A Field Guide to the Musical Leitmotifs of ‘Star Wars’

Star Wars

Alex Ross, writing for The New Yorker:

Scholars like Lehman are exulting in “The Last Jedi” because the score is full of such echt-leitmotivic moments. Williams manipulates his library of themes with extreme dexterity, often touching on a familiar motif for just a couple of bars. (Spoilers loom ahead.) In early scenes set at a remote, ruined Jedi temple, we keep hearing an attenuated, beclouded version of the Force motto: this evokes Luke’s embittered renunciation of the Jedi project.

Nintendo’s Switch Is the Fastest-Selling US Console Ever

Nintendo

Steve Dent, writing for Engadget:

The Switch has broken the US record for the fastest selling console ever, with 4.8 million units sold in just 10 months, Nintendo says. That shatters the previous record of 4 million US sales in the same time, also held by Nintendo with the Wii. Switch sales first opened on March 3rd, 2017, and it looks like strong holiday sales pushed the Switch over the top.

Intel CEO Sold $24m of Stock in November

Speaking of that huge security bug, here’s Troy Wolverton reporting for Business Insider:

Intel CEO Brian Krzanich sold off a large portion of his stake in the company months after Google had informed the chipmaker of a significant security vulnerability in its flagship PC processors — but before the problem was publicly known.

The vulnerability, which affects processors from Intel, AMD, and ARM and could allow malicious actors to steal passwords and other secret data, became public this week.

Researchers Discover Two Major Flaws in the World’s Computers

Technology

The New York Times:

The two problems, called Meltdown and Spectre, could allow hackers to steal the entire memory contents of a computer. There is no easy fix for Spectre, which could require redesigning the processors, according to researchers. As for Meltdown, the software patch needed to fix the issue could slow down computers by as much as 30 percent — an ugly situation for people used to fast downloads from their favorite online services.

Bad, this is all bad. More information can be found on the official website for these bugs. Yes, there’s an official website.