Category Archives: Computers

Computers, News

Dell Empowers Collaboration & Remote Work in APAC with New Commercial Lineup

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Remote work and hybrid work are fast becoming commonplace after the pandemic. More and more of us are finding ourselves working in places other than our offices and it has slowly but surely changed what we need and look for in our devices. Dell is well ahead of the curve in delivering purpose-built devices for any price point. However, the shift in paradigm has also led to Dell rethinking and reconceptualising its approach to designing its solutions.

Dell Commercial Lineup Penang 2
[Source: Dell Technologies] (from left) Paul Carter, Vice President – Client Solutions Group Sales, Asia Pacific, Japan (APJ); Rakesh Mandal, Senior Director & General Manager – Client Solutions, South Asia & Asia Emerging Markets Dell Technologies; Sudip Saha, Sr. Director and Head of Marketing – South Asia & Asian Emerging Markets (B2B and B2C).

“It’s not about the work, it’s about how we get it done,” were the words of Paul Carter, Dell Technologies’ Vice President of Client Solutions Group Sales for Asia Pacific, Japan (APJ) at the APJ launch of their new commercial line up of devices. He outlined the fundamental shift in Dell’s approach to creating its commercial solutions. The change has influenced the features and form factors offered by the refreshed Latitude, Optiplex and Precision lineups. This change is also ever present in the accessories and monitors that expand its commercial offerings. Dell’s approach caters to four personas shaped by their work and the nature of their functions: the builder, the connector, the producer and the specialist.

Devices for the Builders & Connectors in Organisations

Builders are people focused on building the business primarily dealing with people and company strategy while connectors bring people together and optimize outcomes by balancing collaboration and team interests. These workers need to be nimble and productive requiring devices that not only serve as productivity tools but also tools for presentations but more importantly, these tools need to be as portable and light as they need to be on their feet.

Dell Commercial Lineup Penang 3
Source: Dell Technologies

Dell has created multiple devices across their Precision and Latitude lineups with multimode productivity. Laptops like Dell’s new Ultra-Premium Latitude 9440 are built with the power, portability and design that is not only meant to empower productivity but bring the prestige that comes with being a C-Suite and manager. However, for those needing something even more portable, Dell has the Latitude 7340 and Latitude 7440 ultralight that puts portability front and center.

In addition, the Dell Latitude lineup is also imbued with 2-in-1 laptops for the Latitude 7340 and Latitude 7440 which allow them to be tools for on-the-go presentation. The Latitude 9440 2-in-1 brings this feature set with the premium build and design fit for higher management.

Catering to the Producer and Specialist – A group that Needs More Power for Productivity

Dell has also identified a group called Producers who work on delivering outcomes and focuses on accomplishing tasks and productivity. This group works closely with the specialists in any organisation. Specialists perform detail oriented work and work on solving problems, delivering products, analyzing data and even creating content. These groups of people require machines that are packed to the brim with power to churn large amounts of data or render heavy graphical loads.

Dell Commercial Lineup Penang 4
Source: Dell Technologies

The Precision lineup brings the required power with top of the line graphics powered by NVIDIA’s RTX Ada generation graphics. These setups range from mobile, portable laptops like the Precision Mobile Workstation 5480 that packs the powerful internals needed for detail oriented work into a slim, portable body to the Precision 7960 Tower that brings the power in a more convention desktop as well as the Precision 7960 Rack which brings the specifications to servers allowing remote access with data security.

Bringing Diversity & Sustainability to the Forefront

Dell’s Optiplex line up, on the other hand, falls squarely into the spaces between these personas bringing productivity focused machines into compact, space saving form factors. They allow users to stay productive without sacrificing desk space. The Optiplex line up also packs enough power for these workers to get a more diverse range of work done. Things from repetitive admin work to processing spreadsheets.

Dell Commercial Lineup Penang
Source: Dell Technologies

That said, Dell’s solutions across the board are guided by the company’s many sustainability goals and moonshot goals. It comes as no surprise that all of these devices come with a substantial amount of optimisations and materials which reduce the environmental impact of the company and devices. Dell has incorporated things like Post Consumer Recycled (PCR) plastics, sustainably sourced metals and components made of recycled materials.

Dell has also brought some of their ideas and learnings from their many concept devices like Concept Luna to their new devices. They haven’t even more sustainability plans in the works which will make their debuts with future products.

Computers, Gaming, News

AMD’s Radeon RX 7600 is Here! 1080p Gamers, Rejoice!

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A few days ago, NVIDIA released their GeForce RTX 4060 and RTX 4060 Ti to cater to gamers who are playing games on Full HD 1080p resolution. At US$ 299 (MYR 1,381*), they are still rather expensive to upgrade to. There are of course the benefits that come with an NVIDIA GPU like Ray Tracing engine, DLSS, and a myriad of support from NVIDIA. But what if US$ 299 is still a little rich for you? What if you want to spend a little bit less on your GPUs to get more bang out of the buck for your Full HD gaming rig? We offer you the AMD Radeon RX 7600.

Yes, this is the official replacement for the AMD Radeon RX 6600. Being a Radeon RX 7000 class GPU, the RX 7600 comes with RDNA 3 architecture as standard. That not only means improved GPU performance, but also improved ray tracing and upscaling (FidelityFX Super Resolution) engines. There is also an AI core in there somewhere that is not being utilized as of now, but that may come handy later. The new GPU also comes with AMD’s clever second-generation Infinity Cache technology that should prove useful in gaming and content creation situations.

It is designed to play games at Full HD, and better at that than the older GPU (obviously). At that, AMD claims a 29% performance bump over the Radeon RX 6600 on average. They also claim that the RX 7600 performs about 34% better than the older NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 8GB on average. With the new RDNA 3 architecture, they also claim that the GPU can push past 100fps in esports titles on Full HD resolution. You also have the advantage of AV1 support for better streaming experiences and DisplayPort 2.1 support for higher resolution displays. Then again, you might want to stick with Full HD resolution for this one.

At the heart of the AMD Radeon RX 7600 are 32 compute units with RDNA 3 technology. That is 4 compute units more than the older RX 6600 with RDNA 2. It still only comes with 8GB of GDDR6 VRAM, which they claim is enough for high-fidelity Full HD gaming and even upscaling to 1440p. The compute units are also clocked higher at 2.25GHz compared to the 2.04GHz from before. While that guarantees the bump in performance, it also means that the GPU draws more power than before at 165W TGP.

Price and Availability

The AMD Radeon RX 7600 is said to be available from AMD and their board partners today onward. AMD suggests a retail price of US$ 269 (MYR 1,243*) onward, but the prices will vary across manufacturers. Of course, you can expect manufacturers like ASUS and ASRock to come up with their “overclocked” versions of the GPU soon after. There are no indications on a 16GB variant anytime soon too, so if you are holding out for a 16GB AMD entry-level GPU, you might want to hold out a little bit longer for either their RX 7700 or RX 7800 to come out. More on AMD’s Radeon RX 7600 GPU can be found on their website.

*Approximately based on exchange rate of US$ 1 = MYR 4.62 as of 25/05/2023 on xe.com

Computers, Gaming, Lifestyle, News

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 and RTX 4060 Ti is Finally Here – Better Late Than Never!

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NVIDIA launched their Ada Lovelave architecture technology last year with the rather humungous NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 and RTX 4080 flagship class GPUs. That brought high-end 4K and 8K gaming to the hands of consumers who could afford them. For the ones that could not, they had to be content with the existing NVIDIA GeForce RTX 30 series set-up. They had to settle for an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 or RTX 3070, since the RTX 3080 and RTX 3090 were still sold at incredibly high prices at the time. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti came rather late to the Ada Lovelace party, but it was still a welcome addition to the RTX 40 series line-up since that means that Ada Lovelace is becoming a little more accessible to normal people. The RTX 4070 Ti is still, by no means, a cheap or affordable GPU to start with though, for those looking to game on a budget, they still must go for NVIDIA’s outdated GeForce RTX 3060. Not anymore.

NVIDIA has just announced that the NVIDIDA GeForce RTX 4060 family is finally seeing the light. This includes the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Ti variant of the GPU. Alongside the announcement of the latest entry-level RTX 40 series GPU, NVIDIA announces that over 300 games now support DLSS 3 upscaling technology for better gaming performance at higher graphics quality.

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060

The regular NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 comes with 3,072 CUDA cores that clocks in at 2.46 GHz, which is curiously less cores than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 that came before it. The GPU is clocked higher than before though, and with Ada Lovelace architecture, should prove to be an improvement over the RTX 3060. Obviously, the GeForce RTX 4060 also comes with NVIDIA’s 3rd generation Ray Tracing cores that also supports DLSS 3.0 and 4th Generation Tensor cores that should prove to perform better than the older 60 class GPU.

The result is the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 performing about 1.7x better than the RTX 3060 on average. While you only get the choice of an 8GB GDDR6 memory option, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 should be a better all-around performer for Full HD 1080p gaming natively. Of course, if you want even better performance and higher frame rates, you can upscale your games with DLSS 3.0.

You still can output the GPU to an 8K display at up to 60Hz with either HDMI 2.1 or DisplayPort 2.0 on the Founder’s Edition GPUs. Whether or not we will see a combination of HDMI 2.1 and DisplayPort 2.0 on partner boards is a guess. Still, it can power up to 4 monitors simultaneously if you need that kind of set-up. It is a 60 class GPU, and it is not meant for higher power consumptions, and therefore it only draws up to 115W in TGP.

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Ti

For those who are looking to spend a little more on their GPU, but not RTX 4070 high, the RTX 4060 Ti should fit the bill nicely. It is technically more powerful than the RTX 4060. It also a large improvement over the GPU it replaces.

Again, Ada Lovelace architecture means that the new GeForce RTX 4060 Ti does not have to have larger amounts of CUDA cores within the GPU. It only has 4,352 CUDA cores over the 4,864 of the GeForce RTX 3060 Ti. There is the 3rd Generation Ray Tracing cores and 4th Generation Tensor Cores too with AV1 support that is making the GeForce RTX 4060 Ti perform about 1.7x better than the old GPU it replaces. Like the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060, the RTX 4060 Ti is designed to crush games even better at Full HD resolutions.

You can also drive up to 4 displays with the 4 output ports from the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Ti reference GPU. One of them would have to be plugged into the HDMI port, but it is HDMI 2.1 so you still can get 8K 60Hz output out from the GPU. Thanks to lower core counts, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Ti is more efficient than ever with up to 165W TGP over the older 200W even with 16GB of GDDR6 memory on board.

Price and Availability

There is no mention on whether NVIDIA will offer the GeForce RTX 4060 and RTX 4060 Ti with GDDR6X memory or not. With GDDR6X being available for the older GeForce RTX 3060 and RTX 3060 Ti, we can assume that NVIDIA will be planning to bring the new 40 series entry-level GPUS with GDDR6X memory. For now, no other manufacturing partners have showcased their own version of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 and RTX 4060 Ti GPUs. If you plan to get NVIDIA’s Founder’s Edition GeForce RTX 4060 GPU, prices start at US$ 299 (MYR 1,359*), which is not entirely unreasonable. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Ti starts at US$ 399 (MYR 1,813*) for the 8GB edition and the 16GB edition will set you back MYR US$ 499 (MYR 2,267*). More information on the new NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 GPUs can be found on their website.

*Approximately based on exchange rate of US$ 1 = MYR 4.54 as of 22/05/2023 on xe.com

Business, Computers, Editorial, Lifestyle, News

[Google I/O 2023] Google Bard – What is That?

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After Google I/O 2023 last week, you might have noticed that your Android smartphone pushing a notification to you. It is a prompt for you to try Google’s updated Bard. Most of you on Google’s email platform (Gmail) might also get an email asking you to try Bard today. If you are familiar with AI (artificial intelligence) news, you might already be familiar with Google’s Bard alongside OpenAI’s ChatGPT. To those, it might sound like a foreign object.

In simple terms, Google Bard is really the Google version of ChatGPT. While ChatGPT is developed by OpenAI, Bard is completely Google. You want to keep in mind that both ChatGPT and Bard are two separate platforms altogether though before jumping to conclusions and say that they are the same things. They are both categorised as generative AI, but they are both different from one another.

Unlike ChatGPT which has existed for some time, and is in its fourth iteration, Google Bard is fresh out of the oven; two months out of the oven, to be fair. Like ChatGPT, Google Bard was launched as an experiment. Like ChatGPT as well, the technology for Google Bard is not exactly new.

What is Google Bard?

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Source: Google

As mentioned, Google Bard is a generative and creative AI by Google. Instead of overcomplicating the explanation, Google’s FAQ says that Google Bard is technically based on their LaMDA (Language Model for Dialogue Applications) AI model, Google’s very own linguistics program written for conversational purposes. When we say conversational, we do not mean that it will be like a regular conversation with a human being, but LaMDA aims to make it close.

To be fair, Google’s conversational AI is not something you have not seen before, you see it with Google Assistant whenever you call out “Hey, Google,” or “Okay, Google”. You can even use Google’s clever Assistant to get you a booking for a restaurant by having Google Assistant make the call and get the booking done, instead of you calling the restaurant yourself. In their demo a few years ago, Google’s Voice Assistant sounded so natural that the other person on the other end of the line could not even tell that they are speaking to an artificial person. This proves that LaMDA works, and has a place in the world. But our many use case of the Google Assistant even with Google Nest systems is prove enough that conversational AI has many uses in the current world.

Bard is not just a conversationalist though. It is more than that, a generative AI of sorts. It still has its roots in LaMDA, but it is a lot more than that now. It is made as a collaborative tool, for you to basically generate ideas, tabulate and make sense of data, help you plan things, help you design tools and steps, collate your calendars, and even use it as a learning tool.

According to Google, Bard is made to create original contents at the request and behest of individual users. Meaning that the algorithm could be different are results can be different from one person to another. Because it is Google, any request or question you post to Bard might prompt Bard to look into hundred or thousands of sources and draw conclusions, or present result in a way the does not infringe copyright or plagiarism laws. In the case that it does take up contents from another source, Bard will acknowledge and cite its sources. Google Bard is not built to write your college essay though, it is built to be a collaborator to manage your work and your life, to make it more seamless somehow over just Googling things. They do actually have a ‘Google It’ button for you to make full use of Google’s search engine though.

It is not a 100% solution for your own research and use case though. Google has mentioned and stressed that Google Bard is an experiment. It is an opportunity for their AI engines to learn even more at an accelerated pace with public input and use. Google Bard is meant to be iterated, which also means that the current form of Google Bard will not be final. They also mention that Google Bard, at its current form will not be 100% accurate at all times; hence, the ‘Google It’ button on Bard. While it is open source, Google also says that Bard is not meant to be used commercially or for advertising purposes at this time.

Why Bard?

Screenshot 2023 05 15 162312
Source: Google

The entire existence of Bard could be a sharp response to OpenAI’s ChatGPT. The success of the open-source AI platform has sort of forced Google to quickly introduce their own AI tool for use to the public. If they are to be believed, Google could offer the most powerful AI tool for the masses.

In the recent Google I/O 2023, Google has officially embraced Bard and announced that they have moved Bard to PaLM 2, an improved language model that offers more capabilities of Google Bard compared to just conversational based on LaMDA model. PaLM 2 now offers Bard the ability to code and program. It also allows Bard to solve even more complex mathematical problems and process through more complex reasoning models that offers Bard the ability to make better decisions over time.

As of Google I/O 2023, Google has opened the Bard experiment to more than 180 countries as of writing and is available in Japanese and Korean. As things go, Google is planning to open the experiment to more regions and make Bard available in about 40 languages. On top of more languages and regions, where the older Google Bard was mostly just conversational via text, the new improvement at Google I/O 2023 adds some visual flavours to your conversations with Bard. They have integrated Goole Lens into Bard and allow you to now scan photos of your things at home and let Bard come up with whatever captions you might want. You can even add photo references to your Google Bard generated itinerary when you travel.

But it is not just the surface updates for Google Bard. For Google I/O 2023, they have announced that Bard is not just a tool that is isolated from any other systems. Google is making the Bard available with an “export” button for collaboration purposes in the form of exporting and running codes on Python. You could directly copy email responses into your Gmail or Google Docs, if you want. If you want more out of Bard, you can even expect Adobe Firefly integration in the coming future for even more powerful generative tools like complete poster designs based on both Google’s and Adobe’s combined algorithms. They have also announced that they are working with more partners like Kayak, OpenTable, ZipRecruiter, Instacart, Wolfram and Khan Academy to get their Google Bard project integrated into their services and products.

In this case, where OpenAI is allowing you to plug its API anywhere and get it working with minor tweaks, Google is not looking to just do that. Google is offering deep integration with their partners to create even more, to become an even more powerful tool in your toolkit for the future. They look to open up even more opportunities and applications for the average user with deeper and more curated collaborations with partnering brands. While that may not necessarily be the best thing to do for some, it is a way forward for more integrated services and solutions to serve individuals and businesses better. It even allows partnering companies to understand their users and customers better in some cases.

Android, Computers, Mobile, News

Nearby Share Between Your Windows and Android Devices is a Thing Now

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Sharing files between devices is not as simple as it sounds. Sure, Apple figured it out and introduced their own version of wireless file sharing system called AirDrop for years now. The feature allows you to share files between multiple iPhones, MacBooks, iPads, or even Mac Desktops without the devices ever touching each other or tethering to one another.

Android and Windows did not have that. This is where the problem of fragmentation of Android and Windows devices comes into play. Every device is built to a different standard and specification so that file sharing between devices becomes a problem. You can technically share files between Android devices quickly without the devices ever touching each other. The function is called nearby share, and it works, to a certain degree. Each manufacturer also tries to come up with their own solution for their own devices that other manufacturers cannot take advantage of. For Windows devices, it is more of a problem because there is almost no such thing as wireless file sharing other than via Bluetooth.

It seems that Google, not Microsoft to no surprise at all, is going to solve that problem for Android users at least. They call it Nearby Share for Windows, which was technically introduced as a beta app for Windows devices about a month ago. Then again, it was only available in select regions and was more of a test tool. The tool is now in beta and is available for all Windows devices across the globe (with some exceptions).

If you wish to, you can download the tool from Google themselves to try it out. It only works with Android devices and 64-bit version of Windows 10 and newer. If you are running Windows out of an ARM based device, you are out of luck. You also need to own an Android device running Marshmallow (Android 6.0) with Nearby Share capabilities. It will be utilizing your Bluetooth and WiFi capabilities on both your Android and Windows devices to make the transfer handshake and transaction happen, so you want to make sure to turn on both when you are making a transfer.

Unlike HUAWEI’s implementation of file sharing between devices, you do not need an NFC tag on your PC or smartphone. The only thing you need to do is to tap ‘nearby share’ on your smartphone, select your accompanying or intended Windows PC, approve the data transfer request on your PC, and wait for the files to transfer at near instant speeds, as fast as your WiFi can go. The transfer goes both ways, so it will be the same process for data transfers from your Windows PC to your Android device.

https://techent.tv/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/BeTo_WinApp_Hero_Animation_Desktop_v3_13_03_23_2x.mp4
Source: Google

The Nearby Share for Windows app, as you might have noticed when you hop into their website, is still in beta and will be in that state for a while, we guess. That means that you might need to expect a few bugs and glitches with the software or function. It is not going to be the perfect solution just yet is what we are saying. Of course, Google is looking to make the app better constantly, so that is also what we are expecting in the future. You can find out more about Google’s Nearby Share for Windows app on their website.

Accessories, Computers, Gaming, Mobile, News

Razer Introduces the BlackShark V2 Pro – The New Benchmark in eSports Audio

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Razer’s BlackShark is a popular choice among gamers. While it may not seem like it offers much in music experience, it is specifically made with gaming in mind. That means you get immersive, detailed audio in games. Its attached mic also offers clear communications when you need to talk to your friends or teammates in an intense battle. Now you can do get all of that done without being tethered to your PC.

They call it the BlackShark V2 Pro, and it follows the same recipe that made all the BlackShark that came before this one. Within the similarly designed earcups are the same Razer TriForce Titanium 50mm audio drivers as before. That also means that you are still getting a clear, detailed, immersive audio that fits your gaming needs.

You also get THX Spatial Audio tuning with the large 50mm drivers. That also means that you are getting a virtual surround sound audio with your games too. If it is shooters you are playing, you are going to be able to tell where the enemies are coming from just based on their footsteps.

BlackShark V2 Pro [2023] Render (6)
Source: Razer

You still get the same microphone as the wired BlackShark V2 for clear communications with your teammates, necessary when you are in a competitive environment. For comfort, you still get the same ultra-soft FlowKnit memory foam cushions on the earcups that relieve pressure to your head and offer breathability when things get intense. It is made for eSports after all.

Other than the blacked out three-headed snake insignia that is Razer’s signature logo and blacked out exposed wires connecting the earcups, the other difference between the BlackShark V2 and BlackShark V2 Pro is it lacks wires. It is a strictly wireless headphone; means you will not find a 3.5mm jack or AUX cables in the package. Because it is wireless, it does require a power source; a battery to operate. That means it adds a bit more weight to the hardware than the wired one. It now weighs 320g, nearly 60g more than the wired version.

While you do not have an AUX jack to plug it into, you still have two options to connect your headphones to your devices. You can connect your BlackShark V2 Pro via the Razer 2.4GHz  HyperSpeed Wireless dongle that offers minimal latency and the most stable wireless connection available for competitive gaming. You can also connect your Razer BlackShark V2 Pro with your smartphones via Bluetooth 5.2 that also offers low latency and stable connectivity, not as good as the wireless dongle though. The roughly 60g battery inside the Razer BlackShark V2 Pro offers up to 70 hours of battery life, allowing you to game entire sessions without worrying about the headphones dying on you.

  • BlackShark V2 Pro White [2023] Render (4)
    Source: Razer
  • BlackShark V2 Pro White [2023] Render (3)
    Source: Razer
  • BlackShark V2 Pro White [2023] Render (2)
    Source: Razer
  • BlackShark V2 Pro White [2023] Render (1)
    Source: Razer
  • BlackShark V2 Pro [2023] Render (5)
    Source: Razer
  • BlackShark V2 Pro [2023] Render (6)
    Source: Razer
  • BlackShark V2 Pro [2023] Render (4)
    Source: Razer
  • BlackShark V2 Pro [2023] Render (3)
    Source: Razer
  • BlackShark V2 Pro [2023] Render (2)
    Source: Razer
  • BlackShark V2 Pro [2023] Render (1)
    Source: Razer

The Razer BlackShark V2 Pro is now available via Razer.com, official RazerStores globally, and authorised resellers. You get to choose between the white or the black colour options. It will set you back US$ 199.99 (MYR 892*), which is quite a lot of money for a headphone, but it is Razer, and it is one of the best gaming headphones you can find in the current market. More on the BlackShark V2 Pro can be found on their website.

*Approximately based on the exchange rate of US$ 1 = MYR 4.46 as of 28/04/2023 on xe.com

Computers, Lifestyle, Mobile, News

Your Chromebook Can Be Your Video Workstation Now with Google Photos

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We have proven that Chromebooks can be a versatile mobile workstation that is also budget friendly. Google’s Chrome OS is a genuine viable choice if you are looking for a new laptop for both work and entertainment, at least to a certain extent. While it proved to be a powerful tool for internet browsing, document processing, presentation creation, basic data crunching, movie watching, and music listening to a certain extent, it is not something you want to use if you need to get videos or photos out quickly. You might prefer to get a more powerful Windows PC for that, alongside the many software suites available on the platform. With the latest Google Photos update though, your Chromebook might now be a viable option for a quick video edit.

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Source: Google

Google announced a new Google Photos update for Chromebooks as of last month. It is a significant update for the app on Chromebook. It allows users to use the app to edit videos on the Chromebook via the Google Photos app. The video editing tool on Google Photos app on Chromebooks is also designed to be as simple to use as possible. That announced feature is now available on the latest update to the Google Photos app on Chromebooks.

If you are new to video editing, the Photos app’s movie tool should be an easy enough tool to work with even for amateurs. The tool offers suggestions on the themes you can use for your own movies. Once selected, alongside the clips you select for the video, the app will cleverly put them together to create a custom movie in just a few taps. The app can even pick out the most interesting and meaningful moments in your clips to include in the video and cut out the rest to make it even easier and quicker to get your videos out.

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Source: Google

If you are more used to picking out your own clips, and have a more hands-on approach to your videos, the app also allows you to select your own videos, arrange them, and put them together on your own. You do get the versatility and browsing power of the Google Photos app for you to quickly surf through and pick the right clips for your video. You also get to use copyright free music selected from the built-in music library. Of course, if you prefer to insert your own music, you can too.

You can try out the Google Photos movie editor yourself if you have a Chromebook. As mentioned, you just have to update the Google Photos app to its latest version via the Google Play Store on your Chrome OS. Once you updated your app, you simply access the function via the app. More on the new feature on Google’s Photos App on the Chrome OS can be found on their blog announcement.

Business, Camera, Computers, Mobile, News

Google Meet Now Supports Full HD 1080p Video Calls

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Google has just updated the Google Meet app and it is now better than ever. You can now make video calls in Full HD instead of just 720p HD resolution. Those Full HD, 1440p, and 4K webcam for your video conferences are now starting to make sense. There are some caveats though.

The Full HD capability update for Google Meet applies to not just the app on your smartphone, or on your PC. It also works when you access Google Meet via the web. By default, it is set to ‘off’, so you do need to turn it on to activate the feature for your calls. You also need a Full HD or higher resolution cameras connected to your PC or device for it to work. You can also only use it in a one-on-one call unfortunately, means your group calls will still be in 720p at the maximum.

With Full HD 1080p resolution though, bandwidth requirements will be higher than ever before for Google Meet calls. In the case where bandwidth is an issue, Google Meet will default to 720p resolution at the maximum. Of course, if you feel like your feed is choppy, you can turn off the Full HD 1080p option yourself. Google Meet will also inform you about the feature before it puts you into a supported call.

Google Meets FHD
Source: Google

Here is the thing though, the function is not available to everyone using Google Meet. If you are using Google Meet for free to get personal video calls in, you are out of luck for now. The feature will only be available to users of Google Workspace Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Starter, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Teaching and Learning Upgrade, Education Plus, Enterprise Essentials, and Frontline. It is also available to Google One Subscribers with 2TB or more storage space with supported devices. We are hoping that Google will make the Full HD 1080p feature available to more users in the future. For now, if you are not a user of any of Google’s listed services you are out of luck. For more information on the latest Google Meet update, you can visit their website.

Computers, Gaming, Lifestyle, Mobile, News

ROG’s Gaming Handheld Officially Announced, the ROG Ally is Live!

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Handheld gaming is a thing, an inevitable thing. Nintendo has always championed the concept and is a huge pioneer in the handheld gaming industry. The Nintendo Gameboy, for example, is one of the first and one of the most popular gaming handheld devices ever produced. It was iconic too, the namesake stayed on for a couple of generations and made way for a couple of new ideas in the handheld gaming space. It gave birth to the Nintendo Switch, partly.

The Nintendo Switch gave way and inspired many other new gaming devices that flooded the market. All that accumulates to Valve’s very own Steam Deck handheld gaming device. While not the first of its kind to play games on the Steam library while on battery, it is sort of the best solution and culmination of that concept. Then there is this new device, the new ROG Ally.

If you have scoped around the internet; YouTube especially, the ROG Ally should not be foreign to you by now. It is an ASUS manufactured handheld gaming device that mimics the concept of the Steam Deck. Unlike the Steam Deck though, it does not run its own version of Linux. It runs Windows, like a lot of the Chinese made gaming handheld that fancies itself the “Switch” of the PC gaming industry. More Specifically it runs Windows 11, making not just Steam library games available to users. You can theoretically play games from Ubisoft, Amazon Games, Epic Games, or even Origin Games.

  • ROG Announces Its First Windows Gaming Handheld – The ROG Ally 8
    Source: ASUS
  • ROG Announces Its First Windows Gaming Handheld – The ROG Ally 7
    Source: ASUS
  • ROG Announces Its First Windows Gaming Handheld – The ROG Ally 5
    Source: ASUS
  • ROG Announces Its First Windows Gaming Handheld – The ROG Ally 6
    Source: ASUS
  • ROG Announces Its First Windows Gaming Handheld – The ROG Ally 4
    Source: ASUS

The internal that keeps you happy gaming as long as the battery allows you is an integrated AMD APU. It is an AMD Ryzen Z1 series processor, not the same one you find on the latest gaming consoles for your couch. The Ryzen Z1 processor you find in the ROG Ally comes with AMD’s latest RDNA 3 architecture making it the most efficient and powerful APU of its kind found in a gaming handheld. You do need to keep it rather cool to get the best out of it though. In the restricted space that is the ROG Ally’s body is their new Zero Gravity thermal solution that keeps the internals happy with two fans pulling temperature away from ultrathin heatsink fines and high-friction heat pipes out the top of the device.

The powerful APU and cooling system projects Windows 11 and all your games on a high-resolution 7-inch display. It offers Full HD 1080p resolution, twice as much as the Steam Deck, and it is possible thanks to the powerful APU. It also offers 120Hz in refresh rate with FreeSync Premium, meaning your AAA games play smoothly and tear-free. If you wish to play in the great outdoors; because your mother has been telling you to play outside, it offers 500 nits in maximum brightness. It is also a touch sensitive display for easy Windows 11 and the Special Edition Armoury Crate navigation.

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All of this is packed in a hardware that weighs only 608g. Unlike a Switch, the control panels are not detachable. But that means that the lightweight device is a solid build that you can just chuck in your bag without taking up too much space and adding too much weight in your backpack. The device is also shaped ergonomically for maximum comfort for its users with unique textures to improve grip on the device.

The ROG Ally will be launching globally on the 11th of May 2023. You can be part of that launch too on their event website. For now, that is the only information we have on ASUS’ ROG Ally. More information on the ROG Ally can be found on their website.