The BBC plans to give away a million tiny, programmable computers to UK students. But it’s taking a little longer than planned. Initially the BBC had hoped to distribute its micro:bit devices to students and teachers last fall. Then the date was pushed back to early 2016. Now the plan is to get them in the […]
January 2016
Unofficial Intel timeline: 7nm chips in 2020, 5nm in 2022?
Intel used to release chips on a Tick-Tock schedule, which basically meant that every other chip would use a new manufacturing process. Since 2006 Intel moved from 65nm chips to 45nm, 32nm, 22nm, and 14nm chips in this fashion. But things are different this time around. The company has already released 14nm Broadwell and Skylake chips, […]
JaguarBoard: $65 single-board computer with a Bay Trail chip
Since the launch of the original Raspberry Pi, there’s been no shortage of cheap, single-board computers aimed at makers and developers. Many take a page out of the Raspberry Pi playbook by offering low-power ARM-based chips, while a few models sport Intel processors. The JaguarBoard is a new model that falls into the latter camp. […]
FreedomPop now offers (a little) free data in 25 countries
FreedomPop is taking its free cellular internet service international. The company already sells mobile hotspots and smartphones in the US that offer a small amount of mobile data for free. Now the company is launching limited service in 25 additional countries. The FreedomPop Global hotspot works in 25 countries across Europe, Asia, and South America, while the new […]
Windows 10 Continuum for phone supports mid-range Snapdragon 617 chips
Continuum for phone is a feature that lets you connect some Windows 10 smartphones to an external display to run some apps in desktop mode. When Microsoft first introduced the feature the company made it clear that you’d need a pretty powerful phone to make use of Continuum, and so far the only devices with […]
HP launches $199 Chromebook 11 G4 for Education
HP’s latest Chromebook is a small laptop designed for use in classrooms. The HP Chromebook 11 G4 EE has a spill-resistant keyboard, rubber edges that help it survive 2.3 foot drop tests, and a 180-degree hinge that lets you fold the laptop flat and pore over the screen with a colleague. According to HP, the […]
Tronsmart launches Ara X5 mini PC with faster WiFi, faster storage
When I reviewed the Tronsmart Ara X5 mini desktop computer, I was impressed that this tiny box truly functioned as a full-fledged (albeit low-power) Windows 10 computer. But I noted that its eMMC storage wasn’t particularly speedy. Now Tronsmart is offering an updated model which allegedly has storage with faster read/write speeds. The Tronsmart Ara X5 […]
Deals of the Day (1-20-2016)
Microsoft’s Surface 3 is a Windows tablet with a 10.8 inch full HD display, an Intel Atom x7 Cherry Trail processor, and support for optional keyboard cover and digital pen accessories. Prices normally start at $499 for a model with 2GB of RAM and 64GB of storage, but right now Microsoft is selling a 4GB/128GB […]
$399 Asus ZenFone Zoom pre-orders open (smartphone with 3X optical zoom)
The Asus ZenFone Zoom is a smartphone with 4GB of RAM, 64GB of storage, an Intel Atom Moorefield 64-bit processor, and a 5.5 inch full HD display. But those aren’t the features which make this phone special: it’s the camera that does that. Asus outfits this phone with a 13MP camera with a 3X optical zoom […]
Mozilla cofounder launches new web browser that replaces ads… with ads
Millions of websites are funded by ads… but there’s also a backlash from users about the way online advertising works. Many ads are served using technology that tracks user data, and many websites load more quickly when users install ad-blocking software. So on the one hand, you get more privacy and a faster web when you […]