| D-Link Ships New Wireless AC Router for Consumption Posted: 15 Jul 2015 03:38 PM PDT 
Looking to update your current wireless network in the home or office to Wireless AC? D-Link may have the router you're looking for with the launch of its DIR-859. The device is a 1750 class router, which means its combined speeds reach up to 1750 Mbps. Of course, you won't get those speeds unless the connecting device is packed with dual-band Wireless AC technology. "With this new high performance AC1750 router, users can enjoy wider wireless coverage throughout their home," said Ken Loyd, director of product marketing, consumer, D-Link Systems, Inc. "High Power Amplifiers provide the additional coverage needed to connect more Wi-Fi devices." Looking at the specifications, the new router will provide speeds of up to 1300 Mbps on the 5 GHz band and speeds of up to 450 Mbps on the 2.4 GHz band. According to the company, this speed is backed by three external antennas and high power amplifiers for a better reach through your home or office than the average router. For your wired devices, the router provides four gigabit Ethernet ports and a WAN port on the back. Surprisingly, there is no USB 2.0/3.0 port, which is usually provided for sharing files across the network or adding a printer. Instead, the company crammed the power button and the WPS button on the back, the latter of which should make connecting a device to the network a breeze. In addition to those features, the router's specifications also include WPA and WPA2 security, an advanced QoS engine, the ability to set up a guest network, parental controls, device activity monitoring, a new user interface and more. Customers can easily set up the device using an app for their smartphone or tablet. A great compliment to D-Link's new router would be the AC1900 Wi-Fi USB adapter for the desktop or laptop. This device supports speeds of up to 600 Mbps on the 2.4 GHz band and up to 1300 Mbps on the 5 GHz band. The adapter includes SmartBeam technology for better connection quality, USB 3.0 for a faster connection to your device and more. Customers wanting to get started in creating a Wireless AC network can head to Amazon and other outlets to purchase the new router for a not-too-shabby price of $99.99. The USB adapter we mentioned above is also $99.99. Additional adapters can be found here. |
| Ubuntu PC Maker No Longer Bundling Flash With OS Posted: 15 Jul 2015 01:51 PM PDT 
Is this the beginning of a trend? Ubuntu device maker System76 recently said in a blog that it will no longer pre-install Adobe Flash on all laptops and desktops. Why? Because the company deems the software a security risk. System76 is even urging its customers to get rid of Flash altogether. "Even if you think you need Flash, you should experiment with a trial separation…. You'll probably be surprised by how little your web experience changes," the blog states. If customers still need Flash in their daily diet, the company suggests that they use Chrome. Google's browser includes a sandboxed implementation of the embedded Flash software that may protect users from future zero-day exploits. Still, Chrome's method isn't totally immune, so System76 believes the best protection is to get rid of Flash altogether. To do so, simply use this command: sudo apt-get purge flashplugin-installer The blog points out that Flash is no longer the standard for online media and animation. The date isn't 2007 and every website isn't flashing this and that at visitors. Instead, the modern Internet is moving away from Flash and using new, modern tech like HTML5 and CSS 3. Browsers such as Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge are even working to minimalize plugins and extensions to make browsing the web easier and safer. News of the company's quest to rid its devices of Flash come after Mozilla began blocking the Flash player in Firefox by default. However, Firefox users wanting to keep Flash alive can re-enable the software in the Add-ons section. The most recent version of Firefox, version 39, doesn't even come with the plugin installed. On Tuesday, Adobe released a new version of the Flash Player that includes patches for CVE-2015-5122 and CVE-2015-5123 (CVE-2015-5119 was patched earlier this week). Originally, all three vulnerabilities were discovered in a 400GB data cache that was stolen from Italian surveillance software vendor Hacking Team. According to Kaspersky Lab, CVE-2015-5122 was an ActionScript 3 opaqueBackground use-after-free bug and CVE-2015-5123 was a BitmapData use-after-free bug. Both depended on the Web surfer landing on a site packing an exploit. These bugs provided complete access to the visitor's machine. Ouch. |
| Remix Mini Dubbed the First Android PC Posted: 15 Jul 2015 01:20 PM PDT 
Although there are a number of Android PCs on the market, a Kickstarter project is claiming the Remix Mini to be the world's first "true" Android PC. Developed by Chinese company Jide Tech, the project is seeking $50,000 over the next 44 days. However, it's already reeled in $99,418 from 1,583 backers as of this article, which indicates that there is plenty of interest in a PC decked out with Android. According to the specifications, the Remix Mini measures just 1(H) x 4.9(L) x 3.5(W) inches. Packed inside this small form factor casing is a quad-core, 64-bit Allwinner Cortex-A53 SoC clocked at 1.2GHz, 1GB of RAM, and 8GB of internal storage. In addition to those features, the Remix Mini provides two USB 2.0 ports, an Ethernet 10/100 port, an HDMI 1.4 port, and a microSD card slot. There's also Wireless N and Bluetooth 4.0 connectivity and the company's Android 5.0 "Lollipop"-based Remix OS operating system. The pricing for this model will be $30 when it finally becomes a product. However, the company also plans to sell a model with 16GB of internal storage and 2GB of RAM. The pricing for this model is a mere $50… not too shabby. "Remix Mini allows you to work and play with the entire Android app ecosystem while taking full advantage of intuitive PC features such as a taskbar, multiple window multi-tasking, mouse and keyboard support, and so much more," the Kickstarter page reads. One of the big selling points is that the device uses very little power. Jide Tech explains that while a standard desktop may consume 60 to 240 watts, the Remix Mini only uses 10 watts. Another selling point is that the Android PC has access to over 1.5 million apps, meaning this forked version of Android may have access to Google's suite of services. Currently, there are five tiers in this Kickstarter project. For those who pledge $200 or more, they will receive five Remix Minis and five power adapters. Pledge $80 or more and receive two Remix Minis and two power adapters. The other tiers include $60 or more, $40 or more and $20 or more. All tiers reveal that the device is expected to ship in October 2015. Would Android make a great operating system for a desktop or notebook? Both Lenovo and AOC have produced computers with Google's OS installed, but they're not as cheap or as small as the unit Jide Tech is building. Android is mostly used in smartphones and tablets, so it's interesting to see it used as computer OS. To get a Remix Mini when it ships this October, potential backers can spend a mere $20 to get the version with 1GB of RAM. Otherwise, the device will cost $30 when it goes "retail" later this year. Image: Jide Tech via Kickstarter |
| Newegg Daily Deals: Intel NUC with Core i5-5250U, Rosewill Challenger Case, and More! Posted: 15 Jul 2015 12:29 PM PDT |
| MSI Shows Off Black-and-White Z170 Krait Motherboard for Skylake CPUs Posted: 15 Jul 2015 12:17 PM PDT Some things are black and white
As Intel's Skylake launch looms ever closer, we're seeing more and more Z170 chipset motherboards on the web. Features and performance will ultimatey decide which ones are worth a damn, but as an added bonus, several of the boards we've seen so far definitely bring the bling. Just last week, Gigabyte teased several motherboards intended for Skylake, some of which looked like Formula F1 race cars. Not be outdone, MSI has posted to social media a picture of its Krait Z170 mobo with the familiar black-and-white treatment. MSI didn't spill any specs on its Twitter or Facebook page, though a glance at the picture reveals four DDR4 memory slots, half a dozen SATA 6Gb/s ports (two for SATA Express), three PCI-Express x16 slots, M.2 slot, and a standard PCI slot. The Z170 Krait Gaming also has an 8-phase VRM, Audio Boost 3 chip for onboard audio chores, and Killer E2205 gigabit Ethernet, along with DVI, HDMI, and DisplayPort outputs. If nothing else, Skylake builds should at least look good. Leaked benchmarks suggests that Skylake systems will also perform well, though it's still a bit early to draw any definitive conclusions. Intel is expected to launch Skylake-S (desktop version) on August 5. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
| Rumor: Windows 10 Has Finally Gone RTM Posted: 15 Jul 2015 11:57 AM PDT 
We're closing in on the Windows 10 launchUnnamed "sources" close to the development of Windows 10 are reporting that the highly anticipated operating system has gone RTM, and will likely be officially announced by the end of the week. Windows 10 was expected to go RTM last Friday, which still didn't give OEMs enough time to ship Windows 10 products for the July 29 launch date. Currently, the schedule points to August for the first wave of Windows 10 devices, followed by another wave in September. As for devices purchased in the July 29 window, Microsoft will establish small "shops" in the company's brick-and-mortar stores and at participating retailers to help customers install and set up the new platform. According to sources, Microsoft has chosen 10240 as the official RTM build. This build is expected to be distributed to the Windows Insider participants followed by platform updates and extra polish, as seen with the latest handful of builds dished out to Insiders. Essentially, Windows 10 is now feature-locked. Just two days ago, Microsoft halted the Windows 10 Technical Preview updates. Insider boss Gabe Aul said that the company was moving the Technical Preview over to the production channels, the same channels that will update copies of Windows 10 installed on PCs. Presumably, the next update will be Build 10240. Microsoft's Terry Myerson said a couple of weeks ago that once the RTM build is distributed, the company will send out a build of Windows 10 to retailers across the globe so that they can help consumers install Windows 10 on recently purchased Windows 8.1 machines. These devices will have a sticker on the packaging that shows the device is compatible with Windows 10. Microsoft is betting big with Windows 10. The platform will bring a number of awesome features you can't find in Windows 8.1, including the virtual assistant Cortana and Microsoft's zippy new browser called Edge. The Start Menu is also making its return and will be decked out with Modern UI apps as well as the standard list of installed programs and apps. |
| Reviews Policy Posted: 15 Jul 2015 10:54 AM PDT  Maximum PC covers a lot of content on a regular basis. We look at upcoming technology, including software and hardware, and we write feature stories and news posts about all types of content. But when it comes to reviews, we have high standards and we want both the readers as well as the manufacturers to understand what goes into a review. That's why we're publishing our reviews policy here for reference. We do our best to ensure the accuracy and quality of our reviews, but that sometimes we make mistakes. If we do, we'll be the first to admit it and issue a correction. We're also constantly talking about our content and advice and looking for ways to improve. If you have any suggestions, comments and email are encouraged. Just write to mailto:letters@maximumpc.com. In the coming months, you'll see changes to our site and format, and our reviews policy is at the heart of site and magazine. Our approach We take reviews seriously, but we all love technology and we frequently discuss the pros and cons of the devices that we test. And even though the subject matter is sometimes dry, we still try to have some fun with it. We assign reviews to experts that know the market and how advances in technology drive new hardware. Our reviewers strive to be authorities on the classes of hardware they review. We won't assign a Linux article to someone whose only experience comes via Ubuntu, and we won't ask a desktop enthusiast that hates notebooks to assess the latest laptops. Our reviews provide a high-level overview of a product and the market in which it competes. We tell our readers what a product will be like in the real world, analyze the installation and configuration process where applicable, and provide useful performance results and analysis of what those results mean. There are many PC components that are now "fast enough," but just because a system is fast enough for your grandma doesn't make it Kick-Ass material. To score well, a product must rise above its peers and offer something more. That isn't to say that we only praise expensive products. We love the newest and fastest technology, but we also love a great bargain. We expect a $500 graphics card to stomp all over a $200 graphics card in gaming prowess, but if that $200 graphics card is the best $200 you can spend on gaming, we'll let you know. Likewise, if an uber-expensive system runs great but is only marginally faster than other systems that cost half as much, we won't hesitate to point out the price premium. Ultimately, we strive to publish the insightful and precise analysis on PC hardware, give trusted buying advice, and to help our readers understand where the industry is headed and what the best hardware is for the different markets. And hopefully we can keep you entertained along the way. What we review Scored reviews: We review and assign scored verdicts to hardware that's available for sale. This may be a new processor from AMD, Intel, or Nvidia; it might be an SSD, motherboard, or some other component or accessory. For graphics cards, we will typically review a "reference" card from AMD or Nvidia at launch, and we may have individual card reviews from their partners. Each product is assessed on its own merits, so in cases where a product differs substantially from the reference design, it may warrant a higher—or lower—score. We also receive early hardware at times, and if it's in a state representative of the final product we will score the review. This often occurs with new components like CPUs, GPUs, and SSDs. Early hardware that is not publicly available (e.g., Oculus Rift prior to 2016) may be previewed, but we will wait for the final hardware before officially reviewing the product. The PC ecosystem is anything but static, however, and sometimes unpredictable changes can alter our perception of a product. By that token, it's important to understand that a review is merely a snapshot in time. What was once a questionable product may suddenly become the latest must-have piece of technology, or if a critical flaw is corrected then hardware may become far better than it was at launch. When that happens, we'll revisit the hardware and explain why things changed and whether this is a new fad or something more meaningful. Scoring system Maximum PC uses a 20-point scoring system, expressed as a percentage and in 5-point increments. The following descriptions are meant to clarify what those scores most often mean to us. Scores are a convenient summation of the reviewer's opinion, but it's worth underlining that they're not the review itself. - 5–35 The computer equivalent of a dirty diaper. No one wants it, and even the proud parents look forward to moving on. Either non-functional, fundamentally flawed, and/or ill-conceived that it's ultimately not worth any time or money.
- 40–45 The product works, mostly, but it has glaringly obvious flaws and there are much better uses of your time and money. We don't recommend anything that can't at least muster a 50 or higher.
- 50–55 Mediocre. The product may have some niche market that would find it useful, but even then it can only be recommended with caveats. It might suffer from bugs or other technical issues.
- 60–65 Average. It might have some interesting features or ideas, but it's ultimately just one of the crowd. It will do the task it was designed for, but performance won't blow your socks off.
- 70–75 Good but perhaps late to the party; a recommendation, but not a glowing one. There are no deal breakers, but there are still better alternatives—or there soon will be. Efficiency, performance, features, or other aspects could be improved.
- 80–90 A great product with good features that accomplishes what it set out to do. Anyone owning this product can feel confident that anything faster/better will generally cost more.
- 95 A product that moves the market forward in meaningful and surprising ways. Not only does it perform its intended purpose, but it has extras that you never knew you wanted until you had them. Ten years from now, you'll still look back fondly and remember this game changer.
- 100 Humanity should be alarmed, as this product is one more step toward Skynet. It advances the state-of-the-art and upgrades your intelligence in the process. Forget the cost—you want one, now!
The Kick-Ass Award is Maximum PC's version of an Editors' Choice award, and it is automatically given to any product garnering a score of 95 or 100. It represents exceptional quality and/or innovation. |
| Microsoft Boss Satya Nadella Clarifies Stance on Smartphone Strategy Posted: 15 Jul 2015 10:12 AM PDT Microsoft isn't waving the white flag  With a paltry 3 percent of the smartphone market, Microsoft might be forgiven if it conceded defeat to Android and iOS. And for a minute, it seemed like it might -- there were rumors that Microsoft would switch up its mobile strategy by abandoning Windows Phone handsets and partnering with Google to get its software and services pre-installed on Android devices. Then when Satya Nadella announced 7,800 layoffs -- essentially a dismantling of its Nokia acquisition -- it seemed like the end of the road. Instead, it's the beginning of a new one. In an interview with ZDNet's Mary Jo Foley, Nadella talked extensively about Microsoft's mobile strategy and smartphone plans. The short of it is, Microsoft will continue to release handsets, but will have fewer models with features the company hopes will lead to more market share. "Last week's announcement was not about any change to our vision and strategy, but for sure it was a change to our operating approach. The way we're going to go about it. I'm not going to launch a phone a day. I'm going to focus on a few phones that actually grab share that, in fact, showcase our uniqueness," Nadella said. At the same time, it sounds like Nadella hopes that third-party manufacturers will run with the idea. Just as the company's Surface tablets have led to a wealth of two-in-devices, he sees the same happening with Windows Phone devices. And if not? "If no OEM stands up to build Windows devices we'll build them," Nadella said. "There will be Lumia devices. So I'm not afraid of saying, okay, it's all about the OEMs, or it's all about the ecosystem. It's about Windows. It is about the overall health of Windows and being grounded in any given day's reality, but having ambition of where the market is going versus being bound by current definitions." Therein lies Nadella's main focus -- he wants to get away from thinking about mobile in terms of smartphones only. For Nadella, it's more about the software, which in this case is Windows 10 and the interoperability between different devices in different categories. "When you have three percent share of that (phone market), but you also have a billion desktops, you have Xbox, you have innovation in HoloLens; you have Band. It's a graph. It's not any one node. It is the entirety of the device family. And I want to be able to think about our strategy, our innovation, and progress as one," Nadella said. Do you think there's any hope for Microsoft in the smartphone market, or is it too much of an uphill battle at this point? Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
| Google's Planning Free Broadband Internet Service to Low-Income Homes Posted: 15 Jul 2015 09:31 AM PDT Broadband for all  We tend to freak out as if the world is ending when our Internet service goes down. However, among homes that bring in less than $30,000 per year, more than a quarter—26 percent—don't have Internet access, compared to 3 percent of adults who make over $75,000. Google is looking to close the gap. To do that, Google is launching a program that will see all current and future Google Fiber locations offer a no-cost Internet option to residents in select public and affordable housing properties. That means $0 per month and no installation fee. Google Fiber is currently available in Kansas City, Kansas; Austin, Texas; and Provo, Utah. Other areas on the roadmap include Atlanta, Georgia; Charlotte and Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina; Nashville, Tennessee; Salt Lake City, Utah; Phoenix, Arizona; Portland, Oregon; San Antonio, Texas; and San Jose, California. The initiative to connect low income families to the web for no cost is part of ConnectHome, a program launched by the White House and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to bring Internet connectivity to school-age children and families living in HUD-assisted housing. "We realize, though, that providing an Internet connection is just one piece of the puzzle. People can only take advantage of the many benefits of the web when they understand why it matters and know how to use it," Google said. "That's why we'll also partner with ConnectHome and local community groups to develop basic computer skills training and create computer labs to host these trainings in each of our Fiber markets." For those who don't qualify, Google still offers a $0/month "Basic Internet" tier in its Fiber locations, though there's a $300 construction. It can be paid in one lump sum for $25/month or the first 12 months. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
| Fast Forward: The Four Sides of 3D Chips Posted: 15 Jul 2015 12:00 AM PDT This article was published in the April 2015 issue of Maximum PC. For more trusted reviews and feature stories, subscribe here. Adding dimensions to evolving (and shrinking) chip technologyThree-dimensional flash memory is the latest chip technology that's truly revolutionary and Samsung is leading the way with its 3D-NAND flash-memory cells in 500GB SSDs. Multiterabyte SSDs will soon follow. It's the biggest news in semiconductor tech since 2011. That was the year when Intel revolutionized digital logic by mass-producing the first microprocessors with three-dimensional finFET transistors. But it's also causing confusion. Samsung's 3D-NAND flash memory is completely different. Different again is a 3D-stacked chip. Heck, some folks are even confusing these innovations with 3D-graphics processors. They're all different. But they do have one thing in common—they're solutions for cramming more transistors into less space. 
Samsung's 850 Pro was the 3D revolution's trailblazing SSD. Flash memory urgently needs help because atomic-level physical limitations prevent it from getting much denser, faster, or cheaper. Whereas DRAM and SRAM cells quickly lose all their electrons when powered down, flash cells preserve data by trapping electrons in a "floating gate" (a conductive material) sandwiched between two insulators. Eventually, the trapped electrons escape, but not for years. The retention time depends on several factors, including the number of trapped electrons and whether they're disturbed by electrical activity. But transistors are getting so small that the number of electrons they trap is getting alarmingly low. Ten years ago, a typical NAND-flash bit cell retained about 1,000 electrons per bit. Now it's about 50. Even worse, some flash memory stores more bits per cell by sensing multiple voltage levels. With a conventional single-level cell (SLC), only one voltage level spells the difference between a one or a zero (one bit). A multilevel cell (MLC) stores two bits by using four voltage levels. A triple-level cell (TLC) stores three bits in eight levels. The more levels, the fewer electrons per level. Leaking only a few of those electrons can evaporate your data. Also, repeated read/write operations permanently trap some electrons, which prevents the cell from flipping between one and zero, making it useless. That's why flash drives use wear leveling to evenly distribute the operations. To overcome these problems, 3D NAND stacks the bit cells vertically. It packs more cells into the same space without necessarily shrinking the transistors and compromising their data retention and endurance. This solution seems obvious, but the manufacturing details are devilish. Intel's finFETs (finned field-effect transistors) solve a different problem. A logic transistor must leak as few electrons as possible through its gate when switched to its "off" binary state. But as transistors keep getting smaller, their gates get shorter, enabling more electrons to escape. By fabricating transistors with a vertical fin rising above the chip's surface, Intel ups the gate's effective length without using more horizontal space. These 3D transistors aren't stacked, as they are in 3D-NAND; they are "3D" in comparison with a conventional planar (flat) transistor. Stacked chips are another "3D" variation. They simply pile two or more silicon die on top of each other. Usually these "3D" chips are designed to save board space in small systems like mobile phones. A 3D-graphics processor is yet another breed. It's simply a microprocessor optimized to run 3D-graphics software. It needn't use any of the 3D technologies described above. Confusion arises, even among gearheads, when we use vague terms like "3D" to describe very different technologies intended to solve very different problems.
Tom Halfhill was formerly a senior editor for Byte magazine and is now an analyst for Microprocessor Report. |
