New research out of Barcelona provides evidence that COVID-19 may be a seasonal illness not unlike the flu, touching on one of the questions that have been around since the start of the pandemic. Among other things, the scientists found that COVID-19 transmission rates were higher in regions that had low humidity and temperatures, as well as consistent patterns from … Continue reading
Shortly after Microsoft released Windows 11 earlier this month, AMD warned that the OS could slow down apps on systems with Ryzen processors. The chipmaker promised to fix the bugs, and now AMD and Microsoft have issued patches that should do just that.
The latest chipset driver (version 3.10.08.506) should take care of the UEFI CPPC2 issue, which in some cases didn’t “preferentially schedule threads on a processor’s fastest core,” AMD said. That could have slowed down apps that are sensitive to CPU thread performance. AMD noted that the problem was likely more noticeable in more powerful processors with more than eight cores and 65W or higher Thermal Design Power (TDP).
Meanwhile, Microsoft is rolling out a software update tackling a bug that increased L3 cache latency. The issue impacted apps that need quick memory access, which in turn caused CPUs to slow down by up to 15 percent. The patch, Windows 11 update KB5006746, will be available starting today, but at the time of writing, a page containing instructions for installing it isn’t yet live. You should be able to install it via Windows Update too.
It took the better part of a year, but Razer’s smart face mask is finally available. You can buy the Zephyr either by itself for $100 or a $150 Starter Pack with three replacement filter kits. Individual replacements are $30. Just be prepared to hunt around, or at least to be patient — the Starter Pack is already listed as “out of stock,” and the mask by itself is still “coming soon.”
The Zephyr is, effectively a high-end pandemic protection kit for gamers. The transparent design and RGB lighting give it a bit of flash (this is a Razer product, after all), but the highlight is a dual-fan active air filtration system with N95 filters. This theoretically protects you as well as it does others. There’s even a mobile app to customize the lights.
In a sense, Razer’s mask is a gamble that paid off. While it’s arriving relatively late in to the COVID-19 pandemic, there are many places that still require masks, some of which might mandate that protection for a while to come. The Zephyr could help people in those areas feel more comfortable in public, particularly if they’re already Razer enthusiasts.
Amazon may soon face a second unionization effort in less than a year. Per The New York Times, hourly workers at the company’s JFK8 fulfillment center in New York City are in the process of collecting signatures to file for a union election. They’re expected to contact the National Labor Relations Board on Monday. If the agency grants their request, it will lead to a vote with potentially significant ramifications for Amazon.
This past April, Amazon beat back a historic union vote at its BHM1 fulfillment center in Bessemer, Alabama. Approximately 1,700 of the more than 3,000 employees who took part in the election voted against unionization, handing Amazon a comfortable majority. However, the election was mired in controversy, with the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU), which sought to represent the approximately 5,800 workers at Bessemer, accusing the company of unfairly influencing the vote. In August, the National Labor Relations Board ruled that Amazon had violated US labor laws, and recommended that workers in Bessemer hold a new election.
Amazon employs more than 5,000 workers at JFK8. Beyond its sheer size, the facility has been the site of multiple protests since the start of the pandemic. Among those leading the unionization effort at JFK8 is Christian Smalls. Amazon fired Smalls after he organized a walkout over the company’s handling of COVID safety at the warehouse. At the time, the company said Smalls broke a quarantine order by attending the event. At the start of the year, New York sued Amazon, alleging the company had retaliated against Smalls.
When Engadget reached out to Amazon about the effort, the company noted its employees have always had the option to join a union but said it was against the idea.
As a company, we don’t think unions are the best answer for our employees. Every day we empower people to find ways to improve their jobs, and when they do that we want to make those changes — quickly. That type of continuous improvement is harder to do quickly and nimbly with unions in the middle. The benefits of direct relationships between managers and employees can’t be overstated — these relationships allow every employee’s voice to be heard, not just the voices of a select few. We’ve made great progress in recent years and months in important areas like pay and safety. There are plenty of things that we can keep doing better, and that’s our focus — to keep getting better every day.
Even if the National Labor Relations Board calls an election after Monday, the workers at JFK8 face an uphill battle. They’re up against one of the world’s wealthiest and most powerful corporations. From competitive wages to Twitch ads, Amazon has consistently used nearly every tool available to it to dissuade its workers from unionizing.
While HBO might be betting on House of the Dragon becoming the (actual) next Game of Thrones in terms of its possible ratings success, one of the more promising things about the show from an audience perspective has been its potential to explore the history of George R.R. Martin’s Westeros with a story distinct from…
Science fiction dystopia stories are a dime a dozen: The Handmaid’s Tale, Minority Report, The Hunger Games—the list goes on. But here’s why you shouldn’t pass over first-time director Danis Goulet’s sci-fi dystopia movie, Night Raiders: although it’s set in 2043, it’s much more about the horrors of the past than it…
An investigation into the effects of ivory poaching has led to the discovery of an increasing number of tuskless female African elephants—the consequences of which aren’t entirely clear.
The health department in Salt Lake County found a clever way to spark interest in vaccinations.
Gov. Gavin Newsom announced the proposed regulation in a state where 2 million people already live near an oil well.
John Scott briefly helped Trump in one of his many failed attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election.
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