Mastodon—and the pros and cons of moving beyond Big Tech gatekeepers
Enlarge (credit: Aurich Lawson | Getty Images) As Elon Musk's Category 5 tweetstorm continues, the once-obscure Mastodon social network has been gaining over 1…
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Showing posts from December, 2022
Handbrake video transcoder adds official AV1 codec support in latest release
Harsh Dhankhar
Enlarge (credit: Alliance for Open Media) Hardware and software support for the royalty-free AV1 video codec has been steadily building over the last couple years.…
Read moreNew York governor signs modified right-to-repair bill at the last minute
Harsh Dhankhar
Enlarge (credit: Getty ) New York state governor Kathy Hochul has signed the Digital Fair Repair Act into law , months after it had passed both chambers of the sta…
Read moreDon’t call it a refresh: The 6 most adventurous laptop designs of 2022
Harsh Dhankhar
Enlarge (credit: Getty Images ) In a world of shiny clamshells and showy convertibles, laptop releases can feel repetitive. Some of the most successful, well-known…
Read moreiOS 16 exploit lets you set the system font to Comic Sans (and other things)
Harsh Dhankhar
Enlarge / An indie app can be used to change your iPhone's default font if you haven't already installed the latest OS update. (credit: Zhuowei Zhang ) If…
Read moreAmazon begins drone deliveries in California and Texas
Harsh Dhankhar
Enlarge / Amazon's latest delivery drone design, the MK27-2, is now being used to make deliveries. (credit: Amazon ) Amazon has begun delivering orders by dro…
Read moreTwitter rival Mastodon rejects funding to preserve nonprofit status
Harsh Dhankhar
Enlarge / Founder Eugen Rochko said Mastodon would not "turn into everything you hate about Twitter." (credit: NurPhoto via Getty Images) Twitter rival …
Read moreNew GeForce RTX 3050 variant offers the same performance but lower power use
Harsh Dhankhar
Enlarge (credit: MSI) Nvidia's GeForce RTX 3050 is no one's idea of a powerhouse, but it's a decent 1080p GPU and it's still the cheapest way to b…
Read moreOld dog, new trick: Microsoft tests a tabbed UI for Notepad.exe in Windows 11
Harsh Dhankhar
Enlarge / Notepad, now with tabs. (credit: Microsoft) Notepad is one of the very oldest Windows apps, and up until Windows 11 came out, it was one of the least-ch…
Read more2022 in GPUs: The shortage ends, but higher prices seem here to stay
Harsh Dhankhar
Enlarge / From left to right and largest to smallest: GeForce RTX 4080 (which is the same physical size as the RTX 4090), Radeon RX 7900 XTX, and Radeon RX 7900 XT. …
Read moreApple’s business under growing threat from China’s Covid wave
Harsh Dhankhar
Enlarge / ZHENGZHOU, CHINA — A staff member wearing personal protective equipment disinfects a factory at Industrial Park of Foxconn on November 6, 2022 in Zhengzhou…
Read moreMeta and Alphabet lose dominance over US digital ads market
Harsh Dhankhar
Enlarge (credit: SOPA Images via Getty) Meta and Alphabet have lost their dominance over the digital advertising market they have ruled for years, as the duopoly i…
Read moreGoogle vs. Amazon: The smart display showdown
Harsh Dhankhar
Enlarge / Other than Amazon's rotating base, the two main product lines look pretty similar. Google and Amazon are basically the only game in town if you'…
Read moreWith voice assistants in trouble, Home Assistant starts a local alternative
Harsh Dhankhar
Enlarge / Home Assistant running on a Google Nest Hub, via a wild Chromecast hack. Native hardware like this would be nice. (credit: Home Assistant ) Are cloud-ba…
Read moreDriver updates will fix abnormally high power use for AMD’s new RX 7900 GPUs
Harsh Dhankhar
Enlarge / AMD's Radeon RX 7900 XTX (rear) and 7900 XT (front). (credit: Andrew Cunningham) AMD's Radeon RX 7900 XTX and 7900 XT GPUs are still fresh, and…
Read moreReview: ThinkPad X1 Extreme Gen 5 is impressively fast, with the right settings
Harsh Dhankhar
Enlarge / Lenovo's ThinkPad X1 Extreme Gen 5. (credit: Andrew Cunningham) Specs at a glance: Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme Gen 5 (As reviewed) Display 16-…
Read moreWith Apple bowing out, YouTube is close to scoring NFL Sunday Ticket
Harsh Dhankhar
Enlarge / SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA - DECEMBER 11: The San Francisco 49ers new star quarterback, Brock Purdy, celebrates during a blowout 35-7 win over the Tom Brady-l…
Read moreEufy publicly acknowledges some parts of its “No clouds” controversy
Harsh Dhankhar
Enlarge / Eufy's security arm has publicly addressed some of the most important claims about the company's local-focused systems, but those who bought into t…
Read moreRaspberry Pi 5 not arriving in 2023 as company hopes for a “recovery year”
Harsh Dhankhar
Raspberry Pi CEO Eben Upton said in a recent interview that next year is a time for Raspberry Pi, and the whole industry, to recover from the supply chain problems of …
Read moreApple’s self-service repairs expand to desktops like iMac, Mac Studio
Harsh Dhankhar
Enlarge / Apple's Mac Studio desktop. (credit: Andrew Cunningham) Apple's Self Service Repair program continues to roll out in new regions and to new prod…
Read moreLenovo announces cheaper Mini LED monitors with 140 W power delivery
Harsh Dhankhar
Enlarge / Lenovo expects its new 31.5-inch Mini LED monitor to cost $1,599. (credit: Lenovo) Lenovo is preparing to release a pair of Mini LED monitors that are c…
Read moreFramework, Noctua, and other brands add official 3D models to Printables
Harsh Dhankhar
Enlarge / Printables is aiming to build a one-stop site for 3D-printed parts and accessories from brands like Noctua. (credit: Printables.com) A number of device …
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