In the last year, consumer-grade VR has seen a lot of ups and downs. The launch of the PSVR, Oculus Rift, and HTC Vive were a huge step forward for the virtual reality market, but the limited uptake and the overpriced cash grabs have been a bit disappointing to VR enthusiasts. However, we’ve seen a handful of really enjoyable games and apps pop up that won’t cost you a dime. These free experiences, as cool as they are, probably don’t provide enough incentive to buy into any of the . But if you already own a headset, or you’re willing to invest in some for-pay software as well, there’s a lot to enjoy here.
As we prepared ourselves for a relaxing Labor Day, we searched around for some of the best discounts on offer for the long weekend. From servers to solar panels, you can save big with coupons, door busters, and much more from the likes of Dell and Amazon. Hottest Labor Day Deals (List price: $369.99) With a USB 2.0 hub, an 8ms response time, and support for three connection standards, this 16:10 IPS display from Dell offers a lot of flexibility at a price that’s hard to beat. (List price: $799.99) Featuring a 2.5GHz Kaby Lake CPU, 4GB of DDR4 memory, an Nvidia GeForce 940MX graphics card, a 128GB solid-state drive, a 500GB 5400RPM hard drive, Bluetooth 4.2, and 802.11b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi, this is a rock-solid deal.
The majority of US consumers still use 1080p TVs or below; 4K screens currently account for an estimated 15-20 percent of the US consumer market. With 4K content still ramping up, it might seem premature to focus on a future standard people won’t be able to take advantage of for years. Sharp, however, has set its sights on doing just that. The Foxconn-owned company announced its plans to launch its new LC-70X500 this year, with a true 8K panel. This isn’t Sharp’s , but it’s the first to feature “just” a five-digit price tag, at $73,000. The Aquos 8K (LC-70X500) is a 70-inch true 8K panel with support for HDR, 79 percent of the Rec.2020 color space adopted for UHD Blu-ray, and local backlight dimming to tune the display’s emitted light, depending on what colors and brightness level are being produced on various parts of the screen.
The advent of cloud computing, deep learning, and AI could revolutionize modern computing, but they’ve also created scaling problems. The vast majority of databases use a similar architecture: DRAM cache servers are used to store the most common queries. These cache servers are backed up by an SSD storage array and possibly a mechanical disk array behind the SSDs. With companies like Intel and AMD offering chips that can address up to 1.5TB (Intel) or 2TB (AMD) of RAM per socket, it might seem ridiculous to imply that a server can still run out of DRAM — but they can.
Here’s the first advance look at cars to be unveiled at the Frankfurt Auto Show in two weeks. This is the Smart Vision EQ fortwo. It’s autonomous and can be shared solo, or by a couple or two individuals going the same way. EQ is a new Daimler product and technology brand. Parent Daimler Corp. says, “The show car is the first vehicle from the Daimler Group to take the logical step [emphasis added – Ed.] of dispensing with a steering wheel and pedals.” Logical today, but maybe not to Gottlieb Daimler and Carl Benz back in 1885. Signage on the front and sides talks to pedestrians, and tells rider which lookalike car is his or hers.
Volvo, the safe-car company your parents loved, is remaking itself for a changing future. All models introduced by 2019 will have electrified variants. At the same time, it’s pushing ahead on safety, including self-driving, because it’s the driver who’s responsible for 95 percent of fatal accidents. Here’s a hands-on look at four key 2018 Volvos, all of them upscale, all loaded with standard safety features, and all but one offering hybrid and gasoline variants in advance of 2019. We tested the stretched S90 sedan that competes on luxury with big BMWs and Mercedes-Benzes, the XC90 midsize SUV that kicked off Volvo’s resurrection in 2015, the XC60 compact SUV likely to be Volvo’s best-seller in the near future, and the V90 midsize station wagon.
Andy Rubin made his bones in the mobile industry by co-founding Danger (maker of the Sidekick) and , which was acquired by Google and turned into the largest mobile platform on Earth. It’s an impressive pedigree, so everyone was interested when Rubin announced his new hardware startup was going to make an Android phone. The Essential Phone was unveiled in May, and Rubin told everyone it would come out in just a few weeks. Here we are a few months later, and the Essential Phone is . There have been a few false starts after that first unannounced delay.
Nuclear power was headed for something of a resurgence a few years back, but then the 2011 meltdown at Japan’s Fukushima reactor happened. Governments and investors around the world got cold feet, but there’s now renewed interest in a type of nuclear power that’s potentially much safer. A team from the Nuclear Research and Consultancy Group (NRG) the Netherlands has . There are several basic facts of nuclear power that have made it a tough sell around the world. For one, the uranium needed for nuclear power plants is rare and expensive. The uranium used in power plants can also be turned into weapons-grade material, requiring tight regulation.
If you want a desktop PC with a good balance between performance and price, check out the Dell Inspiron 3650. With a quad-core Skylake processor and a substantial amount of memory, this flexible PC is a fantastic bargain when you use today’s 47% total discount. (List price: $1145.85 — Coupon code: SAVE300) Spec-wise, the Inspiron 3650 includes a sixth generation quad-core 3.4GHz Intel Core i7-6700 CPU, a discrete AMD Radeon HD R9 360 graphics card (with 2GB of memory), 16GB of DDR3L RAM (1600MHz), a 2TB 7200RPM hard drive, a DVD burner, Bluetooth 4.0, and 802.11b/g/n WiFi support.
