With the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) now powered up and snapping some spectacular images – some of them huge captures – where does it put them all? On an SSD, of course. It’s a relatively tiny 68GB SSD, according to IEEE Spectrum, which is just enough to handle a day’s worth of JWST images ahead of broadcasting them back to Earth.
Why so humble in size? The JWST is a million miles from Earth, getting bombarded by radiation and temperatures of less than 50 degrees above absolute zero (-370 degrees F). So the SSD, like all other parts, must be radiation hardened. Samsung’s latest pro-level SSD might not cut it. Plus, JWST sends data back to Earth much faster than Hubble – up to 57GB in the four hours it’s in range each day. It seems like just about enough storage.
-Mat Smith
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US Congress calls for the FTC to regulate how VPN companies operate
Three-quarters of popular VPNs ‘misrepresented their products,’ the letter states.
US Democrats have urged the FTC to crack down on deceptive practices in the Virtual Private Network (VPN) industry. In an open letter, Representative Anna Eshoo (D-CA) and Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) cited research indicating that three-quarters of the most popular VPNs “misrepresented their products,” leading consumers to have a false sense of security.
Lucid’s Air Grand Touring EV delivers luxurious speed and range
The only decision is just how fast do you want to get to 60 miles per hour.
We were impressed with the Lucid Air Dream Edition earlier this year, even though it was just a pre-production vehicle. Well, the automaker gave us time behind the wheel of its latest top-of-the-line Grand Touring Performance model with all the proper hardware and software ready to go. The Lucid Air GT models are shaping up to be more than just fast electric sedans. Check out our test-drive.
‘Stray’ review: A cute and contained cyberpunk adventure game
Play as a cat, just like you always wanted.
Stray is a cyberpunk playground where players are rewarded for trusting their instincts, and it offers a beautiful balance of exploration, puzzle solving and soothing cat activities. And somehow manages to tell a heart-wrenching human story without any people at all. Cat people are going to love it, says Engadget’s Jessica Conditt – and she’s one of our resident dog people!
UK forces Meta to halt its forced sale of Giphy
A court orders the antitrust watchdog to review the original decision.
The UK’s Competition Appeal Tribunal has ordered the country’s antitrust watchdog to review its decision to force Meta to sell Giphy. “We have agreed to reconsider our decision in light of this finding,” a spokesperson for the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) told the outlet, adding the agency hopes to complete the process within three months. The ruling comes after the tribunal sided with the watchdog on five of the agency’s six claims against the company. However, on the one ruling that went in Meta’s favor, the tribunal said the CMA had failed to properly inform the company of Snapchat’s acquisition of Gfycat, undermining its defense.