Basic

Crowbits’ Programmable Magnetic Blocks STEM Kit Review: Build, Code and Play

Our Verdict Crowbits’ progressive STEM kits teach future engineers (ages 6-10 and up) the basics of electronics and programming, but nondurable paper elements and poorly translated documentation could lead to frustration and incomplete projects. For + 80+ Lego-compatible electronic modules and sensors + Helpful programming software + Progressive learning kits + Examples are very helpful… Read more

Best ceiling speakers 2021: Top architectural picks for home cinemas and discreet playback

(Pocket-lint) – Ceiling and in-wall speakers give you all the benefits of room-filling sound while remaining out of the way of your furniture and out of sight. Whether you’re looking to install them as part of a home cinema surround sound setup, or you just want to discreetly have music filtered in all around you,… Read more

Best waterproof speakers 2021: Top portable picks for any budget

(Pocket-lint) – Owning a top waterproof speaker allows you to take your tunes near the pool, in the shower or on expeditions in the great outdoors – all while remaining free from damage. While all speakers offer some level of Ingress Protection, the dedicated water-resistant and weatherproof options we’ll be detailing below are a different… Read more

Cheap 2.5GbE & 10GbE Switches Come to the U.S., Starting at $130

Home News (Image credit: TP-Link) TP-Link has announced a new family of multi-gigabit switches designed primarily for homes and small offices. The 2.5GbE and 10GbE switches are reasonably priced — one 2.5GbE model is only $130 — and are designed for advanced users that need faster wired network speeds as they use multi-gig NAS, Wi-Fi… Read more

Three questions that will decide Epic v. Apple

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge New filings show both sides’ legal strategies at work On May 3rd, Fortnite publisher Epic Games will finally have its day in court, forcing Apple to defend kicking Fortnite off the iOS App Store last year. Epic’s antitrust lawsuit is bigger than a single game; it’s a direct… Read more

Go read this feature on how India’s digital revolution started with missed calls

Leaving a missed call on someone’s phone usually signals that you should call them back — but at one point in India, it was communication in its own right. A new feature by Atul Bhattarai in Rest of World examines the Indian culture that grew up around missed calls — and the startups that took… Read more

Discover the stupidity of AI emotion recognition with this little browser game

Tech companies don’t just want to identify you using facial recognition — they also want to read your emotions with the help of AI. For many scientists, though, claims about computers’ ability to understand emotion are fundamentally flawed, and a little in-browser web game built by researchers from the University of Cambridge aims to show… Read more

Samsung’s latest budget phones ask: is refresh rate more important than resolution?

If you had to choose: would you choose a sharper screen on your smartphone, or a smoother-scrolling one? This year, budget phone buyers may be asking themselves that question: the OnePlus Nord N100, Moto G50, and the new Samsung Galaxy F12 and M12 all refresh their screens 90 times per second (which is good!) but… Read more

Online-only Outriders can be paused in single-player — if you have an Nvidia GPU

Outriders, the online shooting, looting, and superpower-slinging game from People Can Fly, finally has a way to pause, but to do it you’ll need to be using an Nvidia graphics card (via Kotaku). Despite working as a single-player game, Outriders requires an internet connection to play, which means pausing in the middle of a battle… Read more

Asus TUF Dash F15 review: Pro gaming in a slimline chassis

(Pocket-lint) – The Asus TUF Dash F15 is another of the company’s ultra-thin gaming laptops, which sports some serious specs in a compact, lightweight and portable frame. Available in two colours with a small mix of specs options and some nifty design accents, the TUF Dash F15 is interesting enough on paper, but is it… Read more

How To Emulate An Apple II On Your PC

The Apple II released in June 1977 was one of the first successful mass-produced computers and Apple’s first personal computer aimed squarely at the consumer market. The hardware was designed primarily by Steve Wozniak and the case by Steve Jobs, who we both know as the founders of Apple. In 1977, there were three machines… Read more

Google’s next Pixels will reportedly switch to a custom in-house GS101 processor

Google’s next Pixel flagship — the presumably named “Pixel 6” — will reportedly feature a Google-designed GS101 “Whitechapel” SoC (system on a chip), a first for the company, as reported by 9to5Google and XDA-Developers. 9to5Google’s report claims Google is working on two phones that will feature the Arm-based GS101 — presumed to be a flagship… Read more

Louqe Raw S1 Review: the Future of Minimal Mini-ITX

Our Verdict Although Louqe’s Raw S1 lacks a few basic amenities, it’s a stunning display of ITX minimalism, design, and craftsmanship. For + Stunning minimalist design + Excellent Thermal Performance + Very compact, even by Mini-ITX standards + Oozes quality from every corner + Easy Mini-ITX + PCIe 4.0-Capable Riser Cable + No RGB Against… Read more

Intel Inadvertently Confirms Raptor Lake-S: Compatible with Alder Lake-S Platforms

Home News (Image credit: Intel) Intel’s next-generation processor for mainstream and performance-mainstream client PCs due in 2021 is codenamed Alder Lake, and its first client CPU with a 7 nm compute tile set to launch in 2023 is called Meteor Lake. What Intel has not officially disclosed so far is the codename and features of… Read more

Watch the first trailer for Netflix’s Yasuke anime

Netflix just released the first good look at Yasuke, its upcoming anime based on the true story of a Black samurai who lived in Japan during the 16th century. Despite the real-life source material, the show takes a few liberties with the story, as you can see in the fantastical first trailer. Here’s the basic… Read more