TechStream

Technology news around the ecosystem!

From Lagos to Nairobi

We give you summaries of happenings around tech, from developer stand-ups to the boardrooms.

  • The State of the Microprocessor Market and the Problem With Tariffs

    While this is about the changes in the microprocessor market and the impact of tariffs, I’ve also been extremely disappointed in Microsoft’s AI rollout. Right now, I’m working in Microsoft Word on one of HP’s latest laptops, and it asked if I wanted AI to help write this month’s column. I gave initial direction on…

  • 30 Lines of Code Could Cut Data Center Power Use by 30%

    Researchers at the University of Waterloo’s Cheriton School of Computer Science in Canada found that modifying just 30 lines of code in the Linux kernel could cut data center energy consumption by 30% to 45%. Linux dominates data centers, where energy use is a growing concern. A more efficient Linux kernel could also lower operating…

  • Meta Llama 2025: The Open-Source AI Tsunami

    A wave of disruption is sweeping through AI. Meta’s recent unveiling at LlamaCon 2025 of the roadmap for its Llama family of large language models (LLMs) paints a compelling picture, one where open source isn’t just a preference, but the very engine driving AI’s future. If Meta’s vision comes to fruition, we’re not just looking at incremental…

  • How To Break Down E-Commerce Search Analytics Silos

    Most online retailers deploy analytics software that can generate insights into how shoppers engage — which products they search for, how they navigate categories and brands, which activity correlates with purchases, and so on. Because of these analytics tools, online retailers tend to assume that whenever they need to know how to optimize e-commerce search,…

  • AI Chatbots Can Be Easy Prey for ‘Zero-Knowledge’ Hackers

    AI may be ushering in a new breed of malicious threat actors who know even less about hacking than script kiddies but can produce professional-grade hacking tools. In a report released Tuesday, Cato CTRL, the threat intelligence arm of cybersecurity company Cato Networks, explained how one of its researchers, who had no malware coding experience, tricked…

  • Sourcetable AI Spreadsheet Aims To Democratize Data Analytics

    During the dawn of the PC era, a single program was touted as the “killer app” that fired the market for personal computers. That program was a spreadsheet called VisiCalc. Now, another spreadsheet could have a similar impact on the AI market. Announced Monday, along with US$4.3 million in venture funding, the new spreadsheet, cloud-based Sourcetable,…