E FUN introduces the Nextbook Flexx 9 2-in-1 tablet which debuts at Walmart [feedly]

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E FUN introduces the Nextbook Flexx 9 2-in-1 tablet which debuts at Walmart
// Coolest Gadgets

E FUN is no stranger when it comes to rolling out tablets, what more 2-in-1 tablets to more or less a saturated tablet market. Well, their Nextbook 10.1 2-in-1 tablet did have students in mind when it was revealed to the masses earlier this September, and here we are with a Walmart debut of the Nextbook Flexx 9 2-in-1 tablet. Basically, the Nextbook Flexx 9 2-in-1 tablet is meant to trumpet the following qualities: being portable, versatile in use, and of course, easy on your budget. Perhaps with the holiday season coming up, this would make for the ideal holiday gift when it comes to someone whom you know loves to play video games, or to watch video on the move, or simply spend plenty of time online on social media and firing out emails to keep in touch.

The Nextbook Flexx 9 2-in-1 tablet will sport a detachable keyboard that obviously makes this a tablet or portable notebook hybrid. It is a Walmart exclusive, where this highly flexible device will retail for a very, very affordable $97.77 a pop — making it 30% cheaper compared to its regular sticker price of $139.99. There is a quad-core Intel Atom processor that runs proceedings from underneath the hood in addition to Windows 10 as the operating system of choice, merging the productivity of a laptop with the mobile ease of a tablet.

Hardware specifications point to an 8.9-inch high-resolution IPS screen at 1280×800 pixels with a 16:10 aspect ratio that ensures vivid picture quality — be it whether you are using it to play, read, watch, stream, or work. It tips the scales at under a pound, which more or less this versatile enough to bring with you anywhere. Integrated connectivity options include Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, and a microSD memory card slot bumps up the 32GB of internal storage by another 64GB. A microHDMI port lets you mirror whatever you want to project onto a TV too, now how about that? Choose from black, purple, or blue shades, and it will even arrive with a free subscription to Office Mobile – that includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote apps that are built for Windows tablets and designed for work on the go.

Press Release
[ E FUN introduces the Nextbook Flexx 9 2-in-1 tablet which debuts at Walmart copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]


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Watch out: ɢoogle.com isn't the same as Google.com

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If you still need an S Pen, look for the Samsung Chromebook Pro | Pocketnow

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Google reportedly revealing all-new OS and laptop in October

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Some Lenovo PCs can't run Linux

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The Linksys EA9500 pierced my apartment's WiFi-proof walls [feedly]

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The Linksys EA9500 pierced my apartment's WiFi-proof walls
// Engadget Mobile

I live in a two-bedroom San Francisco apartment built in 1916. It has a view of the bay and the top of the Golden Gate bridge. There's crown molding, high ceilings and some pretty dope neighbors. It should be perfect. And it is -- if you're cool with...
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The Onion Omega2 is a tiny little computer that only costs $5 | The Verge

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Firefox 49 for Linux gains plugin-free support for Netflix and Amazon Prime Video

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Forget the deadline, you’ll still be able to get Windows 10 for free, and this is how | BetaNews

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Das Keyboard 5Q: The Cloud Connected Keyboard by Das Keyboard — Kickstarter

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Google wants to show you all the data it's collected about your online habits - CNET [feedly]

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Google wants to show you all the data it's collected about your online habits - CNET
// CNET News.com

The web giant's new tool lets you review the sites you visit, the searches you make and the videos you watch, among other things.
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SanDisk Announces Two 256GB MicroSD Cards, Arriving as Early as August [feedly]

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SanDisk Announces Two 256GB MicroSD Cards, Arriving as Early as August
// Droid Life: A Droid Community Blog

This morning, SanDisk joined Samsung as removable storage makers who plan to offer microSD cards in 256GB options. According to SanDisk, we should expect two new 256GB cards throughout the year, one of the Extreme variety that should be good for action cameras and 4K-ready phones, plus another of the Ultra variety that will be great for casual smartphone use. 

The 256GB Extreme card sports read speeds of 100MB/s and write speeds of 90MB/s. You should be able to fit around 14 hours of 4K UHD video on this card, which SanDisk says will be great for drones, action cameras, and 4K-capable smartphones. It should be the "fastest microSD card in its class."

The 256GB Ultra card is very similar, but it tops out at 95MB/s in read speeds and must have substantially lower write speeds, since SanDisk hasn't disclosed those yet.

The Extreme card will retail initially for $200 and is expected to hit retailers in Q4 of this year. The Ultra card will start at $150 and be available worldwide in August.

Via:  SanDisk

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8 Ways Virtual Reality Is For More Than Just Video Games [feedly]

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8 Ways Virtual Reality Is For More Than Just Video Games
// io9



Virtual reality, a dream of science fiction writers for decades, is the closest to a true reality than it's ever been. Multiple headsets are on sale to consumers, and while some aren't exactly affordable to the common person, such as the HTC Vive or the Oculus Rift, and others work better than others,the upcoming years will only bring more innovation to the industry.

Read more...

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Unable to spark interest in Windows 10 Mobile, Microsoft infects iOS and Android like a cancer [feedly]

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Unable to spark interest in Windows 10 Mobile, Microsoft infects iOS and Android like a cancer
// Betanews

At the moment, Microsoft is all about Windows 10. Such is the company's focus on its desktop operating system, that you would be forgiven for forgetting that Windows 10 Mobile is on the way as well. But here Microsoft has a problem. Not only has Windows 10 Mobile failed to infiltrate the public consciousness, those who are aware of the impending release are singularly indifferent to it.

Clearly Microsoft is not happy about this, but there's not much that can be done to force people into using Windows 10 Mobile (although given the company's track record with pushing Windows 10 to desktops, nothing would come as a surprise). Instead, Microsoft is having to content itself by spreading cancerously to iOS and Android, spreading the diseases of Cortana, the Word Flow keyboard and more to rival platforms.

Microsoft recently released the AppComparison app for Android in a bid to tend people away from Google's Mobile operating system over to Windows 10 Mobile. The idea is to highlight just how many familiar apps are available for the mobile version of Windows 10, but really Microsoft is happy enough to get people using its mobile offering by proxy. The company knows full well that it will be a cold day in hell before there is a mass swing away from Android and iOS to Windows 10 Mobile, so it is contenting itself by infecting rival app stores with ported versions of Windows 10 Mobile apps.

We have already seen Cortana make its way to both iOS and Android. This is more than just Microsoft trying to offer an alternative to Siri and Google Now, it's the company trying to get Windows 10 Mobile features to people through the back door. Windows 10 Mobile is not a big seller but by pulling out key features and transplanting them to other platforms, Microsoft is able to advertise the things it is proudest of.

This is certainly not the first time we've seen Microsoft showing an interest in platform other than its own. There was some upset from Windows Phone fans when the company decided to bring mobile versions of Office to iOS and Android first. Shoving Cortana onto Google and Apple handsets is, presumably, a move by Microsoft to push Windows 10 Mobile down people's throats. Now there is news that Windows 10 Mobile's Word Flow keyboard is making the jump to iOS and then spreading to Android. Even the likes of Microsoft Selfie are not Windows 10 exclusives.

But there Microsoft's advertising-by-osmosis approach also serves to highlight another issue with the mobile arena at the moment. There are three broad camps to choose from (four if you are mad enough to include BlackBerry), but despite paying their money and making their choice, users are still demanding -- or being told they want --- the same apps to be available on every single platform. We're being presented with dull, dull, dull, homogeneity.

Google and Apple already have a firm foothold. Android and iOS can afford to share features, to be a little similar to one another. But Microsoft does not have this luxury. It is fighting an uphill battle to bring Windows 10 Mobile to public attention and to do this, it really needs to be different -- something it will completely fail to do if features and apps keep being ported to other platforms.

Microsoft has turned Windows 10 Mobile into a cancer, and the approach the company is taking means that in all likelihood the prognosis is terminal.

Photo credit: Tatiana Shepeleva / Shutterstock

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Microsoft says new processors will only work with Windows 10 [feedly]

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Microsoft says new processors will only work with Windows 10
// The Verge

Soon, if you have a new PC, you won't be able to run Windows 7 or 8. Microsoft has announced an update to its support policy that lays out its plans for future updates to its older operating systems, and the new rules mean that future PC owners with next-generation Intel, AMD, and Qualcomm processors will have to use Windows 10.

It's not usual for old PCs to fall in under the minimum requirements of a brand new operating system, but in this case, the opposite is happening. Microsoft and its partners will not be putting in the significant work necessary to make new hardware work with older versions of Windows.

Policy starts with Intel's current processors, Skylake

"Going forward, as new silicon generations are introduced, they will require the latest Windows platform at that time for support," Microsoft notes in a blog post published on Friday. "Windows 10 will be the only supported Windows platform on Intel's upcoming 'Kaby Lake' silicon, Qualcomm's upcoming '8996' silicon, and AMD's upcoming 'Bristol Ridge' silicon."

This new policy doesn't mean that Windows 7 and 8.1 are no longer supported in general. The two operating systems will continue to get updates through January 14, 2020 and January 10, 2023, respectively. But that's only if you're using hardware that was contemporaneous with those operating systems.

For current PC owners, the detail to note is that Intel's current, sixth generation processors, known as Skylake, are the first that won't support either of the older versions of Windows. (Intel and Microsoft say that the platform and Windows 10 were designed for each other.) Microsoft is phasing in the policy now.

Microsoft offers 18-month grace period for enterprise customers

For the company's all-important enterprise customers, who often lag behind on hardware and software updates in order to guarantee stability, Microsoft says it will be maintaining a list of approved Skylake systems that are guaranteed to have Windows 7 and 8.1 support through July 17, 2017. That gives companies an 18 month grace period to buy modern hardware for employees before committing and implementing upgrades to Windows 10.

After the grace period, only "the most critical Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 security updates will be addressed for these configurations, and will be released if the update does not risk the reliability or compatibility of the Windows 7/8.1 platform on other devices." Companies and consumers, of course, can still buy older PC hardware that doesn't utilize Intel's Skylake platform — the last generation of supported processors are known as Broadwell, and those chips are still widely available.

The policy change not only makes Microsoft's hardware partners happy — they no longer are on the hook to develop as many costly software updates for past versions of Windows — but it also helps Microsoft push adoption of Windows 10. The company sees the operating system as the "final" version of Windows; it's now a service, not a product, and this change better reflects that. There's only one current version of Windows, and while Microsoft will fullfill its legacy hardware obligations, it won't be expending resources to help users steer clear of its latest and greatest.

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There's a new type of Wi-Fi, and it's designed to connect your smart home [feedly]

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There's a new type of Wi-Fi, and it's designed to connect your smart home
// The Verge

It seems obvious: Wi-Fi already connects most gadgets in your home. So why wouldn't it connect your smart home gadgets, too?

But while it sounds obvious, the companies making these connected gadgets have been reluctant to use Wi-Fi. That's because Wi-Fi requires a lot of power, and that's a huge problem for any device that needs to be tiny, cheap, and able to run on a single charge for months or even years at a time.

HaLow is meant for fitness trackers, home sensors, and other tiny gadgets

So now, the group behind Wi-Fi is doing something about it. It's announcing a new type of Wi-Fi today that's meant to work on low-power devices. It'll travel farther and even do a better job of traveling through walls. Basically, it's an all around better option for smart home and IoT devices, at least if these claims hold up.

The new type of Wi-Fi is being called Wi-Fi HaLow (pronounced "halo") and will be an extension of the upcoming 802.11ah standard. The Wi-Fi Alliance intends to begin certifying HaLow products sometime in 2018, but the first of them may begin shipping shortly before then.

Essentially, this is Wi-Fi's answer to Bluetooth. HaLow is supposed to end up inside of fitness trackers, home sensors, security cameras, and an assortment of other single-purpose home gadgets. Wi-Fi is already inside of some of those things — like cameras — but getting inside of wearables and sensors is going to be a fight. HaLow will truly need to be a better option than Bluetooth. The Wi-Fi Alliance won't mention Bluetooth by name, but it implies that HaLow is comparable. "HaLow will provide similar characteristics in terms to battery life to technologies that are out there today," says Kevin Robinson, the alliance's marketing VP.

"The alliance sees HaLow playing a large role in the IoT."

If HaLow really can do what the alliance says it can, it would be a big deal. It's essentially promising to do everything Bluetooth can, but at a longer range and with the ability to connect directly to your router, and therefore the internet. You should be skeptical of whether it can pull that off, but HaLow has the advantage of building on top of an enormously successful existing standard. Our phones and routers will need upgraded Wi-Fi chips to work with HaLow products, but presumably that'll come in time, just as 5GHz Wi-Fi quickly arrived after its introduction.

The reason that HaLow seems to have Wi-Fi superpowers is that it's operating on a much better slice of spectrum. It'll be in the 900MHz range, which has better reach and penetration than the 2.4GHz and 5GHz range that existing Wi-Fi operates in. (But, like existing Wi-Fi, it'll be in operating in unlicensed spectrum, so there may be interferences.)

Obviously, there are limitations

There does, of course, have to be a downside. And there is: HaLow isn't going to be as good at quickly transferring data. This isn't Wi-Fi for browsing the web; it's for transferring small bits of data on infrequent occasions. Device manufacturers can, to some extent, customize HaLow to their needs to get faster transfers, but that'll happen at the expense of battery life.

From the sound of it, it'll be two years before we even see the beginning of HaLow's invasion of the smart home. But the smart home — and, more broadly, the Internet of Things — is only just starting to take shape in a sensible way, so HaLow may not be too late to the party. "The alliance sees HaLow playing a large role in the IoT," Robinson says. But even he admits, Wi-Fi isn't likely to be the only standard. "No one expects that the Internet of Things will consolidate on a single connectivity technology."

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New wi-fi

http://www.engadget.com/2016/01/04/new-wifi-standard-gives-more-range-with-less-power/