Articles about Hardware

Just when you thought you could forget about the Spectre and Meltdown chip vulnerabilities, yet another variant has been discovered. Known as Speculative Store Bypass, the vulnerability affects chips from AMD and Intel, as well as Power 8, Power 9 and System z processors.

The vulnerability has been assigned CVE-2018-3639, and successful exploitation would mean that an attacker could gain access to data. The attack can be carried out through a "language-based runtime environment" such as JavaScript. Some patches exist while others are in development, and they include the same performance hit associated with patches for the previous vulnerabilities.

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Master & Dynamic headphones have previously proved very popular here with the BetaNews team, and the latest addition -- the MW50+ -- looks set to continue the trend.

The same retro look is here, and these new headphones sit part way between the MW50 and MW60 models. While the MW50 features an on-ear design, and the MW60 an over-ear design, the MW50+ can convert between on-ear and over-ear modes thanks to detachable, magnetic earpads made of memory foam and lambskin.

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If you have a Surface Pro 4, you might be one of the unlucky tablet owners to suffer from a flickering screen -- a problem predictably dubbed "flickergate". Unable to come up with a fix, Microsoft has opened up a replacement program that means that those affected by the problem will be able to get a new Surface Pro 4 free of charge.

Microsoft says that it has been unable to produce a patch to address the issue, and is therefore simply going to offer replacements to people. What's not clear is why it has taken the company so long to do something; Surface 4 owners have been complaining about screen flicker since the tablet launched back in 2015.

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If you have a 13-inch MacBook Pro without a Touch Bar, you could be eligible for a free battery replacement. Apple has discovered that a "limited number" of laptops have a problem that causes the battery to expand.

The company has launched a free battery replacement program, and anyone who bought their MacBook Pro between October 2016 and October 2017 is invited to submit their machine's serial number to see if they qualify.

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Facebook appears to be looking to design and build its own processors at some point in the future. The social networking giant has posted a job listing on its corporate website looking for a manager to help build an "end-to-end SoC/ASIC, firmware and driver development organization".

The move would see Facebook doing what Apple and Google have started to do in recent years, moving design and production in-house to reduce reliance on the likes of Intel and Qualcomm. While little is known about how its own processors would be used, it is likely that they would feature in future Oculus hardware and smart speakers.

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Home consumers probably own just one desktop computer -- if they don't instead have a laptop. Enthusiasts and professionals, however, can own two or more (workstations, servers, etc.). Managing them all can be a pain in the butt, as you must own several keyboards, mice, and monitors -- a costly and messy affair. Of course, alternatively, you can own just one set of peripherals and constantly switch them between the machines -- a hassle that also puts wear on the ports.

The best alternative, however, is to utilize a KVMP switch, which allows you to easily switch one set of peripherals -- including USB, audio and video -- between several machines. Today, IOGEAR launches two new high-end KVMP switches with dual 4K video-out. One supports two computers, while the other handles up to four. And yes, the 4K video is at 60Hz.

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In Bejing today, Intel revealed its first mobile Core i9 chip. The hexacore processor (yep... no fewer than six cores) is an eighth-generation chip, and the company says it is "the highest-performance laptop processor Intel has ever built".

Intel also claims that it offers the "best gaming and content creation experience on the go," and with the top-of-the-range Intel Core i9-8950HK processor reaching speeds of up to 4.8 GHz, it's a claim that's easy to believe. A total of 12 threads bring serious improvements over the previous generation chips.

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It used to be, if you wanted a gaming laptop, there was a huge price to pay. No, I am not talking about a financial price, although they can be expensive. Actually, I am referring to the excessive weight and thickness. A portable gaming machine was historically a very big and bulky product.

These days, however, a gaming laptop can be quite svelte comparatively. They are continually getting thinner and lighter. Today, ASUS unveils its latest such notebook, the ROG Zephyrus M. That "ROG" stands for "Republic of Gamers," which is ASUS' premium gaming brand. This new laptop certainly is premium, as it features a hexacore Core i7 processor, 16GB of RAM, and either an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 or 1070 -- depending on configuration. This is all crammed into a very thin body. And yes, the keyboard features RGB lighting, because... Gaming!

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Apple could be planning to ditch Intel and start to manufacture its own chips for Macs by 2020, according to a new report.

The move would be in line with what the company has done for iPhones and iPads -- the A11 Bionic chips are already designed in-house. Intel's share price dropped by 6 percent as the rumors of the plan came out.

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If it's not immediately obvious from a quick glance, AZIO explains that its striking Retro Classic keyboard is inspired by the look of a vintage typewriter. It's not just the look that's inspired in this way -- as it's a mechanical keyboard, there's a distinct typewriter sound to things.

There is just so much to like about this keyboard. Regardless of whether you are a fan of steampunk, the look is undeniably eye-catching. The build quality is quite phenomenal -- well... you'd hope so at these prices. The key action is gorgeous, and the clickity-clack perfectly suits the typewriter-style keys. So... let's take a closer look.

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Microsoft has announced the availability of a new Surface Pro in India. Starting at Rs 64,999 ($1,000), the range starts with a Core m3 model, and goes up to a Core i7 machine for Rs 182,999 ($2,800).

The new models will be available directly from Microsoft, through Amazon, as well as through a range of authorized retailers. The company highlights the quiet, fanless design of some models, as well as the lightness and thinness of others. Battery life and performance is key to these latest additions to the Surface range, and there are models to suit differing budgets.

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The Spectre/Meltdown debacle continues to rumble on, and now the chip manufacturer has announced the availability of a new "microcode solution" to the Spectre vulnerability. The updated firmware applies to 6th, 7th and 8th Generation Intel Core devices, and the release sees the company crossing its fingers and hoping that everything works out this time.

This is Intel's second attempt at patching the Spectre vulnerability, and this time around both the company and its customers will be praying that the fix for Skylake, Kaby Lake and Coffee Lake chips actually does the job.

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The discovery of the Meltdown and Spectre vulnerabilities in processors caused a great deal of panic and confusion. The poor reliability and performance hit brought about by patches did little to help consumer confidence, but Intel says it will be releasing processors in 2018 that are free from the problems.

The move will be welcomed by customers who have been frustrated by problematic bug fixes designed to mitigate against the bug but which brought issues of their own. A timescale for the hardware solution has not been pinned down more specifically than "later this year."

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With Meltdown and Spectre turning into something of a PR disaster for Intel, the chip-maker has promised that patches will be made available for the vast majority of modern processors by the end of next week.

The company says that it has already released "updates for the majority of processor products introduced within the past five years" in the form of firmware updates and software patches. By the end of next week, Intel hopes to have released updates for 90 percent of processors from the last five years. Refuting claims that have been made by many parties, Intel denies that the patches come with a significant performance impact, and says that any negative side effects will be mitigated against over time.

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Toshiba is one of the most trusted names in storage. Not only does it offer class-leading products, but it is constantly pushing boundaries. A few days ago, the company unveiled a 10TB NAS hard drive that focuses heavily on reliability. A few months ago, it announced a single-disk 1TB 2.5-inch HDD at a very slim 7mm.

Today, Toshiba does it again. The company shows off a beautiful new 3.5-inch hard disk drive (model MG07ACA) with a monstrous 14TB capacity. While not the first drive to offer that capacity, it is the first 14TB drive that uses conventional magnetic recording (CMR) as opposed to shingled magnetic recording (SMR). This technological breakthrough is an important accomplishment, and Toshiba deserves major kudos.

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