For a teenage Mark Zuckerberg, high school mathematics class meant dreams of traveling to distant worlds through virtual reality. Those ideas stayed with him as he grew Facebook into the mammoth it's become today, and they're now guiding him as he ponders the future of the social media platform. It will be immersive, it will be bring people closer together, and it will happen sooner than you might think, he said on Sunday in Barcelona. "I’ve been waiting for the day to come when we can deliver this experience," he said. "Today, this is now possible. That day is here." Zuckerberg was speaking at a Samsung event held to launch two new smartphones and where the South Korean company also unveiled a new 360-degree still and video camera called the Gear 360.
Samsung has given gaming and graphics performance a big boost in the new S7 and S7 Edge phones as it attempts to build on its partnership with Oculus and make virtual reality a key application for smartphones. Samsung and Oculus launched the $99 Gear VR headset in November last year, and the S7 phones are the first flagship models that Samsung is putting out since then. The graphics processors are roughly 64 percent faster than chips in the Galaxy S6 handsets – something that should translate into a much smoother, richer and more immersive experience for all aspects of gaming and virtual reality. With the chips, it will be possible to run 3D games at 60 frames per second when the handsets are hooked up to high-definition monitors. The GPUs are also capable of handling 4K video, though it may not be able to handle 4K games in which image frames move at a much faster pace.
If you downloaded Linux Mint on Friday, February 20th, you may have unknowingly downloaded a hacked version of the operating system. According to “If you downloaded another release or another edition, this does not affect you,” the blog post states. “If you downloaded via torrents or via a direct HTTP link, this doesn’t affect you either.”
Lenovo has launched a new mobile broadband service so its smartphone, tablet and PC users can get quick access to the Internet in different countries. The company's goal with Connect is to eventually provide a "global roaming service" for mobile broadband services. Access to the Internet will be priced competitively, Lenovo said. Users usually have to buy SIM cards in different countries for mobile broadband, and many laptops don't have SIM slots. With the service, users won't need a SIM card as connectivity is embedded in Lenovo devices. The service will work on Lenovo's smartphones, tablets and PCs. Users can click on an app to get local mobile broadband pricing.
Get ready to explore a whole new galaxy. On Sunday, Samsung introduced the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge, the latest iterations of its popular Android-based smartphones. These new phones come with Android 6.0 Marshmallow, a refreshed design, new cameras, new innards, and all the bells and whistles you’d expect from a new smartphone in 2016. In addition, the company also announced the Gear 360, a small 360-degree camera. Like its predecessor,
After throwing every conceivable feature into the Galaxy S6, there couldn’t possibly be anything left to impress us with the Galaxy S7, right? Fortunately for Samsung, that’s not the case. The Galaxy S7 isn’t particularly revolutionary, but it does improve upon what made the Galaxy S6 so great. You can expect features like a bigger battery, a faster processor, and better low-light performance from both rear- and front-facing cameras. Samsung also appears to have finally resolved how big to make its Edge line of smartphones. The Galaxy S7 Edge is now a phablet device, and it’s especially geared towards those looking for a productivity device with a chassis design that stands out from all the other flat, black rectamgles making the rounds.
Your Android tablet may be an entertainment device, but Lenovo’s Tab3 10 for Business has a job to do. Announced at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona on Sunday, this $199 tablet (with Android 6.0 Marshmallow) is cheaper than your typical Windows device or iPad, but it’s built to withstand the rigors of a mobile worker, such as someone walking a retail or a manufacturing floor. It also supports Once your boss hands you one of these, though, you might be tempted to take it home for some after-hours bonding. The specs include a 10.1-inch, 1920x1080 IPS screen that’s protected by Gorilla Glass 3, Like its consumer cousins, the Tab3 7 and Tab3 8, the Tab3 10 for Business has an Adaptive Display that can adjust the image and audio quality based on the app you’re using. Special coatings make it dustproof and splashproof.
HP's decision to return to the smartphone market with the Elite X3 wasn’t an easy one, especially given the company's history of failure in the market for handsets. HP's ill-fated, 2010 acquisition of Palm, which it ended up jettisoning by 2014, has weighed heavily on the company. After HP's high hopes for Palm's WebOS for smartphones were dashed, there was mixed opinion and many internal discussions over the viability of a return to the market. In the end, HP concluded that smartphone buyers could not be ignored. Smartphones are playing a larger role in computing since they can almost match laptops in horsepower and the sorts of software they can run.
Remember when the Starting February 29, you’ll be able to preorder the HTC Vive from So what do you get for a VR kit that costs $200 more than the already-expensive Rift? In the box, you’ll find the head-mounted display with integrated camera, the two wireless base stations, the break-out box you plug everything into, and most importantly, two wireless VR controllers. It’s the precise motion- and position-tracked controllers, together with the ability to be tracked as you walk around the room, that really separates the Vive from the Oculus Rift. HTC and Valve are quick to point out that, yes, this is expensive, but it’s the only
LG has long attempted to differentiate itself from the competition, but the company has sort of fallen short in years past. Last year’s With the debut of its latest device at Mobile World Congress on Sunday, it’s clear that LG is trying an entirely different approach this year. Rather than lead its flagship reveal with a long list of specifications and the hardware it’s iterated on, LG is hoping you’ll look at the G5 and think of it as more than just its fifth-generation flagship. Instead, LG wants you to think of its new phone as a fun device.
Driving around looking for a parking spot becomes a thing of the past in a new concept developed by Samsung, Spanish automaker Seat and SAP. The three envision drivers in the future calling up a map of a car park on a smartphone app, then selecting, reserving and paying for an available space from their phones. When they get to the car park, they can drive right up and park without any fuss. The concept will be on show at this week's Mobile World Congress expo in Barcelona, which is close to the headquarters of Seat. It was developed out of a partnership that began last year between Seat and Samsung and now includes SAP. It runs on the back of Samsung Pay, which handles the prepayment of the space, and the SAP Vehicles Network, developed by SAP for the automotive industry companies like car park operators.
Microsoft disappointed many Windows users when it announced in January that it was yanking support early for Skylake PCs running older versions of Windows, including Windows 7. But recent news might give those users some hope: Microsoft’s not applying those rules to Windows Server—meaning frustrated consumers might have some common ground with server admins. Microsoft issued its updated guidance for older versions of Windows Embedded and Windows Server on Friday. Neither operating system is typically used by consumers; WIndows Server powers server farms costing millions of dollars, while Windows Embedded runs on ATMs and the arrival/departure boards at airports.
Donald Trump has called for a boycott of Apple products over the company’s refusal to help the FBI break into an iPhone used by one of the San Bernardino mass shooters. ”What I think you ought to do is boycott Apple until such time as they give that security number,” the Republican presidential candidate ”How do you like that? I just thought of it. Boycott Apple!” It’s not the first time he’s waded into the debate. “To think that Apple won’t allow us to get into [the] cell phone,” Trump said
In concept, it sounds useful: a Microsoft Garage app that promises to smooth, or “beautify,” your handwriting when you take notes on a Windows 8.1 or Windows 10 tablet, such as the Microsoft Surface. Unfortunately, Plumbago’s smoothing feature doesn’t seem to work, yet. Think of
I’ve been deliberately avoiding More details on that and other news— Looking for something to play this weekend? The