I called them “the most frustrating thing about Windows” — the forced automatic updates that lock you out of your computer until they’re done. In March 2017, Microsoft made some pretty big strides toward solving the issue by letting you snooze an update indefinitely, but it still wasn’t quite enough. In the 16 months since, …
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Dark mode is live for Microsoft’s Outlook.com, nearly a year after it was requested. The alternate color setting presents the webmail service’s default setting with a dimmer look suited to reading in low-light areas. It can be activated by going to the Quick Settings at the top right of the Outlook interface and clicking the slider below the themes. Microsoft …
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Google, one of the top companies in the hot area of artificial intelligence, will begin letting customers directly use its custom processors for the technology starting in October. Google’s TPUs, or tensor processing units, accelerate AI tasks like understanding voice commands or recognizing objects in photos. Today, Google will let you pay to do that kind of work on its …
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Samsung has applied for a trademark named the “Samsung Magbee” and it’s a bit of a head scratcher. The application, which was filed in November but is still under examination from the US Patent and Trademark Office, describes Magbee as a “magnetic beetle” and a “sleek wireless dial wheel” for wireless audio and sound bar speakers. The trademark’s illustration, as …
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A tangle of cables to hook up a VR headset could shrink down a single USB-C connection, thanks to a new open industry standard created by most of the major players in the PC VR space. A new VirtualLink open specification, announced today, looks like a big improvement on the current multi-USB-and-HDMI system of hooking up VR headsets like the …
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Update, July 18: Prime Day officially ended at midnight PT (3 a.m. ET). Nearly all the deals featured below have now expired. Check out our roundup of Prime Day deals still available for a curated list of the best remaining bargains. Our original story continues below: There are still a few hours to go until the close of Amazon Prime …
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Prepare for a shock: There are stores other than Amazon! I know, right? So while I’m sure you’re closely following my frequently updated top Prime Day picks of 2018, I thought I’d mention a couple deals happening elsewhere. Starting with this: For a limited time, and while supplies last, Newegg has the MSI Vortex G65VR gaming desktop PC for $899.99 …
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Microsoft rolled out on Monday a new version of Skype for desktop, and said it would end support for the “classic” version on Sept. 1. Dubbed version 8.0, the updated edition of the groundbreaking video-and-voice platform includes new features, such as free HD video and group calls that can accommodate as many as 24 people. The new version also includes message …
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It’s 95 degrees Fahrenheit — 35 Celsius — or at least it feels like it. I’m standing in the middle of Times Square, looking at my phone at an augmented-reality fleet of boats floating above my head. My phone is hot. I can’t hear through the earphones well. A crowd of family tourists nearly collides with me as I try …
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Surprise! Apple released new MacBooks on Thursday. Maybe you were expecting something affordable, something with Face ID, something with a more reliable keyboard. Dare we even dream of the long-rumored Retina Display MacBook Air? No. Instead, there are new MacBook Pro models with bumped-up processors. OK, that’s not exactly fair. Apple has added a nice array of pro-centric improvements: More …
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