Hugh Hefner docuseries bares all on Amazon Prime next month

An Amazon series detailing the life and impact of Hugh Hefner is heading to the service on April 7th. Announced last year, American Playboy: The Hugh Hefner Story is a new docuseries that will combine dramatic re-enactments of Hefner’s life with rare unseen footage uncovered from his personal archive. Featuring interviews with celebrities like Gene Simmons and Jesse Jackson, the series promises to give audiences an unprecedented look into the rise of the Playboy empire.

As well as the expected mansion shenanigans, the show also aims to delve into the social impact of the iconic brand – emphasizing Hefner’s often forgotten commitment to social justice and gay rights.

For those who want a taste of the show without committing to Amazon Prime, its first episode will also be free to watch on Playboy.com from April 7th to 13th.

Playboy has recently struggled to come to terms with its place in the digital age. After briefly dropping full frontal nudity from its iconic magazine last year, Hugh’s son Cooper recently announced that the brand’s trademark provocative shoots will now be making a return. With the double whammy of a high-profile TV show and a new-look magazine on the cards, the iconic brand is once again attempting to cement its place in a post-internet world.

Source: Amazon

ICYMI: Submersible sticky situations and elongating elastomer electrodes

Today on In Case You Missed It: Researchers from Purdue University and the Office of Naval Research teamed up to develop a new kind of glue that even works underwater. The synthetic compound is derived from proteins used by muscles to keep themselves attached to rocks. The man-made adhesive is 17 times stronger than its source material and could one day hold US Navy ships together.

We also take a look at a stretchable electrode developed at Stanford University. Leveraging the same kind of molecule that commercial kitchens use to thicken soups, the Stanford researchers were able to develop an electrical conductor that can be easily deformed while actually conducting better as it is stretched. And finally, this is what happens when you hook a watermelon up to a car battery.

As always, please share any interesting tech or science videos you find by using the #ICYMI hashtag on Twitter for @mskerryd.

Three finds more customers affected by 2016 data breach

Three today revealed that a customer data breach it caught wind of last November was more extensive than first thought. Using stolen employee logins, ne’er-do-wells gained access to a database used to manage handset upgrades, comprising customer details such as names, addresses, dates of birth, mobile numbers and information about mobile contracts (but no financial data). Initially, just over 130,000 subscribers were said to be affected, but upon further investigation, another 76,373 accounts have now been added to that total. No fraudulent activity has been spotted, but all newly identified customers have been contacted today, Three says.

The Three data breach is particularly interesting in that the provider became aware something was amiss only after hundreds of high-value handsets were stolen. Some Three stores were burgled, and other smartphones were ordered as upgrades by the wrongdoers and intercepted as the made their way to customer addresses. Three suspects have been arrested, but so far there have been no related convictions. Law enforcement investigations and a probe by the Information Commissioner’s Office are ongoing.

Via: ISPreview

Source: Three

Uber drivers no longer need other mapping apps

Few of us think about the driver experience when we hail an Uber. We open the app, summon a car and then clamber into the backseat, peering at our phones or talking to friends until we arrive at our destination. But for a trip to work seamlessly, it’s important that your chauffeur knows exactly where you are and where you’re going. With this in mind, the company has set out on a major revamp of its driver app, improving navigation on iOS and, for the first time, offering turn-by-turn directions in Android.

Yes, you read that correctly. Until now, drivers have had to juggle multiple apps if they use an Android phone. It’s a clunky experience, bouncing between Uber and their preferred mapping service, like Google Maps, whenever someone new requests a ride. The experience on iOS isn’t much better, with “fundamental navigation features” missing from the app. For the last “several months,” the team has been working on something better. At a cursory glance, it looks like any other mapping app, with a colorful line to indicate the best route and a large arrow up top to explain the next turn.

But Uber says there’s more going on. After all, its drivers work differently to the common road user. They’re picking people up along the way, and need to know what side of the road they’ll be stood on. For UberPool, that involves multiple stops on an oftentimes convoluted route. In the case of UberEats, they need to know the best places to park near your chosen restaurant and home. To help, Uber built a “route preview” system that focuses on the most important parts of each trip. During a pickup, for instance, it zooms in and shows where the passenger should be stood, as well as the next turn, or at least the direction they should be headed off in.

There’s also lane guidance, real-time traffic updates and a dark theme for night-time shifts. These features are basic, however Uber has stressed this is only the first version. Over time, the team hopes to refine it further, reacting to driver behavior and the complexities of different cities. The key difference now is that the software is in Uber’s hands — it’s no longer relying on Google or Apple to patch in their most requested features.

The redesigned apps use a blend of in-house and third-party provided data. Uber has its own fleet of street-mapping cars, but these are meant predominantly to help its self-driving vehicles. The biggest supplier is TomTom, which first partnered with Uber in November 2015. Uber’s in-app navigation won’t be the only option — drivers can still use Google Maps or Waze if they wish — but, unsurprisingly, the company recommends switching. Uber says a small number of iOS users should already have the new experience. It will be rolled out slowly, alongside the new Android version, “over the next several months,” an Uber spokesperson said.

The new driver app follows a tumultuous few months for Uber. In February, CEO Travis Kalanick was caught on camera arguing with a driver over fare prices (he later apologised, and is now looking for a COO to keep his aggressive leadership style in check). A month earlier, swathes of users deleted the app (the movement was shared with the #deleteuber hashtag) after it turned off surge pricing at JFK Airport, undermining a taxi strike designed to exert pressure on Donald Trump’s travel ban. The company is also under fire for reports of sexual harassment, and is fending off a lawsuit filed by Alphabet’s Waymo team. Through it all, however, Uber trudges on.

Alexa can now order food from Grubhub

In the future, as predicted by Star Trek, all you’ll need to do is speak and food will be instantly created before your eyes. Since we don’t have a way of instantly converting energy into matter in this way, the latest team up between Grubhub and Amazon will have to suffice. The former has added its smarts to the latter’s Alexa platform, enabling you to speak and have food turn up at your door a short time later.

It’s fairly easy to set up, since you just have to add the Grubhub skill to Alexa and select which prompts you want to use. So you can ask Alexa to “open Grubhub” or say “Tell Grubhub I’m hungry,” before being given a list of the last three meals that you ordered — since that is the limit of your choices right now. Alexa will then tell you how long you can expect to wait before that chicken pot pie turns up.

Pegatron Ready to Build iPhones in the U.S. If Apple ‘Is Willing to Absorb the Costs’

After months of reports surrounding iPhone manufacturers like Pegatron and Foxconn potentially moving Apple device construction to the United States, Pegatron CEO Syh-Jang Liao this week commented that the company could build iPhones and iPads in the U.S. on the condition that its client, Apple, is ready to pay for the costs of moving manufacturing stateside (via Focus Taiwan).

Liao was responding directly to questions asked about President Donald Trump’s request for American brands to keep their manufacturing in the U.S. In the wake of Trump’s presidential win, months of reports have covered speculation about whether or not Apple suppliers could, or should, move production into the U.S. For Pegatron, if such a Trump initiative came into being, the company CEO said that it “already has its production lines in place.”

“As long as there is demand, whether the clients are American or Chinese, Pegatron already has its production lines in place,” Liao said. “If Trump institutes his Made in America proposal, it will be fine for Pegatron as long the client is willing to absorb the costs.”

Just last week, Foxconn chairman Terry Gou raised concerns over the manufacturer’s shift of iPhone production to the U.S. In his comments, he cited concern over whether or not the U.S. government could keep up with the regulations and laws needed to be passed before Foxconn would be able to build major iPhone plants in the country. Echoing Apple CEO Tim Cook, Gou also mentioned that the U.S. lacks the skilled labor needed for these plants to thrive.

In recent Apple-related Pegatron rumors, the manufacturer was suggested as to be the exclusive supplier of the 2017 iPhone 8’s wireless charger. Along with an edge-to-edge OLED display, wireless charging is rumored to be one of the major selling points of the iPhone 8, in comparison to the more basic “iPhone 7s” and “iPhone 7s Plus.” Pegatron will also help produce this year’s upcoming iPhone, alongside Foxconn and reportedly Wistron.

Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Politics, Religion, Social Issues forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

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5.8-Inch iPhone Said to Have Curved Display, But Not as Curved as Galaxy S7 Edge

Apple’s widely rumored 5.8-inch iPhone will feature a curved OLED display, although the curve will be gentler than Samsung’s Galaxy S7 Edge, according to Japanese website Nikkei Asian Review.

The curve will be gentler than screens in Samsung’s Galaxy S7 Edge handsets. This is partly due to the challenges of making curved glass covers to match screens, according to the source.

While the curved screen will allow a viewable area of about 5.2 inches and make the iPhone even sleeker, it will not offer significant new functions, the person said.

The report comes just a few days after research firm IHS Markit said it “anticipates Apple will adopt a flat implementation of OLED design on their special iPhone model, which is analogous to the current 2.5D glass design.”

KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo and Chinese research firm TrendForce previously said they expect the premium iPhone to have 2.5D cover glass, which refers to the slightly curved front glass that iPhones have had since the iPhone 6 in 2014. A “gently” curved display could perhaps conform to this design.

The report cites a source that said Apple “would not be using OLED optimally” if it opted for a flat display like existing iPhone models, but it cautioned that the design has not been finalized and could still change.

Related Roundup: iPhone 8 (2017)
Tag: nikkei.com
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Dell Precision 5520 review

Research Center:
Dell Precision 5520

Mobile workstations belong to a separate breed of notebook PCs. They’re laser-focused on professionals who need to run demanding applications like AutoCAD and Adobe Premier without a hint of instability. With mobile workstations, you’re paying more for carefully selected components, certified, rock-solid drivers, and good performance than you are for great looks or a svelte chassis.

Sometimes, though, a machine comes along that seeks to pack the components of a workstation-class machine into something that’s more akin to a typical Ultrabook. The Dell Precision 5520 is just such a machine, and in fact it looks and feels a lot like Dell’s XPS 15 productivity notebook.

The Precision 5520 has the same materials and design as the XPS 15, and if you didn’t know better, you might have a hard time telling them apart. Dell’s mobile workstation uses an Intel Xeon mobile CPU and a professional Nvidia Quadro GPU, however, making it as different internally as it is similar externally.

More: Nvidia is outing a VR Ready Quadro processor for mobile workstations

So, did Dell manage to produce a mobile workstation in an Ultrabook’s body? And, just as important, is the Precision 5520 worth its $3,700 list price as reviewed (albeit currently discounted to around $2,640)? Those are the questions we set out to answer.

A proven and worthy design

As mentioned above, the Dell Precision 5520 is almost a carbon copy of its XPS 15 sibling. No pun intended, we should add, given that carbon fiber is an important component of the Precision 5520’s construction. The space-age material covers the keyboard deck and provides some structural rigidity to the aluminum bottom and display cover, while also adding a luxurious feel that’s more inviting than the usual cold metal.

Bill Roberson/Digital Trends

Bill Roberson/Digital Trends

Bill Roberson/Digital Trends

Bill Roberson/Digital Trends

The Precision 5520 also uses Dell’s InfinityEdge display with extremely thin bezels, making for a smaller chassis than you might expect for such a powerful machine. At 14.05 inches wide x 9.26 inches deep, and at 0.44 inches thick, the machine stresses the “mobile” in mobile workstation, in spite of packing in a larger 15.6-inch display.

In the end, Dell chose aa proven design that’s not going to turn any heads, but isn’t going to embarrass its user either. It’s a robust build that’s solid as a rock, and while it’s not designed to meet military specifications, the typical professional shouldn’t feel too nervous carrying the Precision 5520 from the office to the worksite and back again.

Well-connected to the past and the future

Although the Precision 5520 is svelte for a mobile workstation, it’s not the thinnest machine by any stretch. That means there’s plenty of space for ports, and Dell takes moderately good advantage of it. In terms of providing support for legacy devices, there are two USB 3.0 ports and an HDMI connection. An SD card reader is a welcome addition for anyone who needs to transfer files from a camera or other device.

The Precision 5520 can run some recent games at reasonable settings.

Forward-looking support is provided by the single USB Type-C port with Thunderbolt 3, and while that’s nice to see, we would have liked it if Dell added in another. Unfortunately, Dell hasn’t utilized USB Type-C’s charging capabilities, opting instead for a dedicated power adapter port.

Wireless connectivity is provided by Intel’s excellent 8265 wireless card. That means dual-band 802.11AC Wi-Fi support and Bluetooth 4.2 connectivity are on tap. In our informal testing, Wi-Fi connectivity was fast and reliable, holding onto a steady 867Mbps connection.

Better at swiping than at typing

Two other components that the Precision 5520 shares with the XPS 15 are its keyboard and touchpad. As with the XPS 15, both are good, but not great.

More: Intel accelerates mobile performance with new superstar mobile quad-core chips

The keyboard has slightly shallow key travel at 1.3mm. That’s a bit under the sweet spot of 1.5mm, and it’s apparent with every keystroke. The keys bottom out a bit uncomfortably despite a crisp action, with sufficient force to avoid feeling mushy.

If you’re a touch typist, then you’ll get up to speed quickly enough on the Precision 5520 keyboard, but you’ll likely never find yourself in love with the experience. You will benefit, however, from the backlit keyboard that offers two levels of brightness.

The touchpad is quite a bit better than the keyboard. It’s smaller than the massive touchpads on some newer machines, but it’s large enough to make navigating the large display efficient and fast. It’s also very accurate, the buttons are clicky without being too loud, and and it supports the Microsoft’s Precision Touchpad protocol – the usual Windows 10 gestures work flawlessly.

Unfortunately, the use of Dell’s InfinityEdge thin-bezel display means that the Precision 5520’s webcam is also positioned below the screen and points up at awkward angles. You’ll want to make sure you’re perfectly groomed everywhere before firing up a video conference.

A display that’s good, but not good enough

Our review unit came with the Full HD (1,920 x 1,080) resolution 15.6-inch IPS non-touch panel, and we found it generally serviceable. If there’s one thing about the Precision 5520 that didn’t meet our expectations, however, it would be the display, despite the Premium Panel Guarantee that Dell issues for its Precision line.

In terms of objective measures, the Precision 5520’s color gamut support is good at 75 percent coverage of AdobeRGB and 98 percent coverage of sRGB. We expected stronger color support from a workstation-class machine. Lenovo’s ThinkPad P50 mobile workstation, for example, provides 96 percent of the AdobeRGB gamut and 100 percent of sRGB in the 4K display we tested. The 4K display on Dell’s XPS 15 excelled with 98 percent coverage of AdobeRGB and 100 percent of sRGB.

Digging into the specifications a bit, we find that Dell’s “Premium Panel Guarantee” only promises 72 percent color gamut support with the Full HD display. If you want 100-percent guaranteed AdobeRGB coverage, then you’ll need to opt for the 4K upgrade.

The Samsung SM961 SSD in the Precision 5520 simply blew the competition away.

In addition, gamma came in at 2.1, which is a little lower than the perfect 2.2, and so indicates that the screen will be a bit lighter than it should be. Brightness was strong at 325 nits, and contrast was also very good with a ratio of 950:1 at 100 percent brightness. Color accuracy was close to the perfect score of 1.0, coming in at 1.11. Those results are much more competitive with the comparison systems than was color support.

Subjectively, the Precision 5520’s anti-glare matte display was plenty bright in all tested environments, and should even work outside in a pinch. Colors were strong without being over-saturated, but professionals will probably note the limited color gamut. In terms of using this decidedly professional machine for more leisurely pursuits, the display was just fine for watching HD movies and TV on Netflix. As usual with Full HD 15.6-inch displays, text was sharp enough at distance, but pixel-peepers will notice some graininess.

You’ll want to pull out your headphones

The Precision 5520 has two downward-firing speakers at the front of the machine, and they put out sufficient sound to know what’s going on with the system. Music is nothing to write home about, being a bit boxy and lacking both depth and any character in the high notes. You’ll want to connect an external speaker if you want to share a movie with a friend, or use headphones if you want to listen to some tunes while you’re working.

Fast enough for most professional work, and then some

Our review unit came with an Intel Xeon E3-1505M v6 quad-core processor, running at 3.00Ghz with 4GHz Turbo Boost. In addition, our machine was stocked with 32GB of DDR4-2400MHz RAM. Those components provided some serious performance.

Using the Geekbench 4 benchmark, the Precision scored a solid 4,520 in the single-core test, and an even stronger 14,801 in the multi-core test. That makes it significantly faster than the quad-core seventh-generation Intel Core i7-7600HQ running on the Asus ROG Strix GL553V, which is a fast gaming machine. As expected, the Precision 5520 blew away dual-core Intel Core i7 processors.

The Precision 5520 also tore through our Handbrake test, which converts a 420MB video file, in 476 seconds. This result dominates our dual-core Core i7 comparison machine and competes strongly against both the Asus with its Core i7-7600HQ and besting the ThinkPad P50 with its own Xeon E3-1505M CPU.

Clearly, the Precision 5520 as reviewed is a serious performance machine and should handle most computing tasks thrown at it. The Xeon E3-1505M is clocked a bit faster the comparable Core i7 processors and can access fast RAM, but some of the other Xeon features, such as support for ECC memory, aren’t utilized here.

Some of the fastest storage speeds we’ve measured

Storage speed is incredibly important for tasks like encoding video, which needs to write loads of data very quickly, a burden that a mobile workstation like the Precision 5520 is likely to face. Dell made the wise decision to use a 512GB Samsung SM961 M.2 NVMe SSD, and it shows in some blazing fast performance.

We chose comparison systems using very fast SSDs, including the ThinkPad P50 and the HP Spectre X360 15 (2017) with its relatively new and fast Toshiba SSD. Frankly, the Precision 5520 simply blew them all way. In the CrystalDiskMark read test, the machine scored a phenomenal 2,931 megabytes per second, nearly double the closest competitor. And it scored an equally impressive 1,679MB/s on the write test, which is closer to the ThinkPad P50, but still significantly faster.

More: Lenovo ThinkPad P50 review

Needless to say, the Precision 5520 booted extremely quickly and felt snappy throughout our testing. It’s fast enough to handle any file tasks thrown at it, and then some. If you’re wanting a machine with extremely fast read and write speeds from its SSD, then choose one like the Precision 5520, that utilizes Samsung’s speedy SM961.

Take a break, play a game

You’re not going to invest in a mobile workstation like the Precision 5520 primarily as a gaming machine. Rather, you’re going to be more concerned about ISV-certified drivers like those that come with the Nvidia Quadro M1200 4GB GPU that Dell included with our review machine. Simply put, pure performance in professional applications like AutoCAD is just one part of the equation. Rock-solid stability is also vital if your mobile workstation is going to keep you productive and making money.

Nevertheless, by our objective measures, the Precision 5520 as equipped is still a decent gaming system for the occasional session. It scored well in the 3DMark suite of gaming benchmarks, scoring 3,954 in the Fire Strike test, 13,439 in Sky Diver, and 1,270 in Time Spy. Those are strong enough results to be competitive against our comparison machines using GPUs like the Nvidia GeForce GTX 960M and 965M, and even the newer GTX 1050.

Sure enough, in our real-life gaming tests, the Precision 5520 proved itself capable of playing games well enough to help you pass the time in between bouts of work. For example, running Civilization VI, the machine managed a playable 35FPS at Ultra graphics settings at 1080P, and a solid 47FPS at Medium settings. Battlefield 1 showed similar results, with the Quadro M1200 managing 32FPS at Ultra settings and 44FPS at Medium settings.

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, on the other hand, was a bit too much for the Precision 5520. At High graphics settings, the machine averaged 21FPS, and that dropped down to 14FPS at Ultra settings. For Honor was playable at Medium graphics settings at 33FPS, but dropped down to 21FPS at Extreme settings.

Again, you’re not going to spend this kind of money for these kinds of gaming results. Nevertheless, if you need to take a break from rendering 3D drawings in AutoCAD, then you can run some recent games — as long as you keep the graphics at reasonable levels. Note that fan noise can get pretty loud during gaming, and so keep those headphones handy.

A big battery keeps the Precision 5520 running

The Precision 5520 isn’t a terribly light machine, coming in at 3.93 pounds, but it’s not as heavy as some other mobile workstations. It also has that nice chassis that feels more like a 14-inch machine. And so, stuffing it into a backpack to carry to a worksite shouldn’t be too much of a burden.

In addition, our review machine packs in Dell’s 97 watt-hour battery, which is close to the maximum 100 watt-hours that can be carried onto an airliner. That’s a good thing, because that Xeon processor is going to take a toll on battery.

On our grueling Peacekeeper test, which runs a machine through a series of graphical and computing tasks, the Precision 5520 managed a strong five hours and 21 minutes. That beats all our test machines save Microsoft’s Surface Book with Performance Base, which has its relatively massive 80 watt-hours of battery tucked into a smaller machine. The Precision 5520 demolished its ThinkPad P50 competitor, which managed just over three hours in this test.

Dell chose a proven design that’s not going to turn any heads, but isn’t going to embarrass its users either.

Our web browsing test loops through a handful of moderately taxing web pages, and gives a good idea of how long a machine’s battery hold out in typical casual use. The Precision 5520 was strong here as well, lasting almost eight hours, and managing to beat out the Surface Book. The ThinkPad P50 only managed to run a little more than half as long.

Finally, we test how long our review machines will loop through a trailer for The Avengers. With the Precision 5520 you’d be able to watch the video for 12 hours and 22 minutes, a very long time indeed. That beats machines using dual-core Intel Core i7 processors, although we’ll note that the delta isn’t quite as impressive given that some of these machines have 4K displays.

In the final analysis, the Precision 5520 is a nicely sized mobile workstation that’s comfortable to carry around, and it’s going to last a reasonable time while away from a charger. You’ll definitely want to splurge and spend the extra $49 for the 97 watt-hour battery, which is available as long as you’re using an SSD.

Warranty information

Dell offers a 1-year warranty with the Precision 5520, which is less than we’d like to see for a professional machine of this class and expense. Dell does offer several add-on services, such as ProSupport Plus for a higher level of technical support, and ProDeploy Plus to help your organization roll out new machines.

Dell Precision 5520 Compared To

Asus ROG Strix GL553VD-DS71

Acer Predator 15

AVADirect Avant P750DM2-G

Asus ROG G752VS-XB78K

Acer Predator 17 X GX-791-73FH

Dell Latitude 13 7370

Lenovo ThinkPad P50 20EN-001RUS

Dell Precision M3800

Dell Inspiron 15 7000 series

HP EliteBook 8560p

Asus G51J 3D

Asus G51VX

Asus G50VT

Lenovo ThinkPad T61p

Gateway M675CS

Software

Except for the usual Windows 10 games and first-party Microsoft apps, Dell hasn’t loaded down the Precision 5520 with a bunch of fluff. Dell includes its Dell Command software for enhanced power management, its SupportAssist app to help you keep your system up to date, and the Precision Optimizer app that can tune the system for applications like AutoCad and 3dsmax.

Our Take

If you’re looking for a mobile workstation, then your standards are going to be a little different than choosing a gaming system or a typical productivity Ultrabook. You’re not concerned about the fastest gaming GPU, but rather you need to know that the system is going to churn through your images, video, and 3D AutoCAD projects without crashing.

In this respect, the Dell Precision 5520 should be well worth your investment. You’ll spend a north of $3,700 as configured if you can’t snag a discount, but the Precision line is virtually always discounted by a reasonable sum, which is why our review unit actually retailed for $2,640 at the time this review was published.

Is there a better alternative?

The DT Accessory Pack

Anker USB-C to 3-Port USB 3.0 hub

$30

Dell USB 3.0 Ultra HD/4K triple display docking station

$116

Dell U2417H 24-Inch UltraSharp monitor

$346.48

Other mobile workstations are out there, including the ThinkPad P50 that we’ve referenced in our performance sections. And you’ll pay a little less for that machine. But the Dell Precision 5520 is faster, and it’s also much thinner and lighter. It’s a great compromise over larger and heavier machines. Lenovo also has some new ThinkPad mobile workstations that it recently announced, including the ThinkPad P51, that could be worth a look.

You could also opt for a high-end productivity notebook like Dell’s newest XPS 15, which offers a competitive seventh-generation quad-core Intel Core i7 processor and Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 GPU, but you’ll lose out on the ISV-certified Nvidia Quadro drivers.

Apple’s MacBook Pro 15 is another obvious competitor. It should offer similar processor performance, but does not offer Xeon processors or GPUs with professional-grade drivers, traits that do matter to some buyers. The Dell Precision 5520 is also a match for the MacBook Pro 15’s storied hard drive performance.

Ultimately, though, we think that the Precision 5520 is a solid choice, if only because it offers great performance in a chassis that’s going to be much more of a joy to lug around.

How long will it last?

With an Intel Xeon processor, 32GB of RAM, a very speedy SSD, and both future and legacy connectivity, you’re unlikely to find the Precision 5520 to be obsolete any time soon. And that’s a good thing, because you’re paying enough to expect the machine to last you well into the future. In terms of our review unit’s configuration, only the Full HD display in a world where 4K is becoming increasingly important holds the Precision 5520 back from being a sure long-term bet.

Should you buy it?

Yes. In all the ways that matters, it’s an excellent mobile workstation that provides outstanding performance and promises superior stability. If you’ll be doing any work with 4K video, though, you’ll want to be sure to select the 4K display option when placing your order.

5 super deals on exotic, imported Chinese smartphones and wearables

If you’ve wanted to try out an imported Chinese phone or gadget, but have been waiting for the right deal to come along, now may be a good time to take the plunge. To celebrate its third anniversary, popular online retailer GearBest has dropped the price on several devices we’ve reviewed recently, including products made by Xiaomi, Meizu, and ZTE.

You’ll have to be quick though, as there are limited quantities of each device. You can take a look at all the phone deals here, but we’ve selected several that we already like.

Xiaomi Redmi Pro – $200

Andy Boxall/Digital Trends

Easily one of the best Xiaomi phones we’ve tested, the Redmi Pro is well priced normally, but at $200 it’s a bargain. The phone has a metal body, a large 5.5-inch screen with a 1,920 x 1,080 pixel resolution, and a deca-core MediaTek processor.

However, it’s the dual-lens rear camera which makes the Redmi Pro worth investigating. It can easily produce the blurred background bokeh effect, and the look can be manipulated after the photo has been taken. We managed to get some great shots with the Redmi Pro in our test.

Read our review here

Meizu MX6 – $250

Meizu’s midrange MX6 is attractive in an understated iPhone-like way, and comes with the same MediaTek deca-core chip as the Xiaomi Redmi Pro, but with 4GB of RAM. The 5.5-inch screen is made by Sharp, and with its 1,920 x 1,080 pixel resolution it looks great and is excellent for playing games. However, the camera disappointed next to the Redmi Pro, but we like Meizu’s Flyme user interface, which is a colorful alternative take on Google Android.

Read our review here

Xiaomi Mi5 – $410

Andy Boxall/Digital Trends

Yes, it’s pricey, but the Xiaomi Mi5 is a stunning smartphone with very strong specifications. It has a Snapdragon 820 processor, 4GB of RAM, and 128GB of storage space for a start, while the 5.1-inch screen is wrapped up in a curvy ceramic body. On the back is a 16-megapixel camera with optical image stabilization, plus there’s a 4-megapixel selfie camera around the front.

The Mi5 is getting a little old now, and we tried it out more than a year ago at Mobile World Congress 2016. However, the hardware was cutting-edge back then, and the phone still looks fresh today.

Read more about the Mi 5 here

ZTE Axon Elite – $170

The international version of ZTE’s first Axon phone has a big 5.5-inch, 1080p touchscreen, mounted in a body with some unusual styling touches — just check out those plastic leather-look end plates on the back. The Axon Elite is one of the first modern phones to come with a dual-lens camera — for those all-important bokeh shots — and a fingerprint sensor.

The phone doesn’t have the latest processor — it’s a Snapdragon 810 — but it does have eye and voice recognition for extra security, plus 3GB of RAM, and 32GB of storage space. At this price it’s hard to ignore.

Read our review here

Xiaomi Mi Band 2 – $21

Andy Boxall/Digital Trends

Our final pick isn’t a phone, but a wearable. The Mi Band 2 was a bargain already, given its features, but at a little over $20, it’s an absolute steal. Xiaomi’s second fitness tracker has an OLED display on a tiny module that fits inside the interchangeable silicone strap, showing steps, calories, and basic alerts from your phone. On the back of the core module is a heart rate monitor.

The battery inside may be small, but it lasts for at least 20 days before it requires recharging, and the module is IP67 water resistant. Xiaomi’s fitness app is available in English for Android and iOS, so don’t worry about compatibility.

Read our review here

That’s it for our picks. Just remember to check network compatibility before buying any imported Chinese phones. Although most (and all of those mentioned here) will work on 3G GSM networks in the U.S., few have 4G LTE support.

Red Bull Air Race brings low-flying action back to San Diego

Why it matters to you

The international air race returns to San Diego after an eight-year hiatus, with tickets starting at just $20.

At the Red Bull Air Race World Championships, the planes fly low but the stakes are high. Pilots fly at 230 miles per hour while maneuvering through inflatable pylons less than 100 feet tall. To navigate the course as quickly as possible, pilots often sustain forces up to 10G while performing vertical turning maneuvers. Any wrong move, even the failure to breathe correctly, could spell disaster. Which is exactly what makes air racing so impressive as a spectator sport.

For the first time in eight years, U.S. aviation fans will get the chance to witness the event in person in San Diego over the weekend of April 15-16, one of just two stops this year for the series in the States. The course will be set up in San Diego Bay, with all the low-flying action taking place over the water. The last San Diego race was in 2009 and drew 55,000 spectators. There, the danger of the sport was realized when Nicolas Ivanoff of France won by just over a second after the previous leader, Hannes Arch of Austria, suffered a bird strike that punctured his horizontal stabilizer.

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This year, two-time champion Kirby Chambliss along with fellow American Michael Goulian will represent the United States in a tough field of international competitors, including last year’s champion, Matthias Dolderer of Germany. After San Diego, the event will fly to Japan, then Hungary, and finally on to Russia for the first time before returning to the U.S. for the final race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in October.

Tickets for the San Diego event are available now, with general admission starting at just $20 for the qualifying day on Saturday, April 15, or $25 for race day on Sunday. Full weekend tickets start at $35, and hospitality packages start at $350 and offer a variety of amenities.