Think Raspberry Pi, and we instantly think of Raspberry Pi OS, a branch of Debian Linux tweaked to run on the board. But the recently-released Raspberry Pi Pico eschews the traditional Raspberry Pi setup in favor of an Arm-based microcontroller. This has not deterred David Given, who has ported a Unix-like operating system to the $4 board.
A Raspberry Pi Pico running Fuzix will not be replacing your Raspberry Pi any time soon, but it is amazing to see this Unix-like OS running on such low-power hardware. Given’s port of Fuzix is based upon Alan Cox’s original project, which can run on hardware almost 40 years old. Fuzix provides us with a proper Unix filesystem, support for SD cards via the SPI interface, a full set of Fuzix binaries, and all of this is available via a serial console to UART0.
Right now, there is no support for flash memory, evident in the requirement of an SD card. Given says that the code for this is complete, but a bad file system will crash the dhara FTL library and that the onboard flash is too small even for the 32MB system image.
Given provides a readme full of installation instructions, which are written for experienced Unix / Linux users to follow. The easiest way to get started is to download the Fuzix binaries and format an SD card as per the readme instructions. Then flash the UF2 file to your Pico, connect up an SD card reader via the SPI interface, connect to UART0 and start using Fuzix on a $4 microcontroller.
Yesterday, NASA landed a rover named Perseverance on Mars. I, along with 2 million other people, watched the landing happen live on YouTube. It was beautiful. I mean, here’s this little robot dude that’s traveled millions and millions of miles through the barrenness of space, and now it’s just hanging out on Mars taking pics and scientific samples! (Perseverancejoins older sibling Curiosityon the surface of the Red Planet. Hope they have a nice time together!)
In any case, Perseverancedidn’t traverse the vastness of space alone. Ingenuity, a tiny helicopter, tagged along for the ride. As it’s primarily a technology demonstration, Ingenuity’s destiny is to attempt the first powered flight on any planet other than Earth and to hopefully be the blueprint for future Mars missions. It’s also running on Linux.
Here’s Ingenuity!Image: Wikipedia
“This the first time we’ll be flying Linux on Mars,” NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) senior engineer Tim Canham said in an interview with the the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). “The software framework that we’re using is one that we developed at JPL for cubesats and instruments, and we open-sourced it a few years ago.” It’s called F’ (pronounced “F prime”). The fact that it’s open source means if you want to fly with Linux here on Earth using the same software JPL does, you absolutely can.
“It’s kind of an open-source victory, because we’re flying an open-source operating system and an open-source flight software framework and flying commercial parts that you can buy off the shelf if you wanted to do this yourself someday,” Canham said.
Great stuff. It’s cool that Perseverance, Curiosity, and Ingenuity have all found a new home on the surface Mars. Though I still think it’s cooler that space is pretty obviously inhospitable to human life, and yet we still put people up there anyway.
LG’s 2021 TV lineup is rolling out now, and you’ve got plenty to choose from if you’re in the market for a new 4K TV.
The range covers all manner of TV technologies, including OLED, LCD and, for the first time, Mini LED.
The new lines span all kinds of sizes too, ranging from 43 inches all the way up to 88. So, whether you’re looking for a statement set for the lounge, or just something for the bedroom, you should find something to suit your needs.
LG’s new OLED line-up comprises five series: Z1, G1, C1, B1, A1. Only those in the G1 series use LG’s top-of-the-range OLED evo panel. The C1 series – the firm’s most popular OLED range, and normally the sweet spot, has the most screen size options, starting with a 48in option. The B1 and A1 are more affordable OLED ranges, suited to those on a budget.
The QNED Mini LED TV line-up includes both 8K and 4K models. Both employ LG’s Quantum Dot NanoCell technology and Mini LED backlighting to create deeper blacks, more vibrant colours and better contrast levels than standard LCDs. They also promise excellent HDR.
LG’s NanoCell TVs also come in 8K and 4K flavours. Its NanoCell tech filters out colour impurities, giving more lifelike images.
All LG’s new TVs support Dolby Vision IQ, Dolby Atmos, HDR10 Pro and Filmmaker Mode. Game Optimiser automatically applies the best picture settings according to the type of game you’re playing, be it a first-person shooter, role-playing game or real-time strategy.
Every new TV also supports the advanced HDMI 2.1 feature, enhanced audio return channel (eARC). This makes it easier to connect the set to a sound system while also optimising the audio. Automatic low latency mode (ALLM) is also supported – this delivers seamless gaming and lag-free viewing. Perfect if you’ve been lucky enough to snag a PS5 or Xbox Series X.
Most of LG’s new sets also have a new processor. The Alpha 9 Gen 4 AI has better deep learning capabilities, better upscaling performance, and adjusts the picture quality depending on the amount of light in each scene, the genre of content what you’re watching and the ambient conditions in the viewing environment (i.e. your lounge).
AI Sound Pro up-mixes two-channel audio to virtual 5.1.2 surround sound too, so you can get the full cinema experience without splashing out on separates. Sort of.
Also new is webOS 6.0, the latest version of LG’s TV operating system. This gives faster access to apps, improved content discovery and personal recommendations. And the new remote control has dedicated buttons for certain streaming services.
The bad news? Not all models are available to buy immediately. Rather, LG says that “select TV series, models and sizes” are rolling out to retailers now. Look out for local announcements for more specific info.
MORE:
Ready for a deep dive? LG 2021 TV lineup: everything you need to know
Compare that with the full Samsung 2021 TV line-up.
And take a look at what there is to offer in the Sony 2021 TV line-up too
We’re eagerly awaiting to hear official news about Android 12, Google’s next major update to its mobile operating system, and we might have gotten an early look at some big UI changes just last week, thanks to XDA Developers. But now, thanks again to XDA Developers, we might know something even more important: Android 12’s dessert name.
For years, Android releases were also identified with dessert names, and each year’s dessert started with the next sequential letter in the alphabet. Google deserted the dessert names in favor of numerals with Android 10, but the company reportedly still uses dessert names internally. Android 11’s dessert name was apparently Red Velvet Cake, for example. Android 12’s name? XDA Developers says that it’s Snow Cone.
Snow Cone is… fine. But if I’m being honest with you, I can’t think of the last time I’ve eaten a snow cone. And “Snow Cone” doesn’t immediately get my mouth watering like some of Google’s other classics, like “Ice Cream Sandwich”.
The skeleton crew at The Verge this fine Monday (it’s a federal holiday here in the US) felt we could do better. So we thought of 17 other dessert names that start with “S” that, in our opinion, would be more delectable names for Android 12:
S’mores
Salted Caramel
Saltwater Taffy
Sheet Cake
Sponge Cake
Strawberry Shortcake
Shortbread
Soufflé
Sundae
Sherbet
Soft Serve
Stracciatella
Sugar Cookie
Samoas
Snickerdoodle
Streusel
Stroopwafel
I hope you’re hungry after reading all those names, because I sure am.
Other recent reports may point to other new rumors about Android 12. According to XDA Developers, “we have learned that Google has internally dubbed some of its notification UI changes as the start of the ‘road to Material NEXT,’” which could suggest broader changes on the way for Google’s Material Design guidelines. There may also be changes to the pattern unlock UI, Quick Settings panel, and more in Android 12.
Google may be implementing a one-handed mode for Android 12, XDA Developers also reported. And Google might introduce a way for Pixel phones to check which way your head is facing to prevent rotating your screen when, for example, you’re lying sideways on your bed.
In 2021, Samsung will likely introduce a Galaxy Note Fan Edition. LetsGoDigital has designed a snow-white Galaxy Note 21 FE especially for Valentine’s Day.
We are already half-through February. The first high-end Samsung smartphones from 2021 went on sale last month, the Galaxy S21 series. Traditionally, it is now a matter of waiting till August before Samsung will introduce a new series of high-end models that will be placed within the Galaxy Note line-up. This year it is exactly 10 years ago that Samsung launched the Note series, but is there celebration?
Rumors have been circulating for years that Samsung wants to end the Note series. These phone models have increasingly come to resemble the other high-end models of the brand; the S-series. There was a time that the Galaxy Note was characterized by the largest screen, largest battery and of course the iconic S Pen.
But since Samsung introduced an Ultra model within the S series, all these unique features are no longer predestined for the Note series. For example, the S20 Ultra has a larger screen and a larger battery than the Note 20 Ultra. With the recently introduced S21 Ultra, Samsung went even a step further by making this device compatible with the famous S Pen. Now that the S Pen has entered the S series, the distinctive character of the Samsung Note model series has become nil.
Will there be a new Samsung Galaxy Note in 2021?
Samsung themselves completely deny that the Galaxy Note series has been discontinued. In December 2020, a Samsung official told Korean News Agency Yonhap, “We are preparing for a Galaxy Note series release for next year.” Afterwards, other publishers have also checked with Samsung. The Korean manufacturer is still be committed to the Note line-up, was the general answer.
As far as we are concerned, it is therefore inconceivable that Samsung will say goodbye to the famous Note line-up without releasing at least one last model. Perhaps this model will become a Fan Edition, made for the fans. Just like Samsung released a Galaxy S20 FE (Fan Edition) in September last year. This is the cheapest S-series model, a kind of Lite variant that offers a lot of value for money.
To give you a taste of how such a Note might look like, Italian graphic designer Giuseppe Spinelli, aka Snoreyn, has designed a phenomenal set of product images of a beautiful Samsung Galaxy Note 21 FE Phantom White edition. Because today is February 14, the renders are made in the spirit of Valentine’s Day.
The sales package is also slimmer compared to last year, because there is a good chance that no charger and no earplugs will be included. Samsung has already started this new trend with the introduction of the Galaxy S21 series. The pre-order sales of the three S-series models were significantly better than last year, so there seems to be little reason for Samsung to reconsider this decision.
Samsung Note 21 FE for the fans
Samsung has already developed a Fan Edition of the Note before. In 2017, the company released a Samsung Galaxy Note FE. It was a revised version of the recalled Note 7. A kind of refurbished copy, which was put on the market by Samsung at a greatly reduced price. This model was only released in South Korea.
In November last year, the Brazilian Samsung site made mention of a “Galaxy Note 20 FE”. This smartphone model was said to have a 6.5-inch screen. However, it is not inconceivable that this was a typo, as the listing was on the “Galaxy S20 FE” page. This model also has a 6.5 ”display. Display analyst Ross Young also reported a possible Note 20 FE on Twitter. Nevertheless, display analyst Ross Young also reported a possible Note 20 FE on Twitter last month.
Should Samsung indeed decide to develop a new Galaxy Note for the fans, it will likely be a relatively inexpensive model with high-end features. Logically, Samsung will choose to implement a flat display with a Full HD+ resolution, as is also the case with the Note 20 and S21. The hype about curved displays is over, if it is up to Samsung.
Although Chinese manufacturers are increasingly implementing curved screens – think, for example, of the quad-curved display of the Xiaomi Mi 11 – Samsung is actually going back to the basics. Many users find a flat display easier to operate than a rounded screen. Moreover, it is cheaper to produce, which in turn is beneficial for the selling price.
In addition, Samsung will probably opt for a plastic back. That sounds cheap, but it is also more durable and less fingerprint sensitive than glass. Moreover, many use a phone case, so you never actually see the back of your phone.
In addition, we hope that the new Note 21 FE will adopt the latest design features of the S21. We are of course talking about the renewed camera layout, with the camera module being merged with the frame on the side and top of the device.
Samsung S Pen for the Galaxy Note 21 Fan Edition
Samsung has never introduced a Note smartphone without a stylus pen. So you can assume that this stylus will be included again this year. Should a Galaxy Note 21 FE be introduced, it is likely that this model will also have a stylus compartment to store the stylus. This is not the case with the S21 Ultra, the S Pen is optional there. In addition, Samsung has designed covers with a stylus storage compartment.
Also in terms of functions there are now several S Pens in circulation. The Note 20 Ultra comes with an S Pen with an extra low latency of 9mm, making it feel like you’re writing with a regular pen. The stylus of the standard Note 20 has a slightly longer delay of about 26mm. This pen may be included with the Note 21 FE.
In any case, it seems out of the question that the new Note comes with the S Pen Pro. The Pro variant was announced for the S21 Ultra, but this stylus is significantly longer as the stylus is not stored in the phone itself. Due to this different design it is not logical that Samsung would include this pen with a possible Note 21 Fan Edition. The S Pen Pro does not only differ in terms of design, the Bluetooth functionality is also lacking with this stylus pen, meaning that the Remote functions are not accessible.
Logically, Samsung will also provide the device with the latest Android software. The S21 series, for example, runs on the Android 11 operating system combined with the One UI 3.1 user interface. The hardware may not be updated to keep the Note 21 FE affordable. After all, the 7nm Exynos 990 / Snapdragon 865 used in the Note 20 is also a very powerful chipset.
Much is still unclear regarding the battery capacity. This might be related to the size of the display. With the 6.7 ”Note 20, Samsung opted for a 4,300 mAh battery, which offers a reasonable battery life of about 10 – 11 hours. Should Samsung equip the Note 21 FE with a 6.5 ”display, a 4,100 mAh battery should sufficient to provide a comparable battery life. However, Samsung will probably choose to build in a slightly larger battery – as was the case with the acclaimed S20 FE.
Remarkably, a 65W travel adapter from Samsung was also certified earlier this year. For the time being, it remains unknown for which phone model this extremely fast charger is intended. It could of course be intended for the new Note, although it cannot be ruled out that Samsung will provide one of the new Galaxy Z foldable smartphones with 65W fast charging compatibility, such as the Galaxy Z Fold 3. In any case, we have also included this mysterious charger in our product renders.
Price & Availability
If Samsung keeps the same schedule as in previous years, it will take about half a year before the new Note 20 FE / Note 21 FE will be announced. We are still in the dark about the price. Last year, the Note 20 was significantly cheaper than its Ultra sibling, both in terms of specs and price. The base model was marketed for € 950 (4G) / € 1,050 (5G), while the Ultra 5G model was priced at € 1,300.
If Samsung will indeed release a Fan Edition, it might become a somewhat cheaper model. All the more because the prices of the already available models have dropped considerably in the meantime. At the time of writing, you can buy the Note 20 5G for € 790.
The suggested retail price of the Samsung Note 21 FE 5G may be comparable. In the coming months, more news will undoubtedly become known about Samsung’s Note line-up for 2021.
Note to editors :The product images shown in this publication are created by in-house designer Giuseppe Spinelli (aka Snoreyn). The presented concept renders are for illustrative purposes only. The images are copyright protected. Feel free to use the photos on your own website, please be so respectful to include a source link into your publication.
Facebook is building a smartwatch as part of its ongoing hardware efforts, according to a new report from The Information. The device is said to be an Android-based smartwatch, though the report does not say Facebook intends for the device to run Google’s Wear OS. It also says Facebook is working on building its own operating system for hardware devices and that future iterations of the wearable may run that software instead.
The smartwatch would have messaging, health, and fitness features, the report says, and would join Facebook’s Oculus virtual reality headsets and Portal video chat devices as part of the social network’s growing hardware ecosystem. Facebook is also working on branded Ray-Ban smart glasses to come out later this year as part of its ongoing Project Aria initiative, an augmented reality project the company has been working on for some time now. Facebook did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The social networking giant’s hardware ambitions are no secret. The company has more than 6,000 employees working on various augmented and virtual reality projects and as part of existing hardware divisions like Oculus and Portal, as well as on experimental initiatives under its Facebook Reality Labs division, Bloomberg reported last month. And although Facebook has not expressed a strong interest in health and fitness devices in the past, the company does have a track record in wearables with its Oculus headsets and its forthcoming smart glasses.
Facebook also acquired the neural interface startup CTRL-Labs in 2019. CTRL-Labs specialized in building wireless input mechanisms, including devices that could transmit electrical signals from the brain to computing devices without the need for traditional touchscreen or physical button inputs. The startup’s intellectual property and ongoing research may factor into whatever wearables Facebook builds in the future — including a smartwatch, smart glasses, or future Oculus headsets.
Microsoft’s Surface Duo is coming to the UK next week. On 18th February, the dual-screened smartphone will land in Britain as well as France, Germany and Canada.
UK buyers can pick one up from Currys PC World and direct from Microsoft for the princely sum of £1349. In France and Germany, it will cost €1,549.
In its native US, the Duo has had its price cut from $1399 to $999. There’s no word on whether this is a permanent price cut or if it’s just temporary. There’s also no sign of international buyers getting the same discount, unfortunately.
The Duo is the latest in a line of folding smartphones that open to the size of a small tablet. Some devices have been plagued by hardware and software issues and although the Surface Duo has been praised for its build quality in some quarters, its iffy software has led to a number of mixed reviews. Microsoft has gone some way to rectify this lately with a series of updates.
The Duo runs Google’s Android operating system, and its exterior is completely free of screens and camera bumps, making it a lot more elegant than most foldable phones. The hinge, in particular, has drawn plenty of praise.
Will it be enough to convince the public in these new territories to part with their cash? Perhaps, but a price cut similar to the one in the US could definitely help its cause…
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The ZH8 does a lot of things seriously well, but it makes less sense as a purchase than rival models from Samsung
For
Bright and punchy picture
Superb colours and motion
Impressive sound
Against
Blooming around bright highlights
Plays even less 8K than rivals
Missing some HDMI features
With the dearth of real 8K content likely to continue for a good while yet, manufacturers have an uphill battle to convince consumers that an 8K TV is a sensible purchase in the here and now.
With the ZH8, here reviewed as the 75-inch KD-75ZH8 model, Sony gets a huge amount right. This is one of the punchiest TVs we’ve tested, and one of the best-sounding too. It’s also aggressively priced for an 8K model, significantly undercutting our current Award-winner in the category.
That said, the ZH8 also lags a little behind its main rival in a couple of key areas, not least of which is its lack of support for the tiny amount of 8K footage that is actually already available.
Pricing
The Sony KD-75ZH8 (XBR-75Z8H in the US) was priced at £5999 ($7000) at launch, but you can now pick it up for £4999 ($4998).
Should you have the space and appetite for an even bigger 8K set, the 85in KD-85ZH8 (XBR-85Z8H) is currently available for £8499 ($9000).
Features
(Image credit: Future)
A 75in TV is always going to be a physically daunting proposition, but the Sony KD-75ZH8 is even more imposing than similarly sized rivals thanks to its chunky, industrial design. If you expect a high-end TV to be little more than a super-slim screen, you might be disappointed by the ZH8’s relatively thick bezels and 8.4cm depth – the Samsung QE75Q950TS is just 1.5cm deep. That said, there’s an undeniable stylishness to the Sony, its solidity, straight edges and pointy corners amounting to a seriously premium statement.
Sony KD-75ZH8 tech specs
(Image credit: Future / Greenland, Amazon Prime)
Screen type LCD w/ direct LED backlight
Resolution 8K
Operating system Android TV 9.0
HDR formats HDR10, Dolby Vision, HLG
HDMI x4
USB x3
Optical 1
It’s hard to imagine a pedestal stand that wouldn’t buckle under the 48kg weight of the ZH8, so it’s little surprise that Sony has opted for sturdy, low-profile feet instead. These look best when positioned at the bottom corners of the set, but a narrower placement is also an option. With this arrangement, the huge TV will stand on any furniture that’s at least 62cm wide – assuming it’s strong enough to take the 50kg weight with feet attached.
In the box, there are a number of plastic panels that can be attached to the rear of the set, concealing connections and creating an appealing chequerboard pattern. Those connections include four HDMIs, one of which is HDMI 2.1 certified. You might assume that means it has the full suite of advanced HDMI features, but that’s not the case: while the ZH8 supports 8K@60Hz, 4K@120Hz (also known as HFR) and eARC (Enhanced Audio Return Channel), VRR (Variable Refresh Rate) and ALLM (Auto Low Latency Mode) are missing. The absence of those last two features will be disappointing to next-gen gamers: the Xbox Series X makes use of both and the PS5 is due a VRR update in the not too distant future.
As is the norm for all but the most budget-oriented of Sony’s TVs, the ZH8 uses Android TV as its operating system. Android TV gets better with each iteration, and version 9 is no different. As with all Android TVs, the Android portion is installed over a more functional, core operating system, and it makes for a slightly more disjointed user experience than you get from the likes of Samsung and LG. The smart platform feels more like using an external source than it does a core component, for example. That said, Android TV brings bonuses such as Chromecast and Google Assistant (the set is also ‘Works with Alexa’ certified).
Android TV is already pretty well appointed in terms of apps, but Sony has also worked hard to fill any gaps. Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, Apple TV, Google Play Movies and Rakuten are all here, in at least HDR10 and most with Dolby Vision (the ZH8 doesn’t support HDR10+, as is the norm for Sony). For the UK, BBC iPlayer, ITV Hub, All 4, My5, Now TV and BT Sport are all present, too. On the music front, Spotify, Tidal and Deezer are integrated, and while Apple Music and Amazon Music aren’t, you can use Chromecast to cast music to the TV from those apps on your phone.
In terms of core technology, the ZH8 is an LCD set with a direct LED backlight, and it uses the Picture Processor X1 Ultimate chip, which is Sony’s most powerful processor until the 2021 Cognitive Processor XR makes its debut with the company’s 2021 TVs in a few months’ time. The headline features here are Object Based Super Resolution, which is designed to intelligently analyse and enhance the definition of individual objects in an image, and an enhanced version of Object Based HDR Remaster, which applies a similar approach to contrast.
Picture
(Image credit: Future / Greenland, Amazon Prime)
Naturally, you’ll want to watch 8K content on your new 8K TV, but that’s even harder to do on the ZH8 than it is with Samsung’s 8K TVs. The only commercially available 8K content out there is streamed by YouTube in the AV1 format, which the ZH8 doesn’t support. You may only be missing out on aerial footage of lovely landscapes, but the fact that the tiny amount of 8K content out there is unplayable on your expensive 8K TV is hugely irritating. What’s more, it raises questions about the extent to which the ZH8 is future-proofed: it looks increasingly likely that the AV1 format is the one that will be utilised for 8K by other streaming services, including Netflix.
We are able to watch 8K content on the ZH8 for this review by using a Sony-supplied media player containing a handful of demo clips. With these clips, the ZH8 puts in a stunning performance that’s so crisp, dynamic and lifelike that you feel you could step right into each scene. However, that’s not an experience you’re going to be able to recreate at home.
Instead, what really matters is how the ZH8 performs with the content you do have access to right now, with the priority being 4K HDR. We insert Blade Runner 2049, one of our most demanding 4K Blu-rays, into our player, and are immediately impressed with the results. What strikes you first about the ZH8’s performance is how punchy and bright it is, particularly in very high-contrast scenarios. Most TVs shy away from fully illuminating the white text that appears from the black background at the beginning of the film, for example, but the ZH8 has no such reservations – this could well be the brightest rendition of this scene-setting copy we’ve seen.
This extreme contrast capability translates well to the film as a whole. As K travels around LA on foot and by flying car, the neon signs and holographic adverts jump out of the depressing dinginess of the rest of the city.
The effectiveness of that punch is further enhanced by the depth of the blacks. It’s not quite OLED levels of perfect blackness, but the ZH8 gets much closer than most LCD TVs, while also proving a dab hand at digging up dark details: on top of that striking contrast, you get superbly subtle shadows, with next to nothing being lost to the gloom.
However, there’s a problem here, and that’s backlight blooming. There are quite obvious halos of light around very bright objects on very dark backgrounds, and light frequently creeps into the black bars at the top and bottom when you’re watching an ultra-widescreen film. It is enough to be distracting at times, which is the last thing you want when you’re trying to sink right into a movie.
(Image credit: Future / Greenland, Amazon Prime)
The ZH8 is also a little soft and flat in its performance compared with the Samsung QE75Q950TS, which upscales 4K content in such a way that you could almost be fooled into thinking you were watching 8K. The Sony isn’t capable of pulling off the same trick, and the image doesn’t leap from the screen in quite the same way.
That said, there’s a naturalism to the ZH8’s performance that few can match. Its edges aren’t as sharp as those of the Samsung Q950TS, but there’s a smoothness and subtlety to the presentation that’s utterly convincing. It’s significantly better with motion, too, smoothing and sharpening everything without any shimmer or unpleasant artificiality. Its rivals are closing the gap in this regard, but Sony remains out in front.
Arguably the greatest contributor to the ZH8’s naturalism is its colour reproduction. It is capable of stunning vibrancy, but it’s also superbly subtle and nuanced, delivering every character’s unique skin tone, every building’s interior lighting, and every neon sign with unquestionable authenticity. Others might entice the eye a little more effectively, but this Sony (like many of its siblings) delivers on the creator’s intent in a way that few can match.
Dropping down to Looper in 1080p, that overall authenticity remains a strength, and it’s actually sharper and more detailed than the Samsung Q950TS. That said, it’s a fair bit noisier, too, exaggerating the intentional film grain to a degree that some will find distracting. It can be toned down by reducing sharpness and/or increasing noise reduction, but doing so softens the picture too much for our tastes. The perfect balance feels just out of reach, but this is an issue that you’ll encounter only occasionally as few films these days have this level of grain.
Those qualities with Full HD content roughly translate when you switch to standard-definition material. We play our trusty Dirty Harry DVD and the performance is sharp and detailed, which is impressive when you consider the amount of picture information that the TV is creating itself. Again, it’s effortlessly natural and convincing, particularly in terms of colours, although there’s still more picture noise than you’ll get from rival models.
Sound
(Image credit: Future)
Sony has been much more creative than its rivals in recent years in terms of TV sound, most notably by turning the entire panel of its OLED models into a speaker. That feature, called Acoustic Surface Technology, isn’t possible with an LCD model such as the ZH8, but Sony has sought to recreate the effect (which it calls ‘Sound from Picture’) by using a couple of tweeters to vibrate the frame of the TV. These work in conjunction with two forward-facing drivers mounted at the bottom to make it seem as if the sound is coming directly from the screen, while two rear-mounted woofers fill out the presentation.
All that effort has paid off handsomely. The ZH8 is clear and direct in its presentation, with the sound and picture linked in a way that’s supremely engaging. This is no one-trick performance, though – the sound is also detailed and dynamic by the standards of a TV sound system, making for an overall delivery that’s both engaging and exciting.
Dolby Atmos is supported and, in conjunction with the Acoustic Auto Calibration feature, which tailors the audio performance to your room, gives appropriate soundtracks plenty of scope and scale without sacrificing that directness. Few if any TV-integrated sound systems can fill a room quite as effectively, while also clearly projecting dialogue.
You can even use the ZH8 as the centre speaker of a surround sound package, should you wish, using the standard speaker terminals on the rear of the set. We wouldn’t recommend that, though – while the ZH8 sounds mighty impressive for a TV, even the best AV amplifier will struggle to tonally integrate it with a set of traditional speakers.
Verdict
There’s so much that the ZH8 gets right, most notably its supremely authentic picture performance and very impressive sound, but we can’t give it our wholehearted recommendation.
8K TVs are already a hard sell, and the fact that the ZH8 won’t play the tiny amount of 8K content that’s already available is a real issue, not least because it raises doubts about its ability to play other 8K content that might appear in the future. What’s more, it doesn’t make use its extra pixels with 4K content the way that the rival Samsung Q950TS does.
As such, the ZH8 may as well be a 4K TV. Even viewed on those terms it’s almost worth the full five stars, but the high price and backlight blooming hold it back to a four.
System76 currently offers pre-built desktops, laptops, and servers meant to complement its Pop!_OS open source operating system. The company said in March 2020 that it would expand its lineup with a keyboard. On Wednesday, it offered more details about that peripheral in a public Git repository spotted by Phoronix.
We already knew that System76 wanted its first keyboard to be highly configurable and tightly integrated with Pop!_OS features like Auto-Tiling. Last year, the company also said it wanted to reimagine the keyboard’s basic layout to make common keys easier to reach, reducing wasted space by shrinking the spacebar, etc.
Now we’ve gotten a glimpse at what System76 has been working on for the last 11 months. The public Git repository showed that the Launch Configurable Keyboard is expected to feature an open source PCB, chassis, and firmware; swappable keycaps and switches; and an integrated dock with two USB-C and USB-A connectors.
System76 said the chassis would be constructed from milled aluminum, and Phoronix reported that it would be manufactured in Denver, Colorado. The company also said that “each pocket, port, and hole is designed and precisely machined so that swapping switches and plugging in cables is easy and secure for the user.”
That configurability is core to the Launch Configurable Keyboard’s design. (Which, given the name, shouldn’t come as a surprise.) System76 said the keyboard would ship with additional keycaps for greater customization and support for a utility called the System76 Keyboard Configurator meant to offer easy button remapping.
The ability to remap specific keys might prove critical because System76 made sweeping changes to the standard keyboard layout. Just look at this diagram:
(Image credit: System76)
The company said it plans to offer extra keys, a keycap puller, and a switch puller with each unit. The PCB will purportedly accept “any RGB switch with an MX-compatible footprint,” such as Cherry MX RGB or Kailh BOX switches, which should make it easy for mechanical switch enthusiast to use their preferred equipment.
Like the many of the best gaming keyboards, System76 said the Launch Configurable Keyboard would also offer independent RGB lighting for each key, n-key rollover support, plus a detachable lift bar that “can be magnetically secured to add 15 degrees of angle to your keyboard for ergonomics.”
We’re still missing two critical pieces of information: the Launch Configurable Keyboard’s launch date and price point. System76 originally said it expected to release the keyboard in the summer of 2020, but now that we’re a few months into 2021, it’s still unclear when the product will be available to purchase.
Are you old enough to remember the Rubik’s Cube? Well, SolidRun’s latest SBC, the Cubox-M, may just remind you of that 1980’s sensation. Announced today by SolidRun, the Cubox-M is a 2-inch cube SBC with either a dual- or quad-core Arm processor packaged into a compact and rather slick plastic enclosure, so there are no bare boards on display, unlike the Raspberry Pi.
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(Image credit: SolidRun)
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(Image credit: SolidRun)
Being just 2 inches cubed does not mean that the Cubox-M lacks power. The onboard NXP i.MX8M Plus Dual- / Quad-core Arm Cortex A53 can run at up to 1.8Ghz and features “an integrated neural processing unit for enhanced AI and machine learning capabilities at the edge” (per SolidRun’s press release).
Cubox-M comes with 4GB of LPDDR4-4000 RAM as standard, but this can be configured to up to 8GB of LPDDR4-4000, and given the size of the board, this is not user-configurable.
Boot media and storage are handled via 8GB eMMC flash storage, and a MicroSD slot is around the back. Due to the size of the Cubox-M, there’s a limited selection of ports. There are only two USB 3.0 ports and a single full-size HDMI 2.0 port providing up to 1080p at 60Hz. A Gigabit Ethernet port provides wired network connectivity,
and without any form of wireless connectivity, this is the only way to get online. Just under the USB 3.0 ports is what looks to be a micro USB port, but we have not found any documentation to indicate this port’s purpose. It could be a USB OTG port, or a means to flash a new operating system to the onboard eMMC storage.
What operating systems are supported? Well, at the time of launch, we are told that there is support for Linux Kernel 4.9 and above, so in theory, distributions such as Ubuntu, Fedora, Manjaro are compatible – but this remains to be seen. Android 11 is also compatible with Cubox-M.
The front of Cubox-M is relatively sparse, with just a power button on display. Still, there is an indicator LED and an infrared receiver for use with a remote control, which is available separately.
Power is provided via a 12V DC supply. Still, there is an optional Power over Ethernet upgrade, which means that Cubox-M can be embedded into a remote location without the need for a dedicated power supply.
The Cubox-M will retail for $99, and the POE upgrade will be from $120.
CBS All Access is set to transform into Paramount Plus on March 4th, but you won’t be able to watch it if you own a second- or third-generation Apple TV. The company announced that it won’t update its app for those devices when the streaming service relaunches next month, as spotted by MacRumors.
Image: MacRumors
The announcement makes CBS All Access / Paramount Plus the latest service to end support for the set-top box. YouTube announced that it will drop support starting next month, while HBO dropped the aging streaming boxes last year. The second-gen Apple TV is over a decade old (it launched in 2010), while the third-generation version was released in 2012, so it’s understandable that we’re starting to see a wave of deprecated apps.
Users will still be able to stream Paramount Plus to older Apple TVs using an iPad or iPhone, however, so they won’t be completely locked out of their content.
Unlike the more recent Apple TV models (starting from 2015 and onward), which feature modern software and an App Store that makes it simple for developers to continue to update their apps, the older Apple TV models generally only saw updates to individual streaming applications when Apple updated the entire operating system — an increasingly rare occurrence these days.
The sunsetting of the CBS app on older TVs isn’t the only change the Paramount Plus transition is causing: 9to5Mac also notes that the company no longer offers its discounted CBS All Access and Showtime bundle for Apple TV Plus subscribers.
Home security camera systems have exploded in popularity while decreasing in price over the past few years. For example, you could purchase a Ring Indoor Security Camera for around $60, but there are some drawbacks: first, vendors like Ring often charge a monthly fee to store your data and second, you might not want video and photos from inside your home being shared with a third party (in Ring’s case, Amazon) where strangers could potentially see them.
MotionEyeOS, a free open-source application, allows you to turn a Raspberry Pi with a camera into a home video monitoring system, where the photos and videos can either stay on your device (and home network) or, if you choose, be uploaded automatically to a cloud-storage service such as Google Drive or Dropbox.
In this tutorial, we will show you how to set up a Raspberry Pi security camera with MotionEyeOS. This software works with almost any Raspberry Pi (connected to the internet) and almost any webcam or Pi camera. There’s no fancy coding to be done in this project; it just works.
Here are a few of the cameras I’ve successfully used with MotionEye.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
This Raspberry Pi security camera can be used to record porch pirates, monitor children or pets or to watch out for burglars.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
Disclaimer: This article is provided with the intent for personal use. We expect our users to fully disclose and notify when they collect, use, and/or share data. We expect our users to fully comply with all national, state, and municipal laws applicable.
What You’ll Need
Raspberry Pi 4 or Raspberry Pi 3B+, or Raspberry Pi Zero W
8 GB (or larger) microSD card
Raspberry Pi Cam, HQ Camera, Infrared Camera, or webcam
Monitor/Power supply/Monitor/HDMI Cable (for your Raspberry Pi)
Your Windows or Mac computer.
Install MotionEyeOS
In this section, we will download MotionEyeOS, flash to a microSD card for our Raspberry Pi security camera, and set our WPA credentials.
1. Download the latest version of MotionEyeOS corresponding to the specific model of Raspberry Pi you are using from https://github.com/ccrisan/motioneyeos/releases
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(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
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2. Insert your microSD card into your computer to be read as a storage device.
3. Launch Raspberry Pi Imager. You can download the imager here if you don’t already have it installed on your computer.
4. Select “Use custom” for the Operating System.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
5. Select the motioneyeos version that you just downloaded. This should be a .img.xz file.
6. Select your microSD card under “SD Card.” Note that all data on your microSD card will be erased in the next step.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
7. Click “Write” in the Raspberry Pi imager. The ‘write’ process could take 1 to 2 minutes.
8. When the process completes, physically remove and then reinsert your microSD card. We do this because the software automatically ejects the microSD card when the process completes, but we need to add one file before the next step.
9. Create a new file named wpa_supplicant.conf with the following text, replacing “YOUR_NETWORK_NAME” and “YOUR_NETWORK_PASSWORD” with your information. A source code editor such as Atom works great for this purpose. WordPad and Notepad are not recommended to create this file as extra characters are added in the formatting process.
10. Save wpa_supplicant.conf to your microSD card. Eject your microSD card.
11. Insert your microSD card into your Raspberry Pi.
12. Connect your camera, monitor and power supply to your Raspberry Pi. Power up your Pi.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
13. Find your internal IP address on the Pi screen. In most cases your internal IP address will start with 192.168.x.x or 10.0.0.x. Alternatively, if you do not have access to a monitor, you can download Angry IP Scanner and find your IP address for your Motioneye Raspberry Pi. Look for “MEYE” to identify your MotionEye Pi.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
14. Enter your internal IP address into a browser window of your Windows or Mac computer. Alternatively, you could use a Chromebook or a tablet. At this point your Motioneye should start streaming.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
In most cases, the system will automatically stream from the attached camera. If no image comes up, the camera may be incompatible with the Raspberry Pi. For example, an HD webcam may be incompatible with the Raspberry Pi Zero, but will work with a Raspberry Pi 3. There may be some trial and error in this step. Interestingly, most older webcams (manufactured before the Pi) will work with Motioneye. Here’s an old Logitech Pro 9000 connected to a Pi Zero W with a 3D printed stand.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
Configuring MotionEye for Raspberry Pi Security Camera
In this section, we will perform a basic configuration of Motioneye and view our Raspberry Pi security camera video stream.
1. Click on the Profile icon near the top left within your browser menu to pull up the Login screen.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
2. Log in using the default credentials. The username is admin, and the password field should be blank.
3. Select your Time Zone from the dropdown menu in “Time Zone.” Click Apply. Motioneye will reboot which will take a few minutes. This step is important as each photo and video is timestamped.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
4. Motioneye detects motion when _% of frames change. The intent is to set your % low enough to pick up the movement you are tracking, but high enough to avoid recording a passing cloud. In most cases, this is achieved through trial and error. Start with your default 4% Frame Change Threshold and then move up until you reach your optimal setting.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
5. Click the down arrow to the right of “Still Images” to reveal the corresponding settings. Do the same for “Movies.” Set Capture Mode and Recording Mode to “Motion Triggered” and length of time to “Preserve Pictures” and “Movies.”
I have chosen “For One Week” since I’m only working with an 8GB microSD card. The photos saved locally will serve as a backup. You’ll save all of the photos to Google in a later step. Click Apply to save your changes.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
6. Set your Camera Name, Video Resolution, Frame Rate and other options in the “Video Device” section. Click Apply to save your changes.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
Viewing Raspberry Pi Security Camera Images / Video Locally
If you don’t wish to upload images to a third-party service such as Google Drive, you can view the images and/or videos) captured locally on your Raspberry Pi security camera. If you choose this method, the images will never leave your local network.
1. Click on the live camera feed and new icons will appear.
2. Click on the image icon to view images.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
3. Or Click on the “Play”button icon to view movies.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
Automatic Uploading to Google Drive (Optional)
In this step, we will configure our Raspberry Pi security camera to automatically upload all of the photos (and videos) taken to Google Drive. This method (with a couple of nuances) also works with Dropbox. Of course, you have to be comfortable with having your images in the cloud.
Most users create a separate Gmail account specifically for this purpose, to maximize free storage space from Google. Additionally, this will come in handy if you decide to enable email notifications in the next step.
1. Click the down arrow corresponding to “File Storage” in the main admin menu.
2. Toggle “Upload Media Files” to ON. This should automatically toggle “Upload Pictures” and “Upload Movies” to ON, but if not, hit ON.
3. Select Google Drive from the “Upload Service” dropdown menu.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
4. In your Google Drive, create a new folder for storing your photos and videos. I chose “PorchCam” for the name of my folder.
5. Enter “/” followed by your folder name for ‘Location.’
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
6. Click “Obtain Key” and accept associated permissions by clicking “Allow.”
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
7. Copy and paste the authorization code into your “Authorization Key” in Motioneye.
8. Click the “Test Service” button. If you don’t get an error message in Motioneye, then it was a success.
9. Go to your Google Drive folder and test your setup by pointing the camera at yourself and waving to the camera.
In this optional step, we will configure our MotionEye to automatically send us emails with attachments containing the photos our Raspberry Pi security camera has taken. It is highly recommended that you create a separate Gmail account specifically for this purpose. These instructions are specific to Gmail only.
1. Enable “Less Secure Apps” in your Gmail account.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
2. Expand “Motion Notifications” in Motioneye.
3. Toggle ON “Send An Email”
4. Enter your Email address, password.
SMTP Server = smtp.gmail.com
SMTP Port = 587
Use TLS – Toggle to On
Enter a value for “Attached Pictures Time Span”
5. Click the “Test Email” button.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
The first email is a text only email. Subsequent emails will contain attachments.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
Mobile App Access to Raspberry Pi Security Camera
MotionEye also features a mobile app for iOS and Android / Google Play stores. Keep in mind that the app will only work while you are on the same network as your Raspberry Pi (unless you enable port forwarding, which is not encouraged for security reasons).
(Pocket-lint) – Huami has been turning out various smartwatches that sit under its Amazfit brand, with the square-shape GTS 2 sitting at the top of its fashion watch category.
That GTS family also includes the cheaper GTS 2e and the GTS 2 Mini. If you want the best in terms of features and a stylish design then the GTS 2 is the one to look at.
Along with making some welcome changes in the design department, the GTS 2 also performs more like a smartwatch than the original GTS did, bringing smart assistants and a music player into the mix. But that’s also seen the price creep up, so does it warrant its worth?
Design & Display
Display: 1.65-inch, 348 x 442 resolution
Measures 42.8 x 35.6 x 9.7mm
Size options: 42mm only
5ATM waterproofing
Like the original GTS, the GTS 2 goes square – much like an Apple Watch – but you certainly wouldn’t mistake if for a Series 6 or an SE.
That doesn’t mean you don’t get an attractive smartwatch for your money, though. There are notable improvements with the materials used and the design of the display that gives the GTS 2 a more stylish look compared to its predecessor.
Pocket-lint
You’re getting a 42mm watch case with a matte titanium alloy used around the display, with plastic on the back where the sensors and charging points lie. That’s paired up with a removable 20mm silicone strap.
There’s the pick of black, grey or gold looks, which does mean you have fewer colour options to pick from than the first GTS, but you do still have that option to switch up things in the strap department if you prefer to go for an overall more formal watch look.
What has really elevated the look of the GTS 2 is its display, which is made from 3D curved glass that creates a more unified look with the watch case. Overall it just makes it feel like a much nicer watch to wear.
That screen measures in with the same 1.65-inches and offers the same resolution as the GTS and, again, it’s a really good quality display. It’s nice and responsive to swipes and taps, isn’t a fingerprint magnet, and offers great sharpness and colours. The viewing angles are strong too, plus there’s an always-on display mode option if you want that screen on full-time.
Pocket-lint
Away from using the touchscreen, there’s a solitary button that sits closer to the watch body to help create that more streamlined look. As a package it’s got the same 5ATM water resistant rating, which means it’s safe to swim and shower with it (as that rating is good for 50 metres depth).
While the first GTS definitely had a more sporty look and feel to it, that curved screen and titanium addition certainly makes the GTS 2 a more attractive proposition. It’s no Apple Watch, but it’s certainly a step in the right direction for the GTS range.
Software & Performance
Customizable watch faces
Works with Android and iOS
Once again, Huami is using its own operating system to run the software and doesn’t divulge details of the processor or components. The performance is satisfying on the whole, whether that’s getting around menu screens or putting its key features to work.
Pocket-lint
The software experience hasn’t dramatically changed over the first GTS. The selection of customisable watch faces have certainly been better optimised for that curved display and getting to menu screens or your notifications are done in the same manner. There’s widgets to show off elements like your daily activity stats and weather forecasts.
Best Garmin watch 2021: Fenix, Forerunner and Vivo compared
By Chris Hall
·
Huami’s smartwatches are generally very easy to get to grips with and that doesn’t really change with the GTS 2.
When you need to sync your data or tinker with settings you can’t access on the watch, you’ll now have to head to the Zepp companion app, which is a rebranded Amazfit app. Huami now owns Zepp, the sports tech brand that made its name using sports tracking sensors for baseball and golf.
Getting setup is pretty straightforward, especially if you take the QR code scanning route to pairing it with your phone. We used it with Oppo and Realme Android phones and didn’t have issues with syncing or pairing. While it’s a device you can use with iPhone too, pairing with an Android device will give you the optimal experience.
Pocket-lint
The two most important area of the app is the main Homepage where you can delve deeper into your health, fitness and exercise stats. The dedicated devices page is where you can adjust settings, such as notification support, set health monitoring modes, and get hold of more watch faces.
Sports & Fitness Tracking
GPS and Glonass satellite systems
Automatic exercise recognition
Built-in heart rate monitor
24/7 fitness tracking
Blood oxygen read
Like the GTS, the GTS 2 is well equipped as far as tracking your health, fitness and exercise. It has added a new improved heart rate sensor – BioTracker 2 PPG – and ramped up the number of sports with exercise recognition support also in tow.
Pocket-lint
On the sensor count, there’s GPS and GLONASS to accurately track outdoor activities, and the same motion sensors as included in the GTS. Huami’s new sensor can read blood oxygen (SpO2) levels – but that blood oxygen sensor, much like the one on Huawei, Garmin, Fitbit and Apple’s smartwatches, is not designed for medical purposes.
That sensor delivers resting heart rate, continuous monitoring, and heart rate during exercise. It also powers its PAI Health Assessment, which shifts the emphasis on raising your heart rate regularly as opposed to focusing on nailing your daily step counts.
There’s no 90 sports modes, which is significantly up from the 12 included on the GTS. That includes core sports like running, cycling and swimming (pool and open water), along with tracking support for skiing and climbing.
In terms of that tracking performance indoors and outdoors, accuracy definitely feels better suited to someone who has a more casual approach to fitness. Accuracy for things like GPS and heart rate feel better suited to steady paced workouts. As soon as you up the intensity, whether that’s running or riding for longer distances, those key sensors do have a tendency to falter. Heart rate testing against a Garmin HRM Pro heart rate chest strap monitor showed that the GTS 2’s sensor struggles to handle the sudden spikes and drops in heart rate with high intensity training.
Pocket-lint
It definitely does a better impression as a daily fitness tracker if you care mainly about steps, continuous heart rate monitoring and tracking sleep. Daily step counts were in the ballpark of the step counts we tracked on a Fitbit Sense and you’ll still get those inactivity alerts buzzing you to keep moving during the day.
For sleep, the GTS 2 posted similar sleep duration periods as the Sense and similar breakdowns of sleep stages, including REM sleep. There’s some nice additional insights and tips to improve sleep quality and is definitely one of the GTS 2’s strengths.
Smartwatch features
View notifications
Built-in music player
Offline voice assistant
Microphone and speaker
Phone calls over Bluetooth
The GTS was pretty light on smartwatch features, so thankfully that’s changed with the GTS 2.
Pocket-lint
You still have notifications that are still not actionable while multiple notifications from the same app can still bunch up as was the case on the GTS. There’s also weather forecasts, the ability to set alarms and access to music controls, with the latter accessible during workouts.
Huami has added in a microphone and speaker, which brings a collection of new features into the mix. It means you can now take phone calls when connected to your phone via Bluetooth. More interestingly is the introduction of a smart assistant that works without a data connection.
The new offline voice assistant will give you control of core watch features like turning settings on and off or to start a workout. The commands supported are all listed on the watch and the assistant can be woken up in a variety of ways including turning it on as soon as you raise your wrist. It’s an assistant that works well and is responsive to commands, making it a useful feature to have when you’ve got your hands full.
Pocket-lint
The other big feature is the built-in music player, giving you 3GB of storage to fit in roughly 300-600 songs. To get that music onto the watch, you’ll need to sync it over from the Zepp companion app. Currently, it only supports music you own and doesn’t work with any music streaming services. If you own a lot of music and it’s already piled onto your phone, then you’ll no doubt appreciate its inclusion as a feature. Hopefully though, Huami will add some streaming service support as well to make it even more useful.
Battery Life
Up to 20 days in basic watch mode
Up to 7 days in smartwatch mode
3.5 days in heavy usage
Huami has included a bigger 246mAh battery on the GTS 2, which is capable of giving you around a week of use in typical scenarios – and up to 20 days when you disable features like Bluetooth and heart rate monitoring. If you put features into play like the always-on display mode, that battery is likely to drop to around three days or so.
Pocket-lint
Based on our experience, you can get that week of use, but if you’re making use of all of those new features, it’s more likely to be a few days shorter than that. Features like continuous heart rate monitoring, advanced sleep monitoring, keeping the screen bright and having a steady stream of notifications, will see it fall short of that seven days. If you’re willing to compromise on what features are enabled, you can go further.
GPS tracking battery life is an impressive 25 hours, which betters a lot of more expensive GPS-packing smartwatches and sports watches. Putting that GPS to good use doesn’t horribly drain the battery either.
When you do hit zero there’s an identical charger to the one used on the GTS to get things powered back up. It takes 2.5 hours to get to 100 per cent, though, which certainly doesn’t make it the snappiest of chargers.
Verdict
While the first GTS offered great value for money at a price point where it stood up well against the competition, the GTS 2 is promising to be a better smartwatch – but a pricier one too.
It certainly steps things up in the looks department, while features such as the offline voice assistant is a great new addition. However, the music player is going to have limited appeal until it can partner up with some streaming services. And while fitness tracking is once again solid, you won’t get high-end accuracy for tracking sports and active heart rate.
All in all, the GTS 2 is a transformation for the series – and a decent one at that. But at the now elevated price point you’ll be able to find a more complete smartwatch experience elsewhere, which is why the original GTS scored better than this follow-up.
Also consider
Fitbit Versa 2
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While not its latest product, this watch offers richer music and notification features, plus all the great fitness tracking and health features you would expect from a Fitbit watch.
Read our review
Huawei Watch GT 2e
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Huawei offers a step up in sports tracking features and is capable of giving you weeks of battery life with its full gamut of features in play.
Corellium, a software company specializing in virtualization solutions, has managed to port Linux to an Apple M1-based PC and even succeeded in making almost all the system peripherals work. In the process, Corellium discovered several interesting details about Apple’s M1 processor and the system architecture.
A couple of weeks ago, we reported that a startup called Corellium had managed to run Linux on an Apple M1-based computer. Back then, the operating system ran, but it did not support many things, essentially making the PC unusable to a large degree. Recently the company finally managed to make most of the things (including Wi-Fi) work, which means that Linux can now be used on the latest Macs. But the whole project of running a non-Apple OS on such computers has an interesting side effect as it reveals how different Apple’s SoCs are compared to other Arm-based architectures.
Loads of Proprietary Technologies
It’s no secret that Apple has focused on building its own Arm-based microarchitectures to offer unbeatable performance with its iPhones and iPads for quite a while now. Unlike its rivals, the company did not throw in more cores, instead improving its cores’ single-core/single-thread performance. In addition to custom cores, Apple apparently uses a highly custom system architecture too, according to Corellium.
(Image credit: Apple)
When virtually all 64-bit Arm-based systems bootup, they call firmware through an interface called PSCI, but in the case of the M1, the CPU cores start at an address specified by an MMIO register and then start to run the kernel. Furthermore, Apple systems also use a proprietary Apple Interrupt Controller (AIC) that is not compatible with Arm’s standards. Meanwhile, the timer interrupts are connected to the FIQ, an obscure architectural feature primarily used on 32-bit Arm systems that is not compatible with Linux.
To make various processors in an M1-powered PC interact with each other, the OS has to provide a set of inter-processor interrupts (IPIs). Previously IPIs were handled just like traditional IRQs using MMIO accesses to the AIC, but in the case of the M1, Apple uses processor core registers to dispatch and acknowledge IPIsas they rely on FIQs.
Apple’s oddities do not end there. For example, Apple’s Wi-Fi/Bluetooth controller connects to the SoC using a non-standard PCIe-based protocol (which fortunately was supported by Corellium virtualization software). To make matters more complicated, Apple’s PCIe and the integrated Synopsys DWC3 USB controller use the company’s proprietary input–output memory management unit (IOMMU) called device address resolution table (DART). Furthermore, Apple’s I2C has a custom firmware that uses an exclusive protocol, which thwarted using the USB Type-A ports.
Complications
Using a proprietary system architecture is not something new for Apple, but it will make it much harder to port other operating systems to its platforms as well as running those OSes in virtualization mode. Recently a developer managed to make Microsoft’s upcoming Windows 10X run on an Apple M1-based system using QEMU virtualization, but this OS is not yet final, and it is unclear how stable it is. Furthermore, Windows 10X does not run Win32 apps, making it less valuable for some users.
Running Windows 10 or Linux on an Apple Mac may not be crucially important for most Mac owners. But a complicated system architecture featuring multiple proprietary technologies will likely make it harder to develop certain kinds of software and hardware for Arm-based Macs.
Mass Effect’s Legendary Edition remaster just got its release date set for May 14th, and the community is hard at work pulling every detail out of EA that the studio will let out into the wild. Among those uncovered details are the trilogy’s system requirements, and suffice it to say, it’s the much-needed break our systems need.
EA published the following system requirements:
Mass Effect Legendary Edition Minimum PC Requirements:
Operating System: 64-bit Windows 10
CPU: Intel Core i5 3570 or AMD FX-8350
Memory: 8 GB System Memory
GPU: NVIDIA GTX 760, AMD Radeon 7970 / R9280X
GPU Memory: 2 GB Video Memory
Storage: At least 120 GB of free space
Mass Effect Legendary Edition Recommended PC Requirements:
Operating System: 64-bit Windows 10
CPU: Intel Core i7-7700 or AMD Ryzen 7 3700X
Memory: 16 GB System Memory
GPU: NVIDIA GTX 1070, AMD Radeon Vega 56.
GPU Memory: 4 GB Video Memory
Storage: At least 120 GB of free space
These requirements aren’t steep, which is much appreciated in a day and age where games are becoming increasingly taxing on our systems — in a time when it’s nearly impossible to get your hands on a powerful graphics card for any reasonable amount of money.
Although nobody gets away with less than 120GB of free space, a good experience can be had with modest graphics cards and old CPUs. Better hardware will, of course, help you make the most out of the unlocked framerate, though. EA is upping the textures to be 4K ready, and 21:9 support is also being added for fans of ultrawide displays.
Of course, none of this is all too surprising. The studio decided that Mass Effect Legendary Edition was best remastered on the Unreal Engine 3 the original games were built on. Using UE4 would have required a full remake instead of a polishing up become far too big a task. As a result, it’s Mass Effect 1 that will benefit most from the remastering process.
Meanwhile, although the intention was for all DLC to be included with the Legendary Edition trilogy, Mass Effect 1’s Pinnacle Station DLC won’t make the cut. The reason here is simple: the original source code wasn’t backed up properly and is now corrupted, and remaking the DLC isn’t within the scope of work EA was able to put into the project.
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