Pandora is shutting down in New Zealand and Australia

There’s bad news for Pandora users down-under. While the streaming service got a nice infusion of cash from SiriusXM a few weeks ago. However, it just announced that its co-founder and CEO Tim Westergren is stepping down and, according to Billboard, the company is ending its service in the only two non-US markets it currently operates in: Australia and New Zealand.

“While our experience in these markets reinforces the broader global opportunity long-term,” a Pandora spokesperson told Billboard, “in the short-term we must remain laser-focused on the expansion of our core business in the United States.”

Billboard reports that Pandora had more than 5 million registered users in the region as of this past March. With a total of 81 million active users as of December 2016, the smaller Australian and New Zealand numbers (which aren’t directly comparable to active users in the US) may not be enough to justify keeping Pandora’s down-under employees on the payroll. Pandora’s Sydney office was the largest international one, with employees working in revenue development, sales, creative services, human resources and marketing. Smaller Pandora offices are in Melbourne and Auckland, as well, for a reported total of 60 employees, according to AdNews. We’ve reached out to Pandora for comment on the matter and will update this post when they get back to us.

Via: The Verge

Source: Billboard

You can order an Uber for those who shun the app

Uber is adding a new feature that lets you arrange a pickup for friends, family, and even Uber boycotters. Although an existing option to set a different pickup location ostensibly allows users to arrange rides for others, the update adds a touch of personalization to the process.

Here’s how it works: When you go to set a pickup away from your current location, you will be able to tell the app who will be riding in the Uber by picking a contact from your phone. Once you confirm the ride, that person will receive a text message with the driver’s details and a web link to track the driver’s route. Both the rider and the driver will be able to contact one another to make sure everything goes smoothly. (In order to maintain privacy, the rider’s number will not be made directly available to the driver.)

Of course, you’ll still have to pay for the ride using your saved payment details, unless of course you live in a region where Uber accepts cash, then you can just be a cheapskate and make your friend (or grandma) pay.

Talking about grandmas, Uber is marketing the new feature as ideal for “senior loved ones,” claiming its research showed users were clamoring after the feature to help older family members to get around. In its announcement, Uber also mentions its benefits for those who don’t own a smartphone (gasp, in this day and age, you should be ashamed of yourself). In all seriousness, though, the new option could be a boon for those living in places with low connectivity and low smartphone penetration. Ultimately, the feature could come in handy in a number of scenarios: for example, if your friend is visiting you from abroad and you just want to arrange his or her transportation. And if it allows Uber to gain more customers (or maybe even win back some of the roughly 200,000 customers who participated in the #DeleteUber campaign) then that won’t hurt either.

The new option is rolling out to users in the US today, along with 30 additional countries. Notwithstanding the company’s seemingly endless spate of internal turmoil, it seems Uber is still acutely aware of its users’ practical requirements.

Source: Uber

AMD’s Vega Frontier Edition holds its own against Nvidia’s GeForce Titan Xp

Why it matters to you

If you’re waiting patiently for AMD to release its Radeon Vega gaming GPUs, then you’re likely to be well rewarded.

Gamers are anxiously awaiting more information on AMD’s upcoming Vega generation of GPUs. Nvidia has owned the market for a few years, particularly the high-end segment, and there are plenty of people who would love to see AMD return to the top as a more competitive option.

While we wait for Vega’s consumer release and the benchmarks that will accompany it, AMD’s Radeon Vega Frontier Edition stands in as a sort of proxy for guessing how Vega might perform. PC World was able to put a Vega Frontier Edition card, currently priced at $1,200, through some paces to answer some of the burning questions, and the results were rather promising.

First, it’s important to note that the Vega Frontier Edition cards are intended for workstations and not gaming machines, and for running high-end professional applications versus maximizing frame rates at reasonable prices. In this regard, PC World was able to verify that Vega Frontier Edition is a powerful option compared to Nvidia’s highest-end GeForce GTX Titan Xp.

When running a few demanding professional applications, the Vega Frontier Edition was indeed significantly faster than Nvidia’s offering. The air-cooled version of AMD’s card and the Titan Xp were both connected to Dell’s 8K display and tested in the Solidworks engineering application, Cinebench, and other tests that provide an indication of how well the cards can handle professional workloads. Vega Frontier Edition was 14 percent faster in Cinebench, 28 percent faster in Catia, and 50 percent faster in SolidWorks.

It’s not a completely apples-to-apples comparison, because Vega Frontier Edition doesn’t come with the certified drivers that highlight professional GPUs like Nvidia’s Quadro line. But as AMD pointed out, many smaller companies use consumer-level cards without certification due to their high price-performance ratios — an Nvidia Quadro that matches this level of performance would start at $2,000 for the Quadro P5000 and quickly ramp up to $6,000 for a Quadro P6000.

In terms of gaming, PC World didn’t provide any hard benchmark numbers, but attested that the Vega Frontier Edition was able to keep up with the Titan Xp in games like Doom, Prey, and Sniper Elite 4. Gaming was done with Vulcan, DirectX 11, and DirectX 12 to eliminate the gaming API as an advantage for one card over another. According to PC World, both cards were “indistinguishable” from each other during actual gameplay, or as it concluded, at least as fast as an Nvidia GTX 1080 and closer to a GTX 1080 Ti.

Anyone concerned that Vega won’t be able to hold its own against Nvidia’s fastest cards should, therefore, rest a little bit easier. Time will tell if AMD manages to push out competitive cards, but it is promising that the Vega consumer GPUs should be even faster than the Vega Frontier Edition cards for gamers. That bodes well for anyone hoping that competition will spur both faster performance and lower prices.

Amazon

AMD has the world’s fastest graphics card with the Vega Frontier Edition

Why it matters to you

AMD’s Frontier Edition is a monster of a graphics card, but even gamers with deep pockets should probably wait for the Radeon RX version.

AMD finally released the first of its Vega generation of graphics cards. Called the Frontier Edition, this vanguard of AMD’s first real challenge to Nvidia’s top-tier graphics dominance in several years, could well be the most powerful graphics card in the world and AMD is happy to claim as such.

Much has been said of AMD’s Vega graphics card prior to its release. We have seen rumors of world-beating performance and more mid-tier offerings. We have heard concerns of power draw and suggestions of sky-high prices. Any questions we may have had though, can now begin to be answered, as AMD’s Vega Frontier Edition card is available.

This is a card that is not aimed at gamers though, even if it should function exceedingly well. Said to offer as much as 13.1 TFLOPS of single precision performance, this card is specced higher than even AMD’s own dual chip Radeon Pro Duo Polaris card. More importantly, though, that is more than Nvidia’s Titan Xp, which is a monster in its own right.

Final specifications give it a “typical clock speed” of 1,382MHz, boosting up to 1,600MHz when required. It has 16GB of second-generation high-bandwidth memory (HBM), with a bus width of 2,048-bit. That gives it a total memory bandwidth of 4,83GBps, which is curiously less than the Fury X, despite having four times the overall memory and using second-generation HBM.

Typical power draw is said to be under 300w, though that would suggest that it goes higher than that at times. That means this is a pretty power-hungry card, though not necessarily something that will require its own power supply unit or a major upgrade for the enterprises that will make use of such a card. What that means for the air cooler design that this card ships with, remains to be seen.

That air cooler will come as standard, with a price tag of $1,000, according to Anandtech). The promised liquid-cooled version will ship a little later this year, with a much higher price of $1,500.

Even though such price tags would put such a card out of reach of most gamers — even those used to the currently inflated graphics card prices — AMD is keen to position the Vega Frontier Edition as a professional card, not one for gamers. The company is also urging them to wait for the RX release, which it claims will be faster than this version anyhow, it has made this card compatible with its pro drivers.

Its slides claim the card would be perfect for virtual reality game development, with whatever engine is being used.

As it stands, Newegg and SabrePC are listing the card at its MSRP, though Newegg will not begin shipping until July 1.

Send text messages and photos without a cell connection thanks to Sonnet

Why it matters to you

This compact device allows users to send text messages, photos, and GPS coordinates to one another without the need for a cell network of any kind.

A new device from Sonnet Labs promises to make it much easier for people to stay in communication with one another while traveling off the grid. The Toronto-based startup has announced a new lightweight and compact gadget that will give smartphone users the ability to send text messages, photos, and GPS coordinates even in places where a cellular network and internet access is completely nonexistent.

Dubbed the Sonnet, the new device uses long-range radio signals to create a peer-to-peer network that allows smartphone users to communicate directly with one another without the need for a cell network. The gadget connects to an iOS or Android device via Bluetooth and uses a special app to send messages, photos, and GPS information to other Sonnet users who are nearby.

The device reportedly has a range of about 1 mile when used within a city, although that distance climbs to as much as 6 miles when traveling in the backcountry where radio signals are less congested. Similar to the GoTenna Mesh, the gadget also uses mesh networking to theoretically extend that range indefinitely by automatically relaying messages off of other Sonnet devices in the area in order to reach a specific user who is farther away.

In addition to sending text messages, the Sonnet app will give user the ability to exchange voice recordings and share their exact location with others as well. The app comes with built-in maps that can be used offline and includes route tracking and planning, which comes in handy when navigating through remote areas. Users can also see their positions relative to one another at all times, making it easier to track down friends and family when separated.

The Sonnet is dust proof, water resistant, and reportedly comes equipped with a 4000 mAh battery that provides up to 36 hours of juice without a recharge. A built-in USB port gives the device the ability to share power with a smartphone in a pinch, although this will obviously cause the runtime to drop accordingly. The device features a clip that allows it to be attached it to a backpack or belt, and an emergency SOS button can be pressed to alert other users of trouble should the need arise.

Sonnet Labs has launched a Kickstarter campaign to help it raise $17,000 to crowdfund this device. If successful, it is expected to begin shipping in the fourth quarter of 2017, when it will retail for $45 for a single unit or $89 for a pair.

Send text messages and photos without a cell connection thanks to Sonnet

Why it matters to you

This compact device allows users to send text messages, photos, and GPS coordinates to one another without the need for a cell network of any kind.

A new device from Sonnet Labs promises to make it much easier for people to stay in communication with one another while traveling off the grid. The Toronto-based startup has announced a new lightweight and compact gadget that will give smartphone users the ability to send text messages, photos, and GPS coordinates even in places where a cellular network and internet access is completely nonexistent.

Dubbed the Sonnet, the new device uses long-range radio signals to create a peer-to-peer network that allows smartphone users to communicate directly with one another without the need for a cell network. The gadget connects to an iOS or Android device via Bluetooth and uses a special app to send messages, photos, and GPS information to other Sonnet users who are nearby.

The device reportedly has a range of about 1 mile when used within a city, although that distance climbs to as much as 6 miles when traveling in the backcountry where radio signals are less congested. Similar to the GoTenna Mesh, the gadget also uses mesh networking to theoretically extend that range indefinitely by automatically relaying messages off of other Sonnet devices in the area in order to reach a specific user who is farther away.

In addition to sending text messages, the Sonnet app will give user the ability to exchange voice recordings and share their exact location with others as well. The app comes with built-in maps that can be used offline and includes route tracking and planning, which comes in handy when navigating through remote areas. Users can also see their positions relative to one another at all times, making it easier to track down friends and family when separated.

The Sonnet is dust proof, water resistant, and reportedly comes equipped with a 4000 mAh battery that provides up to 36 hours of juice without a recharge. A built-in USB port gives the device the ability to share power with a smartphone in a pinch, although this will obviously cause the runtime to drop accordingly. The device features a clip that allows it to be attached it to a backpack or belt, and an emergency SOS button can be pressed to alert other users of trouble should the need arise.

Sonnet Labs has launched a Kickstarter campaign to help it raise $17,000 to crowdfund this device. If successful, it is expected to begin shipping in the fourth quarter of 2017, when it will retail for $45 for a single unit or $89 for a pair.

Microsoft Surface Laptop review

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Microsoft Surface Laptop

A Microsoft laptop. Suggesting it a decade ago would lead only to raised eyebrows and brief chuckles. Sure, Microsoft might want to sell its own hardware, just like Apple. Why not? The suggestion it might build a PC people want to buy, however, was absurd. Yet here you are, reading our Microsoft Surface Laptop review.

Microsoft’s Surface Pro, Book, and Studio have proven the company can build hardware that pushes the PC forward. Why not produce a simple, old-fashioned laptop, too?

Nothing about the notebook jumps out at first glance. Our Surface Laptop review unit arrived with an Intel Core i5-7200U processor, 8GB of RAM, and 256GB solid state drive, options that push the price up to $1,300. That’s a lot, but it’s not unusual in the world of high-end laptops. Numerous competitors cost about as much, or more.

Look close, though, and you’ll see the Laptop is stranger than it lets on. It runs Windows 10 S, a locked-down version that can only access apps from the Windows Store, and it has fewer ports than expected from a laptop of its size. It is, like everything in the Surface line, a new breed of PC that embodies what Microsoft hopes the laptop of tomorrow will look like.

Beautifully mundane

The Surface Laptop is intentionally built for anonymity. While its all-metal chassis is available in four color options – ours came in Cobalt Blue – none of them stand up and shout. A similar subtle touch graces its profile, which is hard-edged, serious, and tapered at extreme angles along each edge. Even the square, precision-cut exhaust vents look like they mean business.

Open it up, though, and the Laptop shows its softer side. Alcantara fabric lines the entire interior, giving the system a warm, inviting feel. Dell’s XPS 13 takes a similar tack, but with carbon fiber instead of fabric. We love this trend, as it instantly makes the simple act of opening and using a laptop more fun.

You might worry the Alcantara will wear, and it probably will — but no more than other materials. We’ve used numerous Surface Pros with the Alcantara version of the Type Cover, and haven’t noticed an issue with stains or wear. It might be a problem if you eat spaghetti while holding the plate directly over your laptop, but otherwise, it’s fine.

The Surface Laptop’s 13.5-inch screen invites comparisons to other 13-inch laptops, like the Dell XPS 13, and HP Spectre x360. Some might even consider it alongside a 12.5-inch laptop like the Huawei Matebook X, is blunt.

Some might like that, though, as it offers a reassuring sense of weight and durability. Microsoft’s laptop also comes in a shave under three pounds, which beats the MacBook Pro 13, and is right in line with the Dell’s smaller XPS 13.

Where are the ports?

The Surface Laptop isn’t a tiny laptop. There’s room for great connectivity, and Microsoft hasn’t taken advantage of it.

There’s room for great connectivity, and Microsoft hasn’t taken advantage of it.

USB connectivity is provided by one, lonely USB 3.0 port, which is paired with mini-DisplayPort, and a headset jack. The proprietary Surface Connect provides power, and can expand connectivity when paired with a Surface Dock. Wireless options, meanwhile, include the usual pairing of 802.11ac Wi-Fi with Bluetooth 4.0.

We can’t help but feel disappointed in what the Laptop offers. It’s arguably even worse than the Apple MacBook Pro 13. While it only has cutting-edge Thunderbolt 3/USB Type-C ports, they’re far more capable, and there’s four of them.

A front-facing 720p webcam sits above the display. It’s compatible with Windows Hello’s facial recognition, and works within seconds. You’ll want to give Hello login a go if you haven’t tried it already.

This is how keyboards should be

A spacious keyboard sits snuggly inside the Surface Laptop’s Alcantara interior. Here, at least, Microsoft has made full use of both horizontal and vertical space. The keyboard is large, yet there’s ample room between keys. Pressing any of them rewards with long, full travel and a firm, yet forgiving, bottom action. It’s a joy to type on this laptop.

Keyboard backlighting is standard. Several levels of adjustment are provided, and the brightest is clearly visible even in a lit room. Light-leak around the corners of keys is minimal, so you won’t see any annoying shaft of light sneaking out at odd angles.

The touchpad is less impressive. It’s a Windows Precision Touchpad compatible model, as we’d expect, and it does its job. We wouldn’t mind a larger surface, however, or a texture that felt more responsive. We’re not disappointed in the quality, so much as the unharnessed potential. Competitors like Apple and HP have found clever ways to build far larger touchpads into their laptops without sacrificing quality.

Luckily, the Surface Laptop does include one large touch surface – the screen. Though it’s no 2-in-1, Microsoft wisely decided to add a touchscreen anyway. We didn’t use it much, but we were glad to have it when we wanted it. It’s even compatible with the Surface Pen and Dial.

Windows 10 S – what do you think the “S” stands for?

In fact, the touchscreen is more essential to the Surface Laptop than most competitors. This PC doesn’t run the Windows 10 you’re used to. It runs Windows 10 S, which can only run apps from the Windows Store. Many them are built with touch as a priority, as the Windows Store originally debuted alongside the heavily touch-focused Windows 8. Developers can now port “normal” Windows 10 applications into the Store with relative ease, but they’re the minority. Most apps in the Store have big, bright, touch-sensitive buttons that just beg to be mashed.

Most software we use to test laptops won’t run on Windows 10 S, so we eventually upgraded to Windows 10 Pro for this review.

However, the Windows Store has a limited selection of apps, and that’s a problem. By default, the Surface Laptop can’t run any apps outside the Store. That means it can’t launch Google Chrome, Firefox, Steam, Discord, or the full version of Photoshop. Most software we use to test laptops won’t run on Windows 10 S, so we eventually upgraded to Windows 10 Pro for this review.

Microsoft’s justification focuses on the simplicity and manageability of Windows 10 S which, according to the company, is sorta-kinda meant for education institutions, and kinda meant for business, too.  Any organization that’s buying and managing hundreds, perhaps thousands, of devices will like that a Surface Laptop can’t Tor over to The Pirate Bay and suck down malware.

But for you – the person looking to buy a Surface Laptop for yourself – Windows 10 S is nothing but bad news. There’s no carrot at the end of this stick. You won’t be able to use the apps you want, and you get nothing in return. It’s not even possible to use regedit or the command window, which means certain tweaks and customizations aren’t accessible.

At least the operating system looks identical to Windows 10 Home or Pro. Unlike Windows RT, which reimagined Windows almost from the ground up, Windows 10 S keeps its differences confined to the Store. Upgrading to Windows 10 Pro – which is free this year, and a $50 upgrade after – takes less than ten minutes, and doesn’t erase or change any data on the machine.

For some, the ease of upgrading will make Windows 10 S a non-issue. Those who expect their laptop to “just work,” however, will be annoyed – and woe to the poor student or employee who finds themselves given a Surface Laptop without rights to an upgrade. Want to play a round of Hearthstone to relax after a long day? Too bad. You can’t.

All about that display

Like other Surface devices, the Laptop offers an unconventional display. Its 3:2 aspect ratio and 13.5-inch diagonal length make for a screen that looks much larger than numbers suggest. While it contributes to the Laptop’s bulk, it also serves up gobs of beautiful, usable space. Taller aspect ratios are coming back into style, and we love it.

Resolution is 2,256 x 1,504, or 201 pixels per inch (PPI). This is high enough to provide satisfying sharpness, but it’s below the MacBook Pro 13’s 220 PPI, and well behind the Microsoft Surface Pro’s 267 PPI. HP’s Spectre x360 can pack in up to 330 PPI with its optional 4K panel.

There’s more to quality than pixel count, though. Color and contrast matter too, and that’s where the Surface Laptop shines. Our tests found the PixelSense screen delivered a contrast ratio of up to 1020:1, beating every competitor except for Apple’s MacBook Pro 13, which hit 1200:1.

We were also surprised to see an average color error score of just .85. Lower is better in this test, and an error below one is hard for the human eye to notice. Again, the MacBook Pro 13 is the only competitor we’ve tested that scored better. Most laptops have a color error score north of two.

The display is also bright, and boasts a nearly perfect gamma score. That means it renders content at almost exactly the brightness intended, without blowing out highlights, or skipping shadow detail.

You’ll notice the benefit of these benchmark scores every day. The excellent contrast ratio is noticeable even when viewing a document, as inky black letters seem to burrow into bright, white pages. Movies and games of course look beautiful, especially in dark scenes, where the high contrast ratio and accurate gamma can draw excellent detail out of shadowy scenes, while letting pure, dark shadows to suck you into their abyss.

The only issue is, again, the resolution. 201 pixels per inch is likely more than you need, but it’s also less than most competitors offer at similar pricing. The lack of screen options hurts the Microsoft here. As more upgrades raise the price, the less competitive the display will seem next to Apple, Dell, and HP alternatives.

Speakers get checked off the list

Search for the word “audio” on the Microsoft’s Surface Laptop product page, and you’ll see no results. Audio quality isn’t a priority. While the speakers – which are hidden under the keyboard — pump out acceptable volume, they quickly fall into distortion when asked to handle music, or action scenes in movies. We recommend headphones.

A strong showing from the Core i5

The Surface Laptop is available with Core i5 or Core i7 processors, but our review unit came with a Core i5-7200U alongside of 8GB of RAM. Such hardware isn’t going to get anyone’s pulse racing, but it’s common for a high-end laptop balancing performance and battery life.

In Geekbench 4, the Surface Laptop performs exactly as expected, scoring 3,681 in the single-core test and 7,373 in the multi-core test. These numbers are within a few hundred of almost every other Core i5-7200U laptop we’ve tested.

We saw more variance in Handbrake, however, where the Laptop shaved a couple of minutes off its conversion test, compared to similar systems. Microsoft did its homework when designing this device. It can run flat-out with less thermal throttling than most rivals, which nets it a great Handbrake score.

Sad about SATA

Microsoft of course ships the Surface Laptop with a solid state drive – a 256GB model, in our review unit. It connects over the older SATA interface, however, instead of a newer standard like NVMe. That limits its performance.

Squint all you’d like. There’s no way to make these numbers look good. A SATA drive simply can’t keep up with more modern hardware found in competitors like the Apple MacBook Pro 13, Dell XPS 13, and HP Spectre x360. These alternatives more than double the speed of the Surface Laptop.

That’s not something you’ll notice in everyday use, but it’ll absolutely be noticeable if you transfer or move large files regularly.

Winning the race of the turtles

This laptop isn’t for gamers. That should come as no surprise. It’s not advertised for gaming, and it’s rare to see a 13-inch class system that is. Still, you might want to try and play a game now and then, so…can you?

Maybe. As you can see above, the Surface Laptop actually handles itself well for a laptop with a Core i5-7200U processor and Intel HD 620 graphics. It defeats most likely competitors, though not by a large margin. That means 3D games will often open and run, but the game experience won’t be ideal.

We took a peak at real-world game performance with Sid Meier’s Civilization VI, which was tested at 1080p resolution with detail settings at the lowest possible preset. The game returned an average of 17 frames per second. While technically playable, it’s not the way you’d want play the game.

Battery life black magic

A look at the Surface Laptop’s specification sheet doesn’t offer much hope. While its official product page doesn’t quote a capacity, Windows Battery Report told us it offers 47 watt-hours of juice. That’s not a lot for a laptop. It’s less than the Apple MacBook Pro 13, and a lot less than the Dell XPS 13, which can handle 60 watt-hours.

Yet the Laptop refuses to be defined by a single number. It lasted six hours and a half hours in the Peacekeeper web browsing benchmark, a heavy-load use case that constantly refreshes. Our more moderate web browsing script, which flips through a pre-determined set of websites, extended life to almost eight hours. And a 1080p video loop, our easiest battery test, helped the Surface reach 12 and a half hours.

These numbers are in range of the competition, as you can see in the graph above. Lenovo’s ThinkPad X1 Carbon remains a standout in battery life, easily defeating the Surface laptop. The Asus Zenbook UX330UA and Dell XPS 13 with Core i5 processor also generally outpace the Laptop, though only by a bit.   The HP Spectre x360 and Apple MacBook Pro 13 go down in defeat.

While the Surface Laptop is not setting any records, we respect what it squeezes out of a relatively small battery. Microsoft has clearly put some work into optimizing endurance. Its battle against the MacBook Pro 13 is the most telling, as the two have nearly the same battery capacity. Yet Microsoft easily earns a win. Take that, Cupertino.

Warranty information

The usual one-year limited hardware warranty is standard on the Surface Laptop. While Microsoft offers extended warranty plans on other Surface products, they’re not offered for the Laptop yet.

Our Take

We believed, given its past successes, that a Surface Laptop would be an easy win for Microsoft. Compared to the Pro, Book, or Studio, it’s a simple machine. Yet the company found a way to complicate matters with Windows 10 S, and fails to deliver in key areas like screen quality and hard drive performance.

Is there a better alternative?

The Dell XPS 13 and HP Spectre x360 remains our favorite high-end PC laptops, and both easily shove the Surface aside. The XPS 13 looks and feels more svelte, yet retains better hard drive performance and superior screen options. The Spectre x360 is about equal in size, and won’t last as long on a charge, but it’s a 2-in-1 and it can be purchased with a 4K display.

Even the Zenbook UX330UA is a legitimate option that can save a lot of money. Though it only has a 1080p display, Asus’ $700 laptop is otherwise comparable. It offers the same processor, the same type and size of hard drive, and just as much RAM. It has better connectivity, too, despite the fact it’s slightly lighter and thinner.

Apple’s MacBook Pro 13 is another possible alternative. We’d pick the Surface Laptop over the Macbook Pro 13, but the Mac does have points in its favor including a much faster hard drive, better display, and more ports.

How long will it last?

Like most new laptops, the Surface Laptop should last a half-decade or more. Nothing about it will feel outdated soon except, perhaps, for its lone USB 3.0 port.

Should you buy it?

No. The Surface Laptop is an impressive device in many ways, but it’s not without its warts, and Windows 10 S is the largest. We understand what Microsoft is going for, but its benefits are targeted at organizations, not individuals. Switching over to Windows 10 Pro is easy, but we can’t assume everyone will want to do that, or feel comfortable with it.

Worse, Microsoft’s competitors ship with “regular” Windows 10 Home or Pro, and some are less expensive. The Surface Laptop is counting on its unique design to attract eyes, and to be fair, it does look and feel awesome. Yet that’s not enough to earn it a recommendation over more affordable, equally capable alternatives.

The brightest light in our solar system isn’t the sun — it’s the Diocles laser

Why it matters to you

A super laser could have applications in X-ray technology, allowing for better resolution while emitting far less radiation.

Scientists at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln recently fired up its ultra-high intensity Diocles laser that is brighter than anything seen in the history of planet Earth.

The Diocles laser will be used for studying the interactions of light with matter at the highest attainable field strengths. In the university’s test, it was fired at electrons suspended in helium to see how light scatters.

The “secret sauce” behind Diocles’ high power is a compression stage, during which the laser’s stretched, amplified pulse is compressed into an extremely short, powerful pulse. This pulse then hits a parabolic reflector which focuses it into a laser beam with, frankly, bonkers levels of intensity.

“We used [this] powerful laser to study one of the most basic interactions in nature: Scattering, and found that it changes dramatically when light has the highest brightness,” Professor Donald Umstadter, from the university’s Extreme Light Laboratory, told Digital Trends. “Because light scattering is essential to vision, it is also essential to life itself. Without it, day would look as dark as night. Normally, matter appears brighter as the brightness increases. However, as we turned up the brightness beyond a certain threshold, the appearance of matter changes as well. The scattered light has a different color and shape than the original light.”

While a super-powerful laser is cool enough, Umstadter said that Diocles does come with some pretty exciting real-world uses. These may include X-ray applications since the team has demonstrated that the scattered X-ray light makes it suitable for imaging with higher resolution and a 10-times lower radiation dose than from conventional sources.

And, just hypothetically, what would happen if it was accidentally shone in someone’s eye like those pranksters used to do with their laser pointers in high school?

“It is 20 orders of magnitude brighter than room light or sunlight on Earth,” Umstadter patiently explained. “It is also a billion times brighter than light at the surface of the sun. To be safe, we conduct the experiments from a separate control room.”

Between this, projects like the development of the world’s largest X-ray laser in Germany, and nifty applications like the use of lasers to test for food quality or zap underwater lice on moving fish, lasers are finally living up to the sci-fi potential we always knew they had!

Get more out of your Google Pixel with these fantastic accessories

Google’s Pixel and Pixel XL are awesome smartphones made better by great accessories. You can spruce up the smartphones’ monotone casing with a custom-designed Live Case, transfer files to an old computer with a USB Type-A adapter, or hop into virtual reality worlds with Google’s Daydream View headset. That’s just scratching the surface.

Given the Pixels’ popularity, it’s no surprise that there’s a growing market for add-ons, cases, earbuds, and more. But the choices can be overwhelming. Not to worry, though — we’ve done the legwork for you. Here’s a list of the best Pixel and Pixel XL accessories we could find.

Daydream View ($76)

Daydream View, Google’s take on a high-end virtual reality headset, is essentially a glorified, head-mounted sleeve. But there’s more to it than meets the eye. Once you’ve situated the headset on your face, placed your Pixel in the designated holster, and pulled tight the adjustable straps, you’ll be transported to Google’s digital Daydream world. You use the included motion remote to navigate through menus and embark on virtual reality experiences, which include 360-degree videos from apps like YouTube and Hulu, games, and there’s a lot more content on the Google Play Store. Even better? You’ll forget you’re wearing the Daydream View. Its breathable, soft fabric, hand-washable material is among the most comfortable we’ve tested.

Live Cases ($40)

Google’s Live Cases are some of the most customizable around. Using an online selector tool, you can adorn your phone’s cover with artwork from popular illustrators, landscapes from Google Earth, or one of your own photos. Every Live Case comes with a programmable shortcut button that triggers actions and apps, and an animated wallpaper that turns your screen into a personal slide show. Live Cases boast slim-profile, and are made of polycarbonate that lets NFC signals pass through unfettered. Don’t expect much protection from these cases.

Zagg InvisibleShield Glass+ ($43)

The Pixel may be durable, but it’s no match for hard concrete, car keys, and hard knocks against tables and chairs. Luckily, there’s a solution: Zagg’s InvisibleShield Glass+, a screen protector made of shatter-resistant, shock-absorbent tempered glass. It’s thick enough to resist scrapes and scratches, but thin enough to avoid impeding the Pixel screen’s vibrancy and touch responsiveness. It comes with Zagg’s customer satisfaction guarantee: If your InvisibleShield Glass+ ever gets worn or damaged, the company will replace it for as long as you own your device.

OtterBox Defender Series for Pixel ($30)

If you’re looking for the end-all be-all in rugged Pixel protection, look no further than OtterBox’s Defender series. The ultra-thick phone case, which packs a built-in screen cover and foam-lined inner shell, is engineered to withstand harsh elements — and clumsy owners. It can hold up against abrasion, thermal extremes, drop tests, and more — Otterbox says that in its product testing, the Defender Series survived more than 24 rigorous assessments over 238 hours. No matter how you slice it, that’s pretty impressive.

USB-C to USB-A ($7)

The Pixel eschews a microUSB connector for a USB-C connector. That’s a good thing — USB-C’s claim to fame is bidirectional data transfer, or the ability to both send and receive power, files, and audiovisual media. But USB-C isn’t ubiquitous, which is probably why Google sells an adapter. The Pixel USB-C to USB-A cable sports a square-shaped USB-A connector on one end and a Pixel-compatible USB-C connector on the other, making it ideal for laptops, desktops, and phones that don’t have USB-C connectors. As an added bonus, it supports high-speed file transfer over USB 3.1 devices.

USB-C to DisplayPort/HDMI ($40)

Standards like Google Cast and Miracast make it easier than ever to beam your smartphone’s screen to a nearby TV, but not all setups are created equal. If you don’t have a Chromecast lying around, Google’s display adapters for the Pixel and Pixel XL are your best bet at getting content on the big screen. The USB-C to DisplayPort cable supports resolutions up to 4K/60Hz (a hair better than the USB-C HDMI’s 4K/30Hz), and works with monitors, TVs, and other compatible devices. A word of warning, though — Google notes that not all USB-C devices support video, so it’s a good idea to check with your manufacturer before picking one up.

Encased Google Pixel Desktop Charging Dock ($25)

The Pixel doesn’t ship with a charging dock, but you don’t have to spend an arm and a leg for a decent one. The Pixel Desktop Charging Dock by Encased is a USB-C cradle-style charger that props up the Pixel while it recharges. Its height-adjustable design reaches the Pixel through slim-profile cases, and it’s data compatible — you can plug it into a computer to sync your Pixel’s data. Still not convinced? The dock’s covered by Encased’s lifetime warranty.

Nektech Google Pixel Car Charger ($16)

If you spend a lot of time driving between work/school/the kids’ soccer practice and home, you’ll want a quality car charger to juice up your Pixel between stops. Nekteck makes one of the best we’ve tried. It’s fully compatible with the Pixel’s rapid charging tech, meaning it’ll supply up to seven hours of battery life after 15 minutes of charging. As an added bonus, it works with other USB-C devices, including Apple’s 12-inch MacBook and Samsung’s Galaxy S8 Plus.

Chromecast ($35)

There’s perhaps no easier way to beam YouTube videos, movies, TV shows, photos, music, and even games from your Pixel to the big screen than Google’s Chromecast. The little dongle, which plugs into any HDMI-compatible projector, TV, or computer monitor that has the ports to accommodate it, connects to your Wi-Fi router, and there’s not much more to it than that. That’s sort of the point, though — casting is as easy as tapping the Chromecast icon in any of the thousands of apps, menus, and settings screens that support it.

Shure SE112m+ ($45)

Every great smartphone needs a great pair of headphones to go along with it — the external speakers just don’t do some genres justice. If you’re looking for a portable, compact pair that won’t break the bank, you can’t go wrong with Shure’s SE112m+. They pack dynamic drivers with impressive, responsive bass, and above-average sound isolation that helps masks sounds from the outside world. There’s a reason made our list of the best in-ear headphones: You’ll be hard pressed to find superior sound quality at this price range.

Seed-bombing drone startup aims to plant one billion trees per year

Why it matters to you

BioCarbon Engineering’s new-and-improved seed-bombing drones could help us combat deforestation around the globe

From 2000 to 2009, planet Earth lost more than 32 million acres of tropical rainforest. This large-scale deforestation accounts for about 15 percent of total global carbon dioxide emissions annually. Thankfully, a company is looking to reverse this trend with a fleet of tree-planting drones.

Since we last reported on BioCarbon in 2015, the company has increased both the capacity and sophistication of its program. Originally, BioCarbon estimated that its tree planting drone would be able to seed up to 36,000 trees per day. Now, the company sets this per diem goal at 100,000 per day. Utilizing 60 teams, BioCarbon estimates it could plant more than one billion trees in a given year.

Every year, the planet loses about six billion trees. To compensate, replanting is often done by hand, however, this method is exceedingly inefficient and expensive. BioCarbon Engineering Chief Technology Officer, Dr. Susan Graham, believes an armada of arborist drones could increase seeding rates ten fold at just 20 percent of the cost of current hand planting methods.

BioCarbon has designed a platform that first maps a specific area to pinpoint arable locations prior to planting. First, the team deploys a fixed-wing drone to create a 3D model of a potential location. While this drone is in the air, a series of onboard sensors analyze ground topography, moisture, slopes, and obstructions (rocks, streams, etc).

Once an area has been properly mapped, then it’s time to sling some seeds. This 3D map is used to optimize an overall planting pattern and also determine a heterogeneous assortment of tree species. BioCarbon CEO, Lauren Fletcher, says the company’s current drones are capable of carrying 150 seed pods while in flight, and that each of these seed payloads incorporate a biodegradable housing to further ensure germination. Recently, the team tested one of its drones in New South Wales to repurpose land once used for coal mining.

“The way we plant trees today is very similar to how we planted them hundreds of years ago,” Faruqi explained, “So there’s major room for innovation in increasing the success rate of tree planting and also in improving the maintenance and monitoring of the restored land.”