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The Era of Cheap Storage is Over: Surviving the 2026 Memory & SSD Price Surge

2026-05-01T01:58:00.000+09:00

How to Survive the 2026 Memory and SSD Price Surge

Since late 2025, PC builders have faced a nightmare: memory (DRAM) and SSD prices have skyrocketed, at times hitting 6x their lowest points. As of April 2026, this isn't just a temporary spike—it is a structural paradigm shift in the PC market.

Here are the three root causes behind the crisis:

Intentional Production Cuts: Recovering from massive financial losses in 2022-2023, top chipmakers (Samsung, SK Hynix, Micron) intentionally halted consumer production to force prices back up.
The AI Monopoly: The generative AI boom led manufacturers to allocate almost all their resources to enterprise SSDs and HBMs. Big Tech companies are hoarding supplies via 3-5 year long-term contracts, completely sidelining the consumer market.
Market Panic: The Windows 10 EOL rush and Micron's shock exit from the consumer "Crucial" brand in December 2025 wiped out market inventory.

Current Status (April 2026)

Prices remain aggressively high. While DRAM saw a negligible dip recently following Google's "TurboQuant" announcement, SSD prices continue to climb steadily as manufacturers shift NAND resources to AI DRAM production. This chain reaction is already driving up the cost of pre-built PCs and devices like the Microsoft Surface.

How to Survive the "Winter"

Market normalcy will not return until at least 2028. Here is your survival strategy:

1. Stop Over-Speccing: The days of buying massive storage "just because it's cheap" are over. Buy exactly what you need. 32GB (16GBx2) is the sweet spot, even if you are preparing for on-device AI.
2. Avoid Used SSDs at All Costs: While used DRAM is relatively safe, used SSDs carry a strict, physical lifespan (TBW). Buying a used SSD to save money right now is a one-way ticket to catastrophic data loss. Always buy SSDs brand new.

WordPress Shifts to Annual Major Releases Starting 2025

2025-04-17T04:36:00.002+09:00

WordPress Announces Shift to Annual Major Releases Starting 2025

Some significant news regarding the future development pace of WordPress Core has been announced. After a long period of delivering three major releases each year, the team has decided, following discussions among Core committers, to adopt a new cadence – at least for the time being.

What's Changing?

Starting in 2025, WordPress will transition to one major release per year. WordPress 6.8, codenamed "Cecil," will mark the final major release for the 2024 calendar year. Consequently, the subsequent major release will arrive in 2026, establishing this annual cycle for the foreseeable future.

Why the Change?

This decision is primarily a reflection of current circumstances, specifically the significant energy and resources being diverted due to ongoing legal matters. The announcement makes it clear that this isn't necessarily a permanent shift. If these lawsuits are dropped or resolved, the team intends to revisit this cadence and strongly consider returning to the previous three-releases-per-year schedule, which is still seen as the ideal for a fast-moving, community-driven project like WordPress.

Leveraging the New Cadence

While prompted by external factors, this temporary shift to an annual cycle provides valuable breathing room. It allows the core team to dedicate more focused effort towards essential work that can sometimes be deprioritized under a faster release schedule. Key areas of focus will include:

Reducing technical debt and tackling long-standing bugs.
Improving performance across the core platform.
Strengthening support for noncommercial community plugins.
Investing more time in design, testing, and enhancing the overall contributor experience.

What Stays the Same (and What's New)

It's important to note that this change primarily affects major version releases. Minor releases, crucial for maintenance and security patches, will continue to be issued as needed throughout the year.

Furthermore, to enhance collaboration and ensure alignment across the distributed teams, quarterly town hall meetings for core committers will be introduced.

Looking Ahead: WordPress 7.0

This adjusted timeline naturally impacts future milestones. WordPress 7.0 is now projected for release in 2027. With the additional development time afforded by the annual cycle, the ambition is for 7.0 to be more than just the next version number. The goal is to make it a significant milestone – a thoughtful, intentional release that truly reflects how far the WordPress platform has evolved and sets a clear direction for the future being built.

In essence, while the change in release frequency is a pragmatic response to current challenges, the WordPress project aims to use this period constructively to solidify its foundations and prepare for exciting future developments.

Apple Unveils MacBook Air with M4 Chip

2025-03-06T03:00:00.001+09:00

Apple Launches M4 MacBook Air: A Subtle but Significant Upgrade

Apple announced the M4 MacBook Air on March 5, 2025, refining its popular ultra-portable laptop. The updated models retain the slim design, add a Sky Blue color option, and improve the webcam with Center Stage.

Pricing starts at ¥164,800 in Japan (13-inch, 256GB), with pre-orders open and shipping beginning March 12. The M4 MacBook Air comes in 13-inch and 15-inch sizes, with color options including Sky Blue, Midnight, Starlight, and Silver (Space Gray is discontinued).

The M4 chip enables support for dual external displays (up to 6K, lid closed) and increases maximum memory to 32GB (up from 24GB). However, battery life remains at the same 18-hour rating as the previous generation.

Apple has discontinued the M2 and M3 MacBook Air models, though refurbished M3 versions are available.

The M4 MacBook Air offers a sensible evolution, with performance boosts and feature enhancements that improve the user experience without drastically changing the successful formula. While not a must-have upgrade for M3 owners, it's a compelling option for those with older models or new to Macs. The improved webcam, expanded memory options, and processing power, make the most versatile and portable form factor more powerful.

iPhone 16e Pre-Orders Open on Amazon, "Affordable" Price Tag Disappoints

2025-02-22T04:41:00.001+09:00

iPhone 16e: A Budget Phone That Isn't

The iPhone 16e, Apple's supposedly "budget-friendly" new smartphone, is now available for pre-order on Amazon Japan. While the availability on Amazon mirrors Apple's own direct sales, the reality of this device is a major letdown for consumers expecting a truly affordable option. The pricing and market positioning are already raising eyebrows and drawing heavy criticism.

The phone comes in the usual configurations: 128GB, 256GB, and 512GB storage options, and a choice of black or white. So far, so standard. The problem? Even the base 128GB model starts at a hefty ¥99,800. That's significantly more expensive than comparable smartphones from competitors. Even worse, it's only ¥25,000 cheaper than the standard iPhone 16. For a supposed "budget" model, that price difference is simply not compelling enough for most consumers.

Apple is touting its next-generation AI features, "Apple Intelligence," as a key differentiator for the iPhone 16e. However, there's a major catch for the Japanese market: Japanese language support is currently not implemented. This severely limits the appeal of this supposed selling point in Japan. And frankly, it's debatable whether most users even consider AI features essential in a smartphone.

The iPhone 16e does have a couple of minor advantages: long battery life and, technically, the lowest price point in the current iPhone lineup. But these positives are utterly overshadowed by the poor price-to-performance ratio. The phone's positioning in the market is incredibly awkward, making it difficult to identify a clear target audience.

Before its announcement, the iPhone 16e was hyped as the "affordable iPhone" many had been waiting for. But the reality is a complete betrayal of that promise. It's a contradictory device: an "expensive budget phone." This misstep seems to highlight a lack of direction from Apple.

By disappointing consumer expectations and lacking competitive pricing, the iPhone 16e is shaping up to be a memorable failure for Apple.

iPhone 16e: Apple's Bold New Direction for Mid-Range Smartphones

2025-02-20T11:59:00.001+09:00

Apple Unveils iPhone 16e: Bold Mid-Range Strategy

Apple launched the iPhone 16e on February 19, 2025, departing from its traditional SE series with premium positioning and a ¥99,800 starting price in Japan. The device will be available for pre-order on February 21, with sales beginning February 28.

Key Specifications and Design

The iPhone 16e features the A18 chip (supporting Apple Intelligence), a 6.1-inch OLED display with Face ID, and iPhone 14-inspired design. Breaking from SE tradition, Apple has removed the home button in favor of the notch design. Key upgrades include 8GB RAM, a 48MP camera system, USB-C connectivity, and Apple's first in-house 5G modem (C1 chip).

Strategic Market Positioning

This strategic shift targets the mid-range market as a growth opportunity rather than merely an entry point. While supporting essential AI capabilities for modern smartphones, Apple deliberately omits premium features like multi-camera arrays, Dynamic Island, and MagSafe to balance performance and price.

Competitive Landscape

The 16e leverages Apple's iOS ecosystem advantages and long-term software support (approximately seven years), addressing previous limitations of entry models compared to Samsung Galaxy and Google Pixel alternatives.

Price-Performance Considerations

The iPhone 16e's ambitious pricing raises questions about competitiveness in today's mature smartphone market, particularly following Apple's recent report of declining iPhone revenue. While offering sufficient capabilities for specific user segments, its ¥99,800 starting price positions it well above traditional budget offerings.

Explore Google AI Studio: a free generative AI development platform

2025-02-14T20:13:00.000+09:00

Google AI Studio: A Generative AI Development Platform Transforming Business

Introduction

Google AI Studio is a generative AI development platform that provides access to Gemini, Google's latest large language model. Its distinctive feature lies in its intuitive browser-based interface, allowing users to leverage AI models without requiring specialized technical knowledge.

Key Features and Capabilities

One of Google AI Studio's most notable technical features is its high input limit of over 2 million tokens, equivalent to processing approximately 15 books worth of content. This substantial capacity enables the processing of large-scale text data and video content. The platform supports more than 100 languages, facilitating global business operations.

The platform's multimodal functionality enables processing of various data formats, including text, images, audio, video, and code. System integration is streamlined through API key generation, and the platform supports data import from CSV files and Google Sheets, making it highly versatile for different business needs.

The model tuning capabilities allow for customization specific to particular industries or business operations. Users can import training data through structured prompts, spreadsheets, or CSV files, with a recommended minimum of 100 sample data points for optimal performance.

Implementation Scenarios

In practical business applications, organizations can leverage Google AI Studio for various purposes, from analyzing large-scale customer data for personalized marketing to developing multilingual customer support chatbots. Manufacturing companies utilize it for quality control systems, while legal departments employ it for automated contract review and market research report generation.

In the development process, Google AI Studio significantly accelerates prototyping workflows. It supports code generation, comprehension, and explanation in major programming languages including Python, Java, C++, and Go. The platform's image processing capabilities extend to text extraction and data conversion to JSON format, among other features.

Conclusion

Google AI Studio represents a significant step toward democratizing AI development, making it accessible to business professionals regardless of their AI expertise. Through its user-friendly interface and comprehensive feature set, the platform empowers organizations to enhance operational efficiency, improve customer experience, and develop new business models, ultimately strengthening their competitive position in the market.

AI and Designers: Navigating the Technological Transformation of Creative Work in 2025

2025-01-25T09:00:00.002+09:00

Designers and Generative AI: A Future of Collaboration and Evolution

Generative AI, encompassing technologies like image and text generation, is rapidly advancing and impacting our lives. This technology has the potential to revolutionize the creative field, particularly for designers. This article explores the relationship between designers and generative AI, examining current trends, challenges, and future prospects.

Pushing the boundaries of generative AI

Generative AI, fueled by deep learning, has a long history dating back to the 1960s. However, significant advancements occurred in the 2010s with the rise of deep learning, particularly with the introduction of Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs) in 2014. GANs enabled the creation of higher-quality content through competition between generative and discriminative networks.

Recent years have seen the emergence of powerful AI models like DALL-E 2, Stable Diffusion, LaMDA, and GPT-3, further pushing the boundaries of generative AI. These technologies are now being applied across various fields, including design, art, entertainment, and marketing.

Collaboration between designers and AI

Generative AI is being integrated into designers' workflows in various ways. It automates tasks like logo design, web design, and banner ad creation, and serves as an idea generation tool. AI features are now embedded in popular design software like Adobe Photoshop and online tools like Canva. Additionally, AI image generators like Midjourney and Stable Diffusion are gaining popularity as inspirational tools for designers.

While some countries are embracing generative AI to boost efficiency and creativity, others are grappling with copyright and ethical concerns. Nonetheless, there's a growing interest in generative AI among designers globally.

Challenges and ethical considerations

Despite its potential, generative AI presents challenges:

Copyright: The ownership of AI-generated content remains legally ambiguous, raising concerns about copyright infringement.
Ethics: Biases in training data can lead to biased outputs, potentially perpetuating harmful stereotypes.
Job displacement: Concerns exist about AI replacing designers, although it's more likely to augment their capabilities.

AI as a "creative catalyst"

Experts have varying perspectives on the designer-AI relationship:

Some view generative AI as a "creative partner" that enhances designers' capabilities.
Others caution about ethical implications and the need for guidelines.
Many believe AI is a tool that complements, not replaces, human creativity.

Generative AI creating irreversible transformations in design industries

Generative AI offers powerful tools for designers but also presents challenges like copyright issues and ethical concerns. It's crucial to recognize that AI is a tool that can augment human creativity, not replace it. Designers who embrace and adapt to this technology are likely to thrive in the future of design.

Generative AI and Prompts: The Key to Unlocking Creativity

2025-01-22T11:26:00.002+09:00

From Imagination to Reality: The Role of Prompts

Generative AI is rapidly evolving, revolutionizing every aspect of our lives and businesses with its ability to create diverse content such as text, images, music, and code. To truly unlock the potential of this technology, understanding "prompts" – the instructions we give to AI – is essential. This article explores the relationship between generative AI and prompts, and delves into the key aspects of crafting effective prompts.

The History and Current State of Generative AI

The history of generative AI traces back to the dawn of AI research in the 1950s. In recent years, advancements in deep learning, particularly the advent of the Transformer model in 2017, have propelled AI to new heights. Today, models like OpenAI's GPT-4 and DALL-E 2, and Google's Gemini are emerging, finding applications in content creation, customer service, software development, and many other fields. Gartner predicts that by 2026, 30% of outbound marketing messages from large organizations will be synthetically generated. In this landscape, the importance of "prompts" for effectively utilizing AI is growing significantly.

What are Prompts?

Prompts are the input text we provide to AI as instructions, and their quality greatly influences the quality of the AI's output. For example, if you provide the prompt "Write a poem describing the beautiful scenery of Kyoto in autumn," the AI will generate a poem accordingly. Marketers can obtain compelling ad copy by simply inputting the product name and its features, while artists can create unique artwork by describing their imagined landscapes or characters in words. Companies like CyberAgent and Microsoft are actively utilizing generative AI.

Challenges of Generative AI and Prompt Engineering

Along with the proliferation of generative AI, challenges such as the authenticity and ethical implications of generated content, and potential job displacement by AI, are coming to light. Moreover, creating effective prompts requires skill and experience, making it challenging for everyone to use AI proficiently. Inadequate prompts can hinder AI's performance. This is where "prompt engineering," the art of designing optimal prompts, becomes crucial.

Expert Opinions and Best Practices for Prompts

OpenAI provides best practices for prompt creation, including "Write clear instructions" and "Give the model time to 'think'." Google Research has shown that the specificity of a prompt significantly impacts the model's output. Learn Prompting defines prompts as "a means of communicating with AI." Effective prompts unlock the potential of AI, enabling co-creation between humans and AI.

Key Considerations for Creating Effective Prompts:

Clarity and Conciseness: Use clear language, avoiding ambiguity.
Specific Requirements: Clearly state the desired output format, length, style, etc.
Provide Context: Offer background information and context to deepen the AI's understanding.
Iterate and Improve: Refine prompts through trial and error.

Basic Prompt Example

Here's a basic example of a prompt structure:

        
Create a [Type of Content] based on the following requirements:
# Objective: [Detailed description of the objective]
# Target Audience: [Detailed description of the target audience]
# Tone: [Formal/Informal/Professional/etc.]
# Length: [Number of words or duration]
# Elements to Include:
  * [Element 1]
  * [Element 2]
  * [Element 3]
# Special Instructions: [Additional requirements or constraints]

Entering the Age of Co-Creation with AI

Generative AI holds the potential to bring about transformative changes across various fields. Prompt engineering empowers co-creation between humans and AI, enabling the generation of innovative ideas and content previously unimaginable. A great starting point is to experiment with free services like OpenAI's ChatGPT or Google's Gemini. To learn more, you can utilize online courses on platforms like Coursera and Udemy or refer to specialized books.

Generative AI unleashes its true power through the "key" of prompts. Prompt engineering elevates AI from a mere tool to a partner that expands creativity. By mastering effective prompts, we can unlock a future brimming with limitless possibilities.

[Source: Next.Tsugawa.TV]

WordPress for Beginners: A Step-by-Step Guide to Building Your First Website

2025-01-20T05:39:00.002+09:00

A Step-by-Step Guide for WordPress Beginners

So, you've decided to join the millions of people using WordPress to power their websites. Excellent choice! WordPress is a user-friendly platform that's perfect for beginners, yet powerful enough to handle complex websites. This step-by-step guide will walk you through the process of building your first WordPress website, even if you have no prior experience.

1. Choose a Domain Name and Hosting Provider

Your domain name is your website's address (e.g., www.yourwebsite.com). Choose a name that's memorable, relevant to your website's content, and easy to spell.

Next, you'll need a hosting provider to store your website's files and make it accessible online. Select a provider that offers WordPress-specific hosting for optimal performance. Many providers offer a one-click WordPress installation, making it even easier to get started.

2. Install WordPress

Once you have your domain name and hosting, it's time to install WordPress. Most hosting providers offer a simple installation process, often with just a single click. If you need assistance, your hosting provider's support team can guide you through the steps.

3. Select a Theme

A WordPress theme determines the look and feel of your website. There are thousands of free and premium themes available, so you can find one that matches your style and needs. 1 Browse the WordPress theme directory or explore popular theme marketplaces like ThemeForest.

4. Customize Your Website

Once you've chosen a theme, you can customize it to your liking. Change the colors, fonts, and layout using the WordPress Customizer. You can also add widgets to your sidebar and footer to display additional content, such as social media links or a contact form.

5. Create Your First Pages and Posts

Now it's time to start creating content! WordPress has two main content types: pages and posts. Pages are typically used for static content like "About Us" or "Contact," while posts are used for blog articles or news updates. Use the WordPress editor to add text, images, and other media to your pages and posts.

6. Install Essential Plugins

Plugins extend the functionality of your WordPress website. There are plugins for almost everything, from SEO optimization to contact forms. Some essential plugins to consider include:

Yoast SEO: Helps you optimize your content for search engines.
Akismet Anti-Spam: Protects your website from spam comments.
Contact Form 7: Allows you to easily create contact forms.
WP Super Cache: Improves your website's speed and performance.

7. Promote Your Website

Once your website is up and running, it's time to start promoting it! Share your website on social media, submit it to search engines, and consider starting an email list to keep your audience engaged.

Conclusion

Building a WordPress website is easier than you might think! By following these simple steps, you can have your own website up and running in no time. Remember to choose a good domain name and hosting provider, select a theme that suits your needs, and customize your website to your liking. With a little effort, you can create a website that's both beautiful and functional.

Speed Up Your WordPress Website

2025-01-19T09:18:00.002+09:00

Speed Up Your WordPress Website: A Guide to Performance Optimization

In the fast-paced digital world, every second counts. A slow website can lead to frustrated visitors, high bounce rates, and ultimately, lost revenue. This is especially true for creative professionals and designers whose websites serve as their online portfolios and storefronts.

If your WordPress website is running slower than you'd like, don't worry! This comprehensive guide will provide you with actionable strategies to optimize its performance and ensure a smooth user experience.

Why Website Speed Matters

Before we dive into the optimization techniques, let's understand why website speed is crucial:

User Experience: A slow website can frustrate visitors, causing them to leave before they even see your content.
SEO: Search engines like Google prioritize websites that load quickly, improving your chances of ranking higher in search results.
Conversions: A fast website can lead to increased conversions, whether it's getting more clients or selling more products.

Optimizing Your WordPress Website

Here are some key strategies to speed up your WordPress website:

1. Choose a High-Performance Hosting Provider

Your hosting provider plays a significant role in your website's speed. Consider upgrading to a managed WordPress hosting plan that offers optimized servers and resources.

2. Install a Caching Plugin

Caching plugins like WP Super Cache or W3 Total Cache store static versions of your website's pages, reducing server load and improving loading times.

3. Optimize Your Images

Large image files can significantly slow down your website. Use image optimization tools like TinyPNG or ShortPixel to compress images without sacrificing quality.

4. Use a Content Delivery Network (CDN)

A CDN stores copies of your website's files on servers around the world, delivering content to visitors from the closest server and reducing loading times.

5. Minimize HTTP Requests

Every element on your website, from images to scripts, generates an HTTP request. Reduce the number of requests by combining files, using CSS sprites, and minimizing external resources.

6. Choose a Lightweight Theme

Some WordPress themes are bloated with unnecessary features and code, slowing down your website. Opt for a lightweight theme that prioritizes speed and performance.

7. Deactivate Unused Plugins

Plugins can add functionality to your website, but they can also slow it down. Deactivate and delete any plugins you're not using.

8. Update WordPress and Plugins Regularly

Updates often include performance improvements and security patches. Keep your WordPress core, themes, and plugins up to date.

9. Optimize Your Database

Over time, your WordPress database can accumulate unnecessary data, slowing down your website. Use a plugin like WP-Optimize to clean up your database.

10. Monitor Your Website's Performance

Use tools like Google PageSpeed Insights or GTmetrix to analyze your website's speed and identify areas for improvement.

Conclusion

By implementing these optimization strategies, you can significantly improve the speed and performance of your WordPress website. Remember, a fast website is crucial for providing a positive user experience, ranking higher in search results, and achieving your online goals.

Start optimizing your website today and reap the benefits of a faster, more efficient online presence!

Apple announces annual Japanese New Year campaign 2025

2024-12-27T13:15:00.000+09:00

Apple's annual New Year campaign in Japan

Apple will hold its annual New Year campaign in Japan.

To celebrate the Japanese New Year, customers who purchase eligible Apple products will receive an Apple Gift Card worth up to 30,000 yen, depending on the purchase amount. This offer is only valid from January 2 to January 5, 2025 at participating stores.

Please note that online purchases will result in a digital gift card.

Special edition AirTag for purchasing a qualifying iPhone

Customers who purchase an eligible iPhone will receive a special edition AirTag while supplies last. There are 50,000 AirTags available.

Where to buy

Apple retail stores in Japan, Apple's online store (apple.com/jp), Apple Store App (for Apple Gift Card offers only), or 0120-993-993.

Learn more about this campaign at Apple's website.

Firefox 89 for desktop arrives with new Proton redesign & privacy boost

2021-06-08T00:54:00.001+09:00

Version 89 of Firefox browser ships with a new interface, a more intuitive experience, and enhanced privacy

Mozilla released Firefox 89, the latest stable version of its web browser for desktop, which brings a new design with "Proton" interface and more security in private browsing.

FF 89 is available for Windows, macOS and Linux.

UI redesign with Proton features a simple, modern look and an intuitive user experience

A modern and simple appearance of Firefox 89 features a simplified toolbar, streamlined menu, removing unnecessary items to let users focus on what's important.

"Going into the Firefox redesign, our team studied how people interact with the browser, observing their patterns and behaviors. We listened to feedback and gathered ideas from regular people who just want to have an easier experience on the web. We obsessed over distractions, extra clicks and wasted time. The resulting new design is simple, modern and fast and delivers a beautiful experience to support what people do most in Firefox," Mozilla's M.J. Kelly writes in the blog post.

The "floating" tab design

A new look for tabs is one of the highlights. According to Mozilla, more than half of users have 4+ tabs open all the time. Redesigned tabs are now gently curved and float above the toolbar.

Updated prompts

Infobars, panels, and modals have a cleaner design and clearer language for a better web experience. Plus, reducing number of alerts and messages enable users to browse with fewer distractions.

Improvements for Mac users

For macOS users, this update features the elastic overscroll effect, a gentle bouncing animation will indicate that you reached the end of the page. Plus, support for smart zoom and native context menu including Dark Mode are added.

More privacy

The new update also fixes some security issues, moreover, the "Total Cookie Protection" is now default in private browsing windows to block cross-site cookie tracking.

Cookies can no longer be used to follow users from site to site and gather browsing history.

I was able to feel and realize the speedup of browsing and usability after using this new version for almost a week.

The mobile version of the app has also been updated with design elements such as icons and menu items to make it consistent with the desktop version.

In case you don't like the new Proton design for desktop, you can disable it with advanced settings, by typing "about: config" in the address bar and searching for protons and then setting true such as browser.proton.contextmenus.enabled to false.

Are things looking different in 2021?

This update will be the foundation for the future of Firefox and will be improved based on version 89. The next Firefox 90 has been released in beta, and the stable version will be released on June 29, 2021.

Though the global market share of the browser continues to decline, currently around 6-7%, I would like to pay attention to whether it will rebound or not.

IBM has unveiled the world's first 2 nm chip technology

2021-05-10T11:39:00.006+09:00

IBM has just unveiled the world's first 2 nanometer chip technology

IBM has just unveiled the world's first 2 nanometer (nm) chip technology, bringing 45 percent higher performance, or 75 percent lower energy use, than today's most advanced 7 nm chips.

Today's semiconductors are dominated by 7nm to 10nm technology, but the latest chips on Apple's iPhones and Macs are manufactured on 5nm design.
Increasing the number of transistors per chip can make them smaller, faster, more reliable, and more efficient.

2 nm chip is smaller than the width of a single strand of human DNA, and allowing to fit up to 50 billion transistors on a chip the size of a fingernail.

IBM claims the potential benefits of these advanced 2 nm chips could nclude quadrupling cell phone battery life, slashing the carbon footprint of data centers, drastically speeding up a laptop's functions, and contributing to faster object detection and reaction time in autonomous vehicles like self-driving cars.

It also plays an important role in areas such as AI, 5G, 6G, cutting-edge computing, distribution, infrastructure, autonomous systems, space exploration, and defense systems.

IBM plans to license its 2nm chip technology to semiconductor manufacturers such as Samsung, aiming for commercialization within the next four years.

How to fix a security flaw in firmware of Dell Windows PCs regarding "DSA-2021-088"

2021-05-09T14:24:00.001+09:00

How to fix a security flaw in firmware of Dell Windows PCs, dating back to 2009: Security Advisory Update – DSA-2021-088

Users of Dell Windows PCs, models going back to 2009, need to remove the vulnerable driver from the system and upgrade firmware immediately.

Dell has already pushed an update utility to detect and uninstall the "dbutil_2_3.sys" driver which contains an insufficient access control vulnerability. This issue may lead to escalation of privileges, denial of service, or information disclosure, Dell says.

Here's How to fix it.

Step 1: Remove the vulnerable "dbutil_2_3.sys" driver.
Step 2: Obtain and run a remediated firmware update to prevent reintroduction of a vulnerable driver.

For the details:

Step 1: To remove the vulnerable driver, Dell highly recommends downloading and running the Security Advisory Update – DSA-2021-088 utility. Otherwise, you can remove the file manually. Also, Dell plans to push the utility via notification solutions like "Dell Update" by May 10, 2021.
Step 2: To prevent reintroduction of a vulnerable dbutil driver, download and apply the latest available firmware update utility like Dell Command Update, Dell Update, Alienware Update, Dell System Inventory Agent, or Dell Platform Tags.

Visit the Dell's website for more information and to see which models are applicable.

I wrote an article in Japanese on this subject

Google I/O 2021 will be held virtually from May 18 to 20

2021-04-09T11:52:00.001+09:00

Google I/O 2021 returns as a virtual event

Google has announced its annual I/O developer conference will take place from May 18 to 20 and will be free to attend for anyone. Google I/O was canceled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The event will be entirely virtual this year. Google will offer insight into the updates of Android OS, AI, robots, accessibility, Chrome browser, cloud services, maps, and some new hardware, likely Pixel 5a, will be expected.

Now you can register for the conference, to access to workshops, Ask Me Anything Sessions (AMAs), personalized content, live Q&A during Sessions, chat in I/O Adventure, developer profile badges, and more.

The full schedule will be posted in late April.

WordPress 5.7 “Esperanza” has just landed

2021-03-10T11:46:00.001+09:00

WordPress 5.7 is now available

WordPress version 5.7 “Esperanza” has just arrived with some new and improved features, several bugfixes, and WP Admin color palette standardization.

This release brings the block editor "Gutenberg" improvements, easily detect HTTPS support, lazy-loading iframes, the new Robots API and media search engine visibility. Plus, ongoing cleanup after update to jQuery 3.5.1.

Also, Wordpress may drop support for Internet Explorer 11 in the near future.

Checkout the WordPress 5.7 Field Guide and the release note.

Adobe will discontinue development of Brackets on September 1, 2021

2021-03-02T01:58:00.004+09:00

Code editor "Brackets" will be discontinued on September 1, 2021

Adobe has just announced its development of Brackets, its free code editor built on open source, will be discontinued on September 1, 2021.

Though Adobe will end support for Brackets, users may fork the project on GitHub.

Adobe now encourages users to migrate to Visual Studio Code, Microsoft’s free code editor.

2021-01-01T05:31:00.005+09:00

How to update the Copyright year of your websites automatically

The new year just arrived, and it's time to update the copyright year of your website or blog.

Here’s a simple HTML code to automatically display the current year, 2021, on the footer (at the bottom of the page) with small JavaScript or PHP snippets.

It's better to use PHP snippet if possible, and I do not recommend using "document.write()," though it's popular, which could affect the web performance.

（1）PHP snippet

<!doctype html> <html lang="en"> <head> <meta charset="utf-8"> <title>Using PHP snippet</title> </head> <body> <main> <p>Hello 2021</p> </main> <footer> <p>© 2007 – <?php echo date('Y'); ?> Your Company</p> </footer> </body> </html>

（2）Using getElementById()

<!doctype html> <html lang="en"> <head> <meta charset="utf-8"> <title>Using getElementById</title> </head> <body> <main> <p>Hello 2021</p> </main> <footer> <p>© 2007 – <span id="year"></span> Your Company</p> </footer> <script>document.getElementById("year").innerHTML = new Date().getFullYear();</script> </body> </html>

（3）Using document.write()

<!doctype html> <html lang="en"> <head> <meta charset="utf-8"> <title>Using document.write</title> </head> <body> <main> <p>Hello 2021</p> </main> <footer> <p>© 2007 – <script>document.write(new Date().getFullYear())</script> Your Company</p> </footer> </body> </html>

Though each way will work fine, using PHP code is the best way to go. If it is not the case to use PHP, to use getElementByID() method solution is better than document.write() technique, which has a negative effect on speed.

Now "New Year task" has done!

May 2021 be a more positive year!!

Web Stories coming to WordPress

2020-07-08T16:36:00.002+09:00

Web Stories, previous known as AMP Stories, are coming to WordPress as a standalone plugin with templates, re-envisioned media gallery and Gutenberg integration.

Stories experience has been removed from the AMP plugin in late March to be released as a new tool, offering a what-you-see-is-what-you-get experience within WordPress.

The first public beta is now available and the final version, including animation and page attachment support, will ship later this summer.

Web Stories, a content format that lets publishers and other content creators easily produce fast-loading, full-screen experiences that bring together visual narratives, engaging animations, and tappable interactions that entirely belong to them, also can be shared and embedded across the web without being confined to a closed ecosystem or platform.

The Stories has been developed by Google’s AMP project team as an open-source HTML framework.

HTML5 Boilerplate 8.0.0 Released Celebrating 10 years

2020-06-07T17:35:00.001+09:00

HTML5 Boilerplate version 8.0.0 has just been released to celebrate 10 years of the project.

The creation of create-html5-boilerplate, the biggest feature of this release, allows you to get started with HTML5-Boilerplate quickly and to fetch the latest npm published package (or any version available on npm) with npx, npm init or yarn create without installing any dependencies. The team will be working on more enhancements to this feature to get to a proper 1.0.0 release in the near future.

As another point of interest, a sample package.json file was added, including Parcel as the one dependency, a web application bundler, which allows you to start with a simple development web server and asset bundle. To use it, just run 'npm start' command.

HTML5 Boilerplate 8.0.0 Highlights:

Add sample Open Graph metadata
Updated Modernizr and main.css
Removed jQuery
Set anonymizeIp to true in Google Analytics snippet
Removed Browser Upgrade Prompt

XML Sitemaps integration into WordPress Core comes with WP 5.5

2020-05-15T03:26:00.001+09:00

WordPress 5.5 could get native sitemap support

The next major release WordPress 5.5 will ship with XML Sitemaps integration as a default.

As originally proposed in June 2019, a group of contributors including Google and Yoast has been working on the XML Sitemap (generating sitemap.xml) feature plugin to be built directly into WordPress Core.

The XML Sitemaps will be enabled by default making the following content types indexable.

Homepage
Posts page
Core Post Types (Pages and Posts)
Custom Post Types
Core Taxonomies (Tags and Categories)
Custom Taxonomies
Users (Authors)

Additionally, the robots.txt file exposed by WordPress will reference the sitemap index.

For developers, the XML Sitemaps API to be provided with the integration allowing extensibility.

Add extra sitemaps and sitemap entries
Add extra attributes to sitemap entries
Provide a custom XML Stylesheet
Exclude a specific post type from the sitemap
Exclude a specific post from the sitemap
Exclude a specific taxonomy from the sitemap
Exclude a specific term from the sitemap
Exclude a specific author from the sitemap
Exclude a specific authors with a specific role from the sitemap

The "Core Sitemaps" (version 0.3.0) is now available and WP 5.5 General Release with this native XML Sitemaps support will land in August 2020.

Bootstrap v4.5.0 has landed with dozens of bug fixes

2020-05-13T03:53:00.005+09:00

The Bootstrap team has just released "Bootstrap v4.5.0," meant to bridge the gap between v4 and upcoming v5, with new user-select utilities, zipped and downloadable examples, dependency updates, tons of bug fixes and a refreshed homepage.

Bootstrap v4.5.0 Highlights

New interaction utilities. Quickly set user-select with the new utilities and Sass map.
New Reboot style for pointer cursors. We now include a role="button" selector in Reboot to set cursor: pointer on non-<button> element buttons.
Examples are now downloadable. We've added a script to zip up and offer all our Examples as their own download from the docs.
Saved ~5% from the compressed bootstrap.min.js and bootstrap.bundle.min.js.
Added guidance to our docs for how to workaround our longstanding input group rounded corner bug.
Redesigned docs homepage and navbar to increment us towards v5's new docs design.
Deprecated bg-gradient-variant mixin as it's being removed in v5.
Updated to jQuery v3.5.1, Jekyll v4, and dropped Node.js < 10.

Explore the v4.5.0 GitHub release note to gain more information.

Procreate gets update v5.0.5 to add more layers for 2020 iPad Pro

2020-05-12T10:17:00.001+09:00

Savage Interactive has just pushed an update to its Procreate app for iPad with some fixes and improvements.

Now more layers for 2020 iPad Pro and HEVC animations' features are added.

Here's a look at the features of Procreate v5.0.5

You now have a charming new option to export HEVC animations.
Export delightful animations with transparent backgrounds using HEVC encoding.
If you have the majestic new 2020 iPad Pro, you can now create even more layers.
Drag and drop no longer allows you to crash and burn past your layer limits.
Animated GIF, PNG, and MP4 now import way better and make you feel good.

Savage Interactive unveiled the biggest update to Procreate last December with Animation Assist, Brush Studio, ABR import and CMYK support.

Google rolling out "January 2020 core update" for Google Search

2020-01-14T06:39:00.002+09:00

A new look for Google Search on desktop coming

Google has just announced that the January 2020 Core Update for Google Search is rolling out today.

Google said on Twitter, “Later today, we are releasing a broad core algorithm update, as we do several times per year. It is called the January 2020 Core Update. Our guidance about such updates remains as we’ve covered before.”

And then “The January 2020 Core Update is now live and will be rolling out to our various data centers over the coming days.” So this is the first core update for 2020.

Plus, "Last year, our search results on mobile gained a new look. That’s now rolling out to desktop results this week, presenting site domain names and brand icons prominently, along with a bolded “Ad” label for ads."

Last year, Google delivered a visual refresh of the mobile search results page. This time, the new design for the desktop.

With this new design, a website’s branding can be front and center, helping searchers better understand where the information is coming from and what pages have what they’re looking for.

Several times a year, Google make significant, broad changes to its search algorithms and systems. The company refers to these as “core updates.”

Google says "they’re designed to ensure that overall, we’re delivering on our mission to present relevant and authoritative content to searchers."

The search company suggests focusing on ensuring you’re offering the best content you can. That’s what its algorithms seek to reward.

>> Useful Links for Developers

Intel previewed “Tiger Lake” processors & its first discrete "DG1" GPU

2020-01-07T10:00:00.001+09:00

Intel unveiled code-named "Tiger Lake" mobile processors (11th Gen Intel Core) at CES 2020.

Built on 10nm+ process and integrated with new "Xe" graphics architecture, Tiger Lake will deliver "double-digit" (Intel says NOT 10 percent) performance gains over the prior generation, also offer up to twice the graphics performance and huge improvements for AI processing.

Intel showed off the motherboard of Tiger Lake to be the smallest for U series, bringing an ultra-thin form factor for gaming and creative works.

Thunderbolt 4 and Wi-Fi 6 would be integrated into the chips.

Intel said Thunderbolt 4 to be four times as fast as USB 3, but meaning just the same as Thunderbolt 3 in the point of view of speed.

Intel also showed off its first discrete graphics card, Xe-based discrete GPU, code-named "DG1."

Laptops with Tiger Lake chips would be available in the second half of 2020.