Apple hires New York Magazine executive editor to aid war on fake news
Why it matters to you
As tech companies continue to crack down on fake news, users will hopefully find it easier to discern fact from fiction.
The fight against fake news is causing social networking sites and news aggregators to take a look in the mirror and develop practices to keep their users better informed. That means properly vetting stories and conducting rigorous fact-checking. Tech firms that used to simply link users to content are now tasked with curating it as well. According to Politico, Apple is ramping up its efforts in the crusade by hiring a big name.
The iPhone maker has added Lauren Kern, formerly of New York Magazine, to its team. Kern will serve as Apple’s first Editor-in-Chief, in a move that demonstrates an interest in bolstering the Cupertino, California-based company’s news service. Although Apple doesn’t produce original journalistic content, it does hand-pick stories to promote, so it can be assumed Kern will factor heavily in that decision making.
Kern previously served as executive editor at New York Media, and before that deputy editor at the New York Times Magazine.
Today’s news follows previous statements by Apple CEO Tim Cook, as well as the company’s senior vice president of software and services, Eddy Cue, relating to stemming the spread of clickbait. Back in February, Cook called it “one of today’s chief problems,” noting the dilemma of “filtering out” malicious content while preserving the “great openness of the internet.”
A week later, at this year’s Code Media conference, Cue called upon other tech companies to stand up, saying “we all have a responsibility” to eliminate fake news.
“We’re very concerned about all of the news items and the clickbait from that standpoint, and that driving a lot of the news coverage,” Cue said. “We’re trying to do some things in Apple News, we’re learning from that and we need to share that together as an industry and improve it.”
Apple’s not the only one. Earlier this year, Facebook began flagging illegitimate stories, with the help of fact checking organizations like First Draft. It followed that up in April by releasing resources and links in its Help Center designed to educate users on how to spot fake news.
Stickers aren’t just social — Amazon brings odd shoppable stickers to iOS
Why it matters to you
Amazon’s latest iOS update allows you to fantasize about where your new product may go in your home.
Imitation has become common between social media networks, but now even Amazon is taking a nod from popular networking apps. The retailer launched an update on Tuesday that integrates camera stickers, only instead of sharing funny photos with friends, those stickers are designed for online shopping.
The feature adds another mode to the iOS app’s camera, which also allows users to shop using computer vision to ID the items in the shot, much like Pinterest’s beta version of Lens and Google’s version of the same name launched last week. Much like stickers inside social media apps, the new feature allows users to place stickers in the live scene using the view from the camera, then tapping to save the image.
But unlike social stickers, Amazon’s version includes actual products, which of course you can buy by clicking on the ‘i’ info icon above the sticker. From finding new decor for your desk to adding Legos to any scene, the new feature allows users to drag and drop stickers, then resize. Taking a photo saves the image or you can send to a friend via text, email or social media.
While the feature easily belongs to social, stickers in a retail environment are rather unusual. While you can snap a photo of what different decor would look like in the room, it is more for fun than a realistic representation, with the characteristic white sticker border around the edges and no way to tilt the sticker, just resize.
The odd feature means that iOS users can now add stickers of GoPros, dinosaur-shaped cell phone stands or a sticky note holder that looks like a toaster and share then on social media or send to friends. Stickers are arranged in several different categories from home to little kids, no doubt designed to encourage browsing Amazon products that you never knew existed, like a replica of Genie’s lamp from Aladdin.
The feature, for now, appears to be only available for iOS users but joins the app’s list of camera modes, which also include the more useful ability to scan packages or search by barcode.
‘Magikarp Jump’ wants you to dominate using primitive first-gen Pokémon
Why it matters to you
If you have a soft spot for splashing magikarp, this game gives the fish its due by letting it become a champion in its own right.
Drawing inspiration from a Pokémon Stadium minigame, Magikarp Jump is the latest Pokémon-themed game to make it to mobile. Going in a different direction from the classic Pokémon RPG games and the more recent augmented-reality title, Pokémon Go, it challenges you to raise a magikarp who can jump higher than all the others.
Unlike the main Pokémon games, the point of catching a magikarp this time around isn’t just to evolve it into a gyarados as soon as possible. Instead, Magikarp Jump charges you with training your fishy friend to jump higher than the competition. Feed it, train it, and teach it how to maximize its jump power.
Once it’s fully trained, you can take your magikarp to test its mettle in local tournaments, before heading to the grandest stage of all: the world championships. Can you become the greatest magikarp trainer the world has ever seen?
No magikarp can jump forever, though, so if it becomes knocked out or retires after a long career, you can start again with a new generation of fish, retaining some of the skills and abilities of its forebears. Maybe you’ll be lucky enough to unlock a classic shiny one, or one of the newer variants, which can sport calico or polka-dot patterns.
To help you out along the way, several other Pokémon will offer you food and assistance to keep your magikarp fighting fit. This being a freemium app though, there will also be in-app purchases which speed up the leveling process and help you become a champion, if you’re willing to pay for the advantage.
There are also microtransactions for aesthetic options, letting you customize the decor of your magikarp’s habitat with various trophies and items. Some of them can also be earned through gameplay.
Magikarp Jump is available now, for free, on both iOS and Android.
MSI is touting its new motherboard as the best it’s ever released
Why it matters to you
MSI’s upcoming motherboards and graphic cards will surely appeal to gamers who are looking to build a new rig, or refresh their current system to ensure peak performance.
MSI has unveiled some of the PC components that it will be showing at Computex 2017 in Taipei, Taiwan next week. Building on its strong reputation among gamers, the company is set to field some new motherboards and graphics cards with top-tier performance in mind.
Leading the charge is the MSI Z270 Godlike Gaming motherboard, which the firm bills as the best component of its type that the company has ever produced. It has been outfitted with cutting-edge LAN technologies, which should ensure the best possible experience during online play.
Gamers can connect other PCs and notebooks to their system via Ethernet to take advantage of networking specialist Killer’s advanced bandwidth management system to yield low latency. Consoles and mobile devices can also be connected via Killer Wi-Fi.
The Z270 also packs Audio Boost 4 Xtreme technology, which uses an ESS digital-to-analog converter and two dedicated audio processors to offer the ability to use headphones and a set of speakers at the same time.
Meanwhile, the MSI X370 Gaming M7 motherboard has been designed to offer superior stability when it matters the most, especially for users who want to overclock their hardware. It also takes advantage of the latest fast storage standards, like U.2, Twin Turbo M.2 with a patented M.2 shield, USB 3.1 Gen 2, and front USB Type-C to provide the fastest possible speeds for any data transfer operation.
In terms of graphics cards, MSI is preparing to showcase the GeForce GTX 1080 Ti Lightning Z, which is said to combine groundbreaking new technology with tried-and-tested features like a TriFrozr cooler, a TORX 2.0 fan, Mystic Light LED effects, and Military Class 4 components.
Finally, there’s the GeForce GTX 1080 Ti Gaming X 11G, which combines graphics powered by Pascal with MSI’s TwinFrozr VI thermal design, providing excellent visuals with peak performance and power efficiency. The card supports USB Type-C, for interfacing that’s as flexible as possible.
These products and more will be on show at MSI’s Computex booth between May 30 and June 3.
Baidu’s Deep Voice 2 text-to-speech engine can imitate hundreds of human accents
Why it matters to you
Next time you hear a voice generated by Baidu’s Deep Voice 2, you might not be able to tell whether it’s human.
Baidu, the Beijing-based juggernaut that commands 80 percent of the Chinese internet search market, is investing heavily in artificial intelligence. In 2013, it opened the Institute of Deep Learning, an R&D center focused on machine learning. And in May, it took the wraps off the newest version of Deep Voice, its AI-powered text-to-speech engine.
Deep Voice 2, which follows on the heels of Deep Voice’s public debut earlier this year, can produce real-time speech that’s nearly indistinguishable from a human voice. All the more impressive, it needs just thirty minutes of audio to build a working model, and can imitate the regional accents of hundreds of different speakers.
That’s leaps and bounds better than early versions of Deep Voice, which took multiple hours to learn one voice.
They key is Deep Voice 2’s ability to identify similarities between hundreds of different speakers to build a working model of a human voice. Then, it autonomously derives unique voices from that model — unlike voice assistants like Apple’s Siri, which require that a human record thousands of hours of speech that engineers tune by hand, Deep Voice 2 doesn’t require guidance or manual intervention.
“Give it the right data, and it can learn on [its] own what sort of features are important,” Andrew Gibiansky, a research scientist at Baidu’s Silicon Valley AI Lab, told The Verge.
Baidu isn’t the only company investing in high-quality text-to-speech tech. Google’s WaveNet, a product of the company’s DeepMind division, generates voices by sampling real human speech and independently creating its own sounds in a variety of voices. Adobe’s Project VoCo transcribes human speech to editable text in real time. And Lyrebird, a Canadian AI startup, licenses algorithms that can imitate any voice with just a single minute of sample audio, create one thousand sentences in less than half a second, and can infuse the speech it creates with emotions like anger, sympathy, and stress.
But don’t expect Deep Voice 2 or WaveNet to replace Siri, the Google Assistant, or Amazon’s Alexa anytime soon — AI-powered translation apps require more resources than today’s phones can reasonably supply. But Baidu sees potential in applications like text-to-speech apps and voice-based assistants. “The ability to quickly synthesize multiple human voices will have a huge effect on products such as personal assistants and eBook readers in the future. For example, each character of your eBook could have a unique voice when you listen to the eBook.”
Baidu’s Deep Voice 2 text-to-speech engine can imitate hundreds of human accents
Why it matters to you
Next time you hear a voice generated by Baidu’s Deep Voice 2, you might not be able to tell whether it’s human.
Baidu, the Beijing-based juggernaut that commands 80 percent of the Chinese internet search market, is investing heavily in artificial intelligence. In 2013, it opened the Institute of Deep Learning, an R&D center focused on machine learning. And in May, it took the wraps off the newest version of Deep Voice, its AI-powered text-to-speech engine.
Deep Voice 2, which follows on the heels of Deep Voice’s public debut earlier this year, can produce real-time speech that’s nearly indistinguishable from a human voice. All the more impressive, it needs just thirty minutes of audio to build a working model, and can imitate the regional accents of hundreds of different speakers.
That’s leaps and bounds better than early versions of Deep Voice, which took multiple hours to learn one voice.
They key is Deep Voice 2’s ability to identify similarities between hundreds of different speakers to build a working model of a human voice. Then, it autonomously derives unique voices from that model — unlike voice assistants like Apple’s Siri, which require that a human record thousands of hours of speech that engineers tune by hand, Deep Voice 2 doesn’t require guidance or manual intervention.
“Give it the right data, and it can learn on [its] own what sort of features are important,” Andrew Gibiansky, a research scientist at Baidu’s Silicon Valley AI Lab, told The Verge.
Baidu isn’t the only company investing in high-quality text-to-speech tech. Google’s WaveNet, a product of the company’s DeepMind division, generates voices by sampling real human speech and independently creating its own sounds in a variety of voices. Adobe’s Project VoCo transcribes human speech to editable text in real time. And Lyrebird, a Canadian AI startup, licenses algorithms that can imitate any voice with just a single minute of sample audio, create one thousand sentences in less than half a second, and can infuse the speech it creates with emotions like anger, sympathy, and stress.
But don’t expect Deep Voice 2 or WaveNet to replace Siri, the Google Assistant, or Amazon’s Alexa anytime soon — AI-powered translation apps require more resources than today’s phones can reasonably supply. But Baidu sees potential in applications like text-to-speech apps and voice-based assistants. “The ability to quickly synthesize multiple human voices will have a huge effect on products such as personal assistants and eBook readers in the future. For example, each character of your eBook could have a unique voice when you listen to the eBook.”
Microsoft Surface Pro vs. Apple iPad Pro: These are no amateur tablets
When does a tablet become a computer? It’s a difficult question to consider; the delineation between phones and tablets sits at 7 inches even (measured diagonally), but even those lines have begun to blur — the “phablet” has become a category in and of itself, rendering such labels effectively archaic. 2-in-1 foldable tablets make for workable laptop replacements, and as the tech powering these devices grows smaller, so too does our insistence upon forcing gadgets into restrictive conceptual cages.
Microsoft’s Surface Pro has long been a harbinger of this paradigm shift, pushing expectations when it comes to computing power in a tablet. The new Surface Pro, unveiled today, aims to carry on that tradition and keep Microsoft’s Surface series of devices in the spotlight. Meanwhile, Apple’s iPad Pro looms large as possibly the standard for tablet computing. Both computers are sizable, straddling the line between tablet and laptop, and both are powerful, but the question remains: Which is superior? We dig in.
12.9-inch iPad Pro
Surface Pro
Size
12 x 8.68 x 0.27 inches
11.5 x 7.9 x 0.33 inches
Weight
1.57 pounds
1.69-1.73 pounds, depending upon processor
Display
12.9-inch LED-backlit multi-touch display
12.3-inch PixelSense display
Resolution
2,732 x 2,048 pixels (264 ppi)
2,736 x 1,824 pixels (267 ppi)
Operating System
iOS 10
Windows 10
Storage
32, 128, 256GB
128, 256, 512GB SSD or 1TB PCIe NVMe
Processor
A9X chip with 64‑bit architecture, M9 coprocessor
7th generation Intel Core m3, i5, i7
RAM
4GB
4GB, 8GB, 16GB LPDDR3
Camera/Webcam
Front 1.2MP, Rear 8MP
Front 5MP, Rear 8MP
Touch
Multi-touch
10-point multi-touch
Connectivity
Wi-Fi, 4G LTE, HSPA+, Bluetooth 4.2
Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.2, LTE later this year
Sensors
Three-axis gyro, accelerometer, ambient light sensor, barometer, and Touch ID fingerprint sensor
Ambient light sensor, accelerometer, gyroscope, Windows Hello face sign-in
Battery
Up to 10 hours of surfing the Web on Wi-Fi, watching videos, or listening to music
Up to 13 hours of battery life
Ports
Lightning, headphone jack
USB 3.0, microSDXC reader, Surface Connect, headphone jack, Mini DisplayPort, Cover port
Price
$799, or $1,079 with cellular
$799 to $2,699
Availability
Now
June 15
DT review
4.5 out of 5
Hands-on
Performance
In late 2015, the iPad Pro began to make news when its A9X SOC processor ranked alongside those considered far more powerful in a number of benchmark tests. Reviewers proclaimed the imminent end of laptop computing as we know it, and crowned the Pro a vanguard of the coming era. In a number of ways, that holds true; the iPad has earned acclaim for its performance, delivering potent processing power and gorgeous graphics despite its slim frame.
Still, those predictions largely turned out erroneous, as further tests placed the iPad toward the middle of the pack, beating out most tablets but lagging behind devices toting Intel i-series chips like Microsoft’s Surface Pro 4 and Surface Book Clipboard. The Surface Pro 5 is (unsurprisingly) packing more power than all of the above, with 7th-generation Intel processors that the iPad can’t hope to match.
Depending which model of the Surface you decide upon, you’ll be getting between 128 and 512GB of SSD storage, which you can even upgrade to 1TB of PCIe NVMe for blazing fast access to data, and the Surface boasts between 4 and 16GB of LPDDR3 RAM memory. The iPad’s standard HDD storage and its 4GB memory just can’t compete. Simply put: if you’re worried about power, there’s no competition.
Winner: Surface Pro
Display and design
Kyle Wiggers/Digital Trends
The screen on the iPad Pro is so beautiful you’ll want to cry. At nearly 13 inches, it sounds unwieldy, but the advantages outweigh the drawbacks; in particular, watching videos, movies, and TV is awesome — it’s like watching on a laptop without all the restrictions that come with an attached keyboard. And, at a whopping 264 pixels per inch, the picture is always crystal clear (as long as you’ve got a solid network connection, of course). Similarly, playing games is awesome, but you’re limited to App Store offerings.
The iPad’s display feels like it’s built specifically for artists, and the Apple Pencil feels like a natural addition. Pressure sensors in the iPad and the Pencil automatically respond to your touch, adjusting the width and depth of lines accordingly. Using the Pencil, you’ll notice nearly zero lag, giving the experience a surreal feeling, and it conveniently plugs directly into any Lightning port for quick charging.
The iPad makes for a great computer in some ways, but in some ways it’s also extremely limiting. Not all apps play nicely with iOS, and there’s no real file explorer to utilize. The iPad doesn’t come with a keyboard, and worthy ones cost upwards of $100. As an addition to your lineup of gadgets, it’s the bee’s knees. As a replacement for your main workstation, it’s a bit lacking.
The Surface Pro isn’t quite as svelte or convenient, but it’s got way more to love; Microsoft is calling it “the most versatile laptop on the planet,” and if the Surface ends up meeting its potential, it’ll be tough to argue. The 10-point PixelTouch multi-touch screen offers 267 pixels per inch over 12.3 inches of real estate, so it should look every bit as handsome as the iPad’s. The 3:2 aspect ratio — typical of Surface devices — works especially well with many design apps, and makes side-by-side app use a breeze and the 48-core Intel Iris Plus graphics found in the i7 models are truly beautiful.
The screen will support both the Surface Pen and the Surface Dial, making it the first laptop to do so. Microsoft has redesigned the Surface Pen, and claims that it will be twice as responsive as the Apple Pencil. If that’s true, the Surface Pen will be (by far) the best stylus of all time. Unfortunately, the Pro doesn’t come with the Pen or the Signature Type Cover, the latest iteration of Microsoft’s native keyboard — the Type Cover will run you a cool $160 extra on its own.
If you do decide to splurge on the keyboard, you shouldn’t be disappointed — it’s available in a number of cool colors and it’s lined with the suede-like Alcantara that’s become standard for Surface accessories. It’ll be interesting to see how the Dial works with a smaller screen; on the Surface Studio, it was a designer’s dream, but it could prove obtrusive on the laptop. Only time will tell.
The built-in kickstand and 165-degree hinge mean you can set up the Surface for easy viewing or put it in Surface Mode for design purposes, and the two cheaper models don’t even require a fan to stay cool. It’s a stretch to declare a clear victor without experiencing the Surface Pro for ourselves, but if Microsoft follows through on their promises, it’ll be an incredible piece of tech.
Winner: Surface Pro
Battery, ports, and connectivity
All our experience points to Apple’s 10-hour battery estimate being accurate. Considering that most people will primarily be playing games or watching media on the device, this is a win. Microsoft promises 13.5 hours of battery life for the Surface Pro; for a tablet, this would be great, and for a computer, it’s pretty damn good. However, Microsoft has overstated battery life figures in the past.
It’s good to see that Microsoft decided to buck recent trends and include a litany of ports on the Surface, including a USB 3.0 port, a Mini DisplayPort, and the multi-purpose Surface Connect port. The iPad’s got a Lightning port for charging and connecting to computers, a headphone jack, and… that’s it. Not that most people expect a ton of options on a tablet, but if you’re considering the iPad as a laptop replacement, that could be a deterrent.
Both devices have Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, of course, and while the iPad is LTE-enabled, Microsoft claims that the Surface will get the same treatment later this year. If LTE capability is important to you, hold off on pre-ordering the Surface Pro until more information becomes available here.
Winner: Tie
Price and availability
Obviously, the iPad is available now, and the Surface isn’t. Pricing for the iPad is relatively straightforward — you can drop $799 on the regular version, or $1,079 on the LTE-enabled device. That said, if you need full laptop functionality, you’ll probably need to drop a couple more Benjamins on a keyboard, so expect the price to be around $1,000, minimum.
The Surface Pro won’t be out until mid-June, and prices vary wildly depending upon which model you want. The base version — toting an Intel m3 chip, 128GB of SSD storage, and 4GB of RAM — will run you $799, while each more powerful iteration raises the bar by $200-$300, up to a maximum of $2,699. The same qualifier applies here — buy a keyboard, and you’re looking at another extra $200 or so.
Still, most people will want the Surface Pro, unless they’re extremely impatient (or invested deeply into Apple’s ecosystem). It provides more bang for your buck, and as an actual laptop, you won’t be limited to App Store software.
Winner: Surface Pro
Conclusion
Both of these machines are capable of doing all your basic laptop stuff — surfing the web, watching Netflix, word processing, etc. — and they’re both equipped with jaw-dropping displays that deserve your attention. The iPad works well in a number of scenarios, and really shines as a design tool when paired with the Apple Pencil.
Still, Microsoft’s new Surface Pro is designed to do all of that (and more), just more effectively. Surface Dial compatibility and the new Surface Pen update mean that the 2-in-1 is a divine design device, an artist’s dream with a high ceiling when it comes to graphical output. And, on top of that, it’s a really good computer, carrying enough power in its bowels to compete with regular laptops.
If you need a tablet right now, buy the iPad Pro — you won’t be disappointed. But if you can bear to wait for a month, or if you’re looking for a more versatile package, there’s no contest; Microsoft’s new Surface Pro takes the cake.
Microsoft Surface Pro vs. Apple iPad Pro: These are no amateur tablets
When does a tablet become a computer? It’s a difficult question to consider; the delineation between phones and tablets sits at 7 inches even (measured diagonally), but even those lines have begun to blur — the “phablet” has become a category in and of itself, rendering such labels effectively archaic. 2-in-1 foldable tablets make for workable laptop replacements, and as the tech powering these devices grows smaller, so too does our insistence upon forcing gadgets into restrictive conceptual cages.
Microsoft’s Surface Pro has long been a harbinger of this paradigm shift, pushing expectations when it comes to computing power in a tablet. The new Surface Pro, unveiled today, aims to carry on that tradition and keep Microsoft’s Surface series of devices in the spotlight. Meanwhile, Apple’s iPad Pro looms large as possibly the standard for tablet computing. Both computers are sizable, straddling the line between tablet and laptop, and both are powerful, but the question remains: Which is superior? We dig in.
12.9-inch iPad Pro
Surface Pro
Size
12 x 8.68 x 0.27 inches
11.5 x 7.9 x 0.33 inches
Weight
1.57 pounds
1.69-1.73 pounds, depending upon processor
Display
12.9-inch LED-backlit multi-touch display
12.3-inch PixelSense display
Resolution
2,732 x 2,048 pixels (264 ppi)
2,736 x 1,824 pixels (267 ppi)
Operating System
iOS 10
Windows 10
Storage
32, 128, 256GB
128, 256, 512GB SSD or 1TB PCIe NVMe
Processor
A9X chip with 64‑bit architecture, M9 coprocessor
7th generation Intel Core m3, i5, i7
RAM
4GB
4GB, 8GB, 16GB LPDDR3
Camera/Webcam
Front 1.2MP, Rear 8MP
Front 5MP, Rear 8MP
Touch
Multi-touch
10-point multi-touch
Connectivity
Wi-Fi, 4G LTE, HSPA+, Bluetooth 4.2
Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.2, LTE later this year
Sensors
Three-axis gyro, accelerometer, ambient light sensor, barometer, and Touch ID fingerprint sensor
Ambient light sensor, accelerometer, gyroscope, Windows Hello face sign-in
Battery
Up to 10 hours of surfing the Web on Wi-Fi, watching videos, or listening to music
Up to 13 hours of battery life
Ports
Lightning, headphone jack
USB 3.0, microSDXC reader, Surface Connect, headphone jack, Mini DisplayPort, Cover port
Price
$799, or $1,079 with cellular
$799 to $2,699
Availability
Now
June 15
DT review
4.5 out of 5
Hands-on
Performance
In late 2015, the iPad Pro began to make news when its A9X SOC processor ranked alongside those considered far more powerful in a number of benchmark tests. Reviewers proclaimed the imminent end of laptop computing as we know it, and crowned the Pro a vanguard of the coming era. In a number of ways, that holds true; the iPad has earned acclaim for its performance, delivering potent processing power and gorgeous graphics despite its slim frame.
Still, those predictions largely turned out erroneous, as further tests placed the iPad toward the middle of the pack, beating out most tablets but lagging behind devices toting Intel i-series chips like Microsoft’s Surface Pro 4 and Surface Book Clipboard. The Surface Pro 5 is (unsurprisingly) packing more power than all of the above, with 7th-generation Intel processors that the iPad can’t hope to match.
Depending which model of the Surface you decide upon, you’ll be getting between 128 and 512GB of SSD storage, which you can even upgrade to 1TB of PCIe NVMe for blazing fast access to data, and the Surface boasts between 4 and 16GB of LPDDR3 RAM memory. The iPad’s standard HDD storage and its 4GB memory just can’t compete. Simply put: if you’re worried about power, there’s no competition.
Winner: Surface Pro
Display and design
Kyle Wiggers/Digital Trends
The screen on the iPad Pro is so beautiful you’ll want to cry. At nearly 13 inches, it sounds unwieldy, but the advantages outweigh the drawbacks; in particular, watching videos, movies, and TV is awesome — it’s like watching on a laptop without all the restrictions that come with an attached keyboard. And, at a whopping 264 pixels per inch, the picture is always crystal clear (as long as you’ve got a solid network connection, of course). Similarly, playing games is awesome, but you’re limited to App Store offerings.
The iPad’s display feels like it’s built specifically for artists, and the Apple Pencil feels like a natural addition. Pressure sensors in the iPad and the Pencil automatically respond to your touch, adjusting the width and depth of lines accordingly. Using the Pencil, you’ll notice nearly zero lag, giving the experience a surreal feeling, and it conveniently plugs directly into any Lightning port for quick charging.
The iPad makes for a great computer in some ways, but in some ways it’s also extremely limiting. Not all apps play nicely with iOS, and there’s no real file explorer to utilize. The iPad doesn’t come with a keyboard, and worthy ones cost upwards of $100. As an addition to your lineup of gadgets, it’s the bee’s knees. As a replacement for your main workstation, it’s a bit lacking.
The Surface Pro isn’t quite as svelte or convenient, but it’s got way more to love; Microsoft is calling it “the most versatile laptop on the planet,” and if the Surface ends up meeting its potential, it’ll be tough to argue. The 10-point PixelTouch multi-touch screen offers 267 pixels per inch over 12.3 inches of real estate, so it should look every bit as handsome as the iPad’s. The 3:2 aspect ratio — typical of Surface devices — works especially well with many design apps, and makes side-by-side app use a breeze and the 48-core Intel Iris Plus graphics found in the i7 models are truly beautiful.
The screen will support both the Surface Pen and the Surface Dial, making it the first laptop to do so. Microsoft has redesigned the Surface Pen, and claims that it will be twice as responsive as the Apple Pencil. If that’s true, the Surface Pen will be (by far) the best stylus of all time. Unfortunately, the Pro doesn’t come with the Pen or the Signature Type Cover, the latest iteration of Microsoft’s native keyboard — the Type Cover will run you a cool $160 extra on its own.
If you do decide to splurge on the keyboard, you shouldn’t be disappointed — it’s available in a number of cool colors and it’s lined with the suede-like Alcantara that’s become standard for Surface accessories. It’ll be interesting to see how the Dial works with a smaller screen; on the Surface Studio, it was a designer’s dream, but it could prove obtrusive on the laptop. Only time will tell.
The built-in kickstand and 165-degree hinge mean you can set up the Surface for easy viewing or put it in Surface Mode for design purposes, and the two cheaper models don’t even require a fan to stay cool. It’s a stretch to declare a clear victor without experiencing the Surface Pro for ourselves, but if Microsoft follows through on their promises, it’ll be an incredible piece of tech.
Winner: Surface Pro
Battery, ports, and connectivity
All our experience points to Apple’s 10-hour battery estimate being accurate. Considering that most people will primarily be playing games or watching media on the device, this is a win. Microsoft promises 13.5 hours of battery life for the Surface Pro; for a tablet, this would be great, and for a computer, it’s pretty damn good. However, Microsoft has overstated battery life figures in the past.
It’s good to see that Microsoft decided to buck recent trends and include a litany of ports on the Surface, including a USB 3.0 port, a Mini DisplayPort, and the multi-purpose Surface Connect port. The iPad’s got a Lightning port for charging and connecting to computers, a headphone jack, and… that’s it. Not that most people expect a ton of options on a tablet, but if you’re considering the iPad as a laptop replacement, that could be a deterrent.
Both devices have Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, of course, and while the iPad is LTE-enabled, Microsoft claims that the Surface will get the same treatment later this year. If LTE capability is important to you, hold off on pre-ordering the Surface Pro until more information becomes available here.
Winner: Tie
Price and availability
Obviously, the iPad is available now, and the Surface isn’t. Pricing for the iPad is relatively straightforward — you can drop $799 on the regular version, or $1,079 on the LTE-enabled device. That said, if you need full laptop functionality, you’ll probably need to drop a couple more Benjamins on a keyboard, so expect the price to be around $1,000, minimum.
The Surface Pro won’t be out until mid-June, and prices vary wildly depending upon which model you want. The base version — toting an Intel m3 chip, 128GB of SSD storage, and 4GB of RAM — will run you $799, while each more powerful iteration raises the bar by $200-$300, up to a maximum of $2,699. The same qualifier applies here — buy a keyboard, and you’re looking at another extra $200 or so.
Still, most people will want the Surface Pro, unless they’re extremely impatient (or invested deeply into Apple’s ecosystem). It provides more bang for your buck, and as an actual laptop, you won’t be limited to App Store software.
Winner: Surface Pro
Conclusion
Both of these machines are capable of doing all your basic laptop stuff — surfing the web, watching Netflix, word processing, etc. — and they’re both equipped with jaw-dropping displays that deserve your attention. The iPad works well in a number of scenarios, and really shines as a design tool when paired with the Apple Pencil.
Still, Microsoft’s new Surface Pro is designed to do all of that (and more), just more effectively. Surface Dial compatibility and the new Surface Pen update mean that the 2-in-1 is a divine design device, an artist’s dream with a high ceiling when it comes to graphical output. And, on top of that, it’s a really good computer, carrying enough power in its bowels to compete with regular laptops.
If you need a tablet right now, buy the iPad Pro — you won’t be disappointed. But if you can bear to wait for a month, or if you’re looking for a more versatile package, there’s no contest; Microsoft’s new Surface Pro takes the cake.
Polluted water can be made drinkable by blasting it with pressurized CO2
Why it matters to you
Hundreds of millions of people around the world lack access to clean drinking water. This technique could help change that.
Virtually everyone reading this article takes clean drinking water for granted. But that is not the case throughout the world, where hundreds of millions of people lack access to the necessary kind of water treatment tools that can make it safe to drink.
In a new research project, investigators from Princeton University, Unilever, and the University of Hawaii describe a new method of making water drinkable — by counterintuitively mixing it with carbon dioxide, which is normally considered a pollutant.
“We have used a CO2 gas as a means to remove suspended particles,” Sangwoo Shin, an assistant professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University aof Hawaii at Manoa, told Digital Trends. “When CO2 is in contact with water, it dissociates into ions, which subsequently generates a small electricity. Yet, this electricity is big enough to push the suspended particles. We use this principle to achieve efficient, continuous, scalable water filtration that does not involve any porous filters.”
The idea of taking a cup of water from a contaminated pond or river and then blasting it through with pressurized carbon dioxide to get a fresh cup of drinking water sounds impossible, but that is exactly what Shin says the group’s research can achieve. “Imagine a small CO2 tank that goes with a paintball gun or soda stream,” he said, describing the source of the pressurized CO2. He notes that the technology could also be used for military purposes, in which soldiers are not guaranteed a clean source of drinking water.
In tests, the system was shown to be capable of removing all but 0.0005 percent of target particles and doing so with less than 1/1,000 of the energy a membrane filtration system would require.
“Our demonstration is still immature at the moment and limited to a lab scale test,” Shin continued. “There are many engineering design factors to be considered for a possible commercialization, including scaling-up and optimization for use in households or water treatment plants to supply larger communities. We are hoping to see a large-scale water filtration device in the near future.”
You can read the study, published in the journal Nature Communications.
Crazy Taxi Classic is currently free in the Google Play Store
Get the Dreamcast classic remastered for mobile — for free!
Sega wants you to get hyped for its latest entry in the Crazy Taxi franchise by reliving the glory of the original game for free. Save yourself $5 and snag this classic game today!
If you’re wondering what the catch is, Sega has loaded the free version of the game with ads. We’re talking a bunch of ads in all the menus. Fortunately, once you’re into the game, it’s a really solid port of the classic game from 2000, complete with The Offspring blaring over the radio.
The new Crazy Taxi game is Crazy Taxi Gazillionaire, a new idle clicker game that also features songs from The Offspring and familiar art style and characters — but lacks the frantic driving action of Crazy Taxi Classic. If we had to choose between the two, we’d certainly choose Crazy Taxi Classic, but with both currently free, you may as well check out both!
Download: Crazy Taxi Classic (Free)
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