Upgrade your network with a sleek Netgear R6300v2 smart Wi-Fi router, now $70

Although often overlooked, routers are important pieces of tech that most of us rely on for our daily work and online leisure activities. Not only can a quality router give you more control over your network while enhancing the power and speed of your Wi-Fi, it can save you money on monthly equipment rental fees if you are using the basic router supplied by your ISP. If you are considering an affordable quality router for your home or office, consider the $70 Netgear R6300v2.

The Netgear R6300v2 is a smart router that offers a dual-band AC1750 connection for a total throughput of 1,750Mbps — 450Mbps on the 2.4GHz band for simple tasks like web browsing and 1,300Mbps on the 5GHz band for larger jobs, such as streaming and online gaming. The 800Mhz dual-core processor and 256MB of RAM work together to handle more than 12 simultaneous connections, making the R6300v2 a solid option for larger home or office networks with numerous clients. Netgear’s Beamforming+ feature offers faster streaming for less buffering and lag, even with high-definition video.

More: Eliminate wireless dead zones with the $30 Netgear AC750 Wi-Fi range extender

On the reverse side, the Netgear R6300v2 features four Ethernet LAN ports for wired connections along with a high-speed USB 3.0 port. Another USB 2.0 port is located on the side for devices that use the older standard, allowing all devices on your local network to interface with any connected drives or printers via ReadySHARE. The Netgear genie app provides a user-friendly mobile interface for remotely setting up and managing your network with ease.

PCWorld named the Netgear R6300v2 one of the fastest routers they’ve ever reviewed, and its reliable performance and attractive appearance should make it a welcome addition to any home or office. The Netgear R6300v2 smart router goes for as high as $160 at some online retailers, but Amazon is currently offering it for just $70.

Buy it on Amazon for $70

Outlook 2016 for Mac supports Google Calendar and Contacts for Office Insiders

Why it matters to you

Microsoft gives you another reason to become an Office Insider, with enhanced Google account support for Outlook 2016 for Mac.

Office 2016 for Mac has gone a long way to bringing Mac users the same experience as those running on Microsoft’s own Windows platform. Gone are the days of Office for Mac having its own user interface and feature set, and now Mac owners can even take part in the same Office Insider preview program as Windows users.

Outlook 2016 has seen as much of an overhaul as any Office application for MacOS and now Microsoft is bringing enhanced support for Google Calendar and Contacts to the Mac. If you’re a part of the Office Insider Fast Ring community, then the most recent update lets you use more of what Google has to offer in the way of managing your time and relationships.

More: Microsoft’s Office Insider now has its very own Insider Fast Ring

Up until now, Outlook 2016 for Mac only supported connecting to and managing Gmail accounts. That meant Mac users could get access to their Google email, but nothing else. Now, Microsoft is adding the ability to sync Google Calendar and Contact accounts as well, with the same add, delete, and time and location editing functionality as was previously available only with Outlook.

In addition, Outlook 2016 for Mac also now supports some Gmail-specific Outlook.com, Office 365, and Exchange email features as well. First is the new Focused Inbox functionality that breaks email messages into “Focused” and “Other” tabs based on what Microsoft’s machine intelligence decides is important and urgent email. Outlook 2016 for Mac also now supports the same rich experiences for travel reservations and package deliveries that have been arriving for other Microsoft email clients.

As is often the case, you will need to be an Office Insider in the Fast Ring to gain the earliest access to these new features. You can sign up to be an Office Insider by opening Outlook 2016 for Mac, going to Help > Check for Updates, and following these instructions. Not everyone will gain immediate access to the complete Google account support right away, however, as Microsoft will be monitoring the experience and inviting specific users. You will be prompted to add the support when you are added to the list.

Prime members can enjoy Full HD for only $80 with the Asus VH238H monitor

There’s a myriad of new monitor technologies on the market today, from ultrawide resolutions to displays with unique curved screens. Most of us, however, will never need most of these advanced features for daily use or for a basic backup monitor. Sometimes simpler is better, especially when there is a good deal involved, and the Asus VH238H is a rock-solid HD monitor at a great price. This 23-inch desktop display costs just $80 on Amazon for Prime members after the current $20 mail-in rebate.

More: Now $44, the Logitech G602 is an affordable and feature-rich wireless mouse

The Asus VH238H desktop monitor boasts a 1920 x 1080 resolution and a contrast ratio of 50,000,000:1 for a crisp HD picture and colors that won’t look muddy or washed out. Asus Smart Contrast Ratio improves darker shades even further by dynamically adjusting your contrast so that black and other dark colors do not appear gray or faded, as they often do on lower-quality displays. The backlit LED screen is bright yet energy-efficient, and Spendid Video Intelligence allows you to quickly switch between five different output settings with the press of a button to optimize the picture for your current activity.

Gamers will appreciate the monitor’s snappy response time of 2 milliseconds, which cuts down on input lag and unsightly image ghosting. VGA, DVI, and HDMI ports give you a variety of hookup options, and the display can tilt upwards on its base. The housing features built-in speakers and a 3.5mm audio jack as well.

The Asus VH238H 23-inch monitor typically goes for around $115-135 at most retailers, so its normal Amazon price of $100 is already pretty good. The $20 rebate sweetens the deal even further by bringing the cost down to just $80 for Prime members. Asus also includes a three-year Rapid Replacement warranty on the monitor. This rebate is offered until the end of the month, so be sure to check out the mail-in rebate form for instructions and for more information.

$80 on Amazon after rebate

Google is ramping up MacOS protection in Safe Browsing to combat malware

Why it matters to you

Google is taking steps to ensure users are protected from the latest attacks targeting Mac computers.

Safe Browsing, Google’s in-browser warning system, has announced a number of new updates to help protect against malware in MacOS.

MacOS users should expect to see more warnings in the future, advising them on malicious activity on the sites they are visiting. Safe Browsing is used in Firefox and Safari, not just Chrome.

According to a blog post on Wednesday, Safe Browsing is turning its attention to two common browser abuses — ad injection and manipulation of Chrome settings. Some of the most common Chrome setting changes relate to the changing of the start page, homepage, and default search engine, which Google is trying to stem.

Google also recently released the Chrome Settings API for Mac to help develops set safer settings for users. Starting March 31, Chrome will alert users when changes are being made to their settings that didn’t go through this API. “Also, developers should know that only extensions hosted in the Chrome Web Store are allowed to make changes to Chrome settings,” it added in the blog post.

More: This new Mac malware freezes your computer with email drafts

The updates from Google come at a pertinent time for MacOS users. Mac malware has become much more common with new strains regularly being discovered. While it’s still nowhere near the levels of malware affecting Windows devices, it should still be a cause for concern for any Mac user.

Security researchers discovered a fresh attack recently that abuses Microsoft Word doc macros to deliver malware. It’s long been a trick used to infect Windows computers.

Wrongdoers are getting inventive too. Just earlier this year, a Mac-specific technique carried out denial of service attacks on victims by launching hundreds of email drafts at once, causing the device to crash.

Also at the recent RSA security conference, there was much talk about the proliferation of Mac malware and we should expect to see more emerging this year.

This folding fat-tire ebike does 85 miles on a single charge, and also fits in your trunk

Why it matters to you

If you’re looking for a feature-packed electric bike that ticks all the right boxes, this Indiegogo ebike could be just what you’re after!

The weather’s getting warmer, the winter sweaters are going away for another year, and naturally a young guy or gal’s mind turns to which electric bike they’ll be riding this season.

Well, the folks behind new Indiegogo campaign Moar Bike think they have the answer and, provided they can deliver on it, who are we to argue?

“Ebikes up to now have been pretty rudimentary,” Ken Chung, one of the brains behind Moar, told Digital Trends. “You take a bike, add battery and motor and — voila! — there you go. Nobody had ever thought of the bike as a whole system, for the real people who use them. We wanted to change that. Many people are returning to biking to work now, not just for fun, and more young people are going by without a driver’s license. So that’s what we want Moar to be: a personal mobility solution.”

More: Volta ebike from Pure Cycles packs 40 miles worth of self-riding power

In essence, what this highfalutin talk adds up to is that Moar is an all-in-one electric bike which requires zero upgrades. You get everything you need right out of the box (well, assuming it ships in a box), and that equates to a pretty impressive piece of kit.

Specifically, Moar is a full suspension “fat bike” boasting a folding frame, oversized tires, 85 mile range, 750w motor, 48v lithium ion battery, 1,000-lumen dual LED projection headlights, turn signals, brake lights, waterproof electronics, and more.

While we haven’t gotten the chance to ride it yet, it certainly seems intent on offering the best experience going — and the fact that it can both carry us up and down hills all day on a single charge, and fold up to half its size when it’s not being used makes it the perfect commuter bike.

Moar’s creators are currently taking pre-orders on Indiegogo, where there are three different models on offer. These offer slightly different features, depending on what you have planned for it, but price options range from $999 to $1,999.

The finished units should be pedalling their way to you this May.

Polaris-based Radeon RX 500 Series cards may still be on AMD’s roadmap

Why it matters to you

This latest rumor seems to indicate that AMD is not only releasing new graphics cards for the high-end PC gaming market, but refreshing its current portfolio for the general market.

After AMD’s Capsaicin and Crème press event on Tuesday, we now know that the company’s upcoming next-generation line of graphics cards will be branded as Radeon RX Vega. That is because the new chip architecture is codenamed as Vega and the name is so cool and catchy that AMD decided to cram that codename into the official branding.

But there is still talk about a Radeon RX 500 Series of graphics cards slated for April. These products will not be based on the new Vega architecture, but rather the Polaris design used in the current Radeon RX 400 Series. Radeon Technologies Group head Raja Koduri even admitted that GPU updates would be released during 2017.

More: AMD’s upcoming Vega-based graphics cards will be called Radeon RX Vega

“There’s a lot of speculation about our next series of gaming GPUs. I get asked many times on social media and all, ‘Hey when is 490 coming’ or ‘when is 580’ or ‘590.’ They’re inventing lots of brand names for us on what Vega is going to be called. We have a lot of interesting GPU updates lined up for the rest of the year.”

According to rumors, the Radeon RX 480 will be rebranded as the Radeon RX 580 and sold with an increased clock speed. The Radeon RX 470 will be rebranded as well, sporting a new Radeon RX 570 name and an increase clock speed. These two cards are expected to arrive on April 4.

After that, AMD will reportedly increase the clock speed of the Radeon RX 460 and rebrand it as the Radeon RX 560. AMD plans to launch a new card, too, called the Radeon RX 550, which will join the RX 560 when it hits retail shelves on April 11. AMD’s Radeon RX Vega cards aren’t expected to arrive until May or possibly during E3 2017 in early June.

Here is the list of rumored specs next to the current Radeon RX 400 Series cards:

RX 580
RX 480
Graphics chip:
Polaris 10
Polaris 10
Cores:
2,304
2,304
Texture Mapping Units:
144
144
Render Output Units:
32
32
FP32 Compute Performance:
6.17 TFLOPS
5.83 TFLOPS
Boost speed:
~1,340MHz
1,266MHz
Memory amount:
4GB and 8GB GDDR5
4GB and 8GB GDDR5
Memory speed:
8,000MHz
8,000MHz
Memory bus:
256-bit
256-bit
Bandwidth:
256GB/s
256GB/s

RX 570
RX 470
Graphics chip:
Polaris 10
Polaris 10
Cores:
2,048(?)
2,048
Texture Mapping Units:
112(?)
112
Render Output Units:
32
32
FP32 Compute Performance:
5.10 TFLOPS
4.94 TFLOPS
Boost speed:
~1,244MHz
1,206MHz
Memory amount:
4GB and 8GB GDDR5
4GB and 8GB GDDR5
Memory speed:
7,000MHz
7,000MHz
Memory bus:
256-bit
256-bit
Bandwidth:
224GB/s
211GB/s

RX 560
RX 460
Graphics chip:
Polaris 11
Polaris 11
Cores:
1,024
896
Texture Mapping Units:
64
56
Render Output Units:
16
16
FP32 Compute Performance:
2.63 TFLOPS
2.15 TFLOPS
Boost speed:
~1,287MHz
1,200MHz
Memory amount:
4GB GDDR5
2GB and 4GB GDDR5
Memory speed:
7,000MHz
7,000MHz
Memory bus:
128-bit
128-bit
Bandwidth:
112GB/s
112GB/s

As for the Radeon RX 550, it may be based on a Polaris 12 graphics chip although that is merely speculation at this point. Actually, all of this is based on mere rumor and speculation, but at least we know something is in the Radeon pipeline outside the upcoming Vega lineup. Koduri admitted this during Tuesday’s press event, so perhaps there is some merit to the information listed above.

OpenSignal’s Meteor app runs internet speed tests, shows how apps will perform

Why it matters to you

Megabits, megabytes? If you’re unsure what the results of your internet speed tests mean, OpenSignal’s Meteor app is a solid app that can help.

OpenSignal, a company that maps wireless coverage and regularly publishes reports about the carriers in the United States, just released an app that will not only run a speed test on your internet connection, but also tell you what it means.

The app, called Meteor, answers basic questions about your internet speed. When you install it, you’ll first need to run a speed test. It then measures ping, as well as upload and download speeds. You can get three grades for each of these categories: Awesome, Very Good, OK, and Poor.

More: Verizon customer? RootMetrics says that your service provider is the best

For a lot of people running a speed test doesn’t necessarily help them understand what the connection is good for — and that’s where Meteor wants to distinguish itself from the plethora of speed test apps currently available.

Meteor will list the apps you have installed, and it will tell you whether apps like YouTube and Spotify are good or awesome on the Wi-Fi or carrier network you’re on. Oddly, you can only check your speeds with up to five apps at a time. You can add more, but you’ll have to run the test again.

In the Dashboard and History, you can see your previous tests and where you were. OpenSignal is also using the anonymized signal and speed data it receives from this app for its coverage mapping purposes. You can choose to contribute a low, normal, or high amount.

Meteo’s two differentiators from other related apps are that it’s a nice looking app, and that it tells you what apps work well with your internet connection.

Unfortunately, it’s only available on the Google Play Store for Android devices at the moment. There are plenty of other ways to check your internet speed though, like Netflix’s Fast.com, and even by simply typing “speed test” into Google.

Neura AI collects information from all of your devices to improve your health

Why it matters to you

Neura AI taps myriad sources of data to predict your habits — information that’s incredibly useful to preventive medicine apps.

Our smartphones go everywhere we go. To a certain extent, so do our smartwatches, fitness trackers, wireless health monitors, and wallet locators. But for the most part, they don’t talk to each other. A Fitbit can’t tap health information from a Wi-Fi glucose monitor. A Bluetooth locator can’t use your phone’s geographic location. And a pedometer certainly isn’t aware of the direction, duration, and length of a jog, much less the time of day.

Gilad Meiri sees that as untapped potential.

Meiri is the CEO and founder of Neura AI, an artificial intelligence startup that develops some of the most advanced machine-learning algorithms. With enough data, Neura’s software can learn an incredible amount of information about your routine. It knows what time you’re likely to fall asleep on a particular weekday. It can tell if you’re at the office, your neighborhood gym, or a friend’s house. And it can even tell when you’ve missed a workout.

More: Artificial intelligence can now predict heart failure, and that may save lives

Meiri got the idea for Nuera when co-founder and Chief Technology Officer Triinu Magi fell sick for five months. After countless inconclusive MRI scans and doctor visits, she turned to data for answers. Magi, a data scientist by trade, recorded biometrics like heart rate, blood pressure, blood oxygen, and glucose, and correlated the data with a food diary. A pattern soon emerged: Dramatic spikes and dips in blood sugar after sugary snacks. Magi had a rare form of diabetes.

That data-driven work was the cornerstone for Neura. The algorithms, as Meiri described them to Digital Trends, tap every available source of information in a continuous search for trends, patterns, and correlations. They’re able to interpret data from more than 55 Internet of Things devices, including wearables like the Apple Watch and smartwatches running Google’s Android Wear operating system. They remember recent Wi-Fi hot spots, the locations you’ve been, upcoming appointments and meetings, and the friends and family you contact most often.

It’s all viewable in Neura’s mobile dashboard app. Meiri showed his personal account to Digital Trends, and the sheer volume of data sources was staggering: Neura was collecting information from 54 apps. “It probably knows me better than anyone else,” he said.

More: The chatbot will see you now: AI may play doctor in the future  of health care

Neura is focusing on telemedicine. Earlier this year, it launched a medical adherence library designed to streamline the AI algorithms’ integration with medical and health apps. It includes a number of prebuilt features designed to “increase user engagement,” Meiri said, and “eliminate the need for app developers to write code … enabling them to complete integration in two hours or less.”

One of the most impressive implementations yet is a Neura-powered smart glucometer for diabetics. Thanks to Neura’s algorithmic insights, it “knows” that a particular patient should check her glucose levels before working out, and similarly “knows” when he or she arrives at the gym — prompting the glucometer to recommend action precisely at the critical moment.

Medisafe leverages Neura’s AI service to send pill reminders based on when a user wakes up and is predicted to go to sleep, which Meiri notes is a chronic problem. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly 50 percent of Americans take prescription medications for one or more chronic illnesses like cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and asthma. An estimated three out of four fail to take their medications as directed.

More: The U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs is using artificial intelligence to supercharge its health care services

In many cases, Neura has made a measurable difference in getting users to take direction. It’s driven an 88 percent increase in medical adherence, a 20 percent rise in user engagement, and a 31 percent boost in retention for wellness tracking.

“It thinks like a human,” Meiri said. “It’s not dependent on Google feeds.”

But it raises privacy concerns. Neura is collecting hundreds of data points every day and feeding that information to third-party apps and services, which subsequently use them for other purposes.

More: Artificial intelligence will make your sports wearables — and you — even better

Meiri noted that Neura requires users to approve each data point individually — they have to review and give permission for each one. And he pointed out that Neura’s transparency sets it apart from most data-collecting services on the market. Ad networks like AOL, he said, aren’t always transparent about the information they’re collecting and using.

Ultimately, the privacy comfort level will depend on the person. But given the data, Neura’s already proven it can be a force for good.

From humble beginnings, Adobe Illustrator evolved into graphics powerhouse

Why it matters to you

When it launched three decades ago, Adobe Illustrator had more than its share of critics and skeptics. Designers are now using the program to create roughly 6 million graphics every day.

The tool that helped usher in a new era in digital design is now celebrating 30 years — and 180 million graphics crafted every month. This month, Adobe Illustrator — now Illustrator CC and part of the Creative Cloud — will have officially been around for three decades.

Publicly launched in 1987, Adobe Illustrator was received with mixed reactions — some called it magic, while others said it was the end of good design. “Everybody said, ‘You’re going to ruin good design because now anybody can do it.’ But with Illustrator, the cream rises to the top,” said John Warnock, Adobe cofounder. “The creativity is in the designer. The creativity is the person who uses the tools.”

Adobe

More: Adobe engineers show off 11 projects they’re building behind the scenes

At Illustrator’s launch, it was a novel tool that allowed artwork to be both more precise and easily adjusted. The program evolved from PostScript, the precursor to modern desktop publishing, which used computer programming to describe a design on a page. It was, of course, limited to computer programmers, not graphic artists.

Illustrator allowed artists to create without knowing code by using a set of tools and drawing on the screen. Graphics and layouts went from hands-on cutting and pasting with actual scissors to the digital definition of cut and paste. At the earliest launch, however, Illustrator didn’t even have an undo button.

Adobe says Illustrator has evolved from that early version to the current Creative cloud option largely through user feedback from forums, events, and focus groups. The latest version incorporates the ability to create content across varied screen sizes and mediums, with an “export for screen” option and Scalable Vector Graphics. The pause in the workflow to share graphics and style guides is being shortened as Creative Cloud access expands.

Illustrator is also creating spinoff programs, like Adobe Experience Design, a platform the company is currently beta testing for putting design, prototyping, and sharing websites, plus mobile apps, into one program.

Designers are now using the CC program to create roughly 6 million graphics every day.

Line, Naver launch “Clova,” their attempt at bringing Alexa-type tech to Asia

Why it matters to you

While Clova is being aimed at Asian markets, it could create more competition in the digital assistant world.

It looks like Amazon’s Alexa may get a run for its money — at least in Asia. Line, the Japanese messaging company, is working with tech giants Sony and LG to launch an Asian version of Alexa, called Clova.

The new artificially intelligent virtual assistant is set to be launched as a cloud-based service for a range of products, including consumer gadgets and smart home devices — meaning it could one day be the assistant that powers an entire ecosystem of devices.

More: Google Assistant keeps gaining skills, adds support for iHeartRadio

“AI is our most important project at LINE, and represents a paradigm shift as dramatic as the rise of the smartphone a decade ago,” said Line CEO Takeshi Idezawa. “The Clova platform allows LINE’s existing services to interconnect, moving users post-touch, post-display, and even post-Smart-Portal, into a new future. We are aiming to make Clova Asia’s leading cloud AI platform.”

Line wasn’t alone in the development of Clova — in fact, it built Clova alongside Naver, the most popular search engine in Korea. That’s an important aspect of the new assistant — and it means that Clova could tap into the same kind of knowledge that Google Assistant is capable of tapping into.

So what kind of products should we expect with Clova built in? Well, details are a little uncertain right now, but the first device is expected to be Wave, a smart speaker that will debut in Japan and Korea in early summer. According to Line, Wave will be the “centerpiece for how people will interact with their virtual assistant.”

An ecosystem like this has the potential for huge growth, as we’ve seen with Amazon’s Alexa. Initial use of Clova will be limited to devices built by Line and Naver, but it will then be opened up to third-party developers.