Sony announced several key details of its upcoming PlayStation 5 console. In a virtual keynote for Game Developers Conference 2020, game developer and Sony’s lead system architect Mark Cerny spoke at length about all the new features coming to the console that is slated for launch during the Holiday season this year.
Before we continue, no, there were no images of the new console, so we still have no idea what it’s going to look like yet. As this keynote was meant primarily for developers, it only talks about the technical features of the new console. The design and other aspects of the console, such as pricing, will be revealed closer to the launch period.
With that out of the way, let’s begin to tackle the wealth of information revealed at the keynote today. One of the major new features of the PS5 is the next generation solid state storage, and it’s also the aspect Cerny spent most time talking about.
Like the Xbox Series X, the PS5 will move away from the hard drive based storage of previous generation consoles to fast SSD storage. How fast are we talking about here? Sony claims raw I/O throughput of 5.5GB/s, which makes it roughly 100x faster than the storage on the PS4.
Having storage that fast has a number of advantages. It improves all load times tremendously, which means games launch faster, load faster and also speeds up things like reloading levels or fast travel. In turn this means developers don’t need to have things like loading screens or the deceptive long corridors or elevator rides, which are currently necessary to hide the loading time for the next level. A storage this fast could load assets instantly, have seamless transitions, and basically change how games are made.
The faster storage also makes efficient use of the system memory. With the PS4, because the base hard drive was slower, most of the game assets had to be stored on the 8GB GDDR5 memory and would just sit there taking up space. With the PS5, the assets can be streamed in much faster, so only a fraction of the new 16GB GDDR6 memory has to be allocated to the assets.
One of the issues with hard drive based storage was also duplication of assets. Several assets had to be duplicated across memory blocks to reduce access times for that particular level. With flash storage, especially one this fast, that is no longer necessary, so theoretically games can now have smaller install sizes as less files will have to be duplicated.
A fast storage will also reduce the time spent installing a patch once it’s download as patches can now be applied instantly.
Sony has also worked to reduce other aspects of storage performance on the PS5. Even if you installed an SSD on a PS4 right now that is 10x faster than your current hard drive, the performance boost would be 2x at best as the rest of the I/O chain is not optimized to take advantage of it. With the PS5, the entire memory operation from decompression to coherency, mapping, file I/O, and check-in and load management have been updated to work with the faster storage so you get the full benefit of the 100x improvement in memory speed.
As for how much total storage you have, Sony found that 825GB was the best figure to go with the 12 channel interface for the custom flash controller and also to keep the cost low. The custom flash controller goes to the custom I/O unit, which features a Kraken decompression unit (Kraken is a more modern and efficient compression standard used by PS5 alongside the ZLIB borrowed from the PS4), a dedicated DMA controller, two I/O co-processors, on-chip RAM, and coherency engine.
Now for the question of expandable storage. Unlike Microsoft, Sony will be supporting standard external USB drives as well as M.2 SSDs. However, there is a catch – the USB hard drives can only be used to play PS4 games on the PS5 and not the new titles made specifically for PS5. This is obviously because PS5 titles will be made with the new faster internal SSD in mind and cannot be run off the external hard drive.
As for the M.2 drives, Sony is currently in the process of evaluating which M.2 drives will work best for the console. M.2 drives based on the PCIe 3.0 standard will not work as they simply do not have the bandwidth to run native PS5 games. You will be required to use the new PCIe 4.0 M.2 drives that are coming out, which are currently relatively rare and very expensive but should go down in price over time as adoption increases.
Sony is testing these and will eventually be releasing a guideline for which of these drives are recommended for use with the PS5. The difference in the memory controller and architecture of these external drives and the use of two priority level vs. six priority level on the internal SSD means it’s not easy to just pick any M.2 drive and slot into the console. Many of these drives also don’t have a standardized design and may not even fit inside the internal SSD bay on the PS5. Due to this, the company recommended waiting for its SSD guideline to come out next year before purchasing any drive.
With the lengthy discussion regarding the storage out of the way, Cerny then moved on to some of the other hardware specifications of the console, namely the CPU and GPU and how they are configured to work this time around.
As we already know, the PS5 is based on an AMD SoC consisting of 8x Zen 2 CPU cores and a custom RDNA 2 based GPU. As with previous generation, the new PS5 has similar hardware to the competing Xbox Series X but how it is configured is very different and is what will eventually set the two consoles apart.
With the Xbox Series X, Microsoft chose to have high clock speeds and locking them down. Sony has a different approach on this, where the company is instead locking down the power target and letting the frequency fluctuate based on the workload. The console still has a limit, with the CPU clock speed capped at 3.5GHz and GPU at 2.23GHz, but these are the absolute maximum values and they will go down if the workload doesn’t call for it.
Having power as your target makes things easier. The clock speeds don’t go down if the console is running in a hot environment as the temperature isn’t dictating the performance. And because the power target is locked, Sony already knows what the cooling requirements are going to be, so the cooling system is much better optimized for the hardware.
The GPU on the PS5 has 36 compute units and 10.28 TFLOPs of performance. It’s worth mentioning that neither number is directly comparable to the figures from the PS4 due to the differences in architecture of the two GPUs and that newer GPUs can have lower floating point performance and still outperform older GPUs. However, it is also worth pointing out that Sony’s figures are lower than those Microsoft announced couple of days ago, and in that case, the GPU is identical. This means, at least on paper, that the PS5 is weaker than the Xbox Series X, but we’ll get to that a bit later.
Sony also talked about backwards compatibility. All PS4 games will be compatible with the PS5 without much work on the developers’ side, and can be made to work even better with developer involvement. Developers making games exclusively for the PS5 also have the choice to take advantage of the new features found on the console, such as the geometry engine with its primitive shader support, or hardware accelerated ray tracing, or they can ignore them and make them just the way they did for the PS4.
Speaking of, the PS5 does have full support for ray tracing as it is part of the RDNA 2 architecture and unlike NVIDIA’s graphics cards it doesn’t use any dedicated hardware for it but just the compute units. With that, it can ray trace audio, global illumination, shadows, reflections or complete path tracing as seen in Minecraft RTX or Quake II RTX. Cerny said they managed to get reflections working in a PS5 game with minimal performance loss and we have already seen how the Xbox Series X handles it so it seems ray tracing is going to be a major feature on next generation consoles.
Cerny also briefly talked about power consumption and how the console has been designed to avoid the annoying fan whine on current PS4 consoles in certain games like God of War. Again, this is a function of the variable frequency boost feature.
The last thing Cerny talked about is audio, more specifically, 3D audio. The PS5 will feature hardware accelerated 3D audio with the use of a special co-processor called the Tempest 3D Audio Engine. This new feature is designed to provide extremely realistic audio with precise imaging and positioning for sound sources around you in a 3D space. Instead of relying on existing technologies like Dolby Atmos, which Sony claims only really work with dedicated hardware and are limiting, Tempest will provide a 3D audio experience with potentially any sound system, with current priority been given to headphones. Optimization for televisions and surround sound systems will be coming in later.
Tempest uses HRTF or Head Related Transfer Function to place audio based on the position and shape of your ears on your head. Since this cannot be realistically customized for every individual, the system will initially offer five presets and you can choose which one sounds best for you. However, Cerny mentioned that Sony is exploring the idea of having customers send in pictures or videos of their heads so they can create custom HRTF profiles for individuals that provide perfect positional audio customized for that person. Still, even without that, Sony claims Tempest 3D AudioTech will be a major innovation in game sound.
That was basically everything Sony covered in its keynote. As mentioned before, we still don’t know what the console looks like and certainly not what it will cost. However, we do know most of the specifications now and that invites a lot of comparisons with the Xbox Series X that also exposed its internals quite literally just a couple days ago.
There is no denying that on paper the Xbox Series X is more powerful. While we still don’t know just how many consoles Microsoft will have in its Series X, the flagship model they have been showcasing so far is certainly more powerful than the singular PS5 model Sony talked about today. This leads us to believe that we might be looking at a significant price delta between the two models, with Microsoft pricing the Xbox Series X much higher as has been expected while the PS5 coming in at a lower price. We don’t want to speculate on what the exact numbers will be but we’d be shocked if these two consoles end up costing the same.
Still, the difference in actual gameplay might not be significant. While Microsoft’s box may be able to push a few extra frames, the PS5, by all means, is also a powerful machine with basically the same hardware. It also impresses by having faster internal storage and seemingly cheaper external storage solution. However, the PS5 definitely doesn’t have strong backwards compatibility as it’s limited to PS4 while Microsoft will have Xbox One, Xbox 360 and even some original Xbox titles for the Xbox Series X.
But that’s all for now. Hopefully, regardless of current global health concerns, both consoles will be able to make their launch deadlines this holiday season so we can have more to talk about then.
The federal government is ordering the dissolution of TikTok’s Canadian business after a national security review of the Chinese company behind the social media platform, but stopped short of ordering people to stay off the app.
Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne announced the government’s “wind up” demand Wednesday, saying it is meant to address “risks” related to ByteDance Ltd.’s establishment of TikTok Technology Canada Inc.
“The decision was based on the information and evidence collected over the course of the review and on the advice of Canada’s security and intelligence community and other government partners,” he said in a statement.
The announcement added that the government is not blocking Canadians’ access to the TikTok application or their ability to create content.
However, it urged people to “adopt good cybersecurity practices and assess the possible risks of using social media platforms and applications, including how their information is likely to be protected, managed, used and shared by foreign actors, as well as to be aware of which country’s laws apply.”
Champagne’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment seeking details about what evidence led to the government’s dissolution demand, how long ByteDance has to comply and why the app is not being banned.
A TikTok spokesperson said in a statement that the shutdown of its Canadian offices will mean the loss of hundreds of well-paying local jobs.
“We will challenge this order in court,” the spokesperson said.
“The TikTok platform will remain available for creators to find an audience, explore new interests and for businesses to thrive.”
The federal Liberals ordered a national security review of TikTok in September 2023, but it was not public knowledge until The Canadian Press reported in March that it was investigating the company.
At the time, it said the review was based on the expansion of a business, which it said constituted the establishment of a new Canadian entity. It declined to provide any further details about what expansion it was reviewing.
A government database showed a notification of new business from TikTok in June 2023. It said Network Sense Ventures Ltd. in Toronto and Vancouver would engage in “marketing, advertising, and content/creator development activities in relation to the use of the TikTok app in Canada.”
Even before the review, ByteDance and TikTok were lightning rod for privacy and safety concerns because Chinese national security laws compel organizations in the country to assist with intelligence gathering.
Such concerns led the U.S. House of Representatives to pass a bill in March designed to ban TikTok unless its China-based owner sells its stake in the business.
Champagne’s office has maintained Canada’s review was not related to the U.S. bill, which has yet to pass.
Canada’s review was carried out through the Investment Canada Act, which allows the government to investigate any foreign investment with potential to might harm national security.
While cabinet can make investors sell parts of the business or shares, Champagne has said the act doesn’t allow him to disclose details of the review.
Wednesday’s dissolution order was made in accordance with the act.
The federal government banned TikTok from its mobile devices in February 2023 following the launch of an investigation into the company by federal and provincial privacy commissioners.
— With files from Anja Karadeglija in Ottawa
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 6, 2024.
LONDON (AP) — Most people have accumulated a pile of data — selfies, emails, videos and more — on their social media and digital accounts over their lifetimes. What happens to it when we die?
It’s wise to draft a will spelling out who inherits your physical assets after you’re gone, but don’t forget to take care of your digital estate too. Friends and family might treasure files and posts you’ve left behind, but they could get lost in digital purgatory after you pass away unless you take some simple steps.
Here’s how you can prepare your digital life for your survivors:
Apple
The iPhone maker lets you nominate a “ legacy contact ” who can access your Apple account’s data after you die. The company says it’s a secure way to give trusted people access to photos, files and messages. To set it up you’ll need an Apple device with a fairly recent operating system — iPhones and iPads need iOS or iPadOS 15.2 and MacBooks needs macOS Monterey 12.1.
For iPhones, go to settings, tap Sign-in & Security and then Legacy Contact. You can name one or more people, and they don’t need an Apple ID or device.
You’ll have to share an access key with your contact. It can be a digital version sent electronically, or you can print a copy or save it as a screenshot or PDF.
Take note that there are some types of files you won’t be able to pass on — including digital rights-protected music, movies and passwords stored in Apple’s password manager. Legacy contacts can only access a deceased user’s account for three years before Apple deletes the account.
Google
Google takes a different approach with its Inactive Account Manager, which allows you to share your data with someone if it notices that you’ve stopped using your account.
When setting it up, you need to decide how long Google should wait — from three to 18 months — before considering your account inactive. Once that time is up, Google can notify up to 10 people.
You can write a message informing them you’ve stopped using the account, and, optionally, include a link to download your data. You can choose what types of data they can access — including emails, photos, calendar entries and YouTube videos.
There’s also an option to automatically delete your account after three months of inactivity, so your contacts will have to download any data before that deadline.
Facebook and Instagram
Some social media platforms can preserve accounts for people who have died so that friends and family can honor their memories.
When users of Facebook or Instagram die, parent company Meta says it can memorialize the account if it gets a “valid request” from a friend or family member. Requests can be submitted through an online form.
The social media company strongly recommends Facebook users add a legacy contact to look after their memorial accounts. Legacy contacts can do things like respond to new friend requests and update pinned posts, but they can’t read private messages or remove or alter previous posts. You can only choose one person, who also has to have a Facebook account.
You can also ask Facebook or Instagram to delete a deceased user’s account if you’re a close family member or an executor. You’ll need to send in documents like a death certificate.
TikTok
The video-sharing platform says that if a user has died, people can submit a request to memorialize the account through the settings menu. Go to the Report a Problem section, then Account and profile, then Manage account, where you can report a deceased user.
Once an account has been memorialized, it will be labeled “Remembering.” No one will be able to log into the account, which prevents anyone from editing the profile or using the account to post new content or send messages.
X
It’s not possible to nominate a legacy contact on Elon Musk’s social media site. But family members or an authorized person can submit a request to deactivate a deceased user’s account.
Passwords
Besides the major online services, you’ll probably have dozens if not hundreds of other digital accounts that your survivors might need to access. You could just write all your login credentials down in a notebook and put it somewhere safe. But making a physical copy presents its own vulnerabilities. What if you lose track of it? What if someone finds it?
Instead, consider a password manager that has an emergency access feature. Password managers are digital vaults that you can use to store all your credentials. Some, like Keeper,Bitwarden and NordPass, allow users to nominate one or more trusted contacts who can access their keys in case of an emergency such as a death.
But there are a few catches: Those contacts also need to use the same password manager and you might have to pay for the service.
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LONDON (AP) — Britain’s competition watchdog said Thursday it’s opening a formal investigation into Google’s partnership with artificial intelligence startup Anthropic.
The Competition and Markets Authority said it has “sufficient information” to launch an initial probe after it sought input earlier this year on whether the deal would stifle competition.
The CMA has until Dec. 19 to decide whether to approve the deal or escalate its investigation.
“Google is committed to building the most open and innovative AI ecosystem in the world,” the company said. “Anthropic is free to use multiple cloud providers and does, and we don’t demand exclusive tech rights.”
San Francisco-based Anthropic was founded in 2021 by siblings Dario and Daniela Amodei, who previously worked at ChatGPT maker OpenAI. The company has focused on increasing the safety and reliability of AI models. Google reportedly agreed last year to make a multibillion-dollar investment in Anthropic, which has a popular chatbot named Claude.
Anthropic said it’s cooperating with the regulator and will provide “the complete picture about Google’s investment and our commercial collaboration.”
“We are an independent company and none of our strategic partnerships or investor relationships diminish the independence of our corporate governance or our freedom to partner with others,” it said in a statement.
The U.K. regulator has been scrutinizing a raft of AI deals as investment money floods into the industry to capitalize on the artificial intelligence boom. Last month it cleared Anthropic’s $4 billion deal with Amazon and it has also signed off on Microsoft’s deals with two other AI startups, Inflection and Mistral.
