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Showing posts from June, 2020

Apple Not Dominant in Any Market, Plenty of Rivals, Senior Executive Says

iPhone maker Apple, the target of EU antitrust investigations into key segments of its business, on Tuesday rejected accusations of market dominance, saying it competes with Google, Samsung and other rivals. from Gadgets 360 https://ift.tt/2YNBcRF

Data caps on AT&T, Comcast, T-Mobile will return after June 30

Major Internet service providers are scheduled to end their quarantine benefits soon, once again subjecting Americans to data caps and removing protections if they are unable to pay their bills. They're scheduled to expire at the end of June, meaning that July 1 will see the return of data caps to some major ISPs. The FCC’s Keep Americans Connected Pledge is set to expire on June 30. Companies initially  agreed to the pledge and rushed to add benefits. ISPs like CenturyLink, T-Mobile, Verizon, and many others said they would not discontinue service or charge late fees for those unable to pay because of the coronavirus. They also agreed to open their Wi-Fi access points for free. So far, the FCC has not publicly said that it would extend the pledge. To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/2BfQpSz

How to manage Windows 10 updates to prevent them from ruining your life

How can I stop Windows 10 updates? Whether it’s preventing Windows 10 from kicking off a critical update during a presentation, or deferring Microsoft’s Windows 10 feature update because of worries about data loss, it’s a question we’ve all asked. You shouldn’t block all Windows 10 updates. But you can manage them. Windows 10 feature updates and security updates provide a valuable service: they not only patch Windows, its apps and components, but provide new features and capabilities twice a year. Windows Update can also automatically provide updated drivers for hardware connected to your PC, such as a USB-attached printer.  It’s not an academic issue. Microsoft wrestled with the fallout from the Windows 10 October 2018 Update , which apparently deleted user data in an undisclosed number of cases and was put on hold, then resumed. Would you want to buy a car if it had even a 0.001 percent chance of exploding? Probably not—which is why it’s good to know how to manage Windows 10...

Samsung SSD 870 QVO review: Stupendous 8TB capacity in a SATA SSD

The Samsung 870 QVO (‘Q’ as in in 4-bit QLC), is our first look at a drive that will eventually ship with a whopping 8TB of NAND on board. Announced Tuesday, this is the new top capacity available, superseding a still-new flock of 4TB models. Samsung sent us the 2TB version for testing. It’s a great everyday performer; however, when you run out of cache (which shouldn’t be often), write pace falls off drastically. Specs and pricing A standard 2.5-inch SATA 6Gbps SSD, the 870 QVO is currently available in $130/1TB, $250/2TB (tested), and $500/4TB flavors. The 8TB model will be available in August for $900. That’s considerably cheaper than the high-capacity 4TB OWC Aura P12 and 8TB Sabrent Rocket Q NVMe drives we recently covered, and a far greater savings delta than we normally see between NVMe and SATA.  To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/3dLQNVZ

Amazon Prime Video rolls out watch parties with 100 friends (and several caveats)

Now you can jump into an Amazon Prime Video watch party with up to 100 friends, provided they're all Prime subscribers. from PCWorld https://ift.tt/3eKxjT2

BLM Pride Flag and Pride Fist Are Amongst the Most Searched Terms for June on Google

Google has shared what people are searching for the most as part of its ‘This week in Search’ series. June being the LGBT Pride Month, “pride fist”, “blm pride flag” and other associated searches have hit record highs, Google says. Additionally, Marsha P. Johnson is also among the highest searched personalities worldwide for the month o... from Gadgets 360 https://ift.tt/3eLEytX

Google Photos App Gets Revamped Interface With Simplified Design and Map View

Google Photos app has received the much awaited redesign with a simpler three tab interface and a map view. The icon has also been reworked and these changes were first described on June 25 in a blog post. Now, the updated Google Photos app is live and brings several changes that Google says offer a more “simplified experience”. from Gadgets 360 https://ift.tt/2CNbvYC

Vizio’s first OLED TVs are coming this fall, and they’re priced to move

Vizio also revealed pricing and availability for its largest LCD TV to date, along with the rest of its new TVs for 2020. from PCWorld https://ift.tt/3dLvtQr

Chromebooks versus Windows laptops: Which should you buy?

Should I buy a Chromebook or a Windows laptop? Whether you’re seeking out the best computer for your child or just weighing which inexpensive computer would make a great gift, we can help you choose the right one.  Who should buy a Windows PC? A notebook PC powered by Microsoft Windows offers several advantages. Windows offers the most flexibility to run just about any app, as well as your choice of any browser. You can tweak and configure your PC as you choose. That convenience demands more computing horsepower, and often a higher price compared to most Chromebooks. Prices can soar into the thousands of dollars, and if you need a powerful PC for gaming or video editing, Chromebooks really don’t offer that much competition. But you’ll find some great deals among our more affordably priced, top Windows picks. To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/2HsqjfR

Google Photos Turns Off Automatic Back Up From Messaging Apps to Save Bandwidth Amid Coronavirus

Google has turned off automatic back up for photos and videos from messaging apps. The development was shared by the search giant on its support blog. The reason for this change is to “save internet resources” due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. from Gadgets 360 https://ift.tt/2NJ4hHu

Sinopé Zigbee dimmer switch review: Smart lighting from the Great White North

Sinopé pivots from their proprietary smart home protocol in favor of the Zigbee standard. from PCWorld https://ift.tt/2VyX69b

Google Stymies Media Companies From Chipping Away at Its Data Dominance

Google upended plans by European media companies to block it from harvesting data about their readers and slash some of its dominance in online advertising, seven people involved in the talks said this month. from Gadgets 360 https://ift.tt/2CVktDl

YouTube Shuts Down Far-Right Channels Over Hate Speech

YouTube on Monday shut down six far-right channels for violating rules against "supremacist" content, booting videos by David Duke, Stefan Molyneux and Richard Spencer. from Gadgets 360 https://ift.tt/2ZlMNpZ

Google Removes Misleading Ads in Voting-Related Searches

Google said on Monday that it had removed search ads that charged users searching for voting information large fees for voter registration or harvested their personal data. from Gadgets 360 https://ift.tt/2NFXpdR

Reddit Bans r/The_Donald Group Amid Broad Social Media Crackdown

Reddit on Monday shut down r/The_Donald, a forum which long served as a popular online home base for fans of President Donald Trump, saying it violated the site's hate speech rules. from Gadgets 360 https://ift.tt/2VsmGML

Windows File Recovery is Windows' new tool for finding lost files

Accidentally deleting a file can be a nightmare. A new Windows 10 recovery tool, Windows File Recovery, can help—though it’s geared towards those who don’t mind using a command-line interface.  Windows File Recovery , a free Microsoft app now on the Windows Store, offers a way to restore files that have become accidentally deleted. It does require Windows 10 build 19041 or higher, however, and also doesn’t work on a file that’s been stored to the cloud. You’ll also need two separate drives, which can be as simple as a USB drive if you’re trying to recover a file from the boot disk. To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/2NG5Bea

11 quick ways to clear space on an overstuffed Android phone

Updated June 29, 2020 to reflect the latest Android tools. Few things in life are as annoying as finding that your Android handset refuses to install any more app updates because it’s run out of storage. Unlike many of life’s little annoyances, though, this one’s easy to fix. You can't do anything about your system files, but you can quickly clear out precious gigs by sweeping up stale downloads, rooting out offline maps and documents, clearing caches, and wiping unneeded music and video files. And if these tips don’t do the trick, check out our picks for the best Android phones  for every need and budget.  To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/2VuczY0

Removing the iPhone 12 power adapter wouldn't be courageous. It’s just mean

A new iPhone rumor made the rounds this weekend, and it wasn’t about the notch or the flat edges, or the size of the displays. This one’s about what’s in the box. Or rather, what’s not in it. Respected analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has seemingly confirmed an earlier report by Barclays that Apple won’t be supplying a charger in the iPhone 12 box. Like none at all. Not even the lame 5W adapter that takes more than an hour to provide a decent charge. Not since Apple removed the headphone jack from the iPhone 7 has there been a rumor with more (as Apple might describe it) “courage.” It’s unclear whether Kuo is talking about the whole iPhone lineup or just the entry-level models, but his sources expect Apple to ship some iPhone 12 models without a charger. To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/3dIA71B

The Belkin Thunderbolt Dock Core is the first dual-powered Thunderbolt dock

On Monday Belkin launched the Thunderbolt Dock Core, which the company claims is the first Thunderbolt-certified dual-powered Thunderbolt 3 dock. The $170 Thunderbolt Dock Core accepts your laptop’s power supply (assuming it charges via USB-C), which can plug into the USB-C (PD) port on the side of Belkin’s dock. The port then supplies up to 60W to the laptop, which is typically enough to power an ultralight laptop or similar model. Because the device is dual-powered, the opposite is true: also The dock can pull its own power directly from the laptop’s Thunderbolt cable if needed. What’s the difference between a USB-C hub and a Thunderbolt dock? They use the same physical interface—a Thunderbolt port can sometimes be indicated by a small lightning bolt, though your laptop’s manual is sometimes the best indicator. Data throughput is the difference, along with the ability to connect multiple high-definition displays at once.  To read this article in full, please click here ...

10 quick ways to clear space on an overstuffed Android device

Updated June 29, 2020 to reflect the latest Android tools. Few things in life are as annoying as finding that your Android handset refuses to install any more app updates because it’s run out of storage. Unlike many of life’s little annoyances, though, this one’s easy to fix. You can't do anything about your system files, but you can quickly clear out precious gigs by sweeping up stale downloads, rooting out offline maps and documents, clearing caches, and wiping unneeded music and video files. And if these tips don’t do the trick, check out our picks for the best Android phones  for every need and budget.  To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/3g9mHx6

Lenovo Chromebook Duet review: Redefining the small and cheap tablet

The Lenovo Chromebook Duet is one of the only Chromebooks I’ve ever used that knows what it is. Much like Apple’s iPad or Microsoft’s Surface, the Duet’s identity is in its detachable versatility. It embraces its role wholeheartedly, with a lightweight design, bright WUXGA display, and funky magnetic keyboard case that combine into an impressively portable and stylish package. It’s as easy on the wallet as it is on the eyes. The Duet costs just $299 at Best Buy for 128GB of storage—and that’s with a detachable keyboard. But you don’t need to be in the market for a cheap Chromebook to want one. The Duet’s quirky personality more than makes up for its pokey processor, so while it might not stand up to even a middling Chromebook like the Pixelbook Go in speed tests, the Duet will absolutely stand out in the crowd. To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/2Vu49jl

JBL Link Music Smart speaker review: Pretty good things in a pretty small package

JBL delivers respectable performance and a decent set of features at a very affordable price. from PCWorld https://ift.tt/2ZhPKb7

Arm Macs and AMD rising: How Intel's endless 10nm struggles cost it so much

Intel’s endless 10nm nightmare has cost it so, so much. It all started on September 5, 2014. That’s the day Intel introduced 5th-gen Core M chips based on “Broadwell,” the company’s first processors built using the 14-nanometer manufacturing process. Despite some manufacturing woes that pushed Broadwell back from its expected 2013 release, Intel’s offering served as the vanguard of processor technology. AMD remained stuck on the 28nm process with its abysmal Bulldozer architecture. A mere month later, the Apple iPad Air 2 launched with a custom A8X chip that couldn’t quite hang with Intel’s older Haswell CPUs in Geekbench— but it was getting close . To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/3eLYv3Q

Gmail Users on Windows 10 Mail App Facing Multiple Issues, Several Users Report

Gmail accounts linked to the Mail app (also known as Mail and Calendar), which is available pre-installed on Windows 10, are facing multiple issues, several users reported online. from Gadgets 360 https://ift.tt/2ZnofwG

Blackpink ‘How You Like That’ Breaks YouTube's 24-Hour Viewing Record

K-pop band Blackpink’s newly released “How You Like That” music video blasted into the YouTube record books. from Gadgets 360 https://ift.tt/2VpTHcs

Have Apple, Google Silently Installed COVID-19 Tracker on Your Phone? Here’s What You Need to Know

Several people are forwarding a message on WhatsApp and social media platforms including Facebook and Twitter claiming that a COVID-19 exposure sensor has been silently “inserted into every phone.” Here’s what’s the truth about the widely spread message. from Gadgets 360 https://ift.tt/2BmBxlh

US Government Asks Tech CEOS to Ensure Online Platforms Not Used to Spur Violence

The US Department of Homeland Security sent a letter to chief executives of five large tech companies asking them to ensure social media platforms are not used to incite violence in the wake of nationwide protests following George Floyd's death. from Gadgets 360 https://ift.tt/2ZfNJfn

Google Pixel 4A Spotted on US FCC, May Lack Motion Sensor

Google Pixel 4A has allegedly passed through FCC certification hinting at a launch in the future. Google has passed its mid-cycle update deadline already, given that the Pixel 3a launched in May last year. The Pixel 4A has leaked on multiple occasions online, however Google has made no hints of an announcement soon. from Gadgets 360 https://ift.tt/3dB3jaQ

Closing Microsoft Stores means more support and buying headaches for Windows users

Apple Macs “just work” ( for now at least ). PCs are hobbyist machines. Both are stereotypes, sure, but they might offer some explanation why Apple Stores are thriving and Microsoft just decided to close all of theirs . Microsoft spun the closure into a “new approach to retail,” one that would be driven through its website and online sales channels, rather than through a network of physical stores. (Amazon must be chuckling at this.) But the writing was on the wall: in 2019, Microsoft shuttered virtually all of its retail kiosks at malls and other shopping centers, leaving the larger Microsoft Stores on uncertain ground. To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/3dBVK3B

The Full Nerd ep. 143: Macs ditch Intel, GeForce RTX 2080 Super laptops, Batmen ranked

In this episode of The Full Nerd, Gordon Ung , Brad Chacos , Alaina Yee , and Adam Patrick Murray dive into a new world where Apple ditched Intel and Nvidia’s potent GeForce RTX 2080 Super GPUs slip into svelte sub-5 lb. laptops. Of course, the big news of the week is Apple ditching Intel and transitioning Macs to in-house Arm chips . We dive into the implications for Mac users and the PC ecosystem alike, leaning on what we know from Microsoft’s struggles to make Windows Arm laptops a thing worth caring about. This is a defining moment for computers, and we each feel passionately about the shift, so there’s a lot of wide-ranging, interesting discussion. Regardless, history proves you shouldn’t buy an Intel Mac now . To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/2VlUyLo

Going to the movies in Fortnite: I did it for science

Inception, Batman Begins, and The Prestige are streaming for free in Fortnite today. Here’s what it’s like to see a movie in the world’s most popular game. from PCWorld https://ift.tt/2YAYASj

Microsoft permanently closes all of its retail stores

Microsoft’s retail stores mimick the look and feel of Apple’s iconic sales fronts, from the glass walls to the wood tables to the very design of the Surface hardware on display. But as anyone who ever wandered through a mall can tell you, Microsoft’s stores lack one crucial aspect: customers. Crowds never flocked to Microsoft stores the way they do Apple stores, and on Friday, Microsoft announced that it’s closing all but four of its brick and mortar locations. “As we look forward, we start a new chapter for Microsoft Store,” Microsoft Store corporate vice president Brad Porter wrote on LinkedIn . “As part of our business plan, we announced a strategic change in our retail operations, including closing Microsoft Store physical locations. Our retail team members will continue to serve customers working from Microsoft corporate facilities or remotely and we will continue to develop our diverse team in support of the overall company mission and objectives.” To read this article in ful...

US and States' Google Antitrust Probe Said to Near Finish Line

The US Justice Department is seeking the final documents to complete an antitrust investigation of Alphabet's Google, said three sources familiar with the probe, which is expected to end with a lawsuit this summer. from Gadgets 360 https://ift.tt/2Bcgz8B

Data caps on AT&T, Comcast, T-Mobile will return June 30

Major Internet service providers are scheduled to end their quarantine benefits soon, once again subjecting Americans to data caps and removing protections if they are unable to pay their bills.  The FCC’s Keep Americans Connected Pledge is set to expire on June 30. Companies initially  agreed to the pledge and rushed to add benefits. ISPs like CenturyLink, T-Mobile, Verizon, and many others said they would not discontinue service or charge late fees for those unable to pay because of the coronavirus. They also agreed to open their Wi-Fi access points for free. So far, the FCC has not publicly said that it would extend the pledge. To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/2CBBqlY

Accell Power Dot surge protector review: A clever idea, but also a pricey one

You can plop your smart speaker in the middle of Accell Power Dot surge protector and have three outlets and four USB ports to power other devices. from PCWorld https://ift.tt/2YB1JRU

Hands-on with the world's first miniLED laptop: MSI's Creator 17

With the MSI Creator 17, we have seen the light. As the name implies, the laptop features a 17.3-inch, 16:9 screen with a UHD 4K resolution panel. But it’s not the size, nor the resolution, that matters here. As the first laptop in the world with a miniLED screen, it's crisper and brighter (can you say 1,000 nits?!) than anything we've seen before.  Typical laptops use standard LEDs that are larger and limit the density in a laptop screen. A typical display LED might be 2mm in size. A miniLED could be a tenth the size of that conventional LED. Being able to pack LEDs closer together inside of a display means the potential for more zones, which gives you blacker blacks, and increased contrast, too. To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/2ZajZRk

YouTube Testing TikTok-Like Short Video Format on Android, iOS

YouTube is testing a new feature on its mobile apps that will allow users to create and upload short 15-second clips, similar to TikTok. The feature is currently available to limited users, and a mass rollout can be expected after the testing phase is over. from Gadgets 360 https://ift.tt/2B1y5MR

Google Photos Gets a Complete Redesign: New Logo, Maps View, Simpler UI, More

Google Photos gets a major new upgrade with a new simpler interface, a brand new logo, a new Map view in the search tab, and a more comprehensive Memories section. The redesign is rolling out for Android and iOS users both, over the next week. The ‘For You’ tab that currently houses all Google creations like movies, collages, and animations has... from Gadgets 360 https://ift.tt/31mD6Kv

Waymo, Volvo Cars Partner to Build Self-Driving Vehicles

Waymo and the Volvo Cars Group have agreed to develop a self-driving electric vehicle designed for ride hailing use, as part of a new global partnership, the companies said on Thursday. from Gadgets 360 https://ift.tt/2Nx2aGM

Google Meet for G Suite adds custom backgrounds, larger gallery view

After watching Zoom take hold with educators during the ongoing pandemic, Google said Thursday that its G Suite for Education is gearing up for the fall with features for Google Meet that include up to 49 participants, custom backgrounds, a “raise hand” feature, and better attendee controls and diagnostics. Google says that 140 million educators and students are now using G Suite for Education. The new Meet features will be launching later this year, presumably before classes return in the fall. Meet already scored points with an amazing new de-noiser capability , though the new features are more practical. To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/2VkMjPJ

Cyberpunk 2077 goes all-in on ray tracing and Nvidia's DLSS 2.0

The first time we saw Cyberpunk 2077 , we were convinced there was no way it would be a current-gen game, despite CD Projekt’s claims. Apparently we were wrong, but there’s no question the level of fidelity and sheer density of the game will make your graphics card sweat—especially because it’ll be a ray-tracing flagship. On that note, while today’s hotly anticipated Cyberpunk 2077 gameplay reveal felt pretty underwhelming after the stunning previews , Nvidia sent out more details on the ray tracing tech integrated into the game. It’s enough to stoke our excitement yet again. To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/3hYJ8ah

The Steam Summer Sale starts with deals on Borderlands 3, Assassin's Creed and more

Is it...is it summer already? I locked the door to my apartment in March when it was cold and blustery outside and...well, it's June in San Francisco, so it's probably cold and blustery outside. But the point is that I'm reduced to marking time by the various Steam sales, and that means today it's summer . Yes, the Steam Summer Sale kicks off Thursday, and runs through July 9 at 10AM Pacific. Like the last few sales, there's a points-driven meta layer that rewards you for purchasing games and such. "Rewards" is a bit strong of a term maybe, given it's all profile backgrounds and chat effects and the like, but hey, it's a "souvenir" of the sale, as Valve puts it.  To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/3dw39Bh

Latest Cyberpunk 2077 footage shows off a 'braindance' and more of the prologue

Cyberpunk 2077 has been a highlight of the last two E3s, so of course we couldn’t have this year’s Fake E3 without it. Today CD Projekt ran its debut Night City Wire stream, where we got probably our best look at Cyberpunk 2077 . Less guided and less constrained than the previous demos, I feel like this is the first time Cyberpunk 2077 felt like...well, a video game. A very good-looking game, but a game nevertheless. To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/37Ymeev

The Oculus Go is dead, and virtual reality is better for it

Oculus stopped selling its entry-level virtual reality headset on Tuesday, the Oculus Go. Usually this kind of announcement would be met with nostalgic retrospectives and beers poured on the floor. Much lamenting, and all that. Even the worst products usually get a rose-colored sendoff.  But virtual reality is better off without Go around, and so is Oculus.  [Further reading: The best VR headsets ] The Gear VR era You'll get no eulogy from me. Not a fond one, anyway. Oculus Go was a play for the mass market that completely misunderstood the mass market. Staring down the barrel of the $600 Oculus Rift, the goal was to get people into virtual reality as cheaply as possible. Break down the barriers. Build the ecosystem.  To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/31hafHm

Google Play Has At Least 17 Trojan Apps That Can Steal Your Personal Information: Avast

Google Play is said to have at least 17 apps that are a part of a Trojan family called HiddenAds, if cybersecurity firm Avast is to be believed. The apps are found to be a part of a large HiddenAds campaign that initially targeted users in India and Southeast Asia. from Gadgets 360 https://ift.tt/3fWuI8z

Google to Start Offering Loans to Merchants in India, Rolls Out ‘Nearby Stores’ Spot Nationwide

Google said on Thursday that it is working with partner financial institutions to help small businesses in India impacted due to the coronavirus outbreak. from Gadgets 360 https://ift.tt/3g3aMkF

AMD's Ryzen exceeds its '25x20' power efficiency challenge

AMD said Thursday that the company has met and even exceeded the “25x20” goal that it set in 2014, in which it challenged itself to improve the energy efficiency of its processors by 25X by 2020. AMD said the actual proportion was 31.7 times the energy efficiency of its 2014 processor, the AMD “Kaveri” FX-7600P , which was rated at 35 watts TDP. (Thermal design power, or TDP, typically refers to the “worst-case” scenario for thermal power.) AMD compared it to the Ryzen 7 4800H , a 45W part that can be configured down to 35W.  To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/31g97nF

Lenovo Yoga C640 review: The battery life blows us away

At first glance, it’s easy to dismiss this particular model of Lenovo’s Yoga C640, a Best Buy exclusive with a relatively anemic dual-core i3 Comet Lake CPU, a puny 128GB SSD, and a $600 price tag. That said, this sleek convertible (officially the Yoga C640-13IML) has an ace up its sleeve: a beefy battery that just goes, and goes, and goes. While this made-for-Best Buy system isn’t a great pick for users looking to process 4K videos or crunch big numbers (there are other Yoga C640 configurations better suited for such CPU-intensive tasks), it could be a great fit for users looking for a versatile 2-in-1 that can go all day long without an AC cord. To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/2NvFiam

House of Marley Redemption ANC review: Environmentally conscious wireless earbuds with mediocre noise cancelling

Will you be redeemed by wearing the Redemption ANC buds from the House of Marley? Likely not, but if you’re concerned about the usual Earth-unfriendly methods of making devices like this, you’ll probably at least walk away with a load off your conscience. They’re not biodegradable, but they are made from recycled silicone, and House of Marley even found a way to work sustainable materials like bamboo and wood into the design. Along with their sound quality and general stylishness, that’s a good reason to be happy about these buds, but it may not take long before you start worrying about the shortcomings of some of the active noise cancelling and other features. To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/2YxP3LO

The ad hater's guide to cord-cutting

A guide to ad-free options for cord-cutters. from PCWorld https://ift.tt/3eAQTAQ

How iOS 14 stole features from Android—and made them so much better

On Monday Apple  unveiled iOS 14 —and if you’re an Android user, the “new” OS might have looked a little familiar. The latest upgrade to the iPhone operating system, due to release this fall, promises improvements including a new home screen, smarter navigation, faster apps, and a fresh coat of paint on everything. And it's clear that many of the best features are inspired, influenced, or just plain swiped from Android, from the new default email and browser apps to the picture-in-picture for videos. You can plainly see the influence on the new compact view for Siri and incoming calls, cycling directions in Maps, even the new home screen widgets. To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/3dxLkSr

Anker Soundcore Rave Neo review: Fat, punchy bass for the dance floor

This oversized Bluetooth speaker not only pumps the volume and the bass, it delivers a light show and syncs with other Soundcore speakers, too. from PCWorld https://ift.tt/3eylkI5

Google to Pay Some Publishers in Australia, Brazil, Germany for Content

Google on Thursday took a step to resolving its spat with publishers, saying it would pay some media groups in Australia, Brazil and Germany for high-quality content and expects to do more deals with others. from Gadgets 360 https://ift.tt/2AYNNs8

Google's New Default Privacy Setting Wipes User Location, Web History After 18 Months

Google said on Wednesday it will automatically delete some location history after 18 months for new users and make it easier for everyone to access its search, Maps and YouTube apps without being tracked. from Gadgets 360 https://ift.tt/2ZaXuM9

Nvidia GeForce RTX graphics cards are now the first DirectX 12 Ultimate GPUs

Nvidia rolled out its latest Game Ready drivers for GeForce graphics cards on Tuesday. We don’t normally cover the hot-and-heavy world of graphics drivers releases (just keep them updated, okay?), but this one features a notable milestone: Game Ready driver 451.48 is fully DirectX 12 Ultimate compliant, meaning Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 20-series graphics cards are the first hardware to support Microsoft’s next-gen graphics API. While it’s notable, it’s no surprise. DirectX 12 Ultimate unifies graphics support across PCs and the forthcoming Xbox Series X , rolling in features like an updated version of Microsoft’s DXR ray tracing API, variable rate shading tier 2, mesh shaders, and sampler feedback. Most of those technologies appeared first in Nvidia’s “Turing” graphics cards—the RTX 20-series and GTX 16-series—but haven’t been seen often in games, as they’ve been limited to Nvidia hardware. To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/2A1wCph

Why this Acer Aspire 5 is usually the bestselling laptop on Amazon

The AMD Ryzen 3-powered Acer Aspire 5 has been a bestseller on Amazon for months on end. What is it about this particular model of the Aspire 5 that makes it so popular? For starters, this Windows 10 laptop has an eye-catching full-HD 15.6-inch display, not to mention a slim-and-trim chassis, and solid performance when it comes to day-to-day computing duties. Most of all, however, this Aspire 5 model (A515-43-R19L) is way cheap. With a list price of $350, this Ryzen 3-powered laptop usually sells for closer to $310 on Amazon—not bad for a full-on Windows 10 laptop with a roomy display and a sleek design. To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/3er8A5U

New Marvel's Avengers gameplay tease shows Thor hammering robots, supervillian MODOK

When Crystal Dynamics's Avengers game got delayed, it left a pretty large hole in the spring release schedule. I can't say I was surprised though. Last year's reveal didn't go quite as smoothly as Square Enix (and Marvel) presumably hoped. The loudest detractors merely complained that the titular Avengers didn't look like their film-screen counterparts, but concerns about level design and repetitive combat abounded as well. To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/3dyLiK2

Opera integrates Twitter into new Opera 69 browser

The Opera browser already includes a sidebar with links to several messaging apps. Now the company has added Twitter support, too, as part of Opera 69. Twitter, like Instagram, Telegram, Facebook Messenger and other messaging apps, will reside in the Opera sidebar, which lives on the left rail by default. Sidebars have increasingly become ways in which some browsers, such as Firefox and Vivaldi, have integrated additional functionality. With Opera 69, Twitter can be embedded in the sidebar, though you’ll have to enable it. To do so, click the three-dot icon at the bottom of the sidebar, then click Twitter in the Messengers section. (That will probably require you to click a small Show more link as well to expand the Messenger section.) Twitter’s main feed, the search function, as well as direct messaging are all enabled—the sidebar version is essentially a web widget, with even Twitter’s new tweet scheduling function enabled. To read this article in full, please click here ...

Watch Party Royale: Fortnite will stream 3 Christopher Nolan movies in-game this Friday

Inception, Batman Begins, and The Prestige will be streaming at Fortnite's Party Royale social space for free. from PCWorld https://ift.tt/2zZ8XFO

What Apple could learn from Microsoft's mistakes with Windows on ARM

If there’s any lesson that Apple should learn about supporting apps that run on both X86 and ARM, it’s this one: Tell users which apps support which processor, and actively guide them toward the best experience. It sounds obvious. But as Apple navigates its transition from Intel X86 Macs to Macs designed around its own ARM silicon, I can’t help but think of the things I wish Microsoft and Qualcomm had worked on to help facilitate the Windows on ARM experience.  It starts with communication. When Asus launched its NovaGo laptop with a Qualcomm processor inside, we  explained the pros and cons of the architecture, especially what it could or couldn’t do. Two years later, that article still feels necessary. Here’s how Microsoft stumbled along the way, and where Apple could go wrong too, unless it learns from those mistakes.  To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/37VuvQl

Eufy Security Smart Lock Touch review: Eufy’s first smart lock is a little too rough around the edges

A buggy fingerprint reader spoils Eufy’s biggest selling point. from PCWorld https://ift.tt/3hVbSR9

Acer Predator Triton 500 review: A truly portable gaming powerhouse with 300Hz G-Sync

I’ve tested a lot of gaming laptops over the years, but the newly refreshed Acer Predator Triton 500 is the best one I’ve ever had the pleasure of playing on. For many years, you could only coax enthusiast-class performance out of mammoth gaming laptops that threatened to throw out your back while you carried them around in your bag. The introduction of Nvidia’s energy-efficient Max-Q technology resulted in more portable play-worthy notebooks, but the truly totable ones usually topped out with graphics options below the upper echelon of performance. Gaming on the go always required some sort of compromise. No more. The Acer Predator Triton 500 brings it all, pairing a 6-core, 12-thread Intel Core i7-10750H processor with Nvidia’s potent new GeForce RTX 2080 Super graphics chip. All that power somehow squeezes into a sublime 4.6-pound aluminum chassis with a lightning-fast 300Hz G-Sync display that offers drop-dead gorgeous contrast ratios. Is it perfect? Not quite. But hot damn, I ...

The best smart lock for a keyless home

Keys are yesterday’s tech, your smart home needs a smart door lock. from PCWorld https://ift.tt/2YDNspc

Google Play Makes It Easier to Run Targeted Promotions for Apps

Google launched the first beta for Android 11 earlier this month and has started to detail the new features that will be included in the new OS. Now, the search giant has detailed the addition of new subscription capabilities that include promotional codes or vanity codes that can be redeemed by multiple users. from Gadgets 360 https://ift.tt/2BCO17T

Google Search Makes It Easier to Find New TV Shows, Movies in India

Google Search is now allowing users in India to find what TV shows or movies they can watch today. The new experience provides an organised set of suggestions from various streaming providers including Disney+ Hotstar, Google Play Movies & TV, SonyLIV, Voot, and YouTube. from Gadgets 360 https://ift.tt/2CBE3Ex

Microsoft is getting rid of one version of Skype

If you see a version of Skype quietly disappear from Windows today, don’t be surprised: Microsoft’s finally taking action to clear Windows of some of its redundant software. Microsoft is consolidating its Skype for Windows 10 and its Skype for Desktop into a single app, the company is disclosing in a support document . (Thurrott.com noted this earlier on Tuesday.) While the (formerly) two versions will now look a lot alike, Microsoft is also terminating a couple of features for right now until it can develop the new app further. It will still be known as Skype for Windows 10. To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/2Z55tdg

Best gaming keyboards: Our picks for the top budget, mid-tier, and RGB boards

Choosing a gaming keyboard is a matter of personal taste. To that point, there are a plethora of options, with a dizzying mix of features. One person could be into Cherry Browns and white backlighting. Another might favor Razer Greens and a rippling RGB glow. Gigantic wrist pads, compact shapes, numeric keypads, macro keys, volume controls.... You get the picture To help you sort through the many options, we’ve rounded up a large number of planks, putting them through their paces, to come up with our top recommendations. All of these are mechanical keyboards, and for good reason—they’re simply more comfortable to use over the long haul. But we’re open-minded, so if we encounter an alternative that works well, you may see it appear on this list. We’ll keep updating it periodically as we test new keyboards. To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/2llxWvh

The Chromebook Spin 713 is Acer's high-end model for work or home

The Acer Chromebook Spin 713 takes the company in a new direction. Acer has sold vast quantities of inexpensive, basic Chromebooks for school and home use—and it announced a new one on Tuesday, at the company’s next@acer virtual event: the $260 Chromebook Spin 311. In contrast the Chromebook Spin 713, also announced Tuesday, is a far fancier product that will have a starting price of $630 when it ships in the United States in July. An enterprise version will start at $1,100.   If you stopped reading there, you embody the big question about high-end Chromebooks: Who’s going to buy these things? Chromebooks gobbled up a fair chunk of the PC market by being simpler and super-cheap alternatives to Windows-based models. Some people are clearly ready for something a little better—the HP Chromebook x360 12b is selling well, for instance, at $360 on Adorama . To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/2Z2GVBN

Sonos Arc bass bug fix arrives, and it seems to work

The bug fix for the Sonos Arc appears to have remedied the soundbar’s muddy, distorted bass. from PCWorld https://ift.tt/3dszqJN

Acer overhauls Predator gaming laptops with 10th-gen CPUs, RTX Super GPUs, and ultra-fast displays

Earlier this year, Acer debuted Intel and Nvidia’s latest and greatest parts in the fearsome, yet portable Predator Triton 500 —a $2,600 laptop loaded with just about everything you could ask for. Now those improvements are rolling out through Acer’s entire Predator gaming notebook lineup. At Tuesday’s next@acer event, the company revealed revamps of the Predator Triton 300, Predator Helios 700, and the incredibly popular Predator Helios 300, cramming each with Intel’s 10th-gen Core CPUs, Nvidia’s GeForce RTX Super graphics, and blazing-fast screens primed to melt your face in CS:GO . To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/3dyx0tb

Hands-on with the Acer Nitro 7 with RTX graphics

Acer’s Nitro 7 has long been the middle child Jan Brady in the company’s gaming laptop family, sandwiched between the bulkier, but lower-cost Nitro 5 and the more luxurious Predator Triton 500 -series.  To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/317Q2Us

Acer woos desktop gamers with 360Hz G-Sync and a gaming chair that rubs your neck

Acer’s Predator overhaul isn’t just for laptops. During the company’s next@acer event on Tuesday, the company unveiled a slew of desktop gaming products sure to entice DIY enthusiasts and folks who prefer the simplicity of prebuilt systems alike, spearheaded by a G-Sync display capable of hitting a ridonkulous 360Hz, and a gaming chair that can give you a massage while you frag. The Acer Predator X25 enters the fray after Nvidia announced 360Hz monitors at CES 2020 earlier this year. This 24-inch, 1920x1080-resolution display would be plenty smooth on its own thanks to its preposterous 360Hz refresh rate, but Acer also includes the latest iteration of Nvidia’s G-Sync technology. Together, every game should feel impressively smooth if you’re using a GeForce GPU. To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/3etmu7s

Acer's $999 Swift 5 could be the first Tiger Lake ultralight laptop

Acer’s Swift 5 appears to be the first laptop containing Intel’s expected “Tiger Lake” microprocessors, which is in turn Intel’s first chip to bring its “Xe” graphics to PCs. Acer didn’t formally identify the Swift 3’s microprocessor as “Tiger Lake,” though referring to it as being powered by the “next-gen Intel Core processors with powerful integrated graphics based on Intel’s new Xe architecture” is a tipoff— Intel announced Tiger Lake last year , in conjunction with the Xe graphics technology.  Acer announced the new Swift 5 at its “next@acer” event Tuesday morning, which was livestreamed due to COVID-19 pandemic travel restrictions. The company didn’t reveal many details about the new ultralight laptop, though it will be available in North America for $999. To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/37Y3hsq

US Tech Giants Criticise Trump's Decision to Suspend Work Visas

US President Donald Trump's decision to suspend H-1B and other work visas, has sparked criticism from technology giants in the country. from Gadgets 360 https://ift.tt/37TRv1U

Ring Solar Steplight review: Bigger, better, brighter

An integrated solar panel keeps the battery in this smart lighting device perpetually topped off. from PCWorld https://ift.tt/2V8jw0P

How to Start a Business, Support Local Business Amongst All-Time-High Search Queries on Google

Google has revealed that a large number of people around the world are searching for how to start a business in the last one week. There has also been an increase in searches for “support local” queries on the search engine over the last 90 days. from Gadgets 360 https://ift.tt/3hSaMFJ

Google Adds Fact-Check to Images to Stem Misinformation

Google said Monday it was adding fact-check labels to images as part of its efforts to stem visually misleading information. from Gadgets 360 https://ift.tt/2YXTrCx

Sabrent Rocket Q NVMe SSD: 8TB is a beautiful thing

Sabrent's 8TB Rocket Q caps a few weeks of mind-blowing news for NVMe SSDs. It seems like only yesterday when 2TB was the largest-capacity NVMe SSD, or any SSD for that matter. Actually, when I started this article it was yesterday. Now we have the 4TB OWC Aura P12 , and the 8TB Rocket Q. If you just did a double-take, welcome to the club. While a bit dazed, I soldiered on and tested Sabrent's super-capacious beastie. Guess how it felt not having to worry about running out of space! This review is part of PCWorld's ongoing roundup of the best SSDs . Go there for information on competing products and how we tested them.   To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/37YMFk7

Why Apple's move from Intel to ARM means we should stop buying Macs

Apple’s news on Monday that it will be dropping Intel’s x86 CPUs for its own ARM chips can mean only one thing to anyone who doesn’t want to be left behind: Don’t buy a Mac. You may think this is another Internet-baiting hot take that will argue that x86 is better than ARM. Or you might think the math doesn’t add up that Apple—despite its near-infinite loop of resources and cash—can outwit AMD, Intel and Nvidia. But there’s a practical, real reason why you shouldn’t drop $1,500 or $4,500 on a new Mac: You’ll be abandoned. During the announcement, Tim Cook said Apple will continue to support Intel-based Macs for “years.” But as we know, that could mean two years or two hundred years. To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/2YW8YCU

Apple details an impressive, aggressive transition to Macs with its own processors

Macs that use Apple's own processors are coming this year. Here's how the transition will work. from PCWorld https://ift.tt/37Q0xwW

Microsoft ships expanded Microsoft Teams for consumers

Office 365 is dead. Long live Microsoft 365, the renamed version of Microsoft’s productivity suite that now includes an expanded version of Microsoft Teams designed expressly for consumers. That expanded version of Teams is now live in preview for iOS and Android, Microsoft said on June 22. (Editor's Note: This story originally published on March 30. We're re-publishing it as the changes to the subscriptions have taken effect today, June 22.) On April 21, Office 365 subscriptions for consumers will shift over to become Microsoft 365 subscriptions, Microsoft said, available at the current price of $9.99 per month or $99.99 per year for a shared group of up to 6 people. (Personal subscriptions are $6.99 per user per month, or $69.99 per year.) Those subscriptions will still include features like a terabyte of OneDrive cloud storage, access to Microsoft’s Office apps, and more. To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/2Js2nsw

macOS Big Sur: Top 5 features

At WWDC20 on Monday, Apple took the wraps off of macOS Big Sur, the next version of the Macintosh operating system. Big Sur will replace macOS 10.15 Catalina this fall. Big Sur is a major upgrade with several features that users can take advantage of. Here are the features that Apple highlighted during its WWDC20 keynote presentation. We’ll follow up with more details on these features as they are revealed. Refined user interface With the existence of iOS, the inconsistencies between Apple's mobile and desktop operating systems are notable, and compared to iOS, macOS looks a little dated. With Big Sur, Apple finally addresses the macOS UI, implementing the first major changes since the release of Mac OS X. To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/2B2cbc5

Apple drops Intel: Transition to ARM processors in Macs will start later in 2020

Apple finally dropped its long-awaited bombshell: Apple’s Macs are switching to its own internally-developed ARM silicon, and the transition will begin before the end of the year. Apple made the announcement on Monday, as an unofficial “one more thing” at the end of the opening keynote of the company's Worldwide Developer Conference (taking place virtually because of the coronavirus pandemic). The custom silicon will be supported by the next iteration of Apple’s MacOS, code-named “Big Sur.”  Apple CEO Tim Cook described the transition as a “game-changer” for Apple, similar to the company's prior transition away from the PowerPC to Intel’s own Core processors. The transition to ARM-based Macs from the older Intel-based Macs will take place over a period of about two years, Cook said, adding that Apple still has new Intel-based Macs in the pipeline. To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/318cjBI

Microsoft kills Mixer streaming service, sending fans to Facebook

Microsoft has thrown in the towel in its fight against Twitch, saying Monday that it will wind down its Mixer livestreaming service and redirect users to Facebook Gaming instead. The death knell will sound on July 22, when the redirect to Facebook Gaming will officially occur. Microsoft didn’t actually say how many users Facebook Gaming has, though each month more than 700 million people play games, watch gaming videos or engage in gaming groups on Facebook, it said. It’s an ignominious end for Microsoft’s streaming aspirations, which took flight in 2017 when Microsoft transitioned its Beam streaming service into the modern Mixer platform. Microsoft tried to build a user base with features such as Sparks and other ways for users to interact with fans, including an early feature where viewers could even influence the way in which the streamer played the game. To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/2Ynnu7x

Apple WWDC last minute rumors: Major iPhone and iPad UI changes, but no new hardware

With the keynote just hours away, here are the most recent rumors we're hearing. from PCWorld https://ift.tt/37Pas5S

OWC Aura P12 review: At 4TB it offers high capacity for big money

The OWC Aura P12 has an answer for the lack of capacity in NVMe drives: 4TB. Yes, four terabytes of TLC NAND. Not only does it double the typical maximum capacity of today’s SSDs, it offers excellent everyday performance. However, as you might guess, it’s going to set you back a bit of coin.  This review is part of our ongoing roundup of the best SSDs . Go there for information on competing products and how we tested them. Specs, price, and warranty The Aura P19 is your standard 2280 (22 mm wide, 80 mm long) form factor, but with TLC NAND on both sides it may not fit some super-thin laptops or devices. The drive is available in five capacities starting at 240GB ( $59 from OWC Remove non-product link ), 480GB ( $90 from OWC Remove non-product link ), 1TB ( $159 from OWC Remove non-product link ), 2TB ( $349 from OWC Remove non-product link ), and 4TB ($929 from OWC), respectively. The rest of the industry is catching up fast: After our initial write-up, Sabrent released ...

Android's Nearby Sharing Feature May Be Coming to Windows, Mac, Linux and Chrome OS

Android’s ‘Nearby Sharing’ feature will make its way to Windows, Mac, Linux, and Chrome OS, as per the code of Chrome OS Settings app. Google is planning on implementing this Nearby Sharing feature in Android that will allow users to share files wirelessly to nearby devices. Now, a new report suggests that the search giant plans on bringing t... from Gadgets 360 https://ift.tt/2zTCNvx

Aquanta water heater controller review: A smart solution for your home’s biggest energy waster

This smart home device should pay for itself quickly by slashing the amount of energy needed to heat water. from PCWorld https://ift.tt/3fKYSLV

Asus ROG Zephyrus Duo 15 GX550 review: Two screens and a whole lot of speed

The Asus ROG Zephyrus Duo 15 GX550 is a dual-screen gaming laptop that’s learned a thing or two. It has a few predecessors, most recently the HP Omen X 2S 15  and  Asus ZenBook Pro  from 2019. But auxiliary screen sizes have been the limiting factor. The ZenBook Pro upped the ante with a much larger screen, for example, but it still lay flat, which made viewing angles a pain in the neck. To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/37Oz52I

Amazon kills its coolest Dash product after ignoring it for years

Amazon has informed users that the Dash Wand barcode scanner will no longer work as of July 20. from PCWorld https://ift.tt/37L9xDJ

Chinese Apps: Government Denies Passing Order to Ban TikTok, CamScanner, Others From Google Play, App Store

The government on Friday refuted a viral message claiming that that the Ministry of Electronics & IT (Meity) has put restrictions on several "Chinese applications" in India. from Gadgets 360 https://ift.tt/312nRX0

MSI GS66 Stealth Review: Thin and small, with a 300Hz screen

The MSI GS66 Stealth is the latests GS-series laptop from the company, and it continues the tradition of pushing the envelope on thin-and-light gaming machines. With the GS66 Stealth, MSI redesigns the trend-setting GS65 Stealth to be, well, a bit stealthier—and stylish. Gone are the red-and-black logos that screamed ‘gamer,’ as well as the gold accents of the two previous designs. The new GS66 (currently $2,999 on Amazon ) is designed to slip right into those boring corporate meetings with other sedate black business laptops. Once you’re off the clock, it screams with all the might you’d expect from an Intel 10th-gen, 8-core Core i9-10980HK and Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 Super Max-Q GPU. Keep reading to find out more about this trendsetting gaming laptop.  To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/310KKdA

The best CPUs for gaming: Ryzen XT pushes AMD CPUs to faster speeds

Buying a processor for a gaming rig isn’t as hard as it used to be. Now that Ryzen 3000-series and Intel’s 10th-gen Core CPUs come with more performance and cores than ever before, it’s hard to buy a stinker these days—especially because most games favor graphics firepower over CPU oomph. All that said, there are specific chips that stand out from the horde as the best gaming CPUs due to their price, performance, or nifty extras. Best CPU for gaming cheat sheet Our quick-hit recommendations: To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/2PBT7Gx

Opera's GX gaming browser integrates Discord, adds 'hot tab' killer

Opera’s intriguing gaming browser, Opera GX, just became even more interesting, with integrated Discord capabilities and a “Hot Tabs Killer” feature that can automatically kill tabs that begin quietly sucking up gobs and gobs of memory. Opera debuted Opera GX a year ago, and the company celebrated its first birthday by announcing the new features as well as its userbase: a relatively small 3.5 million users per month. But the free Opera GX browser contains most if not all of the features of the standard Opera browser—which, unfortunately, has fallen to near the bottom of our performance tests .  To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/3dgvNGw

Which Internet providers are lifting data caps during the coronavirus, and which aren't

As American businesses are forced to shut down because of COVID-19 (the novel coronavirus), customers are anxious about their bill for Internet access. Data caps, an annoyance in the best of times, suddenly can mean paying additional fees if a family sheltering in place goes over their limit. Think of it: you're working from home , videoconferencing over Skype or Zoom, while your kids are playing games and chatting with friends. There's streamed movies to watch in the evenings. Disney+ and Netflix may be in constant rotation, adding to the bandwidth strain. That's a lot of data!  To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/3d0t9Wu

Plex app lets you stream free movies and TV shows without an account

No Plex account? No problem. The latest version of the Android app for Plex , a DVR and media server service with a growing selection of free, ad-supported movies and TV shows, now lets you stream titles from its free video library without an account. Android Police first spotted the new feature in the changelog for the Android version of the Plex app . I checked in with Plex and was told that the iOS version of the app is slated to get the same functionality later this month. To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/3fLiCzf

15 must-try demos from the Steam Summer Game Festival

The Steam Summer Game Festival is massive. Like, really massive. The first iteration in December offered about a dozen demos, and the March event touted 50, but now? The Summer Game Festival apparently features over 900 demos—shooters, strategy games, puzzle games, visual novels, and so much more, all vying for your attention in E3's absence. It’s daunting. Where do you even start? And since it’s all free, there’s an argument to be made that you can start...anywhere. Grab whatever catches your eye! But if you’re looking for a bit more direction, or if you’re just scared of missing something interesting, read on for my personal recommendations. To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/37KReyc

HyperX Alloy Origins review: Same keyboard, new switches, new name

By the time the great Keyboard Switch Wars are over, every company will have its own custom-built switches. That’s what happens when patents expire, I guess. The latest to join the boutique switch trend? HyperX, who used traditional Cherry MX switches through 2018, then switched to Kailh, and now has switched a second time to its own HyperX-branded line. It’s a move so bold, HyperX created a whole new keyboard to give its switches a home. Or…well, they renamed one of their existing keyboard models, I guess. Meet the HyperX Alloy Origins, twin to the HyperX Alloy FPS —at least on the surface. To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/2CkpLYF

1More Dual Driver ANC Pro Wireless review: This in-ear headphone has a split personality, but great phone skills

You’ll get clean, lean sound with ANC off, and rich, bass-heavy sound with ANC on. from PCWorld https://ift.tt/30VeI2i

Sonos Port review: A flawed successor to the Sonos Connect

The new Sonos S2 operating systems sounds promising, but should you replace a workhorse Sonos Connect with a Sonos Port in the name of compatibility? from PCWorld https://ift.tt/2MfomV9

Best headphones: Our top picks for personal listening

Whether you're looking for an over-the-ear, on-ear, or in-ear model, we'll help you find the perfect pair. from PCWorld https://ift.tt/2NviF5c

UK Ditches Homegrown COVID-19 Tracing App to Use Google-Apple Model

Britain will switch to the Apple and Google model for its COVID-19 test-and-trace app, ditching an attempt to develop an app by itself after the homegrown system did not work well enough on Apple's iPhone, the government said on Thursday. from Gadgets 360 https://ift.tt/2AG8s43

UK Ditches Homegrown COVID-19 Tracing App to Use Google-Apple Model

Britain will switch to the Apple and Google model for its COVID-19 test-and-trace app, ditching an attempt to develop an app by itself after the homegrown system did not work well enough on Apple's iPhone, the government said on Thursday. from Gadgets 360 https://ift.tt/2AG8s43

EA Play 2020: Star Wars: Squadrons gameplay, the return of Skate, and not much else

Hey, at least one part of E3 remains intact in 2020! Thursday night marked the debut of EA Play 2020, which usually is held in a hot parking lot in Hollywood and this year was held in Andrew Wilson’s surfboard room.  Anyway, EA kept it to a tight 45 minutes, and a big chunk of that was spent hyping up older games that came to Steam earlier in the day. We’ve rounded up the few new game announcements below though, including news of Skate 4 , new Star Wars: Squadrons footage, It Takes Two , and Lost in Random .  Wait, did I say Skate 4 ? To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/2Cgs4Mh

HBO will stream all Watchmen episodes for free this weekend

HBO will mark the Juneteenth holiday with a Watchmen marathon on Friday. from PCWorld https://ift.tt/3fuRsfM

HP Chromebook x360 12b review: It's affordable and good

The HP Chromebook x360 12b is an affordable Chromebook made for grown-ups. It takes you a cut above the rock-bottom basic Chromebooks that hover around $250 (and continue to sell well). Get one of those for your kids—who cares if they destroy it? But you, the adult in the room, deserve the Chromebook x360 12b, with its surprisingly good design and great battery life. This is still a budget-grade Chromebook, so there are some compromises: Performance is mediocre, and the 3:2 display, while nice and tall, isn’t very bright. Still, we think HP made reasonable choices to provide a productive and enjoyable experience without breaking the bank. This review is part of our ongoing roundup of the best laptops . Go there for information on competing products and how we tested them. To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/2AOje8i

Microsoft Edge uses less memory in the Windows 10 May 2020 Update

If you expected Microsoft’s new Chromium-based Edge to start gobbling up memory as Google Chrome seems to do, Microsoft’s Windows 10 May 2020 Update has a surprise in store: The browser’s memory consumption actually seems to go down . Kim Denny, a principal product manager for Microsoft Edge, described in a small blog post on Wednesday how the browser has taken advantage of memory allocation improvements (specifically, segment heap improvements) for Win32 applications. “Early internal testing results of devices on the May 2020 Update are showing a memory usage reduction of up to 27% when browsing with Microsoft Edge,” she wrote. To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/3fF9Dzc

New Baldur's Gate III gameplay shows off the Underdark and a mushroom man

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Having heard Larian was involved with last week’s Guerrilla Collective presentation , I expected a sizable Baldur’s Gate III presence. Instead we got a teaser for another event. Luckily we didn’t have to wait long, as Larian led off this week’s D&D Live with a lengthy Baldur’s Gate III gameplay demo. You can catch the archive here: First, it’s worth stating: This is a different section than Larian showed at PAX East in February. That livestream showed off the very beginning of the game. Today’s demo isn’t much further in—and in fact I remember it from my own  Baldur's Gate III demo in San Francisco —but it isn’t merely a retread of the last stream with different choices. You’ll meet the demon Raphael and then by popular demand head into the spider-infested Underdark for a bit. To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/3fCWsPm

HBO Max still isn't supersized enough to attract cord-cutters

When HBO Max launched in late May, I was excited despite all the branding confusion around the service . Whereas HBO focused on a small number of highbrow shows and movies, HBO Max offers many more movies and shows from WarnerMedia and beyond. It has the potential to be a true rival to Netflix, with a broad catalog that’s worth keeping year-round instead of just whenever the best HBO shows arrive. Now that HBO Max is here, I can see the reality: HBO Max is a better value than HBO used to be, but its catalog is still dwarfed by Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Hulu. That probably won’t change anytime soon, as parent company AT&T continues to spread its content catalog across multiple streaming services instead of investing in just one. AT&T has claimed to be ”all in” on HBO Max , but as with so many of the company’s other streaming video endeavors, this one seems like another half measure. To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/2N8tI55

WeatherFlow Tempest Weather System review: The best home weather station available

I’ve been trying to get my hands on a WeatherFlow Tempest for years. When I first spotted the device on Indiegogo in late 2016 (that’s not a typo), it sounded like nothing else available at the time. Now that it’s finally here, there’s still nothing better. Other weather stations are complex, challenging to install, and involve large sensor suites. The Tempest houses everything in one impossibly small and easy-to-set-up enclosure. The Tempest took much longer than expected to reach the market. WeatherFlow promised backers a station by 2017, but manufacturing issues and delays repeatedly pushed its launch back. Most of the original backers didn’t get their stations until 2018 or later. And while the company was taking preorders—most of those preorders didn’t make it into customers’ hands until this year .   To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/3edXJfB

Google Stadia Premier Edition Is Now Cheaper but Without Three Month Free Stadia Pro Membership

Google Stadia Premier Edition is now cheaper, but users will not get the three free months of Stadia Pro unlike earlier. Stadia Pro is a premium subscription service that lets you stream games in 4K, HDR, and 5.1 surround sound, along with other perks. from Gadgets 360 https://ift.tt/2BexpTX

Google Play Store Testing Ways to Make App Subscriptions More Transparent

Google has reportedly devised a new method that will allow Android users to buy app subscriptions outside of the app. The necessary subscription details and pricing information will be detailed on the Google Play listing, and a new button, right next to ‘Install’ will allow users to buy the app subscription even before the app is installed. from Gadgets 360 https://ift.tt/30TBqYL

How to share large video files on Android

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Videos can be trickier than photos to share with friends and family. If you’ve captured more than a few seconds of content, the original file ends up too big to send directly through text message or a chat app like WhatsApp or Hangouts. You can’t upload and send it as-is. Fortunately, the default photo gallery app on your phone should have built-in features that circumvent this problem. You just select the video you want to share, generate a link, and then send that URL to your recipient. The app takes care of uploading the file to the cloud and all the other back-end work. Here are the details of how to do it. How to share video on Android PCWorld These screenshots show the process for sharing a video through the default photo gallery app on a Samsung Galaxy phone. To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/2YNnXz6

HBO Max still isn't supersized enough to attract cord-cutters

HBO Max needs more supersizing if AT&T really wants to take on Netflix. from PCWorld https://ift.tt/2UWwEWD

WeatherFlow Tempest Weather System review: This is the best home weather station on the market

This home weather station will tell you everything you need to know about your local weather with market-leading accuracy. from PCWorld https://ift.tt/2NcjMXW

WD Black P50 Game Drive SSD review: It's as fast as it looks

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Never has an external SSD appeared more ready for a virtual shoot-‘em-up than the WD Black P50 Game Drive NVMe SSD. Even better, if you happen to be one of the lucky few with a SuperSpeed USB 20Gbps (formerly known as USB 3.2 gen 2x2) port on your computer, it delivers nearly 2GBps transfers. Over older USB, it’s no faster than the less expensive competition.  Design and features WD The WD Black P50 Game Drive SSD looks the part for virtual combat, right down to the action-film computer font. To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/2YQ23uU

Best home weather station: Which one should be your personal meteorologist?

Home weather stations are getting more accurate and sophisticated all the time. Follow our buyer's guide to find your own personal meteorologist. from PCWorld https://ift.tt/2GML4TR

Google-Fitbit Deal Could Harm Competition: Australian Regulator

Australia's antitrust regulator warned Google's planned $2.1 billion acquisition of fitness tracker maker Fitbit may give it too much of people's data, potentially hurting competition in health and online advertising markets. from Gadgets 360 https://ift.tt/37Dyalu

Google Chrome Spyware Extensions Downloaded 32 Million Times, Let Users Be Spied On: Researchers

A newly discovered spyware effort attacked users through 32 million downloads of extensions to Google's market-leading Chrome Web browser, researchers at Awake Security told Reuters, highlighting the tech industry's failure to protect browsers as they are used more for email, payroll and other sensitive functions. from Gadgets 360 https://ift.tt/2NbU45S

Flipkart Big Saving Days Sale: Vivo Z1x, iPhone XS, Google Pixel 3a, Others to Get Price Discounts, More

Vivo Z1x, Apple iPhone 8, Google Pixel 3a, and Xiaomi Mi Mix 2 are among the smartphones that are receiving discounts during Flipkart’s Big Saving Days sale from Tuesday, June 23. from Gadgets 360 https://ift.tt/2YgnDtL

Google Boosts Racial Equity Programme Pledge to $275 Million

Google on Wednesday announced a $175 million package to support black business owners, startup founders, job seekers and developers, along with an array of racial equity initiatives at the technology giant. from Gadgets 360 https://ift.tt/3d8N7xj

Google Boosts Racial Equity Programme Pledge to $275 Million

Google on Wednesday announced a $175 million package to support black business owners, startup founders, job seekers and developers, along with an array of racial equity initiatives at the technology giant. from Gadgets 360 https://ift.tt/3d8N7xj

Google Sets 2025 Leadership Diversity Goal, Ends 'Tailgater' ID Checks

Google on Wednesday announced a new hiring goal and security policy to address racial issues at its offices, as protests over police brutality against African Americans have carried into discussions about corporate culture. from Gadgets 360 https://ift.tt/2UUuDKm

Google Meet is now free for everyone, as the pursuit of Zoom continues

Google Meet is now free for everyone. As part of the video conferencing land rush begun by Zoom, Google has moved Google Meet out of its paid, premium tier, and made it available to both consumers and professionals alike. In the same way that rival Facebook Messenger Rooms requires you to belong to Facebook to launch a new Room, Google Meet does require users to have a Google account, such as a Gmail email address. The free tier also limits users to just 60 minutes, though the company said it won’t enforce it until after September 30. To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/3d0E0Pg

Windows 10's Linux subsystem gets GPU compute and an easier install in new preview

Microsoft released improvements to its Windows Subsystem for Linux 2 (WSL) in a Windows 10 preview build on Wednesday, with features benefiting newcomers and developers alike. As part of the update, WSL2 can now perform GPU compute functions, including using Nvidia’s CUDA technology.  The new additions deliver on the promises Microsoft made at May’s Build 2020 conference, where the company also teased graphical user interface support for the Windows Subsystem for Linux. We’re still waiting on those capabilities.  WSL’s improvements are part of Windows 10 Build 20150, part of the Dev Channel of Insider builds. Formerly known as the Fast Ring, the Dev Channel is devoted to testing new features which aren’t necessarily tied to any upcoming Windows 10 feature release. To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/2YcgU3C

Windows 10's May 2020 Update borks pooled Storage Spaces

If you’re a fan of Windows 10’s Storage Spaces technology, Microsoft offered you a piece of advice on Wednesday: don’t update to the Windows 10 May 2020 Update yet. Storage Spaces is a feature that was introduced years ago, dating back to Windows 8.1. The nifty storage technology takes a collection of internal and external hard drives and/or SSDs and creates a shared “pool” of storage between them. It essentially offers some RAID (Redundant Array of Disks) protections, mirroring content on one drive to another to help save it in case it fails. To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/2YbAnl8

The Full Nerd ep. 142: AMD Ryzen XT CPUs, Nvidia RTX coprocessor rumors, PS5 design

In this episode of The Full Nerd, Gordon Ung , Brad Chacos , Alaina Yee, and Adam Patrick Murray dive into new AMD processors, what’s next for Nvidia (maybe), and the PlayStation 5’s butt-ugly looks. We kick things off explaining what’s new about AMD’s just-revealed Ryzen XT processors —they’re very slightly faster than their namesakes, but the Ryzen 7 3800XT and Ryzen 9 3900XT lack bundled coolers. The gang wades into potential implications of those tweaks, and during the segment, Gordon managed to break the news that contrary to those rumors flying around, no, Zen 3 hasn’t been delayed until next year . After that, Brad dissects recent rumors of Nvidia’s next-gen RTX 3080 potentially including a separate “ transversal coprocessor ” chip for ray-tracing tasks. It’s an interesting thought but bring a big ol’ handful of salt. Finally, we collectively dump on the PlayStation 5’s design and speculate how much it and Microsoft’s rival Xbox Series X will cost. To read this article in...

Apple picks a fight with popular app developer Basecamp on eve of WWDC

During a week that should be filled with leaks, spy shots, and excitement leading up to WWDC, Apple is instead making headlines for all the wrong reasons, being called “gangsters” and a “mafioso” after threatening one of its best-known developers. It all started with an email app. On Monday, Basecamp launched a “potent reintroduction of email” in the form of Hey , a $99-a-year cross-platform subscription service that promised privacy and ease of use with 100GB of storage and a personalized email address. Even though it’s invitation-only until July 2020, Hey immediately picked up some buzz, with some 50,000 people waiting to get their Hey on, according to TechCrunch . To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/2AADzxW

Google Releases New Ad Features to Help Small Businesses

Alphabet's Google on Wednesday introduced new advertising features intended to help local businesses get more customers and recover from the coronavirus pandemic. from Gadgets 360 https://ift.tt/2N3oo2I

Lenovo launches ThinkPads with high-octane Ultra Performance Mode

Lenovo unveiled the third generation of its 15-inch ThinkPad X1 Extreme laptop on Wednesday morning, boasting an Intel 10th-gen Core CPU, upgraded graphics, and a brighter display option. The ThinkPad X1 Extreme Gen 3 spearheads a range of Lenovo’s new mobile workstations, built around Intel’s “H” series processors. Lenovo announced the 15-inch ThinkPad P15 and P17 as the successors to the older ThinkPads P53 and 73, respectively—both members of the inaugural Nvidia RTX Studio class of mobile workstations. Lenovo also announced the third generation of the ThinkPad P1 , aptly called the ThinkPad P1 Gen 3. Finally, Lenovo announced the new ThinkPad P15v, aimed mainly at the professional on a budget, with an Nvidia Quadro P620 GPU inside. To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/37BcF4S

Annual Android and iOS releases are boring and they need to stop

You’re forgiven if you missed the  official beta of Android 11 , quietly launched by Google last week. In just a few weeks, Apple will do the same with iOS 14 at its all-online WWDC , and before long we’ll be doing it all again next year. It needs to stop. Annual updates have painted Apple and Google into increasingly smaller corners, as they simultaneously rush and delay features to make sure each version update is packed with new stuff. With the relentless pace of updates over the years, it’s gotten harder to wow us with new features. The fact of the matter is, Android 11 is boring, and iOS 14 will be too. To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/3hFfzue

Sonos Arc: A Dolby Atmos performance evaluation

Make sure your TV supports eARC if you want to experience Dolby Atmos on the Sonos Arc soundbar. from PCWorld https://ift.tt/2AITIRN

Google Meet Tab Coming Soon to Gmail App for Android and iOS

Google Meet, the video conferencing service by Google, will be soon integrated on the Gmail app for Android and iOS. The development was announced nearly a month after the company integrated Google Meet tab on Gmail Web client. from Gadgets 360 https://ift.tt/3e58hxs