Google Pay arrives on desktops — and it lets you choose your browser
Google has expanded support for Google Pay to desktop browsers including Chrome, Firefox, and Safari, as well as making it compatible with iOS. This will give the existing 100 million users a wider range of platforms to use the quick-pay service on, and could exponentially increase the number of users.
The Oculus Go is a VR headset for grannies, and that’s a good thing
Grandparents may not be the usual target for brand new, cutting-edge technology, but the new Oculus Go virtual reality headset could be a perfect fit for that generation. With its mix of ease of access, available applications, and lack of technical know-how, the Oculus Go could bring in the mainstream audiences VR needs.
Grab the Surface Pro with LTE Advanced for $1,300 if you’re a student or teacher
Microsoft has put its Surface Pro with LTE Advanced on sale to the general public, offering a substantial discount to students, teachers, and parents. Potential buyers are locked into just one spec list, but the hardware should be more than enough for most buyers -- and they get that great data connection, too.
The 5 best features of the Windows 10 April 2018 Update
Microsoft's Windows 10 April update is finally here after much speculation and it brings with it a number of great features. But which ones are the best? With some difficulty, we've narrowed down the five best features of the Windows 10 April update, from Timeline, to better control over what graphics chip you use during gaming.
Mastercard moving to mass biometrics with new remote fingerprint scanning
Mastercard has a new sleeve for its biometric credit cards which make it possible for users to register their fingerprint at home, without the need to go to a local banking branch. It's hoped that this will increase the adoption rate of the new security standard, reducing instances of fraud and bank card theft.
$200 Oculus Go VR headset hits Amazon
The Oculus Go mobile virtual reality headset was briefly available to pre-order on Amazon for $200, but sold out within just hours of its debut. Its price tag puts it squarely in the midrange between the likes of the Samsung Gear VR and the Oculus Rift, though is only a little cheaper than the PSVR. Shipment date is TBD.
Apple’s secret ‘Marzipan’ project may not bridge iOS and MacOS after all
Apple's rumored "Marzipan" cross-platform tool may not be anywhere near as impactful as first suggested. New anonymous sources claim the project will not help bring iOS apps to MacOS and vice versa, but will help developers craft singular user interfaces, making development easier, but far from simple.
Click and Grow gardening starter kit provides you with micro greenhouses
Click and Grow's DIY Garden Starter Kit is a great way to begin your journey to becoming a master indoor gardener. And now, Click and Grow is making it easier to maintain that garden with a new plant subscription service that allows you to receive the seeds of your choice every three months.Â
AMD leaks Ryzen 2000-series expansion with mobile and Threadripper CPUs
AMD has let slip the product names and numbers of its expanded Ryzen 2000-series in a portfolio page that has since been made private. Quick-fingered fans have managed to grab plenty of information though, giving us an idea of the Threadripper and entry-level Zen+ chips that are expected to debut in the coming months.
AMD preps 7nm chips in wake of Intel Cannon Lake delays
AMD plans to launch its 7nm Zen 2 CPUs in 2019 and is already sampling the new line of die-shrunk hardware ahead of its planned debut. If those dates hold fast, it would give the red team a big advantage over Intel, as that chip giant is only expecting to launch its 10nm Cannon Lake CPUs in early 2019.
Move over Yeezys, K-Swiss is making performance sneakers for pro gamers
K-Swiss has announced a partnership with esports team Immortals to release a pro-gaming sneaker using the teams branding. That's just the start though, with both organizations also announcing the intention to create brand new, performance-enhancing gamer gear, with plans to document the whole design process.
Yield problems still plague Intel 10nm chips, delaying production to 2019
Intel has had to push back mass production of its 10nm Cannon Lake CPUs after facing continued problems with yield. This is just the latest instance of 10nm delays at the chip giant, with it first announcing a Cannon Lake launch in 2016, before sliding to 2018 and now into 2019, raising concerns over competition.
Heads up! ‘Fortnite’ meteors crash to earth as Epic teases what’s next
The meteors that have been hanging around in Fortnite's sky for a while now have begun to make landfall and when they do, they do so with a bang. Although Armageddon isn't expected until after April 30 when Season 3 ends, players have a new, meteoric hazard to watch out for when trying to best the other 99.
How did Google get away with not updating Gmail for almost 7 years?
Google may have just released a big update for Gmail, but it's the first time it's done much to improve the service in seven years. There are very few modern tech-products of the size and scale of Gmail that receive so little attention from their developer and yet Gmail is more popular than ever.
John McAfee-backed cryptocurrency platform leaks personal details
The Bezop cryptocurrency ecommerce platform might promise security for users, but early investors have become victims of a preventable leak in the form of an unsecured database which contained reams of personal information, including names, email addresses, and email driving license and passport scans.
Best Buy doubles down on sale offers with up to $400 off MacBook Pros
The latest Best Buy sale has been expanded to a number of other products, letting potential buyers net as much as $400 off of a variety of MacBook Pro models alongside other hardware options. There are discounted MacBook Airs, iPhones, iPads, iMacs, and more, as well as plenty of non-Apple hardware on sale.
Leap Motion is pioneering how users interface with menus in mixed reality
Leap Motion has shown off a brand-new prototype user interface for augmented reality which gives the user full control over how its placed, distributed, and even how visible it is. You can minimize, drag, drop, or throw various UI elements wherever you want and bring them up as and when they are needed.
Who’s to blame for the GPU pricing crisis? Everyone
Whether you're been looking for a reasonably priced GTX 1070 or hoped to find an AMD Vega card for sale, you've probably been stumped for much of the last year. You're not alone. Graphics cards have been outrageously expensive for a long time. As it turns out, there’s plenty of blame to go around.
Quantum mechanics could save the blockchain from quantum computers
A new type of 'quantum blockchain' that effectively acts like a time machine could make it possible to avoid the problem faced by developers when quantum computers can easily break traditional encryption systems. Such a system could, in theory, protect blockchain platforms like Bitcoin in the future.
Facebook acts as unwitting sales platform for identity thieves
Facebook has been the home to hundreds of ads offering stolen personal information on people for years with little oversight, a new report has discovered. Simple searchers turn up these ads and yet little has been done to crack down on their prevalence, even years after they first appeared online.
Windows-powered medical scanners are being hit by health care hackers
Hackers have been targeting MRI and X-Ray machines, as well as pill label printers, logistics companies, and IT departments, all related to U.S. health care in some manner. It's not clear what the hackers want, but their ability to infiltrate national systems has security researchers concerned.
Esports scholarships could help the best ‘Fortnite’ players pay for college
Top Fortnite players can earn as much as $4,000 off of their tuition, room, and board with Ashland University in Ohio as part of its newly expanded esports scholarship system. Joining games like Rocket League, Fortnite can help gamers pay for their university courses, as they get professional-grade coaching.
Bitcoin put him on the street. Then it made him a fortune
Paxful co-founder Ray Youssef wants to give back to world with Bitcoin after the cryptocurrency helped him go from homeless to a major Bitcoin success. His high-minded ideas about what Bitcoin can accomplish have helped him help himself, and others, but hasn’t kept Youssef away from controversy.
Oculus Rift vs. Vive Pro
Oculus Rift vs. Vive Pro -- can the aging Oculus VR headset compete with HTC's new, high-end successor to our favorite VR headset? While its price might be far more affordable, the question remains of whether its features can stand up to a new-generation of heaset come with new tracking support and fancier displays.
Baidu-owned ‘Netflix of China’ jumps into VR with a 4K headset with 8K support
China's top Netflix competitor, iQiyi, has been teasing the idea of high-end VR movie viewing for some time now and now we have out first look at the headset itself. With support for up to 8K movies, VR and 3D content, the head-mounted-display could help usher in a new age of ultra HD media viewing.
Upcoming XPS notebooks could have niche 3:2-aspect ratio monitors
Dell may explore new aspect ratios with future releases in its XPS range of laptops, according to the executive in charge of the range. Citing the success of competing products like the Surface range of Microsoft 2-in-1s, he claims Dell may look at 3:2 and even more niche aspect ratios for future designs.
Logging in with Facebook may let Javascript trackers steal personal data
Another scandal has hit Facebook's data privacy reputation, with a new discovery highlighting how third-party Javascript trackers can scrape information from Facebook profiles when users login to sites using the Facebook sign-in API for authentication purposes, potentially revealing personal information.
Amazon patent wants to unmask Bitcoin users, sell data to law enforcement, others
An Amazon patent filing from 2014 that has only just been given approval suggests that the retail giant is interested in identifying both parties behind Bitcoin transactions by teaming up with telecom companies. This suggests Amazon could sell access to that information to groups like law enforcement.
Best Buy drops its price for the MacBook Air to as low as $650
Best Buy has expanded its Computing Savings Event to include Apple hardware like the MacBook Air, which when combined with its Student Deals Program can be had for as little as $650. Although the hardware is a little dated, if you've always wanted a MacBook Air, they're now available and cheaper than ever.
HTC brings AR to VR with new Vive Pro tools for dual cameras
A new SDK for HTC's Vive Pro virtual reality headset effectively turns it into an augmented reality headset also, leveraging its front-facing stereo cameras to provide pass-through video and 3D spatial tracking, making interaction with the real world possible and blending differing reality environments.
