. Most notably, the company announced more than eight months early that it will be holding its Build developer conference on May 19, 2020, in its home territory of Seattle, Washington.

Nvidia might come out swinging against AMD’s budget GPUs with a GTX 1660 Super

According to new rumors circulating, Nvidia is considering releasing a refresh of its GeForce GTX 1660 graphics card, dubbed the GTX 1660 Super. The speculation surrounding these rumors is that Nvidia is taking aim at its GPU rival, AMD, which has offered competitive pricing for its Radeon cards.
TP-Link's AX50 is a Wi-Fi 6 router that delivers tremendous value.

TP-Link rolls out its first midrange router sporting Wi-Fi 6 software specs

Networking hardware manufacturer TP-Link rolled out a new home router shipping with Wi-Fi 6 capabilities, the Archer AX50. This new entry drops into the company's burgeoning Wi-Fi 6 product lineup between its little brother, the modest Archer AX10, and its hulking older cousins, the Archer AX6000 and AX11000. 
concept video shows windows xp sleek 2019 ui style winxp 2

What if Windows XP had launched in 2019? Here’s what it would look like

A new video on YouTube shows a mockup of what Windows XP would look like with a 2019 UI and UX. The parody piece features the classic Start button, but in a new context alongside modern-day Windows 10 functionality that includes Cortana integration, virtual desktop workspaces, and adaptive themes.
asus announces open preorder zenbook 30 edition laptop 2

Asus’ exclusive leather-clad ZenBook 30 Edition looks insanely cool

Asus announced that its 30th-anniversary special edition laptop, the Zenbook 30 Edition, is now open for pre-orders. The white leather-clad device celebrates the 30-year existence of Asus as a computer manufacturer.
Dell 2019 XPS 13 2 in 1 (2019) review

The Dell XPS 13 2-in-1 is now on sale, with the first Intel Ice Lake chip in tow

With the Dell XPS 13 2-in-1 laptop now for sale, the long wait for the debut of Intel's "Ice Lake" 10th-generation processors is finally over. The device boasts notable improvements over Dell's last attempt at this product entry, both in performance and its gorgeous touchscreen.
lizard squad and ex sony employees likely involved in hack hacker shutterstock

Fancy Bear is back to its old tricks of exploiting IoT and doing network recon

A Microsoft threat report claims to have detected new activity, in the form of IoT device compromise, from Russian hacking group Fancy Bear. These attacks have targeted critical infrastructure via devices like printers. Fancy Bear is most famous for infiltrating the network of the Democratic National Committee in 2016.
nvidia rtx 2080 super review mem4

An Nvidia vulnerability has been found. It’s time to update your drivers

Nvidia recently issued a security bulletin this month alerting customers that a spate of security vulnerabilities have been found in GPUs across multiple product lines. The vulnerabilities are high severity, but can be patched with a recent driver update.
Capital one credit card use stock photo

These 5 data breaches have left the biggest mark on Americans

Hacking used to be the esoteric provenance of a small circle of computer wizards showing off their skills to one another. Now, it is a common, global phenomenon affecting millions. These are the five biggest consumer data breach incidents to date.
intel video teases photorealism discrete gpu 2 900x600

Intel Xe graphics cards are rumored to debut at an affordable $200

As the slated 2020 launch for Intel's Xe graphics cards looms, more details are slowly leaking out. The latest detail to emerge is that the GPUs will debut at entry-level pricing, to appeal to a wide consumer base, starting as low as $200.

Face unlock may hit Chromebooks, another step toward killer mobile device status

Buried in recent commits to the Chromium open-source project powering Google Chrome and Chrome OS was a change enabling face-detection functionality. This update will allow Chromebooks with the right hardware to allow face unlocking.
Ray tracing ultra — Screenshot 5

The first top-tier ray tracing-only game will land in 2023, Nvidia guru says

According to the musings of Morgan McGuire, one of Nvidia's top researchers, video game fans may see the first top-notch game that requires ray tracing by 2023. Only a handful of games now support ray tracing, but the pool is growing as the cutting-edge technology evolves.
episode 154 facebook project libra particpants 1200x675

A year ahead of Libra’s launch, scammers are already setting up shop on Facebook

About a dozen fake pages advertising various Libra cryptocurrency exchanges and promotions have been spotted on Facebook and Instagram. The pages purportedly offer deals for people to buy Libra coins at a discount, despite the fact that Libra will not launch until sometimes next year at the earliest.
intel ice lake wont rid spectre insecure feat

Intel’s Ice Lake mobile chips give AMD’s desktop powerhouse a run for its money

Just when its postponed die-size shrink made consumers start worrying that Intel was slipping, leaked benchmarks for Intel's upcoming 10th-generation i7 show it outperforming AMD's Ryzen 9 3900X.
input club keystone keyboard adapts hardware ai

The Keystone keyboard powers your typing or gaming with built-in A.I.

A new keyboard from Input Club, called Keystone, aims to improve consumer's typing response and accuracy by including an adaptive A.I. process in the hardware. By finding patterns in typists' behavior, it adapts for greater efficiency.
intel ice lake wont rid spectre insecure chip

AMD is leaving Intel in the dust on die size, with no 7nm Intel chips until 2021

Intel CEO Bob Swan revealed this week at Brainstorm Tech 2019 that Intel will not begin producing chips with 7nm fabrication until 2021. This news comes only two months after Intel's Computex 2019 keynote unveiling 10nm chips for the first time.
AMD Radeon RX 5700 and 5700 XT review

AMD says it duped Nvidia with a price fakeout, escalating a two-front chip war

According to a recent interview with Scott Herkelman of AMD's Radeon Business Unit, AMD successfully convinced Nvidia they would launch their new GPUs at a higher price than they did, sabotaging Nvidias RTX Super launch.
build 2018 future of windows timeline and sets scott guthrie executive vice president cloud enterprise at microsoft mem 4

Linux is now beating Windows on Microsoft’s own turf, and Azure is better for it

A Linux kernel developer working with Microsoft has let slip that Linux-based operating systems have a larger presence on Microsoft's Azure cloud platform than Windows-based ones. The revelation appeared on an Openwall open-source security list in an application for Microsoft developers to join the list.
episode 154 facebook project libra particpants 1200x675

Facebook’s Libra could be dead on arrival, if India stands by its proposed ban

The government of India has announced that it is considering a ban on Facebook's new cryptocurrency, Libra. Without this key market, the success of the burgeoning cryptocurrency is in serious doubt. Will Libra end up being dead upon arrival?
Computer Illustration showing Cult of the Dead Cow's logo

How Beto O’Rourke’s hacker group changed cybersecurity as we know it

While the revelation that 2020 presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke was once a member of America’s most storied hacker collectives put Cult of the Dead Cow on the map for most people, it had a much greater impact on the cybersecurity our devices implement today.
the best smartphone is one you already own iphone manufacturing mem 4

Tech manufacturing is moving out of China, but it’s not coming to the U.S.

A new wave of U.S. tech companies has committed to pulling manufacturing out of China amid continuing trade uncertainty. Odds are they will not be moving it back to the U.S., though, but to other developing countries in the region. Vietnam and India are among the possible landing spots.
nvidia announces geforce rtx super gpus 2070 2060 2080 feature v2

Nvidia’s RTX Super GPUs boost performance without jacking up the price

Nvidia announced that it will be releasing a refreshed version of its GeForce RTX line, which it's calling GeForce RTX Super, starting next week. The new line will include an RTX 2060 Super, RTX 2070 Super, and an RTX 2080 Super, and boasts improved performance over their non-Super equivalents.
why buy 2015 macbook pro instead of 2019 mem4

Dozens of MacBook Pro batteries overheated before Apple issued a recall

After 26 reported incidents of overheating batteries, Apple is issuing a recall of its 2015 MacBook Pro 15 devices sold from 2015 through 2017. This is the first major Apple battery recall in over a decade.

Laptops are about to get more expensive, and we have tariffs to thank

With the US-China trade war only increasing in intensity, it is becoming more and more likely that US consumers will pay for it in the form of increased prices on consumer tech, including laptops, due to import tariffs.
intel ice lake wont rid spectre insecure feat

Ice Lake benchmarks show Intel isn’t done firing back at AMD

A leaked benchmark this week shows that Intel's upcoming 10th-generation Ice Lake mobile chip outperforms AMD's Ryzen 5 3500U. These test metrics follow less than a month after Intel and AMD traded dueling keynotes touting their next lines of CPUs.
episode 154 facebook project libra particpants 1200x675

What is Libra? Here’s what you need to know about Facebook’s new cryptocurrency

Facebook released a white paper announcing its new cryptocurrency, Libra, which it intends as a way to enable more people around the world to process online payments. Here's how the new blockchain technology works.
Microsoft Surface Pro and Surface Pen 2017

A Surface Pen with an OLED touchscreen would actually be awesome

Microsoft patented another Surface Pen hardware feature, this time registering a patent for an OLED touch bar strip on the Surface accessory. This could enable dynamic setting change functionality in the next generation of Surface Pens.
apple imac with retina display review 2017 prod

You can get an iMac with a 4K Retina display for a steal today for only $899

A deal from B&H today is offering a mid-2017 iMac with 4K Retina Display for only $899, a discount of $400. In addition to a stunning high-resolution screen, this device has powerful Intel internals and ample SSD storage.
mac pro 2019 rumor roundup 2

The new $6,000 Mac Pro houses some insane power inside its cheese grater design

At its annual WWDC event, Apple gave consumers the first look at its powerful new creative device, the Mac Pro. The behemoth machine on display in San Jose features powerful internals and ample expansion capability. Is the Mac Pro we've all been waiting for?
intel ice lake wont rid spectre insecure

How talk of 5G and Wi-Fi 6 has displaced higher core counts and clock speeds

At Computex this year, there was no shortage of big processor announcements from the likes of AMD, Intel, and Qualcomm. But amidst the usual talk of improved clock speeds and higher core counts was a surprising emphasis on connectivity as a form of performance. Are they at odds or are they two sides of the same coin?
Call of Duty 2019 reveal Activision Infinity Ward

RTX ray tracing is coming to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, but will it impress?

The revised version of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, slated for launch on October 25, will make use of the ray tracing visual rendering technique. Can this latest addition finally prove that real-time ray tracing is worthy of the PC power it takes to push it?