When my editor told me about Window’s built-in battery report, my first thought was: “How have I never heard of this before? Also, that sounds pretty useful!” So I looked at the guide he sent (from Laptop Magazine) and tried it out. It ended up being just as interesting as it sounded, so I figured I’d share, in case you also haven’t come across this handy built-in tool.
Windows has been keeping track of how your laptop’s battery is doing since it was installed. The report, which you can run using just two command prompt commands, will show how many cycles you’ve used on your battery and how it’s been used in the past three days. It will also give you a picture of what Windows estimates your battery life should be versus what it actually is.
So if you’re curious about your battery status or you’ve been noticing that your battery life has been a bit of a drag lately and are wondering if it’s due to neglect or some power virus on your computer sucking back a bunch of juice, this report should let you know.
First, open the Command Prompt tool. To do that, you can search “CMD” from the Start menu, and click on Command Prompt to open it.
The report will be spit out as an HTML file, so we’ll want to make sure it’s easy to find. To do that, type in:
cd %HOMEPATH%/Desktop
This command simply navigates your current directory to your desktop, so when you generate the report, you can find it there.
To generate the report, type:
powercfg /batteryreport
This runs the powerconfig tool and tells it to spit out a battery report, which should now be sitting on your desktop as an HTML file.
Double-click the file to open it up in your browser (or it might ask you which program you want to open the file in, which would be your browser). Now you can see all of that sweet, sweet battery information.
The battery usage graph can tell you how fast your battery drains over time.
This could help you get an idea of how you use your battery or show your recent computer habits.
Seeing the design capacity estimate versus your actual time could tell you whether it’s time to replace your battery.
One caveat: my laptop is used, and as a policy, I completely nuke whatever Windows install is on any laptop I buy, overwriting it with a new one. If you’ve just bought a used laptop and want to know what state the battery is in, you’ll probably want to run this tool before wiping Windows, as it seems the cycle count only reflects what’s happened on the current Windows install. My laptop is a 2018 model, and I’m pretty sure it’s gone through more than 177 cycles since then.
Even if you’re on a newer install, you can get a general sense of the health by looking at the design capacity and then the full charge capacity to see how different they are.
If you’re an Apple user who’s feeling left out, don’t worry: macOS lets you access some battery information, too, though there isn’t as much historical data. To see it, go to the Apple menu in the top left, and click “About This Mac.” Then click the System Report button, and under Hardware, go to Power. There, you can see the cycle count of your battery, its estimated health, and all of your current power settings. To see your battery usage graphs over the past 24 hours or 10 days, go to System Preferences and then Battery.
Apple has fewer graphs built in, but you can see usage statistics in System Preferences > Battery.
Using a password manager is one of the best steps you can take to protect your security online. A good password manager makes it easy to generate unique, strong passwords, and it will then securely save them so they’re available wherever you need them, whether that’s on your phone, laptop, tablet, or desktop computer. Basically, they take 90 percent of the work out of being safe online.
Hopefully, at this point everyone knows why it’s important to use a unique password for all of your accounts online. But the short version is that using one password everywhere means that if just one site you use gets hacked, an attacker potentially has the password that unlocks your entire online life. Breaches still matter if you use a password manager, but at that point it’s a case of resetting just one password rather than dozens.
Although different password managers have different selling points, most offer the same core set of features. They generate passwords which they securely store, and they’ll prompt you to save passwords when you use them on websites. They’ll also sync your passwords across devices and autofill them into websites and apps when required.
There are many good password managers available that charge a monthly fee, but for this guide we’re going to be focusing on free services. All of them have paid subscription tiers, but for most, the free tier offers the essential core features of a password manager.
Our pick for the best for most people is Bitwarden.
The best for most people: Bitwarden
Bitwarden has basically everything you could want out of a password manager. It’s available across iOS and Android; it has native desktop applications on Windows, macOS, and Linux; and it also integrates with every major browser including Chrome, Safari, Firefox, and Edge.
Bitwarden’s security has also been audited by a third-party security company, and although it uses the cloud to sync your passwords between devices, it says it stores them in an encrypted form that only you can unlock. You also have the option of protecting your Bitwarden account with two-factor authentication to provide an extra layer of security.
Importing our passwords was easy, and Bitwarden has guides for many popular password managers in its support pages. It supports biometric security on iOS and Android, and all of its software is nicely designed and easy to use.
Bitwarden does have paid tiers, but we think most people will be able to do without most of the features they offer. Paying gets you access to encrypted file attachments, more second-factor security options, and reports on the overall security of the passwords you have in use. But even on the free tier, you can perform checks to see if individual passwords have been leaked in a password breach. Paying also gets you access to a built-in one-time code generator for two-factor authentication, but it’s easy and arguably more secure to use a separate app for this.
Verge Score: 9
Good stuff: Well-designed apps and browser extensions; third-party security audit
Bad stuff: No bulk exposed password report with free tier; desktop prompt to save passwords a little small
Bitwarden
Runner-up
As part of our research, we also tried a variety of other password managers. Of these, Zoho Vault is another feature-packed free option, but its interface isn’t as good as Bitwarden’s.
Zoho Vault
Image: Zoho
Zoho Vault’s iOS and Android apps are nice enough, but its browser extension is a little clunky and buries useful features like its password generator behind one too many sub menus. It’s also unclear if the software has gone through a third-party security audit; the company didn’t respond to our query in time for publication.
Verge Score: 7.5
Good stuff: Cleanly designed apps; reports on strength of passwords
Bad stuff: Clunky browser extension; no native desktop apps
Zoho Vault
Also-rans
There were two other free password managers we felt weren’t up to Bitwarden and Zoho Vault’s standards. Norton Password Manager has the advantage of coming from a well-known cybersecurity company. But we found the way it attempts to simplify its setup process actually makes things more confusing, and Norton’s support pages didn’t do a great job at helping us work out where we’d gone wrong. Norton didn’t respond to our email asking whether the software has gone through a third-party security audit.
We also gave LogMeOnce a try, but we weren’t reassured by the presence of ads in its smartphone app. It also asked for many more permissions than the other password managers we tried. The company says this is necessary to enable its Mugshot feature, which attempts to give you information about unauthorized attempts to access your account, which is an optional feature. The company says it regularly hires third-party security researchers to test its products.
Until recently, LastPass would have been included as a free password manager, but it’s making some changes to its free tier on March 16th that mean it will be much less usable as a free password manager. After that date, free users will be able to view and manage passwords on just a single category of devices: mobile or computer. “Mobile” subscribers will have access to phones, tablets, and smartwatches, while “Computer” subscribers will be able to use the service across PCs, Macs, and browser extensions. Given how most people switch between these two classes of devices on a daily basis, we think this will severely limit how useful LastPass’ free tier will be for most people.
Our focus on simplicity also means we’ve excluded KeePass, a password manager that relies on third-party apps on non-Windows platforms. In addition, if you want to sync your passwords between devices, you have to use a third-party storage service such as Dropbox or Google Drive.
Beyond the free options, there’s a huge array of paid password managers out there. Some of these have free tiers, but they’re so restrictive that they’re effectively not usable as a day-to-day password manager. 1Password is perhaps the most well-known paid option, but others include NordPass, RememBear, Passwarden, Dashlane, RoboForm, and Enpass, all of which limit their free versions in ways that we think make them unsuitable for long-term use.
Finally, most modern internet browsers offer built-in password management features, but we think it’s worth taking the time to store your passwords in a standalone service. It gives you more flexibility to switch platforms and browsers in the future, and password managers also generally have interfaces that are better suited to the task of storing passwords. To make things simpler for yourself, you might want to turn off the built-in password manager in your browser once you’ve picked a standalone version to use, so you don’t run the risk of having passwords stored in two places at once.
While we still don’t have an Intel Rocket Lake-S Core i9-11900K CPU to use for testing, Intel Z590 boards have been rolling in. So while we await benchmark results, we’ll be walking in detail through the features of these brand-new boards. First up on our bench was the ASRock Z590 Steel Legend 6E Wi-Fi, followed by the Gigabyte Z590 Aorus Master and Gigabyte’s Z590 Vision G. Today, we take a close look at the MSI MEG Z590 Ace. We’ll have to wait for benchmark results, though, to see if it deserves a spot on our best motherboards list.
The latest version of the Ace board features robust power delivery, four M.2 sockets, a premium audio codec and more. The new Ace also has updated styling on the heatsink and shrouds while still keeping the black with gold highlights theme from the previous generation. Emblazoned on the rear IO is the MSI Dragon (with RGB LEDs) and the Ace name (no lighting). We don’t have an exact price for the MEG Z590 Ace. However, the Z490’s MSRP was $399, so we expect the Z590 version to cost the same or slightly more.
MSI’s current Z590 product stack consists of 11 models, with most falling into the MEG (high-end) MPG (mid-range) and MAG (budget) lineups. We’re greeted by several familiar SKUs and a couple of new ones. Starting at the top is the flagship MEG Z590 Godlike, the Ace we’re looking at now, and a Mini ITX MEG Z590I Unify. The mid-range MPG line consists of four boards (Carbon EK X, Gaming Edge WiFi, Gaming Carbon WiFi and Gaming Force), while the less expensive MAG lineup consists of two boards (Z590 Tomahawk WiFi, and Torpedo). Wrapping up the current product stack are two ‘Pro’ boards in the Z590 Pro WiFi and Z590-A Pro. The only thing missing out of the gate is a Micro ATX board, but it’s likely we see one or two down the line.
We can’t talk about Rocket Lake-S performance yet — not that we have a CPU at this time to test boards with anyway. All we’ve seen at this point are rumors and a claim from Intel of a significant increase to IPC. But the core count was lowered from 10 cores/20 threads in Comet Lake (i9-10900K) to 8 cores/16 threads in the yet-to-be-released i9-11900K. To that end, we’ll stick with specifications and features, adding a full review that includes benchmarking, overclocking and power consumption shortly.
MSI’s MEG Z590 Ace includes all the bits you expect from a premium motherboard. The board has a stylish appearance, very capable power delivery (16-phase 90A Vcore) and the flagship Realtek ALC4082 audio codec with included DAC. We’ll cover these features and much more in detail below. First, here are the full specs from MSI.
(1) Intel Wi-Fi 6E AX210 (MU-MIMO, 2.4/5/6GHz, BT 5.2)
USB Controllers
??
HD Audio Codec
Realtek ALC4082
DDL/DTS Connect
✗ / DTS:X Ultra
Warranty
3 Years
The accessories included with the board are reasonably comprehensive, including most of what you need to get started. Below is a full list.
Manual
Quick Installation Guide
USB drive (Drivers)
Cleaning brush
Screwdrivers
Stickers (MEG/Cable)
(4) SATA cables
(4) Screws/standoff sets for M.2 sockets
Thermistor cable
1 to 2 RGB LED Y cable, Corsair RGB LED cable, Rainbow RGB LED cable
DP to mini DP cable
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Looking at the Z590 Ace for the first time, we see the black PCB along with black heatsinks and shrouds covering most of the board. MSI stenciled on identifying language such as the MEG Ace name and the MSI Gaming Dragon in gold, setting this SKU apart from the rest. The VRM heatsinks are both made from a solid block of aluminum with lines cut out. Additionally, the shroud is made of metal and connected to the heat pipes, increasing surface area significantly. Also worth noting is the VRM heatsinks share the load connected via heatpipe. RGB LED lighting is minimal here, with a symbol on the chipset shining through a mesh cover on the chipset heatsink and the MSI dragon above the rear IO. While tastefully done, some may want more. With its mostly black appearance, the board won’t have trouble fitting in most build themes.
(Image credit: MSI)
Focusing on the top half of the board, we’ll get a better look at what’s going with the VRM heatsinks and other board features in this area. In the upper-left corner, we spot two 8-pin EPS connectors, one of which is required for operation. Just below this is the shroud covering the rear IO bits and part of the VRM heatsink. On it is a carbon-fiber pattern along with the MSI Gaming Dragon illuminated by RGB LEDs. The socket area is relatively clean, with only a few caps visible.
Just above the VRM heatsink is the first of eight fan headers. All fan headers on the board are the 4-pin type and support PWM- and DC-controlled fans and pumps. The CPU_FAN1 header supports up to 2A/24W and auto-detects the attached device type. The PUMP_FAN1 supports up to 3A/36W. The rest of the system fan headers support up to 1A/12W. This configuration offers plenty of support for most cooling systems. That said, I would like to have seen all pump headers auto-detect PWM/DC modes instead of only CPU_FAN1.
To the right of the socket are four reinforced DRAM slots. The Z590 Ace supports up to 128GB of RAM with speeds listed up to DDR4 5600 (for one stick with one rank). The highest supported speed with two DIMMs is DDR4 4400+, which is plenty fast enough for an overwhelming majority of users.
MOving down the right edge of the board, we see the 2-character debug LED up top, a system fan header, five voltage read points (Vcore/DRAM/SA/IO/IO2), 4-LED debug, 24-pin ATX connector, and finally, a USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-C front panel header. Between both debug tools and the voltage read points, you’ll have an accurate idea of what’s going on with your PC.
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With the MEG Z590 Ace towards the top of the product stack, you’d expect well-built power delivery and you wouldn’t be wrong. MSI lists the board as 16+2+1 (Vcore/GT/SA) and it uses a Renesas ISL69269 (X+Y+Z = 8+2+1) PWM controller that feeds power to eight-phase doublers (Renesas ISL617A), then onto 16 90A Renesas ISL99390B MOSFETs for the Vcore. This configuration yields 1440A of power for the CPU, which is plenty for ambient and sub-ambient/extreme overclocking. It won’t be this board holding you back in any overclocking adventures, that’s for sure.
(Image credit: MSI)
As we focus on the bottom half, we’ll take a closer look at the integrated audio, PCIe slot configuration and storage. Starting with the audio bits on the left side, under the shroud, is the Realtek latest premium codec, the ALC4082. Additionally, the Z590 Ace includes an ESS Sabre 9018Q2C combo DAC, a dedicated headphone amplifier (up to 600 Ohm) and high-quality Chemicon audio capacitors. This audio solution should be more than adequate for most users.
In the middle of the board are four M.2 sockets and five PCIe slots. With the PCIe connectivity, all three full-length slots are reinforced to prevent shearing and EMI, while the two PCIe x1 slots don’t have any reinforcement. The top slot supports PCIe 4.0 x16 speeds, with the second and third slots PCIe 3.0. The slots break down as follows, x16/x0/x4 x8/x8/x4 or x8/x4+x4/x4. This configuration supports 2-Way Nvidia SLI and 2-Way AMD Crossfire technologies. All x1 slots and the full-length bottom slot are fed from the chipset, while the top two full-length slots source their lanes from the CPU.
M.2 storage on the Z590 Ace consists of four onboard sockets supporting various speeds and module lengths. The top slot, M2_1, supports PCIe 4.0 x4 modules up to 110mm. Worth noting on this socket is that it only works with an 11th Gen Intel CPU installed. M2_2, M2_3, M2_4 are fed from the chipset, with M2_2 and M2_3 supporting SATA- and PCIe-based modules up to 80mm, while M2_4 supports PCIe only. M2_2/3/4 are all PCIe 3.0 x4.
The way this is wired, you will lose some SATA ports and PCIe bandwidth depending on the configuration. For example, SATA2 is unavailable when using a SATA-based SSD in the M2_2 socket. SATA 5/6 are unavailable when using the M2_3 socket with any type of device. Finally, the bandwidth on M2_4 switches from x4 to x2 when PCI_E5 (bottom x1 slot) is used. The M.2 sockets support RAID 0/1 for those who would like additional speed or redundancy.
Finally, along the right edge of the board are six horizontally oriented SATA ports. The Z590 Ace supports RAID 0, 1 and 10 on the SATA ports. Just be aware you lose a couple of ports on this board if you’re using some of the M.2 sockets. Above these ports is a USB 3.2 Gen1 front panel header along with another 4-pin system fan header.
Across the board’s bottom edge are several headers, including more USB ports, fan headers, and more. Below is the full list, from left to right:
Front Panel Audio
aRGB and RGB headers
(3) System Fan headers
Supplemental PCIe power
Tuning controller connector
Temperature sensor
(2) USB 2.0 headers
LED switch
BIOS selector switch
OC Retry jumper
TPM header
Power and Reset buttons
Slow mode jumpers
Front panel connectors
(Image credit: MSI)
Moving to the rear IO area, we see the integrated IO plate sporting a black background with gold writing matching the board theme. There are eight USB Type-A ports (two USB 3.2 Gen2, four USB 3.2 Gen1 and two USB 2.0 ports). On the Type-C front, the Z590 Ace includes two Thunderbolt 4 ports capable of speeds up to 40 Gbps. Just to the right of those are Mini-DisplayPort inputs for running video through the Thunderbolt connection(s). Handling the video output for the CPU’s integrated graphics is a single HDMI (2.0b) port. We also spy here the Wi-Fi antenna connections, 5-plug plus SPDIF audio stack, Intel 2.5 GbE and finally, a Clear CMOS button and BIOS Flashback button that can be used without a CPU.
Software
For Z590, MSI has changed up its software offerings. We used to have several individual programs to adjust the system, but MSI moved to an all-in-one application called MSI Center with thisboard. The new Software is a central repository for many of the utilities (12) MSI offers. These include Mystic Light (RGB control), AI Cooling (adjust fan speeds), LAN Manager (control the NIC), Speed Up (for storage), Gaming Mode (auto-tune games), among several others (see the screenshots below for details). The User Scenario application has a couple of presets for system performance and is where you manually adjust settings, including CPU clock speeds and voltage, RAM timings, and more. Overall, I like the move to a single application. The user interface is easy to read and get around in. However, sometimes loading these applications takes longer than I would like to see. But MSI Center does an excellent job of pulling everything in.
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Firmware
To give you a taste of the Firmware, we’ve gathered screenshots showing most BIOS screens. MSI’s BIOS is unique from the other board partners in that the headings aren’t at the top but split out to the sides. In each section, all the frequently used options are easy to find and not buried deep within menus. Overall, MSI didn’t change much here when moving from Z490 to Z590 and their BIOS continues to be easy to use.
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Future Tests and Final Thoughts
With Z590 boards arriving but now Rocket Lake-S CPUs yet, we’re in an odd place. We know most of these boards should perform similarly to our previous Z490 motherboard reviews. And while there are exceptions, they are likely mostly at the bottom of the product stack. To that end, we’re posting these as detailed previews until we get data using a Rocket Lake processor.
Once we receive a Rocket Lake CPU and as soon as any embargos have expired, we’ll fill in the data points, including the benchmarking/performance results, as well as overclocking/power and VRM temperatures.
We’ll also be updating our test system hardware to include a PCIe 4.0 video card and storage. This way, we can utilize the platform to its fullest using the fastest protocols supported. We will also update to the latest Windows 10 64-bit OS (20H2) with all threat mitigations applied and update the video card driver and use the newest release when we start this testing. We use the latest non-beta motherboard BIOS available to the public unless otherwise noted. While we do not have performance results from the yet-to-be-released Rocket Lake CPU, we’re confident the 70A VRMs will handle the i9-11900K processor without issue. A quick test of the i9-10900K found the board quite capable with that CPU, easily allowing the 5.2 GHz overclock we set. For now, we’ll focus on features, price, and appearance until we gather performance data from the new CPU.
(Image credit: MSI)
The MSI MEG Z590 Ace is a premium motherboard adorned with several high-end features, including a very robust VRM capable of handling 10th and 11th generation flagship Intel processors at both stock speeds and overclocked. Additionally, the board includes four M.2 sockets, 2.5 GbE and integrated Wi-Fi 6E, and two Thunderbolt 4 ports for increased bandwidth and peripheral flexibility.
The MEG Z590 Ace’s 16-phase 90A VRM handled our i9-10900K without issue, even overclocked to 5.2 GHz. We’ll retest once we receive our Rocket Lake-based i9-11900K, but so long as the BIOS is right, it shouldn’t pose any problems for this board. Although it has four M.2 sockets, unlike the Gigabyte Z590 Vision G, using these sockets causes SATA ports to drop, because more lanes are tied to the chipset on this board). That said, if you’re in a worst-case scenario, you can run four M.2 modules and still have three SATA ports left over. Most users should find this acceptable.
As far as potential drawbacks go, the price point of $400-plus will be out of reach for some users. Another concern for some may be the lack of RGB elements on the board. The MSI dragon and chipset heatsink light up with RGB LEDs, but that’s it. If you like a lot of RGB LED bling, you can add it via the four aRBG/RGB headers located around the board. The other drawback is the lack of a USB 3.2 Gen2x2 Type-C port, but the faster Thunderbolt 4 ports certainly make up for that.
Direct competitors at this price point are the Asus ROG Strix Z590-E Gaming, Gigabyte Z590 Aorus Master, and the ASRock Z590 Taichi. All of these boards are plenty capable with the differences residing in VRMs (Gigabyte gets the nod here), M.2 storage (MSI and Giga both have four) and audio (the Ace has the most premium codec). Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but if you forced me to pick among these, the Taichi would be the board I’d want to show off the most. That said, no board here is a turnoff and has its own benefit over another.
The Ace’s appearance, including the brushed aluminum and carbon fiber-like finish, really gives it a premium look and feel, while easily blending in with your build theme. If your budget allows for a ~$400 motherboard and you’re looking for a lot of M.2 storage and enjoy a premium audio experience, the MEG Z590 Ace is an excellent option near that price point. Stay tuned for benchmarking, overclocking, and power results using the new Rocket Lake CPU.
Elgato, the Corsair-owned company known for its gaming and creator-focused streaming tech, is expanding into smart lighting. It has introduced the Light Strip, a thin strip packed with 108 dimmable LEDs that can be mounted via sticky adhesive, bent, and trimmed to fit wherever you’d like them to go. These can be controlled over Wi-Fi (2.4GHz only) through a free app on macOS, Windows 10, iOS, or Android, or from Elgato’s Stream Deck hardware, which apparently will offer deeper integration. Elgato is charging $59.99 for two meters (about 79 inches) of lights, including the controller the lights plug into and a power adapter.
The Stream Deck isn’t included, for the record.Image: Elgato
These are similar in execution to most connected light strips including Philips Hue’s, which ironically has tight Stream Deck integration via plug-ins. Not to be confused with the capabilities of something like the Philips Hue Play gradient light strip that can sync the light to what’s on your screen (only after purchasing some pricey additional hardware), Elgato’s more affordable solution is just for looks.
If you’re a streamer who appears on-camera, Elgato says the LEDs within the Light Strip are flicker-free. It says some other options appear fine to the naked eye but can create a flickering effect when you’re on-camera. In terms of other specs, these are RGBWW LEDs that offer both cool and warm white support, in addition to millions of colors. These have a 2,000-lumen maximum output.
Coming in multiple colors.Image: Elgato
Elgato, keenly aware of its target audience, is also announcing Wave Panels. These are glorified foam pieces can be mounted (either by adhesive or with a wall anchor) in your space to improve the acoustics. They’ll likely be particularly useful if you’re recording your voice. They have an edgy look, and Elgato is releasing them in multiple colors. No price has been shared at the time of publishing.
Microsoft is starting to modernize some of the basic parts of Windows 10 by improving the system icons that are available in the operating system. A new preview build of Windows 10 is rolling out to testers this week, and it includes system icons that now adhere to Microsoft’s Fluent Design style.
The new icons include a more rounded and simplified look, and are available as a new font — Segoe Fluent Icons. Microsoft has also updated its new taskbar widget with the new icons, providing a good look at how basic icon changes can modernize even the smallest parts of Windows.
Some of the new system icons for Windows 10.Image: Microsoft
It’s a small change to Windows 10 that will appear later this year for most, but it’s part of a broader push by Microsoft to overhaul Windows 10. Microsoft updated some of its Windows 10 icons last year with colorful versions, and even tweaked the Start menu to make it a little more streamlined.
Microsoft is also planning a “sweeping visual rejuvenation of Windows,” codenamed Sun Valley. It might seem like Microsoft has been promising visual overhauls of Windows 10 for years with its Fluent Design push, but even bigger UI changes look set to appear later this year.
The Windows Start menu, File Explorer, and built-in apps are all expected to be overhauled as part of this UI refresh. Even basic things like buttons, controls, and sliders in apps should get some design love. This should mean Windows will look a lot more consistent, and hopefully a lot of the ancient icons and Windows 95-era prompts start to disappear.
The new system icons in action.Image: Microsoft
Microsoft has put a lot of work into improving its UI consistency in Windows 10X, an upcoming version of Windows that will be designed for Chromebook-like devices. Windows 10X includes a new Start menu, and lots of changes to basic controls like Wi-Fi, the notification center, and more. It feels like a stripped back, more simplified version of Windows.
How Microsoft markets Windows 10X could be a hint at where it sees Windows heading in the future. Rumors suggest the company is gearing up to use “the new Windows” as a marketing term, and we’re expecting Microsoft to have a lot more Windows news soon. Microsoft is planning events in the coming weeks to detail its future plans for gaming, Windows, and more.
While Microsoft held its Ignite conference this week, the company had very little to say about Windows. Microsoft’s head of Windows and devices, Panos Panay, acknowledged that news is on the way, though. “I haven’t talked about the next generation of Windows, and what’s coming next,” said Panay during an Ignite session earlier this week. “I’m so pumped. The future of Windows is incredible, but we’re here today to talk about Windows 10.”
It’s unusual to hear Microsoft talk about its “next generation of Windows,” particularly as the company has stuck to the Windows 10 branding since its debut nearly six years ago. I don’t think that means we’re about to see a Windows 11, but how Microsoft separates out Windows 10 and Windows 10X will be key to avoiding any confusion (hello, Windows RT). That’s especially true if Windows 10X doesn’t support legacy desktop apps at launch, as our recent look at the OS suggests.
Light and snappy, a little too flashy and packing potential, the Marsback M1 is an interesting 75% Bluetooth mechanical keyboard that hit Kickstarter this week (early bird price of $159). It’s an attempt at the best gaming keyboard that experiments freely with a chunky, frosted base, over-the-top RGB and extra peppy switches while pulling in helpful features, like hot-swappable switches, that aren’t as common as we might like.
Marsback sent us a functioning prototype to test out. Ultimately, it’s a bold design that, at first glance, one Tom’s Hardware editor couldn’t decide if he loved or hated.
Marsback M1 Specs
Switches
Marsback MBS-I (tested), MBS-II or MBS-III&
Lighting
Per-key RGB
Onboard Storage
2 profiles
Connectivity
USB Type-C to USB Type-A, rubber
Additional Ports
None
Keycaps
PBT plastic
Construction
Polycarbonate plastic
Software
Marsback Pro
Dimensions (LxWxH)
12.6 x 5.2 x 1.7 inches (321 x 131 x 42.8mm)
Compatibility
Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Dos, Linux, Unix
Who Is Marsback?
Let’s get this out of the way. Many are skeptical about buying something off crowdfunders like Kickstarter as there’s a chance it’ll never come to market. The good news is that this isn’t Marsback’s first product. The company, which started in 2018 with 3G consumer gadgets, also made the Zephyr gaming mouse with a built-in fan, which appears to be available outside of Kickstarter on Marsback’s website.
For better or worse, Marsback also acknowledged consumer skepticism about crowdfunding projects on the M1’s Kickstarter page, admitting that due to the keyboard’s large (6,000mAh) battery, some countries won’t allow it to be air shipped, which would result in slower delivery.
The company also pointed to budget concerns, stating that the keyboard’s hand-assembled, homemade mechanical switches are affected by increasing labor costs. It said that “keeping it affordable, yet high quality is never easy. But instead of aiming for making money, we aim for giving you an experience like no other”
A Marsback rep further addressed potential concern, telling us, “We will continue to sell the keyboard after the campaign [ends] on Kickstarter, both on our official website and Amazon store. And the Marsback M1 keyboard is not our first Kickstarter campaign. Before that, we’ve fulfilled the Zephyr gaming mouse.”
More good news comes from Marsback saying the M1 is “already in production,” with the first step being making and testing the switches. It’s expecting to ship the M1 in early July. The company first came up with the M1 in March 2019.
In a statement announcing the M1, Jack Walker, co-inventor of Marsback M1, said, “The Kickstarter campaign will help us manufacture our units and finalize our packaging components so M1 can arrive in homes across the world as soon as possible.”
Design
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With its thick, heavy, white-frosted base, the M1’s keys look like they’re sitting in a block of dull ice. The body was CNC milled out of polycarbonate, because of the material’s translucent look and ”lack of tooling costs,” according to Marsback’s Kickstarter. This is actually the hardest and most time-consuming part of making the M1.
This makes for a block of a keyboard that looks much different than the black plastic bases and dark tops comprising the vast majority of mechanical clackers today, whether RGB is on or not. It also makes for a much heavier keyboard than you’d expect of a wireless keyboard with a 75% layout.
Lurking within the M1’s base are 21 surface-mounted LEDs. When brought to life, they produce a memorable blast of RGB. The frosty, diffused exterior often paints a cotton candy effect on the RBGs. But don’t mistake that for being dim. In fact, I’d advise you not to look directly into these lights for more than a couple seconds unless you’re after a quick headache. You can adjust brightness, but now matter how you slice it — be that with a rainbow effect, solid color breathing or a small patch of lights circling the perimeter — this is powerful, look-at-me RGB.
The downside is the visibility of the individual LEDs, which is so prominent that you can basically count each one. This isn’t an issue from a top-down view, but from the sides it makes the RGB glow look unnatural.
On top of that, in true gaming keyboard fashion, the keys themselves have per-key RGB for the ultimate dizzying array of RGB overload. These 84 LEDs for the keys are also very bright, casting a glow on the RGB base. Thankfully, RGB is controllable with hot keys (as are numerous other functions, such as volume control and a calculator launcher). But I wouldn’t remember them without the handy manual Marsback includes in the box. And there were times when some functions wouldn’t work on my prototype (hopefully this will be addressed with the final keyboards).
I tested the Sakura Pink version of this keyboard, which already looks busy sans RGB, with pink flowers and accents. It was hard to find an RGB effect that enhanced this design rather than overpowered it. And it was hard to tell what was the base’s RGB effect and what came from the keys. The black version and, especially, the white version with its white pudding keycaps seem to blend with the RBG effects better, based on the pictures Marsback has provided.
(Image credit: Marsback)
Sadly, I didn’t quite get the Cherry blossom feel I had hoped for with the M1’s Sakura Pink theme. The spacebar comes close, as do the pink petals sprinkled throughout, (although, I could use more of those). But many of the keyboard’s flowers come off more ‘60s and/or Barbie-themed.
Snappy Homebrewed Switches
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
What first stood out to me about the M1 are the linear switches Marsback brewed for them. Despite the linear travel, Marsback promised a pleasantly tactile sensation and delivered.
As the M1’s Kickstarter page states, Marsback designed the switches to provide “better control [over] the keystrokes and bounce sound.” The vendor describes the switches as “light and short on touch” with lubrication applied to each switch’s mandrel and the spring connection for a smooth rebound. You should relube after 10 months though, a Marsback rep told us.
The M1 is available with three different types of Marsback M1 switches:
MBS-I (tested)
MBS-II
MBS-III
Total Travel
4mm ±, 0.6mm
4mm ±, 0.6mm
4mm ±, 0.6mm
Actuation Point
2mm ± 0.6mm
2mm ± 0.6mm
2mm ± 0.6mm
Actuation Force
45g ± 15g
50g ± 15g
55g ± 15g
I’ve only had a couple days with the M1, but typing with the MBS-I switches has felt perky and, as promised, satisfyingly bouncy. At first I did have to snap some switches more firmly into place, but since my test unit is a prototype this can be forgiven. Once the switches were properly installed, I was surprised at how responsive the keys felt. They certainly felt linear, but the quick bounce back did add a pleasant distinct feel to the typing experience while making it seem slightly more enjoyable for long-term typing than using Cherry MX Red linear switches.
The switches also felt very smooth. The lubrication seems effective, but I do wonder if the switches will lose a lot of their magic once this wears off. Combined with the keyboard’s PBT keycaps though, typing felt quick and slightly more stiff with a thinner, less hollow noise than what you get on other keyboards, including the Varmilo MA108M Moonlight keyboard, which has very smooth electrostatic capacitive mechanical switches.
Typing on the M1 felt very stable, with the keycaps showing very little wobble and only if I forced them. The MBS-I switches use 5-pins (compared to the 3 pins many switches, including Cherry MX Reds use), and M1 has a plate on top of its PCB, so this sturdiness isn’t surprising.
It took me some time to adjust to the M1 and avoid typos because the keys felt light and depressed easily. The M1’s Kickstarter goes as far as to say that average typing speed could increase by as much as 5% on the Marsback M1. I didn’t immediately see such results. My average speed was the same and my accuracy was slightly down, but I could see both, especially accuracy, improving over time.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
And, of course, should you dislike Marsback’s switches, they are hot swappable, making it fast and easy to change your keyboard’s mechanical switches without soldering.
Wireless Connectivity
The M1 has a leg up on productivity in its ability to connect to up to three Bluetooth devices and toggle between them using FN and F2, F3 or F4. I didn’t do a lot of back and forth between PCs in my short time with the M1, but when I did switch between PC to PC, I was able to do so quickly and without issues. The M1 uses Bluetooth 5.1 via a Nordic N52810 chip.
You could also use the M1 with its cable. Marsback even took the extra stepin making the M1 connect via USB-C, which is more common and faster than Micro-USB. However, my prototype annoyingly requires you use hot keys to switch to wired mode.
Marsback opts to pack the M1 with a 6000mAh battery that it says should last up to 2 months with the LEDs off and 12 hours with full RGB. Charging time is pegged at 6 hours. Although, my prototype lacks a power button, which complicates things and is another detail I hope is addressed with retail units.
Software
Mrsback’s M1 uses a 32-bit microcontroller and 128KB of SRAM and will be programmable via Marsback’s software, called Marsback Pro.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
Marsback Pro will let users make custom macros, set per-key RGB and store up to 2 onboard memory profiles, which you can activate without software by hitting FN and F9 or F10.
Final Thoughts
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
If you’re a believer in crowdfunding and like the way the Marsback M1 looks, it may actually be a good contender in the increasingly flooded mechanical keyboard market.
For one, its feature set is hard to match. Reliable Bluetooth connectivity across three devices isn’t that common in a mechanical keyboard, let alone one with RGB. Add hot-swappable switches into the mix, and it becomes even rarer.
Compared to other Bluetooth gaming keyboards, the M1’s $159 early bird price isn’t horrible either. The Logitech G915 Lightspeed is currently $250, and the tenkeyless version, the Logitech G915 TKL, is on sale for about $200. The Hexgears Venture also started via Kickstarter and is now available for $160, and the Razer BlackWidow V3 Pro is $230.
At much above that, though, the M1 will probably have a hard time keeping up — especially if it doesn’t improve on build quality flaws with the final product. Some will also yearn for the option to connect via wireless dongle, especially for competitive gaming. Additionally, we can’t predict how long the M1 will be available at the early bird pricing or its final retail price.
But typing on this keyboard was impressive and distinct, largely thanks to Marsback’s bouncy linear switches. There are possibilities here. Particularly if you appreciate the phrase “moar RGB.”
Move over H.264/AVC and HEVC, there’s a new video streaming codec in town and it’s got you in its sites. AV1 is here and it’s going to be everywhere before you know it.
AV1 is an open, royalty-free video standard with an improved compression system that should allow huge data efficiency savings without reducing video quality – and that could be key going forward into a world of higher frame rates, 8K resolution, HDR standards and audio demands.
As such, AV1 brings implications for those who use services such as Netflix, Disney Plus and Prime Video; people looking to buy a new TV or media streamer; and anyone interested in 8K TV. And as a catch-all compression standard there are many uses beyond, including gaming, realtime applications such as video conferencing and anything else where video streams are required.
Best streaming services for TV and movies
What is AV1?
AV1 (AOMedia Video 1) is the the next evolution of the defacto video streaming codec across the internet. It’s planned as the successor to the HEVC (H.265) format that is currently used for 4K HDR video on platforms such as Prime Video, Apple TV+, Disney Plus and Netflix.
It was developed by the Alliance for Open Media, which counts Amazon, Apple, ARM, Facebook, Google, Intel, Microsoft, Mozilla, Netflix, Nvidia and Samsung among its members, and is designed to offer internet streaming efficiency upgrades without affecting quality. That makes it an important step in the uptake of streamed 8K video, given the more data-heavy demands of this higher-res format.
The other big advantage to the streaming giants is that AV1 is royalty-free. That means video platforms, device manufacturers and, by proxy, users can avoid the hefty licensing payments previously associated with codecs such as HEVC. With any luck, that should also grease the wheels of AV1’s evolution and development by avoiding costly, time consuming and generally prohibitive law suits and patent claims.
At the time of writing, the AV1 video codec shows anywhere up to 30 per cent more efficient compression than HEVC, and those within the Alliance for Open Media will push for even bigger gains still. After all, it’s always good to leave room to squeeze more audio and video standards into the bitstream as and when they arise.
But while all sounds good for efficiency of the compression, there is a catch – it takes much, much longer to encode videos in AV1 in the first place. Imagine capturing a video on your mobile then having to wait an age for the AV1 file to be created before you can share it.
The aim for AV1 is for significant improvement here. Realistically, it’s a problem that needs to be solved before widespread adoption can happen. Until then, expect AV1 to be a more fringe player.
Best media streamers 2021: The best TV streaming devices
AV1 specs
(Image credit: AOAlliance)
AV1 decoders are available at different profile settings and levels, depending on each piece of hardware’s capabilities. Theoretically, though, there’s plenty of scope and the very upper limits of AV1 have not yet been defined.
For the time being, the codec can go as far as 8K at up to 120fps, involving bitrates at up to 800mbps. Bit depth for colour comes in 8-, 10- and 12-bit varieties and with colour sampling up to a 4:4:4 full pixel level.
Can I watch AV1 video now?
Google has already implemented some AV1 use onto YouTube and requires AV1 support to view its 8K videos on TV.
Netflix has also started streaming AV1 content on a few titles. In fact, the subscription giant first took on AV1 as a way of keeping costs down for Android customers. The Netflix ‘Save Data’ feature on Android devices prioritises the use of the less data-heavy AV1 streams where possible. The company has also committed to take AV1 use across the board going forward.
Vimeo has adopted AV1 for the streams of its ‘Staff picks’ channel. Facebook has promised a roll out of AV1 as browser support emerges, and Twitch has 2022 or 2023 targeted with universal support projected to arrive in 2024 or 2025.
To watch this AV1 content requires both hardware and software support, which mostly breaks down to which device you’ve got and what operating system it’s using. At the time of writing, there’s no AV1 support on MacOS or iOS.
Android (10 onwards), Chrome (70 onwards) and Linux can decode AV1 streams, as can Windows 10 devices (once updated) for certain Windows apps.
What is Google TV? Apps, features, compatible TVs, everything you need to know
What devices support AV1?
Any device looking to support AV1 will need to have an AV1 decoder built-in at the chip level. Compatibility to the codec cannot be added as a firmware update for most devices. That means the very vast majority of devices out there at the time of writing aren’t ready for it.
There are one or two that were future-proofed in 2020, though. Of those, the Roku Ultra is probably your best bet to get going with AV1 content straight away, although it’s only available in the US for now.
LG’s 8K TVs from 2020 are also AV1 compatible with a decoder built into the α9 (Gen 3) processor. It’s a similar story for Samsung’s 8K sets from the same time – you can actually watch AV1-encoded 8K content from the YouTube app of those sets now.
The other notable AV1-enabled hardware is the Nvidia GeForce RTX 30 Series graphics cards, which would make a very handy video streaming addition to most PCs.
Otherwise, it’s a list of AV1 promises but these include a particularly good one. Google recently announced that any device looking to use the Android TV 10 OS produced after the 31st March 2021 deadline will need to have an AV1 decoder built in.
So, expect plenty of set-top boxes and smart TVs launched in 2021 and beyond to be ready to go and, with Google putting its foot down, all sorts of other products and services should fall in line over the next 12 months, and that’s good news for everyone. Higher quality video, here we come.
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Microsoft is making its first significant change to the Outlook calendar view in years. A new Outlook calendar board view is coming soon to Outlook for the web, and it works a lot like Trello. It’s a new dynamic view that will let you organize meetings alongside tasks, notes, goals, links, files, and more.
It works much like Trello, where you can add new cards of information to help you organize your calendar and meetings. Files can sit alongside this view or even simple notes and goals to help with organization. It’s essentially an ever-expanding board that tries to centralize everything that goes into keeping your calendar clean and up to date.
The new Outlook calendar board looks a lot like Trello.Image: Microsoft
“On average, people use 6 tools to track all the things they need to get done,” says Gabriel Valdez, a product marketing manager for Microsoft’s Outlook team. “That is a lot of context switching, back and forth, and maybe even double tracking.” This new calendar board view is designed to help people cut down on having to switch between tools and apps to manage their time.
Microsoft is making this new board calendar view available in Outlook for the web first, and it will be available to commercial and education users soon, too. It’s not clear how this new view will appear in Outlook for Windows or the mobile versions of Outlook in the future, though.
Microsoft is also improving Outlook for iOS and Android for meeting scheduling. Later this month, suggested times for meetings will appear for all commercial and education users, making it easier to avoid conflicts when scheduling meetings with multiple participants.
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Cinematic first-person view or FPV drones have been a growing trend in the drone industry for a few years. Now the world’s biggest consumer drone maker, DJI, is hopping on that wave with its first FPV drone.
The new FPV (yup, it’s just called the FPV) drone is bundled together with DJI’s goggles and a new controller for the price of $1,299. That price is steep if you’re considering this as your starter FPV drone, but it’s quite comparable with the rest of the drones on the market, which are often sold with controllers, goggles, or cameras.
DJI believes this drone will be suitable for FPV professionals and also newcomers, like myself, who have been flying “standard” drones but are now ready to make that step into the FPV world. I’ve dedicated a large part of my last two weeks to see if it’s able to live up to either of those ambitions.
The FPV has a fixed, super wide-angle camera on the front.
FPV design and hardware
If this review is your first introduction to FPV drones, here’s how they are different from a typical drone. For starters, an FPV drone requires special goggles for full flight immersion. (That’s what gives you that “first person” view.) The camera is usually locked in one position and unlike standard camera drones, it doesn’t aim to stay stabilized and leveled with the horizon. And most importantly, every FPV pilot will tell you that FPV drones are way more fun to fly. And they’d be right. The drones are more responsive in the air and they move at hair-raising speeds. They can also be much more challenging to fly.
For DJI’s first foray into the FPV world, the company is betting on simplicity. There’s no need to know how to build your own drone, calibrate motors, get the transmitters right, and so forth. It really is as “plug & play” as it gets. The drone establishes connection with the controller and the goggles automatically, and you’re ready to fly.
The drone is slightly heavier than most FPV drones due to its hefty battery. That battery is also a big selling point for DJI as it enables 20-minute flight times. If you’re used to Mavics, Phantoms, or Parrots, this would be considered short. But compared to FPV drones, this is a significant upgrade from typical flight time, which varies from three minutes for miniature drones to around 10 minutes for larger FPVs. It’s also DJI’s “intelligent battery,” meaning it discharges after a few days when not in use to maximize its life span and avoid swelling.
The FPV shares the same 1/2.3-inch sensor as the $450 Mini 2, which is mostly a good thing. It won’t match the capabilities of DJI’s more advanced photo and video-focused drones, however.The FPV’s camera performs well in daylight but starts showing its downsides in darker environments by muddying details with lots of noise. The FPV can film 4K at 60fps instead of the 24fps on the Mini 2 — perfect for slowing down footage for those thrilling close calls. And if you want it even slower, you can also shoot up to 120fps at 1080p.
The camera is mounted on a one-axis gimbal and it has a super-wide view of 150 degrees compared to the 83 degrees you get on a Mini 2. It’s so wide you can see the ends of your propellers in your footage, which is great for gauging how close you are to certain obstacles while flying, but it’s not great for the overall aesthetic in your final clip. You can easily remove it in post or apply lens correction in the menu in the goggles, which will also get rid of heavily distorted edges. Part of me wishes there were a better camera here, especially at this price, but I get it — it’s DJI’s first FPV drone and if it ends up being successful, it’s safe to assume we’ll see a more diverse lineup in the future.
The FPV kit comes with the drone, goggles, and controller.
But the biggest difference between DJI’s FPV and most other FPVs is the image transmission. DJI’s FPV drone is relying on digital transmission, which it introduced in the summer of 2019. Most starter FPV drones use analog transmission.
The downside of analog transmission is that it doesn’t allow for long distance flying. But the upside is analog transmission has very low latency, which takes precedence over range. Fortunately, DJI is using its OcuSync technology here, and from my experience over the past few weeks, it’s been great. At a few points, I noticed some sort of interference with the image where I’d have to come to a stop and wait a few beats before I’d continue flying, but for the most part it has been smooth sailing.
The goggles themselves were first introduced in 2020 for use with custom FPV drones along with the DJI Air Unit, a camera for digital transmission. There’s a five-directional joystick on top, a back button, and a record button. The displays have 810p resolution and the preview image in the goggles looks very crisp and detailed, which is important when you need to avoid branches in your flight path. The design gives me a very Christopher Nolan Batman-esque vibe from it. I can’t help feeling like an idiot wearing them, but my colleague Dieter said it looks badass, so I’ll trust him on that one.
Lastly, there’s a new controller that is about half the size of other standard FPV controllers. DJI has also developed an optional $199 motion controller, which I didn’t have time to test for this review. I am more comfortable with a standard controller at this point, but the motion controller could be a great option for beginners. There is one very annoying thing about both controllers and it’s that neither charge with USB-C to USB-C cables, just USB-A to USB-C; it’s infuriating.
As mentioned, this whole kit will cost you $1,299. Compared to some other options, you can definitely get away with spending a lot less until you feel more comfortable flying FPV. Emax makes some of the best Tinyhawk beginner FPVs, and its kits start at $99. But if you’re at a level where you already feel comfortable flying, I think this price is comparable to what’s out there.
DJI’s FPV drone isn’t exactly portable, but taking the propellers off might help.
Flying the FPV drone
There are three modes you can fly this drone in: normal, sport, and manual.
Normal is similar to how you’d fly any other drone. It has auto-leveling and will maintain its altitude by itself. The speed is capped at 31 mph and it’s suitable for beginners. Sport mode is a simplified FPV mode and a lot faster than normal mode with speeds up to 60 mph. The drone will still auto-level itself and hold its altitude in the sport mode.
Then there is the manual mode, which allows you to do the fun FPV things, like flips and rolls. It can reach speeds up to 97 mph and it accelerates from 0–60 mph in two seconds. In this mode, you have to take control of your throttle and maintain the drone’s positioning at all times. In the FPV world, this mode is called “Acro” and it really takes hundreds and thousands of hours to get comfortable with it.
I want to stress this again: this was my first time flying an FPV drone. I always had an interest in it, especially when I saw what FPV racers transitioning into the cinematic FPV world can do with these drones. DJI isn’t aiming this drone at racers but for people either comfortable with FPVs or trying to make that step into the FPV world but are discouraged by the DIY aspect of it all. That’s not to say you can’t have fun with other modes. In my two weeks with it, I’ve been making baby steps getting more comfortable with manual mode, but I’m fully aware of how much more time I need to invest practicing first.
Instead of showing you my amateurish skills, I decided to hand this drone to Reza Kurniawan, an actual professional FPV pilot, so be sure to watch the video review above to see what professionals are capable of doing with the DJI FPV.
The FPV has obstacle avoidance sensors at the front, but they only work in normal mode. Once the drone senses an obstacle nearby, it will gradually slow down so you have time to react to it. The sensors are a lot less sensitive than what you might be used to if you’re coming from the Mavic series. And they won’t engage in the other two modes, which leads to how I crashed this drone.
In case you lose control or need to come to a full stop, there is an emergency button on the controller, but I didn’t have time to press it, unfortunately. I went around a tree without knowing what was on the other side and clipped one of the branches which sent the drone into a spiraling free fall. I expected the motors to turn themselves off after impact, as a standard drone’s auto shutoff feature would do, but instead the FPV kept “ramming” itself into the ground. DJI tells me that shouldn’t be the case. Hopefully it’s just an early software bug, but it’s a pretty serious one nonetheless.
If you’re like me and wreck this drone, you can replace the following items yourself: the top housing shell, propellers, the gimbal / camera module, and the arms. I had to replace most things myself, except the gimbal and the arm. All of the replaceable parts can be ordered from DJI directly. The FPV kit comes with an extra top housing and extra propellers, which you should definitely keep around. But if you need even more spares, propellers cost $15 each, while the top runs $15. Each arm costs $19 and the camera module costs $129.
The FPV doesn’t fold down like DJI’s other consumer drones.
Overall, the drone feels extremely responsive. For someone who loves the Mini 2 because of its size and how it feels in the air especially in sport mode, the transition to FPV wasn’t actually that daunting. I’m nowhere near the level I want to be, but my initial anxiousness disappeared rather quickly. Too quickly, actually. Switching to fully manual mode brought that anxiety right back.
Despite all that, I have to admit, I’m completely hooked. Every time I walk around the city or go anywhere now, all I can think about is where I can fly this drone and which little nooks I can try to squeeze it through and so on. But I’m hooked more into the idea of flying any FPV, not specifically this model.
The FPV is too pricey for it to be a starter first-person drone. But DJI included some of its best tech in it, which makes it perform very well. It is such a simple system to use and for a newcomer, it is much more approachable than some of the other options out there. DJI is also introducing a flight simulator built into the app (accessible through the goggles), but it wasn’t available during my testing. I strongly recommend any newcomers to spend more time practicing in simulators. There are many available on Mac, Windows, and Steam.
Then there are the standard issues when it comes to any drone: laws in your country; the area you live in and how much use you’ll get out of it; the need for a few more batteries (each battery is $149), which pushes the total price up. This also isn’t really a portable system: it’s big and bulky and oddly doesn’t come with a carrying case, so you’ll want to buy something like a Pelican case for it.
If you have a familiarity with FPV drones, I think you can’t go wrong with the DJI FPV. Whether you like it or not it will largely depend on your preference — do you like mounting a GoPro instead of the built-in DJI camera, or you just enjoy the DIY aspect of it all and want to customize your quads to your liking? For me, it has been an absolute blast to fly this around and, yes, sometimes it’s been sort of stressful. But for many of you, myself included, it might be worth spending a bit more time in FPV simulators before spending too much on the whole kit. Once I feel ready, DJI FPV will be on the top of my list.
Crucial’s range of midrange, portable USB-C SSDs in the X6 lineup has a couple of new configurations starting today: one for big spenders who need a lot of storage, and another for people on a budget. On top of its 1TB and 2TB models, there’s now a 4TB SSD you can buy for $489.95. It’s priced higher than the current cost for two of its 2TB models ($190 each through Crucial directly), but like most SSDs, it probably won’t take long for it to fall lower than its original asking price. As for the budget-friendly option, you can snag a 500GB model for $69.95.
Back to the 4TB model, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a better price on this much storage in a more compact SSD, which could make it a great option for people with large photo or video libraries who don’t want to juggle multiple drives. It could also be a convenient solution for storing all of your PS4 or Xbox One games on for easy access when it’s connected to a PS5 or Xbox Series X / S. It’s listed as being compatible with Windows 10, macOS, Android, and with consoles.
While Crucial has the competition beat on fitting in more storage (and for its claim of surviving drops on carpet of up to 6.5 feet), it isn’t the fastest portable SSD on the market. It claims up to 800MB/s read speeds for the 4TB model, but lesser capacities offer just 540MB/s sequential read speeds. If you want something faster, Crucial’s high-end X8 portable SSDs that are also drop-proof offer sequential read speeds of up to 1,050MB/s and sequential write speeds of up to 1,000MB/s, but for a hearty boost in price. Western Digital’s latest My Passport portable SSD and Samsung’s T7 also provide these speeds, though Samsung has the advantage with the T7’s thinner size.
The MSI GP66 Leopard is a powerhouse gaming notebook housed in a fairly subtle shell that also boasts a comfortable keyboard. It also offers plenty to upgrade or repair, but it’s a chore getting inside.
For
Strong gaming performance
Comfortable keyboard
Replaceable components
Subtle design for a gaming notebook
Against
Difficult to open
Touchpad feels cheap
Too much bloatware
Just because you grow up a bit doesn’t mean you need to stop having fun. The MSI GP66 Leopard ($1,799.00 to start, $2,599.00 as tested) is a powerhouse gaming notebook with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 and Intel Core i7-10870H. But it would fit in anywhere, whether it be an office or a gaming room, thanks to its matte-black stylings. If you’re looking for gaming power without all of the flash, this might be on your list of the
best gaming laptops
.
If you ran some workstation tasks on this, you might believe it was a work machine. Only when you turn on the RGB keyboard do you know it’s time to play. There aren’t red stripes, or, say, an RGB lightbar like MSI’s other models.
It’s a powerhouse, and many of the components are upgradeable for replacement down the line. But while the GP66 Leopard is all grown up, there are still some areas, like its touchpad and its bloatware, where it needs some more maturing.
Design of the MSI GP66 Leopard
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As far as MSI’s gaming notebooks go, the Leopard is quite plain. While some of its other laptops have red accents or RGB light strips, the GP66 is an all-black affair. On the aluminum lid, even the dragon shield logo is tone-on-tone. Only the hinges, which are connected to aggressively shaped plastic molds, suggest this is anything other than a workstation PC.
The only real sign of the GP66’s gaming prowess is the keyboard, which has RGB backlighting courtesy of SteelSeries. But the black aluminum deck and the fairly thin bezels around three sides of the display suggest just a premium notebook. The bottom cover is plastic.
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The Leopard is a thick machine at 0.92 inches tall, so there’s plenty of room for ports. However, MSI has placed only a few of them on the sides: The right side has a pair of USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A ports, while the left side has another Type-A and the headphone jack. The rest of the ports — USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-C, HDMI, RJ-45 Ethernet and the charging port — are all on the rear of the device. Alienware has been doing this for years, and it’s a benefit if you use your laptop like a desktop replacement and don’t move it around much. But it can also be inconvenient if you like to use your laptop on your lap.
At 14.09 x 10.51 x 0.92 inches and 5.25 pounds, the Leopard isn’t exactly portable in the toss-it-in-a-bag sense. Dell’s 15-inch competitor, the Alienware 15 m4, is slightly lighter at 5 pounds and a similar size 14.2 x 10.9 x 0.9 inches, but its design is slightly more sleek. The Gigabyte Aorus 17G is expectedly larger with a bigger screen, at 5.95 pounds and 14.9 x 10.8 x 1 inches.
3x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A, USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C, HDMI, 3.5 mm headphone jack, RJ-45 Ethernet
Camera
720p
Battery
65 Wh
Power Adapter
230W
Operating System
Windows 10 Home
Dimensions(WxDxH)
14.09 x 10.51 x 0.92 inches / 357.89 x 266.95 x 23.37 mm
Weight
5.25 pounds / 2.38 kilograms
Price (as configured)
$2,599.00
Gaming and Graphics on the MSI GP66 Leopard
MSI opted for a powerful implementation of the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 for the GP66 Leopard. This version has a 130W max graphics power and a
boost clock
of 1,605 MHz.
Besides running benchmarks, I tried playing Control, a game I use often on laptops with RTX GPUs because of how tough it is to run and because
ray tracing
has a truly noticeable effect. With the settings maxed out at 1080p and with ray tracing on high, the game ran between 52 and 57 frames per second as I traded shots with hiss guards surrounding a control point, though it went as high as 70 during exploration.
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On Shadow of the Tomb Raider (1080p, highest), the GP66 hit 106 frames per second. The Aorus 17G, with an RTX 3080
Max-Q
ran the game at 86 fps, while the Alienware m15 R4 with an RTX 3070 played it at 77 fps.
The Leopard played Grand Theft Auto V (1080p, very high) at 125 fps, beating the Aorus (100 fps) and Alienware m15 (108 fps).
MSI’s laptop ran Far Cry New Dawn (1080p, ultra) at 103 fps, beating both the Alienware and Aorus by over 10 frames per second.
The GP66 Leopard outperformed on Red Dead Redemption 2 (1080p, medium), playing at 82 fps.
It also won out on Borderlands 3 (badass, 1080p), at 99 fps, while the Aorus 17G ran at 79 fps and the Alienware hit 84 fps.
We also ran our gaming stress test on the GP66 Leopard by looping the Metro Exodus benchmark at RTX settings for 15 runs, simulating roughly half an hour of gaming. It ran at a largely steady average of 76.38 frames per second across the runs. The CPU ran at an average of 3.73 GHz and an average temperature of 61.85 degrees Celsius (143.3 degrees Fahrenheit). The GPU ran at an average of 1.1 GHz and 61.49 degrees Celsius (142.68 degrees Fahrenheit).
Productivity Performance on the MSI GP66 Leopard
Beyond gaming, the GP66’s Intel Core i7-1070H and GeForce RTX 3080, along with 32GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD are powerful parts that should aid in creative endeavors like streaming or video editing.
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On the Geekbench 5 overall performance benchmark, the GP66 earned a single-core score of 1,274 and multi-core score of 7,848. The Gigabyte Aorus 17G had scores of 1,265 and 7,895, respectively, while the Alienware 15 R5 notched scores of 1,252 and 7,642.
On our file transfer test, the Leopard copied and transferred 25GB of files at a rate of 1,059.78 MBps, falling just below the Alienware but ahead of the Aorus.
It took the GP66 Leopard seven minutes and three seconds (7:03) to complete our Handbrake test, transcoding a 4K video to 1080p. That’s slightly faster than the Alienawre (7:07) and far speeder than the Aorus (8:33).
Display on the MSI GP66 Leopard
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Our review unit came equipped with a 15.6-inch, 1920 x 1080 (FHD) display with a 240 Hz refresh rate. The most demanding titles won’t run that fast, but you can take advantage of it if you like playing esports titles like Overwatch, Fortnite or Rocket League.
When I watched the trailer for the upcoming Mortal Kombat movie, I felt the need to turn up the brightness for the best experience. Cole’s yellow gloves popped, as did Kano’s red eye lasers against a dark background, but the screen was largely serviceable rather than special.
When I played Control, the screen was bright enough, even in some dark spaces. That game has a lot of red, and it really popped, especially against the Oldest House’s dark walls.
MSI’s panel covers 78.5% of the DCI-P3 color gamut, matching what we saw on the Aorus 17G. We reviewed the Alienware m15 R4 with a 4K
OLED
screen, so it’s not surprising to see superior coverage there.
However, at 277 nits of brightness, the screen was dimmer than both the Aorus (300 nits) and the Alienware (362 nits).
Keyboard and Touchpad on the MSI GP66 Leopard
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MSI’s inputs are a mixed bag. Arguably the more important part of a gaming laptop, the keyboard, is the superior of the two. For years now, MSI has partnered with SteelSeries on its keyboards, and they’ve typically been quite good. On the Leopard, the keys are a bit more shallow than I would like, but they’re still fairly comfortable to type on. I hit 120 words per minute with a 2 percent error rate, which is about as fast as I ever get on the 10fastfingers.com typing test.
The 2.5 x 4.1-inch touchpad is fine for navigating and gestures with its Windows precision drivers, but it felt like cheap plastic compared to the aluminum around it. On top of that, I found I had to click harder than on most laptops. For gaming, you should be using a mouse anyway, but this could be a little better for general productivity use.
Audio on the MSI GP66 Leopard
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When I listened to Daft Punk’s “Something About Us,” the various synths and samples were quite clear through the laptop’s bottom-firing speakers. The vocals, purposefully distorted, still stood out on top of the track, along with some piano backing. The low end, including some drums, could have used a bit more punch.
There is a semblance of bass, which many laptops don’t offer, and I was able to tune it more to my liking in the Nahimic audio software.
When I played Control, Jesse’s internal thoughts were clear, especially as her narration ran over the creeping voices of the hiss. At some points, though, I wished I was able to make the volume louder, though this is something else that could be solved with headphones.
Upgrading the MSI GP66 Leopard
The GP66 Leopard is pretty easy to upgrade or repair. Well…it is once you manage to get inside. Compared to some other gaming notebooks, it’s like breaking into Fort Knox.
At first, eleven screws separate you from the GP66 Leopard’s internals. A size 000 Phillips head screwdriver will do the trick. Note, though, that one screw is beneath a factory seal, which is a questionable practice at best. If you send this back through warranty, MSI will know you opened it.
Even after removing all the screws, the system was too tight to open at first. No spudger or pick would fit in the cracks in the chassis. I tried this for longer before I cared to admit, before I eventually found
a YouTube video
from someone that had cracked the case. There is a decorative cover around the hinges, which you can pop off with a spudger. Once that’s off, you can slowly move your way around from the rear ports to the front of the case and carefully remove the bottom.
Once you’re in there, you’ll find that the RAM, Wi-Fi card and the SSD are replaceable. There are two PCIe
m.2 SSD
slots, and since ours came with a sole 1TB boot drive, there is room to expand. The 65 Wh battery, too, is replaceable.
Battery Life on the MSI GP66 Leopard
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The MSI’s GP66 Leopard’s 65W hour battery isn’t going to last it terribly long on a charge. This, unfortunately, is a trend on gaming notebooks, but the Leopard with its full-power RTX 3080, didn’t last as long as competitors.
MSI’s notebook endured for two hours and 25 minutes on our test, which browses the web, runs OpenGL tests and streams video over Wi-Fi, all at 150 nits of brightness. The Alienware m15 ran for 4:01 and the Gigabyte Aorus 17G ran for 4:42.
Heat on the MSI GP66 Leopard
Call it the MSI GP66 Jet Engine.
To keep its components cool, the GPU fans run hard and loud (especially in extreme performance mode, which MSI sent the GP66 Leopard to us set to by default). Admittedly, if you use headphones this is a bit less of a problem.
We took surface temperatures while running our Metro Exodus gauntlet (see the gaming performance section above).
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The center of the keyboard, between the G and H keys, measured 38.6 degrees Celsius (101.48 degrees Fahrenheit), while the touchpad reached 25.6 degrees Celsius (78.08 degrees Fahrenheit). The hottest point on the bottom of the laptop was 46.7 degrees Celsius (116.06 degrees Fahrenheit).
Webcam on the MSI GP66 Leopard
MSI has a laptop with a 1080p
webcam
coming this year. This isn’t it.
No, the GP66 Leopard still has a 720p webcam, and an image at my desk was grainy, though at least it was color accurate with my blue eyes and green t-shirt.
One minor annoyance is that the light that notifies you the camera is on blinks, rather than staying on and static. This is extremely distracting when you’re having a video call or streaming and want to focus on what’s on the screen.
Software and Warranty on the MSI GP66 Leopard
There is quite a lot of software preinstalled on the GP66, which has been a trademark of MSI laptops for a bit now. Unfortunately, a lot of it is bloatware.
Let’s start with the good stuff (it’s a shorter list). There’s MSI Dragon Center, which lets you monitor CPU and GPU usage and other stats, as well as change between different modes of performance. SteelSeries Engine 3 lets you configure the lighting on the keyboard, though I feel MSI should roll this into the other app. Nahimic lets you customize audio profiles.
Aside from that, MSI has added a ton of extra bloat, including the Cyberlink suite (AudioDirector, ColorDirector, PhotoDirector and PowerDirector), as well as Microsoft Sudoku, LinkedIn, Music Maker Jam and Norton Security.
That’s on top of the regular
Windows 10
inclusions, like Roblox, Hulu, Hidden City: Hidden Object Adventure and Adobe Photoshop Express.
MSI sells the GP66 Leopard with a one-year warranty.
Configurations
We tested the MSI GP66 Leopard with an Intel Core i7-1070H, Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080, 32GB of RAM, a 1TB M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD and a 15.6-inch, FHD display with a 240 Hz refresh rate. All of that adds up to a grand total of $2,599. (We have, however, seen an identical model with 32GB of RAM going for $2,499, so be sure to shop around).
For $1,799, you can get the Leopard with a Core i7-10750H, 16GB of RAM, a 512GB SSD and an FHD 144 Hz display.
Bottom Line
If you’re looking for a powerful gaming notebook that draws attention to games, not itself, the GP66 Leopard is worth looking at. The combination of a full-power RTX 3080 and 10th Gen Intel makes for a potent, if loud, gaming machine. And MSI has put it in a chassis that looks and feels fairly adult, even compared to something like the Alienware m15, which has also gone minimalistic.
There are some things MSI needs to work on here: primarily, the touchpad, which feels like an afterthought, and the sheer amount of bloatware that the company includes on its laptops. If you prefer a premium experience, the Alienware may be a better way to go, but a similarly specced model (with a 300 Hz compared to 240 Hz on the Leopard) is a little more expensive as of this writing.
But if you want a gaming notebook with powerful graphics performance, subtle styling and replaceable parts (even if it takes a bit of work to get to them), this Leopard will impress.
One of the world’s most popular and innovative computers officially launched on February 29, 2012. Nine years and 38 million units sold later, the Raspberry Pi powers a huge community of makers, students and businesses. What started as a small project, meant to increase applications for Cambridge University’s computer science program has become a global movement.
Every serious tech enthusiast should own at least one Raspberry Pi or, if you’re like me, 30 Raspberry Pis. You can use one as a lightweight PC, a retro arcade machine or to power a variety of projects, from home security cameras to tic-tac-toe-playing robots, self-driving trash cans or streaming media servers.
In honor of the Raspberry Pi’s ninth birthday, here are 9 key facts about it.
1. Raspberry Pi’s original target was just 1,000 units.
The Raspberry Pi was originally developed to solve a very limited problem: the decreasing number of people applying to study computer science at Cambridge University. The number of applications had dropped from 600 to 250 per year and Eben Upton, who was the director of studies and responsible for admission, became concerned that not enough kids were taking an interest in computers. By providing a low-cost, hackable computer to just a few kids in the UK, Upton intended to get more and better students for his program.
“The stuff we were designing, the business model side, they were all scaled around the idea that if you could get 1,000 units built and into the hands of the right 1,000 kids [you’d solve the problem],” he told us in 2019.
After interest in the project swelled, Upton and his team decided that they needed to make a lot more than 1,000 units. And the target audience expanded from U.K. children to people of all ages in all countries.
2. There have been at least 21 Different Models of Raspberry Pi.
(Image credit: Shutterstock)
Since its launch in 2012, the Raspberry Pi Foundation has released 20 additional models, 52 if you count all four RAM capacities of the Raspberry Pi 4 B and all 32 variants of the Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4 (which comes in different RAM and storage capacities and with or without Wi-Fi).
The original Raspberry Pi, the Model B had just 256MB of RAM and a single-core, 700 MHz processor. The current mainstream model, the Pi 4 B, has up to 8GB of RAM, a quad-core 1.5-GHz CPU and USB 3.0 ports.
Model
Year Released
CPU
RAM
Raspberry Pi 1 B
2012
700 MHz Broadcom BCM2835 (1 core)
256MB
Raspberry Pi 1 A
2013
700 MHz Broadcom BCM2835 (1 core)
256MB
Raspberry Pi 1 A+
2014
700 MHz Broadcom BCM2835 (1 core)
512MB
Raspberry Pi 1 B+
2014
700 MHz Broadcom BCM2835 (1 core)
512MB
Compute Module 1
2014
700 MHz Broadcom BCM2835 (1 core)
512MB
Raspberry Pi 2 B
2015
900 MHz Broadcom BCM2836 (4 cores)
1GB
Raspberry Pi Zero 1.2
2015
1 GHz Broadcom BCM2835 (1 core)
512MB
Raspberry Pi 2 B v1.2
2016
1 GHz Broadcom BCM2835 (1 core)
512MB
Raspberry Pi 3 B
2016
1.2 GHz Broadcom BCM2837 (4 cores)
1GB
Raspberry Pi Zero 1.3
2016
1 GHz Broadcom BCM2835 (1 core)
512MB
Raspberry Pi Zero W
2017
1 GHz Broadcom BCM2835 (1 core)
512MB
Compute Module 3
2017
1.2-GHz Broadcom BCM2837 (4 cores)
1GB
Compute Module 3 Lite
2017
1.2-GHz Broadcom BCM2837 (4 cores)
1GB
Raspberry Pi 3 B+
2018
1.2-GHz Broadcom BCM2837 (4 cores)
1GB
Compute Module 3+
2019
1.2-GHz Broadcom BCM2837B0 (4 cores)
1GB
Compute Module 3+ Lite
2019
1.2-GHz Broadcom BCM2837B0 (4 cores)
1GB
Raspberry Pi 4 B
2019
1.5-GHz Broadcom BCM2711
1 / 2 / 4 / 8GB (2020)
Compute Module 4
2020
1.5-GHz Broadcom BCM2711
1 / 2 / 4 / 8GB
Raspberry Pi 400
2020
1.8-GHz Broadcom BCM2711
4GB
Raspberry Pi Pico
2021
133-MHz RP2040
264K
Launched in late 2020, the Raspberry Pi 400 is Raspberry Pi’s first standalone computer. Instead of a bare board, the Pi 400 is a keyboard with the equivalent of a Pi 4 inside, though the CPU runs at 1.8 rather than 1.5 GHz. It’s sold either by itself or in a kit with a mouse, power supply, cables and an official guide.
The Raspberry Pi Pico is a completely different type of Pi, a microcontroller board that’s more like an Arduino than a traditional Pi (more on that below).
3. Raspberry Pi Pico marks a new chapter in Pi history.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
Released in January 2021, the Raspberry Pi Pico is the company’s first microcontroller and marks the debut of its first custom silicon, the RP2040 CPU. Where every prior Pi has been a full-fledged computer that boots into a, typically Linux, operating system, the $4 Pico falls into the same category as Arduino. The Pico is great for controlling motors, lights and sensors and runs a program as soon as you turn it on, without the need to boot up or the worry that you’ll lose data if you pull the plug without doing a safe shutdown.
The Pico has three built-in ADC (analog-to-digital converters), something that other Pis lack, which allow you to connect directly to analog devices such as joysticks, potentiometers and distance sensors. See our articles about Raspberry Pico vs Arduino and which Raspberry Pi is right for you for more detailed comparisons between the Pico, the Arduino and other Raspberry Pis.
The RP2040 chip which powers the Pico marks an even bigger evolution than the board itself. This 133-MHz, dual-core Cortex M0+ CPU is designed by the Raspberry Pi Foundation and licensed out to other vendors such as Pimoroni and Adafruit who are building an entire ecosystem of RP2040-powered microcontrollers themselves. Even Arduino is getting in on the act, releasing the Arduino Nano RP2040 Connect, which will have built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.
4. The most popular Pi is . . .
(Image credit: Shutterstock)
The Raspberry Pi 3 B is the best-selling Pi model of all-time, with 13.2 million units sold. Of the various Raspberry Pi 4 B RAM capacities, the 4GB model accounts for approximately twice as many sales as the 8GB and 2GB SKUs.
The Pico has only been on the market for a few weeks, but already has sold 250,000 units with 750,000 on back order. 2020 was the top-selling year for Pi, with 7.1 million units sold.
5. The Pi has more than 20 operating systems.
Raspberry Pi OS, a customized version of Debian, is the official operating system for Raspberry Pi boards, but it’s not the only choice, by far. From Pi-friendly versions of Ubuntu and FreeBSD Linux to unofficial ports of Android and Chrome OS, there are a ton of different operating systems available. Some of the most interesting include:
LibreELEC: A lightweight OS that runs the Kodi open-source media software.
RISC OS: Designed for ARM chips, this unique OS promises faster speeds than Linux.
Chromium OS: Turn your Pi into a Chrome Box.
Windows 10: Yes, you can install Windows 10 on a Raspberry Pi 4 (with some hacks), but it’s so slow you probably won’t want to keep using it.
Lakka: Specially designed for retro gaming, this OS comes with a series of emulators pre-loaded.
6. There are two Raspberry Pis in space.
The International Space Station is home to two “Astro Pis,” which are specially modified Raspberry Pi B+ models that have been “space hardened” and equipped with the official Raspberry Pi Sense HATs . The European Space agency runs periodic contests where children submit code to be run on the devices.
Though the Pis are older models, they recently got a storage upgrade as the Astro Pi project sent 256GB microSD cards to the ISS to replace the 32GB cards they were using.
7. The Raspberry Pi Foundation wants products to live forever.
Even though the Raspberry Pi B+, Raspberry Pi 2, Raspberry Pi 3 B and other models are way out of date, the Raspberry Pi Foundation continues to actively manufacture and sell them. The organization hates to End-of-Life (EOL) products, because there are industrial clients who may still need them even if they are really old.
“EOLing product is death. We’ve EOLed [just] five products in our life,” Upton told us in 2019. He said that the only five products that Raspberry Pi discontinued include the Pi 1A and Pi 1B, because “the Pi 1A+ and B+ are a better implementation of that world.”
Even after the price of the Raspberry Pi 4 B (2GB) dropped to $35, the 1GB model remained available at the same price, because some customers may still want it as a drop-in replacement.
8. The price of Raspberry Pi has dropped, relative to inflation.
The original Raspberry Pi cost $35 in 2012 while the Raspberry Pi 4 B (2GB) costs the same price today. However, if you consider inflation, $35 from 2012 is actually equivalent to $39.88 today. For that same price, you get:
A 40x faster processor (700 MHz, single-core vs 1.5-GHz quad core)
8x the RAM (256GB vs 2GB)
Wi-Fi vs no-Wifi
Dual monitor output vs single HDMI out
USB 3.0 ports vs USB 2 only
If $35 still seems like a lot of money, there are cheaper Pi models. The Raspberry Pi Zero goes for just $5 while the Raspberry Pi Pico, a microcontroller board, goes for a mere $4.
9. There’s a Pi War every year.
Yes, you can compete with your Raspberry Pi. Pi Wars is an annual robotics competition where all of the gear must be built with your choice of Raspberry Pi. Teams at Pi Wars compete in challenges such as navigating obstacle courses, popping balloons and navigating a maze.
There are both human-driven and automated challenges. The next Pi Wars will take place in July 2021.
(Pocket-lint) – After a pretty nasty ice-related incident over the winter, it became clear that to get back on the bike it was wisest to invest in an indoor trainer. Cue a moment of contemplating whether to go low-end or all-out in that investment – and after using a noisy, non-dynamic wheel-on roller for a short time, it became obvious that something far better was needed.
Enter the Tacx Neo 2T Smart. This direct drive turbo trainer is Tacx’s top-end trainer – i.e. to be used in conjunction with a bicycle; it’s not entirely standalone like the company’s Neo Bike Smart – and features a swathe of features to help with accurate measurements, enhanced comfort, lower noise, and even the ability to emulate a road-like feel.
Which all sounds well and good, but is it the best of best if you want to get into Zwift and other indoor training programmes? Its obvious rival is Wahoo and its Kickr range. So where is your money best spent?
What’s needed to setup?
Cassette not included – you’ll need 8/10/11/12 speed and tools to assemble
Recommended: phone/tablet/laptop for interactive experiences
To use the Neo 2T you’ll need an existing fully functional bike setup. As a direct drive setup, you simply remove your bike’s rear wheel and mount it onto the turbo trainer.
Pocket-lint
Well, hold up one second. First you’ll need to purchase, assemble and install a rear cassette onto the trainer. This allows you to select the corresponding speed to fit with your existing setup. You’ll also want the kit – cassette tightening tool, spanner, chain hold – to ensure this can be assembled properly (as such tools aren’t included). But once that’s done you needn’t worry about it again.
To mount your bike onto the turbo trainer it’s a case of lining the chain up and sitting the bike into place, before installing the included quick-release skewer, locking it into place, and ensuring everything is solid. With that done you’re good to go.
1/3Pocket-lint
The Neo 2T doesn’t actually require power to function – you could just hop on and ride, but you wouldn’t benefit from the dynamic controls or connectivity that make this such a top-end piece of tech. Such features are largely the point of this kind of product – to interact with software, such as Zwift, to simulate a real-world feel for indoor training.
As such you’ll want a phone/tablet/laptop and some kind of mount or table to have that nearby for any necessary interactivity. We’ve since purchased a sweat-catch that doubles up as a phone holder to use as our quick-glance and easy interaction second screen.
Let’s get Zwifting
Tacx Premium month subscription included
Zwift month subscription included
No calibration required
While Tacx does have its own software, it’s reasonably basic. It offers top-down GPS route rides as part of its free setup, plus training options. But if you want the visual real-world movies – which function realistically with the trainer – then you’ll need a Tacx Premium subscription. A month is included in the Neo 2T’s box to give you a taster – after which it’s €9.99 per month (€99.99 annually) or €13.99/€139.99 for the HD version.
But the big-success virtual training tool is Zwift (we know there are plenty of other options, but this is our personal go-to preference). This can be installed on your smart device (Apple iOS and Android supported), or setup on Windows/Mac. Or you can do both: we run the Windows version on a laptop, while an Android phone running the Zwift Companion app is able to talk to the Windows version in real-time.
Zwift
The world of Zwift – or Watopia as you may hear people talking about – is vast and pitched as a ‘game’. But there are plenty of training tools, goals and progress measurements to get to grips with, making it a veritable mountain (pun intended, there are actual ones) to climb. Whether you’re training for specifics, joining interactive rides, or just want to go for a solo spin, it’s all at your fingertips. A month’s subscription is included in the box, after which it’s £12.99/$14.99 per month – cancellable at any time.
It’s worth noting at this point that Tacx and Zwift is no spin class; it’s not like Peloton with a live instructor. It’s more flexible than that, with the ability to choose your own path to training. And when the weather’s good outside, pop your bike’s rear wheel back on, tighten the brakes, and get back out into the real world.
How realistic is the Neo 2T?
Emulates road feel (through vibrations) for different terrain
Frame allows a few degrees of movement left/right
Descent simulation (motorised power)
25% incline simulation possible
Let’s start by saying that riding on our original wheel-on roller was more like riding a plank of wood. It was just so rigid. And noisy. And undynamic.
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·
Compared to that the Tacx Neo 2T Smart is a revelation. Now we’re not saying you’ll climb on and think you’re out on the actual road, because as any rider knows you’ll put a lot more force and motion through the frame in an outdoor real-world situation.
Pocket-lint
But the key thing for us about the Neo 2T is that there’s a few degrees of left/right movement available, so when, say, your left/right power is offset, or you stand, or sprint, you’ll get that bit of natural ‘wiggle’ – it’s not only is more authentic, but it adds to overall comfort too (i.e. it’ll help avoid chafe).
Plug the Neo 2T in, however, and this is where it steps up a gear. Zwift will identify the trainer via Bluetooth and this will mean it can measure your power (Watts), cadence (rpm), speed and total distance (in miles or kilometres). Use it in conjunction with other kit – say a bike computer, heart-rate monitor, and so forth – and you can use ANT+ FE-C to get everything communicating in real time (although you’ll need a USB ANT+ dongle for any non-Bluetooth device to register on Zwift, for example, which is the issue we have with our heart-rate monitor).
But with power flowing into the trainer it can simulate climb and descent – the former by magnetically braking the flywheel, the latter by powering the flywheel as relevant – to give you real-time real world feel on your rides, as relative to the route that you’re riding. We’ve taken on some 12% inclines and that -10% on the way back down is sweet release for the legs. The trainer can cater for +25%, which is, well, insane.
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There’s also no calibration needed, ever. So whether you have the Neo 2T setup semi-permanently, or fold it away after each use – which would be no surprise, as it’s pretty large – you needn’t fiddle around between rides. So long as your gears are smoothly setup. If they’re not it’ll add some extra noise from your drivetrain (a problem from which our setup suffers, sad face), as the actual trainer emits a low hum that’s whisper-quiet.
One quirky feature is the trainer’s ability to simulate road feel, using vibrations. Whether that’s rough, wooden boards, a cattle grid, and so forth, it’s quite an entertaining feature – but not especially needed, plus it only adds to the audible vibration/sound output.
Measurements & accuracy
Dimensions: 575 × 750mm (footprint) x 550 mm (height) / Weight: 21.5kgs
Measures: Power, cadence, speed, distance
Colour LED reacts to power input
Bluetooth, ANT+ FE-C control
2000W maximum power
Near silent operation
Because the Neo 2T Smart can measure so much it’s a great way to train. Whether you want to increase your FTP (functional threshold power), get fitter, ride further or faster, or whatever goal you have – all the data is there to see in real-time.
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It appears to be accurate too. We compared the trainer’s power measurement against our Garmin Vector 3 power pedals and there was just one Watt difference in the average over the course of an hour’s ride.
As all this is built-in, too, you don’t need to mess around adding any sensors onto the bike itself. Normal pedals will do, giving you power and cadence measures – and, as a calculation of that input, your relative speed and overall distance too.
The Neo 2T can handle an absurd 2000W maximum, too, not that anyone will be looking to push it to that extreme (unless you’re the Hulk). What this does is provide extra headroom so that if you do shift from, say, a 150W output to a sudden 30 second sprint at 450W – good luck with that, legs – then it’s not going to slip as you engage.
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Your relative effort is represented by a colour LED light output which spills onto the floor, glowing from blue through to red the harder you’re at it.
We’ve been able to treat this turbo trainer with great confidence too, throwing in full standing sprints and never feeling as though it’s unstable. This is a heavy unit with a sensible footprint span, so while it takes up a lot of space even weightier riders can push power through it no problems.
What’s missing?
Currently no ascent simulation accessory in Tacx catalogue
No official rocker plate accessory for enhanced comfort
More accessories in the box would be nice
So what can the Tacx Neo 2T Smart not do? There’s less expandability here compared to its Wahoo rival. While there’s climb and descent simulation, you don’t get the physical movement that some dedicated bikes can offer – or the Wahoo Kickr Climb can add (but only for Wahoo trainers, it’s not compatible with Tacx).
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While the Tacx is far more comfortable than other trainers we’ve ridden, there’s a limit to just how much flexibility is on offer. Many swear by a rocker plate for those longer rides, giving even more motion to help emulate that real-world feel. But Tacx makes no such product. Wahoo has explored similar motion-adding products in the past, but the current line-up lacks any such kit (discontinued, but who can say why – quality control?).
Another minor criticism is the software-to-hardware communication. This isn’t really an issue with the Neo 2T, per se, more how it receives information and very quickly actions upon it. So if you suddenly hit a +3% climb off the back of a descent, say, there’s no consideration for momentum – the trainer quickly responds, so you’ll need steely legs to respond, which takes away some of that real-world feel.
Furthermore, you can adjust various trainer settings, but not in real-time. In Zwift, for example, you can sat the Neo 2T’s resistance from ‘Off’ to ‘Max’, which is a bit like turning up the resistance on an exercise bike. Put it to max and a +1% climb feels like a +15%. But put it to that level by accident and you’re then stuck with it – until restarting the software anyway. This should be more dynamic, permitting tweaks to the level setting in order to obtain that sweet-spot of response – because, as mentioned above, you’ll want a set point that doesn’t cause too much clattering on your legs as you shift between descents and climbs.
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Lastly, we think Tacx could include a bit more in the Neo 2T Smart’s box. A year’s subscription to its software seems minimal, given the considerable price outlay up front. And, really, with no rollmat to help curtail vibrations – you can buy one, at cost, but of course (yes, we see the irony in having a bright red Elite one beneath ours) – or other branded goodies in the box, it’d be a nicety to at least add a little something more to make for a complete package.
Verdict
It’s easy to look at a product such as the Tacx Neo 2T Smart and think “but that’s the price of a bike”, baulking at just how much an indoor setup could cost. Yes, this turbo trainer is undeniably pricey – like we say, it’s at the top-end of the market – but it’s undeniably sophisticated in its delivery.
As a training tool it’s as comfortable as such kit gets, it effortlessly communicates with other gear – using it for Zwift use is a breeze – allowing for dynamic auto-controlled adjustment for descent/climb, and it’s more than stable enough to take a hammering whether seated in the saddle or standing legs pelting it out.
As with any turbo trainer, however, it’s never going to 100 per cent recreate the real feel of the road – much as it tries with vibration-based road feel feedback, which very quirky indeed – and the comfort levels after long rides are, somewhat inevitably, going to feel different (a bit more ‘numb’) than our in the real-world. And without any true climb/descent physical motion or accessory add-ons – Wahoo offers the Kickr Climb for its turbo trainers – we think there’s scope for future enhancement.
Overall, if you’re looking for a smart indoor turbo trainer – one that will work dynamically with your setup, measuring all the important factors (power, cadence) – without the need for adding extras, then Tacx has a winning product on its hands. It’s near-silent, it’s supremely stable, and it’s revolutionised our indoor training during winter cold spells – we certainly won’t miss our wheel-on roller of old one bit.
Also consider
Wahoo Kickr V5
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What we find appealing about Wahoo’s option is its expandability – pair with a Kickr Climb and Kickr Headwind and you can simulate more realistic physical climbs and descents. As an out-and-out trainer, however, we think the Tacx Neo 2T has the edge given its wider base rigidity. Spec wise the two are highly similar, though, both offering climb/descent simulation and 2000W max. And Wahoo’s isn’t quite as pricey (not that it’s cheap!).
sRGB stands for Standard Red Green Blue and is a color space, or a set of specific colors, created by HP and Microsoft in 1996 with the goal of standardizing the colors portrayed by electronics. sRGB is the most popular color space used today and the one used for Windows, most web browsers and most console and PC games, unless they’re HDR.
When looking for the best gaming monitor, TV or other electronic, you may notice a product claiming to cover a certain percentage of the sRGB color space. This tells you how much of the sRGB color space the monitor is supposed to be able to reproduce (how accurately it does so is another story that can only be confirmed via testing).
A monitor or other device’s color gamut tells you which color space or spaces the device can reproduce and how much of said space(s) it can portray from 0-100% or even greater. Besides sRGB, other common color spaces include Adobe RGB and DCI-P3, which are both larger — or encompass more colors — than sRGB.
sRGB Standard
The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) standardized sRGB in 1999. You can find the official sRGB standard via the IEC here, and it’s also viewable here.
A color space is definable by its triangle on the CIE 1931 XY Chromaticity Diagram created by the International Commision on Illumination (CIE).
The CIE 1931 XY Chromaticity Diagram below shared via BenQ represents the full range of colors the human eye can see. Within that range of colors is a white triangle, which outlines the colors the sRGB standard entails. If you tried to look at an image with colors outside of that triangle on an sRGB monitor, for example, those other additional colors would look inaccurate and undersaturated. Other popular color spaces are also defined in the diagram below.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
Color spaces define their range of colors via specific coordinates on the chromaticity chart above. Coordinates for sRGB colors are based on the (International Telecommunication Union Radiocommunication Sector’s (ITU-R’s) BT.709 standard [PDF], which is also known as Rec .709 and ITU 709 and was created for HDTVs.
Here are the color coordinates for the sRGB space:
X Coordinate
Y Coordinate
Red
0.64
0.33
Green
0.3
0.6
Blue
0.15
0.06
White point, also known as D65 or CIE Illuminant D65
0.3127
0.329
sRGB uses 8-bit color (as opposed to 10-bit color or greater). The sRGB standard also uses a gamma value of 2.2.
sRGB vs DCI-P3
While sRGB is the standard, other color spaces can be desirable. For example, Adobe RGB, while not an international standard, is popular in professional environments as it offers a broader range of colors and was made by Adobe, bringing obvious appeal to users of software like Adobe Photoshop. DCI-P3 is another popular space that’s similar to Adobe RGB in terms of the colors it covers but targets video and is internationally standardized.
DCI-P3 and Adobe RGB are similar and both larger (covering more colors) than sRGB. If accurate, a DCI-P3 monitor has a 25% wider color gamut than an sRGB monitor.
Another difference between sRGB and DCI-P3 is that the latter can handle 10-bit color, key for HDR content.
Speaking of HDR, DCI-P3 is also the color space HDR content uses, so if you want the best HDR monitor or display, you should look for something with significant DCI-P3 coverage. Full sRGB coverage wouldn’t do the format complete justice. If you watch HDR content on an sRGB monitor, (assuming it supported the HDR format), you wouldn’t be accessing the full range of colors available in that media. But if you want a good HDR screen that also allows you to view Windows and SDR content accurately, you should ensure that the display also has an accurate sRGB mode, where it properly shifts the color gamut to sRGB’s range of colors.
We’ve found that for SDR gaming and entertainment, offering more color than sRGB calls for — whether by oversaturating the sRGB color space or using DCI-P3 — can be enjoyable, even if it’s not entirely accurate. In fact, many screens we test these days offer more than 100% coverage of sRGB, making content made in the sRGB color space look more saturated than perhaps the content creators intended.
This article is part of the Tom’s Hardware Glossary.
Further reading:
Display Testing Explained: How We Test PC Monitors
Microsoft is finalizing its Xbox Game Streaming app for Windows PCs, which includes access to streaming games from the company’s xCloud service. We’ve managed to get access to the latest version of the Xbox Game Streaming app for Windows, an unannounced and unreleased app. Once released, the app will let Windows users stream games from their Xbox Series S / X consoles, and from xCloud.
Currently, you can’t stream games from the new Xbox consoles to Windows PCs, as this is unsupported in the existing Xbox Console Companion app. This new app will solve that, and also bring xCloud streaming to Windows PCs for the first time. We first got a look at this xCloud app for Windows last year, and it has improved a lot since then.
The Xbox remote play feature, for connecting to Xbox consoles, works similarly to how the existing Console Companion does. You can remotely wake an Xbox console, sign in, and play games wherever you are.
There is now full touch support, allowing Surface or other touchscreen devices to play Xbox games without a controller. Microsoft also appears to be readying some form of gyro support here, too. There’s an option to enable this, but it doesn’t appear to be fully functional yet. This is an internal beta application, so it’s still unfinished.
Microsoft’s unreleased Xbox Game Streaming app.
Microsoft also appears to be readying 1080p streams for xCloud, instead of the 720p that exists today. This would obviously improve the experience on Windows PCs, ahead of higher resolutions once Microsoft has upgraded its xCloud servers to include Xbox Series X hardware.
It’s still not clear exactly when this app will be made available more broadly. Microsoft is rumored to be planning a “what’s new for gaming” event for next month, so it’s possible we’ll hear a lot more about the company’s xCloud plans (for the web and iOS, too) very soon.
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