XAMI

Western Digital's solid state division, SanDisk, has unveiled a prototype SDXC card that packs an enormous one terabyte capacity, which the company claims is the first of its kind in the world. Cramming 1TB of storage into the footprint of an SD card is an impressive feat, although considering the fast-paced NAND flash industry, it's not overly surprising that storage density has increased to such amazing levels. This new card comes two years after SanDisk announced a 512 GB SDXC card back in 2014, which at the time was the largest capacity SD card in the world. SanDisk hasn't released much information about their 1TB SDXC card; we don't know for sure how many chips it uses, how fast it is, or when it will be released. However,AnandTech is reporting that the card uses 32 chips, each with a capacity of 256 Gb, which they assume are 48-layer 3D NAND chips developed in partnership with Toshiba. The card is being positioned as the perfect companion for 4K and 8K video recording, which capture massive amounts of data per minute that must be stored on fast, high-capacity cards. SanDisk hasn't said when the 1TB SDXC card will become available or at what price, but it expect it to debut at a price higher than current 512 GB cards, which can currently be found for around $300.

With Google, Uber, Tesla, Apple and a host of other major players all working on autonomous driving technology in some shape, form or fashion, self-driving vehicles are likely going to arrive en masse sooner rather than later and manufacturers are going to need some sort of unified guidelines to go by. That’s exactly what the U.S. Department of Transportation has delivered (no pun intended) with the Federal Automated Vehicles Policy. In it, the DOT outlines a 15-point assessment for the safe design, development, testing and deployment of automated vehicles. Specifically, the guidelines hit on what happens in the event of an autonomous driving system failure, how a vehicle should perform after a crash and approaches to protect against vehicle hacking, just to name a few. The agency also reserves the right to recall autonomous vehicle systems that are deemed unsafe or aren’t in compliance with regulations. Bryan Thomas, a spokesman for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, toldThe New York Times that they intentionally left some areas vague as they wanted to outline key areas and leave the rest to innovators. Indeed, this frees up manufacturers to come up with crafty autonomous driving technology without the fear of running afoul with regulators (assuming a solution meets safety guidelines, of course). What some may find most surprising is the admission by the government that self-driving vehicles hold enormous potential benefits for safety, mobility and sustainability. Accompanying the guidelines was an op-ed piece from President Barack Obama published in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that delves deeper into the potential of self-driving vehicles.

Searching for documents in Google Drive just got easier thanks to the addition of Natural Language Processing, a new feature that will allow you to type things like “find my budget spreadsheet from last December” and get the corresponding results. As Google explains, the search bar will interpret your query and translate it to the proper format (for example: "budget Type:Spreadsheet”). It won’t search right away but rather present you with “Did you mean” options that you can click on to do the actual search. According to Google Drive Product Manager Josh Smith, the natural language processing in Drive lets you “search like you talk” and it will only get smarter the more you search. Drive is also adding autocorrect that suggests corrections to misspelled searches -- something that was surprisingly lacking before. Another often requested feature that is being added is the ability split a document into multiple columns by choosing the new “Columns” option from the “Format” menu. And lastly, whenever you convert and edit non-Google files in Docs, Sheets and Slides, Drive will now save a copy for you. This will be available from “Revision History” menu. The new features will begin rolling out gradually today to all users worldwide.

Nvidia has launched a new game bundle today that gives buyers of either the GeForce GTX 1070 or GTX 1080 a free copy of Gears of War 4, the upcoming third-person shooter from Microsoft Studios and The Coalition. Gears of War 4 will be bundled in the box of not only GTX 1070 and GTX 1080 graphics cards, but also in laptops that use the notebook GTX 1070 and GTX 1080 variants. As with all GPU game bundles, not every product in every retailer is eligible, so make sure your favorite store supports this deal before going ahead with a purchase. The Gears of War 4 code that will be included with these graphics cards falls under Microsoft's Xbox Play Anywhere program, so gamers can activate the code on their Windows 10 desktop and play it on an Xbox One without having to purchase the game twice. It's a nice bonus for people who own a gaming PC and an Xbox One. Microsoft suggests that the GeForce GTX 1080 will be suitable for playing Gears of War 4 at 4K resolution, while the GTX 1060 will suffice for 1440p, and the GTX 750 Ti is enough for 1080p. Nvidia has a handy webpage that details which retailers across the globe are participating in the Gears of War 4 bundle. Across North America, all the biggest retailers such as Newegg, Amazon and NCIX are participating, along with a wide variety of board partners and system builders.

Motherboards featuring AMD's new AM4 socket have been spotted in the wild, giving us a first look at the socket that supports both seventh-generation Bristol Ridge APUs, and AMD's long-awaited Zen CPUs. The AM4 socket looks reasonably similar to AMD's previous processor sockets, featuring 1331 pin holes arranged in a plastic mount. It appears as though AMD will continue to put the pins themselves on the CPU, which does increase the risk of accidentally bending a pin during the installation process, but shouldn't be an issue outside of that. New coolers will be required for AM4 systems as AMD has changed the cooler mounting layout, rendering AM3 coolers useless without an update to the mounting hardware. Considering AM4 is a major update to AMD's motherboard platform, this isn't too surprising. While AM4 motherboards from partners haven't hit the shelves yet, an OEM AM4 motherboard from HP has been spotted inside a new Pavilion desktop. Enthusiasts who want to mess around with AMD APUs and DDR4 memory can purchase the HP 510-P127C, where a micro-ATX HP 'Willow' motherboard can be found inside. The board itself is fairly limited in its expansion support, with just a single PCIe x16 slot, two DDR4 slots, and a serious lack of SATA ports. This board does support the new features of the AM4 platform, like PCIe 3.0, however there's no USB 3.1 ports to be found. Announced way back at CES 2016, AM4 is AMD's new socket that supports both seventh-generation 'Bristol Ridge' APUs along with upcoming 'Summit Ridge' Zen CPUs. Previously, sockets for APUs (FM2+) and CPUs (AM3+) were different and incompatible with each other, however AM4 allows users to purchase a single motherboard today for a 7th-gen APU and then upgrade it to a Zen CPU when they become available.

HTC has today announced two new mid-range smartphones that may not set any new hardware records, but, in typical HTC fashion, do pack quite attractive designs for the product segment. The phones are known as the Desire 10 Pro and Desire 10 Lifestyle, which look similar on the outside, but differ on key aspects of the hardware. The Desire 10 Pro is the higher-end model, which features a 5.5-inch 1080p display and a 20-megapixel rear camera, while the Desire 10 Lifestyle suits budget users with a 5.5-inch 720p screen and a 13-megapixel shooter. Perhaps the most interesting aspect to the Desire 10 line is the choice of SoC. The Desire 10 Lifestyle is seriously lacking in power, with HTC bizarrely opting for an outdated Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 SoC. The Desire 10 Pro is more powerful, thanks to the use of a MediaTek Helio P10, however it too will struggle to keep up with other mid-range phones in its price bracket. Aside from the SoC, the hardware found in the Desire 10 Pro is fair respectable. There's up to 4 GB of RAM, up to 64 GB of storage with microSD expansion, a 13-megapixel front camera, a fingerprint sensor, Category 6 LTE support, and a 3,000 mAh battery. The Desire 10 Lifestyle includes up to 3 GB of RAM and 32 GB of expandable storage, plus Category 4 LTE and a 2,700 mAh battery. The Desire 10 Lifestyle will be the first to go on sale, hitting store shelves on September 20 priced at £249 (around US$270 before tax). The Desire 10 Pro is slated for an October launch at an undisclosed, but presumably more expensive price point.

Google has essentially confirmed this week that the company's new Pixel phones will be announced at an event on October 4th. But before Google can officially reveal what they've been working on in conjunction with HTC, a set of leaked images have allegedly revealed their entire design. Judging by the images from Android Police, the 5.0-inch Pixel and 5.5-inch Pixel XL pack rather uninspiring designs. On the front, both look remarkably similar to Apple's iPhones, with huge bezels above and below the display. The back isn't quite like an iPhone, with a large glass area surrounded by metal housing the camera and rear fingerprint sensor. Whoever has taken these photos has masked significant sections of the design, notably the area below the display, and a large section on the back. Some areas likely include identifying barcodes, however some branding and other elements could remain a mystery until Google finally announces them. Speaking of announcements, late last night Google released a teaser for an event they're hosting on October 4th where the company will almost certainly announce the Pixel and Pixel XL. The 30-second video doesn't reveal much: it features a search bar outline transforming into a phone shape, flanked by "Oct. 4" and a modern Google logo. This means we'll only have to wait two weeks before Google properly announces their Pixel handsets, which have been the subject of a huge number of leaks over the past few months. Hopefully Google has a few surprises left to reveal come October 4th.

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Microsoft and Sony are breaking precedent with plans to release mid-generation console refreshes in the near future. Whether or not gamers buy them in droves remains to be seen but you can rest assured that both sides will do their best to hype the new machines (sometimes at the expense of the other). Sony at this point has revealed a great deal about its PlayStation 4 Pro. Microsoft, meanwhile, is playing its cards close to its chest, instead electing to reveal details aboutProject Scorpio in small batches. The latest tidbit comes courtesy of Microsoft Studios Publishing general manager Shannon Loftis who recently revealed to USA Today that all games they are launching in the Scorpio time frame will run natively at 4K. The wording here is important – games they are making, meaning first-party titles. What third-party studios do is seemingly up to them. The admission comes in the wake of the PlayStation 4 Pro's unveiling a couple of weeks ago and Sony’s interpretation of 4K gaming – specifically, the fact that most games won’t be rendered natively in 4K but rather, upscaled. In terms of raw processing power, we already know that Microsoft’s upcoming console will be faster than Sony’s. Some may argue that the original PlayStation 4 and Xbox One should have had support for 4K resolution from the get-go but that would have required delaying their launch by a couple of years as the hardware available at the time simply wasn’t capable of delivering the processing power to drive that many pixels. Sony’s PlayStation 4 Pro is slated to arrive on November 10 priced at $399. Critically, Microsoft’s Project Scorpio – we don’t even know what it’ll actually be called – won’t hit retail until the 2017 holiday season.

Last week, on September 13, thousands of HP printer owners were suddenly greeted by an error message when attempting to print, telling them that their ink cartridges were "damaged" and needed to be replaced. The reason has now been confirmed by HP itself: the company is locking out third party ink cartridges so that only its own will work going forward. The change was apparently introduced as part of a firmware update back in March but it was timed to go into effect last week, though some of their printers prior to that already shipped with the timer. HP is calling it a move to "protect [its] innovations and intellectual property.” Printers are often sold for little margin in order to earn profits over the life of it through the sale of consumables. This all about protecting one of the company's biggest profit centers, and while the move would have been unpo[CENSORED]r one way or another, HP could have at least been forthcoming rather than sneaking in a 'self-destruct' timer and only disclosing it after the fact. The HP OfficeJet, OfficeJet Pro and OfficeJet Pro X printers are affected. HP says these printers will continue to work with refilled or remanufactured cartridges with an original HP security chip. Curiously, there are some reports from owners with original cartridges claiming they also got the error message, and that they weren't able to get the printer to respond in order to remove the supposedly damaged ink cartridge.

For many, the search for a new smartphone begins and ends with its display. As the gateway to the device, it’s one of the few components utilized on an almost constant basis. Most high-end handset makers have made the jump to OLED panels with the one major holdout being Apple. The Cupertino-based company has been criticized for sticking with dated LCD screens in theiPhone 7 instead of adopting newer OLED technology. That’s a fair argument although as DisplayMate President Dr. Raymond M. Soneira points out in his recent evaluation, Apple hasn’t phoned it in (no pun intended) with the iPhone 7. Soneira, a well-respected professional in the display industry, says Apple’s use of two standard color gamuts in the iPhone 7 – the new DCI-P3 wide color gamut (which only three manufacturers currently have) and the traditional sRGB / Rec.709 color gamut – have been implemented with absolute color accuracy that is visually indistinguishable from perfect. Elsewhere, Soneira found that the iPhone 7 produces 602 nits of brightness, slightly under Apple’s claimed 625 nits. That’s with manual brightness enabled and the slider set to max – when the phone is set to automatic brightness, Soneira measured up to 705 nits of peak brightness – no doubt useful in short stints when outdoors under direct sunlight. It's not nearly as high as the 1,048 nits of brightness theGalaxy Note 7 puts out but impressive for an LCD. The display guru also found the iPhone 7 to have a record low reflectance for smartphones and a record high contrast ratio for IPS LCD displays. Oh, and their samples came from a retail Verizon store meaning they weren't "hand-picked" units. In conclusion, Soneira says the display on the iPhone 7 is a truly impressive and top-performing display and a major upgrade to the display on the iPhone 6. It is by far the best performing mobile LCD screen they’ve ever tested (note: not the best mobile display ever as that honor belongs to Samsung's Galaxy Note 7). All things considered and regardless of whether or not Apple jumps to OLED screens next year (my vote is they will), Soneira says that future panels of either type need to improve image and picture quality and screen readability under real world ambient light by reducing screen reflectance, expanding the native display color gamut as much as possible and implementing dynamic color management. If detailed display technology jargon is your cup of tea, I'd highly recommend checking out DisplayMate as they do an absolute bang-up job of evaluating displays of all shapes and sizes.

Welcome Owais Of course you can, but before read rules

Much like magazines and newspapers, streaming music outfits largely measure success by the number of paying subscribers on the roster. It is why, when a major player like Spotify announces it now has more than 40 million paid subscribers, people take notice. Spotify co-founder and CEO Daniel Ek disclosed the milestone on Twitter Tuesday morning. At last check (this past March), Spotify had 30 million paying subscribers which means it added 10 million premium users in less than six months. A month later, the company said it had more than 100 million active monthly users, a significant figure considering Spotify is one of just a handful of streaming music services that still offers a free, ad-supported tier. How does that compare to the competition? During its iPhone 7 media event last week, Apple said it now has 17 million paying Apple Music subscribers – up from just 13 million in April (Apple Music doesn’t offer a free tier). The Tidal ship, captained by music mogul Jay Z, continues to take on water as the company lost nearly twice as much money in 2015 as it did the year before. Jay Z back in April sued Tidal's former owners over claims that it lied about how many subscribers it had during the negotiation process. After the sale, new management realized that the true subscriber count was well below the 540,000 the previous owners claimed. As of this past March, Tidal had three million subscribers. Rhapsody, which acquired online music pioneer Napster in 2011, recently decided to revert back to the controversial name. As of late last year, the company had nearly 3.5 million paying subscribers; it's unclear how many premium members it has added in 2016. Internet radio pioneer Pandora, which is expected to launch an on-demand subscription service any day now, could work its way onto the podium after acquiring Rdio last November for $75 million. In related news, Spotify’s chief revenue officer Jeff Levick announced on Medium that he isleaving the company after five years on the job. Levick had nothing but good things to say about Spotify in his farewell speech, citing his love for the company, the product, the teams and the hyper growth they’ve experienced over the past several years. All of the hard work has certainly paid off but as Levick noted, working hard is hard work. When questioning whether or not he was up for another grueling five years of global travel in which he would miss more of his kids’ various activities and continue to put the burden of raising them on his wife, it started to become clear that maybe a change was in order. Spotify told Re/code that the ad sales team that used to report to Levick will now answer to chief financial officer Barry McCarthy while the team that manages Spotify’s subscriber business will now report directly to Ek.

Microsoft is letting Windows Insiders send and respond to text messages on their PC without having to reach for their phone. Those testing preview builds of Windows 10 will be able to achieve this using Skype Preview – providing it's the default messaging app on their Windows 10 Mobile device – with this 'SMS relay' feature rolling out to users over the next couple of months. Those of you suffering a bout of déjà vu at this point are probably remembering the similar 'Messaging Everywhere' feature which was deployed to preview builds earlier this year, and was supposedly set to arrive with the Anniversary Update. However, that didn't happen (and it was subsequently ditched from Windows 10 previews, as well, as Engadget observes), with Microsoft instead deciding to tack this functionality onto the Skype app. Seamless sending The updated Skype Preview app for PC and Windows 10 Mobile allows you to send SMS and MMS messages direct from your computer seamlessly alongside your usual Skype chats. As mentioned, you need to ensure that your smartphone running Windows has Skype Preview set as the default messaging app (under Settings), and on your PC, you need to head to Skype Preview settings and make sure that you select 'Enable Skype on this device to sync my SMS messages.' Then you should be good to go. Microsoft notes that Skype Preview has a number of fresh features aside from text messaging on PCs, including the ability to hide conversations, and to fire up Skype calls or chats directly from websites or apps (using Skype URIs). Further additions planned include improved messaging with elements like keyboard shortcuts and the ability to drag-and-drop URLs straight from your browser window. In the bigger picture, Microsoft's major plans include the introduction of Skype Teams, its own messaging service which is a rival to the highly successful Slack.

With iOS 10 apparently serving as Apple's flagship operating system, it's easy to overlook Apple's latest software offering for desktops. However, macOS Sierra ought not to be ignored, as it's evidently jam-packed with new features and improvements. The highly-anticipated OS X 10.12 was officially revealed with a new name, macOS Sierra, at the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in June 2016. As we experienced in the move from OS X 10.10 Yosemite to 10.11 El Capitan, Sierra isn't just a compilation of bug fixes and performance updates—it's a full-fledged follow-up to last year's update. So then, what can you expect from macOS Sierra? Fasten your seatbelts and follow along to find out! Cut to the chase What is it? The next version of Apple's desktop operating system When is it out? September 20, or right now if you're in the Apple Beta Software Program What will it cost? Like the previous several versions, it will be a free update When it comes to releasing new software, Apple has gotten into an annual release cycle. To no surprise, we saw the reveal of macOS Sierra in June at the WWDC, the Worldwide Developers Conference, with a private beta issued to developers that same day. A public beta, released on July 7, 2016, brought Siri, picture-in-picture mode and more to a broad audience of Mac users for the first time in Apple history. Since then, the macOS Sierra public beta received a number of different updates, with the first having been seeded on July 20. Of course, in order to take advantage of the new Continuity features like Universal Clipboard, you'll also need the iOS 10 beta installed on a compatible iPhone or iPad. Apple Pay, however, is available to use on the web right now, ahead of the macOS Sierra hard launch. Siri finally makes an appearance The biggest new feature slated for macOS Sierra is the inclusion of the Siri virtual personal assistant. Siri was launched on iOS back in 2011 and, surprisingly, Macs are the last in a long list of platforms that support it. Just as with the virtual assistant on iPhones, users will be able to simply command Siri and ask it questions with their voice. However, being on the Mac opens up a greater swath of options such as file searching, storage inquiries and even the ability to toggle settings on and off. At WWDC, SVP of software engineering Craig Federighi showed audiences how Siri could prove beneficial on Mac while remaining distinct from other Apple platforms. The personal assistant software can respond to complex requests such as, "Show the files I worked on last week about the off-site." From there, users can narrow down their search based on tags. Siri can even access other parts of macOS including applications like iTunes, effectively making her your personal DJ. Moreover, the AI is compatible with Safari as well, allowing it to act on web searches. And, with Apple having issued as SDK for developers to make their own apps work with Siri, it will be interesting to see where that goes. Maybe we'll see the day when Siri can access your Spotify library, upload files to Google Drive or help you organize spreadsheets in Excel. A long overdue file system upgrade Since 1985, Apple has remained complacent with its Hierarchal File System, or HFS. With macOS, however, that all changes thanks to the new APFS, or simply Apple File System. Starting with the company's 2017 MacBook lineup, all of Apple's computers will support the new filesystem on its bootup drive. Unfortunately, the new filesystem is limited to transferring files back and forth on a non-startup drive in its present beta state. Once Apple's hardware begins to support the new standard, it won't be long before we start to reap the benefits. These include improved flash memory optimization, faster Time Machine backups and improved space allocation letting two APFS-formatted disks act as one combined storage drive. Unfortunately, for legacy Mac users this means HFS support will be ousted in the next 25 years, though it would be a miracle if your computer could still boot up by then. Continuity gets even better Continuity between Mac and iOS is a big deal for those engulfed in Apple's hardy ecosystem. Ever since its introduction, users have been able to pick up calls and text conversations from their phones and conveniently pull them up on their Mac computers. With macOS Sierra, not only will you be able to access your computer from outside devices including your iPhone, but if you need to quickly move something from one device to another, this is made even easier than AirDrop thanks to the Universal Clipboard function. Fortunately, if the public beta is anything to go by, it's as seamless as Command-C, Command-V. And, while TouchID may come to Mac at some point, a similar feature called Auto Unlock will arrive later this year. As the title implies, this new feature will let you unlock your Mac from other Apple devices merely by being in close proximity to an Apple Watch or iOS device. Better multimedia functionality Finally we have the Photos app getting an overhaul in iOS 10, and because of the way Continuity works, the incoming features also apply to Mac. These include a new "Memories" tab for a more magazine-like viewing mode as well as an AI that automatically sorts photos either by people or topics. Likewise, if you're a skilled multi-tasker interested in watching videos while you work, you'll be delighted to know that macOS Sierra's picture-in-picture mode allows users to take their video windows with them even as they rotate between desktop screens. What's next for macOS? Though we can assume that most of macOS Sierra's features were revealed at WWDC, there are still a handful of discoveries being made hinting at what we can expect from the operating system's official launch in September. One such discovery, as reported by 9to5mac, was made by a developer on Twitter who somehow managed to activate a more ubiquitous Dark Mode color scheme on his Mac. Although you can already enable a dark menu bar and Dock in the macOS Sierra public beta, this newly proposed feature would ostensibly extend across a catalog of applications, like Safari. While it's yet to be confirmed by Apple, the prospect of a true Dark Mode is undeniably an exciting one. Nevertheless, there's bound to be an assortment of rumors, true or otherwise, leading into macOS Sierra's September release.

Samsung's Galaxy Note 7s are an explosive issue for the company right now. With batteries self-combusting left, right and center, the smartphone's launch has become a total disaster, despite overwhelmingly positive reviews about the handset's actual features. With a recall underway, and Samsung set to have replacement devices next week, the Note 7 is set to return to retail shelves. However, it will be interesting to see if it sells in any significant quantities when that happens, considering users could still face difficulties using the phones on airplanes and in other places, even with fixed batteries. Would you consider purchasing a Galaxy Note 7 after Samsung puts the phone back on sale? Are the issues with exploding batteries a significant deterrent even with a completely fixed battery inside? Or would you only consider buying a Note 7 on a significant discount? Comment here what you think about this!

Epson last year vowed to put an end to printer ink refill woes with its EcoTank printers. Now, it has turned its attention to another peripheral whose glory days have long since come and gone – the digital scanner. Epson’s new FastFoto FF-640 is described as the world’s fastest scanner (in its class), able to scan in an image in just one second. That’s handy for one-off jobs and exponentially so if you’ve got multiple photo albums or shoeboxes full of images to work through. Accompanying software can also restore old, faded images to their original glory with a single click thanks to its Smart Photo Fix (SPF) technology. Epson’s software can also help with sorting scans and if there happens to be something like a handwritten note or a date on the back of your print, Single-step technology captures both sides simultaneously. Mike Isgrig, vice president, North America Consumer Sales and Marketing, Epson, said there are billions of unscanned photos in the US and that every year, countless images are forever lost to fires, floods and other natural disasters. With FastFoto, he adds, families can protect their memories for generations to come in a matter of hours and days versus months and years with competing solutions. Epson’s FastFoto FF-640 is available as of writing priced at $649.99. That’s no small investment for a peripheral that many of us probably haven’t owned in a decade or more but again, if you’ve got a lot of print photos that haven’t been converted to digital and perhaps don’t have a lot of free time, it may be worth it. After all, you can’t put a price on memories.

Mad Catz announced on Thursday evening that it has sold its Saitek brand and line of flight, space and farm simulation controllers to Logitech for $13 million in cash. I didn’t even know farm simulation controllers were a thing but I digress. As per the agreement, Mad Catz will hand over trademarks, equipment and tooling, inventory, technical data, records and any other documents necessary for the design, manufacture, marketing and distribution of the aforementioned controllers. What’s more, Logitech will be welcoming eight of the company’s research and development employees. Karen McGinnis, President and Chief Executive Officer of Mad Catz, said in a statement that after a thorough and deliberate process, they believe this sale to Logitech brings Mad Catz attractive and certain value for the flight, space and farm simulation line of Saitek products. She added that they are pleased to find a company like Logitech that will lead Saitek into its next phase of growth and best support its strong acceptance within the flight simulation community. Saitek got its start in the late ‘70s as a maker of electronic chess games. The company eventually expanded to include PC peripherals and made quite the name for itself – so much so that Mad Catz came knocking in 2007 with a check for $30 million. Selling Saitek to Logitech for just $13 million may seem like a steep loss (and who knows, maybe it is) but there’s more to the story. Logitech is getting everything mentioned above but will retain the mouse and keyboard product lines that have developed out of the Saitek brand.

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Welcome Diego. Te recomiendo antes de publicar o comentar leer las reglas del forum

One of the more po[CENSORED]r game engines, Crytek's CryEngine, will be receiving some handy updates over the next few months that increase support for low-level and potentially performance-increasing APIs. As spotted by OC3D, perhaps the biggest update to CryEngine is coming in mid-November with version 5.3, which will include Vulkan API support. And it's not just Vulkan support on desktop platforms: CryEngine's roadmap also lists mobile GPU support, which would bring the game engine to Android and possibly iOS for the first time. Another update to CryEngine, version 5.4, is scheduled for late February with DirectX 12 multi-GPU support. CryEngine has supported DirectX 12 since earlier this year – a Chinese martial arts MOBA called King of Wushu was the first CryEngine game with DirectX 12 – however it hasn't supported multi-GPU configurations. These two major updates to CryEngine will help it compete with Unreal Engine 4, which is its main rival and an engine that has already gained significant traction in the developer community. With that said, Unreal Engine 4 does not include full Vulkan support just yet, so CryEngine could beat it to the market with the impending November release. Several games using CryEngine are still in development, including Star Citizen, medieval role-playing game Kingdom Come: Deliverance, and several free-to-play games from Crytek.

Out of the Box The UP3216Q, like its predecessor, is packaged and shipped in environmentally friendly cardboard – no foam here. Tucked neatly inside is the monitor itself, an aluminum monitor stand with cable pass-through, a plastic cable cover that goes over the rear I/O connections for a tidier look, a power cable, a miniDisplayPort-to-DisplayPort cable, an HDMI cable, a USB 3.0 upstream cable for connecting the monitor to your computer, an optical disc that includes drivers and documentation, a quick setup guide, obligatory safety and regulatory information and a factory calibration report. Dell UltraSharp 4K UP3216Q - $1270 Diagonal Viewing Size: 31.5 inches (16:9) Panel: In-Plane Switching Native Resolution: 3,802 x 2.160 @ 60Hz Contrast Ratio: 1,000 to 1 (typical) / 2M to 1 (dynamic) Brightness: 300 cd/m2 (typical) Response Time: 6ms (gray to gray) fast mode Viewing Angle: 178° vertical / 178° horizontal Adjustability: Tilt, Swivel, Height Color Support: 1.07 billion colors Pixel Pitch: 0.182 mm Backlight Technology: LED light bar system Display Screen Coating: Anti-Glare with 3H hardness Color Gamut: 99.5% Adobe RGB, 100% sRGB, 100% REC709 and 87% DCI-P3 Three-year limited hardware warranty Connectivity: 1x DisplayPort, 1x miniDisplayPort, 1x HDMI (MHL), 4x USB 3.0 ports, 1x USB 3.0 upstream, 1x media card reader Physical Specifications: Dimensions (With Stand): Height: 482.6 mm (19.0 inches) / 572.4 mm (22.5 inches), Width: 749.9 mm (29.5 inches), Depth: 214.0 mm (8.4 inches) Dimensions (Without Stand): Height: 444.6 mm (17.5 inches), Width: 749.9 mm (29.5 inches), Depth: 51.5 mm (2.0 inches) Weight (panel only - for VESA mount): 8.6 kg (18.92 lbs) / (with packaging):15.2 kg (33.44 lbs) Every UP3216Q leaves the factory with an average Delta-E < 2 calibration but more on that in a bit. If you're familiar with the first-generation monitor, the UP3216Q will feel like an old friend. Sitting side by side, you'd be hard-pressed to spot visual differences between the two as they look virtually identical (at least, when powered off). The IPS display is of the matte variety with a mild anti-glare coating that's framed by an inch-thick black plastic bezel lined by a silver strip as you round the corner. A single power backlit button is positioned in the bottom right corner of the bezel. Just above it are five unlabeled capacitive touch buttons that light up when activated, launching the on-screen menu beside them. Along the bottom bezel in the very center is a shiny Dell nameplate that I could do without as the reflections it picks up can be distracting at times. Sitting discretely on the left edge of the monitor is a 6-in-1 card reader and around back, a bank of connectivity ports comprised of – from left to right – the power connector, an HDMI port, a DisplayPort, a miniDisplayPort, a 3.5mm audio jack, a USB 3.0 upstream port and three USB 3.0 ports. A fourth USB 3.0 is distinctly positioned outside of the group on the right side as a charging port for your smartphone or other wireless device. On the opposite side, you'll find a security lock although a cable lock isn't included. Unlike some monitors, there aren't any integrated speakers. Dell sells an optional soundbar (model AC511) for about $20 that attaches to the bottom of the display to provide basic audio if that's all you're looking for. Getting started with the UP3216Q is about as easy of an experience as you can imagine. With the monitor out of the box, you can elect to install it on a wall or dedicated arm assembly via VESA mount or do as I did and use the included aluminum stand. The easiest way to do this is to lay the monitor face down, insert the top portion of the stand's mount first then snap the bottom into place. Initial Use, First Impressions More than a decade ago when flat panel televisions were just starting to trickle into the market, one of my best friends purchased a 50-inch plasma TV (I recall he paid several thousand for a Zenith set). At a time when the largest CRTs were in the 32- to 36-inch range, a 50-inch plasma was like heaven on Earth. Its sheer size and HD resolution ensured that you'd need a bib to catch all the drool. My first week with the UP3216Q afforded a very similar experience. Up to that point, I had been using a triple monitor configuration comprised of two 22-inch and one 24-inch 1080p monitor so needless to say, 32 inches was a big step up. Adjustments, Features and OSD The included aluminum stand offers basic height, tilt and horizontal swivel adjustments although vertical rotation (for portrait mode) isn't possible. At its highest point, there's just shy of five inches of space between the table and the bottom of the monitor and at its lowest point, you've got just 1.5 inches. You also get 45 degrees of left / right swivel as well as a mild forward tilt and a bit more aggressive rear tilt (around five and 20 degrees, respectively). Height and swivel adjustments were fine although I found the monitor a bit “wobbly.” With my arms on the desk typing away, motion can sometimes transfer through the desk to the monitor, exhibited as a small bit of side-to-side shake (as if you were trying to rotate the display into portrait mode). Indeed, this is magnified greatly if you lift up on one corner of the monitor. Elevating the monitor from its bottom-most position helped alleviate some of the issue although at this price point, I'd much prefer a sturdier feel. It's easy to be swooned by the UP3216Q's size and pixel density but that's only the tip of the iceberg. As an UltraSharp monitor with PremierColor, you'll get true-to-life color options right out of the box without the need for extensive calibration. The UP3216Q displays 99.5 percent of the Adobe RGB color space, 100 percent of the sRGB gamut, 100 percent of the older REC709 standard and 87 percent of the newer DCI-P3 gamut. The two latter standards are likely ones you haven't heard but if you're in the television or movie industry, rest assured that the UP3216Q can handle those color-critical projects. For most, if a monitor meets the “eye test,” it's good to go. That's not always the case, however, as some are sticklers for specifications and performance or simply demand it to work purposes. Dell ships each UP3216Q only after it has gone through color calibration from the factory. You'll receive a report specific to your monitor that charts a number of metrics including color uniformity, brightness uniformity, gamma, grey-scale tracking and more. Optionally, you can pick up a colorimeter to further fine-tune the display to your liking, but for my use, that wasn't necessary. Touching the small “dot” just above the power button activates the on-screen display and lights up the corresponding touch-sensitive buttons beside them. The menus are clean and well laid out with various settings exactly where you'd expect them. If you're familiar with other UltraSharp displays, you should feel right at home here. I actually prefer this touch-activated approach versus physical buttons as those are often positioned on the side (or even on the back) of monitors which makes it difficult to see their descriptions from a normal seated position. What's really neat here is the ability to virtually split the monitor into two and have one color space on the left and another on the right. Again, this will really only benefit professionals in settings where color accuracy is paramount. A couple of other nifty features are PIP (picture-in-picture) and PBP (picture-by-picture). With either of these modes activated, you can connect a secondary system and view its output on the same screen as your primary computer. It's something that'll probably go under-utilized but the option is there if you need it. Image Quality and Performance The panel features a subtle anti-glare coating, making it ideal for use in brightly-lit environments like office cubicles or home offices with the blinds pulled back. The coating only introduces a tiny amount of grain and is really only present if you get real close and are looking for it. At an average distance of around 23 inches from the screen (give or take a few inches), the 140 PPI panel looks absolutely stunning. Text is razor sharp (even when you lean way in, you can't make out the individual pixels) and images, especially high resolution ones from photo-sharing sites like Flickr, look gorgeous. As best I can tell, there's no yellow tinge around the edges like we did with the UP3214Q. The panel seemed to exhibit a tiny bit of IPS glow but this appears to be the work of viewing angle more than anything as the glow disappears when I back up from the screen by a couple of feet. What is concerning, however, is image retention. Also called image persistence or ghosting, image retention shows itself as a faint remnant of a high contrast image that may have been on the display in a fixed location for a long period of time. I typically run a solid black wallpaper with just half a dozen or so icons on the desktop. While inspecting the UP3216Q for IPS glow and backlight bleed, I discovered that my desktop icons were very faintly visible with a solid black image over that area. Dell is certainly aware of the risk as it offers an LCD conditioning function in the monitor's settings menu. I ran the conditioning program for nearly an hour but the faint images are still visible. Perhaps more time would rectify the issue but since we're giving away this monitor (and Dell's XPS 13 notebook), it'll be up to one of our lucky readers to determine. Wrap-Up The Dell UP3216Q is one hell of a monitor, period. The key difference between this new version and the one we looked at a few years back is the non-tiled design. As a result of this, as well as more mature hardware and compatibility, I didn't run into any quirky issues – even when running Windows 7. Those who use Windows 10 will be happy to learn that scaling works, and reliably so, if you need. Some older programs do spoil the experience, looking a bit blurry, but for the most part you'll get a seamless experience. If you read my recent article on the XPS 13 as a desktop replacement, you already know that I'm a huge proponent of productivity. Before the UP3216Q showed up at my doorstep, I'd been using a trio of lower-resolution displays to maximize productivity albeit at the expense of physical space on my desk. The UP3216Q has been a real eye-opener. Running at its native resolution without scaling, I can have six windows open and in view at all times with plenty of physical space to spare on my desk. Needless to say, my triple HD monitor days are numbered as I fully intend to make the jump to a single, large 4K display just like this one (hopefully sooner rather than later). As of writing, the Dell UP3216Q can be yours for around $1,270 from Amazon, which is in the neighborhood of other premium priced displays in this category. What you get, however, is a flexible, wide-gamut display with astounding image quality that'll surely be the envy of all who lay eyes on it. The design isn't all that inspiring but that concern quickly fades when you power it up. For the average user, this is likely going to be too much monitor. Unless you spend a significant amount of time behind the keyboard (for work or entertainment), you'll probably be best served to keep some cash in your wallet and spring for something a bit more affordable. What's more, diehard gamers will almost certainly want to pick up something that supports Nvidia's G-Sync or AMD's FreeSync for a higher/variable refresh rate. The 6ms response time (in fast mode) is more than acceptable for most but if you want the absolute best display for gaming purposes, it'll be found elsewhere. It's still relatively early for 4K but it's far enough along that buying into the hardware makes sense for many. 4K is on its way to becoming the next big thing and with 8K still many years away, you might as well take advantage of the best that's currently available. Review By: TechSpot

InFocus, makers of the Kangaroo line of pocket-sized PCs, has announced a new product that’s in a category of its own. The Kangaroo Notebook is a bundle of sorts that includes a barebones notebook dock and two modular PC units, each being a self-contained computer loaded with Windows 10. The idea is that you essentially get two PCs in one, something that could be a great idea if you have kids. A brother and sister, for example, could each have their own separate PC but would have to share (not a bad habit to develop early) or perhaps you could use one of the modules for your personal stuff and let the kids use the other (thus creating a physical firewall between you and the kids). Each PC module contains a quad-core Intel Atom x5-Z8350 Cherry Trail processor clocked at 1.44GHz (burst up to 1.92GHz), 2GB of RAM, integrated HD 400 graphics and 32GB of eMMC flash. The modules plug into a notebook shell featuring 11.6-inch display (1,366 x 768 resolution), a full-sized keyboard, Synaptics trackpad, a webcam, battery, speakers, microphone, SD card reader, 3.5mm audio jack, 802.11ac Wi-Fi and a couple of USB ports. As Engadget points out, the modules use proprietary connectors meaning you can’t just plug them directly into a monitor. The InFocus Kangaroo Notebook goes on sale next month exclusively at Newegg for $299.99.

The iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus have finally arrived. For a select few, that means putting Apple’s latest smartphones through the wringer to determine just how durable they are, filming the process and putting it on YouTube for all to see. One of the first out of the gate is YouTube user JerryRigEverything who gets right down to business by testing the iPhone 7’s scratch resistance using a set of mineral picks to determine where the phone’s glass falls on the Mohs scale. The results suggest the iPhone 7’s glass is on par with other modern smartphones as it took a level six tool to scratch the glass. If you recall, the Gorilla Glass 5 on the Galaxy Note 7started scratching at a level three – claims that Samsung and Corning disputed. Moving on, the new solid state home button also scratched at level six which suggests it isn’t made of harder sapphire glass. The same was true with the glass covering the rear camera which means Apple doesn’t appear to be using sapphire anywhere on the iPhone 7. The matte black anodized aluminum on the rear of the device held up well to scratches from a key although a razor blade was able to scratch it without much effort. The rear LED flash cover and antenna bands appear to be plastic as they were marked easily using a razor blade. In the screen burn test, the iPhone 7 lasted nearly 10 seconds while in contact with a flame from a lighter before the pixels got too hot and shut down. Interestingly enough, the pixels came back to life once the screen had a few seconds to cool down. In the bend test, we can see that the waterproofing adhesive lining the underside of the display becomes exposed, almost certainly rendering the device less water resistant than it once was. With regard to the removal of the headphone jack, the YouTuber sees this as a bad move as the single Lightning port used for headphones and charging will no doubt wear out quicker as it will see more use. Just how long it’ll last, however, won’t be known anytime soon.