Acer's insane Predator 21 X gaming laptop costs nearly as much as a new car
It may be hard to believe, but Acer has a gaming laptop that is almost as expensive as a new car. It's called the Predator 21 X, and it has the craziest design and most-impressive specs sheet that I have ever seen. The price? It will be offered for a jaw-dropping $8,999 in the US and €9,999 in Europe.
Acer actually unveiled the Predator 21 X at IFA 2016, but only chose to reveal the price and availability right before CES 2017 kicks off this week. So, what exactly makes it so special to warrant that price tag?
Three in four businesses collect IoT data
It looks like 2017 will be a great year for Internet of things industry. 451 Research's new report says that almost three quarters of all businesses worldwide, 71 percent of them to be exact, are gathering IoT data today.
The report is based on a survey of 1,000 organizations, scattered all over the globe. The best part about this figure is that it represents a three percent jump compared to its last report, which was released a quarter ago.
HyperX unveils Cloud Revolver S gaming headset with Dolby Headphone 7.1 USB dongle
Do you game on your PC, bro? Of course you do. With so many great video games available for PC nowadays, it is hard not to get caught up in it. For many titles, wearing a headset can enhance the experience, allowing you to communicate with teammates or opponents.
HyperX is known for producing excellent headsets, and today, it unveils a new variant -- sort of. You see, the company is packaging its existing Cloud Revolver headset with a Dolby Headphone-capable USB sound card dongle / DAC and giving it an "S" moniker.
Linksys WRT32X is an AC3200 router for hardcore gamers
Wireless routers have come a long way in recent years when it comes to transfer speeds, but not in terms of lag, which remains a concern -- for gamers, in particular. To enjoy playing a game online, low latency is needed and over a wireless connection that can sometimes be a problem. It is why some routers include workarounds for users to turn to when they run into issues.
Linksys has come up with a different approach for its new WRT32X AC3200 router, which is meant for "serious online gamers". Its software includes a number of features, part of Rivet Networks' Killer Prioritization Engine, that should help reduce latency and lag when playing games, listening to music, or watching videos online.
Banking apps are in dire need of an overhaul
It’s no secret that customers increasingly prefer to use mobile banking apps to manage their cash "on-the-go" over online banking. In fact, did you know that mobile banking apps are being used around 7,610 times a minute? Now consider this alongside the Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA) recent announcement regarding UK banks having to offer the same customer service through its apps as can be found in high street branches. This means that customers will be able to access details of their entire finances through a single mobile phone app by 2018.
That’s a whole heap of data from bank statements, transfers, loans, overdrafts, savings, mortgages to name a few, for one person. Multiply this by the estimated 11 million of us who have already decided to swipe instead of log-on.
Classic freeware HostsMan gets its yearly update
Classic freeware HOSTS manager HostsMan has seen its first update since November 2015. The new release now supports eight HOSTS file update sources, including hpHosts, MVPS Hosts, Cameleon and -- new this time -- "Dan Pollock’s host file".
The URLs for "Peter Lowe’s AdServers List" and "Malware Domain List" have been updated, so they should be working again.
Acer unveils rugged Chromebook 11 N7 (C731) laptop for education
Chromebooks are wonderful computers -- if they meet your needs. Look, if you do hardcore video editing, or have a need for programs that only run on Windows or macOS, then yeah, Chrome OS will stink -- for you. However, if you live in the web browser and are always online anyway, why not a Chromebook?
Laptops running Chrome OS are particularly wonderful for education, as they are inexpensive, easy to manage, and very secure. Today, Acer announces an affordable model -- aimed at schools -- that it calls Chromebook 11 N7 (C731). Best of all, it is very durable, making it less likely to break in the hands of careless children.
Amazon announces Fire TV Edition for Smart TVs
When I bought a new 4K television, my first purchase to go with it was Amazon’s Fire TV box with 4K Ultra HD. The tiny box provides a range of great 4K content -- mostly Amazon Originals, although there’s also a decent selection of movies available to purchase.
Soon you might not need to buy anything in order to view 4K content from Amazon though, as the retail giant today announces Fire TV Edition, which will come built into the latest 4K Smart TVs.
Kingston DataTraveler Ultimate GT 2TB is world's largest capacity USB flash drive
As more and more people embrace cloud storage, USB flash drives are becoming less essential. This is unfortunate, as it can be empowering to store your own data locally -- not needing an internet connection to access things like family photos and movies.
Today, Kingston announces a product that may get people excited about flash drives again. The company has created a 2TB pocket flash drive (also available in 1TB), called DataTraveler Ultimate GT (Generation Terabyte). This is now the world's largest capacity USB flash drive.
Dashlane teams with Intel to improve password protection
Security breaches have been one of the major themes of 2016, so going into the new year it’s no surprise that companies are keen to try to make things more secure.
Password manager Dashlane is announcing enhancements to its software to make use of Intel Software Guard Extensions, a powerful security technology built into the latest Intel Core processors.
Lenovo unveils new ThinkPad X1 Carbon, Yoga, and Tablet
A week after updating a large number of devices in the ThinkPad range with new Intel "Kaby Lake" processors, Microsoft Precision TouchPads and Windows 10 Signature Edition, Lenovo now unveils a refresh for the ThinkPad X1 line that is meant to improve mobility, connectivity, and usability.
The ThinkPad X1 Carbon is one of the three updated devices in the ThinkPad X1 line, which is showcased at CES 2017. Like other new ThinkPads, it gets a Precision Touchpad, but it is also smaller, offers more battery life, can be had with a Qualcomm modem, packs Thunderbolt 3 ports, and offers expanded docking capabilities. Oh, and it's also launched in a silver trim.
69 percent of businesses experience data loss due to employee turnover
A new report from IT research and consulting company Osterman Research reveals that employee turnover and attrition is the number one data protection concern for enterprises.
Of the organizations surveyed, 69 percent indicate that they have suffered significant data or knowledge loss resulting from employees who had left the business.
WikiLeaks: 2017 will 'blow you away' and, no, Russia did not hack the US election
The hatred WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange feels towards Hillary Clinton is far from being a secret. During the election campaign, the non-profit organization leaked Clinton emails in the hope that it would destroy her presidential hopes -- and we all know the result of the election.
As we slide gently into 2017, the WikiLeaks Twitter account has turned on the ignition and is about to hit the accelerator. The tweet says: "If you thought 2016 was a big WikiLeaks year 2017 will blow you away". On top of this, Assange himself is due to appear in an interview with Fox News' Sean Hannity, denying Russia's involvement in hacking DNC emails.
Algodoo is a fun 2D physics simulator
Algodoo is a 2D physics simulator which aims to be easy to use, educational and fun. "Physics", "easy" and "fun" aren’t words that everyone would link together, but Algodoo gets a lot closer to delivering on this than you might expert.
The program opens with what looks like a regular drawing tool. Select, click and drag and you’re able to draw cartoon-like boxes, circles, gears, ropes, chains and more.
The drawbacks of hand coding
Those rare companies that decide to engage in hand-coding do it either because they lack the required information (they simply don't know there are packaged solutions out there) or, frankly, in my opinion, they are chasing a pipe dream. They often mistakenly believe that all a big data project takes is to feed data into a Hadoop cluster. They figure developing a dedicated on-premises infrastructure to feed and analyze big data will mean a 20 percent savings over a packaged solution.
However, according to Gartner, this approach results in a 200 percent increase in maintenance costs. And that's not all. Our past ten years’ experience in several integration projects, now in production, offers us the insight into the limits of a custom-coded approach. In reality, by developing in-house, companies expose themselves to three types of risks: operational, strategic, and economic.
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