Smart

How tech companies are ignoring the pandemic’s mental health crisis

There is plenty that scientists don’t understand about the long-term effects of COVID-19 on society. But a year in, at least one thing seems clear: the pandemic has been terrible for our collective mental health — and a surprising number of tech platforms seem to have given the issue very little thought. First, the numbers…. Read more

Humax Aura

Our Verdict As a Freeview PVR, the Humax Aura is hard to beat , but its incomplete smart platform requires a pause for thought For Excellent recording and playback Full-bodied, exciting sound Useful Aura mobile app Against No Netflix app HDR picture could be better User interface a touch convoluted Even without an Oxbridge education,… Read more

This webcam dares to ask: what if the panopticon had flesh?

Many digital eyes and ears are on us as we move about our daily lives. Surveillance cameras watch us on the street and smart devices listen for us in our homes. What if some of that watching happened through an expressive simulacrum of a human eye? Researcher Marc Teyssier took it upon himself to craft… Read more

HMD revamps its midrange Nokia lineup with six phones under €350

HMD is announcing six new midrange Nokia phones today, ranging in price from €75 (around $90) up to €349 (around $415). At the top, there’s the X-series, consisting of the X10 and X20, followed by the G-series G10 and G20, and then finally, there’s the entry-level C10 and C20 from the C-series. HMD’s pitch for… Read more

Seagate Has Shipped 3 Zettabytes of HDDs

Home News (Image credit: Seagate) Seagate has announced that it had surpassed a shipments milestone this March. Throughout its history, the company has shipped three zettabytes (ZB) of hard drive storage. Seagate’s math about its 3ZB achievement is pretty interesting by itself. Three zettabytes equal 30 billion 4K movies, 60 billion video games, 7.5 trillion MP3… Read more

‘Hey Spotify’ is another hands-free way to control your music, rolling out now

If you want to pull up your favorite Spotify track or playlist without pressing buttons, there is no shortage of voice assistants to help you get those jams, including Alexa, Siri, Google Assistant, Cortana, and even Bixby. But now, Spotify has its own hands-free wake word: “Hey Spotify” appears to be rolling out on Android… Read more

Outriders review: A lootin’ shootin’ good time

(Pocket-lint) – If you were to pick out a gaming genre that’s hard to break into right now, online looter-shooters would be high up on the list. High-profile attempts like Anthem have shown how difficult it can be to upset the hierarchy. That’s just what developer People Can Fly is trying to do with Outriders…. Read more

Sonos Roam review: Portable perfection

(Pocket-lint) – Sonos Roam is the second portable Bluetooth speaker in the company’s portfolio, but really it’s the first when talking portability – because the Sonos Move isn’t all that portable by comparison. A Bluetooth speaker by day, Sonos speaker by night, or vice versa, the Sonos Roam is very portable, very smart and has… Read more

Display Driver Chip Shortage Leads to Delays for Pretty Much Everything

Home News (Image credit: Shutterstock) Bloomberg today reported that a shortage of inexpensive display driver chips has delayed production of the LCD panels used in, well, pretty much every product category you can think of. Displays are ubiquitous, and many devices can’t function without them. But for the displays to work, they require a display… Read more

XPG Pylon 550W Power Supply Review

Our Verdict The Pylon 550W by XPG achieves high overall performance, and is equipped with a quality fan that’s uncommon in this price range. For + Full power at 40 degrees Celsius + High overall performance + FDB fan + Build quality is high enough + Low inrush current with 115V + Highly efficient 5VSB… Read more

LG has officially quit the smartphone business

Home News (Image credit: LG) LG has announced it will stop making phones. Once one of the top players in the smartphone market, the firm will bow out of its mobile operations globally in order to focus on other “growth areas”. It lists such areas as electric vehicle components, connected devices, smart homes, robotics, artificial… Read more

Graphics Card Power Consumption and Efficiency Tested

Home News (Image credit: Shutterstock) How much power do the best graphics cards use? It’s an important question, and while the performance we show in our GPU benchmarks hierarchy is useful, one of the true measures of a GPU is how efficient it is. To determine GPU power efficiency, we need to know both performance… Read more

A Sealed Super Mario Game Sold for $660,000

Home News (Image credit: Nintendo) We all buy things that we never unpack. Normally, we pass those items to someone who might need them. But some of us are smart enough not to do so and get rich instead. This is exactly what occurred to a copy of a Super Mario game titled ‘Super Mario… Read more

LG confirms it’s getting out of the smartphone business

LG is exiting the smartphone business, the company confirmed today. The decision will “enable the company to focus resources in growth areas such as electric vehicle components, connected devices, smart homes, robotics, artificial intelligence and business-to-business solutions, as well as platforms and services,” LG said in a statement. Existing phones will remain on sale, and… Read more

Best BBQ 2021: Barbecue with gas or charcoal

(Pocket-lint) – There’s nothing quite like a sunny day spent outside with a barbecue, cooking up some delicious food in a way that’s nearly impossible to replicate inside your home. It’s one of the most enjoyable ways to cook. It’s also got a really nice social side to it, letting you be amongst friends or… Read more