Monthly Archives: August 2016

Google To Drop Nexus Brand Name, Move Away From Stock Android

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tripleevenfall quotes a report from The Verge: Google’s newest smartphones won’t be Nexus devices after all. According to Android Central, Google is dropping the Nexus branding with its two upcoming, HTC-made smartphones. Instead, the company is expected to market the devices under a different name and to lean heavily on the Google brand in the process. This shift is more than just symbolic. The report states Google will load the devices with a special version of Android Nougat, as opposed to the standard “vanilla” version of the operating system that’s shipped on past and current Nexus devices. Android Police reported earlier this month that Google may remove the Nexus branding from its upcoming smartphones and replace it with a “G” logo. It’s too early to tell which direction Google is taking with its upcoming Android Nougat smartphones. Google has spent years marketing the Nexus brand as a hardware entity, while Google has reserved its own name for software services.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.



Source: Slashdot – Google To Drop Nexus Brand Name, Move Away From Stock Android

NVIDIA Releases 372.70 WHQL Game Ready Driver

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It’s driver update time again. This time with a small list of fixes and a relatively large list of game ready titles. Though the list is a bit inflated with Deus Ex: Mankind divided sitting in a second time and Quantum break not seeing release for two more weeks, luck and users favor the prepared.


With this driver update continuing 370 driver branch, we start with a short list of fixes including issues in Windows 7 through 10 with Fallout 4 where enabling SSAO instead of HBAO+ would cause your Pipboy to go black and unreadable. Another issue resolved is high deferred Procedure Call latency in driver version 368.69 when upgrading to a GeForce GTX 1080, and the last fix listed only under Windows 10 was video corruption found when certain standard definition videos were up-scaled to full screen after a driver update.


The big reason most will be interested in this driver are the game ready updates. Key among these is World of Warcraft: Legion, the 6th and latest Expansion to what’s still the most popular MMORPG out there. Following WoW: Legion we have the Battlefield 1 open beta starting, and NVIDIA has made sure that their GPU’s are ready as part of this week’s driver update. Meanwhile, Quantum Break, which saw release earlier this year on both the Xbox One and the Windows 10 store as a DX12 title, will be released on Steam with DX11 support, allowing more people to enjoy the game. Steam currently lists the release date as September 14th, making NVIDIA ready a head of the games (re) release. Lastly, Deus Ex: Mankind Divided is listed again under game ready this week. While I’m unsure of why it’s game ready again, NVIDIA does state in the release notes that Deus Ex’s 3D Vision profile has been upgraded from fair to excellent, for those still sporting the specs (read: spectacles) to play in 3D.


Anyone interested can download the updated drivers through GeForce Experience or on the NVIDIA driver download page. More information on this update and further issues can be found in the 372.70 release notes.



Source: AnandTech – NVIDIA Releases 372.70 WHQL Game Ready Driver

Google Ignores Potentially Dangerous Login Redirect Exploit Says Researcher

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Google Ignores Potentially Dangerous Login Redirect Exploit Says Researcher
Here’s a reminder to always check the URL of a website before entering in your login details, folks. That bit of safe computing advice applies to all online services, both big and small. Lest anyone doubt that, security researcher Aiden Woods recently notified Google of a potential security flaw in the way it handles user logins that, if exploited,

Source: Hot Hardware – Google Ignores Potentially Dangerous Login Redirect Exploit Says Researcher

Acer Announces new Swift brand of Ultrathin Notebooks with Kaby Lake SoCs

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As we reported on the Kaby Lake launch last week as Intel’s newest generation of processors focusing on thin and light notebooks as well as convertables, tablets and mini-PCs, a number of Acer’s announcements today at IFA 2016 revolve around the new hardware. Today they are announcing a new line of ultrathin notebooks, called Swift. There will be four models, the Swift 1, Swift 3, Swift 5 and Swift 7, with the higher number representing the more premium product.



Gallery: Acer Swift 7


The Swift 7 is the flagship, designed to fit within a 1cm tall chassis (it comes at 9.98mm for good measure). In that z-height is a 1.1kg (2.48lbs) device sporting a 13.3-inch 1920×1080 IPS display, an all-aluminium unibody and a thin bezel.  Acer is reporting up to nine hours of battery life with the Core i5-7300U, a 256GB SSD, and up to 8GB of memory (no mention if it is LPDDR3 or DDR4). Connectivity comes from a 2T2R 802.11ac with MU-MIMO, and the clamshell comes with two USB 3.1 Type-C ports (we’re not sure if Acer uses USB 3.1 Gen1 or Gen2 from the announcement, and they don’t specify). The Swift 7 will be available in October starting at $999.



Gallery: Acer Swift 5


The Swift 5 is more of an attack on the XPS 13, claiming to fit a 14-inch panel in a 13.3-inch frame with thin bezels. It comes in thicker than the Swift 7, at 14.58mm, but is proportionally less dense at 1.36 kg. With the extra size and weight, there’s a bigger battery and Acer is claiming up to 13 hours for this one. Similar to the Swift 7, the Swift 5 with have Kaby Lake, up to 8GB of memory, and a choice of 256GB or 512GB PCIe or SATA SSDs, depending on the region/vendor. The Swift 5 will also have a USB 3.1 Type-C, and options for a touch display and fingerprint reader. The Swift 5 will start at $749 from November.



Gallery: Acer Swift 3


The Swift 3 goes up the stack again, at 17.95mm and 1.5kg, but in a full 14-inch form factor this time using 720p or 1080p IPS displays, Skylake/Kaby Lake processors, up to 512GB/8GB and 2T2R 802.11ac with MU-MIMO. The key feature of the Swift 3 according to Acer is the optional backlit keyboard paired with the larger touchpad. Pricing starts at $499 from October.



Gallery: Acer Swift 1


Finally the Swift 1 is the budget offering, using a Pentium/Celeron with 32/64/128GB eMMC and a 14-inch 720p display. The design is premium-like, using a brushed-metal-like finish on the chassis but the idea is that a student can have 12 hours of battery life in a 1.6 kg device. The Swift 1 will start at $249 from November.




Source: AnandTech – Acer Announces new Swift brand of Ultrathin Notebooks with Kaby Lake SoCs

Acer Predator 21 X: Notebook with Curved Display, Kaby Lake and GeForce GTX 1080 SLI

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As part of the IFA event this week in Berlin, Acer is announcing its Predator 21 X, the industry’s first desktop replacement notebook with a curved display. The laptop is aimed at gamers without budget constraints and packs high-end gaming hardware, such as Intel’s 7th Generation Kaby Lake processors, two NVIDIA’s GeForce GTX 1080 graphics cards in SLI and even a mechanical keyboard. The system can hardly be called a mobile computer because it is very large and heavy, but it still comes in clamshell form-factor and can be transported relatively easily. One of the key features is the display.


The Acer Predator 21 X will be the company’s new flagship gaming notebook, which will feature a plethora of technologies that we have not seen in laptops so far. The machine will be based on Intel’s upcoming 7th generation Core processors codenamed Kaby Lake. Acer does not reveal exact CPU models or their specifications, but given the positioning of the notebook, expect the company to use chips designed for gaming PCs (45W+, one would imagine). For graphics, Acer plans to offer up to two NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 GPUs, but other options will probably be available as well. The company does not specify storage capabilities of the Predator 21 X, but chassis designed to fit a 21” display panel can integrate a number of M.2 and 2.5” drives.


To cool down the CPU as well as up to two GPUs, Acer uses a specially designed cooling system with five fans and multiple heat-pipes. Three out of five fans are ultra-thin and are made of metal (the manufacturer calls them AeroBlade).



While the performance of the Predator 21 X promises to be high, the key feature of the notebook is its 21” curved IPS display panel with 2560 × 1080 resolution and NVIDIA’s G-Sync dynamic refresh rate technology. In addition to curvature, Acer also added Tobii infrared eye-tracking sensors to the display, which opens up different user experiences in games that support the appropriate tech. To further appeal to gamers, the DTR laptop comes with four integrated speakers and two built-in subwoofers (the audio sub-system carries the SoundPound 4.2+ brand name).


For input, the Acer Predator 21 X uses a mechanical keyboard with Cherry MX switches (just like MSI’s GT80 Titan) with five programmable buttons. The numeric keypad does not feature mechanical switches, but a good news is that it can be flipped and turned into a touchpad (a device that some DTR gaming laptops lack).


For connectivity, the Predator 21 X has one GbE port as well as a 2T2R 802.11ac + Bluetooth Wi-Fi module with two physical antennae on the rear side. In addition, the machine sports two USB Type-A ports, at least one USB Type-C receptacle, audio in/out as well as three display outputs (two DP, one HDMI).



Since the Acer Predator 21 X seems to be based on Intel’s yet unannounced 45W+ 7th generation Core chips for gaming machines, it will not be available for purchase for at least several months from now. For this reason, Acer does not unwrap all of its specifications just yet because the spec is hardly final at this time. That said, it is impossible to even estimate an approximate price of the machine. Yet, it is safe to say that it will cost more than average gaming laptops not only because of two high-end graphics cards but also due to the unique display and form-factor.




Source: AnandTech – Acer Predator 21 X: Notebook with Curved Display, Kaby Lake and GeForce GTX 1080 SLI

ASUS ZenWatch 3 Goes Round, Kills The Unsightly Bezels

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ASUS ZenWatch 3 Goes Round, Kills The Unsightly Bezels
ASUS has delivered two generations of Android Wear-based smartwatches, and let’s just say they weren’t exactly lookers. From their rectangular designs and unsightly bezels, they left much to be desired compared to well-rounded competition like the Motorola Moto 360 and even the Samsung Gear S2 Classic.

ASUS has heard the cries of the smartwatch

Source: Hot Hardware – ASUS ZenWatch 3 Goes Round, Kills The Unsightly Bezels

SpaceX Finds a Customer For Its First Reused Rocket

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What do you do after you successfully land a rocket on a floating barge in the Atlantic? You reuse it. SpaceX has been on the hunt for someone to reuse some of its first-stage Falcon boosters, and now SpaceX has finally found a customer. Ars Technica reports: “The Luxembourg-based satellite operator SES said Tuesday that it intends to launch a geostationary satellite, SES 10, on a reusable rocket in the fourth quarter of this year. SpaceX has not yet specified how much it will charge for launch services on one of its flown boosters, but industry officials anticipate about a 30 percent discount on SpaceX’s regular price of $62 million for a Falcon 9 launch. The company has not shared how much it is spending to refurbish and reuse a Falcon 9 stage, nor has it offered much public information about the extent to which the vehicle’s engines have had to be tested and prepared for a second flight.” “Having been the first commercial satellite operator to launch with SpaceX back in 2013, we are excited to once again be the first customer on SpaceX’s first ever mission using a flight-proven rocket,” said Martin Halliwell, Chief Technology Officer at SES. “We believe reusable rockets will open up a new era of spaceflight and make access to space more efficient in terms of cost and manifest management.”

Read more of this story at Slashdot.



Source: Slashdot – SpaceX Finds a Customer For Its First Reused Rocket