Science and tech headlines

7+ min ago (387+ words) Projections indicate 10TB per platter drives are theoretically feasible soon Seagate Technology has announced plans to commercialize a 3.5-inch HDD with a total storage capacity of 70TB. This follows research-level prototypes achieving 7TB per platter, the highest areal density reported for an HDD prototype. The company presented these results at a symposium organized by the Japan HDD Association and a seminar hosted by the National Institute for Materials Science. According to Seagate, this achievement is a critical step toward reaching 10TB per platter by 2028. The prototype drives rely on a combination of heat-assisted magnetic recording (HAMR) and shingled magnetic recording (SMR). HAMR uses localized heating to write data on smaller magnetic bits, while SMR partially overlaps tracks to increase storage density. These innovations build on perpendicular magnetic recording (PMR), which has been used for roughly two decades to improve areal density but is now…...

7+ min ago (511+ words) Climate change supercharged devastating floods that killed more than 1,600 people across parts of South and Southeast Asia, according to new research. A trio of tropical cyclones battered the region from Sri Lanka to Indonesia in November, causing at least $20 billion of losses. The storms led to torrential rainfall and destructive floodwaters that swept through homes, businesses and tourist spots, damaged roads and rail lines, obliterated crops and smothered factory output. Without human-driven warming, ocean temperatures would have been roughly 1C cooler, researchers said. They also found that climate change is likely intensifying periods of extreme rainfall such as those seen during the storms. The boost from climate change was amplified by seasonal weather cycles and the timing of the storms, which arrived during monsoon season, along with rapid urbanization and widespread deforestation that helped turn torrential rain into catastrophic floods, according…...

8+ min ago (683+ words) Here's the thing about image galleries: they look simple until you actually build one for production. Then you're suddenly dealing with layout shifts, slow loads, SEO nightmares, and users complaining that your "simple gallery" takes 10 seconds to load on mobile. I've rebuilt image galleries more times than I'd like to admit. Over the years, I've learned that the difference between a good gallery and a frustrating one usually comes down to a few key decisions made early on. Let me walk you through how I approach this today using Next.js 16, TypeScript, and the Unsplash API. Before we dive into code, let's talk about what usually goes wrong. In my experience, these are the usual suspects: Performance killers: Giant image files, no lazy loading, everything renders on the client. Your Lighthouse score cries. SEO blindspots: Client-side rendered galleries show blank…...

9+ min ago (448+ words) Bluestar Linux es un sistema operativo que pertenece a la familia Linux y se basa en Arch Linux, reconocido por su robustez y flexibilidad. Este software, desarrollado en Estados Unidos, ofrece una experiencia de usuario optimizada, especialmente para aquellos que buscan un entorno de trabajo o de escritorio completo y eficiente. Una de las caracter'sticas m's destacadas de Bluestar Linux es su uso del entorno de escritorio KDE Plasma. Este entorno se ha consolidado como una alternativa popular a GNOME, gracias a su alta capacidad de personalizaci'n y su dise'o atractivo. Aunque KDE Plasma puede ser un poco m's pesado en comparaci'n con otros escritorios, su flexibilidad permite adaptar la experiencia a las necesidades de cada usuario. Bluestar Linux est' pensado para funcionar como sistema operativo de escritorio o workstation, lo que lo hace ideal para tareas diarias, trabajo profesional…...

9+ min ago (142+ words) KUCHING (Dec 12): The Malaysian Meteorological Department (MetMalaysia) has forecast rain and isolated thunderstorms across several divisions in Sarawak on Saturday. MetMalaysia forecasts rain in the morning for Kuching, Samarahan, Serian, Sri Aman, Betong, Sarikei, Sibu, Mukah, Bintulu, and Miri, while Kapit and Limbang are expected to remain dry. In the afternoon, thunderstorms or rain are likely in Kuching, Serian, Samarahan, Sri Aman, Betong, Sarikei, Sibu, Mukah, Kapit, Bintulu, Miri, and Limbang. Continuous rain is expected at night over Kuching, Serian, Samarahan, Sri Aman, Betong, Sarikei, Sibu, and Mukah, while intermittent rain is predicted in Kapit, Bintulu, Miri, and Limbang. Meanwhile, coastal waters off Sarawak are expected to experience waves of up to one metre and winds between 20km and 30km per hour from the northwest. Temperatures are forecast to range between 23 degrees Celsius and 33 degrees Celsius across the state....

9+ min ago (294+ words) For years, we've been conditioned to evaluate machine learning models with a standard set of metrics: accuracy, precision, recall, F1-score. We feed the model an input, check the output against a ground truth label, and score it. This works perfectly for tasks like classification or regression. But most developers are now realizing this approach completely breaks down for AI agents. Why? Because an AI agent isn't just producing a single output. It's executing a complex, multi-step trajectory of decisions. Applying simple input/output metrics to an agent is like judging a chess grandmaster based only on whether they won or lost, without analyzing the entire game. You miss the brilliance, the blunders, and the critical turning points. Let's break down a typical agent's workflow: If you only evaluate the final response, you're blind to potential failures in steps 2 through 6. The…...

9+ min ago (442+ words) Companies need to keep it real in everything they write. Whether it's reports for clients, memos for the team, or stuff for the public, making sure it sounds like a person wrote it helps build trust. Dechecker helps with that by giving you solid feedback that you can actually use. In fast-paced offices, waiting for long reviews can really bog things down. Dechecker gives you results right away, so teams can quickly double-check stuff before it goes live. This speed helps everyone hit their deadlines while still making sure everything is top-notch. For editorial, marketing, and comms teams, adding an AI Checker to their workflow is a great idea. An AI Checker lets editors make sure content reads like it was written by a person, even if AI helped come up with ideas and drafts to save time. Some fields,…...

10+ min ago (425+ words) [Selfix Case for the iPhone 17 Pro]Remember Xiaomi's big new feature on the Xiaomi 17 Pro series? A secondary screen on the back to take on the iPhone 17 Pro models. Well, it seems like all you need is this particular protective case to get some of the useful features of that on your latest Apple flagship. iPhone 17 Pro Gets [] The post This iPhone 17 Pro Case Adds a Handy Second Screen on the Back appeared first on Gizmochina. [Selfix Case for the iPhone 17 Pro] Remember Xiaomi's big new feature on the Xiaomi 17 Pro series? A secondary screen on the back to take on the iPhone 17 Pro models. Well, it seems like all you need is this particular protective case to get some of the useful features of that on your latest Apple flagship. iPhone 17 Pro Gets a Xiaomi 17 Pro Inspired Case Dockcase…...

17+ min ago (1610+ words) Scientists treated the "untreatable, economies decoupled from emissions, and a "lost bird is returning to London, plus more good news A world-first gene therapy which turns white blood cells into a disease-busting "living drug" has reversed previously untreatable blood cancers, scientists said this week." Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) and Kings College Hospital in London treated nine children and two adults with T-cell leukaemia using the technique, which scientists said triggered a "deep remission" in the majority. Seven are still disease-free three years later. Developed by GOSH and University College London (UCL), the technique involves editing the genetic code of donor white cells to target cancer without attacking the patients body. The research was funded by Blood Cancer UK. "A few years ago this would have been science fiction," said UCLs Prof Waseem Qasim. "Now we can take white blood…...

18+ min ago (82+ words) [Techmeme permalink] Simon Willison / Simon Willison's Newsletter: GPT-5.2 models match GPT-5 and 5.1 with a 400K context window and 128K max output tokens, but have a newer knowledge cutoff of Aug. 31, 2025 vs. Sept. 30, 2024" " Plus a YouTube video, a podcast appearance and more" " In this newsletter:" " GPT-5.2" " Useful patterns for building HTML tools This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 2:00 AM ET, December 12, 2025....