Google focuses more on the interface and user experience of Android more than it ever has in the past. Android Pie is more thoughtfully designed than past versions of the platform, and Google’s interface design is coming together on app and service at a time. However, it’s coming together with a lot of white. At Google’s Android Dev Summit, Google a dark UI mode is happening, but it didn’t say when. Google has nibbled around the edges of dark mode for years, which has to be one of the most requested features of the OS among users. Starting back in the M beta (later Marshmallow), Google included a dark mode toggle that changed the settings and system UI from white to dark gray.
At AMD’s New Horizons event this week, the company made a major announcement about the organization and structure of its upcoming Epyc CPUs. Going forward, Epyc will use a single die for I/O and logic, with its CPU cores and caches organized into “chiplets.” While AMD has not revealed every last detail of chiplet organization, we’ve shown some shots of the concept. One interesting tidbit with this core arrangement is that AMD is also obviously keeping the number of cores per chiplet the same — the Epyc 2 the company has demonstrated packs eight chiplets around a central I/O platform, working out to eight die per core.
It’s a brave new world today: you can purchase a Facebook-powered smart display that lives in your home with a camera and always-on microphone. The are not the first smart displays with that sort of functionality, but this is Facebook. The remarkable thing about all the reviews is that everyone agrees the hardware is nice, and the video chat functionality is top-of-the-line. However, no one wants to recommend the Portal because no one trusts Facebook. According to the rumor mill, Facebook was poised to announce the Portal and Portal Plus earlier this year, but the Cambridge Analytica scandal pushed those plans back.
Life for PC manufacturers and channel customers (aka, those who build their own hardware) is going to get uglier in the next few months, in ways that could harm overall sales in the entire industry. The ongoing trade war between the US and China has already resulted in 10 percent price increases to a number of goods, but those rates are temporary. If the Trump Administration and the Chinese government don’t settle these issues, the price increases will go up a further 25 percent. In a recent interview , NZXT VP Jim Carlton told the publication he has no choice but to pass the costs on to consumers.
Warhammer, as a series, has a long history in tabletop games. However, it’s also well represented in the video game space, so long-time fans shouldn’t sleep on these excellent experiences. And thankfully, Humble Bundle has put together an affordable collection of some of the very best. • Invest a single dollar, and you’ll get the digital version of the Talisman board game, three expansions, and the incredible Dawn of War RTS. Pay a minimum of $1Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of WarTalisman: Digital EditionTalisman – The Blood Moon ExpansionTalisman – The Harbinger ExpansionTalisman – The Sacred Pool ExpansionGoing beyond the average bundle price, you’ll unlock a copy of Vermintide, the Space Marine Collection, and Blood Bowl 2.
Fusion powers the Sun, and thus all life on Earth. However, generating usable fusion power here on Earth has proven difficult. For decades, experimental reactors have achieved fusion at low levels, but never has there been net power generation. MIT says it has the tools to make true fusion power happen, and it may be . MIT has made several significant advances toward usable fusion power in recent years, like the technique to vent excess heat from fusion reactors. The latest innovation is a type of high-temperature superconductor (HTS) that can make electromagnets more powerful. The team behind the “Sparc” reactor project at MIT believes this will be the difference between wasting and generating power with fusion.
Google announced the Pixel Slate in October , but the Slate didn’t have a launch date. Google only said it would come out later in the year, and we’re getting close. Pre-orders for Google’s latest Chrome OS device are , but you’ll still be waiting a few more weeks to get it in your hands. The Pixel Slate is the first consumer-oriented Chrome OS device that’s intended to operate as a tablet first and foremost. has made extensive modifications to Chrome OS to make it more tablet friendly, but you can also plug in a keyboard and use it as a traditional Chromebook.
Smartphones have all looked similar for the last decade, but we may be on the verge of another major shift. At the Android Developer Summit today, the company for a class of devices it calls “foldables.” As you can probably guess, that means devices with foldable displays. Google also confirms that news of a Samsung foldable is . We’ve seen demos of foldable phones at trade shows for years, but none of them have been real products. The hardware has been a barrier, of course. While OLEDs are flexible, they don’t necessarily take kindly to being folded several thousand times.
PC gaming has a plethora of benefits: customizability, absurdly high frame rates, enormous variety, and – most importantly – low prices. If you’re not looking for brand new AAA releases, you can stock up on loads of games without spending much. At any given moment, there are surely thousands of cheap PC games available, but where do you even begin? To narrow down the selection, we’ve put together a list of 20 of our favorite PC games that cost $20 or less. Whether you’re looking for a hellish FPS, an indie adventure game, or an action-packed western, there’s something here that will undoubtedly entertain you on the cheap.
