Want to shift your databases from one server to another? But don’t know how? Don’t worry! In this blog, you will learn what is server migration, its benefits, and its importance. Along with this, I’ll show you the steps used for server migration and the tools that will help you smooth this process. Let’s start!

Server Migration Meaning

You can understand the meaning of server migration by simply separating the words. Here, server means browser, and migration means shifting; they together become shifting from one server to another.

In simple words, the process of moving files, applications, emails, and databases from one server to another is called server migration. It is like changing an older mobile phone with a newer one. It is the same as if you transfer all your photos, videos, and documents to the new mobile. However, for server migration, it is not just about copying and pasting the files, but it is used for transferring complete database, which includes user accounts, configuration files, and security settings. Server Migration aims to switch to a new server with minimal or no interruption for a smooth transfer process.

Benefits of Server Migration

It is like shifting from an older house to a newer one with updated facilities. Server migration helps in adapting to new technologies and ensures the smooth running of the functions. Let me tell you some of the key benefits of server migration.

• Performance enhancement: As the older server slows over time, upgrading to a newer version will help increase performance. This results in faster app loading and more memory.
• Cost reduction: The old server needs regular maintenance and repair, which increases the investment cost. New cloud servers like Google Cloud and AWS provide you with the facility of paying only for what you use. It cuts infrastructure costs by up to 40%. 
• Increased security: The updated server provides better security than the older ones. It helps with data encryption, virus scanning, and firewalls. It reduced the risk of hacking and data loss.
• Updated technology: The new version of the servers provides automatic backups and quick recovery of the data, as older versions crash more often than the latest versions.
• Smarter maintenance: Many new providers come with automated systems that don’t need frequent updates. This means less time wasted on updating and fixing the old hardware problems.
• Improve Business value: These new servers are made based on the newer government rules and regulations. It helps in meeting the government rules and policies.

Challenges in Migrating the Server

Migrating the server looks easy, but it is a challenging process. These are some of the biggest and most frequent challenges faced by the users.

• Website’s Downtime: When all the database and security configurations are being moved from one server to another, it slows down the website. This results in a website or app crash. For e-commerce businesses, a short downtime can cause customer and financial loss.
• Data Loss: While moving a large set of data, records, and documents, some of the data and information can get damaged or lost. It is very risky for customers or finance-based companies.
• Compatibility Issue: One software, website, or application that was working perfectly on the older server may not be compatible with the newer version.
• Expenses: You may need to pay more than expected based on the data transfer fees, expert help, time required, and tools.
• Complexity: Shifting everything without damaging any connection is very risky, as the server is made using many connected parts like databases, user logins, security, and emails.
• Security: While migrating, hackers can steal your data if you are not using proper protection and security encryption.
• Insufficient Planning: Many people waste huge amounts of money because of mistakes and delays. A person needs to understand the time, money, and other expertise required to execute a proper implementation.
• Testing: Once everything is completed, the final step required is testing. This is needed to find and fix the issues for the smoother functioning of the server.

What is the Server Migration Process? Step-by-Step

Let’s understand the step-by-step process of server migration.

Step 1: Planning and assessing

• Cross-check everything present on your older server, like websites, databases, emails, files, and apps.
• Choose what features you are looking for.
• The best time to migrate is usually in the evening or on weekends. 
• Make a list of the estimated time and possible risks that you can face.

Step 2: Backup

Complete your backup on your old server. This is an important step so that you can restore everything without leaving anything behind.

Step 3: Prepare your new server

• Purchase and create a new server on the cloud.
• Install the plugin software that will help in configuring your server.
• Customize the settings according to the operating system, software, and security settings.
• Take an overview of the rules, storage, and networking.

Step 4: Transfer the data

• Copy all the database, files, applications, and security settings from the old server.
• Use tools like Robocopy and rsync for migrating the data. This process can take time depending on your file size.

Step 5: Migration and configuration

• Shift your certificates, user accounts, websites, and apps to the new server.
• Update the database based on your new location.

Step 6: Testing

• Test your new server by running your app or website.
• Check if everything is done as you wanted. Run a speed test, login, emails, payments, and other additional features.
• Fix any problems that have occurred before starting to operate the server.

Step 7: Go live

• Switch the traffic from the old server to the new one.
• Use a DNS setting or a load balancer for this. Focus on minimizing the server downtime.

Using these steps effectively and efficiently will help you to onboard to the new server, that too without any problem and data loss.

Server Migration Checklist

Here, in this section, I have mentioned the checklist for every stage of server migration. Check before proceeding.

Phase 1: Planning (Before Migration)

• Make a list of all the data, websites, files, emails, applications, and more from the old server.
• Decide on the new server. It can be Google Cloud, AWS, Azure, and more.
• Check the functionality and compatibility, such as the operating system, version, and hardware requirements.
• Take a full backup of the server and test the backup for any flaws.
• Set up the new server

Phase 2: Migration and Configuration (During Migration)

• Transfer the files, databases, and security settings.
• Sync after the last changes.

Phase 3: Testing

• Test apps and websites on the new server.
• Check the login process, payment, emails, and file loading speed.
• Test the speed and performance of the new server.
• Most important thing! Check the security system of the server.

Phase 4: Live

• Update your old DNS to point to your new server for the customers.
• Send a notification to the team and the customer about the shift.

Phase 5: Post Migration

• Monitor your website for the first 24 hours.
• Check for any issues or missing data.
• Test the speed and resources.
• Update details like passwords, security, and documents.
• Teach your team and customers to use the new server.
• Turn off the old server after 5-7 days of moving to another server.

Server Migration Tools

There are many server migration tools available in the market. I have mentioned some of the best ones for your website or application.

AWS Application Migration Service (AWS MGN)

It is an Amazon tool for automatically transferring the migration of the server and application to AWS. It is easier for beginners. AWS works by regularly replicating the servers. It also helps in running the server efficiently on an AWS server.

Features of AWS

• Built-in testing skills
• Support on both Windows and Linux
• Replication of the server data
• Lesser cutover

Pricing

It provides both free and paid plans. You can enjoy 30 days free trial before getting charged $30 per month.

Azure Migrate

It is Microsoft’s platform, which is used for assessing, discovering, and migrating the server. It works best for firms using Microsoft or Windows technologies. Some of its key features include:

• Enable depending mapping
• Provides .NET support
• Makes assessment reports
• Has strong Windows support

Pricing

Azure provides various plans. Its basic plan is free forever. You need to request a quote to know the exact price. You can select a customized plan, for which you can pay according to your usage.

Google Cloud Migrate to Virtual Machines

It is a simple and easy-to-use tool that offers free server migration. It is a lift-and-shift tool that enables you to shift to another server with minimal changes to your application. These are some of the key features of Google Cloud Migrate:

• It provides agentless migration.
• Comes with built-in testing, so you can test before going live.
• Provides pre-migration and post-migration features.

Pricing

Google Cloud Migrate provides 300 credits for 90 days; after this, you will be charged. Its migration service is completely free, but you need to pay the fees for the additional resources you avail.

Conclusion

In this blog, I have given a detailed overview of your question: What is server migration? Here, we also learn about some of the best affordable and free tools for server migration with their unique features, pros, and cons. Want more information about the tools? Comment below.

Related: What Is Market Intelligence & How Is It a Proven Roadmap For Growth?

FAQs

What is the estimated cost of server migrations?

Server migration costs range from $1,000 to up to $10,000 for a website. However, there are several free tools that you can try to get an affordable price range.

What is server migration?

It is a simple process in which a business or organization transfers its data, emails, documents, and security settings to another server to give a smoother experience to its customers.

What ties the roster together more than any title or office is a shared preoccupation with artificial intelligence, longevity, and the near future. Asked on a sign-up form to predict the future, registrants returned again and again to the same theme: that AI will reorder work, war, education, and belief within a few years. Several foresee mass labor displacement and a swing back toward unions and government programs; others predict an “AI winter,” domestic terrorism targeting data centers, criminal defendants choosing AI lawyers over public defenders, or religious revival provoked by the disruption.

“Societal degeneration,” predicted one person, “will continue to accelerate.”

Members also list talents like “funhouse construction,” accent imitation, backcountry skiing, urban exploration, and “meditative and psychedelic inquiry into the nature of reality”; one offers “compassion and existential dread,” another “dinner parties, keeping secrets, remembering birthdays.” Their book recommendations skew toward the canonical and optimization-minded, Marcus Aurelius and Milan Kundera alongside Annie Duke’s Thinking in Bets, Peter Attia’s Outlive, and, from at least one attendee, Thiel’s own Zero to One.

Dialog also plays matchmaker. Its participant form asks registrants whether they are “looking for love” and offers to include “Single Man,” “Single Woman,” or “Other” respondents in “future matchmaking.” A separate site, dating.dialog.org, hosts an app pitched as “meaningful connections for exceptional people.”

The form also gathers sensitive answers, including each registrant’s “political leaning,” which Dialog promises “WILL NOT be shared in the app or with other participants, ever.” That data, and the matchmaking responses, were exposed in the leak.

The records sit in Airtable, a commercial database. For each participant, Dialog logs a membership status, every retreat the person has attended, a biography, a home city, and a private access token. WIRED is not publishing the tokens, which function as login credentials, or the personalized account links that contain them.

The leaked registration list also names senior figures absent from the public directory of 113: Randy Kroszner, a former governor of the Federal Reserve who now serves on the Bank of England’s Financial Policy Committee; Hallie Hoffman, a former general counsel and acting chief of staff of the Drug Enforcement Administration; Jonathan Greenblatt, the chief executive of the Anti-Defamation League; Peter Goettler, the president of the Cato Institute; Ryan Stowers, the executive director of the Charles Koch Foundation; and Roger Myerson, a Nobel laureate economist at the University of Chicago.

It also lists a cluster of Google and Google DeepMind executives, among them Tom Lue, who leads global affairs for the company’s frontier AI division, and one working journalist, Souad Mekhennet, a national security correspondent for The Washington Post. (She is listed as running an event called “Ulysses Book Club.”)

The rest of the membership spans hedge fund and private equity billionaires, current and former foreign officials, network television actors, best-selling authors, and religious leaders.

One of several internal documents Dialog left exposed on the same online database that held its registration records is a guide for event moderators, urging them to remind participants that everything is “off the record” and that comments should be concise and “nonobvious.” It also coaches them to model brief introductions to “avoid status signaling” in a room full of senators, dignitaries, and tycoons.

from the techlash-on-demand dept

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is not having a particularly good time of being the UK’s leader. Basically everyone thinks he’s doing a terrible job and it seems unlikely that he’ll be in the role much longer. Apparently desperate to turn the tide on being historically disliked, he’s decided to grab the most reliable life preserver in modern politics: the techlash. Over the last few weeks, everything he’s done can be summarized in a single sentence: “let’s blame the internet for everything bad.”

It started a week ago with an announcement that if internet social media companies didn’t wave a magic wand and make all sexting disappear… he would start putting tech execs in prison.

“Today I’m calling on tech companies operating in this country to introduce device controls that prevent children from sending and receiving sexually ​explicit images,” Starmer said in a speech at London Tech Week. “This is not an impossible challenge.”

Under the new plans, firms like Apple and Google ​would have to build or activate technical solutions on smartphones and tablets to detect and block nude images for children. ⁠Adults would still be able to take, share or view nude content through an age verification process.

If companies did not act within three months, the government said ​it would bring forward legislation to force them to do so or risk facing fines or, as a last resort, the threat of criminal liability for bosses.

This is very much the magical “nerd harder” thinking by a technologically clueless bureaucrat who thinks that societal problems can be solved by making tech companies do the impossible: stopping humans from doing stupid things.

That magical wishcasting continued this week with Starmer announcing that the UK would be following Australia’s completely failed experiment in “banning” kids from social media, by putting in place an even stricter ban of teens from even more internet services.

The U.K. plans to follow the same model for a social media ban as Australia, which last year became the first country to bar under-16s from holding social media accounts. Platforms that fail to take reasonable steps to exclude children younger than 16 could be punished with multimillion-dollar fines.

The U.K. said its ban will apply to platforms including Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and X, but not YouTube Kids or messaging services like WhatsApp and Signal. Starmer stressed that enforcement action will target tech companies, not children.

The prime minister also said he will go further than Australia’s measures.

He said the government will act to prevent strangers from contacting children on gaming and livestreaming platforms. Authorities are also considering additional measures including overnight curfews and breaks in infinite scrolling for those under 18. More details are expected next month.

This is more nerd harder nonsense. Again, Australia’s ban has been a total joke, with the vast majority of kids figuring out how to get around the ban, and the ones most hurt by the ban being teens who have lost access to the communities that were most important to them. Again, every detailed study on the subject has found that the number of teenagers who have negative experiences on social media is tiny.

But the media and politicians absolutely love to blame the internet for any sort of societal problem, and it makes a wonderful scapegoat for their own policy failures.

Even Ian Russell — a prominent UK child safety activist who has spent years blaming social media for anything bad that happens to children — finds this whole thing particularly pointless. Russell, who became an activist after his daughter died by suicide (which he blames on her social media experience), has pointed out that these kinds of teen bans are the kinds of headline grabbing measures politicians love, but do nothing to actually help kids.

Starmer also promised me personally that he would implement effective measures to strengthen regulation and finally address the harm caused by social media. He has failed to keep either promise.

He also promised bereaved parents after the recent consultation on children’s social media use that he would follow the evidence and take the time to consider his response then act decisively. Instead, he has rushed out a ban.

Indeed, the evidence has long suggested that these kinds of bans actually can make things worse by isolating kids who are at most at risk and who need support. At a time when fear mongering and moral panics have cut off basically everywhere that kids can be kids with each other and without adults hovering over them at every moment, social media became that kind of digital third space. Social media didn’t become the default digital third space because it’s uniquely ‘addictive’ — it became the default because adults have spent decades overreacting and shutting down every other place kids could gather and communicate without supervision.

And that’s not even getting into the fact that pretty much all experts agree that age verification technology itself makes kids way less safe online.

But, even more to the point, the UK spent years supposedly crafting what they insisted was a very balanced policy in the Online Safety Act. We always found those claims to be ridiculous as the bill seemed bad from the very start, but if they spent all these years crafting this policy, which only just went into effect, it seems pretty ridiculous to then immediately jump to a way more extreme and less carefully thought out plan.

However, that’s what we should expect for every single nonsense bit of internet regulation that is being pushed for by a political class “for the children.” Because the bills misrepresent the real problems they do nothing to solve them. Rather than admit that their policies were misguided and a kneejerk reaction to a moral panic, politicians will always blame others: in this case the tech companies, and immediately come up with more draconian regulations that serve no purpose other than to get flailing politicians headlines for “doing something.”

Perhaps the perfect encapsulation of how stupid all this is was the question of how Bluesky would be handled (disclaimer: I am on the board of Bluesky). When the ban was first announced, the government had said it would apply to sites that meet the following description:

This would capture user-to-user platforms, whose purpose is to enable social interaction and which allow users to post material, alongside algorithms. The ban will therefore include platforms like Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and X. We do not intend for messaging services like WhatsApp and Signal to be included in the social media ban.

Some right wing nonsense peddler sites absolutely lost their shit at the lack of Bluesky being mentioned, claiming that the extremely centrist Starmer was somehow creating an exemption for the supposedly “left-leaning” Bluesky. However, when asked about it, the UK government apparently said that Bluesky was covered and would be required to ban teens like those other platforms.

But does that even make sense? If the supposed problem with all these sites is that they allow for the sharing of content “alongside algorithms,” Bluesky doesn’t actually do that. There are recommendation algorithms, but they are totally in the control of users themselves. They don’t need to use them. Or they can use one of the over 100k feeds that others have created. Or they can easily create their own feeds. It’s wholly different than all the other platforms named, which focus on telling you what they think you’ll want to see (or what maximizes their own profits).

Either way, this shows how random this policy is. Bluesky either does or doesn’t meet the requirements (depending on how you read “alongside algorithms” which is already painfully vague), but as soon as there was a right wing freakout about it, the UK government said “oh, yeah, sure, them too.”

This is not thoughtful policy. This is not considered policy. This is not protecting children. This is a desperate politician with no clue how any of this works announcing nonsense to grab headlines.

Filed Under: keir starmer, protect the children, social media ban, teen safety, uk

2026 hasn’t been the year we all hoped it would be. Thanks to our beloved AI companions, smartphone prices are just insane, meaning value-for-money phones have almost disappeared. To help fix this mess, somewhat, Redmi has just launched the Turbo 5 in India to much fanfare. That’s because it runs on the latest MediaTek Dimensity 8500 Ultra processor and is paired with a massive 7,540mAh battery. All this for ₹35,999 (including all discounts) could make the Turbo 5 a serious contender for performance enthusiasts in the country. Here’s what you need to know about it.

Power Packed Performance

With the Dimensity 8500 Ultra, the Turbo 5 includes LPDDR5X RAM and UFS 4.1 storage, promising faster app launches, smoother multitasking, and quicker loading times. The company is also pushing gaming as a major selling point. According to Xiaomi, the phone can support 120 fps gameplay on over 20 popular titles. To keep temperatures under control, the device uses a 3D IceLoop cooling system alongside Game Turbo Wild Boost optimizations.

Battery life has become one of the biggest battlegrounds in the smartphone market, and Xiaomi is going all-in here. The REDMI Turbo 5 features a 7,540mAh silicon-carbon battery, which is significantly larger than the 5,000mAh batteries commonly found in this segment. Xiaomi claims the phone can comfortably handle multiple days of usage depending on your workload. When it’s time to recharge, the included 100W HyperCharge adapter can reportedly take the battery to 51% in just 30 minutes. Interestingly, the phone also supports 27W reverse wired charging, allowing it to act as a power bank for accessories and even other smartphones.

What About the Rest?

On the camera front, Xiaomi has equipped the REDMI Turbo 5 with a 50MP Sony IMX882 primary sensor featuring both OIS and EIS stabilization. The camera supports 4K 60 fps video recording and includes Xiaomi’s Turbo Snap mode, which captures up to 100 consecutive photos in 4.4 seconds. Xiaomi is also bundling several AI-powered editing tools designed to simplify post-processing. While the camera setup isn’t trying to compete with dedicated camera phones, it appears capable enough for everyday photography and content creation.

The REDMI Turbo 5 features a 6.59-inch 1.5K AMOLED display with a 120Hz adaptive refresh rate and a claimed peak brightness of 3,500 nits. The panel also supports Dolby Vision, 12-bit color, and 3,840Hz PWM dimming. Xiaomi says it’s the brightest display ever used on a REDMI smartphone. As for durability, the phone comes with Gorilla Glass 7i protection, a metal frame, and premium glass on both sides. Xiaomi is also including IP66, IP68, IP69, and IP69K ratings, making this one of the most durable phones in its class on paper.

The phone will go on sale in India starting June 19 via Amazon, Mi.com, and Xiaomi retail stores.

• 12GB + 256GB: ₹40,999 (₹38,999 with launch offers)
• 8GB + 256GB: ₹37,999 (₹35,999 with launch offers)

In a nutshell: Noctua has introduced its first ever all-in-one, closed-loop liquid CPU cooling solution. The NL-LC1 is based on Asetek’s Emma V2 platform and features a custom-engineered pump noise absorber to keep sound to a minimum without sacrificing performance.

Noctua has built a three-layer acoustic soundproofing structure into its pump, which it claims reduces both air-borne noise and structure-borne vibrations. There’s also a switch to toggle between three different pump speed profiles. The unit ships with the pump in quiet mode; balance mode is said to provide additional performance headroom, and manual mode gives enthusiasts complete control over the pump’s full RPM range for maximum cooling performance.

An optional auxiliary cooling fan can be attached to the pump should you need extra airflow around near-socket components like VRMs, memory modules, or M.2 SSDs. Otherwise, a magnetic faceplate attaches to the pump.

The AIO kit is offered in three radiator sizes: 240mm, 360mm, and 420mm. The 240mm unit (model NL-LC1-24) includes a pair of NF-A12x25 G2 cooling while the 360mm variant (model NL-LC1-36) comes with three. The bigger 420mm version (model NL-LC1-42) trades in the 120mm fans for a trio of NF-A14x25 G2 fans.

The kit utilizes Noctua’s SecuFirm2+ mounting system for easy installation and broad socket support. Aesthetics stay true to Noctua’s signature love-it-or-hate-it brown color scheme.

Noctua CEO Roland Mossig said the performance headroom of liquid cooling has always been tempting, but they had to first ensure that acoustics and reliability met the strict standards that customers have come to expect from them. With this kit, they’ve achieved those goals, Mossig said.

Noctua’s AIO cooler is available from today over on Amazon and as you might have guessed, it doesn’t come cheap. Pricing starts at $219.90 for the 240mm kit, scaling up to $249.90 for the 360mm variant and $279.90 for the 420mm model. The optional NL-ACF1 auxiliary fan for the pump will set you back an additional $19.90. All kits come backed by a six-year warranty and include Noctua’s NT-H2 thermal paste.

Google Pixel phones and watches start receiving Android 17 today through the regular system update process. The release focuses on several practical additions that address everyday friction rather than delivering a complete visual overhaul. Owners of Pixel 6 series devices and newer can install it now through the settings menu, while phones from other manufacturers will follow over the coming months.

Long-pressing any app icon on the home screen now displays an option in the upper corner to turn the app into a floating bubble. Once everything is open, the bubble may be dragged about or enlarged while remaining on top of everything else. You can close it by simply sliding it to the bottom edge. Larger screens, such as the Pixel Fold or tablets, get a tiny bubble bar down the bottom that allows you to keep an eye on multiple floating windows at the same time. This makes it quite useful to keep your notes or a web browser open right next to whatever you’re viewing, allowing you to check a live score or a message thread without leaving the primary screen.

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Screen recording now uses a revised flow that begins in the quick settings panel and allows you to control the recording with a little floating pill. Once you’ve started recording, you may flick a switch to record your own short video at the same time, and when it’s finished, you’ll be taken to a preview screen where you can clip, delete, review, or share it without using any additional editing software. Background apps cannot consume excessive memory under the new rules, and any app that becomes overly greedy will be automatically terminated by the system. This improves the performance of your phone while also reducing battery consumption.

If you register your smartphone as missing on Find My Device, you must now use your biometric data to authenticate it, in addition to providing your password. This makes it far more difficult for anyone who has your passcode to disable tracking or gain access. App requests for location permission now provide explicit alternatives for granting permission to use your location exactly or approximately, as well as a one-time precise option for apps that want it for a fast job. Also, when you share your contacts, the app just receives the ones you select, not your whole address book.

Pixel phones also gain expanded Quick Share support on more models in the current lineup. Voice translation during phone calls is now available on even more devices. Photo editing in Google Photos allows you to discuss which modifications to make, and this feature is now available in a number of new countries. Generative capabilities in the Gemini app, such as converting text into a short film or creating music from a prompt, are now available on Pixels running Android 17. A few more AIy features, which were previously mentioned, will be available to qualified devices later this summer.

TL;DR: Microsoft is working on a new “location check-in” feature for its AI-powered collaboration platform. Organizations will be able to gain clearer visibility into what their employees are doing, while tenants can better organize team collaboration. The privacy concerns? Largely overblown.

Microsoft first introduced its location detection feature in December 2025. Now, the company has detailed how the capability will actually work and how users can control it. Employees concerned about a new “surveillance” layer in the corporate world can take a step back: in most cases, organizations already know a great deal about what their workers are doing during office hours and beyond.

The location detection feature is officially known as workplace check-in via Wi-Fi. Microsoft says the option will become part of the Teams collaboration platform, further enhancing AI-powered capabilities in Microsoft Places. Workplace check-in is designed to improve employee coordination, Microsoft said, by providing a more accurate way to keep a worker’s location “current” when they are in the office.

Location check-in uses several presence signals from Microsoft 365, including calendar availability and Teams status. The feature can automatically update an employee’s location based on their wireless connection, but only when the device is connected to a properly configured, company-managed network.

Microsoft highlights how location check-in eliminates the need to manually change status in Teams. The new “experience” essentially expands existing workplace check-in options – from physical peripherals or desk terminals to wireless connectivity. Workers can get a clearer picture of where their colleagues are and what they are doing, helping them organize meetings and streamline collaboration.

The company also notes that the new location feature is built on the principle that employees remain in control. While it must be properly configured by an organization’s IT team, location check-in must also be enabled on the end user’s device. The feature does not retain location information over time, cannot store historical data, and does not function outside the corporate network infrastructure.

“Sharing workplace presence and using workplace check-in are separate decisions, so employees can choose whether their workplace presence is visible to others when working from the office,” Microsoft explained.

When it was first introduced, location check-in raised concerns among some users about its potential privacy implications. Now, many more users are arguing that privacy is largely a non-issue here. Enterprise organizations already have access to a wide range of tools and methods to monitor employee activity during office hours. The location check-in feature simply integrates this type of existing functionality into Teams and Places and is expected to arrive later this year.

Slow-scan CRTs were never exactly common compared to their faster cousins, but given the popularity of Slow Scan TV (SSTV) amongst hams and NASA broadcasts, many of you are probably familiar with them. The slow scan rate of SSTV meant it required much less bandwidth, but in the early days you needed a CRT with a long-persistence phosphor to hold onto the image. [AJRussell]’s Glow Engine works much the same, with one key difference — instead of cathode rays, he’s using a frikkin laser beam.

In this case, the phosphor is Strontium Aluminate, the same stuff that gives most glow-in-the-dark toys and filament its kick. Energized by a 405 nm laser of questionable wattage, the phosphor will glow for several seconds, allowing the creation of an image. So while this is a laser projector, it works more like a CRT than most galvo projectors, which rely on Persistence of Vision to create an image. Here it’s persistence of fluorescence.

Because the phosphor is so slow, you don’t need the rapid scan rate you would with a laser projector, so [AJRussel] can skip the mirror drum and just mount the mirror on a gimbal motor. Field Oriented Control makes the precise sweeping of the gimbal possible, via a hall-effect sensor and the SimpleFOC library that we featured last year. The other axis just moves the laser and gimbal assembly on a big stepper. The whole thing is driven via an ESP32. The biggest downside is that the short focus range of the repurposed engraving laser means it’s smack dab in front of the screen.

This is a work in progress and still changing, so it’s not clear which — if any — of the various SSTV modes the Glow Engine can handle. Given the number of scanlines in the photos it looks like a good use case, and without trying it the timing might work, too:  [AJ] reports scanning left-to-right to generate a frame takes about eight seconds, depending on the resolution, and depending on the PWM power setting on the laser the image can last up to a minute.

Given the one-minute decay time with this particular phosphor, perhaps he can make a clock. If you have a longer-lasting glow powder, we’ve seen  uses for such a persistent display as well.

Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon said Tuesday that the company is working on over 40 different AI wearable devices — including jewelry, earbuds with cameras, pins, and watches — a sign of how aggressively the chipmaker is betting that the next major computing platform won’t be a phone.

To power that vision, Qualcomm is announcing two new offerings: a platform called Snapdragon Reality Elite for mixed-reality glasses, designed to run more powerful on-device AI, and the Scalable Turnkey AI-Ready Toolkit (START), a combination of hardware modules and a software stack for AI devices, starting with smart glasses.

Compared to its previous XR platform, the new Snapdragon Reality Elite delivers improvements of up to 60% in GPU performance, up to 30% in CPU performance, and up to 160% in NPU performance, according to the company. Percentage gains in chip specs can be hard to contextualize, but Qualcomm offers one concrete data point, saying the platform can run a 3-billion-parameter language model at 45 tokens per second — fast enough for quick, responsive AI interactions. Qualcomm says the chip will also enable better head and hand tracking, along with improved see-through capabilities.

The Snapdragon Reality Elite supports 4.4K per-eye resolution at 90 fps, a modest bump from the XR2+ Gen 2’s 4.3K per-eye resolution. (The higher the per-eye resolution and frame rate, the sharper and smoother the visual experience, which matters most for reducing the motion sickness and eye strain that’ve historically made extended headset use uncomfortable.)

Qualcomm says the platform is designed to power two types of devices: stand-alone video-see-through (VST) headsets, which layer digital content over a camera feed of the real world, and lightweight, tethered optical-see-through (OST) glasses, which blend digital imagery directly into your field of view. Among the first devices to use it: XREAL Project Aura, shown at Google I/O earlier this year, and an upcoming device from Play for Dream.

START, meanwhile, consists of an AR chip, a software platform, companion apps, and a white-label program aimed at helping hardware makers get to market faster. Through the white label program, the company is offering three reference designs: an audio + camera setup similar to Meta’s Ray-Ban smart glasses, a monocular display, and a binocular display.

Eyewear manufacturers Inspecs and O’Neill — owned by TitanFlex — will be among the first partners in the white label program. Qualcomm said START will expand beyond smart glasses to support other form factors in the future.

Amon’s comments, made to CNBC, flesh out the strategic logic behind both announcements. He argued that as companies seek to gather more real-world data from users to power their AI agents, a new wave of hardware startups building novel form factors will emerge, with major implications for established smartphone players like Apple and Samsung.

“I think there’s going to be a lot of experimentation with different form factors,” Amon said. “Right now, we have over 40 designs of those devices, and I’m telling you, the types of form factors are very, very broad.” He added, “The principle is something that you wear, something [that] is with you all the time, something that can see the world around you, so you have context and have the ability for you to access an agent and talk to the agent.”

To that end, Qualcomm is explicitly positioning itself as the foundational silicon layer for whatever comes after the smartphone. START’s white-label program, in particular, is designed to lower the barrier for new entrants.