Category: Hardware

Categories
Hardware Hi-Tech Gadgets

If you have a Tile tracker your data may be for sale: Life360

Life360's acquisition of Tile is upsetting the owners of the geolocation tags: here's what's happening

When it comes to personal data, including those acquired through tools and devices equipped with localization systems, storage and their treatment are factors of primary importance. The use and sale of this information by companies can be a potentially infinite source of income, which is one more reason for those who use Tile trackers to raise their antennas and pay attention to what is happening.

Life360's acquisition of Tile is upsetting the owners of the geolocation tags: here's what's happening

Last month, the US-based tracking company was acquired by Life360, another American company specializing in providing location-based services to users around the world. The flagship product of the latter is the app of the same name : born in 2008, it shares its coordinates, notifications, emergency messages and more with family members, friends in their circles and third parties who offer specific services. based on where the person is. Although, at least at first glance, everything may seem perfectly normal, what worries users and experts is a report recently released by “The Markup” which allegedly exposed some unscrupulous behavior on the part of society.

Tile and Life360, what happens?

According to what is reported in the document, Life360 would be ready to sell the data recorded by the trackers of Tile tracker’s 33 million users. An extremely vast amount of data and users, due to the fact that Tile was the first to produce the well-known tags to be applied to key rings, backpacks and other valuables in order to always have traces of them and avoid any possibility of losing them forever.

Already in 2020 , as pointed out by “The Markup”, the company would have brought into its coffers as much as 16 million dollars with the sale of the locations of the users of its services. To point the finger at Life360 there would then be some workers in the sector, such as a former employee of the partner company Cuebiq, who would have confirmed that in the past the same information would have been widely exploited for the creation of marketing campaigns , also carried out by third-party companies. which data had been sold.

Life360, the company’s denial

Direct denial came from Life360 founder and CEO Chris Hulls. For the number 1 of the company, the data of the subscribers to the application are a fundamental resource for the company, indispensable for providing the free services that usually fall within the package of its best-known product.

Similarly, however, Hulls stressed that Life360 has implemented stringent policies on user privacy ; the information, he explained, would in fact not allow the identification of the person connected to them in any way. A necessary reassurance even if, as happens in these cases, it may not be enough to let users sleep peacefully.

Categories
Hardware Hi-Tech Gadgets

Amazon Fire TV Stick (2020), a classic that continues to work

Amazon Fire TV Stick black plastic, the only color we can purchase the unit from, and it lacks any LED or informational details

Amazon has a range of Fire devices with which it tries to meet the needs of a good handful of users by offering connectivity features and an adjusted value for money. For its part, the Amazon Fire TV Stick has been with us for a long time to make our television more “smart”.

Amazon has decided to renew the Fire TV Stick range with a new product that receives some news in this year 2020. We are going to take a look at the cheapest alternative to equip our TV with smart capabilities with its own operating system, take a look at Amazon Fire TV Stick with us.

Materials and design of Amazon Fire TV Stick

In this section, the North American company has not been innovating at all for a few years. The Amazon Fire TV Stick stands out for its compact size and its few “flourishes”, the idea is that it remains completely hidden behind the television or monitor to which we want to connect it, and it does this very well.

Amazon Fire TV Stick black plastic, the only color we can purchase the unit from, and it lacks any LED or informational details

It is made of completely black plastic, the only color we can purchase the unit from, and it lacks any LED or informational details. Simplicity has always been the identifying flag of this type of Amazon Fire products, and this was not going to be the exception.

Dimensions: 86 x 30 x 13 mm
Weight: 32 grams

Very far, for example, from what Google proposes with its new Chromecast with striking colors and rounded designs, precisely the one that will now position itself as the main rival of Amazon’s Fire TV Stick in terms of functionality and even at the price level if we compare it with its older brother, the Fire TV Stick 4K.

We have included in the box the power adapter, the microUSB cable (in case you thought they were extinct) and an HDMI extender that will help us in certain situations, identical content to what we had to date.

Technical characteristics

Amazon’s Fire TV Stick has been a slight improvement in the technical section with respect to its predecessor, and although it is difficult to differentiate them, in this case we are clearly talking about the edition that arrived at the beginning of September 2020 and that since then we analyze.

Amazon has decided to renew the Fire TV Stick range with a new product

To move the operating system and the rest of the technical capabilities, Amazon has opted for a Quad-Core processor at 1.7 GHz (it has grown 0.4 GHz) of which no manufacturer is mentioned, however, for other products of the brand we could boast who have returned to bet on MediaTek. You can buy it from 39.99 euros on Amazon (link).

As for the internal storage, this Fire TV Stick has 8GB in total, designed mainly for applications, since the connection through the microUSB to a PC can be problematic without the necessary knowledge to do so. For its part, we have the IMG GE8300 GPU in charge of offering us content in Full HD 1080p, the maximum resolution supported by it. We have 1GB of RAM.

We have dual antenna WiFi (MIMO) compatible with 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz networks, something that has evolved over time, such as Bluetooth 5.0 for content sharing and BLE for accessories.

We have very diverse video content formats, HDR 10, HDR10 + , HLG, H.265, H.264 and Vp9 as long as our television is fully compatible, of course. Although there is no mention of Dolby Vision, we imagine that due to royalty issues. However, in the sound we do find the brand’s signature, Dolby Atmos, Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital + surround sound and audio pass-through through HDMI for Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital + and Dolby Atmos.

As for the image, we will have a maximum of 60 FPS for the content both in Full HD and in lower qualities, something to take into account. We are therefore facing the third generation Fire TV Stick.

The command does not change but it is enough

In this case, the command allows us to manage Alexa, the virtual assistant of Jeff Bezos’ company, through voice control. This remote measures 38 x 142 x 16 mm and without batteries it weighs around 43 grams.

To use it we will need two AAA batteries that are easily inserted through the lower system. In addition, these batteries are included in the package, something to keep in mind, since not all brands provide this simple detail.

This remote will work both through Bluetooth and infrared, and one of its advantages is that we will be able to control the TV directly with the remote if we wish, with an exclusive off button for the TV, something that we will appreciate in its most daily use.

As for the voice guidelines, it is more than enough with its microphone located in the upper central part. In this section, the Fire TV Stick control has advanced over time, but it still has buttons that may be excessively hard or of clearly inferior quality when compared to mid-range and higher-end televisions, something that tarnishes the user experience. However, in a Samsung TV we see that we can make it work directly with the official remote.

An accompanying user experience

As always, this Fire TV Stick from Amazon has a layer of customization on top of Android. The system flows and does it well, offering a very good user experience, superior to what we could expect from the controller. But this is something that veterans of the Fire TV Stick range already knew.

It is extremely easy to configure, as always, with a few simple taps and linking our Amazon account, we will be offered the download of the main applications such as Movistar +, Spotify or Netflix, in addition to the pre-installed ones such as Amazon Prime Video. I highly recommend going for an alternative browser like Firefox.

Once inside, all that remains is to enjoy, we can install a multitude of applications and the experience continues to be above the rivals, especially if we take into account the price. In fact, the performance is superior to that offered by most mid-range TVs from Samsung and LG, for example, which makes it an ideal battle partner.

Pros

Compact and minimalist
It moves with extreme fluidity
The price is unbeatable
Great application Candida

Cons

Controller build tarnishes experience
Too much priority to own content in the OS

Categories
Hardware

Alienware launches its new systems with NVIDIA RTX 30 graphics cards

Alienware RTX 30 video game systems

In early September , Alienware announced that it would update its Aurora line of desktops and Area-51 laptops with the new NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 , 3090 and 3070 graphics cards. Recently the company officially presented these products, giving users the opportunity to buy them and take home some of the most powerful video game systems currently available.

Alienware RTX 30 video game systems

The Alienware Aurora R11 (Intel) and Aurora Ryzen Edition R10 (AMD) desktops , which will retain their current cases, now offer the ability to be configured with custom GeForce RTX 3080 and GeForce RTX 3090 graphics cards . The R11 will also continue to offer options for installing 10th Gen Intel CPUs ranging from the Intel Core i5-10400F to the Intel Core i9-10900F  while the R10 will be able to mount CPUs from the Ryzen 5 3500 to the Ryzen 9 3950X.

The allocation of RAM memory can range from 8GB to 128GB , while the devices for data storage can gofrom a single 256GB SSD to a combination of a 2TB SSD and a classic 2TB HDD .

Obviously, the most important feature is the introduction of NVIDIA GPUs based on the Ampere architecture, which are still quite unavailable on the retail market. Custom versions of Alienware can count on 10mm copper heat pipes and dual axial fans for cooling. Also, they should be 26.7cm long , but that’s all we know for now.

If you are more interested in a portable, Alienware has also updated its n otebook Area 51-m with FHD 360 Hz display . This is the highest refresh rate of virtually any other laptop on the market and even the best desktop gaming monitors today. The 360Hz refresh rate represents the big new frontier in displays, with the ROG Swift PG259QN being the first of three new 360Hz monitors this fall to hit the market when it launched in late August. Of course, the monitor was designed to take full advantage of the new GeForce RTX 3000 cards and quickly sold out, leaving machines like this laptop as one of the remaining ways to have a 360Hz display right now.

Alienware did not provide details regarding the internal components of this laptop prior to launch, so in addition to the display, there may not be many other changes. At the moment the new products can already be ordered on the manufacturer’s American website, while the Italian one has yet to be updated.

Categories
Hardware

Gigabyte B550 VISION D official, Thunderbolt 3 certification and dual Gigabit ethernet

VISION Series motherboards are built for creator pc. It featured with reliable performance, impressive connectivity

Gigabyte has announced the new VIDION D motherboard dedicated to creators , featuring two 40Gbps Thunderbolt 3 ports , two Gigabit Ethernet and Wi-Fi 6.

Content creators need ever-increasing speeds for quick access to their external storage devices or for accessing the internet. Gigabyte knows this and has presented a motherboard dedicated to this type of user, equipped with the latest generation connectivity and B550 chipset compatible with AMD Ryzen CPUs .

VISION Series motherboards are built for creator pc. It featured with reliable performance, impressive connectivity

Gigabyte B550 VISION D

The peculiarity of the Gigabyte VISION D is to support the Thunderbolt 3 connection at 40Gbps via two USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C ports on the back, an uncommon feature for PC motherboards and much less on cards with the AMD chipset. Gigabyte made the card with the Thunderbolt Titan Ridge chip in mind from the very start, however, allowing the card to achieve Thunderbolt 3 certification, a first for B550 cards.

Content creators will thus be able to take advantage of the two USB Type-C ports for connection to displays, graphics tablets, fast external storage devices and many other accessories compatible with the Thunderbolt 3 standard. The ports also support the daisy chain of up to six devices , simplifying the connection between multiple devices at the same time. On the card there are also two Gigabit Ethernet ports for connection to the local network and to the internet in addition to support for Wi-Fi 6 connectivity .

Being a motherboard dedicated to the world of professionals, support for ECC RAM memories with error correction could not be missing . Coupled with Nvidia’s Quadro series video cards, for which the card has received QVL certification , it will be possible to use this motherboard for the construction of reliable and functional workstations.

Other features include support for the PCIe 4.0 standard , two slots for M.2 SSDs and an HDMI 2.1 port to take advantage of the integrated GPUs in supported AMD Ryzen CPUs.

The card is already available for purchase, for more information I refer you to the official Gigabyte page .

VISION Series motherboards are built for creator pc. It featured with reliable performance, impressive connectivity, expandable on graphics, and ultra-fast storage for creators to deal with heavy design workloads such as video editing and 3D rendering. It’s the perfect fit for DIY creators to build their own ideal machine.
Categories
Hardware Miscellaneous

AMD graphics cards are like good wine: the better the longer it takes

graphics cards AMD

It does not seem that an article about device drivers is especially exciting, but the truth is that these pieces of code are much more important than it seems. Updates for the components of our PCs help keep them “fit” and to correct errors, but can also be crucial for performance.

That seems to be especially true for graphics card drivers, which NVIDIA graphics cards and AMD engineers are polishing as weeks pass for our games to win in quality and fluidity. And careful, because if there is a protagonist in recent times in that performance improvement, that is AMD graphics cards.
graphics cards AMD

Those responsible for this firm have been working on a new controller platform, and have gone from relying on the Catalyst to do its rebranded version, new and flashy Crimson. It seems that there has been much more than a name change on that new platform, because the performance gain is remarkable.

Crimson
Some have already given phenomenon unofficial name: AMD FineWine would be the “imaginary” and implicit in graphics technology that makes AMD, like good wine, are better as time passes. Evidenced by several recent articles that recent cards this manufacturer faced with similar choices of NVIDIA face like this in which HardwareCanucks compared a 1060 GTX 6GB RX 480 with 8 GB.

Dx11
The tests compared performance with the AMD drivers of July and December 2016, and the results were surprising. In the DX11 tests the GTX 1060 was 12% better in 1080p resolutions and 8% better in 1440p resolutions. In December differences they shortened, and the GTX 1060 was only 2% better in 1080 and identical (0%) in 1440p .

Dx12
These data were confirmed with DX12 tests, half made the RX 480 were 3% higher in 1080 and 4% in 1440p with drivers July 2016, while the new versions cards were a 6% best in both resolutions . The conclusions of the analysis made everything clear:

AMD has not only proven that it can match the launch pace of NVIDIA drivers but with a successive pattern of key upgrades have made its card a full contender in DX11 and a success in DX12.

Good today, even better tomorrow

The findings were similar when a few months ago appeared analysis in which the performance of old cards 3 years later compared. In BabelTechReviews they compared the Radeon HD 7970 with the GTX 680, and after analyzing the performance made it clear that while AMD cards had been overtaken by NVIDIA in the first two years, the progressive improvement in the drivers got the tide changed. According to this medium, the HD 7970 ended up being more “future proof” thanks to those drivers and to have more VRAM memory.

Radeon1
That little “trick” AMD has worked well, and over time we have seen how the graphs of AMD always included more video memory than rivals directly by NVIDIA . The 7970 offered 3 GB of VRAM for the 2 GB of the GTX 680, the 290 / X offered 4 and even 8 GB of memory for the 3 GB of the GTX 780 / Ti, the 390 had 8 GB for the 4 GB of the GTX 970, and the RX 480 is sold in configurations with 4 and 8 GB, for the 3 or 6 GB of the GTX 1060.

The same was true when comparing the GTX 780 to Radeon 290x: AMD showed more attention to their old cards , while NVIDIA graphics cards seemed not give much importance to the old models and focused mainly on new architectures.

It seems that the trend is clear: although for the moment NVIDIA remains at the throne of peak performance, which is AMD is devoting more efforts to make their graphics cards continue compensating their users over time . The use of new APIs (such as DX12, where AMD stands out especially thanks to the good performance of GCN) and the optimization of the controllers make AMD graphics are especially praised the long term.

Categories
Accessories Hardware Storage

WD My Passport Studio first 2TB portable hard drive for Mac

WD My Passport Studio first 2TB portable hard drive for Mac

Western Digital started selling a new portable hard drive, the WD My Passport Studio has been designed for Mac OS.

WD My Passport Studio first 2TB portable hard drive for Mac

Coming in the classic design of metal, anodized aluminum, the My Passport Studio is built to accompany the MacBook Pro or MacBook Air. It also becomes the first portable disk 2 TB of capacity dedicated to Mac users.

Inside the WD My Passport Studio there is a 5400 rpm hard drive, and also provides two FireWire 800 and USB 2.0 ports.

The Western Digital My Passport Studio is fully compatible with Time Machine backups to ensure easily, quickly and automatically. Moreover, the portable hard drive features hardware-based encryption and password protection software.

The WD My Passport Studio portable has a price equivalent to about 226 euros.

Categories
Hardware Portable Device Storage

New external hard drive Western Digital My Passport

New external hard drive Western Digital My Passport

Western Digital (WD) has expanded its My Passport line of portable hard drives with a new, larger storage capacity.

New external hard drive Western Digital My Passport

The new family member is MyPassport an external hard drive of 2 TB that uses a USB 3.0 SuperSpeed for better transfer rate. Current models come in capacities of 500 GB and 1 TB.

Additionally, the new portable hard drive from Western Digital is also compatible with USB 2.0 interface.

This new model comes with the complete discography of Justin Bieber and a choice of several colors like black, white, silver, red and blue. Its chassis is also resistant to fingerprints and, of course, the scratches.

The Western Digital 2 TB My Passport is priced at 188 euros.

Categories
Hardware LG Samsung Devices

Samsung is the only supplier of screens Retinal Display of New Apple iPad

Samsung admits that it is the only supplier of screens Retinal Display of New Apple iPad

Since the New iPad was officially announced by Apple on March 7, there have been disputes as to whether or not Samsung is the sole provider of the retina display of the new tablet, which has a resolution of 2048 x 1536 pixels the higher in one tablet.
Samsung admits that it is the only supplier of screens Retinal Display of New Apple iPad
Now, according to The Korea Times, Samsung has put an end to speculation by confirming that it is the only supplier. The Vice President of Samsung, Kwon Oh-hyun said: “It’s a matter of allocation. No single supplier in the world. Samsung just providing screens to Apple, at first.”

Almost surely, LG is another Korean company that is the supply of screens for the new iPad (as rumored). However, for end users, the provider does not matter as long as the experience is the same.

As already said, Apple depends largely on Samsung components, although the two companies have patent wars in progress. A lot of things the new iPad is manufactured by Samsung, including the new processor A5X.
The new iPad comes in white and black, and was released by Apple on Friday March 16 for prices starting at $ 499 (16GB version only Wi-Fi).

Categories
Accessories Curious Gadgets Hardware

Gavio presents a peculiar speaker system for iPod

Gavio presents a peculiar speaker system for iPod

The Singapore-based company Gavio soon offer the pill (the Pill), a compact speaker dock for docking sixth generation Apple iPod nano. The peculiar sound of this solution is its shape resembles a giant pill.

 
Gavio presents a peculiar speaker system for iPod
 

The Pill, its original name, is a compact speaker system 5.8 inch. The iPod is placed in a holder which is then closed to encapsulate virtually the audio device. The pill provides controls for mixing music tracks or adjusts volume. The nano can also be operated by touch screen, which is still accessible.

While this device appears on the Gavio website, the company does not provide detailed specifications, pricing or when The Pill is available for pre-order.

It appears that will be available variety of color combinations: in silver, white and red, white and blue and silver and black.

Categories
Hardware

What you don’t know about Snapdragon S4

What you don’t know about Snapdragon S4

The Qualcomm company announced that its famous processors have different names and grouped into four divisions (so far).

What you don’t know about Snapdragon S4

This change will be used to more quickly and easily identify what level of hardware device is located.

Before differed by denominations made up of letters and numbers, but quite difficult to remember and learn.

The most powerful of all categories is the one to come; Snapdragon S4, and the company has decided to make public their features.

Continue reading “What you don’t know about Snapdragon S4”