Ryan Whitwam
Recent posts
Pong became one of the first commercially successful video games when it was released in 1972. It's a simple game with just one control input. It's so simple, in fact, that scientists at a company called Cortical Labs have grown a "mini-brain" in the lab that can play it. The cluster of neurons didn't need to be told...
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Apple's iPhone is the most popular smartphone family in the world, which makes it rather odd that the devices are still relying on the aging and slow Lightning port standard. Not for long, though. The European Union has mandated a change to USB-C, and former Apple exec Tony Fadell thinks the move is long overdue. He's...
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The long-awaited release of Cyberpunk 2077 might not be the smash hit CD Projekt Red had anticipated, but the developer is still forging ahead with a sequel. That's not all—CDPR is also going back to The Witcher universe with a trio of new titles. It has revealed some very basic details of these projects on...
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All the major game console makers try their best to lock down the hardware, and they don't take kindly to people working to circumvent their systems. Microsoft had its program against mod chips, Nintendo gets hackers locked up, and Sony had a high-profile case against noted hacker George Hotz in the PS3 era. Another...
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Most wearable fitness trackers include the ability to track sleep, but what if you don't want to wear something on your wrist at night? Well, Amazon might have just the thing with its new Halo Rise. This device looks like a clock, but it contains a low-power sensor that can monitor and analyze your sleep, plus it...
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For many people, the dream of picking up an NVIDIA RTX 30 Series GPU was stymied by shortages and crypto hysteria over the past few years, but there's good news: the 40 Series is just around the corner. Now that the next-gen GPUs are official, NVIDIA is talking details, including what kind of power supply you're going...
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Meta could be getting some new competition in virtual reality. TikTok's parent company ByteDance has announced a new VR headset under its Pico brand. The Pico 4 has many of the same features as the Meta Quest 2, and it's even more impressive in some ways. However, you won't be able to get one in the US right now. The...
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Gravity is the enemy of most of the fragile glass sandwiches that pass for smartphones in 2022, but the rugged device niche lives on. Samsung has just announced a new generation of rugged devices for the US in the form of the Galaxy XCover6 Pro smartphone and Galaxy Tab Active4 Pro tablet. These devices run the same...
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Mobile games are becoming more demanding and competitive with titles like Fortnite and Call of Duty coming to smartphones. That's caused the gaming phone niche to expand in recent years with names like Red Magic and Black Shark appearing on the scene. Leave it to ASUS and its ROG brand to set the benchmark, though...
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YouTube is being used to distribute a novel bundle of malware but probably not in the way you'd expect. The videos promote cracks and cheats for several popular games, but links in the video description expose viewers to malware downloads. The malware itself propagates these videos by taking over user accounts to...
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Microsoft has gone through several generations of Surface Laptops, some of which have been quite powerful machines. However, none of them have been explicitly tuned for gaming. That could change at the company's upcoming Surface unveiling later this month. A new leak purports to show the specs of Microsoft's Surface...
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Samsung Galaxy Z Flip4 - Starting $999.99 (Currently $899) The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip4 isn't doesn't transform the experience like a larger foldable, but it's a capable, stylish smartphone that doesn't dominate your pocket. Compact, fun form factor Excellent performance Great for selfies Class-leading software...
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Netflix has seen its first-ever subscriber losses in recent quarters, and that has led the streaming powerhouse to spin up a number of new initiatives. Some, like creating an ad-supported tier, won't do anything to make current subscribers happier, but maybe some free games would help? Netflix is expanding its lineup...
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Apple has unveiled a new generation of iPhones with better cameras, longer battery life, and a "Dynamic Island" instead of a notch. One thing the new phones won't have is RCS messaging support. Apple CEO Tim Cook was asked at Vox Media’s Code 2022 event whether the company would heed Google's calls to adopt the...
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Accessory maker JSAUX has previously released a pair of reasonably popular docks for Valve's Steam Deck handheld, but it's not stopping there. Its latest release has all the usual ports and an extra trick up its sleeve. The new HB0604 docking station includes an M.2 slot for an extra chunk of super-fast storage to...
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Qualcomm is expected to announce a new generation of its flagship Snapdragon chips later this year, and Motorola might be the first to take advantage. This news comes by way of chatter on the Chinese Weibo social network. It's far from a sure thing. Bigger OEMs like Samsung and Xiaomi could still beat Moto to the...
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The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) came online this year after more than 20 years of design and development. It's a real watershed moment for astronomy, and unfortunately, yet another way for internet ne'er-do-wells to distribute malware. Security researchers have identified a new malware campaign that has...
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High-end Android tablets are few and far between these days, but Google is finally taking large screen devices seriously. It added a raft of new tablet features to the OS this year, and now they're actually available on a tablet in the form of the Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 series. These devices have just gotten an update...
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Twitter grew to prominence with a focus on short text content, but it has been expanding into audio in recent years with features like Spaces voice chat. Now, Twitter is jumping into podcasts, which will be accessible as part of the revamped Spaces tab. This isn't some "in the coming months" change—Twitter says that...
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Samsung Galaxy Z Fold4 - Starting At: $1799.00 Samsung made some great refinements to the Galaxy Z Fold4 over the previous gen Fold3, including a better camera, better build quality and a fantastic folding display. However, its battery life is middling and its price tag still hefty. Great S Pen Support Solid Camera...
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Benchmarks don't tell the whole story when it comes to device performance, but they can provide important points of comparison. Not all benchmarks are created equal, though. You need something that supports the latest technology to properly assess the capabilities of a device, particularly one that fits in your...
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Anyone with an iPhone in their pocket or a Mac on their desk should be hitting that update button today. Apple has announced an emergency patch for iPhones, iPads, and macOS computers, an increasingly common event. The update addresses a pair of zero-day vulnerabilities in Apple's software, meaning they are already...
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