Technology

The start of a new year presents an opportunity for businesses to take stock and evaluate the effectiveness of their data storage. As the world continues to generate record volumes of data, particularly through the evolution of AI capabilities, it’s more important than ever that organization ensure they safeguard against future storage challenges.

With surging data volumes, industry is set to face two key challenges in 2025: an impending data shortage crisis, and the environmental impact of data centers. However, there are actions organizations can take to navigate these challenges.

The explosion of global data will cause a data shortage crisis

The world is creating data at unprecedented volumes, with no signs of slowing down anytime soon. For reference, in 2028, as many as 400 zettabytes will be generated, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 24%.

To put into perspective how large this quantity is, consider how many grains of sand there are on all the world’s beaches – in theory, the latest research indicates there are over seven sextillion. Research by the California Institute of Technology equates one single zettabyte of information to exactly this, the amount of sand across the world’s beaches. Now times that by four hundred and we can begin to understand just how much data that will be generated and processed by the world’s computers in 2028 alone.

With the development of AI tools continuing to mature and grow in scale globally, the value of data will increase, which will lead us towards storing more data, for longer periods of time. However, the storage install base is forecasted to have only a 17% CAGR, which is a significantly slower pace than the growth of data being generated. As it takes a whole year to build a hard drive, the disparity in growth rates will subsequently disrupt the global storage supply and demand equilibrium, causing a data shortage crisis.

Looking ahead, organizations will likely become less experimental and more strategic in their use of AI. Navigating this looming storage crisis will require businesses to start building long-term capacity plans now, to ensure adequate storage supply, and fully monetize investments in AI infrastructure.

Storage innovation is imperative to tackling the data center crunch and protecting the planet

As the global data boom continues unabated, it will eventually reach the point where data centers will become overwhelmed. According to the UK’s National Grid, power demand from commercial data is expected to increase six-fold within the next 10 years along. This increase in demand will clearly impact the capabilities and performance of data centers, resulting in a crunch in resource.

However, there are a number of barriers to tackling this issue, including financial, regulatory and environmental hurdles. These barriers will increasingly challenge and oppose the need for greater, physical data center space, and capacity.

According to CBRE, AI advancements are specifically projected to be a significant driving factor for future data center demand. To manage the rising need for power density, high-performance computing will require rapid innovation in data center design and technology.

That being said, it’s not just innovation in computing that is needed to help address this data crunch. The implementation of higher area density hard drives, which expand the amount of data stored on a given unit of storage media, can enable greater data capacity in data centers. Investing in these drives can help data centers avoid the need for building new data storage sites, resulting in significant TCO savings and reducing the future environmental impacts of new centers.

Navigating the challenges in 2025

As we look towards the year ahead and the potential obstacles that may affect business operations, there are key actions that organizations should implement now to be ahead of the curve.

Businesses should prioritize building robust long-term capacity plans, to minimize the future disruption caused by rapid global data growth. There are also huge benefits in investing in improved AI infrastructure and higher areal density hard drives, to effectively tackle the impact of increased demand on data centers.

As we end this year and approach the next, and as organizations map out their 2025 business plans, it’s critical they factor in implementing effective data storage solutions for the good of their performance, bottom line and the planet.

We've compiled a list of the largest SSD and hard drives.

This article was produced as part of TechRadarPro's Expert Insights channel where we feature the best and brightest minds in the technology industry today. The views expressed here are those of the author and are not necessarily those of TechRadarPro or Future plc. If you are interested in contributing find out more here: https://www.techradar.com/news/submit-your-story-to-techradar-pro

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Great businesses are built on data. It's the invisible force that powers innovation, shapes decision-making, and gives companies a competitive edge. From understanding customer needs to optimizing operations, data is the key that unlocks insights into every facet of an organization.

In the past few decades, the workplace has undergone a digital transformation, with knowledge work now existing primarily in bits and bytes rather than on paper. Product designs, strategy documents, and financial analyses all live within digital files spread across numerous repositories and enterprise systems. This shift has enabled companies to access vast volumes of information to accelerate their operations and market position.

However, with this data-driven revolution comes a hidden challenge that many organizations are only beginning to grasp. As we look deeper into corporate data, organizations are uncovering a phenomenon that's as pervasive as it is misunderstood: dark data.

Gartner defines dark data as any information assets that organizations collect, process, and store during regular business activities but generally don't use for other purposes.

What makes dark data that insidious?

Dark data often contains a company's most sensitive intellectual property and confidential information, making it a ticking time bomb for potential security breaches and compliance violations. Unlike actively managed data, dark data lurks in the background, unprotected and often forgotten, yet still accessible to those who know where to look.

The scale of this problem is alarming: according to Gartner, up to 80% of enterprise data is “dark,” representing a vast reservoir of untapped potential and hidden risks.

Let's consider the information from annual performance reviews as an example. While official data is stored in HR software, other sensitive information is stored in various forms and across various systems: informal spreadsheets, email threads, meeting notes, draft reviews, self-assessments, and peer feedback. This scattered, often forgotten data paints a clear picture of the complex and potentially dangerous nature of dark data within organizations.

A single breach exposing this information could lead to legal liabilities and regulatory fines for mishandling personal data, damaged employee trust, potential lawsuits, competitive disadvantage if strategic plans or salary information is leaked, and reputational damage that could impact recruitment and retention.

The unintended consequences of AI

AI is changing how organizations handle dark data, bringing both opportunities and significant risks. Large language models are now capable of sifting through vast troves of unstructured data, turning previously inaccessible information into valuable insights.

These systems can analyze everything from email communications and meeting transcripts to social media posts and customer service logs. They can uncover patterns, trends, and correlations that human analysts might miss, potentially leading to improved decision-making, enhanced operational efficiency, and innovative product development.

However, this newfound ability to access data is also exposing organizations to increased security and privacy risks. As AI unearths sensitive information from forgotten corners of the digital ecosystem, it creates new vectors for data breaches and compliance violations. To make matters worse, this data that is being indexed by AI solutions is often behind permissive internal access controls. The AI solutions make this data widely available. As these systems become more adept at piecing together disparate bits of information, they may reveal insights that were never intended to be discovered or shared. This could lead to privacy infringements and potential misuse of personal information.

How to combat this growing problem

The key lies in understanding the context of your data: where it came from, who interacted with it, and how it's been used.

For instance, a seemingly innocuous spreadsheet becomes far more critical if we know it was created by the CFO, shared with the board of directors, and frequently accessed before quarterly earnings calls. This context immediately elevates the document's importance and potential sensitivity.

The way to gain this contextual understanding is through data lineage. Data lineage tracks the complete life cycle of data, including its origin, movements, and transformations. It provides a comprehensive view of how data flows through an organization, who interacts with it, and how it's used.

By implementing robust data lineage practices, organizations can understand where their most sensitive data is stored and how it is being accessed and shared: By combining AI based content inspection along with context on how it’s being accessed and shared (i.e. data lineage), organizations can quickly identify dark data and prevent it from being exfiltrated.

We've compiled a list of the best document management software.

This article was produced as part of TechRadarPro's Expert Insights channel where we feature the best and brightest minds in the technology industry today. The views expressed here are those of the author and are not necessarily those of TechRadarPro or Future plc. If you are interested in contributing find out more here: https://www.techradar.com/news/submit-your-story-to-techradar-pro

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Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Jan. 13.

Here are some hints -- and the answers -- for the Jan. 13 Strands puzzle, No. 316.

Here are some hints — and the answers — for Connections: Sports Edition No. 112 for Jan. 13.

Grok isn't just for X anymore. The AI chatbot built by Elon Musk's xAI company has debuted an iOS mobile app in the U.S., Australia, India, and several other countries. The app marks xAI’s ambition to compete against AI chatbot rivals with their own standalone apps, including ChatGPT, Google Gemini, and Anthropic's Claude.

The app runs on the same Grok-2 AI model that powers its X-based counterpart. The chatbot can rewrite and summarize text, answer queries, and generate images from text prompts. For those in search of up-to-date information, Grok can access real-time data from both the web and X. Though originally exclusive to X’s paying subscribers, Grok now offers a free tier and became more accessible with the launch of Grok.com as its own website.

Mobile Grok

Grok’s image-generation feature is likely to entice plenty of users. xAI has touted Grok's photorealistic rendering skills using the Flux AI model and its ability to analyze photos you upload, explaining whatever objects are captured by your phone's camera. The app may also end up using the Aurora image model that xAI apparently accidentally released very briefly before removing it.

For better or worse, the AI's image creation abilities have also led to some debates around copyright and ownership. Some have gotten in trouble for making copyrighted characters like Mario do things Nintendo doesn't approve of, leading to its copyright infringement hunter Tracer going after them for infringement.

Grok’s launch outside X represents more than just a feature expansion; it’s how xAI aims to take at least some of those paying for ChatGPT and other AI chatbots. The company clearly hopes to make a bigger product ecosystem where people pay for X to get Grok or pay for Grok to get access to X's premium features. Whether it can outshine its rivals remains to be seen, but one thin

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Quordle was one of the original Wordle alternatives and is still going strong now more than 1,000 games later. It offers a genuine challenge, though, so read on if you need some Quordle hints today – or scroll down further for the answers.

Enjoy playing word games? You can also check out my NYT Connections today and NYT Strands today pages for hints and answers for those puzzles, while Marc's Wordle today column covers the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about Quordle today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

Quordle today (game #1085) - hint #1 - Vowels How many different vowels are in Quordle today?

• The number of different vowels in Quordle today is 3*.

* Note that by vowel we mean the five standard vowels (A, E, I, O, U), not Y (which is sometimes counted as a vowel too).

Quordle today (game #1085) - hint #2 - repeated letters Do any of today's Quordle answers contain repeated letters?

• The number of Quordle answers containing a repeated letter today is 1.

Quordle today (game #1085) - hint #3 - uncommon letters Do the letters Q, Z, X or J appear in Quordle today?

• No. None of Q, Z, X or J appear among today's Quordle answers.

Quordle today (game #1085) - hint #4 - starting letters (1) Do any of today's Quordle puzzles start with the same letter?

• The number of today's Quordle answers starting with the same letter is 0.

If you just want to know the answers at this stage, simply scroll down. If you're not ready yet then here's one more clue to make things a lot easier:

Quordle today (game #1085) - hint #5 - starting letters (2) What letters do today's Quordle answers start with?

• E

• G

• C

• P

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

Quordle today (game #1085) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Quordle, game #1085, are…

• EYING
• GIDDY
• CHEAP
• PETAL

A cunning trick, Quordle, repeating a word from yesterday (unless my memory is playing tricks with me PETAL also featured in game #1084), but nonetheless I was positively GIDDY to guess all four words with a line to go.

As often happens – that memory again – I began today’s game thinking I was playing the Daily Sequence, so missed out on my double E tactic with my second guess. Going with WHEEL with my third guess did help me get closer to CHEAP, so it was quite a lucky mistake in the end.

How did you do today? Send me an email and let me know.

Daily Sequence today (game #1085) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Quordle Daily Sequence, game #1085, are…

• ROWDY
• POWER
• STUCK
• GRIMY

Quordle answers: The past 20

• Quordle #1084, Sunday 12 January: BRIEF, PETAL, WOMAN, FELON
• Quordle #1083, Saturday 11 January: ASCOT, FIBER, ROGUE, SMELL
• Quordle #1082, Friday 10 January: BIGOT, INLET, LEECH, TUNIC
• Quordle #1081, Thursday 9 January: RESET, HUMOR, TENOR, IMAGE
• Quordle #1080, Wednesday 8 January: MINCE, SADLY, RISEN, VOUCH
• Quordle #1079, Tuesday 7 January: CREED, FILET, ROUTE, TAPER
• Quordle #1078, Monday 6 January: PIVOT, WOOLY, GRUNT, GROOM
• Quordle #1077, Sunday 5 January: BORAX, JUDGE, CADET, SALON
• Quordle #1076, Saturday 4 January: CORER, CRATE, QUASI, EXIST
• Quordle #1075, Friday 3 January: PERKY, QUARK, NAVEL, SHEEN
• Quordle #1074, Thursday 2 January: UNIFY, SWORE, DEPOT, INTRO
• Quordle #1073, Wednesday 1 January: CLING, SUITE, WORRY, TONIC
• Quordle #1072, Tuesday 31 December: PLUMP, TUBER, IRATE, ICILY
• Quordle #1071, Monday 30 December: TODDY, GROIN, GROWN, VERVE
• Quordle #1070, Sunday 29 December: PURER, SPLAT, RABID, EMCEE
• Quordle #1069, Saturday 28 December: BUNCH, LABOR, TRIPE, BUNNY
• Quordle #1068, Friday 27 December: BRAWL, LYING, ORGAN, CRONY
• Quordle #1067, Thursday 26 December: TATTY, OVERT, FLOUR, SWEPT
• Quordle #1066, Wednesday 25 December: LIVER, CRIER, SHORE, MURKY
• Quordle #1065, Tuesday 24 December: TIPSY, SCALE, FLYER, VALVE

Strands is the NYT's latest word game after the likes of Wordle, Spelling Bee and Connections – and it's great fun. It can be difficult, though, so read on for my Strands hints.

Want more word-based fun? Then check out my NYT Connections today and Quordle today pages for hints and answers for those games, and Marc's Wordle today page for the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Strands today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

NYT Strands today (game #316) - hint #1 - today's theme What is the theme of today's NYT Strands?

• Today's NYT Strands theme is… Hole foods

NYT Strands today (game #316) - hint #2 - clue words

Play any of these words to unlock the in-game hints system.

• BEER
• PAIN
• VERY
• BAGS
• RAIL
• LAME

NYT Strands today (game #316) - hint #3 - spangram What is a hint for today's spangram?

• Great with cheese spread

NYT Strands today (game #316) - hint #4 - spangram position What are two sides of the board that today's spangram touches?

First side: right, 4th row

Last side: left, 4th row

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

NYT Strands today (game #316) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Strands, game #316, are…

• PLAIN
• EVERYTHING
• GARLIC
• RAISIN
• SESAME
• BLUEBERRY
• SPANGRAM: BAGELS

• My rating: Easy
• My score: Perfect

Sometimes, it’s not until you do Strands that you realise how many different types of a certain thing there are – in today’s case, BAGELS.

This was probably one of the easiest Spangrams. Finding all the different kinds of “Hole foods” was more of a challenge – especially if you’re a PLAIN-only kind of person.

Beyond the difference in the baking process and the denseness of the dough, some people struggle with the appeal of the bagel and wonder why you wouldn’t just eat a sandwich. This completely ignores the unique wonder of the bagel – the hole making it enjoyable to eat and more portable. There’s lots you can do with a bagel that you can’t do with a sandwich, such as thread it through some string and wear one as a necklace, or nail three bagels to a tree to create a bird feeder. In comparison, sandwiches are boring.

How did you do today? Send me an email and let me know.

Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Sunday, 12 January, game #315)

• STUN
• ASTONISH
• GOBSMACK
• SURPRISE
• FLABBERGAST
• SPANGRAM: MINDBLOWN

What is NYT Strands?

Strands is the NYT's new word game, following Wordle and Connections. It's now out of beta so is a fully fledged member of the NYT's games stable and can be played on the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.

I've got a full guide to how to play NYT Strands, complete with tips for solving it, so check that out if you're struggling to beat it each day.

Good morning! Let's play Connections, the NYT's clever word game that challenges you to group answers in various categories. It can be tough, so read on if you need clues.

What should you do once you've finished? Why, play some more word games of course. I've also got daily Strands hints and answers and Quordle hints and answers articles if you need help for those too, while Marc's Wordle today page covers the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Connections today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

NYT Connections today (game #582) - today's words

(Image credit: New York Times)

Today's NYT Connections words are…

• BANK
• PARK
• BOOK
• STORE
• RESERVE
• TRAIN
• SCHOOL
• POOL
• EARTH
• SIGNAL
• INCH
• COACH
• TURN
• GLOW
• GUIDE
• BRAKE

NYT Connections today (game #582) - hint #1 - group hints

What are some clues for today's NYT Connections groups?

• YELLOW: Learn
• GREEN: Collection of items 
• BLUE: Take the wheel 
• PURPLE: Wriggly creatures

Need more clues?

We're firmly in spoiler territory now, but read on if you want to know what the four theme answers are for today's NYT Connections puzzles…

NYT Connections today (game #582) - hint #2 - group answers

What are the answers for today's NYT Connections groups?

• YELLOW: TEACH 
• GREEN: CACHE 
• BLUE: DRIVING INSTRUCTOR DIRECTIVES 
• PURPLE: WORM 

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

NYT Connections today (game #582) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Connections, game #582, are…

• YELLOW: TEACH COACH, GUIDE, SCHOOL, TRAIN
• GREEN: CACHE BANK, POOL, RESERVE, STORE
• BLUE: DRIVING INSTRUCTOR DIRECTIVES BRAKE, PARK, SIGNAL, TURN
• PURPLE: WORM BOOK, EARTH, GLOW, INCH

• My rating: Easy
• My score: 1 mistake

In the list of DRIVING INSTRUCTOR DIRECTIVES the one I heard the most during my lessons was BRAKE. I was so bad at driving that my first instructor refused to take me out after my second lesson – I hit a police car in stationary traffic. The police officers thought it was hilarious, the instructor less so.

When I eventually came to take my first test I failed after 10 seconds, after managing not to SIGNAL and then making a TURN in the wrong direction and directly into oncoming vehicles.

I should add that during this period I also crashed my father’s car into a rock and then a tree.

Fortunately, after a 10-year break it all clicked and I sailed through my second test. I’ve even thought about becoming a driving instructor myself, but then I realised I’d have to teach people like I was at 17.

Anyway, a lovely Connections today. Certainly less stressful than a driving lesson.

Yesterday's NYT Connections answers (Sunday, 12 January, game #581)

• YELLOW: FABRICATION FAIRY TALE, FANTASY, FICTION, INVENTION
• GREEN: WOO CHARM, COURT, PURSUE, ROMANCE
• BLUE: CLASSIC ATARI GAMES ASTEROIDS, BREAKOUT, CENTIPEDE, DEFENDER
• PURPLE: THINGS FEATURING TAILS COIN TOSS, COMETS, DRESS COAT, SONIC THE HEDGEHOG

What is NYT Connections?

NYT Connections is one of several increasingly popular word games made by the New York Times. It challenges you to find groups of four items that share something in common, and each group has a different difficulty level: green is easy, yellow a little harder, blue often quite tough and purple usually very difficult.

On the plus side, you don't technically need to solve the final one, as you'll be able to answer that one by a process of elimination. What's more, you can make up to four mistakes, which gives you a little bit of breathing room.

It's a little more involved than something like Wordle, however, and there are plenty of opportunities for the game to trip you up with tricks. For instance, watch out for homophones and other word games that could disguise the answers.

It's playable for free via the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.

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Anyone who has attended the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) over recent years will have spotted that major automotive players have been muscling in on consumer tech turf. Autonomous driving, AI-powered voice assistants and masses of high-definition touchscreen displays have been employed to snare column inches and take over TikTok feeds.

This year was no different, with BMW choosing the platform to introduce the latest generation of its iconic iDrive infotainment system that, unsurprisingly, now involves a frankly terrifying amount of screen real estate.

Due to arrive in the upcoming BMW Neue Klasse X electric SUV, with the system slated to roll out to all new BMW models in the near future, the Panoramic iDrive offering features a 3D head-up display in front of the driver, a mammoth 17.9-inch central touchscreen and, to top it all off, a separate head-up display that spans the entire width of the windshield.

As is the way with most infotainment systems now, the central touchscreen is customizable, in so much as drivers can pin their most-used apps and key information to the home screen. Judging by imagery and video released by BMW, there’s at least three tiles that are available to constantly display information.

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What’s more, the epic Panoramic Vision head-up display (HUD) offers space for up to six fully customizable widgets, while the three directly in front of the driver are reserved for key vehicle information, such as speed and remaining battery charge.

Already, we are up to 12 points of information, and that is before we even consider the third and final head-up display that’s projected onto the windscreen in front of the driver, which will show enormous, animated turn-by-turn directions when BMW’s navigation is in use.

Some of the examples BMW cites when it comes to the tiles that can be pinned to its Panoramic Vision HUD are a weather app and a compass. Now call me old fashioned, but can’t you just look out of the window to see what the weather is doing and when was the last time you used a compass while driving? It’s 2025, not 1925.

Finally, there has been no word on how BMW’s flashy Panoramic Display and slightly angled central touchscreen will interact with the likes of Apple CarPlay and Android Auto – two systems that the majority of the driving public are perfectly happy with.

An industry issue

(Image credit: Harman)

To only berate BMW would be wrong, because Hyundai Mobis also revealed that it has created the world’s first full-windshield holographic display, which beams a glut of information across the entire width of a windshield.

According to the Korean automotive supplier, its system uses a specialized film that’s embedded with a Holographic Optical Element (HOE), which utilizes the "principle of light diffraction to project images and videos directly to the viewer’s eyes". Say what?

Using a Kia EV9 as a testbed at this year’s CES, it’s easy to see this sort of technology appearing in some of the Hyundai Motor Group’s more premium products in the coming years.

Harman also debuted its home-theater-quality Ready Display, with Quantum Dot and Blue Mini LED-based local dimming technology. That’s high-end television specification, shrunk down to something that will fit in a family SUV and will likely rarely be fully appreciated.

After all, when was the last time you watched an entire Hollywood blockbuster while waiting for your EV to charge?

Killing interior design

(Image credit: Mercedes-Benz)

Meanwhile, Mercedes-Benz is set to unleash its all-new CLA model onto the world soon and it comes with the promise of a ‘user-friendly MBUX Superscreen’ that, in the early concept cars at least, takes up the entire width of the cockpit.

It’s not that I’m necessarily anti-touchscreens in vehicles; I write for a tech site, after all. However, dedicating so much space to them, like Mercedes-Benz and BMW have chosen to, leaves little to no room for individual acts of interesting physical design.

Rewind a few years and car interiors all looked vastly different: it was easy to differentiate between the quirky interior flourishes of a Citroen and the more upmarket polish of an Audi, for example.

But the over-reliance on the digital space means that, without interior designers pushing for more unique physical elements, modern vehicle interiors look eerily similar, especially when powered down.

Consider the fact that many manufacturers have turned to Epic Games, which offers its Unreal Engine to produce much of the interface, and even the digital domain is becoming homogeneous.

I've noticed the interface that visualizes an operational advanced driver assistance system (ADAS), for example, is practically the same in numerous modern cars. The small digital representations of trucks, cars and motorcycles that the external cameras pick up look largely identical, no matter if you are in a Tesla or a Volvo EX90.

Of course, the notion of good design is a very personal thing, but there’s also the sticky issue of user experience. Brands (ahem, Volkswagen) have had their fingers burnt in the past, unleashing bouji, sparse interiors that might look like an LA A-lister’s apartment but prove nightmarish to use and live with.

Plastering a vehicle’s interior with screens and irritating haptic buttons typically comes at the expense of easy-to-locate physical switches that, when you are in the midst of driving (a cerebrally taxing task), are essential for distraction-free and safe motoring.

Designing for the future

(Image credit: BMW)

Right now, it feels like automotive companies are designing vehicle cockpits for a time when high levels of autonomous driving are both legal and commonplace.

I’m not simply talking about SAE Level 3, which allows drivers to 'enjoy' eyes-off driving under some fairly strict parameters (highways, speeds under 30mph etc), but Level 4 and 5, where the vehicle does the majority of the heavy lifting.

We are still some way from this technology becoming a reality, and an even larger leap from legislators creating a proper legal framework for the widespread adoption. So it begs the question, why are manufacturers choosing to offer so much potentially distracting information now?

As if to protect themselves from a potential torrent of driver distraction accusations, most modern manufacturers are also working with artificial intelligence and large language models to allow drivers and occupants to interact with their vehicles via natural speech prompts, negating the need to prod around a touchscreen or hunt for buttons.

Having a vehicle predict when you are feeling chilly with a cutting-edge suite of bio-sensing technology is a very expensive and complicated way of admitting that burying the climate control adjuster in a series of annoying sub-menus was probably a bad idea.

Listen, I understand that space-age vehicle interiors is, essentially, what technological progress looks like and I'm not suggesting we head back to the days of walnut wood trim and cigarette lighters (although wood interiors are still cool, IMHO).

But designing vehicles – that are slated for imminent release – with NASA control room-levels of interactive displays seems counterintuitive.

Until the day arrives that I can genuinely kick back and enjoy what's beaming out of those screens, I want to be able to drive a vehicle – not pilot Falcon 9.

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Here are some hints -- and the answers -- for Connections No. 582 for Monday, Jan. 13.

Here are some hints and the answer for Wordle No. 1304 for Monday, Jan. 13.

• Lenovo presented a 3.5-inch mock-up of an 'AI storage device', which could be a portable SSD, a NAS, or something new
• Not a product announcement, but a proof of concept
• But presence of a red ring on one of the ports may indicate that it will be a ThinkStorage product

Lenovo has unveiled a new concept device at CES called "AI Storage", which could be the company’s first AI-assisted NAS (Network Attached Storage).

The apparent prototype features a minimalist, space-efficient design with ventilation grilles on the right side for either active or passive cooling.

The 3.5-inch mock-up could be more than a traditional NAS, in that it might also function as a portable SSD, or serve an entirely new purpose, blurring the lines between storage and AI integration.

A smarter future for storage?

The concept image shows that this device will support a standard RJ45 Ethernet port accompanied by dual status LEDs. These could indicate active connectivity or possibly its association with Lenovo’s ThinkStorage branding.

A visible USB-C port should enable high-speed data transfers via USB 3.2 or Thunderbolt protocols. There's also another USB-C port marked with a distinctive red ring, presumably for power.

It's important to note that a good number of concept devices never make it to the market. Whether this device will evolve into a full-fledged NAS or will work as a versatile storage solution remains to be seen.

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• Modular laptop vendor Framework said it will launch a RISC-V product in 2025
• RISC-V is the equivalent of Linux for hardware, open source and free
• More tech companies are adopting but it has yet to hit mainstream in a meaningful way

RISC-V, an open source ISA developed at the University of California, Berkeley in 2010, has steadily been gaining attention as a customizable alternative to proprietary ISAs like x86 and Arm.

Its license-free approach allows manufacturers to create and modify processors without restrictions, leading to adoption in various specialized applications, and this year could mark a key step toward broader consumer adoption of the architecture.

For RISC-V to truly reach the mainstream, it still needs to gain traction in the laptop market. Hong Kong–based DeepComputing introduced the first RISC-V notebook, the Roma, in 2023, followed by the DC-Roma II in 2024, which shipped with Ubuntu Linux pre-installed. While praised for its open-source flexibility, the laptop’s performance lagged behind x86 and Arm alternatives - but speaking to IEEE Spectrum, DeepComputing CEO Yuning Liang said the company's upcoming DC-Roma III will close that gap with performance comparable to the Arm Cortex-A76.

Enter Framework

Perhaps even more excitingly, DeepComputing is collaborating with Framework, a company known for its modular, repairable laptops, to create a RISC-V motherboard for the Framework Laptop 13. Nirav Patel, CEO of Framework, said, "If we look at a couple of generations down the [software] stack, we’re starting to see a line of sight to consumer-ready RISC-V in something like a laptop, or even a phone.”

According to IEEE Spectrum, "Though still intended for early adopters and developers, it will be the most accessible and polished RISC-V laptop yet, and it will ship to users with the same look and feel as the Framework laptops that use x86 chips."

Following the initial announcement in June 2024, Framework launched a product page for the RISC-V motherboard, but it remains a placeholder.

DeepComputing's site however, reveals more details, including images of the DC-Roma RISC-V Mainboard for the Framework 13 Laptop, one of which you can see at the top of the page. The board is powered by the RISC-V 64-bit quad-core CPU JH7110, and supports both Ubuntu Desktop 24.04 and Fedora 41.

RISC-V has already been embraced by a number of tech companies. Western Digital uses it for storage controllers, British startup Blueshift Memory's BlueFive processor is built on an open-source RISC-V core, the Chinese XiangShan project has developed two RISC-V designs, and Ubitium has a universal RISC-V processor that consolidates all computing workloads onto a single, affordable chip.

We will likely see more details about Framework's RISC-V Laptop 13 in the coming months, but given the current focus on developers and early adopters, along with performance limitations compared to established architectures like x86 and Arm, it seems fair to say that while this is unquestionably a huge step forward for the architecture, RISC-V isn’t ready for mainstream consumer adoption quite yet.

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