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By zikalify · Posted
Microsoft's Aurora 1.5 weather model could make hurricane predictions a lot better by Paul Hill Microsoft has just launched a major update for its open-access Aurora Earth-system foundation model, Aurora 1.5. This extension adds 22 new weather variables that are relevant to energy, agriculture, transport, and climate risk. Additionally, it provides hourly temporal resolution and probabilistic ensemble forecasting. If you have ever tracked a hurricane or typhoon, you might be aware that there are various forecasting models available. The best of the bunch are generally considered to be the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) ensemble models. Well, with Aurora 1.5, Microsoft claims its model outperforms on 88.9% of evaluated targets. This model also performs better against its previous version, with testing showing that the ensemble median achieved a one-third lower track error for tropical cyclones, such as Hurricane Helene. While open access to Aurora 1.5 is great news for researchers, agencies, companies, and civil society, Microsoft will also be integrating it into its commercial products such as Microsoft Weather. We all know that AI can give some dodgy outputs, so it wants to couple Aurora 1.5 with physics-based models, such as ECMWF, rather than replace them. The best cyclone forecasts are those that draw from multiple models, and drawing in Aurora 1.5’s predictions will just add more depth to the composite forecast, potentially helping to make people safer. You can read the model’s paper or head over to GitHub to download it. -
By Mindovermaster · Posted
I started using Vivaldi again after maybe 2-3 years. I dunno what I didn't like about them. Maybe Floorp was just a shade better. -
By zikalify · Posted
Google launches LiteRT.js to make AI and ML workloads faster in the browser by Paul Hill Google has just launched LiteRT.js, a new library that enables machine learning models to run locally within the web browser, bypassing the need for server-side processing. The firm said this will bring native AI performance to web browsers via its mobile-focused LiteRT runtime, though LiteRT.js also works on desktops. The new library uses WebAssembly and hardware acceleration such as WebGPU and WebNN to replace the slower TensorFlow.js, which uses a slower JavaScript-based kernel. The LiteRT runtime has been reserved for Android and iOS until now. With today’s update, Google is exposing the runtime via WebAssembly to turn the browser into a more capable platform for AI and ML workloads. The search giant claims that this new runtime delivers 3x greater speeds over existing solutions on current hardware. Specifically, it was tested on a 2024 Apple MacBook Pro with M4 Silicon. In the real world, for users on older hardware or using browsers with different engines, performance could vary significantly. For developers looking to switch over from TensorFlow.js, the process is straightforward. If you already have a .tflite file, you just need to switch your JavaScript runtime to LiteRT.js. However, if you have a TensorFlow/Keras SavedModel, then you can use the LiteRT Converter built into the Python TensorFlow package. You can read more about the conversion process on Google for Developers. Going forward, it will be interesting to see whether Google eventually sunsets or de-prioritizes TensorFlow.js in favor of LiteRT.js. It will also be interesting to see how it really performs on other hardware besides a MacBook. Source: Google -
By Copernic · Posted
AltSendme 0.5.0 by Razvan Serea AltSendme is a minimal, cross-platform application designed for fast, secure, and private peer-to-peer file transfers. It allows users to send files or entire directories directly between devices without relying on cloud servers, accounts, or any personal information. Everything is encrypted end-to-end using modern protocols like QUIC and TLS 1.3, ensuring both strong security and low-latency performance. Transfers are verified with BLAKE3 for data integrity, and interrupted downloads automatically resume, making the experience reliable even on unstable connections. You can transfer anything—images, videos, documents, and more. Integrity checks are performed on both ends, so your files are automatically verified for correctness during both sending and receiving. AltSendme works seamlessly across local networks or long-distance links, capable of saturating multi-gigabit connections for extremely fast delivery. With built-in NAT traversal and encrypted relay fallback, it connects devices almost anywhere. The app integrates with the Sendme CLI and will soon support mobile and web platforms. Fully free and open-source, AltSendme offers a lightweight, privacy-first alternative to traditional cloud-based services, removing size limits, upload costs, and unnecessary data exposure. AltSendme 0.5.0 changelog: Web version available at app.altsendme.com Zero analytics, please raise issues as you come across them Harden app trust boundaries More test coverage - added end-to-end test cases verifying receiver temporary directory lifecycle and resume behavior Added disarm mechanism to AutoCleanupDir to support preserving partial downloads for resume Bug fixes Download: AltSendme 0.5.0 | ARM64 | ~9.0 MB (Open Source) Download: AltSendme for MacOS | Android Links: AltSendme Home Page | GitHub | Screenshot Get alerted to all of our Software updates on Twitter at @NeowinSoftware -
By Usama Jawad96 · Posted
Microsoft explains the different types of Windows updates you get by Usama Jawad If you're a regular reader here at Neowin, you're probably well-versed on the subject of Windows updates. We cover them quite extensively, regardless of their scope. This has become even more important in the evolving threat landscape where AI is being used to exploit security issues in software, which now needs patch deployments more often than before. Now, Microsoft has shared a brief explainer differentiating between the different types of updates delivered by the company. The first kind of Windows update is Patch Tuesday, which is delivered on the second Tuesday of each month. A recent example of this is the KB5094126 update offered to Windows 11 users on June 9. Patch Tuesday provisions security and non-security content, and is cumulative in nature, which means that if you install the latest version, you'll also receive all the updates present in previous versions. IT admins can leverage various tools like Autopatch, Intune, Windows Server Update Services (WSUS), and more to deploy Patch Tuesday across their organization. They can also utilize hotpatching, which ensures that only security updates are quickly applied and a device restart isn't needed. People also refer to Patch Tuesday releases as "B" release, quality update, security update, monthly cumulative update, and latest cumulative update (LCU). Next, we have optional non-security preview updates that become available in the fourth week of each month. They act as a precursor to the upcoming Patch Tuesday, enabling IT admins to test and validate the release before they deploy it more widely the following month. If you're on a non-IT-managed device, you can install these through Settings > Windows Update > Advanced options > Optional updates. People also refer to this update as "C" or "D" release, but "optional non-security preview update" is now the preferred terminology. Finally, we have out-of-band (OOB) updates which can be released at any time, typically to fix a major issue or a security risk. OOB updates are also cumulative, and while some are highly recommended, others are optional. Enterprise customers can leverage their regular update management tools to deploy these releases. Outside of this, Microsoft also rolls out Windows 11 features via annual updates, monthly updates, and the Microsoft Store. The firm uses Controlled Feature Rollout (CFR) to stagger rollout, and for enterprise customers, capabilities managed via this technology are usually disabled by default. Regardless of update cadence, Microsoft has urged IT admins to keep their organization updated and secure, and also encouraged users to join the Windows Insider Program (WIP) if they want access to the latest Windows 11 features.
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