Dell, HP may be building premium Chromebooks to compete with Google Pixelbook
Dell, HP, and three other manufacturers may be building premium Chromebooks to combat Google's Pixelbook. The rumor is based on a master board design reportedly in use by the Chrome OS team to create a new wave of Chromebooks for the enterprise market. They're expected to arrive by the end of 2018.
Office Depot just slashed the price of a Surface Pro Core i5 model in half
Office Depot is currently slashing prices of laptops, desktops, printers, and more for 48 hours, one of which is Microsoft's Surface Pro. The configuration on sale features a Core i5 processor, 4GB of system memory, and 128 GB of storage for $499, which is half the original selling price.
Oculus confirms second-screen support is coming to Oculus Go
Oculus VR's John Carmack confirmed that second-screen support is coming to the Oculus Go and that implementing the current demo into the mobile apps for iOS and Android will "take a little while." This will allow owners to "cast" their experiences to an external display seen by friends and family.
AMD, Nvidia graphics could double in performance with new ‘stacked’ tech
TSMC revealed a new technology called wafer-on-wafer that crams two processor wafers together like a silicon-based cookie. This method could double the performance of AMD and Nvidia graphics cards, stacking two chips on a single card, at the very least. The resulting product could be a gaming beast.
New Sirius A mini PC packs a pocket-sized punch and a built-in touch display
Backers of the Sirius A Indiegogo project are now beginning to receive their miniature PCs. Measuring between 0.3 and 0.8 inches thick, this pocket PC sports an Intel Atom processor, up to 8GB of system memory, and up to 128GB of storage. It includes a built-in, 6-inch Full HD touchscreen.
A new MacBook Air likely won’t be revealed until later in 2018
A new MacBook Air likely won't be revealed during Apple's developers conference, but rather late this year with the next iPhone. Component makers have the necessary hardware to build the new units, but Apple won't accept parts until the third quarter, possibly due to a problem with a key component.
HP reopens pre-orders for its first ‘always connected’ Windows 10 PC
After briefly appearing during February in a limited quantity, HP's very first Windows on ARM PC, the Envy x2, is finally back to pre-order for $999. It's the result of a new relationship between Qualcomm and Microsoft to provide Windows 10 devices relying on Qualcomm's ARM-based Snapdragon 835 CPU.
Windows 10 April 2018 Update lands next week packing Timeline, Cortana updates
Microsoft will launch its next feature update next week dubbed as April 2018 Update. It packs a handful of new features such as a Timeline component, Focus Assist, and improved dictation. Windows 10's built-in assistant Cortana will also now support voice commands for smart thermostat adjustments.
Microsoft confirms new Surface products will arrive later this year
In an earnings call, Microsoft executives said they expect higher growth in the company's Surface division due to new hardware released later in 2018. The company experienced a 32 percent year-over-year growth in Surface revenue, and number the will continue to climb in its fiscal fourth quarter and fiscal 2019.
Dell’s new patent application shows how a two-screen laptop deals with DRM
A patent application published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office reveals a dual-screen laptop design by Dell supporting standard 2-in-1 form factors. But the bulk of Dell's patent centers on content protected by digital rights management and how that content is displayed on one or both screens.
Mozilla’s ‘Hubs’ builds a chatroom in VR for any browser and headset
Mozilla introduced a new social experiment called Hubs on Thursday that creates a private chat room in virtual reality. It's based on WebVR, meaning it works in any browser and on all mixed reality headsets spanning Google Cardboard to the HTC Vive headset. It's primitive for now but shows potential.
A lack of cryptocurrency miner demand may create discounts on graphics cards
Graphics card manufacturers may be forced to offer deep discounts due to a sudden lack of demand from cryptocurrency mining farm operators and channel distributors. Demand took a nosedive at the beginning of April as many farms are simply waiting for dedicated mining devices launching later this year.
AMD combats upgrade woes with ‘crates’ featuring discounted hardware bundles
AMD introduced its new Combat Crate program that bundles hardware together for a discounted price. For now, we have three based on AMD's first-generation Ryzen 5 1600 processor, its Radeon RX 580 graphics card, and motherboards supplied by Gigabyte and MSI. The bundles start at $263 without the GPU.
Latest Vivaldi browser fixes audio issues, provides more visual customization
A new version of Vivaldi is now available, bringing the browser up to 1.15. This release includes a list of fixes and tweaks, such as an option to use a custom image for the browser's background. Other ingredients include an additional bookmarks option, fixes to HTML5-related sound, and more.
Philips claims a ‘world’s first’ with a 4K HDR display for PC arriving this summer
Envision Peripherals introduced a new desktop monitor under the Philips Momentum brand that will be the first to sport the VESA DisplayHDR 1000 certification. That means its the top-of-the-line HDR-capable display with a maximum brightness of 1,000 nits. It will be available for $999 later this summer.
Pimax takes notes from Valve for its prototype ‘knuckles’ VR controller
Borrowing from Valve Software's unreleased 'knuckles' controller for VR, Pimax introduced a similar peripheral to be offered with its upcoming 8K VR headset. It will support all five fingers, providing thumb and trigger buttons along with a grip button and two sensors for your ring finger and pinky.
Windows 10 ‘Lean’ shows up in a preview build for Windows Insiders
Windows 10 Lean now appears in a Skip Ahead build for Windows Insider participants. There are no obvious app restrictions like Windows 10 S, but rather the removal of specific tools like the registry editor for a more secure, streamlined, lightweight footprint. Optical drive support is also missing.
Acer, Dell slash gaming laptop prices to make room for new Intel models
Acer and Dell are slashing prices on gaming laptops for a limited time. For starters, Acer is now selling the Nitro 5 with a Core i5-7300HQ processor and a discrete GTX 1050 Ti graphics chip for dirt-cheap. Meanwhile, Dell's meatier Inspiron 15 7000 Gaming laptop packs a GTX 1060 GPU for $150 more.
Hackers can bypass the Windows 10 S lockdown due to security flaw
Google Project Zero researchers discovered a bug in Microsoft's .NET framework that allows anyone to run arbitrary "untrusted" code on Windows 10 devices with the User Mode Core Integrity component. That includes Windows 10 S desktops and laptops, and enterprise-based machines on an app lockdown.
Tim Cook doesn’t believe customers want MacOS and iOS combined
In a recent interview, Apple CEO Tim Cook said he doesn't believe customers want MacOS and iOS to merge. Doing so would water down both for the convenience of one operating system. Both platforms are optimized and ideal for their target devices, thus a merge would mean trade-offs and compromises.
Hackers stole digital coins while a YouTube broadcaster advised about ICOs
YouTube streamer Ian Balina was advising about initial coin offerings during a live-stream when hackers stole around $2 million in digital coins from his virtual wallet. He believes the hackers used an old college email address to break into his Gmail and Evernote accounts to access private keys.
Hackers modify ransomware to deliver a Coinhive cryptocurrency-mining payload
Trend Micro discovered two variants on the XiaoBa ransomware that carries a cryptocurrency-mining payload. More specifically, it injects the Coinhive script into HTM and HTML pages cached on your PC while browsing the internet. But these variants are also highly destructive by infecting binary files.
Intel to close its New Devices Group, signaling a retreat from wearables
Intel hinted that its getting ready to shut down its New Devices Group, the division responsible for its wearable devices. Sources say that the company will either move these developers over to other divisions, or end their employment. According to Intel, sometimes tough choices must be made.
AMD’s second-generation Ryzen desktop CPUs hit the market starting at $199
AMD's second-generation family of Ryzen desktop processors are now available on Amazon, Newegg, and more with a starting price of $199. There are four chips in the refreshed family, replacing two Ryzen 7 chips and two Ryzen 5 CPUs. AMD also introduced a new motherboard chipset for enthusiasts,
Chrome’s desktop browser now supports web-based VR on the Oculus Rift
The latest stable version of Google's Chrome browser for desktop now supports the Oculus Rift headset via WebVR. The browser will automatically detect the headset, determine its capabilities, and render web-based virtual reality experiences at a compatible framerate. Firefox supports the Rift too.
Researchers claim hackers can create havoc in the Oculus Rift, HTC Vive
A recent paper published by researchers from the University of New Haven in Connecticut shows that a vulnerability in OpenGL enables the team to alter the playing space and virtual environment on the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift headsets. It's just a proof-of-concept but possible nonetheless.
Intel, Microsoft using integrated graphics to thwart next Meltdown-style threats
Intel announced its refreshed security push during the RSA security convention The company revealed a collaboration with Microsoft that places Intel's new GPU-based Advanced Memory Scanning technology in Windows Defender. The company also introduced its Intel Security Essentials platform.
Microsoft wants to stuff Linux, not Windows 10, into Internet of Things devices
Microsoft introduced a new end-to-end platform for Internet of Things devices called Azure Sphere. It consists of a new microcontroller chip backed by a new Linux-based operating system. Microsoft likely chose Linux due to its open-source roots, given Azure Sphere is an open platform.
New benchmarks show increased MacBook Pro performance using external graphics
Benchmarks show increased performance in the 2015 15-inch MacBook Pro with Touch Bar when bypassing the internal discrete Radeon Pro 460 graphics chip and using an external Radeon RX 580 add-in card. The benchmarks are testing the new external graphics support in MacOS, but expect limitations.
Samsung now offers a Chromebook Pro with a backlit keyboard for cave dwellers
Samsung introduced the Chromebook Pro in May 2017. Nearly one year later, the company now offers nearly the same model but with a backlit keyboard and a reduced Bluetooth component. Everything else in the backlit version is identical to the original model -- same processor, memory, and so on.
Get your pickaxe ready: The next MineCon Earth show streams in September
Microsoft and Mojang revealed the date for the next MineCon Earth live-stream event. Taking place this September, the show will include live gameplay, discussions between Lydia Winters and community co-hosts, and more Minecraft goodness. There will also be chances to personally appear during the show.
