Summary of the week of November 23, 2020

[cobito]

M1 performance running x86 programs

Larabel has published an extensive article with performance test results of x86 programs on Apple's new processor. This is achieved through emulation via a program called Rosetta, which was already used during the migration from PowerPC to x86. The results are quite good.

Interview with Brian Kernigham

One of the creators of Unix has been talking about the history of software in general and the operating system in particular.

Vulkan now has support for Ray Tracing

The open graphics API has published the final version of GLSL and SPIR-V extensions.

Text mode web browser

This type of browser is not new. What is new is the fact that you can visit current pages like Youtube from a text mode browser. And this is what Browsh achieves.

Pulseaudio 14 available

The fourteenth version of the sound server comes with bug fixes, new behaviors such as disabling the automatic HDMI switching that debuted in the previous version, and compatibility improvements with some USB headphones.

The right to repair

From now on, consumer electronics manufacturers will have to report on repairability and the estimated lifespan of the product.

Ryzen 5 4600H

Someone brought us this Zen 2 laptop with 6 cores and SMT yesterday. Just like with the 4900HS, its performance is quite particular due to the number of cores with respect to the TDP. It looks like the Ryzen 7 1800X although it is 20% behind in multi-threading. It is in last position of the 9 Zen 2 we have and in position 28 of the general ranking.

The speed of SSDs can be improved

And without having to improve the speed of the units themselves. Or at least that's what this technician thinks who says that the way data is exchanged between the storage unit and the PC is too inefficient.

Core i7-10750H

An anonymous person has brought us this Comet Lake laptop with 6 cores and HT. In specifications it looks quite similar to the Ryzen 5 4600H we saw before but its higher frequency and cache give it a considerable advantage in single-thread performance, an advantage that is shortened in multi-threading due to the limited TDP. It is in second position of the 7 Comet Lake we have and in position 18 of the general ranking.