Search for classic GIFs in the Internet Archive’s new collection
To celebrate its 20th anniversary, the Internet Archive has created a special treat for its visitors: an utterly enormous number of GIFs culled from the original social network, GeoCities. Fittingly, the new collection is dubbed the Geocities Animated Gif Search Engine or GifCities for short. It features a whopping 4,500,000 animated GIFs from the classic internet era of the mid ’90s. Even though Yahoo shut down the service in 2009, each of these GIFs links back to its originating page via the Wayback Machine — just as with the National Archive’s collection.
Via: Boing Boing
Source: GifCities
The Nintendo Switch reportedly has a multitouch screen
We have plenty of questions about the Nintendo Switch, but one of the most pressing is: Does it have a touchscreen? During the three-minute teaser, no-one ever swipes, taps or prods the main unit, leading to speculation about its capabilities. Well, according to Eurogamer, the hardware does indeed support grubby fingers. The Switch is reportedly rocking a 6.2-inch, 720p capacitive multitouch display — a first for the company, which has relied on basic resistive touchscreens until now. What’s unclear is that how will affect the Switch’s docked mode, which covers the display entirely. Lots of alternate control schemes? Possibly.
Nintendo isn’t offering clarification on a potential touchscreen just yet. A spokesperson provided the following statement to Engadget: “We have nothing to announce on this topic. We will make additional announcements about the Nintendo Switch hardware later, before the launch of the product.”
It makes sense, however, for Nintendo to keep some of these finer details to itself. The Switch is an ambitious piece of hardware — for its initial unveiling, it was wise of the company to focus on its portability and removable JoyCon controllers. Nintendo wanted to sell the overall concept, and how it might fit into your life, rather than explain every single component choice. For now, that’s okay. As for the touchscreen — we should get more details in January, when the house of Mario takes another stab at selling the world on its new, console-meets-portable dream.
Jessica Conditt contributed to this report.
Via: The Verge
Source: Eurogamer
LG’s latest 5K screen is Apple’s new flagship display
If you’re eyeballing Apple’s new MacBook Pro line, but you need even more screen real estate than 15 inches of Retina display — LG has already got you covered. Taking the place of Apple’s own, discontinued Thunderbolt Display, the LG 27-inch UltraFine 5K and 21.5-inch UltraFine 4K displays are stepping up as the new go-to companions for the MacBook Pro’s sharp new screen and limited port variety.
The biggest selling point for both models is the ability to charge your new MagSafe-less laptop over the same Thunderbolt 3 connection that delivers video, audio and data. That, plus the three USB-C ports on the back led Phil Schiller to describe them as “the ultimate docking station” during today’s presentation. Both models also bring an additional FaceTime-ready camera and microphone setup with built-in speakers. At the pixel level, the 27-incher brings 5120 x 2880 resolution with 218 ppi, while the smaller model has 4096 x 2304 4K resolution with 219 ppi. One Thunderbolt 3 advantage: you can adjust settings like screen brightness and speaker volume without the need for a separate cable or dedicated buttons on the monitor itself.
The larger model will run you $1,299.95 and the smaller is selling for $699.95. Only the smaller model is available for pre-order today, but it should ship in late November, with its big sibling coming sometime in December.
Click here to catch all the latest news from Apple’s “Hello again” event.
Source: LG Newsroom, Apple Store
The new 15″ MacBook Pro can push four 4K monitors at once
Thanks to that discrete Radeon graphics chip in the new 15-inch MacBook Pro, users can run nearly 43 million pixels worth of lag-free screen real estate from their laptop. Tucked into the tech specs for the new notebook is the clarification that Apple’s new top-of-the-line portable machine can power four displays with 4096 x 2304 4K resolution with zero lag at 60Hz and full color. If you’re in the market for a 5K flagship monitor, the new MacBooks can still power two of them alongside the built-in retina display as well.
As 9to5Mac points out, the little 13-inch sibling doesn’t have quite the same graphics horsepower due to its integrated Intel Iris GPU, but it can still run a single 5K monitor or two 4K monitors simultaneously with zero lag and no drop in resolution on the built-in screen.
Of course, that much resolution won’t come cheap — although 4K monitors are widely available at this point, your 5K options are still relatively limited. And a new laptop, plus a pair of LG’s successor to the 5K Apple Thunderbolt Display will cost a wallet-flattening $5,400 total.
Click here to catch all the latest news from Apple’s “Hello again” event.
Via: 9to5Mac
Source: Apple Tech Specs
MacBook Pro Shipping Estimates Slip to 3–4 Weeks for Models With Touch Bar
The new MacBook Pro has only been available for purchase for about six hours, but shipping estimates on the machine have already slipped from two to three weeks to three to four weeks, meaning orders placed now won’t deliver until late November or early December (November 25 to December 2).
Three to four week shipping estimates apply to all MacBook Pro models that have a Touch Bar and Touch ID support. At launch, those machines had shipping estimates of two to three weeks and delivery windows from November 17 to November 25. Supplies are likely to continue to dwindle as people place orders for the updated MacBook Pro models.
The new entry-level MacBook Pro without a Touch Bar continues to be available for delivery as soon as October 31 using the fastest shipping method. Apple Store pickup is not yet available for any of the MacBook Pro options, but the standard MacBook Pro should be in stores soon.
The 13-inch MacBook Pro with no Touch Bar is priced at $1,499, while 13-inch Touch Bar models start at $1,799. 15-inch models, which all include a Touch Bar, start at $2,399.
Apple is also continuing to sell 2015 MacBook Pro models, which are available at prices starting at $1,299.
Related Roundup: MacBook Pro
Buyer’s Guide: Retina MacBook Pro (Buy Now)
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AMD Details Radeon Pro Graphics in New 15-inch MacBook Pro Models
AMD has shared some technical details on the new Radeon Pro graphics cards included in the 15-inch MacBook Pro models, giving some insight into their performance and the differences between the three options.
The Radeon Pro 400 Series Graphics are built on AMD’s Polaris architecture and are fabricated using the 14nm FinFET process to achieve high performance without sacrificing power efficiency. They offer memory bandwidth of up to 80GB/s.
The Radeon Pro Graphics found in the MacBook Pro feature the latest Polaris architecture with 4th generation Graphics Core Next. Speed through your tasks with up to 16 compute units (1024 stream processors) and 1.86 Teraflops of horsepower. Radeon Pro Graphics on the MacBook accelerate workloads normally reserved for the main processor. It features versatile asynchronous compute, updated shader engines, enhanced memory compression and new geometry capabilities in a compact and efficient package.
The Radeon Pro 460, available as a $200 upgrade in the entry-level 15-inch MacBook Pro and a $100 upgrade in the higher-end 15-inch MacBook Pro, offers 1.86 Teraflops of horsepower and 16 compute units (1024 stream processors).
The Radon Pro 455, the default option in the higher-end 15-inch MacBook Pro, features 1.3 Teraflops of horsepower and 12 compute units (768 stream processors). The Radeon Pro 450, available in the entry-level 15-inch MacBook Pro as the default option, offers 1 Teraflop of horsepower and 10 compute units (640 stream processors).
According to AMD, the Radeon Pro graphics processors inside the MacBook Pro are thinner than a US penny with a Z-height of 1.5mm but still pack in 3 billion transistors. The Radeon Pro features “advanced power technology” to allow the MacBook Pro to stay cool and quiet even during demanding tasks.
On its MacBook Pro website, Apple says the 15-inch MacBook Pro offers up to 130 percent faster graphics performance (with the Radeon 460) and up to 2.5x more computing power per watt compared to the previous-generation 15-inch MacBook Pro.
The 13-inch MacBook Pro uses integrated graphics instead of discrete graphics, but Apple says the Iris Graphics 550 are up to 103 percent faster than the Iris Graphics 6100 in the previous-generation 13-inch MacBook Pro.
Related Roundup: MacBook Pro
Buyer’s Guide: Retina MacBook Pro (Buy Now)
Discuss this article in our forums
Google Assistant just got a whole lot smarter with IFTTT integration
If you’re an early adopter of the Pixel disappointed that one of its touchstone features, the Assistant, isn’t quite as smart as Google led you to believe, we have a solution of sorts.
Today, Google added itself to IFTTT’s (If This Then That) extensive database of integrations, allowing users to create and execute “recipes” through the Assistant itself.
For the uninitiated, IFTTT is a tool that allows disparate services to talk to one another. While Assistant will eventually work natively with many services, from Spotify to Philips Hue, right now the integrations are limited. IFTTT fills in those gaps by allowing you to use one input (in this case, Google Assistant) to execute an action (say, turning on your Philips Hue light bulbs).
Most of the early recipes are rudimentary but fun
Most of the early recipes are rudimentary but fun, like posting to Twitter or Facebook using your voice, or changing the color of your LIFX lightbulb. With time, though — and a bit of ingenuity — the recipes should become a lot more useful.
As Alex Dobie said in his Pixel review, “The reality is that Assistant is, at the time of writing, very much a version 1.0 product.” IFTTT integration does doesn’t get it to 2.0, but maybe to 1.2, which is a nice step in the right direction.
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Daily Briefing: Samsung takes a $4 billion hit, Allo (kinda) comes to the desktop
Here’s what happened in the world of Android today.
The week started off heavy, and today just added to it. It was earnings day for all of the major companies, which means we got to see just how hard the Note 7 fiasco hit Samsung ($4 billion, ouch). But we also got to see Alphabet pass the $5 billion income mark for the quarter, and also remind ourselves that LG’s mobile business is still weak and losing money.
Getting away from the financials, T-Mobile has an awesome deal for new Pixel owners, while updates to Nova Launcher and Pushbullet make the experience of using any Android phone more powerful. Read on for our full recap of the day’s news!
Samsung’s Q3 earnings weren’t so hot
Thanks to a massive recall and cancellation of the Note 7, Samsung’s mobile division barely turned a profit in the quarter, leading to the company’s lowest quarterly profits in two years. The hit to the mobile business was over $4 billion in total for the quarter. More
LG has a rough quarter, too — except none of its phones caught on fire
The South Korean company announced its mobile division took a quarterly loss of nearly $400 million — the most it’s experienced in some time. LG’s mobile division has been unprofitable for five consecutive quarters, weighing down its overall bottom line.
T-Mobile has a sweet deal for Pixel owners
If you buy an unlocked Pixel or Pixel XL and bring it to T-Mobile for its new “One” plan, the carrier will refund you 50% of the price of the phone. Now that’s a great way to encourage unlocked buyers to come to your network. More
Moto M breaks cover in leaked photos and specs
The new mid-ranger breaks from the current designs seen in the Moto Z and G series, offering a metal body and rear-mounted fingerprint sensor. Inside, it’s rumored to have a Snapdragon 625, 4GB of RAM and a stupidly large 5100 mAh battery. More
Alphabet is raking in the money
For Q3 2016, Google’s parent company Alphabet had income of over $5 billion. If it weren’t for the speculative “Other Bets” section, that would have been nearly $6 billion. Google’s biggest segments are growing at a 10-20% rate, which is very impressive for a company of this size. More
Pour one out for Vine
The Twitter-owned video sharing app will be shut down “in the coming months” as the service lacked active users and didn’t really have a monetization strategy. Snapchat and Instagram Video really hit Vine hard, it seems. More
Nova Launcher brings more Pixel-y goodness in latest Beta update
The seventh beta update for Nova Launcher 5.0 brings us Android 7.1 shortcuts, which means that when you long-press an icon, you’ll be able to access the new dynamic/static shortcuts if an app has made them available, and if not, you’ll have the same old icon/app options in that new menu style. The update also brings a few more bug fixes, and an option for weather in the search bar.
Make Allo desktop-friendly with Pushbullet
Google’s new Allo messenger is smart, but it’s also mobile. Let’s change that, shall we? Using Pushbullet’s new update, users can now respond to Allo messages on a Windows PC, or on Mac or Linux through a Chrome extension, through Pushbullet’s Notification Mirror feature.
Apple MacBook Pro (2016) vs Apple MacBook Pro (2015): What’s the difference?
Apple’s new MacBook Pro is finally here, with Touch Bar, hefty price tag, and all.
Before you spend all your hard-earned cash, take a moment to compare the new laptop to its predecessor. Yes, the old model doesn’t come with that fancy OLED touch strip, but if you’re on a budget, every little bit counts, and not upgrading to the latest tech may be in your favour. However, you should know that the MacBook Pro (2016) also brings better graphics and streamlined connections.
Let’s get into the nitty gritty…
Apple MacBook Pro (2016) vs Apple MacBook Pro (2015): Design
- MacBook Pro (2016) comes with Touch Bar and Touch ID sensor
- MacBook Pro (2016) is all-around thinner and lighter compared to predecessor
Both versions of the laptop feature an aluminium enclosure, LED-backlit display, and come in 13-inch and 15-inch model sizes as well as silver or space grey colour options. However, the MacBook Pro (2016) model exclusively features a Touch Bar with an integrated Touch ID sensor. It’s an OLED strip that sits at the top of the keyboard, where the standard function keys normally go.
The 13-inch MacBook Pro (2016) model weighs 3.02 lbs (1.37 kg) and measures .59 x 11.97 x 8.36 inches (1.49 x 30.41 x 21.24 cm), while the 15-inch MacBook Pro (2016) model weighs weighs 4.02 lbs (1.83 kg) and measures .61 x 13.75 x 9.48 inches (1.55 x 34.93 x 24.07 cm).
The 13-inch MacBook Pro (2015) model weighs 3.48 lbs (1.58 kg) and measures .71 x 12.35 x 8.62 inches (1.8 x 31.4 x 21.9 cm), while the 15-inch MacBook Pro (2015) model weighs 4.49 lbs (2.04 kg) and measures .71 x 14.13 x 9.73 inches (1.8 x 35.89 x 24.71 cm).
In other words, if you’re looking for an Apple laptop with a slightly new design, new functionality, and that’s relatively thin and light, you should consider the MacBook Pro (2016) over the MacBook Pro (2015).
Apple MacBook Pro (2016) vs Apple MacBook Pro (2015): Display
- Both models offer 13-inch and 15-inch screen sizes
- Both models offer Retina displays with no change in resolution or ppi
The MacBook Pro (2016) offers a choice between a 13.3-inch LED-backlit Retina display with IPS technology and a 2560×1600-pixel resolution at 227 ppi and a 15.4-inch LED-backlit Retina display with IPS technology and a 2880×1800-pixel resolution at 220 ppi.
The MacBook Pro (2015) offers a choice between a 13.3-inch LED-backlit display with IPS technology and a 2560×1600-pixel resolution at 227 ppi and a 15.4-inch LED-backlit display with IPS technology and a 2880×1800-pixel resolution at 220 ppi.
There is no difference in display quality between the Apple MacBook Pro (2016) model and Apple MacBook Pro (2015) model.
Apple MacBook Pro (2016) vs Apple MacBook Pro (2015): Hardware and power
- Both models and sizes claim to offer 10 hours of web play
- The 15-inch MacBook Pro (2015) with Touch Bar offers better graphics on paper
The MacBook Pro (2016) 13-inch base model with Touch Bar offers a 2.9GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 (Turbo Boost up to 3.3GHz) with 4MB shared L3 cache, 256GB SSD, 8GB of 2133MHz LPDDR3 memory, Intel Iris Graphics 550, and built-in 49.2-watt-hour-battery (which equals up to 10 hours of web play), while the MacBook Pro (2016) 15-inch base model with Touch Bar offers a 2.6GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 (Turbo Boost up to 3.5GHz) with 6MB shared L3 cache, 256GB SSD, 16GB of 2133MHz LPDDR3 memory, Radion Pro 450 with 2GB of GDD55 memory and Intel HD Graphics 530, and built-in 76.0-watt-hour-battery (equals up to 10 hours of web play).
The MacBook Pro (2015) 13-inch base model offers a 2.7GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 (Turbo Boost up to 3.1GHz) with 3MB shared L3 cache, 128GB SSD, 8GB of 1866MHZ LPDDR3 memory, Intel Iris Graphics 6100, and built-in 73.9-watt-hour-battery (which equals up to 10 hours of web play), while the MacBook Pro (2015) 15-inch base model offers a 2.2GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 (Turbo Boost up to 3.4GHz) with 6MB shared L3 cache, 256GB SSD, 16GB of 1600MHz LPDDR3 memory, Intel Iris Pro Graphics, and built-in 99.5-watt-hour-battery (equals up to 10 hours of web play).
In other words, the MacBook Pro (2016) offers a slightly better spec’d processor over its predecessor and much-improved graphics capabilities. The 15-inch model with Touch Bar specifically switched up a lot when it added Radion Pro 450 with 2GB of GDD55 memory and Intel HD Graphics 530, whereas last year’s model with no Touch Bar had Intel Iris Pro Graphics. So, if you want a machine that’s a bit faster and better equipped at handling intense graphics, consider the top-end, 15-inch MacBook Pro (2016).
One more thing: all models of the MacBook Pro (2016) and MacBook Pro (2015) feature a 720p FaceTime HD camera.
Apple MacBook Pro (2016) vs Apple MacBook Pro (2015): Connections and ports
- The MacBook Pro (2016) ditched all the old ports in favour of Thunderbolt 3The MacBook Pro (2016) doesn’t even have an SDXC card slot
The MacBook Pro (2016) only features four Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) ports for charging, DisplayPort, Thunderbolt, and USB 3.1, whereas the MacBook Pro (2015) comes with MagSafe 2 power port, two Thunderbolt 2 ports, two USB 3 ports, an HDMI port, and SDXC card slot. Both models also have a 3.5mm headphone jack. In other words, the MacBook Pro (2016) streamlined everything.
You can now charge and transfer data using the same port (all four of them) on the MacBook Pro (2016). However, you can’t plug in an SD card. If that matter a lot to you, and you don’t like USB-C, stick with the MacBook Pro (2015). Oh, and both models offer a 3.5mm headphone jack.
Apple MacBook Pro (2016) vs Apple MacBook Pro (2015): Price
- The MacBook Pro (2016) with Touch Bar is more expensive all around
The MacBook Pro (2016) 13-inch model with Touch Bar starts at $1,799, while the MacBook Pro (2016) 15-inch model with Touch Bar starts at $2,399. The MacBook Pro (2015) 15-inch model costs $1,299, while the 15-inch model costs $1,999.
T-Mobile offers unlocked Pixel owners a $325 credit
While Verizon is the only carrier to offer Google’s Pixel phones directly, T-Mobile has its own plan to tempt over Pixel owners: $325 credited towards their bill. That’s half of the cost of the $650 32GB Pixel, and a significant chunk off of the price of the $769 Pixel XL. To get the deal, you’ll need to sign up for T-Mobile’s new unlimited One plan and show a proof of purchase. Don’t expect to get the credit in one lump sum, though. The carrier says it’ll distribute it in $13.55 increments across your bill for 24 months.
That’s still a good deal for anyone who plans to stick with T-Mobile, but it’s certainly not as impressive as a single bill credit. And of course, there are still some red flags with the carrier’s new One plan. It starts at $70 a month with “unlimited” data, text and talk, but you’ll have to shell out extra if you want to tether at LTE speeds or watch HD videos.
Source: T-Mobile
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