Researchers from two universities have discovered several new variants of Spectre exploits that affect all modern processors from AMD and Intel with micro-op caches. Existing Spectre mitigations do not protect the CPUs against potential attacks that use these vulnerabilities. Meanwhile, researchers believe that mitigating these vulnerabilities will cause more significant performance penalties than the fixes for previous types of Spectre exploits. However, it remains unknown how easy these vulnerabilities are to exploit in the real world, so the danger may be limited to directed attacks.
Three New Types of Potential Spectre Attacks
Scholars from the University of Virginia and University of California San Diego have published a paper describing three new types of potential Spectre attacks using vulnerabilities of micro-op caches (thanks Phoronix for the tip). The team of researchers led by Ashish Venkat discovered that hackers can potentially steal data when a CPU fetches commands from the micro-op cache. Since all modern processors from AMD (since 2017) and Intel (since 2011) use micro-op caches, all of them are prone to a hypothetical attack.
The document lists three new types of potential attacks:
A same thread cross-domain attack that leaks secrets across the user- kernel boundary;
A cross-SMT thread attack that transmits secrets across two SMT threads running on the same physical core, but different logical cores, via the micro-op cache;
Transient execution attacks that have the ability to leak an unauthorized secret accessed along a misspeculated path, even before the transient instruction is dispatched to execution.
Fixes Going to Hurt
Both AMD and Intel had been informed about the vulnerabilities in advance, but so far, no microcode updates or OS patches have been released. In fact, the researchers believe that since potential attacks must use mitigations in extremely low-level caches, it will be impossible to fix the weaknesses without severe performance impacts.
The document describes several ways to mitigate the vulnerabilities.
One of the ways is to flush the micro-op cache at domain crossings, but since modern CPUs need to flush the Instruction Translation Lookaside Buffer (iTLB) to flush the micro-op cache, frequent flushing of both will ‘lead to heavy performance consequences, as the processor can make no forward progress until the iTLB refills.’
The second way is to partition micro-op caches based on privileges. However, as the number of protection domains increase, such partitioning would translate into heavy underutilization of the micro-op cache, removing much of its performance advantages.
Yet another way is to implement a performance counter-based monitoring that detects anomalies, but the technique is prone to misclassification errors, whereas frequent probing leads to significant performance degradation.
Low Risk?
One thing to keep in mind is that exploiting micro-ops cache vulnerabilities is extremely tricky as such malware will have to bypass all other software and hardware security measures that modern systems have and then execute a very specific type of attack that is unconventional, to say the least. To that end, chances that the new Spectre vulnerabilities will lead to widespread wrongdoings are rather low. Instead, they could be used for specific targeted attacks from sophisticated players, like nation-states.
The University of Minnesota’s path to banishment was long, turbulent, and full of emotion
On the evening of April 6th, a student emailed a patch to a list of developers. Fifteen days later, the University of Minnesota was banned from contributing to the Linux kernel.
“I suggest you find a different community to do experiments on,” wrote Linux Foundation fellow Greg Kroah-Hartman in a livid email. “You are not welcome here.”
How did one email lead to a university-wide ban? I’ve spent the past week digging into this world — the players, the jargon, the university’s turbulent history with open-source software, the devoted and principled Linux kernel community. None of the University of Minnesota researchers would talk to me for this story. But among the other major characters — the Linux developers — there was no such hesitancy. This was a community eager to speak; it was a community betrayed.
The story begins in 2017, when a systems-security researcher named Kangjie Lu became an assistant professor at the University of Minnesota.
Lu’s research, per his website, concerns “the intersection of security, operating systems, program analysis, and compilers.” But Lu had his eye on Linux — most of his papers involve the Linux kernel in some way.
The Linux kernel is, at a basic level, the core of any Linux operating system. It’s the liaison between the OS and the device on which it’s running. A Linux user doesn’t interact with the kernel, but it’s essential to getting things done — it manages memory usage, writes things to the hard drive, and decides what tasks can use the CPU when. The kernel is open-source, meaning its millions of lines of code are publicly available for anyone to view and contribute to.
Well, “anyone.” Getting a patch onto people’s computers is no easy task. A submission needs to pass through a large web of developers and “maintainers” (thousands of volunteers, who are each responsible for the upkeep of different parts of the kernel) before it ultimately ends up in the mainline repository. Once there, it goes through a long testing period before eventually being incorporated into the “stable release,” which will go out to mainstream operating systems. It’s a rigorous system designed to weed out both malicious and incompetent actors. But — as is always the case with crowdsourced operations — there’s room for human error.
Some of Lu’s recent work has revolved around studying that potential for human error and reducing its influence. He’s proposed systems to automatically detect various types of bugs in open source, using the Linux kernel as a test case. These experiments tend to involve reporting bugs, submitting patches to Linux kernel maintainers, and reporting their acceptance rates. In a 2019 paper, for example, Lu and two of his PhD students, Aditya Pakki and Qiushi Wu, presented a system (“Crix”) for detecting a certain class of bugs in OS kernels. The trio found 278 of these bugs with Crix and submitted patches for all of them — the fact that maintainers accepted 151 meant the tool was promising.
On the whole, it was a useful body of work. Then, late last year, Lu took aim not at the kernel itself, but at its community.
In “On the Feasibility of Stealthily Introducing Vulnerabilities in Open-Source Software via Hypocrite Commits,” Lu and Wu explained that they’d been able to introduce vulnerabilities into the Linux kernel by submitting patches that appeared to fix real bugs but also introduced serious problems. The group called these submissions “hypocrite commits.” (Wu didn’t respond to a request for comment for this story; Lu referred me to Mats Heimdahl, the head of the university’s department of computer science and engineering, who referred me to the department’s website.)
The explicit goal of this experiment, as the researchers have since emphasized, was to improve the security of the Linux kernel by demonstrating to developers how a malicious actor might slip through their net. One could argue that their process was similar, in principle, to that of white-hat hacking: play around with software, find bugs, let the developers know.
But the loudest reaction the paper received, on Twitter and across the Linux community, wasn’t gratitude — it was outcry.
“That paper, it’s just a lot of crap,” says Greg Scott, an IT professional who has worked with open-source software for over 20 years.
“In my personal view, it was completely unethical,” says security researcher Kenneth White, who is co-director of the Open Crypto Audit Project.
The frustration had little to do with the hypocrite commits themselves. In their paper, Lu and Wu claimed that none of their bugs had actually made it to the Linux kernel — in all of their test cases, they’d eventually pulled their bad patches and provided real ones. Kroah-Hartman, of the Linux Foundation, contests this — he told The Verge that one patch from the study did make it into repositories, though he notes it didn’t end up causing any harm.
Still, the paper hit a number of nerves among a very passionate (and very online) community when Lu first shared its abstract on Twitter. Some developers were angry that the university had intentionally wasted the maintainers’ time — which is a key difference between Minnesota’s work and a white-hat hacker poking around the Starbucks app for a bug bounty. “The researchers crossed a line they shouldn’t have crossed,” Scott says. “Nobody hired this group. They just chose to do it. And a whole lot of people spent a whole lot of time evaluating their patches.”
“If I were a volunteer putting my personal time into commits and testing, and then I found out someone’s experimenting, I would be unhappy,” Scott adds.
Then, there’s the dicier issue of whether an experiment like this amounts to human experimentation. It doesn’t, according to the University of Minnesota’s Institutional Review Board. Lu and Wu applied for approval in response to the outcry, and they were granted a formal letter of exemption.
The community members I spoke to didn’t buy it. “The researchers attempted to get retroactive Institutional Review Board approval on their actions that were, at best, wildly ignorant of the tenants of basic human subjects’ protections, which are typically taught by senior year of undergraduate institutions,” says White.
“It is generally not considered a nice thing to try to do ‘research’ on people who do not know you are doing research,” says Kroah-Hartman. “No one asked us if it was acceptable.”
That thread ran through many of the responses I got from developers — that regardless of the harms or benefits that resulted from its research, the university was messing around not just with community members but with the community’s underlying philosophy. Anyone who uses an operating system places some degree of trust in the people who contribute to and maintain that system. That’s especially true for people who use open-source software, and it’s a principle that some Linux users take very seriously.
“By definition, open source depends on a lively community,” Scott says. “There have to be people in that community to submit stuff, people in the community to document stuff, and people to use it and to set up this whole feedback loop to constantly make it stronger. That loop depends on lots of people, and you have to have a level of trust in that system … If somebody violates that trust, that messes things up.”
After the paper’s release, it was clear to many Linux kernel developers that something needed to be done about the University of Minnesota — previous submissions from the university needed to be reviewed. “Many of us put an item on our to-do list that said, ‘Go and audit all umn.edu submissions,’” said Kroah-Hartman, who was, above all else, annoyed that the experiment had put another task on his plate. But many kernel maintainers are volunteers with day jobs, and a large-scale review process didn’t materialize. At least, not in 2020.
On April 6th, 2021, Aditya Pakki, using his own email address, submitted a patch.
There was some brief discussion from other developers on the email chain, which fizzled out within a few days. Then Kroah-Hartman took a look. He was already on high alert for bad code from the University of Minnesota, and Pakki’s email address set off alarm bells. What’s more, the patch Pakki submitted didn’t appear helpful. “It takes a lot of effort to create a change that looks correct, yet does something wrong,” Kroah-Hartman told me. “These submissions all fit that pattern.”
So on April 20th, Kroah-Hartman put his foot down.
“Please stop submitting known-invalid patches,” he wrote to Pakki. “Your professor is playing around with the review process in order to achieve a paper in some strange and bizarre way.”
Maintainer Leon Romanovsky then chimed in: he’d taken a look at four previously accepted patches from Pakki and found that three of them added “various severity” security vulnerabilities.
Kroah-Hartman hoped that his request would be the end of the affair. But then Pakki lashed back. “I respectfully ask you to cease and desist from making wild accusations that are bordering on slander,” he wrote to Kroah-Hartman in what appears to be a private message.
Kroah-Hartman responded. “You and your group have publicly admitted to sending known-buggy patches to see how the kernel community would react to them, and published a paper based on that work. Now you submit a series of obviously-incorrect patches again, so what am I supposed to think of such a thing?” he wrote back on the morning of April 21st.
Later that day, Kroah-Hartman made it official. “Future submissions from anyone with a umn.edu address should be default-rejected unless otherwise determined to actually be a valid fix,” he wrote in an email to a number of maintainers, as well as Lu, Pakki, and Wu. Kroah-Hartman reverted 190 submissions from Minnesota affiliates — 68 couldn’t be reverted but still needed manual review.
It’s not clear what experiment the new patch was part of, and Pakki declined to comment for this story. Lu’s website includes a brief reference to “superfluous patches from Aditya Pakki for a new bug-finding project.”
What is clear is that Pakki’s antics have finally set the delayed review process in motion; Linux developers began digging through all patches that university affiliates had submitted in the past. Jonathan Corbet, the founder and editor in chief of LWN.net, recently provided an update on that review process. Per his assessment, “Most of the suspect patches have turned out to be acceptable, if not great.” Of over 200 patches that were flagged, 42 are still set to be removed from the kernel.
Regardless of whether their reaction was justified, the Linux community gets to decide if the University of Minnesota affiliates can contribute to the kernel again. And that community has made its demands clear: the school needs to convince them its future patches won’t be a waste of anyone’s time.
What will it take to do that? In a statement released the same day as the ban, the university’s computer science department suspended its research into Linux-kernel security and announced that it would investigate Lu’s and Wu’s research method.
But that wasn’t enough for the Linux Foundation. Mike Dolan, Linux Foundation SVP and GM of projects, wrote a letter to the university on April 23rd, which The Verge has viewed. Dolan made four demands. He asked that the school release “all information necessary to identify all proposals of known-vulnerable code from any U of MN experiment” to help with the audit process. He asked that the paper on hypocrite commits be withdrawn from publication. He asked that the school ensure future experiments undergo IRB review before they begin, and that future IRB reviews ensure the subjects of experiments provide consent, “per usual research norms and laws.”
Two of those demands have since been met. Wu and Lu have retracted the paper and have released all the details of their study.
The university’s status on the third and fourth counts is unclear. In a letter sent to the Linux Foundation on April 27th, Heimdahl and Loren Terveen (the computer science and engineering department’s associate department head) maintain that the university’s IRB “acted properly,” and argues that human-subjects research “has a precise technical definition according to US federal regulations … and this technical definition may not accord with intuitive understanding of concepts like ‘experiments’ or even ‘experiments on people.’” They do, however, commit to providing more ethics training for department faculty. Reached for comment, university spokesperson Dan Gilchrist referred me to the computer science and engineering department’s website.
Meanwhile, Lu, Wu, and Pakki apologized to the Linux community this past Saturday in an open letter to the kernel mailing list, which contained some apology and some defense. “We made a mistake by not finding a way to consult with the community and obtain permission before running this study; we did that because we knew we could not ask the maintainers of Linux for permission, or they would be on the lookout for hypocrite patches,” the researchers wrote, before going on to reiterate that they hadn’t put any vulnerabilities into the Linux kernel, and that their other patches weren’t related to the hypocrite commits research.
Kroah-Hartman wasn’t having it. “The Linux Foundation and the Linux Foundation’s Technical Advisory Board submitted a letter on Friday to your university,” he responded. “Until those actions are taken, we do not have anything further to discuss.”
Photo by Glen Stubbe / Star Tribune via Getty Images
From the University of Minnesota researchers’ perspective, they didn’t set out to troll anyone — they were trying to point out a problem with the kernel maintainers’ review process. Now the Linux community has to reckon with the fallout of their experiment and what it means about the security of open-source software.
Some developers rejected University of Minnesota researchers’ perspective outright, claiming the fact that it’s possible to fool maintainers should be obvious to anyone familiar with open-source software. “If a sufficiently motivated, unscrupulous person can put themselves into a trusted position of updating critical software, there’s honestly little that can be done to stop them,” says White, the security researcher.
On the other hand, it’s clearly important to be vigilant about potential vulnerabilities in any operating system. And for others in the Linux community, as much ire as the experiment drew, its point about hypocrite commits appears to have been somewhat well taken. The incident has ignited conversations about patch-acceptance policies and how maintainers should handle submissions from new contributors, across Twitter, email lists, and forums. “Demonstrating this kind of ‘attack’ has been long overdue, and kicked off a very important discussion,” wrote maintainer Christoph Hellwig in an email thread with other maintainers. “I think they deserve a medal of honor.”
“This research was clearly unethical, but it did make it plain that the OSS development model is vulnerable to bad-faith commits,” one user wrote in a discussion post. “It now seems likely that Linux has some devastating back doors.”
Corbet also called for more scrutiny around new changes in his post about the incident. “If we cannot institutionalize a more careful process, we will continue to see a lot of bugs, and it will not really matter whether they were inserted intentionally or not,” he wrote.
And even for some of the paper’s most ardent critics, the process did prove a point — albeit, perhaps, the opposite of the one Wu, Lu, and Pakki were trying to make. It demonstrated that the system worked.
Eric Mintz, who manages 25 Linux servers, says this ban has made him much more confident in the operating system’s security. “I have more trust in the process because this was caught,” he says. “There may be compromises we don’t know about. But because we caught this one, it’s less likely we don’t know about the other ones. Because we have something in place to catch it.”
To Scott, the fact that the researchers were caught and banned is an example of Linux’s system functioning exactly the way it’s supposed to. “This method worked,” he insists. “The SolarWinds method, where there’s a big corporation behind it, that system didn’t work. This system did work.”
“Kernel developers are happy to see new tools created and — if the tools give good results — use them. They will also help with the testing of these tools, but they are less pleased to be recipients of tool-inspired patches that lack proper review,” Corbet writes. The community seems to be open to the University of Minnesota’s feedback — but as the Foundation has made clear, it’s on the school to make amends.
“The university could repair that trust by sincerely apologizing, and not fake apologizing, and by maybe sending a lot of beer to the right people,” Scott says. “It’s gonna take some work to restore their trust. So hopefully they’re up to it.”
The Raspberry Pi Foundation released its Sense HAT add on back in 2015 and yet this board remains one of the best Raspberry Pi HATs, because it still packs a full scientific platform and an 8×8 RGB LED matrix for a little fun in your Raspberry Pi projects. The Sense HAT is packed with sensors for temperature, humidity, acceleration, orientation and air pressure. Plus we have a great RGB LED matrix and a joystick that can be used in our projects.
To control the Sense HAT we used Python, but we can also use Scratch and Node-RED. Sense HAT was developed alongside a project called AstroPi which saw two Raspberry Pi B+ boards being sent to the International Space Station. These two Pis had their own Sense HAT boards, official Pi cameras and a custom designed aluminium case designed to protect and cool the Pis in space. Projects written by children across the world were run on those two Raspberry Pis and that project still exists today and you can take part via their website https://astro-pi.org/
In this tutorial we shall introduce the board, show text on the LED matrix and learn how to read accelerometer data for a classic game of chance.
For this project you will need
Any Raspberry Pi that has 40 GPIO pins
A SenseHAT
Raspberry Pi OS on a microSD card
If you have never set up a Raspberry Pi before, see our articles on how to set up a Raspberry Pi for the first time or how to do a headless Raspberry Pi install, which doesn’t require a keyboard, mouse or screen.
Connecting the Sense HAT To a Raspberry Pi
Connecting a Sense HAT to the Raspberry Pi is simple. With the Raspberry Pi powered off, connect the Sense HAT to all of the GPIO pins, ensuring that the Sense HAT perfectly overlaps the Raspberry Pi.
Use the included stand offs to securely mount the SenseHAT. Now attach your keyboard, mouse, HDMI, micro SD and finally power to boot the Raspberry Pi to the desktop. As we are using the latest version of Raspberry Pi OS, we do not need to install any software or Python packages.
Writing a Hello World Program with Sense HAT
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
The first project with any new piece of tech or software is “Hello World”. It proves that our kit is working, and that everything is ready for us to move further. The first project is a simple scrolling message you program in your preferred Python editor: Thonny, IDLE, Mu or a text editor. Create a new file and call it text_scroll.py. Remember to save often!
1. Import the SenseHat class from the sense_hat module, then create an object, “sense” for easy use of the module.
from sense_hat import SenseHat
sense = SenseHat()
2. Create two objects to store the RGB color values for red and white. These objects are tuples, data storage structures which can be created and destroyed but never updated. These tuples store the RGB color values for a particular colour in a format that Sense() expects.
red = (255, 0, 0)
white = (255, 255, 255)
3. Create a variable to store a message that will scroll across the screen.
message = "Hello World"
4. Create an exception handler and loop. The handler will try to run the code indented within, and the loop will continuously run project code.
try:
while True:
5. Inside of the loop, use the show_message function to print the message to the screen. In this case it will scroll “Hello World”, the color of the text will be red, set via the tuple. The background color is white, again set via the tuple. The scroll speed is set to 0.1, slow enough to be read. Note that the spelling of color is UK English.
6. Outside of the loop, create an exception, in this case a KeyboardInterrupt. When the user presses CTRL + C it will stop the code, and clear the LED matrix of the Sense HAT.
except KeyboardInterrupt:
sense.clear()
The code for this project should look like this.
from sense_hat import SenseHat
sense = SenseHat()
red = (255, 0, 0)
white = (255, 255, 255)
message = "Hello World"
try:
while True:
sense.show_message(message, text_colour=red, back_colour=white, scroll_speed=0.1)
except KeyboardInterrupt:
sense.clear()
7. Save the code and run via your Python editor. Thonny and Mu have a run / play button. IDLE uses F5 or via the Run menu. “Hello World” should now scroll across the LED matrix. When finished, press CTRL + C to clear the matrix.
Magic 8 Ball on Raspberry Pi
The Magic 8 Ball is a classic game. We ask a question out loud, then shake the 8 ball. In a few seconds a message floats to a viewing portal, ready to read. With the Sense HAT we can make a modern day version which uses raw data from the accelerometer to determine that it has been shook.
Create a new Python project in your favourite editor, call the project 8ball.py and remember to save often.
1. Import the SenseHat class from the sense_hat module, then import the choice function from the random module. Next create an object, “sense” for easy use of the module.
from sense_hat import SenseHat
from random import choice
sense = SenseHat()
2. Create two objects to store the RGB color values for red and white. These objects are tuples, data storage structures which can be created and destroyed but never updated. These tuples store the RGB colour values for a particular colour in a format that Sense() expects.
red = (255, 0, 0)
white = (255, 255, 255)
3. Create a list, “answers” that stores five text strings that are the answers to our eager player’s questions. Lists are what is known as arrays in other programming languages. A list stores data using an index which starts at zero. The first item in a list is at position zero, and subsequent items have their own numerical position. Lists can be created, destroyed and updated.
answers = ["Not likely","Chances are slim","Maybe","Quite possibly","Certainly"]
4. Create an exception handler and loop. The handler will try to run the code indented within, and the loop will continuously run project code.
try:
while True:
5. Create an object, “acceleration” which is used to get raw accelerometer data from the Sense HAT’s onboard accelerometer.
acceleration = sense.get_accelerometer_raw()
6. Create three variables, x,y,z to store the raw accelerometer data for each axis.
x = acceleration['x']
y = acceleration['y']
z = acceleration['z']
7. Using abs() we can update the variables x,y,z to store an absolute value that ignores if the value is positive or negative. The values stored inside the variables x,y,z can be positive or negative values, it all depends on the orientation of the Sense HAT. Our code will not need to understand negative numbers, just that the numbers can go over a threshold that will trigger the answers to appear.
x = abs(x)
y = abs(y)
z = abs(z)
8. Create a simple conditional test that checks the value stored inside the three variables x,y,z and if any of the values are greater than 1 then the indented line of code is run.
if x > 1 or y > 1 or z > 1:
9. Using the show_message function, employ the choice function to randomly select a string from the list “answers”. This is scrolled across the LED matrix with red text, and a white background. The background colors are set using the red and white tuples we earlier created.
10. Use an else condition to clear the LED matrix when the Sense HAT has not been shook.
else:
sense.clear()
11. Create an exception, in this case a KeyboardInterrupt. When the user presses CTRL + C it will stop the code, and clear the LED matrix of the Sense HAT.
except KeyboardInterrupt:
sense.clear()
The code for this project should look like this.
from sense_hat import SenseHat
from random import choice
sense = SenseHat()
red = (255, 0, 0)
white = (255,255,255)
answers = ["Not likely","Chances are slim","Maybe","Quite possibly","Certainly"]
try:
while True:
acceleration = sense.get_accelerometer_raw()
x = acceleration['x']
y = acceleration['y']
z = acceleration['z']
x = abs(x)
y = abs(y)
z = abs(z)
if x > 1 or y > 1 or z > 1:
sense.show_message(choice(answers), text_colour=red, back_colour=white, scroll_speed=0.05)
else:
sense.clear()
except KeyboardInterrupt:
sense.clear()
12. Save and run the code. Pick up the Sense HAT and give it a little shake. The answer to your questions is now but a shake away.
This article originally appeared in an issue of Linux Format magazine.
G-Technology’s ArmorLock Encrypted NVMe SSD is ready for almost any condition or abuse and comes with secure, always-on 256-bit AES-XTS hardware encryption.
For
+ Competitive 10 Gbps performance
+ AES-XTS 256-bit hardware encryption
+ Rugged design
+ 5-year warranty
Against
– Single 2TB capacity
– Bulky size
– Costly
Features and Specifications
By leveraging your phone’s biometrics, such as touch or FaceID, G-Technology’s ArmorLock Encrypted NVMe SSD makes passwords a thing of the past in an attempt to remove the most common inconvenience when it comes to data security — entering a password. The ArmorLock Encrypted NVMe SSD is a secure portable storage solution with fast, consistent performance of up to 1 GBps of sequential read/write throughput that keeps your data safe with always-on 256-bit AES-XTS hardware encryption. Plus, it carries robust abuse ratings that ensure it will maintain reliability in the toughest conditions, perfect for those adventurous types.
Data security is becoming more important for a large swath of users, from creators in the media and entertainment industry to professionals in finance, government, healthcare, IT enterprise, and legal fields. Password protection backed by AES 256-bit encryption is the norm for those who need to ensure the data they have remains locked down and secure. Ranging from a simple password manager launching within the host OS to alphanumeric keypads with PIN protection and even fingerprint scanners, we have seen quite a few ways of unlocking password-protected storage devices over the years. Unlocking your secure storage with only a phone app seems convenient; let’s put it to the test.
Specifications
Product
ArmorLock Encrypted NVMe SSD 2TB
Pricing
$499.99
Capacity (User / Raw)
Interface / Protocol
USB-C / USB 3.2 Gen 2
Included
USB Type-C & USB Type-C to USB Type-A
Sequential Read
1,000 MBps
Sequential Write
1,000 MBps
Interface Controller
ASMedia ASM2362
NAND Controller
WD Architecture
DRAM
DDR4
Storage Media
WD 96L TLC
Power
Bus-powered
Endurance
IP55 water-dust resistant
2-meter drop protection
1,000 lbs. crush resistant
Security
AES-XTS 256-bit hardware encryption
Dimensions (L x W x H)
134 x 82 x 19 mm
Weight
200 g
Part Number
0G10484-1
Warranty
5-Years
G-Technology’s ArmorLock Encrypted NVMe SSD is available in just one 2TB model priced at $400. The SSD delivers up to 1,000 MBps of sequential throughput. Unlike most consumer-grade SSDs, the ArmorLock NVMe SSD’s write performance won’t significantly degrade below its rated performance under high abuse. Of course, that is assuming that it is connected to a compliant USB 3.2 Gen 2 port. The company backs it with a long five-year warranty for peace of mind, too.
Software & Accessories
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
G-Technology includes two twelve-inch USB cables, one Type-C, and one Type-A to Type-C, with the ArmorLock Encrypted NVMe SSD.
ArmorLock App
You configure and manage the device through the company’s ArmorLock app, available on both the App Store and Google Play Store. Not only does the app enable firmware updates, formatting, and even secure erasing the device, but it can also track the last known location of the SSD and simplifies multi-user and multi-drive management. You cannot unlock the ArmorLock drive by connecting it directly to a PC — you have to use the app. As such, at installation, the app creates a recovery key that you store separately. This key allows you to install the app onto another phone if you lose your phone or uninstall the application, thus enabling you to unlock your storage device.
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A Closer Look
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G-Technology’s ArmorLock Encrypted NVMe SSD features a fairly rugged design and an activity indicator light. It carries an IP67 dust and water resistance rating and can handle a three-meter drop, and the company states that it boasts 1000-pound crush resistance. Its thick finned aluminum core aids with heat dissipation, but it comes at the expense of size.
While the device is pocketable, it is very large at 134 x 82 x 19 mm, and the plastic casing gives it a clunky and toy-like feel in the hand. We were even able to twist the casing, which ironically helped during our disassembly process. It is also fairly heavy, weighing roughly 200 grams, which is two to three times heavier than many portable SSDs.
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G-Technology’s ArmorLock uses a Bluetooth low energy module by Raytac that’s based on a Nordic nRF52840 SoC solution that allows communication between your drive and the app. When plugged in, the ArmorLock Encrypted NVMe SSD’s LED indicator light will show it is locked until you unlock the device with the app.
The ArmorLock uses 256-bit AES-XTS hardware encryption, which provides stronger data protection by taking advantage of two AES keys instead of just one, and NIST P-256 elliptic curve-based key management to eliminate side-channel attacks, ensuring data stored on the devices remains secure.
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(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
An ASMedia ASM2362 USB 3.2 Gen 2 10 GBps to PCIe 3.0 x2 bridge chip manages host-to-SSD communication. G-Technology outfitted the ArmorLock with WD SN730 PCIe 3.0 x4 NVMe 1.3-compliant SSD. This SSD is similar to the SN750 but comes as a client solution that uses BiCS4 96-Layer TLC flash. It features a multi-core, DRAM-based architecture and offers plenty of speed to saturate the bridge chip’s capability.
No matter how much web browsers improve, it feels like they can’t keep pace with everything we want to do. Open one too many tabs on a few-year-old laptop, and your fan starts spinning, your battery life dips, your system starts to slow. A faster or cleaner PC might fix it, but a startup called Mighty has a different idea: a $30-a-month web browser that lives in the cloud.
Instead of your own physical computer interacting with each website, you stream a remote web browser instead, one that lives on a powerful computer many miles away with its own 1,000Mbps connection to the internet.
Suddenly, your decent internet connection would feel like one of the fastest internet connections in the world, with websites loading nigh-instantly and intensive web apps running smoothly without monopolizing your RAM, CPU, GPU and battery, no matter how many tabs you’ve got open — because the only thing your computer is doing is effectively streaming a video of that remote computer (much like Netflix, YouTube, Google Stadia, etc.) while sending your keyboard and mouse commands to the cloud.
Skeptical? I definitely am, but perhaps not for the reason you’d think — because I tried this exact idea nearly a decade ago, and it absolutely works in practice. In 2012, cloud gaming pioneer OnLive introduced a virtual desktop web browser that would let you load full websites on an iPad in the blink of an eye and stream 4K video from YouTube. (Quite the feat in 2012!) I called it the fastest web browser you’ve ever used, and OnLive’s asking price was just $5 a month.
Cloud desktop providers like Shadow have also offered similar capabilities; when you rent their gaming-PCs-in-the-cloud ($12-15 a month), you can use those virtual PCs’ built-in web browsers to get similar speeds, thanks to the fact they typically live in data centers with very few hops to (and possibly direct peering arrangements with) major content delivery networks.
Mighty argues that by focusing on the browser (rather than recreating a whole Windows PC), it can give more people what they actually want. “Most people want an experience where the underlying OS and the application (the browser) interoperate seamlessly versus having to tame two desktop experiences,” founder Suhail Doshi commented at Hacker News. Mighty claims it’ll eliminate distracting cookies and ads, automatically notify you about Zoom meetings, quick search Google Docs and presumably other integrations to come. Mighty also says it encrypts your data and keystrokes, among other security promises.
But it’s not entirely clear why it costs so much more, or who would be willing to pay $30 a month for such a subscription — you’d think the kinds of people who can afford a monthly browser bill on top of their monthly internet bill would be the same kinds of people who can afford a faster PC and faster internet to begin with. Gigabit fiber is already a reality for some homes, and it’s not like Mighty will turn your iffy 25/3 connection into a gigabit one; while Doshi tells me it’ll technically work with a 20Mbps connection, he says he’s targeting 80+Mbps households right now.
Then again, it’s not like everyone has a real choice of internet service provider, no matter how much money they make. As Jürgen Geuter (aka tante) points out below, this feels more like an indictment than innovation. It’s been a decade, and we still haven’t solved these problems.
“Streaming your browser to you because rendering the HTML is too slow on your machine” is not innovation but a mark of shame on everyone building websites and browsers.
Tech failed as an industry. https://t.co/JJC0WomArb
— tante (@tante) April 28, 2021
I agree with my colleague Tom: I genuinely want to know who’d actually pay for this and why. Would you?
I want to meet whoever is going to spend $30 a month to stream a Chromium browser from the cloud just to avoid RAM hungry Chrome https://t.co/4pl6jL2zUV
If you’re a Windows user and you use multiple monitors, you’ve probably experienced the headache of apps randomly rearranging when you resume from sleep. There have been a variety of ways to work around this over the years, but Microsoft is finally addressing it and fixing it in a future Windows 10 update.
“The technical terminology we use to describe this problem is known as Rapid Hot Plug Detect (Rapid HPD),” explains Michelle Xiong, a program manager on the graphics team at Microsoft. “This behavior impacts DisplayPort multi-monitor setups which results in unwanted desktop rearrangements.”
This problem is particularly troublesome if you’re using a laptop with a secondary screen or an additional monitor goes into deep sleep and Windows thinks it has been unplugged. Windows will then go ahead and move all of your apps onto another screen, and you have to drag them all back manually. It’s a giant headache if you experience the issue daily.
Microsoft has been working on preventing Rapid HPD from rearranging Windows apps, and a fix is coming in the big Windows 10 update that’s due later this year. Windows Insiders can currently get access to this with build 21287 or above, but it does mean running a beta version of the OS on a device. Microsoft is expected to ship this final update in October, but if you can’t wait then you can go ahead and try it right now.
Google is expanding its Android-based earthquake detection and alert system, filling in gaps in places where there are few seismometers and no early warning systems. Starting today, the program that launched in California last year will alsobe available in Greece and New Zealand.
This also marks a new step for Google; it’s the first time the company will handle everything from detecting the earthquake to warning individuals. Android devices will first sense waves generated by quakes. Google then analyzes data from the phones and sends out an early warning alert to users in the affected area. Users will get the alerts automatically unless they opt out of the service.
When Google started on this endeavor, it worked with the United States Geological Survey and the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services to send earthquake alerts to Android users in California. This feature is now available in Oregon and will expand to Washington in May. Last year, Google started gathering earthquake data from phones. It then used that data to provide information to users if they searched for “earthquake” or “earthquake near me” on their phones.
Google’s system works because each phone is already equipped with an accelerometer, which can detect movement. The accelerometer can also detect primary and secondary earthquake waves, almost acting as a “mini seismometer, joining millions of other Android phones out there to form the world’s largest earthquake detection network,” according to Google. Seismometers are devices that detect ground movement, like earthquakes.
“It’d be great if there were just seismometer-based systems everywhere that could detect earthquakes,” Marc Stogaitis, principle Android software engineer at Google, told The Verge last year. Because of costs and maintenance, he says, “that’s not really practical and it’s unlikely to have global coverage.”
There are some limitations to Google’s system. People closest to the quake probably won’t get much advance warning since they’ll be the first ones to detect the quake. But their phones will help give a heads-up to others farther away, giving them crucial time to take shelter.
Android is the leading OS system for smartphones, so this service has a lot of room to grow. Eventually, Google could develop an API based on its earthquake detection system that could have farther-reaching effects. Other systems could use the API to let people off an elevator or open firehouse doors before losing power, Dieter Bohn wrote for The Verge last year. That’s still pretty far off but could make a huge difference in keeping people safe during future earthquakes.
Samsung has expanded its Galaxy family with four new Galaxy Book “mobile PCs”, each of which can be used in laptop or tablet form.
The new Galaxy Books – the Galaxy Book, Galaxy Book Pro (pictured, top) and Galaxy Book Pro 360 – aim to be as powerful as a laptop but as portable as a tablet, and with the promise of an all-day battery. Prices start from £699, rising to £1499 (full details below).
Samsung wants these Galaxy Books to be the obvious choice for the millions of people who already own Galaxy devices, whether that be the Galaxy S21 phone or the Galaxy Buds earphones, promising a seamless cross-device experience.
Samsung Galaxy Book (Image credit: Samsung)
But there are reasons to consider them whether you’re part of the Galaxy family already: all three Galaxy Books feature Dolby Atmos support, while the Pro and Pro 360 also have VESA-certified DisplayHDR 500 screens, which bodes well for picture performance.
While the Galaxy Book (pictured, above) makes do with a full HD LCD screen, you can jump to a full HD AMOLED with the Galaxy Book Pro or a full HD Super AMOLED on the Pro 360.
Inside are the 11th-gen Intel Core processors and Intel Iris X garphics, plus USB-C and HDMI connections, and a microSD card slot. An upgraded S Pen stylus, as seen on the Galaxy Note phones, is also included on the Galaxy Book Pro 360 (pictured, below), though there’s no storage integrated inside the laptop, which seems a shame.
Only the Pro 360 includes 5G connectivity, with the Pro settling for LTE. Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 5 are across all three models. All the Galaxy Books use the Windows 10 Home/Pro OS, so expect all the associated Microsoft features including Link to Windows/Microsoft Your Phone mobile connectivity. In fact, Samsung is promising seamless Android and Windows compatibility for something of a world first.
Samsung Galaxy Book Pro 360 (Image credit: Samsung)
The real draw is the form factor, with the most compact model (the 13-inch Galaxy Book Pro) coming in at just 11.2mm – “thin like a phone” – and weighing just 870g. And of course you can fold the laptop on itself for a flat tablet experience or to use as a second screen.
The Pro and Pro 360 are also available in a 15.6-inch screen size, while the Galaxy Book is limited to a 15.6-inch display model.
There’s Samsung’s finger print authentication on each of the laptop-tablet combos, plus support for USB-C 65-watt fast charging.
Built from aluminium, the Galaxy Books continue the ‘Mystic’ colour palette of Samsung’s Galaxy phones, with a choice of mystic navy, silver, blue, pink gold and bronze.
Also launching are a range of accessories, including a neoprene pouch with pen holder (£24.99), a Galaxy Book Leather Sleeve (from £149.99), the Smart Keyboard Trio 500 (£39.99) and the Bluetooth Mouse Slim (£52.99).
Can it beat the best tablets and the best laptops? That remains to be seen.
If you’re already smitten you can pre-order now and you’ll get a free pair of Galaxy Buds Pro true wireless earbuds.
On sale from 14th May, full price details are as follows:
Best Media Streamers Buying Guide: Welcome to What Hi-Fi?’s round-up of the best media streamers you can buy in 2021.
No BT Sport or ESPN+ app on your TV?You need to get yourself a media streamer, but which one? Not all media streamers are the same. The best media steamers will provide a total and endless supply of TV shows, films and music but there are performance differences too. Some look and sound better than others.
Whether it’s Netflix, Prime Video, Apple TV, Google Play Movies & TV, a service dedicated to skateboarding or free 1970s kung fu films, it’s a media streamer’s job to deliver them.
Few smart TVs cover all the apps and a media streamer will put that right without you having to spend big. It’s a media streamer’s raison d’etre to make sure that they’re stacked with services. With more competition in the market than ever, prices are low, standards are high and any gaps in their app offerings could be a killer weakness.
TV streaming devices are pretty much foolproof too. All you do is plug them into your flatscreen, connect them wirelessly to your home wi-fi network and get watching. Despite their ease of use, though, there is quite some difference in how much they cost. More advanced models that offer 4K, HDR and voice controls will charge more, but there are plenty of simple streaming sticks for those on tight budgets too.
Before you chose, bear in mind that to enjoy HD and 4K content, you’ll need a fast broadband connection. Netflix recommends a steady connection of 25Mbps or higher for 4K video, for example.
You should also check which services each device offers, especially as exclusive, original TV shows and films are all the rage. So whether you want to use Apple’s library or Google’s, watch the latest Netflix, Disney Plus or Amazon Prime Video TV show, independent films on MUBI, or live sport courtesy of Now TV, our round-up of the best media streamers has got you covered.
HDR TV: What is it? How can you get it?
Disney Plus streaming service: everything you need to know
(Image credit: Google)
1. Chromecast with Google TV
Google’s cracked it this time.
SPECIFICATIONS
Max resolution: 4K | Audio: Dolby Atmos | Output: HDMI | HDR: HDR10, HLG, HDR10+, Dolby Vision | Dimensions (HWD): 12.5 x 6 x 16cm
Reasons to Buy
Lots of apps
Excellent HDR picture
Dolby Vision and Atmos
Reasons to Avoid
No Apple content available
Rivals sound more dynamic
Google was in Amazon’s media streaming shadow until the arrival of the most recent Chromecast and, specifically, the Google TV user-interface that comes with it. While this streamer and the Fire TV Stick 4K are an even match for performance, it’s Google’s superior operating system that wins the day.
Google TV is the successor to Android TV and is beginning its roll-out across smart TVs from 2021. It’s better looking, more intuitive, more searchable and, crucially, excellent at making suggestions of what to watch next.
That’s best underlined in the way that it presents search results with an even hand. Top suggestions will always be from streaming services to which you already subscribe, and in top quality where possible, rather than Google trying to sell you content to which you already have access.
While, natively, it doesn’t have quite as many apps as some rivals, you can make up for that by casting anything it doesn’t have from your mobile or tablet instead. The only caveat is that it won’t bring access to Apple TV or Apple Music. If you need those, then try Amazon or the more expensive Apple TV 4K instead.
Read the full Chromecast with Google TV review
2. Amazon Fire TV 4K
Amazon’s excellent streaming stick is amazing value.
Amazon’s 4K streaming stick is as worthy a no.2 as you’ll find. It offers unbeatable value, 4K streaming, support for multiple HDR formats and all with the Alexa voice-activated personal assistant.
Amazon Prime Video comes as standard (of course), alongside Netflix, the terrestrial catch-up services (BBC iPlayer, ITV Hub, All 4 and My5), Now TV, BT Sport, Apple TV, Disney Plus and the bonus of music services Spotify, Deezer, Apple Music and Tidal. The only minor omissions are an official Rakuten app and Google Play Movies & TV.
The main reason that this device doesn’t score quite as well as the Chromecast above is because its operating system isn’t as good. It’s too Amazon-focused doesn’t perform quite as well for suggestions. That said, it’s worth noting that Amazon’s latest Fire TV OS will arrive on the Fire TV Stick 4K in the coming months and that could be a game-changer for usability. Watch this space or, specifically, the one just above.
Read the full review: Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K
3. Apple TV 4K
Not cheap, but up there with the best streaming devices around.
This box of tricks offers the typically slick experience we’ve come to expect from Apple. Voice controls come courtesy of Siri – Apple’s personal assistant – while 4K and HDR are all part and parcel of the package. There’s plenty to watch too, thanks to Apple’s extensive catalogue of 4K and HDR content.
And with the arrival of the Apple TV+ streaming service that’s only got better. Netflix, iPlayer and Amazon Prime Video are offered with Now TV and All 4 both present now too. It’s not cheap – it’s positively exorbitant compared to some on this list – but if you’re happy with life in the Apple ecosystem and you can afford it, it’s money well spent for the home streaming enthusiast.
Read the full review: Apple TV 4K
4. Google Chromecast (2018)
A cheap, quick and convenient media streamer.
SPECIFICATIONS
Max resolution: 1080p | Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1, Dolby Digital Plus 7.1 | Output: HDMI | HDR: n/a | Dimensions (HWD): 5.2×1.38×1.38cm
Reasons to Buy
Affordable
Casting is neat
Good video and sound
Reasons to Avoid
Little new of note
No dedicated remote
At just £30/$30, this is one of the cheapest video streaming devices around. Chromecast is a decent little device and if you don’t have a 4K TV, its 1080p resolution is all you need. You can ‘cast’ Netflix, BBC iPlayer, ITV Player, All 4, My5 and Now TV, along with Google Play Movies and YouTube TV. On the music front, Spotify, TuneIn and Tidal are all catered for. Amazon Prime Video is now included too.
You have to control Google Chromecast from your phone or tablet, so it’s a different proposition from most of the streamers here. But it does what it does very well indeed.
Read the full review: Google Chromecast (2018)
5. Amazon Fire TV Stick with Alexa
This sophisticated streaming device is a joy to use.
SPECIFICATIONS
Max resolution: 1080p | Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1, Dolby Digital Plus 7.1 | Output: HDMI | HDR: n/a | Dimensions (HWD): 3×8.6×1.3cm
Reasons to Buy
Alexa voice control
Responsive UI
Multiple streaming services
Amazon’s cheaper streaming stick loses the 4K and HDR, but retains the Alexa personal assistant for voice control. All the major streaming services are supported, apart from Now TV, and the sound quality is impressive for such a cheap device. If you’re looking for a cheap and easy way to start streaming, this might be the one for you.
Read the full review: Amazon Fire TV Stick with Alexa
6. Roku Streaming Stick+
An excellent, all-round video streamer with a tempting price tag.
Roku might not be as well known in some parts, but it’s a big global player in the streaming market and this device is a solid bet. It’s affordable, boasts 4K and HDR (albeit limited formats for the latter) and doesn’t need mains power to run. Because Roku doesn’t make its own shows, there’s no hard sell as to what to watch, as there is with Amazon devices, and all the major streaming services are supported, including Now TV (which you won’t find on an Amazon device).
Read the full review: Roku Streaming Stick+
7. Now TV Smart Stick
Sky content streamed via a stick, without the subscription.
SPECIFICATIONS
Max resolution: 1080p | Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1 and 7.1 | Output: HDMI | HDR: n/a | Dimensions (HWD): 8.4×2.3×1.3cm
Reasons to Buy
Inexpensive
Easy-to-use interface
No contract or dish
Reasons to Avoid
Limited app selection
Sky content limited to 720p
At under £20, this is one of the cheapest ways to turn your old TV into a smart TV. Most of the main streaming services are here, except for Amazon Prime Video, and as you’d expect, it gently nudges you towards Sky’s Now TV streaming service at every turn. While it can stream in 1080p, Now TV tops out at 720p. If you can put up with these limitations, it’s a bargain, and a great way to get Sky TV without a subscription.
Read the full review: Now TV Smart Stick
MORE:
30 of the best TV shows to watch on Netflix
21 of the best TV shows to watch on Amazon Prime Video
Now that the Pro moniker has gone mainstream, it’s Ultra that has come to represent the cream of the crop, and the Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra can wear that badge proudly. Limited to its home market last year, the ultimate Mi has gone global this time around, and we’re happy to have it for review today.
We’re torn whether it’s the camera system’s physical appearance that is more striking or the hardware inside. A simply massive raised area on the back looks bolted on, almost after the fact, it’s hard to miss, and it’s a great conversation starter even if it’s not everyone’s cup of tea.
But its size is warranted – the main camera packs the largest sensor used on a modern-day smartphone, and next to it – two more modules unmatched in their own fields, in one way or another. Oh, and yes, there’s also a display here – because why not, but also because it can be useful.
There’s a lot more than 1.1 inches of OLED on the front. The 6.81-inch Super AMOLED is all kinds of great – high resolution, high refresh rate, high brightness, HDR, a billion colors, you name it. Meanwhile, the Snapdragon 888 underneath is second to none as chipsets go this year and with 256GB of base storage, should we even mention the lack of expansion capability as a con?
Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra specs at a glance:
Body: 164.3×74.6×8.4mm, 234g; Glass front (Gorilla Glass Victus), ceramic back, aluminum frame; IP68 dust/water resistant (up to 1.5m for 30 mins).
Display: 6.81″ AMOLED, 1B colors, 120Hz, HDR10+, Dolby Vision, 900 nits, 1700 nits (peak), 1440x3200px resolution, 20:9 aspect ratio, 515ppi.
Chipset: Qualcomm SM8350 Snapdragon 888 5G (5 nm): Octa-core (1×2.84 GHz Kryo 680 & 3×2.42 GHz Kryo 680 & 4×1.80 GHz Kryo 680); Adreno 660.
Memory: 256GB 8GB RAM, 256GB 12GB RAM, 512GB 12GB RAM; UFS 3.1.
OS/Software: Android 11, MIUI 12.5.
Rear camera: Wide (main): 50 MP, f/2.0, 24mm, 1/1.12″, 1.4µm, Dual Pixel PDAF, Laser AF, OIS; Ultra wide angle: 48 MP, f/2.2, 12mm, 128˚, 1/2.0″, 0.8µm, PDAF; Telephoto: 48 MP, f/4.1, 120mm, 1/2.0″, 0.8µm, PDAF, OIS, 5x optical zoom.
Front camera: 20 MP, f/2.2, 27mm (wide), 1/3.4″, 0.8µm.
Video capture: Rear camera: 8K@24fps, 4K@30/60fps, 1080p@30/60fps, gyro-EIS, HDR10+ rec; Front camera: 1080p@30/60fps, 720p@120fps, gyro-EIS.
Battery: 5000mAh; Fast charging 67W, 100% in 36 min (advertised), Fast wireless charging 67W, 100% in 39 min (advertised), Reverse wireless charging 10W, Quick Charge 4+, Power Delivery 3.0.
Misc: Fingerprint reader (under display, optical); NFC; Infrared port.Xiaomis don’t normally have dust and water protection, but that’s changed this year with the Mi 11s – both the Pro and the Ultra have an IP68 rating, and that’s a most welcome development. Conversely, a staple of the brand’s handsets, both affordable and expensive, the IR emitter remains. Stereo speakers have been making their way to the Xiaomi midrange, so it’s only natural that the high-end models have them, and these have been tuned by Harman/Kardon, that couldn’t hurt.
An increase in battery capacity compared to last year’s model is another upgrade we can appreciate. On the other hand, they did downgrade the charging – instead of the Mi 10 Ultra’s 120W, you only get 67W here. Tsk-tsk.
Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra unboxing
The packaging has lost the flair of the Mi 10 Ultra’s presentation, and the Mi 11 Ultra showed up in a standard black box with copper lettering (or is it rose gold?). What’s inside that?
Our EU-bound retail bundle includes the 67W charger – that’s not the case in all markets with chargers coming as a free-of-charge option in some places (China, maybe other parts of Asia). It’s a proprietary adapter with a USB-A output, so it won’t please USB PowerDelivery die-hards. There is a USB cable included too.
A headset may be missing, but there is a USB-C-to-3.5mm dongle included so you can use your own. Also inside the box is a transparent soft silicone back cover. While the (free) protection is appreciated, the look and feel of the thing is no match for the phone itself.
The Oppo A53s 5G was teased recently on Flipkart, and today the phone makes its official debut. It comes with a Dimensity 700 chipset, two RAM options, a big battery and three cameras on the back.
The front of the Oppo A53s 5G is a 6.52” screen with HD+ resolution and a waterdrop notch. Since the panel is LCD, the fingerprint scanner made its way on the side, acting as a power key as well. RAM is either 6 GB or 8 GB, with internal storage being 128 gigs in both cases.
Oppo has provided room for a micro SD in a long tray that can host two SIM cards and a memory card up to 2 TB.
The trio of cameras on the back consists of a 13MP main shooter, 2 MP depth sensor for portrait shots and 2MP macro cam. The selfie camera has an 8MP senosr.
The phone runs Android 11, topped with Color OS 11.1. The battery on the inside is 5,000 mAh, but the listing does not say anything about fast-charging.
The specs sheet does give us some insight on connectivity like dual 5G standby (even if India has zero actual working networks) Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac and Bluetooth 5.0.
Oppo A53s 5G
The Oppo A53s 5G is offered in Crystal Blue or Ink Black colors. Prices are INR14,990 or INR16,990, depending on the memory combination. Flipkart is yet to reveal a date for pre-order or market launch.
Matthew Wilson 1 day ago Featured Tech News, General Tech
MSI has been dabbling in the world of all-in-one PCs for a while now and this week, we’re getting some brand new models. Today, MSI announced the Modern AM241 and Modern AM271 series of all-in-one PCs, featuring Intel 11th Gen processors.
The new Modern 24 and 27 series PCs are designed with efficiency and productivity in mind, while also looking rather elegant. Each system comes with an OPS display for wide viewing angles and better colours. Under the hood, you’ll find an Intel 11th Gen Core series processor, with MSI offering up to an Intel Core i7-1165G7, but Core i3 and Core i5 configurations are also available.
In the table below, you can see the full specification list for the MSI Modern AM241 and AM271 PCs:
Specification
Modern AM241
Modern AM241T
Modern AM241P
Modern AM241TP
Modern AM271
Modern AM271P
CPU
Up to Intel® Core™ i7-1165G7
OS
Windows 10 Home – MSI recommends Windows 10 Pro for business
23.8″ IPS Grade Panel LED Backlight (1920*1080 FHD) with MSI Anti-Flicker technology
23.8″ IPS Grade Panel LED Backlight (1920*1080 FHD) with MSI Anti-Flicker technology
27″ IPS Grade Panel LED Backlight (1920*1080 FHD) with MSI Anti-Flicker technology
27″ IPS Grade Panel LED Backlight (1920*1080 FHD) with MSI Anti-Flicker technology
TOUCH PANEL
Non-Touch for Modern AM241 /
In-cell 10-Point Touch for ModernAM241T
Non-Touch for Modern AM241P /
In-cell 10-Point Touch for ModernAM241TP
Non-Touch
Non-Touch
ADJUSTABLE STAND
-5° ~ 15° (Tilt)
-4° ~ 20° (Tilt) ;
0 ~ 130mm (Height)
-5° ~ 15° (Tilt)
-4° ~ 20° (Tilt) ;
0 ~ 130mm (Height)
OPTICAL DRIVE
N/A
AUDIO
2 x 2.5W Speakers
LAN
1 x RJ45 (10/100/1000)
WIRELESS LAN
Intel 9462 AC / AX201 AX (either one)
BLUETOOTH
5.1
USB 3.2 PORT
4 (2x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type C, 2x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type A)
USB 2.0 PORT
3
HDMI IN
1
HDMI OUT
1
AUDIO
1x Mic-in/Headphone-out Combo
5-WAY NAVIGATOR
1
KEYBOARD / MOUSE
Optional
AC ADAPTER
90W / 120W (Core i3 above)
AIO WALL MOUNT KIT III
Support Standard VESA Mount (75x75mm)
DIMENSION (WXDXH)
541.40 x 175.09 x 406.86 mm (21.31 x 6.89 x 16.02 inch)
541.40 x 194.68 x 534.92 mm (21.31 x 7.66 x 21.06 inch)
611.75 x 169.96 x 436.06 mm (24.08 x 6.69 x 17.17 inch)
611.75 x 169.96 x 553.52 mm (24.08 x 6.69 x 21.79 inch)
NET WEIGHT
4.65 kg (10.25 lbs)
6.16 kg (13.58 lbs)
5.82 kg (12.83 lbs)
7.42 kg (16.36 lbs)
GROSS WEIGHT
7.35 kg (16.20 lbs)
8.45 kg (18.63 lbs)
8.60 kg (18.96 lbs)
10.00 kg (22.05 lbs)
With more people working from home and relying on virtual meetings, MSI has bumped up the specs of the webcam, delivering 1080p quality. The option to remove the webcam is also there for those concerned about privacy.
Using MSI Instant Display Technology, the Modern AM series can also be used as a standalone monitor for a second system, meaning you don’t have to boot up the PC hidden behind the display. These all-in-one systems also support using a second monitor through an additional HDMI output. Standard VESA mounts are supported for those who prefer having a monitor arm – MSI even has a ready to go solution for that with the VESA Arm MT81.
We’re still waiting on pricing and availability information, but we’ll update if/when we hear more. Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.
KitGuru Says: Do any of you use an all-in-one PC for work at all? What do you think of the new MSI Modern series systems?
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Despite Apple’s focus on developing its own chips, it looks like the company still needs AMD’s help for higher-power workstation GPUs. That’s according to new entries on the Geekbench 5, showing an unannounced ‘Radeon Pro W6900X’ SKU powering an Apple Mac Pro 7.1.
With the launch of macOS Big Sur 11.4 Beta, Apple introduced support for Radeon consumer-grade cards on its OS. Professional Radeon cards are not yet supported, but that might change soon with the new Mac Pro 7.1.
Initially found by Benchleaks, we have spotted nine entries of a MacPro 7.1 equipped with an AMD Radeon Pro W6900X and running macOS 11.4 on the Geekbench 5 database. All the entries seem to belong to the same system, which featured a 12C/24T Intel Core i9-10920X CPU and 192GB of DDR4-2933 memory.
The entries do not show the card’s specifications, but performance-wise, it scored slightly above the Radeon RX 6900XT. It’s unclear if the card will be exclusive to Mac systems like the Radeon Pro Vega II, but compared to it, the AMD Radeon Pro W6900X scored about 66% higher.
These entries coincide with the appearance of a photo showing an undisclosed AMD graphics card. The uploader didn’t share any information about the card, but we believe it might be the AMD Radeon Pro W6900X, the OEM variant of the Radeon Pro card we have previously shared, or a combination of both.
Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.
KitGuru says: Apple plans to become more independent from CPU and GPU manufacturers, but for now, it still depends heavily on the likes of Intel and AMD for high-powered solutions. Will Apple eventually release its own workstation-class CPUs and GPUs?
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Microsoft is launching its Office and OneNote apps on Amazon’s Fire tablets today. Both apps are available in Amazon’s Appstore, with the Office app combining Word, Excel, and PowerPoint into a single tablet app.
Microsoft is no stranger to Amazon’s Appstore, having previously published apps like Outlook, Xbox, and Xbox Game Pass for Fire tablets. This is the first time Office has appeared on Amazon’s tablets, though. Microsoft has essentially taken its Android Office app that’s already available on the Google Play Store and modified it to work on Amazon’s Fire OS — a forked version of Android.
Both the Office and OneNote apps will be available on Amazon’s Appstore in regions where Fire tablets are currently sold. Microsoft says it has timed the release of these apps to coincide with Amazon’s new Fire HD 10 tablet. The $149.99 Fire HD 10 has a thinner design, slimmed-down bezels, and better specs, and Amazon is also offering a $219 bundle with a 12-month subscription to Microsoft 365 in the US, Canada, UK, Germany, and Japan.
The recently released Ubuntu 21.04, is the latest version of the popular Linux distribution and with the latest release we see Wayland arrive as the default display server. But it seems that those wishing to upgrade from a previous release, for example 20.04 / 20.10 are unable to. According to OMG! Ubuntu! there is a bug which is preventing users from updating to the latest release.
(Image credit: Future)
The problem seems to be in shim, the bootloader which handles the secure boot process for the OS. Users running the wrong version of their EFI – an early one – can see their PC fail to boot after the upgrade. A new version of shim is on the way to fix the issue, but users who are sure their hardware is new enough to sidestep the problem can manually force an upgrade at their own risk from the command line.
“Due to the severity of the issue we shouldn’t be encouraging people to upgrade at this point in time,” wrote Canonical software engineer Brian Murray in a post to the Ubuntu Developer mailing list. “After we have a new version of shim signed will make it available in Ubuntu 21.04 and then enable upgrades.”
The exact nature of the hardware likely to fail is still unclear. We reached out to Canonical software engineer Dave Jones on Twitter, who suggested modern machines would be unaffected but older machines such as a ThinkPad 420 from 2011 and a MacBook Air from 2012 were affected by the bug.
Codenamed “Hirsute Hippo”, Ubuntu 21.04 brings support for Wayland display server, with Xorg still available for those that need it. Native Active Directory integration and a performance-optimized certified Microsoft SQL Server are new features for this release.
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