ConsumerIT - For Europe's High Volume PC Retailers, Distributors & Builders

The same team of researchers behind the discovery of microarchitectural attacks such as Meltdown, Spectre and Zombieload uncover yet another exploit lurking inside Intel CPUs-- Load Value Injection (LVI), a flaw allowing "reverse Meltdown" attacks.

Discovered on 4 April 2019 and reported to Intel before public disclosure on 10 March 2020, LVI turns previous data extraction attacks and defeats all existing mitigations at both software and hardware levels. According to the researchers, this makes LVI "much harder to mitigate" compared to previous attacks, and can affect just about any access to memory. Intel was involved with the disclosure, and says it affects Atom, Core and Xeon processors, as well as the newest Ice Lake (10th Gen) chips and even the upcoming Tremont Atom core.

As the coronavirus (aka Covid-19) affects over 100000+ people across 80 countries, Futuresource predicts poor results for the global CE industry in Q1 2020, with supply chain chain disruptions leading to difficulties in product delivery.

The analyst says the problem may extend into Q2 2010, but pent-up demand might somewhat, if not wholly, compensate for the difficulties experienced in H1 2020. Consumption patterns should shift their seasonality. However, Futuresource says the CE market will see a full year revenue decline of -2-5% in 2020.

In the long term, Futuresource says CE makers should look into diversifying supply chains, as the coronavirus highlights the risks associated with over-reliance on Chinese manufacturing.

Konami delays the launch of its take on the miniature console, the PC Engine Core Grafx Mini (aka the TurboGrafx-16 Mini in the US)-- and the reason is, as you might have guessed, the coronavirus (aka Covid-19).

According to a statement from the Japanese games maker, manufacturing and shipping facilities in China are currently in "unavoidable suspension" due to the virus outbreak. As a result, the mini console and all related accessories are "delayed until further notice."

With the demand for batteries continually on the rise, the time is ripe for an alternative to lithium, the material making current batteries. Enter potassium, as researchers at the Rensselear Polytechnic Institute discover a means to turn the metal into a potential power source.

While lithium is expensive and mined using environmentally damaging means, potassium is cheap, abundant and easier to work with. It also offers energy densities (by both volume and weight) comparable to lithium in the shape of full potassium anodes. However potassium, like lithium, has a problem called dendrite formation. Essentially, during charging and discharging bits of metal attach to the anode and form dendrites, or spiky branch-like structures. Dendrites grow until they poke through the membrane separating the anode from the cathode, reducing the lifespan of the battery and increasing the risk of short circuits.