Google has just released an Arm-optimized version of its popular Chrome browser for Windows PCs. This new version is designed to take full advantage of Arm-based devices' hardware and operating system, promising users a faster and smoother browsing experience. The Arm-optimized Chrome for Windows has been developed in close collaboration with Qualcomm, ensuring that Chrome users get the best possible experience on current Arm-compatible PCs. Hiroshi Lockheimer, Senior Vice President at Google, stated, "We've designed Chrome browser to be fast, secure, and easy to use across desktops and mobile devices, and we're always looking for ways to bring this experience to more people." Early testers of the Arm-optimized Chrome have reported significant performance improvements compared to the x86-emulated version. The new browser is rolling out starting today and will be available on existing Arm devices, including PCs powered by Snapdragon 8cx, 8c, and 7c processors.

Shortly, Chrome will receive an even more performant chip boost with Qualcomm's upcoming Snapdragon X Elite SoC launch. Cristiano Amon, President and CEO of Qualcomm, expressed his excitement about the collaboration, saying, "As we enter the era of the AI PC, we can't wait to see Chrome shine by taking advantage of the powerful Snapdragon X Elite system." Qualcomm's Snapdragon X Elite devices are expected to hit the market in mid-2024 with "dramatic performance improvement in the Speedometer 2.0 benchmark" on reference hardware. Being one of the most essential applications, getting a native Chrome build to run on Windows-on-Arm is a significant step for the platform, promising more investment from software makers.

According to a report by the Financial Times, China has banned the use of Intel and AMD chips in government computers. The decision, which aims to reduce reliance on foreign technology and boost domestic semiconductor production, is expected to have far-reaching implications for the global tech industry and geopolitical relations. The Chinese government has instructed PC suppliers to replace foreign-made CPUs with domestic alternatives in all government computers within the next two years. This directive is part of China's broader strategy to achieve self-sufficiency in critical technologies and reduce its vulnerability to potential supply chain disruptions or geopolitical tensions. The ban on Intel and AMD chips is likely to significantly impact the two companies, as China represents a substantial market for their products.

However, the move also presents an opportunity for Chinese semiconductor manufacturers like Loongson and Sunway to expand their market share and accelerate the development of their next-generation chip technologies. By reducing its dependence on foreign technology, China aims to strengthen its position in the global tech landscape and mitigate the risks associated with potential sanctions or export controls. As China pushes for self-sufficiency in semiconductors, the global technology industry will likely experience a shift in supply chains and increased competition from Chinese manufacturers. This development may also prompt other countries to reevaluate their reliance on foreign technology and invest in domestic production capabilities, potentially leading to a more fragmented and competitive global tech market.

Leading gaming accessory maker Turtle Beach Corporation (Nasdaq: HEAR), and Performance Designed Products LLC (PDP) today kicked-off pre-orders for the highly-anticipated RIFFMASTER wireless guitar ($129.99 MSRP). Scheduled to launch in April, the RIFFMASTER is the first guitar controller designed for a new game in nearly a decade, designed to fill the musical void in Rhythm-action gamers' hearts. Fans who pre-order the RIFFMASTER at www.PDP.com can also secure their chance at winning the RIFFMASTER's 500-piece, limited-edition pickguard gift with purchase.

"At last, the wait is over…it's time for gamers to rock on!" said Michael Lai, Senior Director of Product Marketing, Performance Designed Products. "Rhythm-action gaming is experiencing more than a renaissance - it is being redefined! Every aspect of the RIFFMASTER design is informed by PDP's rich heritage in rhythm-based gaming, including a nod to the past with backwards compatibility. We cannot wait for fans to have their first jam session!"

Other World Computing, the leading provider of computer hardware, accessories, and software that bring artistic expression and the digital world together for creative professionals and consumers of technology, today unveiled SoftRAID 8, a groundbreaking new software release that redefines RAID management for Mac and Windows environments.

Quickly accessing data with the right safeguards is a difficult balance. Whether it is enhancing multimedia production workflows, protecting critical business files, or ensuring uninterrupted access to valuable data, OWC's SoftRAID is the ideal solution to manage RAID arrays. SoftRAID implements the latest performance technology unleashing remarkable speeds on a RAID system. Simply connect the drive array, format the preferred RAID level, and experience the breakneck speeds first-hand. RAID management has never been this powerful and easy to use.

Canalys' latest forecast predicts that an estimated 48 million AI-capable PCs will ship worldwide in 2024, representing 18% of total PC shipments. But this is just the start of a major market transition, with AI-capable PC shipments projected to surpass 100 million in 2025, 40% of all PC shipments. In 2028, Canalys expects vendors to ship 205 million AI-capable PCs, representing a staggering compound annual growth rate of 44% between 2024 and 2028.

These PCs, integrating dedicated AI accelerators, such as Neural Processing Units (NPUs), will unlock new capabilities for productivity, personalization and power efficiency, disrupting the PC market and delivering significant value gains to vendors and their partners.

NVIDIA announced today that leading AI application developers across a wide range of industries are using NVIDIA digital human technologies to create lifelike avatars for commercial applications and dynamic game characters. The results are on display at GTC, the global AI conference held this week in San Jose, Calif., and can be seen in technology demonstrations from Hippocratic AI, Inworld AI, UneeQ and more.

NVIDIA Avatar Cloud Engine (ACE) for speech and animation, NVIDIA NeMo for language, and NVIDIA RTX for ray-traced rendering are the building blocks that enable developers to create digital humans capable of AI-powered natural language interactions, making conversations more realistic and engaging.

The latest TrendForce report reveals a notable 7.9% jump in 4Q23 revenue for the world's top ten semiconductor foundries, reaching $30.49 billion. This growth is primarily driven by sustained demand for smartphone components, such as mid and low-end smartphone APs and peripheral PMICs. The launch season for Apple's latest devices also significantly contributed, fueling shipments for the A17 chipset and associated peripheral ICs, including OLED DDIs, CIS, and PMICs. TSMC's premium 3 nm process notably enhanced its revenue contribution, pushing its global market share past the 60% threshold this quarter.

TrendForce remarks that 2023 was a challenging year for foundries, marked by high inventory levels across the supply chain, a weak global economy, and a slow recovery in the Chinese market. These factors led to a downward cycle in the industry, with the top ten foundries experiencing a 13.6% annual drop as revenue reached just $111.54 billion. Nevertheless, 2024 promises a brighter outlook, with AI-driven demand expected to boost annual revenue by 12% to $125.24 billion. TSMC, benefiting from steady advanced process orders, is poised to far exceed the industry average in growth.

Funcom is proud to reveal a brand-new trailer and featurette for Dune: Awakening, premiered in the first of a new showcase series, Dune: Awakening Direct. Hosted by the prominent Soe Gschwind, the fifteen-minute show dropped spectacular new footage of the open-world survival MMO, where you will fight to survive on the most dangerous planet in the universe.

After announcing Dune: Awakening back in 2022, Funcom has kept its cards close to its chest. With the release of Dune: Part 2 this weekend, however, the developers are finally ready to uncover what has been growing beneath the sand's surface this whole time. In Creating Worlds: From Book to Film to Game, Funcom takes us on a breathtaking journey into the heart of Arrakis, featuring never-before-seen footage from the game. Interviews with Greig Fraser, academy award-winning Cinematographer on Villeneuve's Dune Part 1 and 2, and Funcom Creative Director, Joel Bylos, reveal the creative overlap between Dune: Awakening and the recent movies. Get a glimpse at what it takes to bring the ultimate Dune fantasy to life.

EK, the leading name in custom loop liquid cooling, is proudly announcing the launch of the latest water-cooling-focused PC case made in collaboration with InWin, the renowned case manufacturer. The new EK-Quantum InWin 977EK was engineered from scratch with water cooling and ease of use in mind. It's a premium quality PC case that can accommodate two 420 mm radiators, has dedicated mounts for pumps, reservoirs, and combo units, and offers the ultimate user-friendly experience for custom loop liquid cooling enthusiasts.

EK-QUANTUM InWin 977EK
Crafted from a single, robust piece of 4 mm-thick, high-quality brushed aluminium, the outer shell of this PC case proudly embodies the iconic InWin aesthetic. Meticulously bent by skilled artisans using hand-operated techniques, it showcases their dedication to craftsmanship.

Jon Peddie Research reports the growth of the global PC-based graphics processor unit (GPU) market reached 76.2 million units in Q4'23 and PC CPU shipments increased an astonishing 24% year over year, the biggest year-to-year increase in two and a half decades. Overall, GPUs will have a compound annual growth rate of 3.6% during 2024-2026 and reach an installed base of almost 5 billion units at the end of the forecast period. Over the next five years, the penetration of discrete GPUs (dGPUs) in the PC will be 30%.

AMD's overall market share decreased by -1.4% from last quarter, Intel's market share increased 2.8, and Nvidia's market share decreased by -1.36%, as indicated in the following chart.

Samsung Electronics is making 2024 the year of the AI PC with the release of its most powerful and intelligent Galaxy Book product line yet, the Galaxy Book4 series. This latest lineup—consisting of the Galaxy Book4 Ultra, Galaxy Book4 Pro and Galaxy Book4 Pro 360—offers intelligent performance, enhanced security and a vivid, interactive display, all in an ultra-portable design. From the new Intel Core Ultra Processor to the suite of AI features, the Galaxy Book4 series is packed with cutting-edge technology that aims to not only simplify but amplify users' computing experience.

Visitors discovered the Galaxy Book4 series' full capabilities inside Samsung's booth at Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2024, the world's largest mobile exhibition held from February 26-29 in Barcelona, Spain. Samsung Newsroom sat down with Mincheol Lee, Head of Galaxy Eco Biz Team, Mobile eXperience Business at Samsung Electronics, and David Feng, Vice President of Client Computing Group and General Manager of Client Segments at Intel, to explore how the advancements in the Galaxy Book4 series can enrich the lives of users.

Today at MWC 2024, Lenovo unveiled its latest portfolio of purpose-built AI devices, software, and infrastructure solutions, as well as showcased two proof-of-concepts devices that challenge the traditional PC and smartphone form factors. The company also revealed the future of hybrid AI fueling multi-device, software, and service offerings for more personalization, collaboration and efficiency.

"Lenovo's suite of AI-enabled, AI-ready, and AI-optimized devices, infrastructure, solutions, and services at MWC provides a wider look at our vision for "AI for All"," said Lenovo Chairman and CEO, Yuanqing Yang. "Lenovo's AI technology benefits organizations of all sizes, driving intelligent transformation across all industries while reinforcing our commitment to sustainability."

As we enter the third week of the year's shortest month, we have a ton of new games to look forward to, with the major release this week being a gaslamp fantasy game with an open world and some multiplayer co-op action. As for the remaining games this week, we have an indie sci-fi shooter, a racing sim, a terminator franchise title, a couple of survival games set in different locations, with the latter one being a multiplayer game as well.

Nightingale / This week's major release / Tuesday 20 February
Nightingale is a PVE open-world survival crafting game played solo or cooperatively with friends. Build, craft, fight and explore as you venture through mystical portals into a variety of amazing and fantastical realms. You are stranded beyond our world, cut off by the collapse of the arcane portal network. This catastrophe has left you fighting to survive in a labyrinth of beautiful and dangerous Fae realms. Your goal: become a skilled Realmwalker, and navigate the web of transdimensional portals. Only then can you discover your way to the magical city of Nightingale, the last known bastion of humanity.

Hello! Over the years, we've seen many players on PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo, PC and Game Pass venture into No Man's Sky's universe and lose themselves in all there is to do, in some cases for hundreds of hours. Last year was a busy one for the small team at Hello Games, with lots of No Man's Sky updates and the announce of Light No Fire. We have big plans for 2024, and we're starting the year off with a very different kind of update. We're calling it OMEGA, and for the first time No Man's Sky will be available to play for free! Expeditions in No Man's Sky have become one of the most popular ways to play the game. They bring all players together to the same planet for an interstellar, shared experience. This weekend (Thursday 15th to Monday 19th February) we are allowing everyone, whether you own the game or not, to join the Omega Expedition.

This represents a moment for new players to try No Man's Sky, and existing players to welcome them into the community. There are no microtransactions, no free to play mechanics, just a huge universe to explore for free with your friends. The Omega update also brings a complete overhaul of expeditions, new on-planet missions, a new pirate dreadnought to own, and much more. Until now expeditions have been their own game mode, but we wanted to fully integrate them into our main game. Now, our new expedition system allows Travellers to join expeditions with bespoke provisions, bring along their favourite starships or custom Multi-Tools and return to their main save with loot and exciting rewards. We have revisited the "Atlas Path", allowing players to commune with the Atlas and honor it with a new Atlas staff, jetpack and helmet.

According to Financial Times, a regional court in Düsseldorf, Germany, created a significant setback for Intel on Wednesday, issuing an injunction prohibiting sales of some of its processors due to allegations they infringe on a patent held by R2 Semiconductor. R2, a technology firm based in Palo Alto, California, accused Intel of violating its patent related to processor voltage regulation. The ruling applies to Intel's 10th, 11th, and 12th generation Core processors, known as Ice Lake, Tiger Lake, and Alder Lake, as well as its Ice Lake Xeon server SKUs. Newer processors generations (13th, 14th, etc.) don't infringe the patent. Even though Intel noted that it plans to appeal the decision, the ramifications could extend beyond the company itself. Industry experts warn the court order could lead to a sweeping ban on products containing the disputed Intel chips, including laptops and pre-built PCs from major manufacturers like HP and Dell. R2 has waged an ongoing legal fight across multiple jurisdictions to defend its intellectual property.

After initially filing suit against Intel in the United States, R2 shifted its efforts to Germany and other European countries after its patent was invalidated stateside. Intel strongly denied R2's patent infringement claims, alleging the company's entire business model relies on extracting legal settlements through serial litigation. Intel believes the injunction serves only R2's financial interests while harming consumers, businesses, and the economy. The two firms traded barbs in official statements about the case. R2's CEO, David Fisher, rebuffed Intel's characterization of his company, saying it has only targeted Intel for infringement of its clear IP rights. As the war of words continues, the practical impact of the German court's decision remains uncertain, pending Intel's appeal. However, the preliminary injunction demonstrates the massive financial consequences at stake in battles over technological patents.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) has reached a significant milestone, overtaking Intel and Samsung to become the world's largest semiconductor maker by revenue. According to Taiwanese financial analyst Dan Nystedt, TSMC earned $69.3 billion in revenue in 2023, surpassing Intel's $63 billion and Samsung's $58 billion. This is a remarkable achievement for the Taiwanese chipmaker, which has historically lagged behind Intel and Samsung in terms of revenue despite being the world's largest semiconductor foundry. TSMC's meteoric rise has been fueled by the increased demand for everything digital - from PCs to game consoles - during the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, and AI demand in the previous year. With its cutting-edge production capabilities allowing it to manufacture chips using the latest process technologies, TSMC has pulled far ahead of Intel and Samsung and can now charge a premium for its services.

This is reflected in its financials. For the 6th straight quarter, TSMC's Q4 2023 revenue of $19.55 billion also beat Intel's $15.41 billion and Samsung's $16.42 billion chip division revenue. As the world continues its rapid transformation in the AI era of devices, TSMC looks set to hold on to its top position for the foreseeable future. Its revenue and profits will likely continue to eclipse those of historical giants like Intel and Samsung. However, a big contender is Intel Foundry Services, which is slowly starting to gain external customers. If IFS takes off and new customers start adopting Intel as their foundry of choice, team blue could regain leadership in the coming years.

Patch 2.11 for Cyberpunk 2077 and Phantom Liberty is being rolled out on PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S. In this update we focused on fixing the most common issues encountered by players, including Finisher animations, and added a little something for Rayfield enthusiasts! PC-specific changes include the addition of a Hybrid CPU Utilization setting, which can be found under Gameplay → Performance. It can be set either to "Auto" (lets the operating system automatically decide how to distribute threads among the cores) or "Prioritize P-Cores" (prioritizes performance cores). It is set to "Auto" by default. We have also implemented a fix that improves graphics performance, especially on AMD Radeon RX Vega GPUs.

Visual Changes
Patch 2.11 adds Neon-lit rims for the Yaiba Kusanagi CT-3X—these parts will now light up properly. We also fixed shadows appearing on V's torso when wearing tank tops, as well as dark shadows appearing on V's hands when holding some weapons with Ray Tracing enabled. The Devil and Judgment tarot cards will now be properly displayed on the end-game reward screen. For complete patch details, check out the full list of changes below.

Logitech has announced that all video collaboration devices that run on the CollabOS operating system will now be manufactured with next-life plastics, helping enterprise customers support their sustainability objectives. Existing products- Rally Bar, Rally Bar Mini, Tap IP, Tap Scheduler, and Scribe- are being refreshed with materials that lower the carbon impact of each product. This provides organizations with a partner that in turn helps position them to better manage their carbon footprint. "By transitioning our portfolio of conference room devices to a lower product carbon footprint, we are helping other companies navigate their sustainability challenges," said Prakash Arunkundrum, Chief Operating Officer at Logitech. "We're not only designing and manufacturing new products with recycled plastic and other lower carbon materials, but refreshing existing products to provide IT leaders with a new way to evaluate their workplace technology investment in conference room systems—one that includes people and planet. We do this without increasing prices or compromising the highest quality and performance companies expect from Logitech."

"By transitioning our portfolio of conference room devices to a lower product carbon footprint, we are helping other companies navigate their sustainability challenges," said Prakash Arunkundrum, Chief Operating Officer at Logitech. "We're not only designing and manufacturing new products with recycled plastic and other lower carbon materials, but refreshing existing products to provide IT leaders with a new way to evaluate their workplace technology investment in conference room systems - one that includes people and planet. We do this without increasing prices or compromising the highest quality and performance companies expect from Logitech." Efforts to reduce negative environmental impact have rapidly become a business imperative. In a recent survey of IT professionals by analyst firm Frost & Sullivan, 65% say that becoming a leader in environmental, social, governance and sustainability practices is a critical or very important business objective in the coming year.

Brews & Bastards, the co-op dungeon crawler with magical brews and drunken demons from developer Mune Studio, stumbles into the vast underbelly of Muneshine Tavern on PC via Steam in Spring 2024, and pregames with its first Steam demo, available now on PC ahead of February Steam Next Fest. The game will hit the bars on consoles at a later date.

Embark on an intoxicating quest to recover the enchanted Brew Stone from thieving demons and return endless alcohol to the masses! Navigate the unfathomably large dungeons beneath Muneshine Tavern solo or with a party of up to 4 dubious heroes wielding liquor-charged weapons. Take on this most urgent mission and become the bar's most pie-eyed legend!

Warner Bros. Games and DC today announced Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, a new genre-defying open-world action-shooter, is now available for PlayStation 5 (PS5), Xbox Series X|S, and PC (Steam) as part of the Deluxe Edition. The Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League Standard Edition will launch worldwide on Feb. 2.

Developed by Rocksteady Studios, creators of the best-selling Batman: Arkham series, Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League combines the studio's signature character-driven storytelling with a seamless fusion of enhanced traversal mechanics and fast-paced, action-packed combat, which can be enjoyed solo or with up to four players via an online cooperative mode.

Hi everyone, in January we shared with you all a status update on 3 key areas of feedback from the Forza Motorsport community that our team is working to improve—Car Progression, Forza Race Regulations and Drivatar AI. For Car Progression, today we began collecting feedback from various sources on changes that will give players freedom to equip the parts they need regardless of car level. We have additional changes to the system in various states of design and testing with plans to implement these changes as soon as possible. For Forza Race Regulations, we have enabled Race Marshals and some content creators the ability to flag in-game incidents for review to help feed changes to the adjudication model that will improve the system. Lastly, we're testing out fixes to the Drivatar AI to alleviate competitors bunching up around Turn 1 and causing the first few AI opponents to reach insurmountable leads. Beyond those key changes, we're investigating other priority fixes for the AI that improve their overall driving behavior and reduce how aggressively they stick to the racing line. These are just a few examples of where we are prioritizing work in these areas, and we will be sharing more on each soon.

While we have 3 distinct teams here at Turn 10 working on these key improvements, we're also actively developing fixes and improvements to other areas of the game. These will begin rolling out alongside Update 5 in February and will include a Skip Practice option to the Career mode pre-race menu to make it more discoverable, and a save point after finishing a Practice session so you can complete the Featured Race later. We're also developing fixes and quality-of-life improvements to the Livery Editor based on the reports you've shared with us, including custom advanced zoom for applying decals, the ability to paint upgraded brake calipers, and a prompt to save your design when exiting the Livery Editor. While this update is in active development, we wanted to share an earlier-than-usual look at some of the changes we're targeting for this release.

On March 21, you'll be able to explore the Forbidden West, battle awe-inspiring machines and encounter new tribes. Horizon Forbidden West is the beloved follow up to Guerrilla's critically acclaimed Horizon Zero Dawn, and this Complete Edition for PC also includes the Burning Shores expansion, which continues Aloy's journey and takes players to a treacherous volcanic archipelago after completing the main quest.

Today we are excited to announce that the PC version of Horizon Forbidden West Complete Edition is now available for pre-purchase with bonus content, including:

• Blacktide Outfit and Blacktide Bow (available only with pre-purchase)
• Nora Legacy Outfit and Nora Spear (available only when linking your Steam account to PlayStation Network)
• 2 Special Outfits (Carja Behemoth Elite and Nora Thunder Elite)
• 2 Special Weapons (Carja Behemoth Short Bow and Nora Thunder Sling)
• In-game Resources Pack including ammunition, potions, and travel packs
• In-game Apex Clawstrider Machine Strike Piece
• Exclusive Photo Mode pose and face paint

Today, 2K announced WWE 2K24, the newest installment of the flagship WWE video game franchise developed by Visual Concepts, will be coming soon for PlayStation 5 (PS5), PlayStation 4 (PS4), Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and PC via Steam. As he burns a path through WWE in an effort to claim world championship gold and fulfill his destiny, "The American Nightmare" Cody Rhodes will be featured on the Standard Edition cover. Multi-time champions and Women's Royal Rumble winners Bianca Belair and Rhea Ripley share the Deluxe Edition cover, marking the first time in history two women have graced a dedicated WWE 2K cover, while the Forty Years of WrestleMania Edition cover features original artwork celebrating the most iconic Superstars and Legends in WrestleMania history, including The Rock, The Undertaker, Hulk Hogan, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, and more.

WWE 2K24 features several franchise advancements, including 2K Showcase…of the Immortals celebrating 40 years of WrestleMania, four new match types such as Ambulance and Special Guest Referee, two new MyRISE experiences, and much more. In addition, fans can also look forward to a massive roster of more than 200* WWE Superstars and Legends including Roman Reigns, Andre the Giant, Becky Lynch, Batista, Kurt Angle, Asuka, Bret Hart, Brock Lesnar, "Macho Man" Randy Savage, Chyna, and more. Incredibly realistic graphics and improved animations - with over 90% of facial expressions updated - plus improvements to Ramp cameras and Dive cameras, and the ability to move the camera during live gameplay provide the most visually impressive WWE 2K experience to date. WWE 2K24 Deluxe Edition and Forty Years of WrestleMania Edition are scheduled for worldwide release on Tuesday, March 5, 2024, followed by the Standard Edition and Standard Cross-Gen Digital Edition on Friday, March 8, 2024.

The PC master race has yielded many interesting activities for enthusiasts alike, with perhaps the pinnacle of activities being overclocking. Usually, subjects for overclocking include CPUs, GPUs, and RAM, with other components not actually being capable of overclocking. However, the enthusiast force never seems to settle, and today, we have proof of overclocking an off-the-shelf 2.5-inch SATA III NAND Flash SSD thanks to Gabriel Ferraz, a Computer Engineering graduate, and TechPowerUp's SSD database maintainer. He uses the RZX Pro 256 GB SSD in the video, a generic NAND Flash drive. The RZX Pro uses the Silicon Motion SM2259XT2 single-core, 32-bit ARC CPU running up to 550 MHz. It has two channels at 400 MHz, each with eight chip enable interconnects, allowing up to 16 NAND Flash dies to operate. The SSD doesn't feature a DRAM cache or support a host memory buffer. It has only one NAND Flash memory chip from Kioxia, uses BiCS FLASH 4 architecture, has 96 layers, and has 256 GB capacity.

While this NAND Flash die is rated for up to 400 MHz or 800 MT/s, it only ran at less than half the speed at 193.75 MHz or 387.5 MT/s at default settings. Gabriel acquired a SATA III to USB 3.0 adapter with a JMS578 bridge chip to perform the overclock. This adapter allows hot swapping of SSDs without the need to turn off the PC. He shorted two terminals in the drive's PCB to get the SSD to operate without its default safe mode. Mass Production Tools (MPTools), which OEMs use to flash SSDs, were used to change the firmware settings. Each NAND Flash architecture has its own special version of MPTools. The software directly shows control of the Flash clock, CPU clock, and output driving. However, additional tweaks like Flash IO driving with subdivisions need modifications. Control and Flash On-Die Termination (ODT) and Schmitt window trigger (referring to the Schmitt trigger comparator circuit) also needed a few modifications to make it work.

Worldwide semiconductor revenue in 2023 totaled $533 billion, a decrease of 11.1% from 2022, according to preliminary results by Gartner, Inc.

"While the cyclicality in the semiconductor industry was present again in 2023, the market suffered a difficult year with memory revenue recording one of its worst declines in history," said Alan Priestley, VP Analyst at Gartner. "The underperforming market also negatively impacted several semiconductor vendors. Only 9 of the top 25 semiconductor vendors posted revenue growth in 2023, with 10 experiencing double-digit declines."

The combined semiconductor revenue of the top 25 semiconductor vendors declined 14.1% in 2023, accounting for 74.4% of the market, down from 77.2% in 2022.