Light Start – Samsung split, Japan’s super-PC, Star Wars phones, and a final Rogue One
Brett Venter
Samsung could be thinking about splitting up with itself
Samsung could be looking at splitting the electronics portion of the company in two, a move that would be undertaken in order to increase the value of Samsung Electronics (which is, apparently, currently undervalued). The split, the suggestion of hedge fund Elliott Associates, is reportedly being considered, with a response to the suggestion due tomorrow from the company’s board of directors. Not a whole lot would change if Samsung took this avenue, as the split would be into a holding company and then an operating company. Samsung has already started selling off bits that are considered non-essential (and there are rumours that Samsung is looking at selling their PC business to Lenovo) so a drastic move like splitting the company in two… isn’t that unlikely. We’ll be watching this development closely.
Japan sets its sights on the world’s fastest supercomputer: Enter the AI Bridging Cloud Infrastructure
There’s something to a country owning the world’s fastest computer. And we’re not talking about that liquid-cooled wonder that, while fast, would last a few seconds before being melted by a real computer. China has been in charge of the honour for some time, with their Sunway TaihuLight being the fastest machine on the planet (which took over from China’s Tianhe-2) at 34 petaflops. Japan is looking at taking that accolade from China, with a computer they intend to call the AI Bridging Cloud Infrastructure. The ABCI is planned to be a 130-petaflop computer and is going to be constructed at the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology in Japan. It’s set to cost more than $131 million to put together and will be finished and in action by the end of 2017. We’re willing to bet that someone will try and play Doom on it.
Want a Star Wars-themed smartphone? You’re going to want to get importing…
What do you get for the Star Wars fan who have everything? A Star Wars-themed smartphone from Japan, because that’s the only place that you’re going to be able to buy these Sharp-made devices. Buyers will be able to express their allegiance to the Light or Dark side of the Force when it comes to visuals and there are various software tweaks (like Android skins, a Star Wars movie player, collectible card game with exclusive offers, pre-loaded Star Wars emoji and ringtones, and more) that will light up any Force fan’s eyes. Which is just as well because the hardware isn’t as futuristic as the rest of the device. Still, 3GB of RAM, 32GB of storage, and a Snapdragon 820 aren’t much to complain about. But… like we said, you’re going to have to get one from Japan. They go on sale on 2 December.
This is the final Rogue One trailer before the 16 December premiere – Trust it
If you’ve missed every other Rogue One: A Star Wars Story bit of news, footage, or smoke signals sent since the film was announced, then you’re going to have to watch this one. The final trailer ahead of the 16 December premiere (which will be happening around the world, for a change) will be the decider for anyone who might have been sitting on the fence. The film, which deals with the Death Star before Luke does his deadeye shooting thing, looks to feature equal parts action, seriousness, humour and very, very angry walkers. So… see you in theatres in a few weeks, then?
