The Nintendo Switch Lite is small enough to fit in your pocket, but you might want to stuff it in a case for added protection when you’d prefer to shove it in your bag. Many Switch cases are unfortunately pretty bulky, which negates the smaller form…
Source: Engadget – Nintendo is selling a handy snap-on case to protect the Switch Lite
Monthly Archives: August 2019
Mystery Russia Explosion Reportedly Happened During Mission to Recover Nuclear-Powered Missile from Ocean
U.S. intelligence has reportedly determined that a mysterious blast that occurred on Russia’s northern coast earlier this month took place during a mission to reclaim a nuclear-powered missile.
Source: Gizmodo – Mystery Russia Explosion Reportedly Happened During Mission to Recover Nuclear-Powered Missile from Ocean
Study finds deaths from drivers running red lights at ten year high
Yet many jurisdictions are pulling out their cameras, because Freedom!
Source: TreeHugger – Study finds deaths from drivers running red lights at ten year high
The Plan to Use Fitbit Data to Stop Mass Shootings Is One of the Scariest Proposals Yet
In the aftermath of yet another mass shooting in America, loved ones grieve, gun control advocates call for common-sense reforms, and politicians suggest new “solutions” that won’t do anything about guns. These proposals frequently focus on mental health, but a new plan before the White House to monitor…
Source: Gizmodo – The Plan to Use Fitbit Data to Stop Mass Shootings Is One of the Scariest Proposals Yet
What made Nintendo fans love the 3DS?
As we approach Nintendo’s 130th anniversary next month, we’re taking some time to look back on the company’s devices that preceded the Switch, and we’re starting with its immediate predecessor, the 3DS. In Engadget’s review of the original version ba…
Source: Engadget – What made Nintendo fans love the 3DS?
The Best Back-to-School Advice for Teens, According to Reddit
Whether they’re navigating the high school hallways for the first time or decorating their first dorm room, back-to-school time can be stressful for teens taking on ever-harder coursework and new responsibilities. Even they must realize they could benefit from the advice from those of us who have been there, done…
Source: LifeHacker – The Best Back-to-School Advice for Teens, According to Reddit
NPM Bans Terminal Ads
A week after a popular JavaScript library started showing full-blown ads in the npm command-line interface, npm, Inc., the company that runs the npm tool and website, has taken a stance and plans to ban such behavior in the future. From a report: “We are always working on improving our policies and expand on our commitments to the community,” Ahmad Nassri, npm, Inc. CTO told ZDNet in an email this week. “To that end, we’re making updates to our policies to be more explicit about the type of commercial content we do deem not acceptable.” According to these upcoming updates, npm will ban:
1. Packages that display ads at runtime, on installation, or at other stages of the software development lifecycle, such as via npm scripts.
2. Packages with code that can be used to display ads are fine. Packages that themselves display ads are not.
3. Packages that themselves function primarily as ads, with only placeholder or negligible code, data, and other technical content.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot – NPM Bans Terminal Ads
Vaping-illness investigations turn to contaminants, counterfeits: report
Enlarge / A man smokes an e-cigarette. (credit: Getty | Picture alliance)
State and federal investigations into the puzzling burst of severe lung illnesses linked to e-cigarette use—aka vaping—are focusing in on black-market and counterfeit products, according to a report by the Washington Post.
Unknown adulterants and dubious solvents—such as oils and diluting “cutting agents”—in vaping liquids are now the prime suspects behind the illnesses, which have struck at least 193 people in 22 states since June 28 of this year. One person in Illinois has died. Investigators say that in many of the cases people bought suspect products on the black market or in “pop-up” shops.
Solvents in counterfeit and black-market vaping liquids “can vary a lot,” an unnamed official at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention told the Post. The official added that solvents sold for mixing home-made vaping liquids may also be mislabeled.
Read 10 remaining paragraphs | Comments
Source: Ars Technica – Vaping-illness investigations turn to contaminants, counterfeits: report
Wash the TV Finale Taste Out of Your Mouth With This A Song of Ice and Fire Box Set Deal
James Cameron Watched the Last 3 Terminator Movies to Figure Out What Not to Do With Dark Fate
For Terminator: Dark Fate, the return of Linda Hamilton, Edward Furlong, and Arnold Schwarzenegger is exciting enough. But it’s the return of franchise creator James Cameron that’s arguably the bigger deal. Cameron is back as a producer and helped craft the story of the film, which only recognizes his first two …
Source: io9 – James Cameron Watched the Last 3 Terminator Movies to Figure Out What Not to Do With Dark Fate
ASUS ZenBook Pro Duo UX58: A Dual Screen Laptop with 100% DCI-P3 OLED
Modern notebooks can offer performance and feature set comparable to those of desktop PCs. One thing that laptops cannot offer is the screen real estate: desktops can be equipped with a large 32-43-inch monitor, whereas mobile workstations come with a 15.6 – 17.3-inch LCD at best (unless, of course, they are connected to an external panel). ASUS this week launched its ZenBook Pro Duo notebook that comes with a 15.6-inch 4K primary OLED display that is accompanied by a 14-inch secondary screen.
Being in the flagship family of mobile PCs from ASUS, the ZenBook Pro notebooks incorporate all the latest and greatest technologies that the company has to offer. This includes a luxurious aluminum unibody chassis that stand out from any competition. The ZenBook Pro Duo UX58 is clearly not an exception: it comes in a celestial blue aluminum chassis with reflective edges that looks extremely stylish. Unlike most laptops in the series, the ZenBook Pro Duo UX58 is not that compact: it is 2.4 cm thick and it weighs 2.5 kilograms. But there is a reason why the notebook is not really compact: it has two displays and contains high-performance components like Intel’s eight-core CPU and NVIDIA’s GeForce RTX discrete GPU.
The primary display of the ASUS ZenBook Pro Duo UX58 is a Pantone Validated 15.6-inch OLED touchscreen with a 3840×2160 resolution that can reproduce 100% of the DCI-P3 color gamut. The secondary display of the laptop, which the company calls ScreenPad Plus and which is located above the keyboard, is a 14-inch touch-enabled display featuring a 3840×1100 resolution, a 32:9 aspect ratio, and 178˚ viewing angles. The ScreenPad Plus can be used like a regular secondary display under Windows to extend the desktop space. Besides, it can be used with ASUS’s ScreenXpert control software that simplifies multiscreen window and program management as well as can run specially-designed apps. Furthermore, ASUS is also working with developers of professional applications to create versions that can take advantage of the ScreenPad Plus in a way that many apps take advantage of Apple’s TouchBar.
The internals of the ASUS ZenBook Pro Duo UX58 is as premium as its externals. Depending on exact model, the notebook can be based on Intel’s six-core Core i7-9750H or unlocked eight-core Core i9-9980HK processor, though we do not know whether ASUS lets owners of the notebook overclock this CPU. The systems also feature NVIDIA’s discrete GeForce RTX 2060 graphics processor with 6 GB of GDDR6 memory; 8, 16 or 32 GB of DDR4-2666 DRAM, and an SSD with up 1 TB capacity (PCIe 2.0/3.0 x4/NVMe). Considering that we are dealing with very high-performance components, expect ASUS to use a specially designed cooling systems with multiple heat pipes and fans. To boost performance of the notebook, it has a Turbo Fan button that speeds up fans to maximize cooling performance and enable the CPU and the GPU to increase their boost clocks.
Connectivity wise, the ZenBook Pro Duo UX58 is a first-class machine as well. On the wireless side of things, the laptop is equipped with Intel’s Wi-Fi 6 solution (with Gbps+ throughput) and Bluetooth 5.0. As for physical connectors, the laptop comes with one Thunderbolt 3 port, two USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-A connectors, an HDMI 2.0 display output, a 3.5-mm combo audio jack, and a proprietary jack for charging.
When it comes to multimedia capabilities, the mobile PC has a Windows Hello-capable webcam with IR sensors, Harman Kardon-badged stereo speakers, and a microphone array with Cortana and Alexa voice-recognition support,
At present, ASUS offers two versions of its ZenBook Pro Duo laptops: the model UX581GV-XB74T based on the six-core CPU for $2,499 as well as the model UX581GV-XB94T powered by the eight-core CPU for $2,999. Eventually, the company will offer other SKUs.
| The ASUS ZenBook Pro Duo Laptops | ||||
| General | UX581GV-XB74T | UX581GV-XB94T | ||
| Primary Display | General | 15.6-inch OLED with touch | ||
| Resolution Color Gamut |
3840×2160 100% DCI-P3 133% sRGB |
|||
| Features | Pantone Validated DisplayHDR True Black 500 |
|||
| Secondary Display | Diagonal | 14-inch with touch | ||
| Resolution | 3840×1100 | |||
| Viewing Angles | 178˚ | |||
| CPU Options | Intel Core i7-9750H Intel Core i9-9980HK |
Intel Core i7-9750H 6C/12T, 2.6 – 4.5 GHz |
Intel Core i9-9980HK 8C/16T, 2.4 – 5 GHz |
|
| Graphics | Integrated | HD Graphics 630 (24 EUs) | ||
| Discrete | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 6 GB GDDR6 | |||
| RAM | <32 GB DDR4-2666 | 16 GB DDR4-2666 | 32 GB DDR4-2666 | |
| Storage | SSD | 256 GB PCIe 3.0 x2 512 GB PCIe 3.0 x2 1 TB Optane H10 |
Intel Optane Memory H10 PCIe 3.0 x4 1 TB 3D QLC + 32 GB 3D XPoint |
|
| Wireless | Wi-Fi | Intel Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) | ||
| Bluetooth | Bluetooth 5.0 | |||
| USB | 3.1 Gen 2 | 1 × TB 3 (Type-C) 2 × USB Type-A |
||
| Thunderbolt | 1 × TB 3 (data, DP displays) | |||
| Display Outputs | 1 × HDMI 2.0 1 × TB3 with DisplayPort |
|||
| Gigabit Ethernet | none | |||
| Card Reader | none | |||
| Webcam | Windows Hello-capable webcam with IR sensors | |||
| Fingerprint Sensor | none | |||
| Other I/O | Microphone, stereo speakers, audio jack | |||
| Battery | 62 Wh Li-Poly 71 Wh Li-Poly |
71 Wh Li-Poly | ||
| Dimensions | Width | 35.9 cm | 14.13 inch | ||
| Depth | 24.6 cm | 9.68 inch | |||
| Thickness | 2.4 cm | 0.94 inch | |||
| Weight | 2.5 kilograms | 5.51 lbs | |||
| Price | various | $2,499 | $2,999 | |
Related Reading:
- ASUS Unveils ZenBook Edition 30 Laptop: 13.3-Inch Dual Screen with GPU
- ASUS ZenBook Pro 15 UX550GE Laptop with Core i7 & 4K LCD Is Now Available
- Asus ZenBook Pro 15 (UX580): A 5.5-inch Screen in the Touchpad
- ASUS Unveils Ultra-Thin ZenBook Pro 15 with Six-Core Core i9, GTX 1050, Calibrated 4K LCD
Source: ASUS
Source: AnandTech – ASUS ZenBook Pro Duo UX58: A Dual Screen Laptop with 100% DCI-P3 OLED
Tesla wins a tax exemption in China to offset trade-war tariffs (updated)
The regulatory body in charge of cars in China has announced several Tesla vehicles will be exempt from its purchase tax, which should help offset an upcoming tariff. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology granted exemptions for more tha…
Source: Engadget – Tesla wins a tax exemption in China to offset trade-war tariffs (updated)
Clear Linux Offering Performance Advantages Even With Low-Power IoT/Edge Hardware
While we are often testing Intel’s Clear Linux on high-end desktop and server hardware, it turns out even on the opposite end of the spectrum that their performance-optimized distribution can offer meaningful performance advantages on low-end SoCs for IoT-type devices. When testing Clear Linux with an Apollolake platform, it came out to being about 20% faster than the likes of Fedora and Ubuntu Linux.
Source: Phoronix – Clear Linux Offering Performance Advantages Even With Low-Power IoT/Edge Hardware
Jason Schreier and I (Tim Rogers) are continuing our glacial spiral into the Japanese wall of text t
Jason Schreier and I (Tim Rogers) are continuing our glacial spiral into the Japanese wall of text that is Chrono Trigger. Sound out every syllable alongside us in the chat! I’ll learn you all some Japanese, yet!
Source: Kotaku – Jason Schreier and I (Tim Rogers) are continuing our glacial spiral into the Japanese wall of text t
Dare To Dream: Female Competitive Eater Sets World Record For Most Mayonaisse Eaten In 3 Minutes With 3.5 24-Ounce Jars
This is a Guinness World Record video of competitive eater Michelle “Cardboard Shell” Lesco setting the world record for most mayonnaise consumed in 3 minutes, with a staggering 86.35 oz (2,448 grams), the equivalent of three and a half 24-ounce jars. Now I love mayo as much as the next person who keeps a jar in an ice bucket by the side of the bed, but come on, three and half jars seems a little excessive. “You sure you’re not just jealous, GW?” THAT RECORD WAS MINE.
Keep going for the video, which might be hard to watch if you’re mayonnaise.
Source: Geekologie – Dare To Dream: Female Competitive Eater Sets World Record For Most Mayonaisse Eaten In 3 Minutes With 3.5 24-Ounce Jars
Pngquant – A Command-line Utility To Compress PNG Images On Linux
Pngquant is a free, open source and cross-platform command-line lossy PNG compressor.
Source: Linux Today – Pngquant – A Command-line Utility To Compress PNG Images On Linux
YouTube Bans Anti-Nazi Documentary From 1938 For Violating Hate Speech Policy
“Inside Nazi Germany” is one of the most important anti-Nazi documentaries in history. First released on January 20, 1938, the 15-minute movie became one of the first explicitly anti-Nazi newsreels to play in U.S. theaters and provided an early glimpse into the Nazi atrocities that would only become fully known to…
Source: Gizmodo – YouTube Bans Anti-Nazi Documentary From 1938 For Violating Hate Speech Policy
Experts share their (mostly) hassle-free security tips
It seems like every day another big corporation discloses a breach. Equifax, Capital One, Marriot, and a whole host of other companies have leaked the personal data of millions of their customers. That pilfered information could be used to steal iden…
Source: Engadget – Experts share their (mostly) hassle-free security tips
Live-Action Games Are Having A Renaissance
Full-motion video games have been around since the early days of VHS, but their implementation of real actors on camera usually felt like gimmicks. Now, though, the way developers are utilizing the strengths of real actors on camera is getting really clever, with games like the creepy and fascinating Telling Lies,…
Source: Kotaku – Live-Action Games Are Having A Renaissance
How Was the August Swimming Challenge?
Did you swim a lot this August? My own summer was chaotic enough that I’ll admit I mostly stuck to my familiar gym routine, but I hope a bunch of you took advantage of the opportunity to swim some laps and get a few pool workouts in.
Source: LifeHacker – How Was the August Swimming Challenge?