Category: Article

Google is rolling out the latest version of Chrome for Mac, Windows, and Linux. Chrome 78 readies customization options for the New Tab page, a nifty click-to-call feature, and new tab overlays.

Announced last month, Chrome will soon get more customization options than just adding a background to the New Tab page or using a theme from the Chrome Web Store. Accessible from the same “Customize” button in the bottom-right corner of the New Tab page, the “Background” option remains unchanged. Google offers a gallery or you can upload an image. “Shortcuts” refer to the grid of website favicons just under the search bar. There are three possibilities:

My shortcuts: Shortcuts are suggested based on websites you visit often

Most visited sites: Shortcuts are curated by you

Hide shortcuts: Don’t show shortcuts on this page

“Color and theme” lets you choose one of 23 preset themes, or launch a color picker to select your own and have Chrome create one. This feature is not yet widely rolled out.

Chrome is getting another cross-device sharing feature after “Send this page” widely rolled in September. With “click-to-call,” you can right-click or highlight a phone number/link — like tel:800-800-8000 — to have it sent to your Android phone. A Chrome notification will appear and a tap dials the number. This functionality may not be widely available yet.

Google has redesigned the UI that appears when you hover over a tab. Instead of a thin strip of text, there is now a bubble overlay underneath the favicon. The page name and domain are much larger and instantaneously pops up in a consistent position. Google plans to add preview thumbnails in a future update.

Google’s Password Checkup extension from February will soon be integrated with Chrome 78. It warns of compromised third-party logins during sign-in. A red Safe Browsing-like dialogue prompt will appear to advise users to change their password. This feature works without Google becoming aware of plain-text credentials.

If we detect that a username and password on a site you use is one of over 4 billion credentials that we know have been compromised, the extension will trigger an automatic warning and suggest that you change your password.

Chrome is cleaning up chrome://flags starting with version 78. The stated reason for enterprise customers is how policies are a better way to configure the browser. “Many flags” will be removed going forward, but this should not significantly impact regular users.

Chrome 78 for desktops is available now, with Android and Chrome OS following in the coming weeks.

One of the first shocks that you may experience when you buy your first Chromebook probably comes when you look at the keyboard. Where is the Caps Lock key? What (if you have a Pixelbook) is that strange-looking key between the Ctrl and Alt keys? What is that strange key in the top row that looks like a square with two straight lines next to it?

Google has tweaked the keyboard of its Chromebooks in ways that emphasize the way in which Chrome OS differs from Microsoft Windows and Apple macOS. And what makes things even more confusing is that the layout of the keyboard can vary depending on the model of Chromebook you are using. For example, if you are using a Pixelbook, you may have a couple of extra keys. In addition, a key that has a “search” symbol on it in most Chromebooks may have a round “status” symbol on it in a Pixelbook.

This is a quick primer to explain what those differences are. While your Chromebook may differ slightly, this should help in providing a reference until you are used to your new keyboard (or until you remap the keys so they fit your preferences).

THE TOP ROW

Instead of the usual numbered function keys (F1, F2, etc.), Google has substituted a row of various dedicated keys. This is what each is meant for, from left to right:

Esc (Escape): the usual get-out-of-trouble key

Back: go back one page

Refresh: refresh your page

Full Page: toggle the current page to take up the full screen

Show Windows: show all the open windows on the screen; if you have more than one virtual desktop, they be shown on top of the screen

Brightness down

Brightness up

Play / Pause

Mute

Lower volume

Raise volume

Power (Pixelbook Go) or Open the status area (Pixelbook 2017)

OTHER KEYS

Between the Tab and Shift keys on the left of the keyboard, where the Caps Lock usually resides, you may either have the Launcher key or the Search key, depending on your system. The former launches the Chrome OS app drawer; the latter brings up a search box.

Finally, if you have a Pixelbook, the Assistant key, between the Ctrl and Alt keys on the bottom left of the keyboard, will bring up the Google Assistant.

New form factors are always exciting, but nothing else in recent years has captured people’s imaginations quite like foldable screens.

When it comes to the Galaxy Fold, drama has ensued. From its micro-debut at Samsung’s Developer Conference in 2018, to faulty review units, there have been many question marks around how it would eventually perform.

And while some may have even assumed that the first generation of the Fold would become Vapourware, it made a surprise appearance at IFA 2019. And we got to spend 45 glorious minutes with it.

To set the scene, we tried the Galaxy Fold both behind closed doors and briefly on the show floor at IFA this week. Both of these situations were highly controlled and our time was limited. I mention this because my first impressions of the device are just that – first impressions.

Just The Specs, Please

Ask and you shall receive.

What’s New?

When Samsung announced the new release date of the Fold earlier this week, the company stated:

“During the past several months, Samsung has been refining the Galaxy Fold to ensure it delivers the best possible experience. Not only we improved the Galaxy Fold’s design and construction, but also took the time to rethink the entire consumer journey.”

It doesn’t seem like there have been any changes to the software, but there are two distinct hardware upgrades to the new Fold. The first is a T-shaped clip at the base of the fold, which prevents people from peeling off the protective film. If you’ll recall, this was one of the major issues reported by reviewers, some of whom tore this off due to mistakenly thinking it was a regular screen protector, as opposed to a fundamental part of the design.

The other issue was dust, which was able to slip into the device due to a gap near the hinge, which subsequently shortened some devices out. This space has now been significantly reduced.

What’s Good About It?

Multi-tasking

Anyone with a two-monitor setup will know how productive it is for work. More importantly, you’ll be aware of how deeply satisfying it is to watch stuff on one screen while browsing the internet on the other.

The Fold does a darn good job of doing the same thing, but on a single screen… which is in the palm of your hand. It’s capable of having several apps open simultaneously. I found two to be best in terms of usability and eye comfort, but three was also okay.

I was especially fond of having YouTube play on one side of the device, while browsing the web with the other. Fortunately for you, a story about sex tech (with an amazing header gif) was at the top of the website while I filmed. You’re welcome.

The camera is pretty good

One of the key advantages that Huawei’s Mate X has over the Galaxy Fold is the camera. It’s been blessed with the same setup as the P30 Pro, which is one of the best phone cameras of the year.

But while the Fold may have an inferior camera, its still pretty darn good. It has the same hardware as the S10 range, which is up there in terms of quality.nI only got the chance to take a few snaps, none of which were in a picturesque environment, but they were still good.

Continuity And Rotation

In the settings you can choose which apps you want to continue running on the front screen. This means that once you fold the device up the app will continue over.

I found that this process was quick and painless – though it is worth noting that the apps won’t appear as full screen which may irk some people.

Another potential niggle is that all new apps have closed screen continuation switched off by default. Every time you download a new app you will need to toggle it on if you want it to work with this continuity. There’s currently no option to have all apps toggled on by default. Rotating the open device also result in a quick justification change, and all apps and media looked great and continued flawlessly.

One last thing that may annoy some people – if you try and make a phone call with the device unfolded it will automatically use the loud speaker. If you want to use it as a regular phone you need to fold the device up, as the speaker is on the outside of the device.

I avoid phone calls at all costs, so it’s not an issue for me, but it could be for some.

It’s fun

One of the commonalities between myself and the other tech journalists in the room (besides our jobs) was the childlike wonderment we exhibited while playing with the Fold. Not only is it an exciting new device, it’s plain fun to use. The simple act of opening and shutting it is an utter delight.

Similarly, taking photos of the screen when it was ever-so-slightly folded never got old.

Yes, it’s a solid device that seems to be behaving itself this time around. But its also a fun gadget, and that in itself is worth celebrating.

What’s Not So Good?

You can feel the crease

When using the device unfolded you can absolutely feel the crease. The bump is a little distracting and not the nicest feeling on what is a premium and expensive product.

However, I also tried Huawei’s Mate X foldable this week, and the crease was far more pronounced.

It’s also something that is forgivable on a first gen product where the form factor is entirely new. I imagine that as the technology evolves the creases will be… ironed out.

Sorry, it had to be done.

Thick

We’re living in a time when phone manufacturer’s are trying to make phones as thin as possible. Foldables are by definition the opposite of this. The very action they’re named after doubles their thickness, leaving you with a phone that is reminiscent of the early 2000s. At just over 17mm thick, the Galaxy Fold certainly sticks out. Even literally if you’ve popped it in your pocket.

Of course, this isn’t an issue unique to the Fold. The Mate X suffers from the same condition, as will any other foldable phone that comes to market in the foreseeable future. It’s not a deal breaker, but its a tad annoying when you’ve become so accustomed to sleek, thin convenience.

Easily scratchable (probably)

Much like the Royole Flexpai foldable I tried at CES in January, I felt morally obliged to slide the Galaxy Fold into my back pocket – both folded and unfolded. This resulted in a reaction from the Samsung team, who seem worried about breakages and scratches. This isn’t surprising considering the issues the first models had, and the fact that its a plastic screen – as opposed to something like Gorilla glass.

However, the mild panic did seem to indicate that these things are somewhat on the delicate side, so I wouldn’t be surprised if screen scratches will be common once they’re out in the wild.

Should you buy it?

The Galaxy Fold is exclusive to EE here in the UK, so if you want one, then expect to fork out a minimum of £109 a month on a two-year contract plus somewhere between £50 and £250 upfront. With that in mind (plus the fact that its a first gen product), it should be difficult to recommend the Fold.

But despite spending so little time with it, I really couldn’t blame anyone for wanting one. It’s exciting, fun and works great. That being said, holding off until the next generation isn’t a bad idea either – especially if you need to buy on a plan.

You’ll have no judgement here if you decide you need one now and have the cash to spare. This is a safe tech space and we get it. I for one can’t wait to spend more time with it.

A recent GitHub update for AMD’s open-source ROCm software suggests that future AMD GPUs might support the increasingly popular BFloat16 numeric format for deep learning training, following in the footsteps of Google, Intel, and Arm.

The update on GitHub was a commit in the ROCm Software Platform Repository, AMD’s open-source HPC platform for GPU computing, titled “more BF16 TN sizes.” The reference to BF16, short for BFloat16 or bfloat16, suggests that AMD might implement it in hardware in a future GPU architecture.

BFloat16 is a recent numeric data format developed by Google for deep learning training and implemented in its TPUs. It truncates the mantissa of a standard FP32 floating-point number by 16 bits, essentially reducing its precision by multiple decimals. It requires less silicon area and bandwidth by being a 16-bit format, and Google also claims it is more efficient to implement in hardware than the currently standardized FP16 format.

The BF16 format is increasingly supported in hardware. Intel has already announced that it would broadly adopt the format, supporting it in the upcoming Cooper Lake-SP Xeon, Agilex FPGA, and Nervana NNP-T. More recently, ARM announced support for BF16 coming to Armv8. With AMD now possibly joining the party, that would leave Nvidia as the only major AI hardware vendor without a public commitment to support the format.

It’s been nine months since Razer trotted out its Raptor 27 gaming monitor at CES, and if you’ve been waiting for this one, you can finally purchase the display—Razer is now accepting orders, with the Raptor 27 priced at $699.99.

That’s a bit on the high on side compared to other gaming monitors with similar specs. More on that in a moment, but first, here’s a rundown of the vitals:

Screen Size—27 inches

Resolution—WQHD (2560 x 1440p)

Panel—IPS

Refresh rate—144 Hz

Response rate—4ms with Overdrive, 1ms with Motion Blur reduction, 7ms typical

Gaming modes: FPS / Racing / MMO Mode / Streaming

Viewing angle—178 degrees (H/V)

Aspect ratio—16:9

Contrast ratio—1000:1

Brightness—up to 420 nits

Color gamut—95 percent DCI-P3

HDR—yes

Height adjustable stand—yes, w/ 90-degree tilt for easy port access

Connectivity—1x HDMI 2.0, 1x DP 1.4, 1x USB-C (supports DP1.4), 2x USB 3.0 pass-throughs

Included cables—1x power, 1x HDMI, 1x Display Port, 1x USB-C (also supports DP), 1x 2 USB 3.1 Type A

Dimensions w/ stand—24.15 (H) x 15.29 (W) x 19.23 (D) inches (613.4 x 388.4 x 488.4 mm)

Weight w/ stand: 25.4 lbs (11.5 kg)

These are mostly high-end specs across the board. On paper, the Raptor 27 looks like a good candidate for fast-action and esports gaming, with a 144Hz refresh rate and up to (down to?) a 1ms response time.

The Raptor 27 supports AMD’s FreeSync technology to smooth out gameplay. It’s also been certified by Nvidia as a G-Sync Compatible monitor, though apparently not when enabling HDR (according to Nvidia’s chart).

One of the somewhat unique features of the Raptor 27 is the ability to tilt the display back 90 degrees. This is intended to offer users easy access to the cable inputs and outputs underneath. And of course RGB lighting is present.

We have not tested this monitor, but right off the bat, we can tell some users will take issue with Razer’s pricing. The MSRP is actually the same as the Asus ROG PG279Q, one of the best gaming monitors with a similar set of features, though you can find that panel on sale for $609.99 right now. Same goes for Acer’s Predator XB271HU—it carries a $699.99 MSRP, but is on sale at Amazon for $499.99 right now.

I’m sure Razer would argue the Raptor 27 is a more premium display. Razer at least alludes to that, saying it sports a “precision-crafted, matte-black design” and “forged aluminum base,” with a backplate that is “finished with a blend of fabric and metal to add a touch of elegance.” So, there’s that.

Earlier this year, Intel showed off the NUC Compute Element, previously known simply as The Element, and it was one of the best PC components at Computex. But, it was unclear just what sort of product we’d see built around it. Now, the details are starting to come together.

In a recent teardown from Chinese form KoolShare, spotted by Tom’s Hardware, we’ve seen a glimpse of something called “The Element” inside Intel’s upcoming NUC 9 extreme.

By all outward appearances, the NUC 9 Extreme is a fairly straightforward computer, albeit a small one. Intel’s trick with these NUC (Next Unit of Computing) devices, however, is to pack powerful desktop components into a small form factor. With the new NUC 9 Extreme, that appears to remain the case, even if it’s on the larger side at 238 x 216 x 96mm.

Inside the NUC is where things get really interesting. At the base of the computer there’s a 500W power supply, but above that is what would seem like a motherboard until you realize there’s no CPU socket. Instead, there’s just a PCB with two PCIe 3.0 x16 slots, another x4 slot, and an M.2 slot.

Enter the NUC Compute Element

Instead of putting a CPU into a socket on the motherboard, fitting in RAM and adding in storage, Intel has gone with the NUC Compute Element. It houses all of those components, but slides into a PCIe x16 slot and runs off an additional 8-pin power connection, very much like a graphics card. The unit found in the NUC 9 Extreme has two SO-DIMM slots, two M.2 ports, and can run reportedly run a Intel Core i5-9300H, Core i7-9750H, or Core i9-9980HK.

What Intel has effectively done with this design is find a way to take one half of the motherboard and convert it into a swappable component. Just as you can take a graphics card out of a PCIe slot and fit in a new one to boost the capabilities of your computer, you could take out a NUC Compute Element and slot in a new one to give the NUC 9 Extreme a boost. Of course, you may have re-install Windows.

Since Intel CPU upgrades often require new motherboards, the transition to NUC Compute Element could end up being less wasteful, as it would let some of the traditional elements of the motherboard stick around between upgrades. It could also making picking PC components a little less daunting for newer PC builders.

Back in September, AMD announced its 64-core EPYC 7H12 processor – a 280 W TDP behemoth with an increased base frequency designed specifically for the high-performance computing market. Based on AMD’s Product Master list inadvertently published by the company earlier this week, the company may release more EPYC CPUs with an extended TDP.

As it turns out, the EPYC 7H12 will not be the only Rome CPU with a 280 W TDP. AMD’s Product Master document lists the EPYC 7R22 and the EPYC 7R32 with a 280 W TDP, as well as the EPYC 7V12 with a 240 W TDP. We have no idea whether these CPUs are to be released for the wider market, are for OEMs only, or if they are in the plans, or which market segments they will address. Meanwhile, a high TDP might indicate that AMD intends to release more processors for HPC in general or maybe even a specific HPC customer, or they might have a specific feature not available on other processors.

The document also mentions various EPYC CPUs with TDP levels of 180 W or 225 W, but nothing else is known about these processors.

AMD’s 64-core EPYC 7H12 with a 256 GB L3 cache features a 2.60 GHz base frequency, a 3.30 GHz turbo frequency, as well as a 280 W TDP. Compared to the EPYC 7742, the 7H12 has a 350 MHz higher base clock, a 100 MHz lower turbo clock, but a 55 W higher TDP. While the CPU is socket compatible with other Rome processors and support the same features, it is expected to be used primarily in large HPC datacenters that need a maximum sustained performance and that do not care about power consumption.

There is one important thing to note about AMD’s Product Master list, which is an internal document that contains OPN codes along with US ECCN, HTS, and CCATS codes that are required by the US export regulators. The paper lists hundreds of products, yet some of them are potential products that may or may not be released, whereas other are off-roadmap client-specific SKUs not supposed to be generally available. 

At Canalys Channels Forum last week, Lenovo finally revealed launch timeframe for its foldable ThinkPad X1 hybrid notebook that was first revealed in May. The company says that the machine is ready from hardware standpoint, but it needs its software partners to polish off their programs for the innovative unit.

Lenovo’s foldable ThinkPad X1 features a 13.3-inch OLED display featuring a ‘2K’ resolution that can be folded in half to fit it into a small bag. The hybrid notebook can be used in tablet, book, and clamshell modes to serve different purposes. It can also be attached to a stand or a dock for workloads that require a mechanical keyboard and a mouse. The foldable ThinkPad X1 uses an undisclosed Intel processor as well as Microsoft’s Windows operating system and is therefore compatible with a wide variety of software applications.

Milanka Muecke, director of global commercial communications and brand at Lenovo, described the foldable ThinkPad X1 device as a fully-fledged PC that fits in the palm of a hand:

“I have it right here and you can have it in your purse. It looks like a leather bound notebook that you can carry with you all day long, but it is a full performance PC that fits in the palm of your hand.”

Lenovo now expects to ship its foldable ThinkPad in the second quarter of 2020, though it is unclear when it will be revealed from April to June (Note, June is Computex). From the hardware standpoint, the product is sound, but software still needs certain fixes, according to Gianfrano Lanci, COO of Lenovo:

“It will start shipping probably Q2 next year. […] Hardware is ready, but we need to still fix certain things from a software point of view and that does not depend 100% on us.”

The high-ranking executive of Lenovo does not expect foldable ThinkPad X1 to be an immediate bestseller (probably because of price and other factors), but as a new form-factor it will enable Lenovo to tap into emerging market segments. One of the obvious segments that the foldable ThinkPad X1 will address will be high-performance tablets like Apple’s iPad Pro. Meanwhile, Lenovo will ship its device several months before Microsoft’s launch of dual-screen Surface Neo that targets the same segment.

It would be an understatement to say that ASUS’ Chromebook strategy has been a bit odd of late. When they debuted their very-excellent Flip C434 back in January at CES 2019, it seemed they had a clear vision as to what constituted a great Chromebook. The Flip C434 was and is a great example of a great Chromebook that brings nearly everything users would want to the table.

As the months wore on since then, the Flip C434 has been awarded as the year’s best Chromebook from multiple outlets and even seen pretty regular price drops from multiple retailers. As the price slid down, the number of users who considered it only rose. It honestly felt like ASUS won the year in the Chromebook space with their flagship and we only hoped we’d see another awesome Chromebook from the company around CES 2020.

Instead, we’ve had two surprise Chromebooks basically show up out of nowhere in the C425 and Flip C433. With questionable price tags, interesting design choices and odd availability, we’ve honestly been nothing but puzzled by their releases. With the Flip C434 dipping down near $500 on a regular basis, why would you release a nearly identical, mostly plastic version of the same Chromebook at almost the same price in the Flip C433? And at $399 in the C425, why release a mostly-plastic version without a touchscreen and without the convertible form factor? We honestly don’t know just yet and the holiday shopping season could see sharp discounts on both of these models, but there is a clear path forward on the more-premium ASUS Chromebooks, and it is shaping up to be a spec-sheet stuffer.

‘HELIOS’ – THE ASUS CHROMEBOOK FLIP C436

As Gabriel pieced together, the upcoming ASUS Chromebook Flip C436 looks to be a Chromebook based on the ‘Hatch’ family of devices. If we look at this commit file for ‘Helios’, we see clearly that in the model.yaml file that ‘Helios’ is set to be the base variation of ‘Hatch’ that comes equipped with a convertible form factor, stowable pen (possibly), touch screen, a 10th-gen Intel processor, and backlit keys.

What that basic file doesn’t lay out is the addition of NVMe storage in this particular Chromebook, but rest assured a variant of ‘Helios’ will be equipping the faster storage option. We can know this based on the latest commit we’ve found for ‘Helios’:

nvme: Add quirk for Kingston devices running firmware E8FK11.T Kingston NVME doesn’t resume properly from suspend-to-idle.

After resume it doesn’t get the the expected queue interrupts for command completions. With this quirk S0ix is working.

BUG=b:139262583

TEST=ran suspend_stress_test on Helios with kingston NVME.

Clearly, this shows ‘Helios’ being tested with NVMe storage, and as we know from previous implementations of this type of storage, its addition signals high-end internals and high-end hardware. Even if ‘Helios’ doesn’t get NVMe storage across the board, it seems there is a model variation of it that will, and that can only mean a premium design in on the way.

With all the questions around ASUS’ current Chromebook lineup, perhaps they are simply setting the stage and filling out the market with ASUS Chromebooks at every step of availability for consumers so that they can unveil a truly premium Chromebook without feeling like they have nothing to offer the rest of the market. This is clearly the path Acer has used to find a foothold in the market, so it only makes sense for ASUS to try and offer devices across the board for everyone. You can be assured we have our eyes on the Flip C436 very closely and we’ll be waiting to see what it is ASUS decides to deliver later this year or early in 2020.

Kingston on Monday announced its new KC600 family of solid state drives, and no, they’re not of the fancy PCI Express 4.0 variety. They’re not even PCIe/NVMe or M.2 form factor drives—the KC600 line unabashedly gives another go-round to the 2.5-inch SATA form factor. For gaming, there’s nothing wrong with that, and the best SSD for gaming can very well be a 2.5-inch SATA drive when factoring in the cost. Besides, with Black Friday deals right around the corner, prices may drop well below what Kingston is offering at launch.

In most cases, there is virtually no perceptible difference when gaming between a SATA and PCIe SSD. It’s only when performing heavy file lifting, such as transferring 4K videos, that the added performance comes into play (though verifying the integrity of game installations via Steam can be much quicker on an NVMe PCIe drive).

Still, prices have come down for M.2 SSDs (both PCIe and SATA). As an added bonus, they’re smaller and do not require any cabling. So there are still reasons to consider an M.2 drive over a 2.5-inch model, when possible.

As to the KC600 series, these new drives are built around 3D triple-level cell (TLC) NAND flash memory chips, now commonly found on budget-oriented SSDs. They’re offered in 2TB, 1TB, 512GB, and 256GB capacities.

Performance breaks down as follows:

KC600 512GB-2TB: up to 550MB/s sequential read, up to 520MB/s sequential write

KC600 256GB: up to 550MB/s sequential read, up to 500MB/s sequential write

All of the drives sport the same random read and write performance, up to 90,000 IOPS and 80,000 IOPs, respectively. They’re also offered as standalone drives, or part of an upgrade kit that includes cloning software, and backed by a 5-year warranty.

Only a couple of capacities are available at the moment. They include:

KC600 512GB (upgrade kit)—$88.40, Kingston

KC600 512GB (standalone)—$72.80, Kingston

KC600 256GB (upgrade kit)—$59.80, Kingston

KC600 256GB (standalone)—$44.20, Kingston

Kingston notes these drives support a “full-security suite that includes AES-XTS 256-bit hardware-based encryption, TCG Opal 2.0, and eDrive, allowing users to protect and secure their data.” Even so, strictly for gaming, these price points are a bit high. To give just one example, an Adata SU750 512GB SSD can be purchased for $52.99 right now on Amazon, which is nearly $20 cheaper than the KC600 512GB.

Street pricing could change things up once these drives land at places like Amazon and Newegg. Until then, there are better bang-for-buck options out there in 2.5-inch SATA territory.