Soluții pentru problemele tale IT
Excel’s SWITCH is a logical function that is primarily used for data manipulation. It evaluates an expression against a list of values, and returns a result corresponding to the first matching value.
[mai mult...]The Crucial T500 4TB is here, for those who find that 2TB of storage just isn’t enough these days. Using Phison’s E25 controller, the T500 has a power-efficient architecture with DRAM, now available as a 4TB pseudo-budget SSD.
Crucial promised a 4TB model a year ago, and it has now delivered: the same great taste but in an extra large tin.
For the most part, nothing has changed but the capacity. The T500 was heralded as a top notch PCIe 4.0 SSD that could match or beat any other drive in its class, all while being more power-efficient. Half the channels with the same amount of fun, and unlike some of its competitors, it kept the DRAM intact. It’s a great successor to drives like the SK hynix Gold P31 for laptops, and it also works great for desktops and consoles.
Perhaps the most obvious potential misstep is the price. In some respects this is supposed to be a “budget” SSD, even though its performance is in line with heavy hitters. Often, it manages to look like a WD Black SN850X or Samsung 990 Pro substitute, but really it just brings DRAM to a potentially less expensive drive, taking on the likes of the Teamgroup MP44. This becomes more obvious when looking at its sustained write performance irregularities, although for the most part you’re not going to notice that in daily use. Still, its price is higher than it should be at 4TB, which keeps it from being the best option in many cases, even if it delivers exemplary all-around performance.
The 4TB Crucial T500 is currently priced at $309 for the non-heatsinked version and $301 for the heatsink model. Those prices can and will change — a week or two back, the non-heatsink model was going for $289 and the heatsink variant cost $319. Whether you want the heatsink or not, check the current pricing, as you can easily remove the heatsink if you really don’t want it. If the bare drive ends up costing less (as it logically should), a variety of M.2 heatsinks will get the job done, or you can use your motherboard’s M.2 heatsink if it has one. Do note that the 4TB model isn’t a single-sided design, however.
The Crucial T500 4TB can hit up to 7,000/6,900 MB/s for sequential reads and writes, and up to 1,050K/1,350K random read and write 4K IOPS. These numbers are slightly lower than the 2TB SKU, and the 1TB SKU as well for that matter. The reason is the hardware. The controller in use has four chip enable (CE) signals for each of the four channels, giving sixteen CE total. As the drive is using 1Tb dies there are 32 dies in total present, more than the CE count, which add some overhead.
The 4TB T500 has a warranty for five years and up to 2,400TB of writes, which is right in line with the smaller SKUs. The drive also supports TCG Opal 2.01 for hardware encryption.
[mai mult...]Apple’s new Genmoji feature lets you create personalized emoji that aim to perfectly match what you want to express, going far beyond the limitations of standard Unicode emoji. Want an emoji of a break-dancing astronaut or a dog playing bagpipes? With Genmoji, you can make it happen.
Unlike standard emoji that are fixed Unicode characters, Genmoji are dynamically generated using on-device AI. They work seamlessly in text, appearing as inline emoji characters in supported apps like Messages and Notes. You can even create Genmoji based on people in your Photos app, making them more personal and expressive.
Requirements and Availability
Currently, Genmoji is only available in the iOS 18.2 beta for developers and public beta testers. The feature also requires Apple Intelligence, which is limited to iPhone 15 Pro/Pro Max and iPhone 16 series models. Apple Intelligence does not currently work in the EU.
Even with a compatible device in a supported region, you’ll need to join a waitlist for Apple Intelligence features like image creation (Settings ➝ Apple Intelligence & Siri). Apple will notify you when access is granted. Note that Apple Intelligence is only available when your iPhone and Siri are set to the same language.
Apple Intelligence is available in English (US) in most regions around the world, while iOS 18.2 adds Apple Intelligence support for English (Australia), English (Canada), English (Ireland), English (New Zealand), English (South Africa) and English (UK).
Compatibility
While Genmoji work best between iOS 18.2 devices, they’re also viewable on devices running iOS/iPadOS 18.1 and later, as well as Macs running macOS Sequoia 15.1 and later.
On older Apple devices or Android phones, Genmoji appear as regular images rather than inline emoji characters. Third-party apps need to specifically add Genmoji support to enable creation and proper display of these custom emoji.
Creating Custom Emoji in Messages
[mai mult...]The Bitcoin Lightning Network is a second-layer solution designed to facilitate faster and cheaper Bitcoin transactions by processing them off-chain. While Bitcoin Core ensures security and decentralization, it can be slow and costly for smaller, frequent transactions. A Lightning Node addresses this by creating payment channels that enable rapid transactions without waiting for block confirmations, improving Bitcoin’s scalability.
[mai mult...]Updates to your computer’s motherboard, sound card, and network drivers don’t generally give speed improvements. They do often fix rare bugs, but to be honest, they just as often introduce new bugs. So, if things are working okay, it’s typically not worth it to bother.
However, this is not the case with updated drivers for your graphics card, also known as a GPU or video card. NVIDIA and AMD both frequently release new graphics drivers that usually give major performance improvements, particularly for newer games. With Intel getting more serious about integrated graphics performance, they have started releasing more frequent video driver updates, too.
Here is a small portion of the changes to NVIDIA’s most recent graphics driver package (Release 566.14), released on November 12th, 2024:
And that just covers the specific games for which optimization has been improved. There are also numerous bug fixes and new features included.
These sorts of performance increases in updated graphics drivers are not uncommon. While newer games get the bulk of the attention, even some older games see a significant increase in performance with updated drivers, especially if there is improved support for features like DLSS. Of course, if you never play PC games on your computer and don’t care about 3D graphics performance, you don’t really need to update your graphics drivers at all.
Identifying your Graphics Card
There are a number of ways to identify your computer’s graphics hardware, including built-in and third-party system information utilities. However, the easiest way is probably to just hit Start, type System Information into the search box, and then hit Enter.
In the “System Information” window, on the left side, drill down to the “Display” category. On the right, look for your graphics adapter model in the “Adapter Type” or “Adapter Description” entries.
However, you can generally get updated graphics drivers from your graphics hardware manufacturer’s website:
You will have to select the exact model of your computer’s graphics card, which is displayed in the Device Manager window. For all three of the major manufacturers, you can enter the details of your adapter on the website and download the right drivers directly.
You also have the option of letting the site scan your system to automatically determine what drivers you need. Just be aware that sometimes, you’ll be asked to install a utility that performs the scan.
You also have a third option—special software from your GPU manufacturer. For example, NVIDIA created the NVIDIA app that runs in the background on your PC. You have the choice of the utility downloading and installing them automatically or just letting you know when they’re ready. The NVIDIA app can also help you optimize gaming settings for most PC games, a feature some love and some hate, but that’s entirely optional.
AMD offers a similar program called AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition (sometimes just called Adrenalin), and Intel’s take is the Intel Graphics command Center. If you have older graphics hardware, bear in mind that it won’t be supported forever. Manufacturers eventually move older hardware to a stable driver release that they stop optimizing and updating. If your graphics hardware is five years old, it’s very likely that optimized drivers for it are no longer being released. How long your hardware is supported is up to its manufacturer.
A Bitcoin Block Explorer is a tool that provides a user-friendly interface for viewing blockchain data such as transactions, blocks, and addresses. While public block explorers are widely available, using them can compromise your privacy as they may log your searches and activity. Setting up your own Bitcoin Block Explorer on a Linux server ensures that you can access blockchain data privately, directly from your own Bitcoin Core node.
By hosting your own block explorer, you maintain full control over your data, eliminate reliance on third-party services, and improve the decentralization of the Bitcoin ecosystem. It’s a valuable addition for anyone running a full node who wants to monitor transactions or learn more about blockchain data without compromising privacy.
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