Lenovo’s first ThinkPads with Intel Whiskey Lake processors to arrive this month
Lenovo has opted not to wait for CES 2019 next month to introduce the first ThinkPads with Intel's Whiskey Lake Core I5-8265U and Core i7-8565U processors. They will arrive onboard the new ThinkPad L390 and L390 Yoga, new business-focused devices that are set to become available later in December.
Intel’s 28-core monster Xeon CPU might cost upwards of $4,000
Intel's powerful new 28-core Xeon CPU should launch before the end of the year, and early pre-order pricing has it costing somewhere between $4,000 and $5,000. It's not clear yet what the final price will be, but the superpowered chip appears to be set to debut with an equally superpowered cost.
Hitting ‘Check for updates’ in Windows 10 opts you into beta releases
Microsoft revealed this week that clicking the Check for updates button in Windows can opt you in to testing beta code for your operating system. They argue that people who click the button are advanced users who are seeking updates, so they will be updated to the latest optional release.
Microsoft’s Windows 95 throwback was just an ugly sweater giveaway
Microsoft’s anticipated “softwear” announcement turned out to be just an ugly sweater giveaway. The tech giant’s giveaway item is a sweater that features a large Windows 95 logo and Microsoft’s Twitter followers will just have to keep an eye on their DMs to see if they’ve won it.
You’ll soon be able to scribble all over PDFs on your Chromebook
Google may soon release a new PDF annotation feature for its Chrome OS PDF viewer. With the new feature, Chrome OS users can expect to draw and annotate their PDF documents using a mouse, touchpad, stylus or touchscreen. The added drawings can also be saved as a new file.
You can now get a Surface Laptop 2 for $800 at the Microsoft Store
As part of a "12 Days of Faves event," Microsoft is discounting the Surface Laptop 2. Along with deals on other variants, starting configurations of Microsoft's MacBook alternate are now going for $800 online at its retail store, cutting $200 from its usual $1,000 starting price.
Latest Facebook bug exposed up to 6.8 million users’ private photos
With the latest Facebook API bug, up to 6.8 million consumers on the social network had their private photos inappropriately exposed to third-party apps. Though the issue has since been fixed, some of the apps had access to photos for 12 days between September 13 and September 25.
Amazon takes $300 off Intel Core i7 Surface Pro 6 in latest sale
Christmas is just a couple weeks away, and with Black Friday and Cyber Monday now in the past, you might have missed out on some savings on the Surface Pro 6. Not to worry, though, as Amazon is the place to shop. It currently is discounting a variant of Microsoft's latest 2-in-1 by $300.
Turn your Raspberry Pi into a Steam streaming hub with Valve’s Steam Link app
Valve has added support for its Steam Link game streaming app to Raspberry Pi hardware, meaning that anyone with the small DIY computer can create their own Steam streaming box. You do need one of the latest generation of Pi devices, but setting it up is as simple as running a single update.
Leaked AMD Ryzen 3000 mobile benchmarks look fit for thin, low-power laptops
AMD's unannounced ultra-low-power mobile chips designed for laptops could give Intel's Core M series a run for its money. Leaked benchmarks for the Ryzen 3000 mobile APUs show scores that are competitive against Intel's Core M series. Hopefully, we'll hear more news about AMD's APUs at CES next month.
Nvidia’s Jetson AGX Xavier module is designed to give robots better brains
Though it's not geared for consumers, you'll likely soon reap the benefits of Nvidia's Jetson AGX Xavier module. The system-on-a-chip is designed to give autonomous robots better performance, and Nvidia hopes it will be used inside every autonomous machine from delivery drones to medical imaging systems.
Microsoft’s latest patent paves the way for Andromeda dual-screen mobile device
The latest patent discovery from Microsoft showcases a new hinge design for quickly opening a dual-screen mobile device with a single hand. The leak could this be additional proof surrounding the rumors of the company's upcoming Project Andromeda device or something entirely different.
Mining cryptocurrency for Razer Silver isn’t worth your computing power
Razer has launched its own cryptocurrency mining scheme, but instead of offering hardware to mine with, it's paying those who use its mining software with Razer Silver, which can be traded for hardware and loot crate codes. The trade-off is unlikely to be worth it, so consider carefully before joining.
Microsoft could split up search and Cortana in the next Windows 10 release
Microsoft may be shifting direction on how searches are performed on Windows 10. Some Windows Insiders on the latest preview build of the OS noticed that Microsoft is splitting up Cortana and search. If this strategy is adopted, Microsoft could implement it on the Windows 10 Spring 2019 Update.
These are the worst passwords of 2018. Is yours on this list?
Many internet users continue to use easy to crack passwords, like "12345678," despite repeated warnings from security experts. SplashData has compiled a list of the top 100 worst passwords for 2018 and some familiar entries are on the list. We also offer a few steps you can take to add more security to your account.
Costco members can cut up to $200 off MacBook and iMac price tags
You can get a MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, or iMac from Costco at up to $200 off of the standard Apple asking price. You do need to be a Costco member, which costs at least $60 a year, but even if you haven't applied yet, you can still gain a sizable discount during this pre-holidays Costco sales period.
Samsung Notebook 9 Pen is back with new design, internals and S Pen
Samsung announced an updated Notebook 9 Pen on Wednesday, December 12, and it looks to be an ideal Windows 2-in-1 for creators. Coming in 2019, the device features a modern design, an updated S Pen in the box, and the latest eighth-generation Intel Core i7 processor under the hood.
No more wild goose chase: ‘Duck.com’ now leads to DuckDuckGo instead of Google
DuckDuckGo users can now access their favorite privacy-focused search engine via a new domain: duck.com. DuckDuckGorecently acquired duck.com from Google. As a result, Duck.com no longer redirects to Google's search engine page. Instead, duck.com will lead users to DuckDuckGo's search page.
Microsoft’s Windows 10 updates have been a disaster despite safeguards
After a string of Windows 10 update issues, including severe data loss for a number of users, Microsoft's Corporate Vice President of Windows, Michael Fortin, has spoken out out about quality control surrounding Windows development at Microsoft. But is the company making excuses?
Firefox 64 helps keep your numerous tabs under control
Mozilla has officially launched Firefox 64 placing new features into the laps of its users including new tab management abilities, intelligent suggestions for extensions and features, and a new task manager for keeping Firefox's power consumption under control.
Intel Foveros is a ‘hybrid x86 architecture’ that pairs Core with Atom
Intel has announced a new packaging technology called 'Foveros' that makes it easier for the company to place multiple chips together on one package. That includes putting Intel's Core architecture and Atom architecture side by side in upcoming processors.
Intel’s next-gen IGP gets adaptive sync, discrete graphics solution named ‘Xe’
Intel made two graphics announcements at its latest Architecture Day. It has officially dubbed its discrete graphics product Intel Xe, and has also given details about its Gen11 IGP. The latter will include adaptive sync support and arrive in 2019.
Windows 10 user activity logs are sent to Microsoft despite users opting out
Windows 10 PCs are still sending user activity logs to Microsoft even after users select Privacy options to prevent the transmission of that data. Choosing to stop Windows 10 from syncing their data to the cloud is not enough to stop their PCs from releasing their data.
Supermicro investigation: no spy chips found on our motherboards
Computer hardware maker Supermicro announced the results of an investigation into reported allegations involving the security of its motherboards, and whether or not they were compromised by the insertion of malicious hardware. Bloomberg reported that the spy chips were added by China’s spies.
Leak reveals that Nvidia’s RTX 2060 gaming chipsets will be headed to laptops
The latest leaks of Nvidia's upcoming RTX 2060 have given performance benchmarks and further detail about the future chipset and its capabilities on the latest Turing architecture, while a RTX 2060 Max-Q variant has also been discovered for thin and light gaming machines.
Google+ continues to sink with a second massive data breach. Abandon ship now
Google+ was scheduled to shut its doors in August 2019, but the second security breach in only a few months has caused the company to move its plan forward a few months to April. In that case, it might be a good idea to delete your account sooner rather than later.
Chrome’s dark mode may cast its shadow over Macs by early 2019
By early 2019 Google may release a version of Chrome for Mac users that offers a Dark Mode feature to match MacOS Mojave's recent darkening. The eye-strain reduction feature may be released as part of Chrome 72 or 73. Regardless of when, it does as though the feature is in the works.
Hololens 2 could give the Always Connected PC a new, ‘aggressive’ form
If you think Qualcomm's Snapdragon PC processors are limited to convertible and detachable tablets, you may want to think again. It's rumored that Microsoft will ditch the Intel Atom processor found on today's Hololens augmented reality headset in favor of Qualcomm's Snapdragon 850 solution on next year's model.
Qualcomm’s dual-screen PC concept looks like two connected Surface Go tablets
Though we're seeing evolving concepts of how a dual-screen device should look like and function, Qualcomm may have taken an interesting approach. Rather than two screens powered by a single processor, a teaser showed what appears to be two Surface Go tablets housed inside -- and likely connected by -- a folio cover.
Microsoft’s Chromium Edge browser may be adding your Chrome extensions
Fans sticking to Google Chrome because due to its vast extension library might be able to switch over to Microsoft's latest iteration of Edge, as a Microsoft project manager confirms that the company has its eyes set on supporting full-fledged Chrome extensions in the future.
Snatch Apple’s 2017 15-inch MacBook Pro for up to $1,200 off at B&H
The latest deal at B&H is offering up 2017 15-inch Apple MacBook Pros, in space gray and silver, with Intel Core i7 quad-core CPUs, 16GB of RAM, and AMD Radeon Pro 560 GPUs with up to 2TB of SSD storage. Save up to $1,200 on these completely brand new in box machines perfect for resource-intensive work.
3DMark’s Port Royal lets you benchmark ray tracing on Nvidia’s RTX cards
Ever wondered what the difference in ray tracing performance is between Nvidia's new GeForce RTX 2070, 2080, and 2080 Ti cards? UL announced that its new Port Royal utility will help measure how well your GPU handles ray tracing. The tool is slated for an early January release as part of the 3DMark suite.
Microsoft is ‘handing even more of online life’ to Google, Mozilla CEO says
Microsoft recently announced it would be rebuilding Edge on Windows 10 by using Google's Chromium engine, but not everyone is happy with the decision. In a new blog post, Mozilla CEO Chris Beard writes that he believes the move is "handing online life control" to Google.
The Empire strikes your wallet with a $250 Star Wars keyboard
Thanks to a collaboration between Lucasfilm and NovelKeys, Star Wars fan can convert their desktop keyboard into something that looks like it came from a computer terminal in the Galactic Empire. The set includes replacement keycaps in either full Aurebesh or Aurebesh and English along with novelty iconography.