If you’ve noticed cryptic new icons popping up on your phone next to the 5G logo, you’re not alone. Carriers are expanding their 5G networks in a big way this year, and those little “UW” and “UC” logos you’re suddenly seeing represent the different varieties of 5G you’re encountering in the wild. Like Pokémon, but way more confusing.

Isn’t 5G just… 5G? Nope. There are low, mid, and high-band varieties of 5G spectrum. They all provide different levels of data speeds, and all major US carriers use all three. Naturally, they also have different names for them. Depending on your carrier, you may see abbreviations pop up next to the 5G symbol on your phone when you’re connected to the corresponding network. Here’s a quick guide to the different varieties of 5G in the US and the abbreviations carriers have assigned to them.

5G Spectrum Basics. Broadly speaking, low-band 5G has widespread signal reach, but speeds aren’t much faster than 4G LTE (if at all). High-band 5G is very fast—download a movie in seconds fast—but the signal is extremely limited. Then there’s mid-band 5G, which offers a kind of middle ground between the two: far-reaching signal and speeds that are noticeably faster than 4G, though not shockingly fast like high-band.

Verizon
5G UW: Verizon refers to both its high-band and mid-band 5G as Ultra Wideband (UW). Until recently, UW referred only to the high-band network, also called mmWave. Verizon put a lot of energy into building and promoting this network, but even in the limited areas where it exists, the signal can be difficult to find. Starting in 2022, Verizon started lighting up new mid-band 5G spectrum in major cities and classified it, too, as Ultra Wideband. Not confusing at all.

If you see the 5G UW icon on your phone, chances are you’re on the mid-band network. If you’re on mmWave, you’ll notice a big difference in data speeds. But if your data just seems noticeably fast, not ridiculously fast, then you’re probably on mid-band.

5G Nationwide: Verizon refers to its low-band 5G as 5G Nationwide. You’re connected to this network if you just see a 5G logo on your phone without “UW” next to it. And if your reaction to seeing that 5G icon pop up is something like “Huh, this doesn’t seem any faster than 4G,” you’re not imagining things. It’s generally not much faster than LTE. Certain Verizon plans, like its basic 5G Start unlimited plan, only include this low-band version of 5G. 

AT&T
5G Plus: A “5G+” logo on your screen means you’re connected to either AT&T’s high-band or mid-band spectrum. AT&T has put much less effort behind building out a high-band network outside of stadiums and airport terminals, so you’re not likely to encounter it just out-and-about. As of early 2022, mid-band AT&T spectrum is also sort of scarce since the carrier is taking a “kill two birds with one stone” approach to its mid-band expansion. A 5G logo without the “Plus” refers to the carrier’s low-band 5G network, which, it’s worth repeating, is not much faster than LTE.

T-Mobile
5G UC: T-Mobile’s “Ultra Capacity” network technically includes high-band 5G, but the bulk of the network—and T-Mobile’s advertising—is centered on the mid-band spectrum included in the name. While Verizon and AT&T are just getting their mid-band networks up and running, T-Mobile got a head start with the 2.5GHz mid-band spectrum it picked up when it acquired Sprint. If you see that “5G UC” logo on your phone, you can bet that’s the spectrum you’re connected to. 
​
Extended Range: A 5G logo without “UC” indicates that you’re connected to low-band 5G, which T-Mobile calls “Extended Range.” Again, it’s not much faster than LTE, but coverage is more widespread than mid-band or high-band 5G. If you’ve seen a 5G logo on your T-Mobile phone and been unimpressed by the data speeds, that might be why.

Here are a few FinTech firms that are emblematic of how technology innovation is shaping the future of money across a variety of financial services.

Versapay—Accounts receivable
In its quest to rid companies of paper checks, Toronto-based Versapay has developed one of the first collaborative accounts receivable platforms, combining advanced invoicing, automation, and payments technology to deliver improvements and efficiencies for its 250,000 business clients. It has mushroomed during the pandemic, which fueled a demand for digital payments, including the digitizing of accounts receivable services. In a recent interview, Versapay CEO Craig O'Neill said a large majority of finance leaders will adopt digitized payments in the next few years. "Surveys show that 93% of finance leaders are saying they're going to digitize how they do business on both the accounts payable and accounts receivable side. There's going to be a sea change over the next couple of years, which will really change the face of business: paper goes away completely, including check stock, and will set people free to work wherever they want," he said.  

BestEgg—Personal lending and financial management resources
This Wilmington, Del.-based FinTech, is on a mission to help people feel more confident about their everyday finances by making money accessible through fast, simple, and easy personal loans. BestEgg has created a proprietary AI platform to deliver digital products including loans for debt consolidation, credit card refinancing, home improvement, moving, vacation and baby adoption. BestEgg recently introduced an online financial health platform to bolster confidence for consumers in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has had a debilitating effect on many peoples' finances. "The future of digital finance is human," says Sabrina DeVito, chief strategy officer for Marlette Holdings, which operates BestEgg. "Digital can come across as cold, but the winners are going to be those who not only use digital to create extraordinary experiences but also are human in how they come across," she said.

Kabbage—Small business financing
Small businesses took a beating during the coronavirus pandemic—large numbers shut down permanently, crippling local communities both economically and socially. Fortunately, more small businesses are forming in the shadow of the pandemic, and one FinTech is helping to make that possible. Kabbage, backed by American Express, is a one-stop FinTech resource for small businesses, providing access to cash flow solutions such as business checking, flexible funding, and payment processing services. It recently launched Kabbage Funding, which provides flexible lines of credit between $1,000 and $150,000, and Kabbage Checking for online business checking accounts.
"We saw a technology opportunity; a way to use an API to automate serving a business that couldn't have been served previously," said Kathryn Petralia, co-founder of Kabbage. Petralia says what she's seeing with small businesses is that there's more support by many other companies to serve these unserved small businesses. "They're a vital part of the economy—a vital part of job growth and so now we can do that using technology where we couldn't do it before because it was always hard to market to small business. But thanks to the data and these new technology platforms, we can do it," Petralia said.

UpTip—Cashless tipping
This new startup replaces cash tipping with an e-payment platform and enables users to provide ratings on service providers such as wait staff and limousine drivers. Companies are given a QR code after registering with UpTip. Customers scan the code on their smartphone to view the company's profile, give a star rating, leave feedback and, of course, provide a tip. Tips are deposited directly into a debit card or bank account of choice.
​
The travel and hospitality industry is still struggling in the wake of COVID and so are the people whose lives and livelihoods have depended on tipping. Eric Plam, UpTip's founder, believes the pandemic has been a catalyst to help people figure out how much they value people who serve them and the services they provide. UpTip will help collect the data used to determine how much service staff are valued. "We really believe that personality, enthusiasm and merit should be rewarded and so this is one reason we enjoy tipping and that's one thing we do with our service and ratings platform—we try to raise people who are doing a great job because we want to help them advance in their careers", Plam said.

The Internet once held great promise to empower individuals, but it has become yet another path of control for bad actors. Today, authoritarian governments and companies around the world track and surveil individuals; data is not private and is sold for profit; some states algorithmically “score” their citizens; and propaganda and disinformation are rampant.

Thankfully, we are on the cusp of “Web3,” a next-generation Internet that could shift the balance back toward individuals. If the United States embraces Web3, it could also offer a pivotal advantage in its ongoing competition with authoritarian states, especially China.

What is Web3? To understand, it helps to go back to the beginning.

Think of Web1 as the original one-way Web pages of the 1990s—static sites coupled with the dawn of widespread email. Web2 came to life as the Internet became interactive, allowing users to log in and create their own content. At the same time, Google, Facebook and other massive tech platforms hosted “free” services in exchange for our data. Over subsequent decades, of course, the Internet has continued to advance and grow more sophisticated, but we mostly still operate in a Web2 world.

Now, we are closing in on a new version of the Internet—Web3—built on the blockchain, a technology that makes it possible to transact data securely, and smart contracts, which allow users to make agreements without relying on intermediaries, it’s what permits you to pay a vendor directly using cryptocurrency, no bank required. Web3 is still being developed and defined, but it’s clear that, fundamentally, it will offer a more decentralized version of the Internet.

Web3 is in its heady early days. New companies are forming daily to remove central platforms and bring decentralized, more secure services to users globally. Some focus on video-sharing services with no central repository—in contrast with YouTube or TikTok. Others are creating decentralized shared-storage options, unlike centralized cloud services.

These new services address many of the biggest problems of today’s Internet. Security is improved because there is no central database to hack. Privacy is protected because users directly control their data. Resiliency is built into Web3 through decentralization.

And this decentralization makes control by authoritarian governments much more difficult.

In 1999, it would have been hard to believe that one day teenagers would become millionaires by making videos of themselves playing video games or that political revolutions would be fomented on a website designed to share photos of college students.

Web3 could be equally revolutionary by shifting power back to individual users—which would be good for democracy and for the United States, for two reasons:

First, authoritarian states cannot abide private life because that’s where anti-governmental activities can percolate. China and Russia have already set up mechanisms to spy on and control the existing Web2 infrastructure through firewalls, censorship and coercion of technology platforms. Web3 would make such authoritarian controls much more difficult.

Second, although the United States still dominates Web2 in many ways, the Web’s current framework allows China to sweep up swaths of data to power its political and military artificial intelligence systems. The decentralization and personal data control of Web3 would make it much harder for China to maintain data dominance.

Web3 will, of course, be disruptive for good actors as well. Law enforcement will confront websites for which there are no “take down” notices and no corporate CEOs to enforce regulations. Intelligence agencies will need to find new ways to monitor terrorists. Seemingly invincible technology companies could go the way of Blockbuster. Nonetheless, the United States should not fear the rise of Web3—it should adapt to, invest in, and promote it.
​
Geopolitics is about relative power and relative gains. Conceptually, Web3 is innately more beneficial to Western liberal democracies, which value democracy and personal privacy. This would return the advantage to the West and force China and other authoritarian states to confront their weaknesses, change them or fall behind.

SeaTable is software for combined information management. The software allows data of different types to be collected, prearranged, and analyzed. It uses an in-built spreadsheet web interface with customizable web forms for its data entry. 

SeaTable offers over 20 different column types, sorting, filtering, and grouping for its data organization. Besides the charts and pivot tables as traditional evaluation tools, it also offers application-oriented visualizations, including map views, gallery, Gantt charts, and Kanban.

The SeaTable software is available in 3 different versions, including on-premises, dedicated, and cloud variants. The on-premises variant is designed for large and medium-sized companies that don't want to outsource their data but prefer to store their own data center. Besides this, it offers a spreadsheet solution for teams that want flexible ways of working on projects, tasks, and ideas.

The spreadsheet solution doesn't limit users to texts and numbers; it also captures all information and stores documents, emails, URLs, check boxes, images, drop-down lists, etc. According to the CEO & Founder, Christoph Dyllick-Brenzinger, "SeaTable generates enormous added value for teams that want to work together on ideas, tasks or projects. With SeaTable, you have all your data in one place and can access it flexibly from anywhere. Since our launch in July 2020, we have developed rapidly. We generate many new customers every day who have the goal of working in a structured and, above all, more efficient way."

SeaTable Offers Unique Use Cases
SeaTable has different use cases. It can work as a bug, survey software, tracking system, project management tool, archiving solution, and a collaboration platform. Therefore, everyone, including agencies, developers, content creators, project managers, and market researchers, can use SeaTable to consolidate their project details.

The software can work as a collaborative database application. It offers advanced functions beyond what traditional spreadsheets can do. As a web application, it doesn't require any program installation, download, or configuration. All users require is to register on the platform and get their data organized.

"Over 100,000 downloads via Dockerhub and high customer satisfaction speak for our first-class and innovative software. With the development of SeaTable, it is always important to us to offer our spreadsheet solution across as many areas and industries as possible. Our spreadsheet & database hybrid supports many businesses around the world every day, either in the cloud or in their own data center," said Philipp Braun, CMO at SeaTable GmbH.
​
As a collaborative tool, it allows the exchange of data with third parties in several ways. Through efficient management and organization, the collaboration between customers and the team is well facilitated and optimized. It allows users to switch to five languages, including English, Russian, Chinese, German, and French. Versions are available from free to €148 per year.

It might seem counterproductive that a professor who researches the effects of technology on society would put his cellphone on mute.

Yet that's exactly what Simon Gottschalk, Ph.D., a professor of sociology at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, does during his time away from work.

Disconnecting from technology, says Gottschalk, allows him to do the things that really matter, like hanging out with his family, walking in the park, and sometimes, doing absolutely nothing.

Doing nothing, says Gottschalk, has benefits for productivity, health and forming true social connections.

“There's a lot of research that shows when the brain is at rest and is not distracted by so many different sources of stimulation, then new thoughts are possible. The brain starts thinking differently and starts focusing differently on one's environment," he says.

Doing nothing can seem counterproductive in our goal-oriented culture, but doing nothing isn't being lazy, says Gottschalk. In a recent study by the National Institutes of Health, improved memory and ability to learn a new skill were found to result from taking short mental breaks when learning new tasks.

“We're human beings and we need time to recreate and recharge ourselves," says Gottschalk. "It's not wasted time. It's time we really need to function and remain sane."

Some of the most productive people in history relied on down time to spark creativity.

“Einstein was known to stare into space for hours. What appeared from the outside as doing nothing was his mind working in different ways," says Gottschalk. “Because he was staring into space and his mind wasn't constantly distracted, then (he) could approach problems or approach questions completely differently."
Doing nothing can also prep us for better sleep, by reducing the external stressors of the day, says Gottschalk.

Different Approaches. Doing nothing means different things to different people. Meditation is one of the oldest forms of quieting your mind and body. And some things can interfere with our ability to zone out. Here are a few pointers for giving your mind a rest.

• Disconnect from technology. Before we can take a mental break, we need to unplug, Gottschalk says. “Disconnecting keeps us from trying to be involved in so many activities and being distracted all the time," he says. Gottschalk suggests turning off or muting your smartphone whenever possible.
• Let go after work. If you've had a rough day on the job, it's even more critical to decompress. If your boss or coworkers are negative or abusive, relaxing right after work can be the key to a better night's sleep, according to a study published in the Journal of Occupational Health Psychology. Those who could take their minds off the workday through relaxing activities such as yoga, walking or chilling to music, slept better than those who ruminated on workplace incivility.
• Doodle away. Remember that teacher who yelled at you for doodling in class? Well, he should've encouraged it instead. Doodling increases blood flow to the brain's medial prefrontal cortex, the area responsible for regulating our feelings, thoughts and actions, according to preliminary research by Drexel University. Doodling, and to a lesser extent free-drawing and coloring, activates the brain's reward circuit that controls emotion and motivation. These 15- to 20-minute art sessions also offer a confidence boost. In a post-study survey, participants perceived themselves as having good ideas and being able to solve problems.
• Skip the binge watching. While you may be tempted to tune out with your favorite show, marathon viewing isn't exactly doing nothing. A University of Michigan study found that young adults age 18 to 25 who binge-watched shows regularly suffered fatigue, insomnia and poorer sleep quality, even though they reported sleeping seven hours and 37 minutes on average. If you watch one episode, chances are you might keep going unintentionally. The researchers found that binge watching kept subjects mentally alert, which may have contributed to their poor sleep quality.
• Protect your private time. It's important to keep work separate from family time and leisure activities, says Gottschalk. Set boundaries with coworkers, family and friends about your availability. Disconnecting from technology comes into play here, too. “Research suggests, for example, that mere anticipation that you will receive work-related emails after work increases your stress level. And that will increase burnout and increase many physiological consequences of stress," says Gottschalk. His recommendation: Put your smartphone on mute and have an automatic response message that says you'll return the call or email during normal business hours.

1Password, a leader in enterprise password management, recently launched Secrets Automation, an easy-to-use way to secure, manage and orchestrate the rapidly expanding infrastructure secrets required in a modern enterprise. Secrets such as corporate credentials, API tokens, keys and certificates can number in the hundreds for midsize businesses and many thousands for enterprises. This scale and complexity lead to huge security risks. Besides the new product launch, 1Password also completed the acquisition of SecretHub, a secrets management company that protects nearly 5 million enterprise secrets a month. The SecretHub team and CEO Marc Mackenbach will join 1Password immediately, adding expertise and engineers to speed up the 1Password Secrets Automation roadmap. 1Password Secrets Automation launches with a host of partnerships and integrations that will make it easy for developers and DevOps teams to integrate with the mission-critical tools and libraries they already use.  

1Password is the first line of defense for over 80,000 businesses worldwide protecting their employees, customers and intellectual property by securing passwords, financial details and other sensitive information. Today's launch and SecretHub acquisition signal a major expansion of 1Password, helping enterprises secure their infrastructure and machine-to-machine secrets alongside their human passwords. 

"Companies need to protect their infrastructure secrets as much as their employees' passwords," said Jeff Shiner, CEO of 1Password. "With 1Password and Secrets Automation, there is a single source of truth to secure, manage, and orchestrate all of your business secrets. We are the first company to bring both human and machine secrets together in a significant and easy-to-use way." 

Secrets Security Not Keeping Pace. With the massive expansion of Software as a Service (SaaS) applications, infrastructure secrets are multiplying as never before, scattered across multiple services and cloud providers. Companies often try to protect these secrets through a combination of home-grown solutions and awkward hacks. Human error within IT and developer organizations happens all the time and is compounded by risky shortcuts taken in the name of speed and productivity. 

Leaked secrets can have widespread ramifications; when an engineer accidentally placed a secret key into source code at Uber, the names, driver's licenses, and other private information of 57 million users were stolen. A recent GitGuardian report detected over 2 million infrastructure secrets exposed on code sharing platforms, growing 20% over the previous year. This underscores the massive and growing issue of properly managing secrets and protecting sensitive customer data. 

1Password Secrets Automation was developed to address directly these challenges. Key features include:

• The security of 1Password--store credentials, tokens and other secrets fully encrypted, using the same security that made 1Password the No. 1 enterprise password manager. 
• A single source of truth for all your secrets--gain complete visibility and auditability in a way that you can't when secrets are spread across multiple services. 
• Granular access control--define which people and services have access and what level of access they are granted. 
• Ease of use--built on 1Password's intuitive user interface, Secrets Automation delivers administrative simplicity, providing for good secrets hygiene. 
• Integration with your existing tools--Secrets Automation integrates with HashiCorp Vault, Terraform, Kubernetes and Ansible, with more integrations on the way. You'll also find ready-to-use client libraries in Go, Node and Python.

1Password and GitHub are also announcing a partnership: "We're partnering with 1Password because their cross-platform solution will make life easier for developers and security teams alike," said Dana Lawson, VP of partner engineering and development at GitHub, the largest and most advanced development platform in the world. "With the upcoming GitHub and 1Password Secrets Automation integration, teams can automate fully all of their infrastructure secrets, with full peace of mind that they are safe and secure."

A Roadmap Driven by Customer Demand. Kira Systems, an AI-based contract review and analysis software company, was one of many customers that requested 1Password expand its offering to solve their secrets management problems. 
​
"We've been a 1Password customer for six years and have long wanted to centralize our secrets management," said Joey Coleman, Kira Fellow and director, systems with Kira Systems. "We store terabytes of sensitive data across many deployments, so it is critical for us to have a secure and efficient way of managing the credentials that give access to that data. Secrets Automation delivers an extra level of security while also removing the manual labor required to manage the volume of passwords and credentials."

Engineers from Yale University have developed a wearable device that can help individuals assess whether they have been exposed to SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19. The cheap device can clip onto a person’s clothes and capture aerosolized viral particles in the surrounding environment.

From rapid tests to vaccines, many extraordinary innovations have helped us navigate this global pandemic. While we have several ways to determine whether a person has been infected with SARS-CoV-2, we still can only guess when and how someone has been exposed to the virus.

This innovation from a team of Yale University researchers is hoping to fill that surveillance gap. Called the Fresh Air Clip, the device is cheap, designed to attach to a person’s collar and capture aerosolized viral particles around a person’s mouth and nose.

The clip captures viral particles on a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) surface. At the end of a day, or several days, a wearer removes the clip and sends it to a lab, which uses polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis to determine the presence of SARS-CoV-2.

A new study is reporting on several tests of the Fresh Air Clip establishing it can effectively capture airborne viral particles. One experiment involved supplying the clips to several volunteers who wore the monitors for up to five days. Of the 62 monitors deployed, five returned positive results, showing exposure to SARS-CoV-2.

“Of the positive Fresh Air Clips, four were worn by restaurant servers and one was worn by a homeless shelter staff person,” the study shows. “Notably, two positive samples collected in restaurants with indoor dining were found to have high viral load when compared to the other samples (>100 copies per clip), suggestive of close contact with one or more infected individuals.”

As well as establishing the wearable monitor as being able to capture detectable levels of viral particles, the researchers note the device is sensitive enough to catch exposure events at sub infectious doses. This suggests the volume of viral particles picked up by the monitor allows for the quantification of environmental exposure to the virus. This is important, as it means the device does not simply offer an indication of viral exposure but a measure of the level of exposure.

Krystal Pollitt, a researcher working on the device, says one interesting potential use for the device could be to test the effectiveness of ventilation settings in COVID positive patient hospital rooms. Speaking to Yale News recently, Pollitt said her team found airborne traces of SARS-CoV-2 in hospital rooms that were thought to be well ventilated.

“We found this to be really interesting because we know that one of the infection control measures that is being highly recommended is enhanced ventilation,” said Pollitt. “Within the hospital network we had very high air change rates. Despite having those high air change rates, we could still detect airborne levels across the room.”

In its current form, the Fresh Air Clip can screen indoor environments and establish whether they are high-risk areas for exposure. Pollitt also said the wearable can also be used to identify indoor exposure events days before positive cases appear.

“The Fresh Air Clip can be useful for early identification of exposure events and allow for rapid action to be taken,” Pollitt said. “Exposed individuals can get tested or quarantine to prevent potential community transmission.”

The next big step for the device will be to develop ways for the monitor to offer real-time notification of viral exposure, in much the same way a radiation strip can immediately notify a wearer they are exposed to gamma or x-rays. Pollitt says she is interested in further developing the device with real-time exposure notifications.
​
“It’s key to report back results quick,” Pollitt says. “We are keen to incorporate techniques for real-time SARS-CoV-2 detection.”
The new study was published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology Letters.

A ruling at the end of December by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit has backed up an April 2020 decision by the FCC to open up 1,200MHz of spectrum in the 6GHz band for unlicensed use. Unlicensed means anyone can use it, if they do so responsibly, covering uses like your future Wi-Fi 6E home network.

While Wi-Fi 6 connections make more reliable and efficient use of the same spectrum, that’s been in use for the last couple of decades, especially when multiple devices are connected, Wi-Fi 6E routers will work at 2.4GHz and 5GHz plus the new 6GHz band. That has enough room for up to seven maximum capacity Wi-Fi streams to broadcast in the same area at once without interfering with each other or using any existing spectrum. 

Beyond that, there’s already work on a future standard, known as IEEE 802.11be or Wi-Fi 7. That could further optimize the use of the new band with even larger 320MHz channels, 46 Gbps maximum transfer rates, and more, but it’s not scheduled to be complete until 2024 (pdf).

In the immediate future, while 6GHz Wi-Fi has the same theoretical top speed as 5GHz Wi-Fi, the extra space means that instead of getting so much interference from other devices and nearby networks, you’ll have a faster, more consistent connection. Last year a representative for the Wi-Fi Alliance said that this should enable 1–2 Gbps connections over Wi-Fi, similar to what you see now with mmWave 5G.
​
AT&T argued against the FCC’s plan, saying the commission failed to identify and address possible interference with “tens of thousands of microwave links critical to maintaining network infrastructure,” talking about the wireless tech that keeps many cell sites connected to the wider internet. In one filing, AT&T said, “The 6GHz FS [fixed service] band is the only band suitable for long distance transmission, routinely supporting paths between 10-50 miles and, in cases, even longer distances.” Mobile carriers preferred a plan where the FCC would auction off a chunk of the 6GHz bandwidth for use solely by their 5G networks. The FCC said that low-power indoor use protects licensed 6GHz tech like AT&T’s microwave links and TV broadcasts from interference, while “standard power” devices used indoors and outdoors could include automated frequency control to prevent interference.

Besides being one of the most powerful computers in the world and currently ranked 105 on the Top500 list, France's Jean Zay supercomputer is now the first HPC to have a photonic coprocessor.

Unlike traditional processors which use electric current, LightOn’s photonic coprocessor transmits and processes information using light. The company's photonics coprocessor was added to the Jean Zay supercomputer under a pilot program and represents not only a technological breakthrough but also a first for the industry.

So far, LightOn’s technology has successfully been used by a community of researchers since 2018. 

Now though, its photonic coprocessor will be available to select users of the Jean Zay research community over the next few months who will use the device to conduct research on machine learning foundations, differential privacy, satellite imaging analysis and natural language processing (NLP) tasks.

LightOn Photonic Co-processor. LightOn's Optical Processing Unit (OPU) uses photonics to speed up randomized algorithms at a very large scale. However, it also works in tandem with standard silicon CPUs and Nvidia's A100 GPU technology.

The company's Aurora 2 OPU powers its Appliance integrated computing unit which is built i so that it can be quickly and easily integrated in data centers or in this case, a supercomputer. According to LightOn, its Appliance can reach a peak performance of 1.5 PetaOPS or 1.5 X 1,000,000,000,000,000 operations per second and can deliver performance that is 8 to 40 times higher than GPU-only acceleration, like normal mainframes.

CEO and co-founder of LightOn, Igor Carror provided further insight into the pilot program that saw its Appliance integrated into the Jean Zay supercomputer in a press release, saying:

“This pilot program integrating a new computing technology within one of the world’s Supercomputer would not have been possible without the particular commitment of visionary agencies such as GENCI and IDRIS/CNRS. Together with the emergence of Quantum Computing, this world premiere strengthens our view that the next step after exascale super-computing will be about hybrid computing.”

Several industry pundits saw the tall-screen trend coming—but they didn't know things would get this tall. PC monitors that are taller than they are wide have enjoyed a resurgence last year, as they provide more vertical space for taking in long documents, articles, spreadsheets, and social media and news feeds. But this 420×1920 monitor takes the tall-screen thing to new heights.

As spotted by Gizmodo, the screen comes from Elsonic, a sub-brand of Japanese company Nojima, which started off with LED bulbs but now makes TVs and other tech products. The product page for the tall monitor specifically highlights web browsing, Twitter, and browser games as use cases. 

The display is only 8.8 inches, so it would best serve as a portable, secondary or tertiary monitor. It charges via USB-C but can't output video through the port. The monitor relies on mini HDMI for its video signal. That gives it a little versatility in the sense that it can connect to things lacking USB-C. But with more PCs ditching HDMI, and the monitor already having a USB-C port right there, it feels like a missed opportunity.

Built like a New York City skyscraper, the EK-MD088 takes up minimal surface space. Its base is approximately 3.07×0.83 inches (78×21 mm), and it towers 9.76 inches (248 mm) into the sky. The display should make an easy portable monitor (assuming you can find a case to accommodate its dimensions), as it only weighs about 0.43 pounds (198 g). 

A 420×1920 resolution gives the TFT panel an aspect ratio of 7:32. A picture wasn't provided, but the stand is supposed to allow for landscape mode, too.

Elsonic's listing doesn't get into color capabilities but says the screen has a standard refresh rate of 60 Hz and a typical brightness of 300 nits. The screen has two buttons on the side that let you pick between six brightness settings.
​
Currently, the monitor is only available in Japan. So if you’re really craving this type of unit, you may have to act as an importer to get it. It's expected to release in "early February," the product page says, for 14,800 yen, which is about $128.21.