The Portal TV can track every move, but Facebook swears stalking isn’t the goal
Against the backdrop of a newly renovated historic San Francisco Victorian home, Facebook is showing off its latest consumer technologies powered by A.I. The company unveiled its new Portal TV and refreshed Portal smart home devices, which promise to track but not stalk you, with privacy being a big theme.
In the battle between AMD and Intel, which processors are more secure?
The horse-race between AMD and Intel is fun to follow, but when it comes to security, there’s far more at stake than framerates in games. Speculative execution exploits like Spectre and its variants are still as scary as ever. But which processor company is less impacted by its effects? Is there a safer option?
Meet the subversive startup that’s fighting mass surveillance with t-shirts
Adversarial Fashion is a new fashion line which sells t-shirts, hoodies and other items designed to confuse license plate-reading surveillance cameras. Here's how the technology works -- and why its computer security expert creator, Kate Rose, is fighting the good fight.
Exclusive: How Alienware dared to ditch black, boxy designs for something radical
With its new Legend design language, Alienware has been rapidly launching gaming peripherals, laptops, desktops, and monitors in this science fiction inspired design theme. Alienware's lead designers talk about the challenges and opportunities of bringing the Legend design ID to the Aurora R9 desktop.
The best deepfakes on the web: Baby Elon, Ryan Reynolds Wonka, and beyond
Deepfakes, the A.I.-aided face-swapping technology that threatens the future of truth as we know it, are everywhere. But while some of the potential applications are pretty darn unnerving, some of them are just plain fun as well. Here's a selection of the very best we've seen.
These 5 data breaches have left the biggest mark on Americans
Hacking used to be the esoteric provenance of a small circle of computer wizards showing off their skills to one another. Now, it is a common, global phenomenon affecting millions. These are the five biggest consumer data breach incidents to date.
What’s the best way to stick it to Equifax? Make them work for you
If you were hoping to get a sweet slice of that Equifax settlement pie, prepare to go hungry. So many people have filed that the already small shares of $125 per person are shrinking. If you still want to make Equifax pay, you’re better off choosing free credit monitoring instead.
How Beto O’Rourke’s hacker group changed cybersecurity as we know it
While the revelation that 2020 presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke was once a member of America’s most storied hacker collectives put Cult of the Dead Cow on the map for most people, it had a much greater impact on the cybersecurity our devices implement today.
No, Apple isn’t moving toward a Mac App Store-only future. At least, not yet
Unlike iOS, you can get Mac apps from anywhere you want, not just the Mac App Store. But the word on the street is that Apple wants to put an end to that and make even more money by making the Mac App Store a monopoly. Don’t believe the hype -- it’s not true.
RAM has never been cheaper, but are the historic prices here to stay?
Is it time to upgrade your PC's memory? DDR4 is cheaper today than it's ever been, whether you're buying an 8GB entry-level kit, or 32GB of high-end, RGB, performance sticks. But just a year ago prices were almost three times as high. So, why is the price so low and is it set to stay that way for long?
Why Jony Ive’s greatest achievement wasn’t the iPhone. It was the original iMac
Jony Ive is leaving Apple. The world-famous designer brought us the iPhone and the iPod, two devices that revolutionized the tech industry more than any other. But his greatest achievement doesn't get quite as much recognition. Here's why the original iMac was Ive's true masterpiece in design.
If graphics cards don’t need it, what’s the point of PCIExpress 4?
AMD's Ryzen 3000 CPUs have a number of exciting benefits and the new X570 chipset is one of them. Although not strictly necessary to run the new chips, PCIE 4.0 support could be one good reason to upgrade, especially if you like to pack your system with add-in cards or want to make the most of your benchmark scores.
Opera GX is a browser for gamers, but the actual gaming is still to come
Gamers need browsers too and though most of them use Chrome, Opera is hoping to entice them with its new browser for gamers, called Opera GX. It adds RGB controls and resource limits to give games the most system power possible, all with a new coat of digital paint.
This is how much Apple’s $6,000 Mac Pro would cost as a PC
Apple is embracing the tower design once again to create the most powerful Mac for professionals, and this year’s Mac Pro delivers with high-end silicon options, quad-graphics support, and more. Can a PC come close to what the Mac Pro delivers for $6,000?
The new Mac Pro was the only way to save the Mac from the iPad’s killing blow
The Mac Pro and the iPad were in the spotlight this year at WWDC 2019. Why? Well, the two products paint an interesting picture about the future of both platforms. Whether you like it or not, the incredibly niche Mac Pro may have been the only way to save the Mac from the jaws of the iPad.
WPA3, the third generation of Wi-Fi security, has one giant flaw: You
Wi-Fi security will get a lot better with WPA3, but it's not going to change things overnight. Even when all of the hardware and software has been upgraded to support it, there are still going to be some glaring problems. Hackers know the best way to break wireless security and it's usually through the user.
How a former ILM designer now creates in 3D with just a laptop
In what was one of the most riveting demos at Computex this year, we met Colie Hertz, a former ILM designer. He demonstrated just how much his process has changed over the years, which now includes designing in 3D using VR and just a single laptop.
Your laptop can fold, but can it bend? Lenovo’s next-gen ThinkPad is flexible
Lenovo is going a step further than Samsung's Galaxy Fold with its first foldable computer. It unfolds out to offer a 13.3-inch screen, but when folded up it resembles a compact notebook. It can be used as a tablet or a traditional laptop. Here's what it's like to use.
Why Windows users will never let Microsoft kill their beloved MS Paint
Despite repeated threats to remove it, Microsoft this month confirmed that MS Paint will remain a part of Windows for now. Why are users still in love with a simple graphics editor that first shipped almost 35 years ago? Digital Trends set out to find a convincing answer.
Forget something? The Moshi Hexa laptop bag is so light you might think you did
The Moshi Hexa backpack is a lightweight, everyday backpack that prioritises style over masses of tiny pockets and external storage space. Does that mean it's not suitable for more demanding circumstances? We took it to a trade show to find out, carrying everything needed to do our job, and discovered it's no lightweight.
How Wi-Fi 6 will transform connectivity in your home, at the office, and beyond
Even though Wi-Fi 6 is just emerging, Cisco is already looking to improve on the standard by offering PC users a more secure and seamless way to authenticate and connect to public networks. Through the Open Roaming Consortium, Cisco wants Wi-Fi to be as seamless as roaming on a smartphone.
How emotion-tracking A.I. will change computing as we know it
Affectiva is just one of the startups working to create emotion-tracking artificial intelligence that can work out how you're feeling. From gaming to cars to healthcare, here are some of the ways that emotion-tracking tech promises to revolutionize computing as we know it.
Exclusive: The Surface Hub 2S will revolutionize work. Here’s how it was made
The Surface Hub 2S and 2X are whiteboards from a conference room in the future, powered by Cortana and Microsoft Teams. Exclusive interviews with the designers, futurists, and visionaries behind the product paint a picture of the changing nature of collaboration.
This $3,600 workstation isn’t just a desk. It’s a cockpit of productivity
Standing desks? Tired. Cemtrex Smartdesk? Wired. This innovative desk reimagines everything about your workspace, integrating a computer, a Qi charging pad, a document scanner, your VoIP phone, and so much more directly into your workstation. Now that's smart.
In the future, A.I. medicine will let patients own their health data
While A.I. is revolutionizing disparate verticals such as autonomous driving and customer support, in medicine it’s saddled by heavy regulation. Doctors see the long-term potential of artificial intelligence in healthcare, but they recommend that early adopters must fix the underlying infrastructure.
Intel and AMD may never make a CPU we can fully trust, but others might
Protecting against Spectre and Meltdown isn't easy. Software and hardware fixes are far from ideal, but developing an entirely new kind of CPU core could lead to world where Spectre isn't defeated, but it is entirely toothless. What we need, is a root of trust. A secure CPU core.
How one fan revived the hair-raising terror of Alien: Isolation VR with a mod
Wish you could play Alien: Isolation in your Oculus Rift or HTC Vive? Well now you can, thanks to MotherVR, a mod that brings back the game's VR mode and makes it better than it ever was, with full motion controller support. Meet the modder who made it all possible.
How 5G networks will make low-latency game streaming a reality
Nvidia thinks the future of gaming is in the cloud, and to make that possible, faster mobile networks like 5G are needed. Though speed is just one part of the equation, mobile carriers are also focusing on lowering the latency to deliver a better user experience with mobile game streaming.
Nvidia faces attacks from AMD, Intel, and even Google. Should it be worried?
While Nvidia has been promoting its RTX graphics card, the future of gaming may be in RTX servers, which will be used to drive the next generation of GeForce Now game streaming as Nvidia faces competition from Google's Stadia in the space.
A.I.-generated text is supercharging fake news. This is how we fight back
Last month, OpenAI announced a text generating A.I. so scarily accurate they claimed it would be dangerous to release it. Now researchers have developed a tool to help spot text written by bots. Here's what it means for the future of fake news in an age of smart machines.
Laptop displays are notorious for draining batteries. Intel may have a solution
Intel has leverage smartphone display technology, specifically Low-Temperature PolySilicon (LTPS) LCD panels, to create laptop displays that use just one watts of power compared to the typical two watts. That promises longer-lasting laptops without giving up on quality.
Many pioneers in computing were women of color. Here are 5 you should recognize
Women of color have been at the forefront of a number of groundbreaking computing endeavors. The history of computing is filled with the stories of their innovative contributions. In the spirit of Women’s History Month, we highlight the achievements of five of these extraordinary women.
Long before Gates or Jobs, 6 women programmed the first digital computer
ENIAC was the world's first electronic digital computer, and though it was glossed over in the history books, it was programmed by a team of six women. Remembering their contributions could inspire young women looking to break into the male-dominated tech industry.
5G isn’t only for phones. Here’s how Qualcomm just paved the road to 5G PCs
The future of the PC is the cloud, and Qualcomm wants to lead the charge by pairing its Snapdragon 8cx Always Connected PC processor with its X55 5G modem, allowing people to access cloud storage and stream apps. Will we all own 5G PCs in a couple of years? Qualcomm seems to think so.