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Cooling is half the battle in gaming laptops and Alienware’s new secret weapon is its mysterious “Element 31,” which the company finally revealed at Computex 2021. Element 31—named for gallium’s 31st place on the periodic table—is essentially an encapsulated gallium liquid metal and one of the exotic materials Alienware used to make the stupidly thin Alienware x15 and x17 laptops. Traditional liquid metals have been used by enthusiasts on desktops for some time, as well as high-end laptops for the last couple of years or so, but it’s always had downsides. Alienware actually looked at phase-change materials, aluminum-doped materials, organic waxes, graphite and raw liquid metals, but decided Element 31 was the best answer. To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/3fEGjfq

AMD will step up its gaming laptop offerings with three new RDNA 2-based Radeon RX 6000M GPUs, designed to battle Nvidia’s 30-series GeForce cards. A total of three RX 6000M GPUs were introduced Monday as part of AMD's keynote at the virtual Computex 2021: Radeon RX 6800M with 40 compute units and ray accelerators, 12GB of GDDR6 memory, a game clock of 2,300MHz, 145+ watt TDP, 192-bit memory interface, and 96MB of Infinity Cache Radeon RX 6700M with 36 compute units/ray accelerators, 10GB of GDDR6 memory, a game clock of 2,300MHz, 135-watt TDP, 160-bit memory interface, and 80MB of Infinity Cache Radeon RX 6600M with 28 compute units/ray accelerators, 8GB of GDDR6 memory, a game clock of 2,177MHz, 128-bit memory interface, and 32MB of Infinity Cache. AMD said the RDNA 2 chips offer 1.5X the performance over the original RDNA designs, while also operating at 43 percent less power. In something AMD calls “power constrained gaming” (gaming on battery), RDNA 2 offers a whoppin...

Say hello to Radeon’s long-awaited answer to Nvidia’s DLSS technology. AMD finally took the wraps off its FidelityFX Super Resolution feature during its Computex 2021 keynote on Monday night. The company promised up to twice your GPU's native performance when you need extra gaming firepower (like when you activate ray tracing, for example) and the ability to make most recent graphics cards even faster in supported games—even if you’re running a GeForce GPU. Better yet, it’s coming soon, on June 22. To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/3fXgYfA

Your prayers are being answered, DIY PC builders: During its Computex 2021 keynote, AMD announced that its hotly anticipated Ryzen 5000G APUs , which marry the company’s latest CPU cores with integrated Radeon graphics, will launch in just a few months, on August 5. But circumstances around the ongoing chip shortage mean these APUs don’t fill the same role as prior-generation models. Previous Ryzen 2000G and 3000G APUs slotted into the low end of AMD’s processor lineups, offering four CPU cores and eight threads for prices ranging from $80 to $150 or so on the streets. This time around, however, AMD doesn’t plan on making its modest Ryzen 3 5300G APU available to the DIY market. Instead, we’ll be getting the $259 Ryzen 5 5600G and $359 Ryzen 7 5700G. To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/3i8CZL0

If you think Nvidia’s GeForce has long had a lock on desktop GPUs, it’s nothing less than Fort Knox on gaming laptops, where it simply dominates all. That could change, however, with AMD’s new RDNA2-based Radeon RX 6000 GPUs, which promise solid competition to the high-flying GeForce chips. To find out just how well AMD’s new GPU and CPU do, we took the new Asus ROG Strix G15 Advantage Edition around the block. If you’re looking for more CPU tests, we recommend that you read our  review of Intel’s 11th-gen Tiger Lake H , where we look at the same CPU used in the G15. To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/3yPDlfx

Google is restricting third-party apps from replacing the native Sharesheet in Android 12 to offer the same sharing menu across all apps, according to a report. from Gadgets 360 https://ift.tt/3vGx5EP

Chrome 91 for Android is getting a new Screenshot tool in the sharing menu. The tool appears in the bottom row of the menu along with Copy Link, Send to Your Devices, QR Code, and Print options. Upon clicking at Screenshot, users can crop the image, add text or draw on it before sharing it, save it on their devices, or delete it entirely. from Gadgets 360 https://ift.tt/3icRRb4

This wall-mounted air purifier boasts some great technology, but it’s much too loud for us to recommend with any enthusiasm. from PCWorld https://ift.tt/3fShwmO

Supporting both Dolby Atmos and DTS:X, the Vizio M512a-H6 packs exciting, room-filling sound, even if it lacks Wi-Fi support. from PCWorld https://ift.tt/3p3dYT0

New unredacted documents from an Arizona, US lawsuit against Google reportedly suggests that the search giant hid privacy settings and made them harder to find for users. The documents reportedly reveal that Google continued to collect location data, even when key location sharing was turned off. The company used different methods like Wi-Fi, or third-party apps not a... from Gadgets 360 https://ift.tt/3uCwItq

Fitbit could introduce a new feature on its smartwatch and fitness band models that have a microphone, which would allow them to detect snoring and ambient sound. The feature is said to be a major drain on the device's battery. from Gadgets 360 https://ift.tt/3uv7uxi

Back at CES 2020, Intel introduced a much larger Next Unit of Computing (NUC) bare-bones mini-PC than had ever previously been shown—a 5L modular gaming PC that had room for a discrete graphics card. Now at Computex 2021, Team Blue on Sunday gave an early, brief glance at Ghost Canyon ’s successor: the 8L Intel NUC 11 Extreme Kit, also known as Beast Canyon. This hefty newcomer doubles down on Ghost Canyon’s formula, which used its extra real estate to promote the idea of ultra-easy DIY PC building. No need to study up on the ins and outs of PC building: On one side of the case, you drop in Intel’s Compute Element , a self-contained PC in the form of a PCIe card. Powered by a beefy H-class mobile processor, it also holds the RAM and storage. On the other side, you install an add-in graphics card that can handle the most punishing of games. That's it. But this time, full-length cards will fit. To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/34yK...

Intel announced its first 5GHz 11th-gen Tiger Lake-U Core chip for notebook PCs on Sunday night, complementing it with the company’s first 5G module designed specifically to work with its existing Wi-Fi 6E technology. The announcement was tied to Computex, the Taiwan hardware showcase, which has been replaced by a virtual event for the second straight year. Specifically, Intel announced two new processors, the 2.9GHz Core i7-1195G7 and the 2.5GHz Core i5-1155G7. After boosting the i7-1195G7 using Intel’s Turbo Boost Max Technology 3.0, the chip can reach a clock speed of 5GHz.  Both new chips fall into what Intel is calling its “UP3” category—what was known previously as “U” series of chips that are designed for general-purpose notebooks. Intel said that more than sixty designs based on the Intel Core i7-1195G7 and Intel Core i5-1155G7 are expected by this holiday season, with laptops from Acer, Asus, Lenovo, and MSI available this summer. Nearly 250 designs powered by 11t...

Computex begins next week—in fact, literally right in the middle of the long Memorial Day weekend in the good ol’ U.S. of A. And by the looks of things, the news coming out of this year’s virtual show could be quite juicy. Intel, AMD, and Nvidia all have keynotes that help kick off the event. Each company is poised to discuss its latest technological advances. After a long year filled with delays and supply constraints due to the pandemic, the industry may start picking up steam once again. Intel has hinted at “ innovation unleashed ,” while AMD will unveil its “ vision for the future of computing ” (which will include information on “high-performance computing and graphics solutions”). For its part, Nvidia has promised to “ address the explosive growth in worldwide gaming .” To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/3frt0yK

Viofo’s A139 3CH three-channel, three-camera dash cam system is a first in our experience. We’ve tested three-channel products before, but the interior camera has always been integrated into the same body as the front camera. Viofo’s is separate, as is the rear camera. The upside to this discrete interior camera approach is versatility in locating each camera. The downside, though easily surmountable, is that you have more cables to hide. Design and features The A139's three cameras are also notable for their high resolution. The 140-degree FOV front camera is 1440p, while the 170-degree cabin (interior) and rear cameras are both 1080p. All manage 30 fps while recording simultaneously, which means there’s a fair amount of processing power under the hood. High-quality Sony STARVIS IMX335 sensors are used by all three cameras.  To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/34qAc7R

Merlin Labs is a Google backed company that is working on automation for aeronautics. The planes don't guide themselves like a self-driving car though. Instead, Merlin wants to create automated flight gear and control panels. from Gadgets 360 https://ift.tt/3oX16xu

Buying an HDMI cable should be simple—but some cables don’t perform as expected, while others don’t clearly indicate the HDMI specifications supported. If you don’t have time to dig into the details yourself, use this guide to grab the right cable for your needs. We’ve sorted it by HDMI specification (also known as HDMI version), so you can find an instant, affordable match. Our picks also sidestep the problems you might encounter when hunting on your own, be it cheaply made cables that perform poorly or overpriced ones that do nothing better than less expensive alternatives. Need a cable to use with a high-refresh monitor, especially one above 144Hz? We generally recommend using a DisplayPort cable instead of HDMI—look for one rated for DisplayPort 1.3 or higher. Or grab one of our suggestions for DisplayPort 1.4 cables , which are backward compatible. To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/3g7aGdt

Besides turning dumb appliances into smart ones, the Eve Energy smart plug can help extend the range of other Thread-enabled devices in your home. from PCWorld https://ift.tt/3bWgJQA

For months, my Lenovo Yoga C940 laptop seemed to be playing tricks on me. One minute the display would be pleasantly bright, but switching to anything with a dark background caused a gradual drop in contrast, giving the screen an almost grimy appearance. I could even see the change kick in while switching between applications, as if some auto-brightness setting were constantly going awry, yet the Windows Settings menu offered no obvious solutions. Eventually, though, I found the source of the problem. Tucked away in recent Intel-powered Windows laptops is a program called Intel Graphics Command Center, containing a sprawling array of virtual knobs and dials for adjusting the look of your laptop’s screen. After making some small adjustments within this program, my laptop’s brightness issues were gone. To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/2SBMZS8

Acer Chromebook models and Acer Aspire Vero notebook have been launched and they come with the latest 11th-Gen Intel Core processors. They run on Chrome OS and offer impressive battery life. Acer Chromebook 317 (CB317-1H) can last up to 10 hours on a single charge, according to the company. from Gadgets 360 https://ift.tt/3oZzzM3

Google Messages is reported to be get two new updates in the future. These features are still under development and have been spotted in the code of the latest update via Google Play store. Check out all the details here. from Gadgets 360 https://ift.tt/3g6NtIn

Lawyers for the Justice Department and Google tangled over whether the company should hand over performance reviews of executives whom the government is considering calling as witnesses. from Gadgets 360 https://ift.tt/3fUfaUi

Finally, Microsoft has a way to avoid wading through the Microsoft Store app or hunting down an app download link from the web: Winget, also known as the Windows Package Manager, has finally been released. Package managers aren’t new to the Windows world. Chocolatey , for example, has been available as a package manager for years. (Package managers have also been a staple of Linux for years, and one of the operating system’s greatest features.)   Version 1.0 of Windows Package Manager is a command-line application that simply tells Windows to seek out a particular app and install it—no muss, no fuss. It will soon ship as an automatic update via the Microsoft Store for all devices running Windows 10, version 1809 and later, Microsoft said this week. To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/2QWJ6a2

The time has come and the free ride is over . As of Tuesday June 1, 2021 your Gmail messages, Google Drive files, and Google Photos will count against a hard cloud storage limit. No more loopholes, no more ignored files, no more unlimited storage of photos (unless you're on a Pixel) and documents. Nearly everything counts. If you haven’t considered what this change means for you  yet, it’s a good idea to take a look at your Google Account and make sure you’re ready now that the deadline is looming. We've identified five things you should do before Google's new data cap hits—but first, let's look at how we got here. To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/3bXGBvE

This Bluetooth (and Wi-Fi, with a bridge)-based watering system is great for drip and other hose-based irrigation systems. from PCWorld https://ift.tt/2WzE5CX

In this episode of The Full Nerd, Gordon Ung , Brad Chacos , Alaina Yee , and Adam Patrick Murray dive into rumors galore: the potential launch of Nvidia RTX 3070 Ti and RTX 3080 Ti graphics cards, changes to the type of socket used by future Ryzen processors, a new stock cooler size for Intel's upcoming Alder Lake CPUs, and a dawn of the ATX12VO era. We kick off with a brief discussion about what the release of an RTX 3070 Ti and RTX 3080 Ti could mean for gamers (hello, chance-at-a-GPU-at-last), plus thoughts on pricing and timing. But since we covered these possible RTX cards in a previous episode , we sail on over to the next bit of hot gossip pretty fast: that AMD's upcoming AM5 socket will shift away from a pin grid array (PGA) to a land grid array (LGA), as revealed by ExecutableFix on Twitter . To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/2SBvdhR

The Acer Swift X is real. On Thursday, Acer confirmed the existence of this new thin-and-light laptop aimed at creatives, after it first surfaced unofficially in late April, in a listing on the Acer Thailand website. The announcement came during the company’s Next@Acer global press conference on May 27. Prices start at $900 with a North American release in June, and configurations feature Ryzen 5000 mobile processors , the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 Ti , and a 100-percent sRGB display. To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/2RQN0BF

The Acer Chromebook 317 is the world’s largest Chromebook to date, with a display spanning 17.3 inches in diagonal width. Announced Thursday at Acer’s next@Acer virtual event, this behemoth is due to ship in June with a starting price of $380. But that price should be a big hint: Aside from the size, this laptop is modestly configured in every other way. The display’s the thing with the Chromebook 317, of course. I don’t think anyone actually enjoys squinting at the 11-inch displays that come with the smallest, least expensive Chromebooks—though that’s a good overall size and weight class for deploying to grade-school students. It took a little while for 13-inch and 14-inch Chromebooks to appear, offering some visual elbow room, and a few 15-inch models eventually joined them. A full 17.3 inches is untold luxury.  To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/3vvCPB6

The Acer Aspire Vero is a laptop with a different kind of mission—an environmental one. Sure, it sports some of the latest PC hardware, but what Acer really wants you to know is how much PCR (post-consumer recycled) plastic is used, inside and out. Announced Thursday at the virtual next@Acer event, the Aspire Vero does not have set pricing or availability yet. Whenever it comes to market, it will offer the following distinctively Earth-friendly features:  Key caps made from 50-percent PCR plastic Chassis made from 30-percent PCR plastic, with no paint A box made from 80-percent to 85-percent recycled paper pulp A paper, instead of plastic, sleeve to protect the AC adapter A design for easy disassembly, with standardized, readily accessible screws Acer The Acer Aspire Vero uses 50-percent PCR plastic in its key caps, and 30-percent PCR plastic in the chassis. To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/2QV0VGq

Apple captured 33.5 percent of smartwatch market share globally in the first quarter of 2021. Latest data by Counterpoint shows the smartwatch market grew 35 percent year-on-year (YoY) in Q1 2021 with Apple taking the lead once again, followed by Huawei and Samsung. from Gadgets 360 https://ift.tt/3cgabg3

To stay below Google’s looming data cap we’ve shown you how to manage your Gmail, Drive, and Photos files , how to  block new uploads to Google Photos , how to  clean up your Gmail inbox by quickly deleting old email , and how to  upload everything you can before the restrictions hit on June 1. But what if you want to just get everything out of Google Photos to start fresh or move to another service? That’s actually a very simple task. If you only want to take out a few photos we’ll show you how to do that, as well. To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/3bZBniL

Google has added a 'Save to Photos' button for directly saving the photos you receive via Gmail to Google Photos. The feature is currently available only for pictures in JPEG format and there is no information when other photo and video formats would be supported by this feature. The 'Save to Photos' button co-exists with the already present 'Add to Drive' button whil... from Gadgets 360 https://ift.tt/3oVrrfr

Chrome 91 is rolling out for mobile and desktop browsers. Chrome for Android will get Frozen tab groups, automatically starting PWAs, refreshed UI, updated table renders on webpages, and more. Chrome on Linux, macOS, and Windows is getting 32 bug fixes and improvements. from Gadgets 360 https://ift.tt/2QUJ6Y3

Amazon’s summer sales extravaganza, Prime Day , is happening in June this year (the exact dates still to be announced) and typically lasts a full 48 hours. One of the best ways to find good prices during the sales fest is Amazon’s Lightning Deals. Lightning Deals feature limited stock available at a low price for a limited time, with a purchase limit of one per customer per item. They generally offer some of the best sale prices during Prime Day, which makes the demand for them that much higher. Lightning Deals expire in two ways: Either the time limit runs out, or customers claim all available stock. Because these bargains often sell out fast, you’ll want to have an action plan. To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/2XSxVRl

Prime Day, Amazon’s summer shopping event, will return for a seventh year. This year it will be held earlier than usual—sometime in June, though we don’t yet know the exact date. If 2021 is anything like last year, we’ll see deals on over a million products on Amazon sites around the world.  Read on for what you need to know about Prime Day and how to prepare. Note: To take advantage of Prime Day sales, you must be a member of Amazon Prime . This service is Amazon’s $119-a-year club that offers free two-day shipping on orders, as well as a litany of frills  and various promotional offers. New Prime members get a free 30-day trial , which means you can sign up, get the Prime deals, and then dump the membership before the bill comes due. To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/2LsTRfd

The group overseeing the USB specification has dramatically expanded its power capabilities to allow USB-C chargers to carry up to 240 watts, allowing standard USB-C chargers greater latitude to take over from proprietary laptop charging bricks and power gaming notebooks. The USB Implementors Forum (USB-IF) issued revision 2.1 to the USB-C specification on Tuesday, as noticed by CNET . The revised specification contains language that adds Expanded Power Range cables, which expand the capability of the USB-C cable to carry 100W to the new EPR range of 240W. Devices supporting the new spec should be available in the second half of 2021, CNET cited the USB-IF as saying. To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/34iiF1J

If at first you don’t succeed, build a Nintendo Switch clone. Valve, the company behind the uber-popular Steam video game marketplace, is reportedly building another piece of mainstream gaming hardware. This time around it’s rumored to be a Switch-like handheld console that runs Linux and that might launch by the end of 2021, according to Ars Technica . The report comes after Pavel Djundik , who runs the Twitter account SteamDB , noticed references to something called “SteamPal” in the latest beta for the Steam desktop client. It’s not clear if SteamPal will end up being the official name of the rumored device, or if it’s just a codename during development. To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/3uiwFD6

Amazon’s  Prime Day will be earlier than usual in 2021—sometime in June, although the official date has not yet been announced. As always, you’ll need to be a Prime member to partake of the deals. Prime is Amazon’s $119 per year service that provides two-day shipping on all orders, as well as a ton of extras like the Kindle lending library and Prime Video. (See our rundown of the top 9 Amazon Prime benefits to learn more.) The good news is that you may not need to pay for membership at all if you just want it long enough to take advantage of Amazon’s annual shopping extravaganza. Here are a few ways to get a short-term Prime membership to cash in on the savings. To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/3lAMpNG

The worldwide chip shortage shouldn’t have a significant effect on the 2021 PC market, which should increase by about 18 percent in 2021, analyst firm IDC said late Tuesday. IDC reported that shipments of laptops and desktops aren’t as affected by a worldwide shortage of semiconductors, which has provoked concern from top chip executives as well as the Biden administration. PCs were more constrained by the ongoing shortages of PC and laptop CPUs throughout the past two years or so. The current shortages do affect the PC market, but somewhat less so. Essentially, IDC’s conclusion was that the PC market will still grow at a more than healthy 18 percent, but it could have grown even more. “The PC industry is definitely supply constrained,” IDC analyst Ryan Reith, the author of the report, said in an email. “If it wasn’t, PC growth would be 20%+ this year.” To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/3yFedbd

Find yourself suddenly needing to be more productive? Good news! Windows 10 comes loaded with all sorts of tools designed to help you Get Things Done, along with deeper tweaks that can optimize the operating system for productivity even more. Each new major upgrade—like the Windows 10 May 2021 Update , the most recent one—adds even more. Now for the bad news: All those excellent productivity-boosting Windows tools and tweaks aren’t immediately obvious, with many of the most useful settings buried deep inside a maze of options menus. We can help. Taking five or ten minutes to tinker with Windows 10 can supercharge your setup, regardless of whether you’re trying to keep at work while stuck at home or setting up something more permanent. Let’s dig in. To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/39gstt6

It’s almost here. On Tuesday, June 1—the day after Memorial Day—all your new Google Photos uploads will count against Google’s Data Cap . That excludes Pixel owners, but the rest of us only have a few days left. As we mentioned earlier , if you have photos that you’d like to add to Google Photos without it counting against the storage limit, now is the time to act. Why would you want to do this? Because you get a free backup of your photos in print quality (assuming they were in the first place), and having all your pictures stashed in Google’s cloud makes it easier to share photos with others. To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/3vpDYKH

Spend enough time around PC builders and PC building forums, and you’ll learn pretty quickly that the direction of a case or CPU cooler fan matters. When a fan’s positioned for intake, the intent is to pull in cool air. But when a fan is set as an exhaust fan, the idea is to expel warm air away from the case or cooler. Both options are useful depending on where the fan resides in the build. So how do you tell at a glance which way the fan is blowing, especially when even seasoned PC builders sometimes have to take a moment to think about it? It’s pretty simple, even if your fan’s manufacturer doesn’t make it explicitly clear. Look for the arrow Alaina Yee / IDG Some case fans (but not all) have an arrow showing the direction of airflow. To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/34ghKPn

Google Photos has got a new storage management tool for users to utilise their free storage more efficiently before the free unlimited backup option ends. Photos backed up in 'High' quality - compressed to 16MB or lower - before June 1 will be exempt from the storage limit of 15GB that takes effect in a week. Although, photos backed up in 'Original' quality even befor... from Gadgets 360 https://ift.tt/2QQTkbU

This powerful robot will scrub your floors after vacuuming them, but glaring problems with its app nearly wipe out all its benefits. from PCWorld https://ift.tt/2QRHaQ3

Cyberlink's industry-leading PowerDVD 20 movie disc/video player adds cloud sharing and streaming to the mix. Not to mention a super-handy resume-from-last-position function. from PCWorld https://ift.tt/2K606na

Microsoft chief executive Satya Nadella teased the next update to Windows 10 at Microsoft Build, calling it one of the most significant updates to Windows in the past 10 years. In a prerecorded speech at the Build developer conference, Nadella also said that he’s been testing this new version of Windows himself. “Soon we will share one of the most significant updates of Windows of the past decade, to unlock greater economic opportunity for developers and creators,” Nadella said. “I’ve been self-hosting it over the past several months and I’m incredibly excited about the next generation of Windows.” Nadella presumably is referring to what some call Windows 10 21H2, the version of Windows scheduled to debut in the fall under the reported code name “Sun Valley.” At one time, Nadella may have been referring to Windows 10X, the simplified version of Windows originally scheduled for launch alongside the Microsoft Surface Neo . But Microsoft said recently that it has shelved Windows 10X ...

During a J.P. Morgan conference this week, AMD CEO Lisa Su admitted what we all knew was happening anyway: Amidst a crippling industry-wide silicon shortage , AMD is prioritizing supplies of higher-end (and thus higher margin) CPUs and graphics cards . When J.P. Morgan’s Harlan Sur asked if the company could be shipping more if it had more fabrication capacity available, Su (partly) replied that “I think like most of the semiconductor companies, we would say that demand exceeds supply. That’s certainly true...There is some compute that we’re leaving under serviced. I would say—particularly, if you look at some of the segments in the PC market, sort of the lower end of the PC market, we have prioritized some of the higher-end commercial SKUs and gaming SKUs and those kinds of things.” To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/34inFmM

Let’s face it: Not everyone wants to futz with Linux. But within Windows, playing around with Linux is becoming easier and easier—enough that you can get up and running with little more than a single command. In seconds, you can download, run, and even pin powerful Linux apps to your Windows desktop. Instead of installing Linux within a partition or virtual machine, Windows uses the Windows Subsystem for Linux, added way back in 2016 as part of the Windows 10 Anniversary Update. You’ll hear more about this at the Microsoft Build conference this week, as Microsoft encourages developers to run Windows alongside WSL for development and even general use. It’s not  exactly the same as running Linux in a virtual machine, but it’s getting closer and closer. To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/3oQxlPa

Microsoft is using the power of GPT-3’s natural language AI to help people who don’t know how to code write their own software using Microsoft’s PowerApps development platform. The announcement was made at Microsoft’s Build developer conference today. Microsoft has hoped that PowerApps would become a powerful corollary to its Office suite, but the platform has languished a bit.  Microsoft originally set up PowerApps in 2015 around a set of programming templates, pulling data from user-defined sources and then outputting results. Think of it like the next level of a traditional macro in Microsoft Office—it’s a way for an average user to write a program to instruct Windows to perform a task, but with minimal or no knowledge of program coding. To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/3vxxrgM

Your Nest Hub display may soon be running on Google’s experimental, non Linux-based OS, even if you don’t realize it. from PCWorld https://ift.tt/3foJYOl

On Tuesday, Arm announced details of the first Cortex-X2 CPU and Mali-G710 GPU cores that will drive future Arm-based smartphones and PCs in 2022. In the latter category, Arm is already making fairly aggressive claims against Intel. Specifically,  Arm claims that its new flagship “performance” core, the Cortex-X2, should be 40 percent faster in single-threaded performance than an Intel 11th-gen Core i5-1135G7 at 15W—essentially as fast as 2020’s mainstream “Tiger Lake” CPU , in other words. Arm also revealed a new “big” core, the Cortex-A710, as well as a new “little” power-sipping core, the Cortex-A510. A choice of three new Mali GPUs—the Mali-G710, the Mali-G510 and the Mali-G310—will also be integrated inside the chip. To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/3oNyQNO

Germany's antitrust regulator said it has opened an investigation into Google over anti-competitive practices, wielding a new law that has already been used to scrutinise other US tech giants. from Gadgets 360 https://ift.tt/3fLoSsk

In the beginning, all we had was the command line. Then as Windows matured, the need to access that throwback interface waned. That doesn’t mean the Command Prompt is completely useless. In fact, recent versions of Windows have introduced new commands. And while Windows 10’s graphical interface is generally straightforward to use, several features are still faster to execute through that last tie to MS-DOS. The same goes for accessing a few pieces of useful information, too. We’ve listed our top Command Prompt commands below, but don’t take this list as the complete lineup of useful commands. If you like to kick it old-school, there are still plenty worth your time. For most people, though, these six will add efficiency to your regular routine without requiring excessive time in a command line interface. To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/3fgTQJC

Mortal Kombat to release June 4 on Apple TV, BookMyShow Stream, Google Play Movies, Hungama Play, Tata Sky, and YouTube Movies. You can rent/buy and download the full movie. from Gadgets 360 https://ift.tt/3i4Pwzh

The world of air purifiers can be confusing, but the bottom line is that the best units can improve your quality of life. from PCWorld https://ift.tt/3fCan9W

Hisense's U8G is a nice improvement over the H series, including a 120Hz refresh rate. Picture quality and HDR performance are top-notch, although its blacks can't match those of pricier mini-LED sets. from PCWorld https://ift.tt/3bUKSQa

Huawei said it will launch its new HarmonyOS for smartphones on June 2, its biggest move yet aimed at recovering from the damage done by US sanctions to its mobile phone business. from Gadgets 360 https://ift.tt/3oLwsqM

Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube may face criminal action in India as they are yet to comply with the special provisions under the new Intermediary Rules that were passed in February. from Gadgets 360 https://ift.tt/3oLqXbC

Google's Project Starline 3D videoconferencing system, unveiled last week, is well-timed for a post-pandemic world but still has a long way to go in seamlessly marrying the in-person and the virtual, three people who have used the system say. from Gadgets 360 https://ift.tt/3fMrLJc

By now, you’re probably aware of a major change coming to Google Photos storage on June 1: New photos will count against your Google-imposed data cap. To its credit, Google said Monday that it’s adding a new tool to weed out poor-quality photos and large videos that you might not want to keep anyway. We’ve already listed five things to do before Google’s data cap lands on June 1 . But today we can add a sixth: Use Google’s new “manage storage” tool in Photos to eliminate photos that you might not want to keep.  To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/3ui2iwL

Qualcomm Snapdragon 7c Gen 2 compute platform was launched on Monday with an octa-core CPU and LTE support. Qualcomm says the new chipset delivers up to 10 percent higher system performance than competing platforms, and up to double the battery life of typical entry-level laptops. from Gadgets 360 https://ift.tt/3fbXR21

Qualcomm’s lower-end Snapdragon 7c chips carved out a space for Chromebooks and other value devices that aimed for long battery life and consistent connectivity. Now Qualcomm is announcing an upgraded Snapdragon 7c Gen 2 chip aimed at powering the low-end $350 Chromebooks and PCs that flood Amazon’s “most popular” list. Comparing 2019’s Snapdragon 7c and the new Snapdragon 7c Gen 2, the main difference is in clock speed: the Snapdragon 7c used a Kryo 468 CPU running at up to 2.4 GHz, which the new chip uses an identical Kryo 468, yet running 6 percent faster at 2.55GHz. It appears every other feature on the two different chips remains identical. The latest chip also uses the same X15 4G LTE modem as the 7c Gen 1. To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/3vd4LcW

So you’ve mastered Windows 10 keyboard shortcuts and Snap open windows like a boss. Now what? Windows 10 offers many other power tools for enthusiasts—if you know where to find them. Some are older , yet still obscure. Others are relatively new, added during the twice-annual major upgrades Microsoft’s been pushing out since Windows 10 launched nearly six long years ago (though most recent feature upgrades, like the  bug-squashing May 2021 Update  that’s  available for installation now , tend to be minor). But all 10 of these little-used tricks and tools can help hardened PC users save time or eliminate headaches. To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/3kolhl9

The time has come and the free ride is over . As of Tuesday June 1, 2021 your Gmail messages, Google Drive files, and Google Photos will count against a hard cloud storage limit. No more loopholes, no more ignored files, no more unlimited storage of photos (unless you're on a Pixel) and documents. Nearly everything counts. If you haven’t considered what this change means for you  yet, it’s a good idea to take a look at your Google Account and make sure you’re ready now that the deadline is looming. We've identified five things you should do before Google's new data cap hits—but first, let's look at how we got here. To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/3fW43KX

Not everyone will return to an office this summer—much less at all. Many of us desk jockeys get to keep working remotely, meaning that Zoom calls will also stick around as a regular thing. If like most people, you’ve been making do with your setup for video calls, now’s the time to consider an upgrade to reduce the headaches of endless teleconferencing. Some cost a little money, while others only require a little time to learn, but they all increase your control over the quality of your experience. Keyboard shortcuts GaudiLab / Shutterstock Keyboard shortcuts eliminate the hassle of scouring menus for the setting you want. To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/2T92UHT

This subscription-based system is super easy to deploy and use, but it’s expensive and can’t be integrated with other smart home devices or services. from PCWorld https://ift.tt/3oHwYpZ

Google Photos unlimited storage benefit is ending on June 1. And users will soon start getting notifications once their storage begins to near 15GB. They can opt to clear up their storage or buy additional storage. It’s important to note that High quality and Express quality photos and videos backed up before June 1 won’t count toward your Google Account storage. from Gadgets 360 https://ift.tt/2REzvFe

One of Microsoft's most useful but little-known services, Math Solver, is being added to the upcoming Microsoft Edge 91 browser update as a preview feature, Microsoft said Friday. Like the name suggests, Math Solver is a service that takes mathematical equations and offers solutions. Microsoft's plan is to allow students to import a photo of an equation into the browser, where Microsoft's AI will solve the problem along with instructions on how to reach the solution on their own. It also includes a mathematical keyboard for students to type in their own equations, along with access to tutorials and quizzes. Math Solver didn't arrive out of the blue, however. Math Solver has quietly existed as a well-regarded Android app and iOS app for a number of years, and Microsoft has a Math Solver website , as well. While Wolfram Alpha may be the go-to name for solving online math equations, Microsoft's Math Solver site is arguably more user-friendly in that it shows its...

Microsoft Edge is finally getting vertical tabs, a feature that was promised a year ago. Announced Thursday, the rollout also includes a History feature that’s a cut-down version of a function available in older versions of the Edge browser. The vertical tabs feature isn’t exclusive to Edge, but it’s not widespread yet either.  Opera added them to its Neon browser in 2017 , and they’ve been a feature of the Vivaldi browser  since about that time as well. Chrome plug-ins also allow you to arrange your tabs vertically. Still, it’s a fairly profound revamp for Microsoft’s venerable browser, and it’s now generally available, Microsoft said .  To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/2MMqvvf

Like any science-fiction scenario, Microsoft’s vision of the future office-meeting is partially based on aspiration, and partially on reality. A Microsoft Teams concept video that the company released in advance of its Microsoft Build conference reveals a world in which remote workers are projected onto massive displays, complete with hidden mics and more. If this office vision sounds vaguely familiar, it’s because we’ve seen the idea surface before. In 2018, for example, Microsoft’s Build keynote featured a concept video that showed off a cone-shaped smart speaker, powered by Cortana. That was two years into the lifespan of Microsoft Teams, Microsoft’s video and collaboration platform. To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/3fF4Qzo

We discuss Android 12 and Wear OS announcements that took place at the Google I/O 2021 keynote earlier this week. In the second half of this week’s Orbital episode, we speak on Army of the Dead — Zack Snyder’s Netflix zombie heist movie. from Gadgets 360 https://ift.tt/3f8gtjC

Amazon Prime built its popularity by offering subscribers faster free shipping, access to streaming movies and TV shows, and exclusive deals. But Prime membership includes other perks, too: Everything from free ebook offerings to free photo storage and even grocery delivery. The list of benefits has grown considerably since the program’s launch, so we’ve highlighted the best of the bunch, the ones that make Amazon Prime worth having. Some of these you’ll already know, but the others you’re likely not taking advantage of. The top Amazon Prime benefits Free expedited shipping Amazon Expedited shipping is included for free with a Amazon Prime subscription, with no minimum purchase for most orders. To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/3fEQBLd

Time may not necessarily be money, but it still matters. Every second you spend wading through context menus or clunkily navigating Windows is a second you could be doing something you love instead. And with so much of modern life tied up in technology, those wasted seconds can add up fast. Now it’s time to reclaim those lost seconds, minutes, and hours. These simple Windows 10 tips and tricks aren’t glamorous and most aren’t even new to the bug-squashing May 2021 Update that’s available for installation now , to be honest, but when deployed together they can seriously streamline your workflow. To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/35yq9Od

Whether you’re streaming games to Twitch , YouTube, or another streaming platform, your audience needs to hear you clearly over the gameplay. (The same holds true if you’re holding live chat sessions or talking with your viewers as you work on a project.) And unfortunately, microphones built into laptops, webcams, and even headsets just don’t sound as good compared to a full-size microphone sitting close to your mouth. The good news is, you don’t have to spend a lot of money to upgrade—while professional streamers use pro-level audio equipment for the best possible sound, USB microphones are much cheaper. They’re much easier to use without sacrificing quality, too. Plug a USB microphone into your computer, and you can be off and running immediately. To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/3bKCDpP

Q: If you want to use DLSS to make a game run faster, does it need a better CPU since the GPU is utilized less? A: Great question. To bring everyone on the same page, let’s recap first what DLSS is. Deep Learning Super Sampling , or DLSS, is Nvidia’s proprietary technology that uses machine learning and dedicated hardware on the company’s RTX cards to internally render games at a lower resolution, then upscale and output it to the desired resolution. (Naturally, this feature is only available on RTX-branded graphics cards .) To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/2QHacSy

These over-ear headphones provide an affordable respite from the outside world. from PCWorld https://ift.tt/3fz4MBh

If you subscribe to Paramount+ or are considering signing up for this Hulu competitor, these are the 10 best movies available for streaming. from PCWorld https://ift.tt/2Se7mom

New CAD-based renders of the Google Pixel 6 series leaked are identical to the ones FrontPageTech had shared earlier. They show the Pixel 6 Pro and Pixel 6 from all angles. Specifications of the two handsets have also leaked with the Pixel 6 seen to have a dual camera setup at the back, whereas the Pro model is expected to integrate three rear cameras. from Gadgets 360 https://ift.tt/2Sf4Tdv

Google said it would open its first physical store in New York City this summer, mirroring a retail approach that has helped Apple rake in billions of dollars in the last two decades. from Gadgets 360 https://ift.tt/3v7Hk4O

Digging deep into Windows 10 Image by Dan Masaoka/IDG Windows 10’s constantly evolving nature means fresh features usually arrive twice per year, most recently via the May 2021 "21H1" Update that recently released (though depending on when you read this, you may need to actively seek it out ). With all the new goodies come a legion of new tweaks and tricks—some of which unlock powerful functionality hidden to everyday users. Others simply let you mold the Windows 10 experience into the shape you see fit. Here are some of the most useful tweaks, tricks, and tips we’ve found over Windows 10’s many iterations. To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/2OOOWZo

In this episode of The Full Nerd, Gordon Ung , Brad Chacos , Alaina Yee , and Adam Patrick Murray wade into performance numbers for Tiger Lake H mobile processors and the news that Nvidia will slap limits on Ethereum mining for newly built GeForce RTX 3060 Ti, 3070, and 3080 graphics cards. After a week of anticipation, the results are finally in: Tiger Lake H trades near even blows with Ryzen 5000, making Intel a contender once more. Gordon dives into the nitty gritty of his review of the Core i9-11980HK —and manages to neatly sidestep any attempts to draw him back into the Intel versus Apple M1 debate. Instead, the crew discusses benchmark scores and the almost 20 percent leap in performance that Tiger Lake H makes over Comet Lake H. It makes for a great comeback story, one that keeps AMD on its toes and leaves consumers the ultimate winners in this ongoing fight. To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/3f0VU8G

Intel isn’t messing around with its new 10nm “Tiger Lake H” processors for gaming laptops and work notebooks. We’ve already seen how Intel’s 11th-gen Core i7-11800H offers impressive performance over its older 10th-gen sibling and trade blows with AMD’s massively improved Ryzen laptop chips —but how does the new top-end Core i9-11980HK perform? To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/3owA7Zs

Let me begin this article with a confession: I wrote most of it from the couch. But thanks to my trusty lap desk, this was more comfortable than it otherwise might have been. By propping my laptop up on an inclined surface, the lap desk helps bring the screen closer to eye level while I’m lounging around, so I don’t have to crane my neck so much. The flat surface also helps keep the laptop well-ventilated, so I can push the laptop to its limits without melting my thighs. I first found out about lap desks a couple years ago, but finally motivated myself to buy one last spring. Now, I’m not sure how I went so long without one. My particular laptop desk is $28 hunk of plastic from a company called HUANUO , with bean bag-like padding underneath, adjustable height settings, and a snap-on mouse tray. It comfortably fits a 15-inch laptop with about an inch to spare on either side. To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/33XzrD2

Cutting the cord? If you're a sports fan, you might miss this little feature. from PCWorld https://ift.tt/3bIJGzw

HBO Max with Ads will be more affordable than the $15-a-month ad-free tier, but it’ll be missing a key perk: day-and-date Warner Bros. movies. from PCWorld https://ift.tt/3hFA4cu

Believe it or not, Microsoft’s Internet Explorer still lives. But not for long. If you’re one of the people who are still reliant on Internet Explorer (hi, Dad!) Microsoft has some bad news: Microsoft will officially end support for the Internet Explorer desktop application on June 15, 2022. Before that, however, Microsoft 365 (formerly known as Office 365) will end support for IE on August 17 of this year. The replacement? Microsoft Edge, which already has an “Internet Explorer mode” built right in. Microsoft said in 2019 that it planned to add an IE Mode within Edge, and the virtualized browser lives on as a configurable mode within Microsoft Edge. That’s important, because the modern Edge browser is simply more secure than Internet Explorer ever was. And you can’t say Microsoft didn’t signal IE’s demise, by basically booting users from accessing hundreds of sites via IE in late 2020. To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/2RzAdn3

The Windows 10 May 2021 Update started rolling out on Tuesday, and despite the boring name it’s one of Microsoft’s twice-yearly milestone ‘feature updates.’ This particular one is pretty light on new features, to be fair, and instead focuses on improving your overall stability and quality of life. But you’ll need to get proactive if you want to install the Windows 10 May 2021 Update today. In a blog post introducing the upgrade, Microsoft said that the May 2021 Update—also known as version 21H1—will first be offered to people running up-to-date versions of Windows 10, but not everyone will see it at once, and you’ll have to go looking for it. “We are initially taking a measured seeker-based approach to the rollout of the May 2021 Update,” Microsoft’s John Cable wrote. “We are throttling availability up over the coming weeks to ensure a reliable download experience for all, so the update may not be offered to you right away.” To read this article in full, please click here fr...

Spotify is releasing three new updates that will provide buttons with increased readability features, options for text resizing, and a beta for podcast transcripts. Alongside, Spotify on Wear OS will soon let users download playlists and podcasts. from Gadgets 360 https://ift.tt/3bG4zeG

More than a billion people around the globe use WhatsApp to stay in touch, and while people have been looking for alternatives in the wake of some recent controversies, it can be difficult to quit if your friends circle is already entrenched. Like most messaging apps of this type, you can only communicate with others who are also using WhatsApp—messaging apps aren't universal like text messages are. There’s no way to text someone from WhatsApp and have them receive it on Facebook Messenger, for example, or vice-versa. That’s what makes it so hard to leave services like WhatsApp. They only work if you take your friends with you. Nevertheless, you may want to leave WhatsApp because you’d rather avoid a service owned by Facebook. Or maybe the recent terms of service changes  still bother you. Or perhaps you just want to try something new, as each chat service offers distinct selling points. Here are five messaging alternatives for you and your friends.  To read this article ...

Q: Who do I have to buy lunch for so that somebody standardizes front-panel pins? A: Heh, this one’s a perennial annoyance, isn’t it? The front-panel pin layout on a motherboard varies a lot. Most DIY builders have become resigned to squinting at a motherboard, then the pins, then at the manual, then back at the motherboard, and repeating ad nauseum until everything’s plugged in. But it shouldn’t have to be this way. (If you’re reading this but not as familiar with PC building, front-panel pins are what you plug front-panel connectors into. The combination of the two links the USB ports, audio jacks, and power button at the front of a case to the motherboard and makes them active. Not plugging in the connectors properly—or not plugging them in, period—probably ranks among the top five reasons for why a DIY PC fails to boot on the first try.) To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/3tXzKIx

Google Health announced new AI tools that will help users identify various skin, nail, or hair issues. Additionally, Google will let clinics identify potential TB patients by screening their chest scans using AI. These new AI tools are expected to launch soon. from Gadgets 360 https://ift.tt/3oyY7Lx

An in-depth look at the streaming-TV service from ViacomCBS. from PCWorld https://ift.tt/3eYTmb2

The Meters OV-1-B Connect headphones wowed our eyes with analog VU meters on the earpieces, but our ears judged them subpar. from PCWorld https://ift.tt/3ou3zzm

Google and Samsung have announced that they will together launch a smartwatch OS based on Google’s Wear OS and Samsung’s Tizen wearables platform. from Gadgets 360 https://ift.tt/3ownjm8

Google I/O 2021 keynote was full of new announcements. These include the release of Android 12 and new Wear OS, as well as updates for Google Maps, Google Chrome, and Google Photos. Here’s our recap of the virtual event. from Gadgets 360 https://ift.tt/3wdOchd

Google I/O 2021 keynote saw the introduction of new updates for the Chrome browser. Google is using Duplex on the Web for powering these new enhancements to Chrome’s password manager. This technology was introduced in 2019 for powering Google Assistant and making it able to complete tasks on the Web, like buying movie tickets. With this new technology integrated int... from Gadgets 360 https://ift.tt/3bAKaHC

Google Photos will get new functions through an update. These were announced at the Google I/O event on May 18. Users will get a password-protected locked folder, enhanced Memories functionality, and new features for the Cinematic photos. The new features will be available to customers through an update that will arrive soon. from Gadgets 360 https://ift.tt/3fo5128

In a blog post, Google detailed how hard-braking — a situation where the driver is forced to decelerate suddenly — can lead to car crash or related mishaps. To avoid this, Google Maps will calculate multiple route options to your destination based on several factors, like how many lanes a road has and how direct a route is. It will then show the user the fastest r... from Gadgets 360 https://ift.tt/2QvXKVD

Android 12 public beta release is now available for download on a list of eligible smartphones. Google unveiled Android 12 at its virtual I/O 2021 keynote on Tuesday with a new user interface based on Material You language and enhanced privacy controls. from Gadgets 360 https://ift.tt/3yo3L7F

Google may not be ready to hold an in-person developer conference quite yet, but Google I/O was full of new developments across all of Google’s products and services. Well, one line of products was missing: hardware. If you were hoping for details on new Pixels, Chromecasts, Stadia consoles, or Nest smart home gear, you’ll have to wait. But Google did offer new details on the long-awaited Android 12; enhancements to its core Search, Photos, and Shopping experiences; and reminded us over and over that, yes, it really cares about privacy. There was even a “one more thing” moment in Project Starline. Below is what you need to know about Google I/O 2021. To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/3wg91Zd

The best wireless keyboards do more than free you from a cable. They let you toss the crummy keyboard you got for free with your PC—does anyone like that one?—and they also give you options. The models we’ve reviewed range from full-size desktop slabs to portable models that skip easily from laptop to tablet to phone. Whatever you need to type with, there’s a keyboard for it. (If you’re looking for a gaming keyboard , we’ve got you covered! Click that link to see our full reviews and rankings.) Keyboard choice can be very subjective. That said, we’ve based our reviews on hours spent with each model, banging away on work projects, surfing the web, and keeping up on social media.  To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/2JL9kYC

Google’s next step in Google Workspace is... a Google workspace: Smart Canvas, an all-in-one digital document that’s designed for collaboration. “For over a decade, we’ve been pushing documents away from just being pieces of paper, and toward collaborative, linked content inspired by the web,” said Javier Soltero, vice president and general manager of Google Workspace, during a presentation at Google’s Google IO developer conference on Tuesday. Google Soltero didn’t call out Smart Canvas as a separate app, competing with existing Workspace apps like Docs or Sheets. Instead, he positioned Smart Canvas as more of a conceptual experience, guiding the evolution of working within the Google Workspace apps over time. Some users began comparing Smart Canvas to Notion , a subscription service for the Mac OS platform that uses the same sort of inclusive design as Google’s own Smart Canvas. To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/3fIklqH ...

Similar to the longstanding iOS remote for Apple TV, an integrated touchscreen remote that controls Android TV OS devices will land on Android phones later this year. from PCWorld https://ift.tt/2Rrny5y

WIndows 10X is dead. Long live Windows 10. Microsoft said Tuesday that it has decided to discontinue Windows 10X, its slimmed-down alternative to Windows 10, and will take some of the Windows 10X technology and incorporate it into Windows 10 as a whole. The announcement was made on the same day that the latest major Windows 10 upgrade released . Earlier this month, reports circulated that Microsoft had postponed Windows 10X, potentially as a consequence of the pandemic and competitive pressures. On Tuesday, Microsoft positioned the cancellation of Windows 10X as the result of customer feedback.  To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/3tT9MWN

In late April, Microsoft said that it has finalized the next major version of Windows 10, formally named the Windows 10 May 2021 Update, for release in the near future. On Wednesday, May 18, Microsoft delivered on that promise as it began rolling the next big Windows update out to all PCs .  The Windows 10 May 2021 Update will also be known as version 21H1. It will probably appear as “21H1” when users launch the  winver command after Microsoft begins pushing the update to client PCs.  Previously, in a blog post announcing the Windows 10 May 2021 Update , senior program manager Brandon LeBlanc said Microsoft is sending the final build, Build 19043.928, to the Release Preview channel of its Windows Insider program. The Release Preview channel is the most conservative of Microsoft’s Insider channels, the place where users can try a final, well-polished build of the next Windows 10 feature release a bit early. Microsoft invited testers to try out the final build by...

The current graphics card landscape may be a barren wasteland, but there is a glimmer of hope on the horizon. On Tuesday, Nvidia announced that the mining hash rate limiter introduced alongside the GeForce RTX 3060 will now be rolling out to newly manufactured RTX 3060 Ti, RTX 3070, and RTX 3080 as well, via a new “Lite Hash Rate” series starting in mid-May. (The work hard, play hard GeForce RTX 3090 will not be receiving a nerf, however.) Gaming performance shouldn’t be affected. To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/3bBtLD0

An on-the-go gaming rig with ray-tracing chops that won’t break your budget or your back, the Acer Predator Triton 300 SE serves up an enticing mix of value and performance. With a list price of $1,400 but currently on sale at Best Buy for just $1,300, the Predator Triton 300 SE arrives with Intel’s cutting-edge Tiger Lake H35 “ultraportable gaming” CPU , along with GeForce RTX 3060 graphics and a slim 3.8-pound design. The Triton’s understated silver chassis gives the laptop a corporate look, but if you crack open the lid, you’ll find a 14-inch, 144Hz Full HD display, three-zone RGB keyboard backlighting, and one-touch overclocking. Thunderbolt 4 and solid battery life make a good thing even better. To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/3fuR02y

The Macally Full Size Wireless RF Keyboard for PC (model RFJJKEY) tells you everything you need to know about it in its name. It’s a budget-priced replacement for your desktop computer or a productivity enhancer for your laptop that offers ample typing space, cable-free convenience, and not a whole lot else. The keys aren’t backlit or programmable, and it doesn’t include a wrist pad or bundled mouse. But its comfortable design and responsive keys make it a solid value at just $20. Design The keyboard measures .79 x 17 x 5.3 inches (HWD) and weighs just about 1 pound. It’s powered by a single AAA battery, which comes pre-installed. The 104-key layout includes a dedicated number pad and 13 shortcut keys that make it easier to open your email program, control audio playback, and print documents, among other functions. To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/3eY41CE

With six AC outlets and four USB Type-A jacks, this Amazon surge protector avoids crouching and crowding. from PCWorld https://ift.tt/3w9rKWg

Google News Showcase has been launched in India with 30 domestic publishers, at a time when the country is trying to weed out misinformation surrounding a ferocious second COVID-19 wave. from Gadgets 360 https://ift.tt/3wbIT1G

Google has teased to unveil a “brand new Wear version” at its I/O 2021 conference on Tuesday. The teaser could be referring to a new Wear OS update that is expected to include an all-new interface along with a list of new components to deliver an enhanced user experience on smartwatches and other wearables. from Gadgets 360 https://ift.tt/3bxn5Wg

Choosing the right virtual private network (VPN) service is no simple task. A VPN should keep your internet usage private and secure, but not every service handles your data in the same way.  Rest assured, we’ve done the legwork to determine if a VPN service has a history of good or bad behavior. A service has to protect online privacy; allow you to keep anonymity; offer a good variety of locations from which to direct your traffic; offer fast, reliable performance; and provide an easy-to-use interface. Scroll to the bottom of this article to learn more about VPNs and what to look for when choosing one. (Or check out Macworld'd roundup of the best VPN for Macs .) To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/2TBK375

If you opened the Eufy app today and found someone else’s videos, you’re apparently not the only one. from PCWorld https://ift.tt/33N9jdY

If you’re a paid Amazon Music or Apple Music subscriber, get ready for CD-quality and high-resolution streaming, all for free. from PCWorld https://ift.tt/2QnlyL8

Google I/O 2021 will begin on Tuesday, May 18. The three-day virtual event is expected to bring announcements about Android 12 as well as new Wear OS, smart home, and Chrome OS updates. from Gadgets 360 https://ift.tt/33RjgHw

Five years ago, Microsoft brought forth Microsoft Teams as a workplace collaboration tool to compete with Slack and Hipchat. Today, Microsoft is evolving Teams into a place where you can kick back after hours as well, taking on Discord, WhatsApp, Snapchat, Signal, and others in what the company hopes will be a resurgent consumer offering. The awfully named “Personal features in Teams” launches today as part of the existing Teams app on Android, iOS, the Windows desktop, and even the web. (We’re calling it “Microsoft Teams for consumers,” and you should too.) To try it out, simply click the Teams icon on your device. In addition to your work account, you should see the option to add a personal account, too. To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/2RfG4Ot

Whoa folks—don’t head for the parking lot because this ball game ain’t over yet. Sure, you’ve been watching Intel’s older 10th-gen H-class CPUs get blasted off the mound all afternoon by Team Ryzen, but the coach just gave the signal and Intel’s new rookie star is warming up in bullpen: the 11th-gen “Tiger Lake H” processors for gaming and creative laptops. Unlike the once great, but should-have-retired-two-seasons-ago 10th-gen Comet Lake chips, Tiger Lake H features truly new cores and is built on Intel’s most advanced 10nm “Super Fin” technology . To read this article in full, please click here from PCWorld https://ift.tt/33PHpOI

Light is light, right? Not exactly. The light that comes from the overhead fluorescents at your office is nothing like the light that pours from your favorite chandelier at home or that of the bedside lamp that lets you read your favorite novel to help you fall asleep. That’s because different light sources produce light with different color temperatures. In the early days of energy conservation, everyone recommended replacing incandescent bulbs with fluorescent bulbs because the latter consumed less electricity. But few people liked the tradeoff because of the quality of light the energy-efficient bulbs produced. That didn’t stop Congress from mandating the phase-out of incandescent bulbs, but it did prompt the lighting industry to come up with better alternatives. As you think about which type of lighting to use in your home, you should consider how you can use color temperature to optimize your environment. Here’s everything you need to know. To read this article in full, pleas...