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Business, Crypto, Financial, Science, Security

Cryptocurrency Revolution

Image by TeX9.net: Cryptocurrency Revolution
Cryptocurrency: A Revolution in Digital Finance

In recent years, the financial landscape has witnessed a dramatic transformation with the rise of cryptocurrencies. These digital assets have taken the world by storm because of promising to reshape the way we conduct financial transactions, invest and even think about money. The story of cryptocurrencies begins with the creation of Bitcoin in 2009 by an anonymous entity known as Satoshi Nakamoto. Bitcoin introduced the concept of a decentralized, peer-to-peer digital currency and powered by blockchain technology.

Key Features of Cryptocurrencies
  1. Decentralization: Cryptocurrencies are not controlled by any central authority, making them resistant to censorship and manipulation.
  2. Security: Transactions are secured through cryptographic techniques, making it extremely difficult for malicious actors to tamper with the system.
  3. Transparency: Blockchain technology records all transactions on a public ledger, ensuring transparency and accountability.
  4. Accessibility: Cryptocurrencies are accessible to anyone with an internet connection, opening up financial opportunities for the unbanked and underbanked populations.
Impact on Traditional Finance
  1. Reduced Transaction Costs: Cryptocurrency transactions often come with lower fees compared to traditional banking systems.
  2. Financial Inclusion: Cryptocurrencies can provide access to financial services for the billions of people worldwide so the traditional banking system can not exclude them.
  3. Innovation: The blockchain technology underlying cryptocurrencies has sparked innovation in various industries, such as supply chain management, healthcare, and voting systems.
  4. Investment Opportunities: Cryptocurrencies have become an attractive asset class for investors, offering the potential for high returns and diversification.
Key Players in the Cryptocurrency Revolution
  1. Bitcoin (BTC): The original cryptocurrency and so the most recognized. It serves as digital gold and a store of value.
  2. Ethereum (ETH): Known for its smart contract functionality, Ethereum has enabled the development of decentralized applications (DApps).
  3. Binance Coin (BNB): The native token of the Binance exchange and is one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world.
  4. Cardano (ADA): Known for its focus on sustainability, scalability and interoperability in blockchain technology.
Image by TeX9.net: Cryptocurrency Revolution
Image by TeX9.net: Cryptocurrency Revolution
Gaming

Super Mario 64 Retrospective

Image: Noa Kosanovic, N64 Clear Blue with Super Mario 64, via Wikimedia Commons

Super Mario 64: When Super Mario entered the third dimension. Super Mario 64 is one reason why the Nintendo 64 was a success.

1990: A small plumber with mustache and red hat became the symbol for Nintendo. Super Mario had already presented the 2D jump ‘n’ run to the masses. With the release of Nintendos first 3D console, he entered the third dimension.

1996: Nintendo releases its first 3D graphics optimized game console: The Nintendo 64. With him came Super Mario 64 and became a mega success for Nintendo with a total of almost 12 million cartridges sold. It is still a genre-defining game 25 years later and it stays timeless with its lively community. With Super Mario 64 Nintendo has made a completely new way of playing suitable for the masses. If we jumped and ran through a level in a maximum of eight directions beforehand, we got a finer control in Super Mario 64. This was possible by the analog stick. A technique that has rarely not been used since the times of the arcade gaming halls.

Pioneer of analog stick

Thanks to the analog stick, Mario was able to move in all possible directions as early as 1996 and explore colorful and imaginative 3D worlds in this way. They are full of secrets, puzzles and characters known from past Mario games. Whether we climbed a steep hill in Bob-Omb’s Bomenberg and avoided metal balls, chased fish and shells in the pirate bay panic or tested our jumping skills in rainbow frenzy: Mario 64 was a exciting challenge.

One of the biggest challenges: to get the completely new and very precise control of our character under control at the time and not to lose track of it. The team led by Mario inventor Shigeru Miyamoto did its best to make the camera angles on Mario as clear as possible. It was not always perfect, especially since no other jump ‘n’ run, not even the recently released 3D game Crash Bandicoot, offered so much freedom of movement.

In the beginning, most people struggled with it. It was simply unusual to let Mario run in 360 degrees and all directions and jump. This new freedom alone also created fascination among young and now older fans of the Mario games.

Mario 64 in 2023

Super Mario 64 set new standards for three-dimensional jump ‘n’ runs and adventure games with his then enormously innovative ideas. Some of them are still used today. Perhaps the greatest legacy: control with the analog stick, which is an integral part of consoles in 2023.

AI, Science, TechNews

AI beats drone champion

Image: Artificial Intelligence, AI (Inteligencia artificial), via: pixabay, by: geralt.

AI beats drone world champion. The AI drone has defeated the human opponents and beat their best times by far. The AI ​​could only be beaten under changing conditions.

Who flies faster: humans or artificial intelligence (AI)? A team from the University of Zurich (UZH) and Intel has developed an AI that can control drones. Among other things, she had to compete with the world champion in the drone race and in shows: AI beats world champion.

Swift is the name of the AI ​​system. A AI system that the UZH team used to compete against the world’s best drone pilots: Alex Vanover, 2019 Drone Racing League Champion, Thomas Bitmatta, who became the MultiGP Drone Racing Champion in the same year, and Marvin Schaepper, three-time Swiss champion . At speeds of more than 100 km/h.

Thy flew a total of 25 races. The result was clear: Swift drone AI beats word champion challenger 15 times. The best time of the AI ​​pilot was half a second below that of the best human pilot. The team describes the results in the journal Nature.

AI beats world champion but humans are more adaptable

As long as the conditions stayed the way Swift had trained them, the AI ​​system had the edge. However, if the conditions changed, for example if it was too bright, then people could adapt better to the changed situation.

In complex games like chess or Go, AI has long been superior to humans. “Physical sports are more challenging for AI because they are less predictable than board or video games , ” said Davide Scaramuzza , head of the robotics and cognition group at UZH.

However, the drone races were not an end in themselves: Swift is intended to pilot drones in research or disaster missions, for example, where speed is important. “Drones have limited battery capacity; they use most of their energy to stay aloft. If we fly faster, we increase their usefulness ,” said Scaramuzza. “In applications such as forest surveillance or space exploration, this is important to cover large areas in a short time. In the film industry, fast autonomous drones could be used to capture action scenes. Last but not least, a high flight speed can make a crucial difference in rescue operations – for example with drones that are sent into a burning building.

Comes Next, TechNews

Apple iPhone 15 Date Leak

Apple iPhone 15 Date Leaked
Image: Apple iPhone Originallogo via AI, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Apple iPhone 15 leak: event likely on September 13th

According to their information, Apple plans to introduce the new iPhone series in the third week of September . Not only one source claims to the portal that mobile phone providers have imposed a vacation ban for September 13, 2023 . Means no one should be allowed to take the day off.

Just a coincidence? Probably not, after all, industry experts are expecting the iPhone 15 to be presented in September. With a few exceptions, this is the usual month for new iPhones.

Last year, Apple introduced the iPhone 14 on a Wednesday, September 7th . September 13, 2023 also falls on a Wednesday . Although Apple has presented new iPhones on Tuesdays in the past, the information provided by mobile phone providers is more likely to point to Wednesday.

Apple iPhone Leak: Dates for the start of orders and sales

If September 13th is actually correct in the end, Apple should start taking pre-orders from Friday September 15th . The actual start of sales for the iPhone 15 would then be a week later, on Friday, September 22nd.

However, it is not entirely clear whether all models can be ordered at such an early stage. We remember: Last year Apple showed the iPhone 14 Plus on the same day as the other variants, but you could only buy it in October. Should Apple struggle with production problems , a staggered market launch could definitely be considered.

It is expected that all variants of the iPhone 15 will leave the Lightning connection behind this year and that Apple will integrate USB‑C in cell phones for the first time . Meanwhile, there are four different variants – iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus, iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max. We will probably only see the new A17 chip in the Pro models. In return, the two standard models will have the A16 from the previous year and, for the first time, a Dynamic Island in the display.

Comes Next, Gaming, TechNews

Nintendo Switch 2 Console could appear 2024

According to new information, Nintendo will release its next-gen console: Nintendo Switch 2 console in the second half of 2024.

Nintendo Switch Splatoon 2 Image: Nintendo Switch Splatoon 2, joatseu, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons [Nintendo Switch 2 Console could appear 2024]

The online site videogameschronicle.com cites its own sources. They published on Tuesday that Nintendo wants to release Nintendo Switch 2 console in the second half of 2024. The development kits for the previously unannounced new console will be partner studios.

The release window will be the second half of 2024. This should give Nintendo enough time to secure enough copies for the market launch. According to the report, this new next-gen console could also be used in portable mode again.

Nintendo Switch 2 console with significantly more powerful hardware

In addition, the upcoming consolewill receive significantly more powerful hardware than the first Switch console. This brings Nintendo to save elsewhere: for mobile use, it should only have an LC display, while the current switch model is available with an OLED screen, says the report.

Nintendo will also need more storage space for the increased hardware. So far, the switch only has 32 gigabytes of space for games.

There will also be a slot for physical data carriers. A so-called “software card”. Meanwhile, competitor Sony wants to launch its own PS5 Slim without a drive. The Xbox Series S from Microsoft also no longer has a drive.

That’s what the Nintendo boss says about the Switch 2

In May, Nintendo already announced that the long-awaited successor to the Switch would not be released until April 2024 at the earliest. Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa stated during an investor presentation that the company is not considering any new hardware in fiscal year 2023/24. That ends on March 31, 2024.

So Nintendo doesn’t seem to be in a hurry. Even though Switch sales are down. The console was sold almost 18 million times in the past fiscal year. For comparison: In the previous year there were 23 million copies sold. The year before it was 28 million.

However, Nintendo has no plans to launch a new console to counteract this drop, as the company has forecast a further drop in the coming year. “It will be difficult to maintain the sales momentum of the Switch in its seventh year,” Furukawa said at the presentation. “Our goal of selling 15 million units this fiscal year is a little far-fetched, but we’ll do our best to drive demand into the holiday season so we can hit that target.” Seems like it’s aiming for the first Switch to get as much out of it as possible before the successor finally hits the ground running.

Rumors of a new console have been circulating for years. The new console is said to offer improved graphics, similar to the Playstation 4 and its Pro model, but there’s still no official information about the next piece of Nintendo hardware.