Month: April 2020

While you can’t quite have the full Windows XP experience on a Raspberry Pi, this Linux Raspbian XP Professional operating system (OS) from Pi Lab definitely gets close. It’s designed to run on the Raspberry Pi 4, the only model powerful enough to handle it.

Linux Raspbian XP Professional comes with a number of features that are reminiscent of the old XP OS. It has a working Start Menu complete with a usable search bar at the top. All of the menus, icons and taskbars have the classic bubbly XP. They even included the complete LibreOffice suite in lieu of Microsoft Office needs.

Since this is Raspbian with an XP overlay, you won’t be able to run XP applications as-is. It is possible to run Windows software from that era, however. You just need the right emulator. If you want to run a native Windows application, you can use the built-in Windows 98 virtual machine.

The OS is preloaded with several emulation platforms, like BOX86, that can run old PC games. You can also take advantage of other emulators, such as DOSBox, Mupen64 and MAME (here’s how to run emulators on Raspberry Pi 4). By connecting a USB controller, the whole system doubles as a retro gaming console.

This is still a work in progress, so expect a few updates in the future. In the meantime, check out the current build and see what it’s all about. You can visit the official Pi Lab channel on YouTube for installation details and new editions.

Microsoft is expected to launch the Surface Book 3 in a matter of weeks and a new leak suggests it will offer a major spec upgrade under the hood. 

The leak, courtesy of tipster Roland Quandt, all but confirms that the Surface Book 3 will feature Intel 10th-generation Comet Lake processors, with the 13-inch model and 15-inch variants set to pack Core i5-10210U and Core i7-10510U CPUs, respectively. 

Microsoft Surface Book 3 prices US$. GTX on all except high-end 15in which have Quadro.13ini5 8GB/256GB 1699,99 (no dGPU)i7 16GB/256GB 1999,99i7 32GB/512GB 2499,99i7 32GB/1TB 2699,9915ini7 16GB/256GB 2299,99i7 32GB/512GB 2799,99i7 32GB/1TB 2999,99i7 32GB/2TB 3399,99April 20, 2020

Further, a 3DMark listing suggests that Microsoft will offer the Surface Book 3 with the GeForce GTX 1650 Max-Q and GTX 1660 Ti Max-Q graphics, positioning the laptop as a specced-out machine aimed at content creators and professional users.

Quandt believes these Quadro GPUs will only make their way to the Surface Book 3 15, specifically SKUs with 32GB of RAM and at least 512GB of storage.

According to this latest leak from Quandt, the Surface Book 3 will be available from $1,699 (around £1,385, AU$3,318), which will get you a 13-inch i5 model sans dGPU with 8GB RAM and 256GB storage. Microsoft’s top-spec 15-inch Core i7 model with 32GB RAM and 2TB storage will set you back a hefty $3,399 (around £2,770, AU$6,640). The Surface Book 3 is widely expected to make its debut in May, alongside a revamped Surface Dock and the so-called Surface Go 2.

Many forms

The tipster also notes that Microsoft is planning more, as yet undisclosed variants of the Surface Book 3. Given last year’s Surface Laptop 3 was offered in both Intel and AMD versions, we wouldn’t be surprised if Microsoft was also planning to add an Team Red variant to its Surface Book lineup.

Hardware leaker @_rogame recently discovered AMD Ryzen 4000 benchmark that showed the Zen 2 APU inside a mysterious Surface device, speculating that the device, which sports a custom Ryzen 7 CPU with integrated Radeon RX Vega 11 graphics, could be the incoming Surface Book 3.

This all means that the Surface Book 3 could be utilizing a wide range of different hardware so both casual and professional users can get a model that will be perfect for their actual needs. Whether you need the professional graphics power that a Quadro GPU offers or whether you just need something that can run Photoshop, these Surface Book 3 leaks suggest everyone will get what they need. 

The Samsung Galaxy Note 20 could be set for a reveal soon, as possible teaser images for the upcoming phone have popped up on the company’s Galaxy Store. 

An eagle-eyed reader of SamMobile flagged a featured image in the Galaxy Store’s “Samsung Rewards” section, which included a theme for an unreleased Samsung phone. Going by its proportion, it looks like it could be the Galaxy Note 20. 

The image isn’t very clear and we are unable to corroborate it on our own Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Plus, though our unit is set up for the UK. There’s also a good chance that Samsung has pulled the theme from its store. 

But from what we can see, the theme for the unknown phone in the middle of the image shows the handset has an expansive display with no cutout hole for the front-facing camera. That could mean Samsung has found some way to embed a selfie camera under the display, or it could be using a pop-up camera, such as the one found in the OnePlus 7T Pro. That phone has now been succeeded by the OnePlus 8 Pro, which has a punch-hole front-facing camera. 

However, this theme is potentially just a mockup designed to stand in for the Note 20 until it’s actually announced later this year. There’s a noticeable lack of buttons on the phone’s side, and dropping the Infinity-O display doesn’t track with other leaks and rumours. Most sources currently suggest it’ll have more of a spec and camera upgrade than a major overhaul over the Samsung Galaxy Note 10. 

Given the mystery phone has its left side obscured by the Galaxy S10 Plus in the image, it could be that Samsung has decided to move the punch-hole camera to the top left-hand side of the Note 20. Again, this would seem odd as the Galaxy S20, Galaxy S20 Plus, and Galaxy S20 Ultra all have their cutouts centred in the display’s top edge, continuing the design set by the Note 10. 

This mockup might just be that: a mockup with no solid grounding in final product design for the Galaxy Note 20. But we would like to see Samsung push things further with its smartphone design, and a nearly button-less handset with an under-display selfie camera could help the Note 20 in its upcoming battle against the iPhone 12. 

The Canon EOS R5 has given video directors and YouTubers a welcome boost by teasing a few more of its official specs – and the new announcements confirm that the R5 will break new ground for mirrorless cameras.

Last month, Canon batted away suggestions that the EOS R5’s video powers would be compromised in a similar way to previous models like the EOS R, by confirming that it will shoot 8K video internally at 30fps using the full width of its sensor. 

And now Canon has followed that up with some even bigger video spec announcements. One of the most interesting is that the EOS R5 will be able to shoot 4K video at up to 120fps, making it a potentially great option for shooting high-quality slo-mo footage. That mode has only previously been available on professional Cinema EOS cameras like the C200.

Even better, Canon has confirmed that when shooting video on the EOS R5 “Dual Pixel AF is available in all video modes at all resolutions and frame rates”. That’s pretty incredible, given the Canon 1DX Mark III can’t even manage that – that pro DSLR doesn’t offer Dual Pixel AF when shooting in either Raw or 60p modes.

What else is new?

Another bit of interesting news is the confirmation of the Canon EOS R5 video codecs. When shooting uncropped 8K and 4K, it’ll shoot 4:2:2 10-bit in Canon Log (H.265) or 4:2:2 10-bit HDR PQ (H.265). As we knew from a previous announcement, you’ll also be able to shoot 8K Raw video internally at up to 29.97fps.

There’s no official news on 8-bit options for smaller file sizes, but the confirmed 10-bit recording and those codecs is welcome news for pros who fancy using the EOS R5 as a second camera alongside their main Cinema workhorse. Shooting in 10-bit 4:2:2, an option that first arrived on mirrorless cameras with the Panasonic GH5, provides more color data and depth for colorists to work with in post-production, compared to alternatives like 8-bit 4:2:0.

Canon says this means the EOS R5 will be “an ideal support filming camera” that will “shoot comfortably on high-end production sets”, and from the specs released so far it’s hard to disagree. That said, there are still many details we don’t know about, including recording limits and how exactly the EOS R5 will avoid heating issues, given it has a much smaller body than Cinema EOS cameras. 

One final bit of news from concerns the EOS R5’s dual cards slots – Canon has confirmed that one of these will be a CFexpress slot, with the other being SD UHS-II. Unlike the 1DX Mark III, which has dual CFexpress slots, this shows the EOS R5 has one eye on attracting semi-pros and well-heeled amateurs too. 

CFexpress cards offer incredible data transfer rates that are ideal for shooting 8K video and rapid-fire stills, but are significantly pricier than the more common SD alternatives. Presumably Canon feels this will help the broaden the EOS R5’s appeal beyond the professional world. 

Why the Canon EOS R5 is a big deal

So what do these announcements all mean for the Canon EOS R5 and cameras in general? The EOS R5 certainly won’t be the first small, mirrorless camera to be used by professional directors and filmmakers – the Panasonic GH5 has been a favorite of aspiring Werner Herzogs for a while now, and brought features like internal 10-bit 4:2:2 recording to wider audience back in 2017.

But from the specs so far, the EOS R5 is going to raise that video bar for mirrorless cameras again. For a start it’s a full-frame camera, so has a far bigger sensor than the Micro Four Thirds GH5. Despite that large sensor, it promises features like uncropped 8K, the ability to shoot 4K at 120fps and, perhaps best of all, Dual Pixel autofocus in every video mode. All of this from a body that’s similar in size to the Canon EOS R and has five-axis IBIS (in-body image stabilization). 

On paper, it’s hugely impressive stuff and promises to fix all of the strange video limitations we’ve seen on recent Canon cameras like the EOS R. Features that have previously been reserved for Cinema EOS cameras are getting shoehorned into a run-and-gun, mirrorless body. And while the EOS R5 isn’t going to be cheap – rumors suggest it will cost in the region of $3,500 / £3,500 / AU$4,500 – it does promise more powerful features than any other camera in its weight category. Unless the Sony A7S III arrives soon to steal its thunder.

Naturally, this all comes with the caveat that there are still many unknowns about the EOS R5. For example, we don’t yet know anything about video recording limits, or how it will handle heat. And until we’ve been able to take one for a spin, we also won’t know how well it handles potential issues like rolling shutter, which was a problem on the Canon EOS RP.

But from the confirmed specs so far, the Canon EOS R5 is undoubtedly the most exciting camera of the year, whether you’re a stills shooter or filmmaker. We’ll bring you more official news as get it.

Samsung Electronics announced today that the Samsung Health Monitor app has been cleared by South Korea’s Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS), as a Software as a Medical Device (SaMD), making it a government-cleared, over-the-counter and cuffless blood pressure monitoring application. The Samsung Health Monitor app, when paired with advanced sensor technology on the Galaxy Watch Active2,1 enables you to easily and more conveniently measure and track your blood pressure.

Globally, high blood pressure is known to significantly increase your risk of brain, kidney and heart diseases, including stroke and coronary heart disease when not managed properly. By helping users measure and track their blood pressure, the Samsung Health Monitor app gives people greater insight into their health and allows them to make more informed decisions, to lead healthier lives.

“The Samsung Health Monitor app has the potential to help millions of people around the world who are affected by high blood pressure,” says Taejong Jay Yang, Corporate SVP and Head of Health Team, Mobile Communications Business at Samsung Electronics. “This is one of many examples of how Samsung is integrating its best-in-class hardware with the latest software innovations to innovate mobile experiences.”

Once your Galaxy Watch Active2 device has been calibrated with a traditional cuff, you can simply tap to “Measure” your blood pressure anytime, anywhere. The device measures blood pressure through pulse wave analysis, which is tracked with the Heart Rate Monitoring sensors. The program then analyzes the relationship between the calibration value and the blood pressure change to determine the blood pressure.2 To ensure accuracy, users are required to calibrate their device at least every four weeks.

With the addition of blood pressure monitoring, the Galaxy Watch Active2 boasts Samsung’s most advanced health and wellness capabilities yet. The Galaxy Watch Active2 comes with more sensitive and accurate Heart Rate Monitoring sensors, and enables users to track their exercise, sleep, stress and get added healthcare insights that can help you improve your wellbeing.3

The Samsung Health Monitor app will be available on the Galaxy Watch Active2 within the third quarter and will progressively expand to upcoming Galaxy Watch devices.