Khan’s Moto Razr render. Waqar Khan Up top is Richard Lai’s footage of the Lenovo event. On the bottom is a screenshot from Khan’s YouTube video. Waqar Khan / Richard Lai Top: Lenovo. Bottom: Khan. Waqar Khan / Richard Lai Top: Lenovo. Bottom: Khan. Waqar Khan / Richard Lai Lenovo added its logo to the […]
Gears & Gadgets
There’s a new Minecraft game coming, and it’s played entirely in augmented reality
You’ll be able to build structures and worlds on your table with friends… Microsoft …and then deploy them full-size in the real world. Minecraft You can also find and collect monsters to use in your builds. Microsoft Microsoft may believe it has made augmented reality’s killer app: the just-announced Minecraft Earth for iOS and Android. AR on […]
OnePlus 7 Pro Review—The fastest, best-designed, best-value Android phone
The OnePlus 7 Pro. With a front that is nearly all pixels, there isn’t much you can do to improve smartphone design from here. Ron Amadeo Notches? Bezels? Camera holes? Nope, there’s nothing here to interrupt the display. Also note the skinny earpiece integrated into the top edge of the phone. Ron Amadeo OK, the […]
Saved from obsolescence, Microsoft is now making Paint better
Enlarge / A picture apparently constructed in Paint using the keyboard exclusively. Microsoft The news for mspaint.exe aficionados is just getting better and better. Microsoft’s original plan was to deprecate Paint and end its development. It would still be installable from the Store but would no longer be included with Windows or receive any updates. […]
These firms promise high-tech ransomware solutions—but typically just pay hackers
Enlarge / Cryptolocker was one of the ransomware pioneers, bringing together file encryption and bitcoin payment. Christiaan Colen / Flickr This story was originally published by ProPublica. It appears here under a Creative Commons license. From 2015 to 2018, a strain of ransomware known as SamSam paralyzed computer networks across North America and the UK […]
Windows dual booting no longer looking likely on Pixelbooks
Enlarge / Google’s Pixelbook. Valentina Palladino Just under a year ago, there were signs that Google was modifying the firmware of its Pixelbook laptop to enable dual booting into Windows 10. The firmware was updated to give the Pixelbook the ability to boot into an “Alternative OS” (“AltOS” mode). The work included references to the […]
Microsoft open sources algorithm that gives Bing some of its smarts
Enlarge / The Eiffel Tower. Pedro Szekely Search engines today are more than just the dumb keyword matchers they used to be. You can ask a question—say, “How tall is the tower in Paris?”—and they’ll tell you that the Eiffel Tower is 324 meters (1,063 feet) tall, about the same as an 81-story building. They […]
OnePlus won’t sell the OnePlus 7 in the US, but the 6T gets a $30 price drop
We promise these are pictures of the OnePlus 7, and not just recycled OnePlus 6T images. OnePlus The back has just (just?) two cameras. OnePlus The top still has that teardrop notch and an earpiece. OnePlus The camera bump. OnePlus There isn’t much going on along the top edge. OnePlus The bottom has a USB-C […]
New speculative execution bug leaks data from Intel chips’ internal buffers
First disclosed in January 2018, the Meltdown and Spectre attacks have opened the floodgates, leading to extensive research into the speculative execution hardware found in modern processors, and a number of additional attacks have been published in the months since. Today sees the publication of a range of closely related flaws named variously RIDL, Fallout, […]
Apple releases iOS 12.3, macOS 10.14.5, watchOS 5.2.1, and tvOS 12.3
Enlarge / Apple announced some of these features at its services-and-TV-focused event on March 25. Ron Amadeo Today, Apple began rolling out new versions of its iOS, macOS, watchOS, and tvOS operating systems for iPhones and iPads, Macs, Apple Watches, and Apple TVs, respectively. The updates are largely focused on the video services that Apple […]
Supreme Court ruling could threaten Apple’s 30 percent app commission
Enlarge Chesnot/Getty Images A narrowly divided Supreme Court is allowing a group of consumers to move forward with a lawsuit charging that Apple overcharges customers for App Store purchases. Apple had asked courts to throw out the lawsuit, arguing that the law only allowed app developers, not customers, to bring such a case. The lawsuit […]
Ubuntu 19.04: The Disco Dingo arrives and will really make your IT dept. happy
Enlarge / Behold, the default desktop for the latest Canonical release: Ubuntu 19.04, gloriously nicknamed “Disco Dingo.” Scott Gilbertson Canonical recently released Ubuntu 19.04, the latest version of its flagship GNOME-based Linux desktop. But if you’re a desktop user, you might be feeling a little left out. The big points of emphasis in this latest […]
Garmin Forerunner 245 Music review: New features, better price, few sacrifices
Enlarge Valentina Palladino Runners have a lot to be excited about when it comes to Garmin’s revamped family of Forerunner smartwatches. Now starting at $ 199, the Forerunner family contains six devices that should serve all levels of runner—from novice to expert. The $ 299 Forerunner 245 and 245 Music sit right in the middle […]
HP Spectre 15 x360 2019 review: Carving a niche in a crowded space
Enlarge / The unusual, gemstone-inspired edges are designed to make this laptop stand out. Samuel Axon The HP Spectre 15 x360 is a good laptop, but it seemed we always found one or two things to quibble with. With the 2017 model, we liked some key design decisions but felt let down by the performance […]
Microsoft: The open source company
Enlarge The news from Microsoft’s Build developer conference that surprised me most was that Microsoft will ship a genuine Linux kernel—GPLed, with all patches published—with Windows. That announcement was made with the announcement of Windows Terminal, a new front-end for command-line programs on Windows that will, among other things, support tabs. Microsoft’s increased involvement with […]