Hi all.
A selection of series was released on Friday, but over the weekend I accidentally came across another interesting series.
I really like the Chinese science fiction writer Liu Cixin, well known for his series “The Three-Body Problem.” With great pleasure I read his books, first in English, and then again in Russian. I remember how I languished in anticipation of the final book of the trilogy, which was published in China back in 2010, and came out in English only in 2016 (and in Russian even more so in 2017).
With the same impatience as the books, I look forward to the film adaptation, which Netflix promises to release in 2024. But it turns out that the Chinese have already filmed The Three-Body Problem, and at a very decent level (as if this spring). As I understand it, the first one and a half books were packed into 30 episodes, about an hour each. The plot is slightly different, but all the better. It’s more interesting to watch.
And on the best streaming service on the Runet it is in 4K quality, you can download and watch the episodes with translation or in the original Chinese language with subtitles. There are the right people and servers, so 140 GB was absorbed in 45 minutes.
The series is also available on the OKKO streaming service, but for some reason only in Full HD. But you don’t need to download anything, and you can pay a symbolic ruble and watch in peace (for old users 399 rubles).
Funny point about copyright. I learned about the series by reading the Wall Street Journal, the comments under the text sent me to the Esquire website, where, right in the body of the article, without hesitation, they simply posted all 30 episodes by adding them. Such double standards of the Western world “spiralized” the Chinese, as if this were happening not in the USA, but in China.
In short, I recommend the series. Provided, of course, that you liked the books. Out of curiosity, I read the reviews. It turns out that many could not master the books, saying that it was too difficult and confusing. Well, those who liked the books also liked the series (which, in general, is rare).
Table of Contents
CMF от Nothing
It must be admitted that the new Nothing brand from Carl Pei (one of the founders of OnePlus) has firmly established itself in the smartphone market. Not in quantitative terms, since in terms of sales volume one would like to call Nothing a boutique brand, but in terms of perception.
It’s as if everyone, if not imbued with it, then recognized the right to exist of Nothing: yes, they make smartphones, try unusual designs, create an ecosystem, and try to imitate Apple.
It is all the more surprising that, having released only the 2nd generation of Nothing Phone (and the smartphone is still crude, the style, functions, and integration with applications have not been fully developed), the company has already created a cheap side brand called CMF.
CMF stands for “Color, Material, Finish”.
Essentially, CMF are first price products. That is, no fireworks or whistles, but simply a relatively high-quality product with a premium design.
Initially, earbuds were released under the CMF brand. Valued at $50. There is active noise cancellation of 45 dB and 11 hours on one charge of the headphones + another 28 hours in the case. Supports Bluetooth 5.3 and has IP54 protection. The only thing that stands out as unusual is the presence of 6 microphones.
Then they introduced a 65 W GaN charger for $36 (of course, I want to crow about the ruble exchange rate). By the way, I liked the charger. And I would buy one if there is a version with our plug. I still use the Xiaomi GaN adapter (I love it and recommend it to you), but I want at least a couple of Type-C ones so that I can charge both my smartphone and my laptop at once.
And our third lot is a $70 smartwatch that’s clearly inspired by Apple. The watch counts pulse, sleep, oxygen, stress, has built-in GPS, and sports modes. The charge in basic mode will last for 13 days. And there is IP68 protection. The screen brightness, like that of inexpensive models, is 600 nits (this is not the Apple Watch Ultra, which accelerates to 3000 nits). The watch is made of glass and aluminum.
Carl Pei said that other employees are working on CMF so as not to distract the Nothing team from important matters.
I will assume that this whole thing is needed to increase orders at factories in order to achieve at least some savings due to volume. At least the CMF headphones are similar in form and function to those released under the Nothing brand. But Nothing ears are, of course, more attractive due to their transparent design. And in CMF, transparent plastic was replaced with colored one.
It will be interesting, of course, to listen to them. It is likely that CMF products will degrade programmatically.
Once again about buying quality accessories
I mentioned above that I use a 65 W Xiaomi GaN charger, which has been pleasing me for the last 3 years, becoming my main one both at home and when traveling. Due to overheating, the Type-C cable that came with the kit turned slightly yellow and thinned at one end, so that the braid became visible.
So I finally gathered my courage and went to Ozon, where for 700 rubles I bought a visually pleasing Type-C/Type-C fabric-braided cable rated at 100 W.
In terms of charging, the cable turned out to be good and shows the necessary numbers. However, after inserting it into the computer, I saw that the smartphone was displayed and then disappeared. Then, it seemed, he appeared and even showed the files, but it was impossible to copy anything. I tried different smartphones. As a result, the computer froze, like in films about hackers, when the screen disintegrated into squares and began to blink (I was confused, so, unfortunately, no photos). In the end, only a reboot helped.
For me, this is another reminder that the time of nameless cables is over. A modern cable is already a microcomputer containing chips. When I went to a Kaspersky Lab event, they were just talking about how modern cables are so complex that viruses have already started to be sewn into them. Since a cable is an ideal option: a familiar accessory in everyday life, from which you don’t expect any tricks. By the way, I checked the computer and didn’t find any viruses. Lucky.
The issue of quality cables is now a headache for Apple as well. In China, the company even issued a recommendation not to use Type-C cables from Android.
When I read this news at the beginning of the week, I snorted derisively. When at the end of the week my computer froze so badly that I had to unplug it (for some reason it didn’t even respond to a hard reset), I changed my point of view.
Ideally, of course, Apple wants to convey to customers the idea that not all cables are equally useful and you need to choose high-quality ones. But choosing a quality cable is not an easy task. Take me for example. It seems like 700 rubles is not exactly a penny. Yes, and I bought a simple cable without DisplayPort, but only charging and data exchange.
As a result, I ordered another 100 W Type-C cable. I bought Anker for 1,200 rubles so that if anything happens, I can immediately complain directly. So far so good.
Thunderbolt 5
Only recently they said what happiness would come with the introduction of the USB 4 standard, and Intel has already allowed us to look into the future, showing the capabilities of Thunderbolt 5. I would like to emphasize that Thunderbolt 5 is primarily interesting because of how Intel sees the future. Because if it was only about data transfer, the company would calm down by simply doubling the speed.
Thunderbolt 4 had 40 Gbit/s, version 5 will already have 80 Gbit/s. And in high performance mode the speed can reach 120 Gbit/s. Thus, almost a terabyte of data can be transferred in a minute.
But Thunderbolt 5 is about much more than speed. The port will also support up to 240 W of power. Taking into account GaN adapters, we will finally (I want to believe) move away from brick chargers for laptops.
Given such speed and power, it is likely that external video cards will become fashionable. Good option. A thin and light laptop for walking around the city will connect to an external video card at home and turn into a gaming one.
The next good news. Thunderbolt 5 will usher in the era of 144Hz 4K resolution. Most likely, this will become the new standard for gaming. The 5th generation allows you to simultaneously connect 3 monitors in 4K resolution with a refresh rate of 144 Hz. It’s interesting that hardcore gamers, according to Intel, will stay on Full HD, since support for a 540 Hz refresh rate has been prepared for them.
However, the company emphasizes that its goal is to develop 4K and 8K content. I would, of course, want to see what the cables will be like for such a powerful standard. Because even now Thunderbolt cables are thick wires almost as thick as your little finger. At the same time, Intel immediately stated that making a high-quality cable would not be easy and cables longer than 2 meters were unlikely to appear at all.
The development is nothing short of encouraging. The only sad thing is that, as in the case of the 40th series of Nvidia video cards, this is not due to new technologies, but by increasing the power of current ones.
