Must Have Products

The basic LED on the $50 Smart Clock Essential only tells you the time and temperature, but you can still ask Google Assistant to set an alarm. from PCWorld https://ift.tt/3bcLcIt

Outside of what Nvidia shared about its Ampere architecture during the company’s May GTC announcement  and a tease of a new 12-pin power connector , little has been confirmed about what to expect for its upcoming GeForce RTX 30-series graphics cards. But that might change very soon: Announced earlier this month, Nvidia’s GeForce Special Event kicks off in one day on September 1 at 9 a.m. PT (12 p.m. ET), with the promise that gamers will see what comes next. And we’ll be watching and commenting live as it happens. To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/2DdqvQ7

A new report from The China Times suggests that Apple is looking to revive the 12-inch Macbook with a faster chip and better battery. from PCWorld https://ift.tt/34Qd9oy

When Qualcomm announced the upgraded Snapdragon 730G in April, it featured a slightly overclocked Adreno graphics core to differentiate it from the Snapdragon 730. Now, Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon 732G takes a similar approach: it tweaks the Kryo CPU core for increased performance. The newest member of Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 7-series chips increases the Kryo’s clock speed to 2.3GHz, up from 2.2GHz. Qualcomm also says that the Adreno 618 GPU core has been “bolstered” compared to the version found inside the Snapdragon 730G, but didn’t provide performance specifics at press time to justify those claims. To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/2QFBepD

"Bird Box", "Murder Mystery," "When They See Us" and more available for free now, along with the first episodes of hit TV shows such as "Stranger Things" and "Grace and Frankie." from PCWorld https://ift.tt/2QGsRdy

Every laptop has to have a “thing” now, and the “thing” for Lenovo’s new Legion Slim 7i is its weight. Claiming the title of the lightest 15-inch GeForce RTX laptop, the Legion Slim 7i weighs a mere 3.96 lbs. Sure, nit pickers will say even lighter laptops have had GeForce RTX 2060 GPUs, but those laptops are have smaller 14-inch screens too. The body itself is built out of aluminum. Lenovo's laptop will come in a range of configurations, offering from a 10th-gen Core i5 all the way up to a 10th-gen Core i9—itself a noteworthy inclusion in such a diminutive frame. Graphics options range from the entry-level GeForce GTX 1650 Ti to the GeForce RTX 2060 Max-Q.  To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/3jszVqv

Lenovo’s IdeaPad Slim 9i will feature Intel’s next-gen Tiger Lake CPU and Xe graphics rolled into a luxurious, leather-wrapped, lightweight laptop with three Thunderbolt 4.0 ports. The Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 9i features a 14-inch 1080p screen with HDR400, WiFi 6, an electronics privacy shutter, a Windows Hello camera, and an ultrasonic finger print reader that works better with wet fingers. But the star of the show is Intel’s new Tiger Lake CPU. You can read more about it here , but the 10nm, 11th-gen CPU is expected to take the fight to AMD with higher clock speeds and vastly improved Xe graphics.  To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/31JiD2s

With all the upheaval this year, product announcements have been plentiful and scattershot as companies fire off news at all different times. It’s a lot to take in—so we’ve pulled out the best of the bunch with an eye to PC components, PC accessories, and software. We’ve also included items that launched this month so you don’t miss out, since shortages are a real thing these days. August saw more products launching at the time of their announcement, including an excellent M.2 SSD from SK Hynix, a pair of Corsair water cooling kits, and a monster Threadripper PC that’s portable . Fitbit also teased new trackers, while Lenovo promised the arrival of several more Ryzen 4000 laptops. To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/3lAqiI4

Laptops work great on the road or in the classroom, but now that so many of us have been suddenly thrust into working from home and distance learning, you may be realizing that your tiny notebook isn’t optimal for being pounded on for eight hours straight. Yes, it can get the job done. But with a little help, your laptop can get the job done so much better . We’ve rounded up a list of gear and services that can make working from home and distance learning just a little bit easier, because the less added stress in your life right now, the better. You won’t find big, pricey, obvious stuff here; you already know that if you can devote extra space and cash toward a proper desk and an office chair, you’ll be more comfortable. Instead, we’re focusing on more affordable accessories that can help smooth off some of the rough edges of full-time laptop life. To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/3b6A92T

From Dolby Atmos to eARC, weigh these key features when choosing a soundbar. from PCWorld https://ift.tt/2EOWsyQ

Google Pay in India is seen allowing some users to add their NFC-powered credit and debit cards as a payment method in addition to the existing bank account option. The new development would help Google initiate tokenized payments cards. from Gadgets 360 https://ift.tt/2EMVGSI

If you had previously downloaded Fortnite or any other Epic game, you can still play, but those games will not be able to be updated. from PCWorld https://ift.tt/31DIYPu

GPU add-in boards (AIBs) saw an unexpected sales bump in the last quarter—sales increased 6.6 percent over Q1, and spiked an amazing 36.7 percent over the same quarter from last year. This is according to a report from Jon Peddie Research.  The big winner was Nvidia, which continues to hold a solid commanding lead, which grew to 78 percent this quarter. AMD held the remainder at 22 percent. In the previous quarter, Nvidia had 69 percent of sales and AMD had 31 percent. JPR said consumers gearing up in hardware sales for the pandemic likely spurred the increase in sales, which would typically happen in the holiday quarter. That had investors worried that once people had their shiny new graphics cards, sales would slump in the holiday quarter. But that’s not the case, JPR said. To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/3lq6CXn

Apple has settled a class-action lawsuit over a 'design defect' in the Powerbeats 2 headphones for nearly $10 million. from PCWorld https://ift.tt/3gG3Zgq

Ever since email was invented, relevant temporal results have been the goal of its search. If you want to know about a meeting you were invited to, you’d search for the the company, and the last email would bubble up to the top. With Microsoft Outlook, though, it doesn’t work like that. Search for a critical email and Outlook will bubble up prehistoric emails dug up from the fossil record and pin them to the top as “Top Result.” Decades of email use have taught us the date matters the most during searches. Your eyes track to the top results and you think it’s the most recent message, but with Top Result, it’s not. Not at all. We have no idea what AI machine learning algorithms Outlook uses to determine what to show you, but we’ve had so many blown meetings and missed emails due to Outlook’s Top Result breaking the fundamental temporal rule of email that we’re ready to tie two cinder blocks around its neck and hurl it into the Hudson River.  To read this article in full, please...

Better together Image by Mediatonic It's good to have friends. We’ve refreshed this list a few times over the years, but now feels like a particularly appropriate time to do so. We could all use a way to hang out with friends right now, right? Co-op games have long been a way for people to “see” friends from afar, and that’s doubly important at the moment. If you’re looking for a way to spend time with your loved ones digitally, what better way than robbing trains or shooting aliens or whatever? To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/2UqBid5

Apple may reportedly be working on launching its own search engine. According to an online report, there are several indicators that support the move – from job announcements for search engineers to its Spotlight Search bypassing Google Search with iOS 14 beta. from Gadgets 360 https://ift.tt/2EELBHJ

One day, when historians look back at graphics cards that changed the course of gaming, Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 20-series could very well claim a top spot. But what does that mean for gamers who invested in the cutting-edge GPUs on day one? With Nvidia teasing the GeForce RTX 3090’s radical redesign ahead of a September 1 reveal of its next-gen graphics cards, we reflect on the last two years of ray-traced games, DLSS evolutions, and price drops to find the answer. Overall, it’s a mixed bag. While there have been some standout wins among Nvidia’s RTX technologies, there have been some considerable hiccups as well, and far fewer games than Nvidia had led us to expect.  To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/3jmDHS9

Google Assistant Snapshot feature has got updates as well as voice command support that will allow users to say, ““Hey Google, show me my day” to get relevant and essential information. from Gadgets 360 https://ift.tt/3gDvwz2

The Sensibo Sky boasts a slick secondary sensor, and it works with virtually any air conditioner that has a remote control. from PCWorld https://ift.tt/2G6Y6wj

Lots of clean gain and no noise in a tiny package—what's not to like? from PCWorld https://ift.tt/31FXmqt

YouTube has reportedly started testing a native picture-in-picture (PiP) feature in its iOS app. It allows users to continue watching videos in a floating window while working on other apps. Apple had earlier enabled the feature for its iPad users with iOS 9 and for iPhone users with iOS 14. However, YouTube never supported the feature, until now. from Gadgets 360 https://ift.tt/3lsjZGs

Google Duo will be coming soon on Android TV for beta in the form of a native app, through which you’ll be able to directly initiate one-on-one and group video calls from your TV via Google Duo. from Gadgets 360 https://ift.tt/2EHcCtU

Antivirus software is nearly as crucial as a PC’s operating system. Even if you’re well aware of potential threats and practice extreme caution, some threats just can’t be prevented without the extra help of an AV program—or a full antivirus suite.  You could, for example, visit a website that unintentionally displays malicious ads. Or accidentally click on a phishing email (it happens!). Or get stung by a zero-day threat, where an undisclosed bug in Windows, your browser, or an installed program gives hackers entry to your system. We’re not suggesting that PC security software is fool-proof. Antivirus software often can’t do much to stop zero-day exploits, for example. But it can detect when the undisclosed vulnerability is used to install other nasty bits, like ransomware, on your machine. Anyone who actively uses email, clicks on links, and downloads programs will benefit from an antivirus suite. To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https:/...

The Amazon Halo is a health device that will track your activity, body fat, and tone. from PCWorld https://ift.tt/2Qv2GGC

With the addition of the Sense and Versa 3, Fitbit is now selling nine different trackers and smartwatches, but they're not all worth buying. from PCWorld https://ift.tt/3ljFrxz

The Dell Latitude 9510 2-in-1 is a business laptop that just won't quit. Seriously: With nearly a full 24 hours of battery life, it just keeps going and going. Intel and Dell engineers architected the Latitude 9510 as a ”Project Athena” laptop , optimized for responsiveness and battery life. It certainly ticks those boxes. Dell bills the Latitude 9510 as a productivity machine, but you probably don’t know what our review units are loudly telling us: The audio subsystem is also among the best there is. 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/2YC2BoQ

NortonLifeLock, formerly Symantec, has changed up its security suite lineup. Norton Security Premium, the suite we’ve reviewed several times, is no more. Now it’s all about the Norton 360 brand that combines Norton’s protection with services from identify theft protection company LifeLock, which Symantec acquired in 2016. Note: This review is part of our  best antivirus roundup . Go there for details about competing products and how we tested them. By our reckoning, the best choice in terms of value and capabilities in the current  lineup is Norton 360 Deluxe. There are two other suites above that with extra LifeLock features, but for most people 360 Deluxe hits the sweet spot at $50 for the first year for new users and $100 for returning users, covering five devices. To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/3jkdio9

Google is reportedly working on a new user interface for its editor in Photos, which will have larger labels and buttons. The redesigned UI will reportedly include settings such as exposure and contrast getting their own slider and an overall cleaner interface for editing photos. from Gadgets 360 https://ift.tt/3hyeFzd

Google Maps mobile app has got a redesigned ‘Saved’ tab with carousels in place of tabs. The carousel display includes “Recently saved” as the first option, followed by “Nearby saved”, “Visited”, and then “Your lists.” from Gadgets 360 https://ift.tt/3hy03jl

Canon’s image.canon app on Android and iOS now supports automatic backup to Google Photos. This lets you backup pictures taken with a compatible Canon camera directly to Google’s cloud service. from Gadgets 360 https://ift.tt/32v9v0n

Google's own engineers were troubled by the way the company secretly tracked the movements of people who didn't want to be followed until a 2018 investigation uncovered the shadowy surveillance, according to unsealed documents in a consumer fraud case. from Gadgets 360 https://ift.tt/2YDa33c

Google’s seven-inch Nest Hub smart display is about to double as a bellhop. from PCWorld https://ift.tt/31wqTm0

Google Play contains at least 23 “fleeceware” apps that lure customers into paying exorbitant subscription fees, Sophos researchers revealed in a blog post. The new development comes over seven months after Sophos discovered a set of 25 Android apps that were fleecing users on Google Play. from Gadgets 360 https://ift.tt/32wnvH8

Nextbase’s latest dash cam, the 622GW is the complete package, offering fantastically detailed day and night 4K UHD video, Alexa support, as well as Emergency SOS in case of, well, emergency. Add support for Nextbase’s rear, interior, and interior telescopic camera modules, and guess what? You have the best dash cam in existence. At $400, it’s also the priciest, but the cream of the crop generally is. This review is part of our ongoing roundup of the best dash cams . Go there for more reviews and buying advice.  Design and features The 622GW is a smooth, pewter-and-black looker. It’s about 3.5 inches wide, and 2 inches deep, but a bit heavier than the average dash cam. That translates to a feel of quality that so many dash cams lack. The outstanding physical feature is the 1-inch extruded lens body. It no doubt contributes to the 140-degree field of view, 4K UHD (3840x2160), 30fps capture system's fantastic results. The polarizing filter likely doesn’t hurt either. To read th...

In the run up to the September 1 reveal of next-gen GeForce graphics cards running on Nvidia’s cutting-edge Ampere GPU architecture , the company let its thermal, mechanical, electrical, and industrial design nerds shine in a video describing the challenges of making the new card. Titled ”The Remarkable Art & Science of Modern Graphics Card Design,” the video is mostly a tease of what’s to come, confirming much-rumored cooling and power pin design changes for the GeForce RTX 30-series. But it’s also packed with foundational information to help graphics enthusiasts understand just what drove the design decisions of Ampere. To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/32n804m

Google Chrome is improving the performance of its tabs and introducing new features to increase efficiency. Improvements in the tabs could lead to 10 percent faster page loads and more battery and memory savings. from Gadgets 360 https://ift.tt/31ujWSD

Fitbit's newest smartwatches are the company's most expensive wearables in years. So which one should you buy? from PCWorld https://ift.tt/34yy67h

Like a prize fight weigh-in, the AMD Ryzen 7 4800U in Lenovo’s IdeaPad Slim 7 just flexed like no other ultrabook CPU we’ve ever seen. It’s almost as though the Ryzen 7 4800U snatched the mic from the podium and started hurling insults at Intel’s upcoming Tiger Lake CPU . If there was a folding chair, we’re sure it would been thrown at Intel’s entourage while the flash bulbs popped. While we’re still in the process of finishing our testing, the early results we’re seeing are gobsmackingly impressive. How impressive? When we started hunting in our spreadsheet for how other laptops performed against the IdeaPad Slim 7’s results, we kept scrolling, and scrolling, and scrolling to find something comparable. At that point, any hardware reviewer worth his or her salt questions whether they’re “doing it wrong.” Did I run the wrong test? Am I in the wrong row? Do I need more coffee? To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/34z06rb

If you’re the kind of person who looks at the milk carton expiration date or squeezes the bread before you buy it, then you probably don’t want to buy these 77 Chromebooks. That’s because after examining every single Chrome OS device listed in Google’s database, we’ve found a healthy amount of them that are about as fresh as a three-day old donut. Google publishes expiration dates for Chromebooks on its support site here . But rather than drill down into each Chrome OS device maker’s to find out if just one particular Chomebook was expiring, we compiled a list of every single device and then sorted it by expiration date. To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/32sEMBe

Falling prices for multi-gig (2.5/5/10GbE) equipment make upgrading your network to a faster standard very affordable. from PCWorld https://ift.tt/2ErG4Ey

Google Discover, the search giant’s feed of relevant information, has reportedly started showing a collection of TikTok-style short videos as part of a test. from Gadgets 360 https://ift.tt/2QnqiNi

You can bet the entire PC world will be nervously eating every single word Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang says next Tuesday, when he is expected to finally announce the next generation of GeForce graphics cards, based on the company’s cutting-edge Ampere architecture . Today’s surprise release arrived with much less fanfare. The latest GeForce MX chip—Nvidia’s Rodney Dangerfield of GPUs—got the disrespect it always does and was dumped unceremoniously on Nvidia’s website without notice or press release on Tuesday. Don’t even go out the front door, GeForce MX450, we don’t want anyone to see you—even though this is Nvidia’s first consumer mobile GPU to claim support for PCIe 4.0. To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/34yxgqY

Is there anything more frustrating than trying to monitor and manage security for all your smart home network devices by logging into your router? If you can remember the IP address or local host web page, maybe it’s second nature to you. But for many of us, the home network can often seem like an inelegant way to connect a disparate bunch of devices. In a perfect world, we’d set up a router once and never have to worry about it. In fact, a lot of people probably make that assumption and never go back to update their routers unless they’re having trouble connecting a new device to the home network. But that’s not a safe assumption. Remote hackers, even neighbors, can compromise devices To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/32n0c2F

Many of us have a tough time managing security on our home network devices from a web page on our desktop or laptop computers. If you’re on a road trip and your loved ones for some reason asked you to monitor or manage their home devices remotely, you’d probably respond, “Fuggedaboutit!” Now you can nod and say, “Sure.” There’s actually quite a bit that goes on inside that network router sitting in your home. But as PC World observes , it’s the “device that everyone forgets” even though it has passwords to set, firmware to update, and a bunch of IP addresses to manage for every device that uses it as a gateway to the internet. But when it comes to managing the security of each of those connected devices, it’s pretty useless. To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/34wKtAE

More than 83 million U.S. households have at least one smart device, and most of us have more than one. In fact, in the U.S., on average we have 11 devices connected to our home networks, according to one study. Take a quick tally of your own devices. Smartphones? Check. Smart TV(s), Roku, or similar devices? Check. Tablets, laptops, and/or desktops? Check. E-book readers? Smart speakers? Other devices with Amazon Alexa or Apple Siri? Google Nest thermostat? The list goes on and is only going to grow. To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/2Yz5k2F

Spurred by the pandemic, consumers snapped up more computers with GPUs, a leading analyst firm said Tuesday. Second-quarter GPU sales were up overall 2.5 percent globally over the previous quarter, with year-to-year sales up an astounding 11.2 percent, according to a new report from Jon Peddie Research. AMD’s shipments grew by 8.4 percent over the previous quarter, with Nvidia hitting a boffo 17.8 percent growth, the JPR report said. Intel, however, was down 2.7 percent over the previous quarter. If you wondering how Intel gets counted in GPUs since its discrete Xe graphics cards have yet to arrive , JPR’s report looks at total GPUs sold, which include’s Intel’s integrated graphics. JPR said Intel’s issues with manufacturing likely was a factor in its negative numbers. Intel’s slide didn’t seem to hurt discrete graphics cards used in desktops though. JPR said add-in board sales increased a healthy 6.55 percent over the previous quarter. While JPR didn’t detail it, we’d guess that ...

If you often worry about what the kids are accessing over the internet, you’re not alone. But you may also be wary of trying to monitor activity of increasingly independent-minded teens.   Now you can establish boundaries without necessarily having to monitor actual activity using the Trend Micro Home Network Security (HNS) solution. It has tools you can use not only for monitoring and managing access to the internet and devices, but also to help kids build up healthy digital habits. Parenting has never been easy, and technology brings with it many new complications. Parents want to protect their kids from scary stuff that may be lurking on the internet. But, as Common Sense Media’s parenting editor points out , while there is bad stuff your kids can be exposed to, there’s also a lot of good from which they can benefit. To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/2QoJ32W

A district court judge has struck down Epic's appeal to force Apple to let Fortnite back in the App Store immediately. from PCWorld https://ift.tt/31pk9GF

Fitbit has unveiled the Sense, a brand-new smartwatch that tracks stress, skin temperature, and heart rhythms. from PCWorld https://ift.tt/2QmZLzB

Fitbit's new Versa 3 and inspire 2 fitness devices bring relatively few changes but you'll be paying more to get in the door. from PCWorld https://ift.tt/2EBRRju

The Wi-Fi-enabled frame from Netgear-owned Meural syncs with photo albums on your iPhone or Android phone. from PCWorld https://ift.tt/3litFDy

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

Like Apple’s $400 iPhone SE , the $349 Google Pixel 4a isn’t a want phone, it’s a need phone. Apple made certain sacrifices with its budget iPhone to keep the price low, and Google has done the same with its own cut-rate Pixel, dropping features like wireless charging, 90Hz Smooth Display, Face Unlock, and a dual camera that pushed the Pixel 4 XL to $900 . You might think you need those features, but you probably don’t. You only want them. With just 6GB of RAM and a 60Hz display, the Pixel 4a still delivers an Android experience that’s as smooth and speedy as any premium phone. Night Sight and Live HDR+ bring a high-end feel to photo-taking that rivals anything Apple brings with the iPhone 11 Pro . And while I’ll admit that I miss wireless charging, wired charging is plenty fast out of the box. To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/2Yxxk6w

As a New Englander, I’ve been to my fair share of Boston Celtics games. I was in the stands for Paul Pierce’s “ Wheelchair Game .” I was watching when LeBron James torched them for 21 points in the first quarter during the 2010 Playoffs. And I was there a few months later when the Celtics stunned LeBron in his first game as a member of the Miami Heat . To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/3aVafjp

Microsoft Flight Simulator is stunningly beautiful but a pain to download, and it's absolutely punishing to run on even the highest-end PC hardware today. If you just don't happen to have the hardware, storage space, or bandwidth to play Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 , you can at least experience the history of Microsoft Flight Simulator in your browser.  Software engineer and blogger Sebastian Macke has created a Github.com page that lets you play Microsoft Flight Simulator as it began in 1982 as well as four subsequent versions of the game, all in your browser.  To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/3aUBg6A

When rumors of an Nvidia-specific power connector for the rumored GeForce RTX 3090 surfaced last month, it sent hardware nerds into a tizzy that the cable would be a major turn off . If you need a fresh cable or power supply to run a new Ampere GPU, after all, that could push you toward the competition. But in pictures revealed by German site Hardwareluxx.de , the 12-pin connector makes a pretty compelling case for why it might be preferred. To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/2Ez6yDz

Editor's note:  This article originally published on August 23, 2018, shortly after the app's creation, but we're sharing it again in honor of Windows 95's 25th anniversary. You can also run a Windows 95 emulation in your browser with a different project. If you have about 200MB of bandwidth to spare and a taste for the nostalgic, why not take a moment and download Windows 95 as an app? Felix Rieseberg  constructed one of Microsoft's iconic operating systems as an Electron app, which is downloadable from GitHub  for Windows, Mac, or Linux. It's unknown whether Rieseberg received any help from Microsoft itself, or whether or not what he constructed is technically legal. At this point, really, who cares? To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/2YwOO37

Hey PC gamers: Your body may be ready for all the blockbusters dropping just in time for the holiday season, but your PC might not be. Today’s games gobble up storage like it’s going out of style: Call of Duty: Warzone gobbles up well north of 200GB by its lonesome after you’re done downloading all of its updates, while the fantastically beautiful  Microsoft Flight Simulator   demands well over 100GB out of the gate. Dedicating hundreds of gigs to just two games is enough to make any SSD beg for mercy. To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/3ladaJA

Not everyone needs a computer with a full set of bells and whistles. A Chromebook’s simplified interface makes it popular with schools—and those of us who serve as IT support for less tech-savvy relatives. It can cost less than a budget PC, too. You might not even need to spend anything if you have an older laptop already lying about. Installing the equivalent of Chrome OS onto aged hardware takes less than an hour’s worth of elbow grease, and the final result often feels snappier than today’s dirt-cheap Chromebooks. Here’s how to do it. How to convert a laptop into a Chromebook For this project, we’ll be using Neverware’s CloudReady operating system, which is based on Chromium OS—the same open-source code that Google built Chrome OS on. You can read more about the basic differences between the two if you’re curious, but all you need to know is that Neverware has made the experience of using CloudReady all but identical to Chrome OS. To read this article in full, please click h...

The Blur Gallery in Adobe Photoshop is different from the Blur Filters we've covered previously (both are found in Photoshop's Filter menu). When you select Blur Gallery, Photoshop displays another dropdown menu with five Blur options: Field, Iris, Tilt-Shift, Path, and Spin Blur. These filters are much more interactive than regular Blur Filters, with live previews and on-image controls, including options to create Bokeh effects. Blur Gallery Tools To use Blur Gallery features, open a file, then use the Lasso tool or the Magic Wand to select the area you want to smooth or soften. It works best if you cut out the selected area, paste it back in as a new layer, then ensure that this layer is active in the Layers panel. The blur will affect the entire selected area unless you use the Pins to select specific sections. To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/34wuPFp

If you value audio performance more than active noise cancelling, the Shure Aonic 50 headphones deserve a listen. Just be aware of a few from PCWorld https://ift.tt/3aPRD40

The companion app for Treatlife's Wi-Fi dimmer, however, is as primitive as ever. from PCWorld https://ift.tt/3ld8in3

Pixel 5 is tipped to launch sometime next month. The Pixel 5 and Pixel 4a 5G phones were teased during the launch of the Pixel 4a, but details are extremely scarce at the moment. A first live photo of the two devices has now leaked online giving us a glimpse of their back panel design. from Gadgets 360 https://ift.tt/32j0mIf

British Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak plans to drop a tax on technology companies such as Facebook and Google because it does not raise much money and could hurt a push for a US trade deal. from Gadgets 360 https://ift.tt/2Yu27RN

Google Pixel 5 will come with a 6-inch OLED display with 90Hz refresh rate, a new report claims. The phone is said to come with slim bezels on all sides and the report points at a RAM and storage configuration as well. from Gadgets 360 https://ift.tt/3iYOTEg

We put popular Bluetooth wireless and true wireless earbud models through their paces to find the best in the bunch. from PCWorld https://ift.tt/3iOPOIn

With models from Lutron, Wemo, Leviton, iDevices, and others, it can be difficult to know which easy and inexpensive device is best for controlling the lamps and small appliances in your smart home. We’ll help you find the right one. from PCWorld https://ift.tt/2ZlCD7u

The Samsung Galaxy Note 20 only just hit shelves this week, but many of its features are already coming to the Galaxy S20. Samsung has announced that One UI 2.5 , which debuted on the new Note, has already begun rolling out to S20 phones and should arrive in the U.S. soon. Among the new features outlined below are enhancements to video recording, Samsung Notes, and DeX, but it appears the S20 won’t be getting the Note 20 Ultra’s best feature: adaptive refresh. On Samsung’s newest Note, in order to conserve battery life the display will automatically lower to 60Hz when the phone is at rest or when using an app that doesn’t benefit from the higher refresh rate. We reached out to Samsung for clarification, but they pointed us back to the blog post for the new features, which doesn’t list the adaptive refresh as coming to the S20. To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/3hjoJvK

Google Pixel 5 has already been confirmed to launch in the autumn alongside the Pixel 4a 5G model. In the Pixel 4a launch blog spot, the tech giant had shared a slight glimpse of the side of the phone, showing off the edges and the button placement, but apart from this, nothing else is known of the Pixel 5. from Gadgets 360 https://ift.tt/34jIcbQ

Microsoft’s beautiful and punishing Flight Simulator 2020 reboot will spur a staggering $2.6 billion in PC hardware sales, Jon Peddie Research (JPR) estimates. Flight Simulator formally launched August 17. Previews of Flight Simulator (including PCWorld’s) largely agree it’s one of the most sophisticated flight sims, if not games, to release on the PC. Jon Peddie Research believes this will cause PC players to buy new CPUs, GPUs, and monitors. Don’t forget the accessories! JPR also expects strong sales in flight sticks, throttles, rudder pedals, and even simulation seats, frames, and VR gear. To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/3281luK

The Creative Outlier Gold delivers balanced sound, long battery life, and decent water resistance for a great price. But ouch, watch out for those touch controls. from PCWorld https://ift.tt/34j9mQ7

This dual smart plug is a solid alternative to dimmable smart bulbs, especially in fixtures with multiple sockets. from PCWorld https://ift.tt/34jGXcM

Ever since the pandemic lockdown, I’ve been fielding questions from friends and family about technology buys. Recently, it was a relative asking what monitor she should buy for her daughters who are going back to school—but doing distance learning at home. “It’s the first day of school and we’re now realizing we should get monitors and keyboards for the girls,” she said. “It’s too hard to be on a tiny laptop or Chromebook all day. What do you think of these?” All three monitors, sold by Office Depot, ranged from $70 to $80, and to the casual shopper would look the same.  ViewSonic VA1903H Acer V196HQL ViewSonic VA2055SA Spoiler: None of these would be my top picks. Instead I'd go with an Aopen model. But let’s delve into my relative's queries nonetheless, and learn a bit about monitor specs. To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/2YD28mH

Google has patched a security bug that was impacting both Gmail and G Suite email servers. The issue was identified and reported to Google in April, though the search giant took over four months in mitigation and ultimately released a patch on Wednesday. from Gadgets 360 https://ift.tt/3aM4iVz

If you’ve always looked longingly at Razer’s mice and keyboards but wished they weren’t quite so hip and flashy, then today’s your lucky day. The popular peripheral maker has announced its latest line of products and they’re geared toward productivity, not gaming. And there’s nary an RGB light to be found. The new $140 Pro Type keyboard and $100 Pro Click mouse don’t stray too far from Razer’s iconic design with one exception: they’re dressed in “a chic white finish and subtle gray highlights.” That means your co-workers or zoom callers won’t think you’re having a mid-life crisis. Razer has teamed with office furniture maker Humanscale on the new products and the result is about as non-gaming as you can get. To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/3hgXaD8

On Thursday, Zoom revealed its upcoming changes for distance learning this fall, creating focus groups and allowing students to roam between breakout rooms without the need for their teacher to facilitate things. Both Google and Microsoft have already told us what their own distance learning plans are for Meet and Teams , respectively. Now it's Zoom's turn. All of Zoom’s new features will be available to the free Zoom for Education plan, which means that they’ll probably appear sometime soon. Zoom hasn’t revealed the exact timetable for their release, however, beyond “this fall.” To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/3aJbHFu

How do you take recess during a day of distance learning? By breaking down recess into its component parts, and figuring out how to do each. A day’s worth of Zoom calls and online worksheets can take its toll on  anyone , including adults, let alone wiggly first-graders and world-weary teens. On-campus recess offered students a chance to run around, chat, and hang out with their friends. If you think about recess in that way—as a chance to chat, and as a chance to run around—you can get close to recess in spirit, if not in reality. I have two boys, one in middle school and one entering third grade. In our state of California, our district has gone back to school, entirely by distance learning. Here’s what we’re considering as recess options as we go back to school. To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/34cV43E

The latest Canary version of Google Chrome appears to have a streaming hub called Chrome Kaleidoscope. It has listed Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Disney+ Hotstar as the initial three video streaming services to begin with. from Gadgets 360 https://ift.tt/31dPNXB

Google Pixel 5 5G and Pixel 4a 5G could be launched next month if the latest rumour is to be believed. According to a tipster, Pixel 5 5G could be launched in black and green colour options on September 30 alongside Pixel 4a 5G in black. from Gadgets 360 https://ift.tt/34j2yCk

Acronis True Image 2021 Premium is indisputably the most comprehensive solution when it comes to backup and computer security for Windows PCs. In fact, we’re unaware of any other product that actually marries these two software disciplines into a single streamlined application.  While anti-malware and backup might seem a slightly odd marriage at first, the ability to fire off a backup or shut off access to previous backups when malware is detected makes a whole lot of sense. An admitted skeptic when the company first started down this path, I’m now a big fan of the concept.  This review is part of our ongoing roundup of the best backup software . 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/3hghvZg

Intel has finally defended its AVX-512 instruction set against critics who have gone so far as to wish it to die “a painful death.”   Intel Chief Architect Raja Koduri said the community loves it because it yields huge performance boosts, and Intel has an obligation to offer it across its portfolio. “AVX-512 is a great feature. Our HPC community, AI community, love it,” Koduri said, responding to a question from PCWorld about the AVX-512 kerfuffle during Intel’s Architecture Day on August 11. “Our customers on the data center side really, really, really love it.” Koduri said Intel has been able to help customers achieve a 285X increase in performance in “our good old CPU socket” just by taking advantage of the extension.  To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/2YiXeLs

Apple's new bundle with CBS All Access and Showtime actually makes sense for cord-cutters. from PCWorld https://ift.tt/2FGsf5s

The Aura Carver picture frame uses AI to ensure you don’t see letterbox bars when the frame is displaying portrait images. from PCWorld https://ift.tt/2CI2G2D

Our Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra review found three clear reasons to make the jump to this new flagship phone: Mystic Bronze, laser autofocus, and the S Pen’s new 8ms latency. And if you’re looking for any reasons not to, well, there are plenty of those in this review too—namely, it’s gigantic, expensive, and not a huge upgrade over the S20 Ultra. Michael Simon/IDG The 6.9-inch screen on the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra definitely needs two hands to operate. To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/32dg07S

Gmail, Google Drive, Google Docs, and other Google services are facing an outage for some users. The issue seems to have impacted many users globally. from Gadgets 360 https://ift.tt/2YiUT2P

Zoom for Home will be available for Facebook’s Portal smart display range first in September. It will be available on Portal Mini, Portal, and Portal+ smart displays from next month, and support for Portal TV will also be added in the future. Portal users will get features like one-touch join face-to-face communication and digital white boarding... from Gadgets 360 https://ift.tt/2Yfx9Ni

In this episode of The Full Nerd, Gordon Ung , Brad Chacos , and Willis Lai dig into an episode all about real-time ray tracing in gaming. Well, not really—but it’s worth noting that everything discussed today supports the cutting-edge lighting technology. Has the time finally arrived? First, Nvidia’s GeForce Now game-streaming service started streaming to Chromebooks this week, just in time to add a touch of distance playing to your kid’s distance learning experience. Gordon shares some hands-on impressions, then Brad dives into rumors whirling around a GeForce RTX 3090 that could be be revealed at Nvidia’s September 1 event . Finally, we explain what you need to know about Intel’s recent Xe graphics card disclosures . The first desktop models will come next year with GDDR6 memory and yes, real-time ray tracing in tow. To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/2YdwX12

Just when you thought BlackBerry phones were gone for good, a brand-new startup is claiming that a new one is on the way. And in case you’re wondering, yes it will have a physical keyboard. In a press release , Texas-based Onward Mobility announced that is has entered into an agreement with BlackBerry and FIH Mobile Limited to deliver a new 5G BlackBerry Android smartphone with physical keyboard in the first half of 2021. Little else is known about the phone except that it will be “secure,” feature-rich,” and “enable productivity, without sacrificing the user experience.” To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/2E5rqT6

The two biggest Android phones of the moment couldn’t be more different. They’re so different, in fact, that there’s nearly $1,000 between them: The Google Pixel 4a costs just $349, and the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra will set you back a whopping $1,300. But while it’s crazy to compare things like performance, design, or battery life between phones so different in price, the camera is another story. The Pixel 4a’s photography chops are more high-end than its price tag would suggest. It has the same main camera as the $899  Pixel 4 XL , as well as the same camera app features, including Night Sight and Live HDR+. And because it’s a Google phone, we know the processing is off-the-charts awesome. But can it stand up to a phone that costs nearly four times as much? Let’s find out. To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/32557oO

Both free and paid Zoom users will be able to make or join Zoom calls on their Google displays before the year is out. from PCWorld https://ift.tt/3aE1Kc2

Google Meet is adding support for Chromecast, using which you will be able to stream your meetings on TV. With the Chromecast support, you will be able conduct your meetings, connect with friends, and attend lectures on the big screen. from Gadgets 360 https://ift.tt/3iXJ2iS

The back-to-school season is upon us once more, but with so many schools having moved to distance learning, good PC deals are harder to come by than before. Stores aren’t skimping—demand is just that high for budget laptops and Chromebooks. In fact, you’ll be hard pressed to find much of anything in stock under $250 right now. With everyone so strapped for time these days, we did some digging to root out the best picks of what remains. The good news is, between the launch of Ryzen 4000 mobile parts and some careful hunting, we found several wallet-friendly options that provide great value. Chromebooks Samsung Chromebook 4 $230 To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/3l1HTs7

The SK Hynix Gold P31 NVMe SSD moves the needle on the industry seismometer just enough to makes this review far easier to write. Two points alter the needle’s path: The P31 is not only the first drive to sport 128-layer TLC NAND, it’s also the first in my experience to feature eco-friendly packaging. Huzzah! This review is part of our ongoing roundup of the best SSDs . Go there for information on competing products and how we tested them. Design and specs While the SK Hynix Gold P31 uses the same 2280 (22 mm wide, 80 mm long) form factor as most SSDs, the similarities stop there. Instead of the usual 96 layers of TLC NAND, the P31’s TLC NAND sports 128. How this translates to “4D,” as the company refers to it in the product brief, rather than 3D, I’m not sure. There's DRAM cache on board, and NAND is employed as secondary cache, though we were not given the amounts involved. Whatever they are, they're effective. To read this article in full, please click here from...

Is a cheap Chromebook good enough for distance learning? That’s a question many families are facing as school begins and they frantically buy supplies—including, in some cases, new laptops. If parents have weighed Windows laptops vs Chromebooks , one of the appeals of the latter is cost, especially if they have to buy several. But some of the cheapest Chromebooks we've seen come with some big caveats. We’ll go over the key factors to consider before you buy. Our recommendations below are new, nicely designed and affordable models you won't regret. To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/2EeSBL1

This uninterruptible power supply is a great investment for anyone looking to protect a high-performance PC. from PCWorld https://ift.tt/3h655TP

Raise your hand if this sounds familiar: It’s five minutes until your third-grader’s distance learning class, but just as you’re about to make sure she’s dialed into her Zoom call, something comes up with your own work. Thirty minutes later, you finally head over to your daughter’s room, only to find her sprawled on the floor watching her iPad. Meanwhile, her Chromebook—the one she uses for Zoom calls—is securely shut. Yes, she just missed another class, and you (bad parent!) let it happen. Keeping your kids on track while juggling your own obligations has to be one of the biggest challenges of distance learning, remote learning, virtual learning or whatever you want to call it. We’ve rounded up a few smart home solutions that can help your grade-schoolers—or at least, help you help them—to manage their schedules during what’s likely to be many more months of learning at home. To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/2E5mq0U

Google on Wednesday expanded its job-listing app Kormo Jobs to India. Originally launched in Bangladesh in 2018 and subsequently in Indonesia last year, the Kormo Jobs app lists jobs and also allows individuals to create their digital Curriculum Vitae (CV). from Gadgets 360 https://ift.tt/34jJXGh

Google Maps is rolling out visual improvements that aim to better reflect actual environments in the maps. Google is introducing a colour-mapping algorithmic technique for Maps, through which users will be able to easily understand what an area exactly looks like and visualise it. from Gadgets 360 https://ift.tt/2FDxRNO

From the moment Facebook acquired Oculus in 2014 we’ve been expecting this news, and it’s finally come. Starting in October, you’ll need a Facebook account to log into Oculus virtual reality devices, including all Oculus hardware being released in the future, the company announced on Tuesday. Things are a little more complicated for people who have already purchased an Oculus device and created an Oculus profile for it. In October, you’ll be invited to log into Facebook and merge the account with your Oculus profile. If you decline, you’ll be able to continue using your standalone Oculus profile until January 1, 2023, at which point the account will be retired. To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/3aAjUeM

AMD on Tuesday launched what can only be described as the “home essentials” (read: bare-bones basic) of CPU chipsets for today’s and tomorrow’s Ryzen chips. The A520 chipset is a slight upgrade over the previous budget A320 chipset. One main difference is the addition of USB 3.2 10Gbps ports from the CPU. The A520 also gets four PCIe 3.0 lanes, vs. the four PCIe 2.0 lanes of the A320. The biggest difference, though, is in CPU support. AMD said the A520 will let you socket in today’s Ryzen 3000-based Zen 2 chips and offer a path for “future upgrades.” That means it should work with the upcoming Ryzen 4000-based Zen 3 CPUs. AMD For those seeking a basic chipset to build on a current Ryzen CPU, with an eye toward an eventual upgrade, the A520 is probably not a bad place to start. Obviously, that means you don’t get access to PCIe 4.0 support, but that’s probably not in the cards in a budget chipset meant to run a budget CPU. To read this article in full, please click here fro...

The two biggest Android phones of the moment couldn’t be more different. They're so different, in fact, that there’s nearly $1,000 between them: The Google Pixel 4a costs just $349, and the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra will set you back a whopping $1,300. But while it’s crazy to compare things like performance, design, or battery life between phones so different in price, the camera is another story. The Pixel 4a's photography chops are more high-end than its price tag would suggest. It has the same main camera as the $899  Pixel 4 XL , as well as the same camera app features, including Night Sight and Live HDR+. And because it’s a Google phone, we know the processing is off-the-charts awesome. But can it stand up to a phone that costs nearly four times as much? Let’s find out. To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/2CByNB1

When Samsung launched the Galaxy Note 20 earlier this month, the biggest surprise wasn’t the faster screen, smoother S Pen, or more powerful processor. It was the promise of three “generations” of Android updates , a first for the company. Now Samsung is expanding the promise to even more phones. While the company originally said the guarantee would only apply to its highest-end “S, N, and Z series devices starting with the S10,” Samsung has added its latest A-series phones to that list, so the Galaxy A51 and A71 will be sure to get Android 13 when it arrives in 2022. Here’s the full list: To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/2Q3ynqi

Nvidia’s long-awaited GeForce Now arrived on Chromebooks Tuesday morning, giving gamers the ability to play their game libraries on Google’s laptops. Plans for GeForce Now streamed gaming on Chrome OS have been in the works since 2017. The service, already popular on Windows and MacOS , lets gamers stream their existing Steam, Epic, and other game libraries to lower-end hardware. To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/3251AXo

myQ needs to revisit its service plan prices to make this garage-centric camera more appealing. from PCWorld https://ift.tt/2DTAxGH

“What graphics card within my budget gives me the best bang for my buck?” That simple question cuts to the core of what people hunting for a new graphics card look for: the most oomph they can afford. Sure, the technological leaps behind each new GPU can be interesting on their own, but most everyone just wants to crank up the detail settings on Battlefield   and get right to playing. Gaming GPU cheat sheet Our quick-hit recommendations: Best budget GPU: GeForce GTX 1650 Super   [amazon.com] Best 1080p GPU: GeForce GTX 1660 Super  [ newegg.com ] Best 1440p GPU: Radeon RX 5700   [amazon.com] Best 4K/60Hz GPU: GeForce RTX 2080 Super   [GeForce.com] Best 4K/144Hz GPU: GeForce RTX 2080 Ti Founders Edition Remove non-product link   [BestBuy.com] Updated August 17, 2020  to update the news section with information about Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 30-series tease and info about Intel’s Xe graphics options in 2020 . To read this article in full, ple...

A great-sounding, compact, vibration-free solution for vinyl lovers. from PCWorld https://ift.tt/3aygqc0

Indoor air quality control is more important than ever and this smart air purifier makes it easy. from PCWorld https://ift.tt/325vivE

You can speed up your home Internet connection and Wi-Fi for cheaper than you'd think. It's a need many homes are facing now, when the pandemic traps both students and parents under one roof, all trying to work online at the same time.  Wi-Fi range becomes an especially painful issue. In our tiny home, spreading out meant we needed solid signal even in corners of the house, deck, or yard that never mattered before. While an Internet drop-out while surfing the web was no big deal a year ago, a drop-out during a Zoom call is about as embarrassing today as showing up to work with your shirt on inside-out. Here's how I sped up our home Wi-Fi and even coaxed more speed out of our main Internet connection (with an assist from our ISP). It takes some smart shopping and DIY can-do spirit, but my cash outlay was minimal--and could have been less, if I'd known everything I know now. To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/346w1Pv

Google is said to be planning to replace Duo with Meet. A report claims that Meet has grown to become a Zoom competitor and that G Suite head Javier Soltero has decided to make it Google’s one video calling service. from Gadgets 360 https://ift.tt/3107qtM

Google said on Friday it would no longer provide data in response to requests from Hong Kong authorities following the enactment of a new national security law imposed by China. from Gadgets 360 https://ift.tt/2Cw7doK

It’s 8 a.m. on a clear, sunny day in Oakland, California. No, it’s a rainy afternoon in Hong Kong. Or is it evening in Paris? Microsoft  Flight Simulator  doesn’t care. At a time when gorgeous “open world” games are the norm, Flight Simulator helps set the bar even higher. Yes, it offers a stunning recreation of a virtual world, with weather and realistic landscapes, real-world traffic and ocean waves, and even, apparently, animals. But the virtual world is our world, our planet, and you can go anywhere in it. Mark Hachman / IDG Flight Simulator’s “home” screen. To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/3150jk1

Google went on the offensive Monday against an Australian plan forcing digital giants to pay for news content, telling users their personal data would be "at risk". from Gadgets 360 https://ift.tt/312d12P

For times when you don’t have access to the Internet, you can always watch YouTube videos offline, considering you have saved them on your device. In this guide, we show how you can download YouTube videos in bulk on your phone or computer. from Gadgets 360 https://ift.tt/3h5z4vi

Google Docs is a popular word processor that lets you edit and share documents online. However, if the need is, you can also work on Google Docs without an internet connection. Follow this guide as we tell you how to use Google Docs offline. from Gadgets 360 https://ift.tt/31SMHHI

OnePlus Nord, Pixel 4a, and iPhone SE (2020) are budget friendly offerings from the three companies. These come with affordable price tags when compared to the companies’ high-end offerings. from Gadgets 360 https://ift.tt/3iNVeTf

In case you haven’t heard, Fortnite is gone from iOS and Android app stores. And it might not be coming back anytime soon. In response to getting dumped from both stores. Epic has sued both Apple and Google over the terms of their app stores, and it doesn’t look like this Battle Royale is going to end anytime soon. Even though the game still works for anyone who previously downloaded it, the clock is ticking. Once the update arrives to deliver the next Fortnite season, which is scheduled to arrive on August 27, the current version of the game will stop working forever. To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/2FiFetK

Be Quiet’s Pure Base 500 mid-tower case launched last year with a focus on minimizing fan noise, but as usual with quiet cases, its temperatures ran warm. Happily, you can now bypass that catch with the company’s airflow variant, the Pure Base 500DX. As you’ll see in our video above , the 500DX’s star feature is its mesh front, which allows for much greater air intake. (And falls right in line with the overall case trend for the year.) Instead of the foam-lined solid panel found on the standard Pure Base 500, the DX version has two large, long mesh sections spanning most of its front, partially outlined with ARGB light strips. The latter is a first for Be Quiet; until this case, it had only offered non-addressable RGB as accents. To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/2PUAE7g