Apple Releases Safari Technology Preview 47 With Spectre Mitigations

Apple today released a new update for Safari Technology Preview, the experimental browser Apple first introduced more than a year ago in March of 2016. Apple designed the Safari Technology Preview to test features that may be introduced into future release versions of Safari.

Safari Technology Preview release 47 includes bug fixes and feature improvements with an experimental implementation of the Storage Access API, updates to Service Workers, and improvements to Media, Rendering, Web Inspector, and the Clipboard API.

Today’s update also includes mitigations for the Spectre hardware vulnerability that impacts Apple’s Macs. Spectre fixes were previously added to the release version of Safari with yesterday’s release of a supplemental update macOS High Sierra 10.13.2.

The Safari Technology Preview update is available through the Software Update mechanism in the Mac App Store to anyone who has downloaded the browser. Full release notes for the update are available on the Safari Technology Preview website.

Apple’s aim with Safari Technology Preview is to gather feedback from developers and users on its browser development process. Safari Technology Preview can run side-by-side with the existing Safari browser and while designed for developers, it does not require a developer account to download.
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Hands-on: Asus ROG’s PG65 “Big Format Gaming Display” with Android TV

If you love playing video games, you know the woes of needing to game on a PC monitor vs being able to hang out on your couch and play on the TV. Technically you could stream your game to your TV or just connect it directly, but you could never really get the same experience on a TV as you could on your high end monitor. So why hasn’t someone taken computer monitor technology and just put it into something the size of a TV?

Now, Asus is looking to do just that.

The Asus PG65 is what Asus is calling a “Big Format Gaming Display”. Really, it’s a super high quality TV with the guts of a super high end monitor. It’s a 4k panel with a refresh rate of 120Hz and super low latency, so you probably won’t even notice the difference between this and the monitor at your desktop. It’s even got GSYNC. What TV’s have GSYNC??

Since Asus is working with NVIDIA on this project, there’s an NVIDIA Shield with Android TV built right in. That means you can stream games from your PC, play games with the Shield controller, and watch videos through apps like YouTube and Netflix. Really, this is a smart TV, but with all the gaming features you ever wanted.

This display is also HDR certified and can reach a peak brightness of 1,000 nits, so you can stream all your favorite content in its best format. It even uses the DCI-P3 color gamut, which is 25% wider than sRGB. Get ready for some vivid colors.

Asus hasn’t disclosed pricing or availability for this display, but we can assume that it will probably have a price tag to match its level of innovation. I’d love to get one of these in my house at some point, but for now it’s probably out of my price range.

What are your thoughts on the PG65? Make sure to leave your thoughts in the comments section below and keep it tuned for more CES 2018 coverage!

This post was originally published on Dgit.com.

Alcatel Idol 5 vs Honor 7X: Can Honor’s budget hit take out the new Idol?

Flagship phones are great and all, but they’re a little pricey. Thankfully, these days you don’t have to break the bank to get a decent device — phones in the sub-$300 range are still easily able to handle everyday tasks like web browsing, social media, emails, and even some gaming. Among these phones are the new Alcatel Idol 5 and the Honor 7X, both of which offer some great features at an excellent price.

But which one is better? Does one phone stand above the other? We put the two devices head to head to find out.

Specs

Alcatel Idol 5

Honor 7X

Size
148 x 73 x 7.5mm (5.83 x 2.87 x 0.30-inches)
156.5 x 75.3 x 7.6mm (6.16 x 2.96 x 0.30-inches)
Weight
5.47oz (155g)
5.82oz (165g)
Screen
5.2-inch LCD
5.93-inch LCD
Resolution
1,080 x 1,920 (423ppi)
1,080 x 2,160 (407ppi)
OS
Android 7.1
Android 7.0
Storage
16GB
32GB, 64GB (international version)
MicroSD card slot
Yes, up to 256GB
Yes, up to 256GB
NFC support
No
No
Processor
MediaTek MT6753
HiSilicon Kirin 659
RAM
3GB
3GB, 4GB (international version)
Connectivity
GSM / HSPA / LTE
GSM / HSPA / LTE
Camera
13MP rear, 5MP front
Dual 16MP and 2MP rear, 8MP front
Video
1,080p
1,080p
Bluetooth
Yes, version 4.2
Bluetooth 4.1
Fingerprint sensor
Yes
Yes
Other sensors
Accelerometer, gyroscope, proximity, compass
Accelerometer, proximity, compass
Water resistant
No
No
Battery
2,800mAh
3,340mAh
Ports
Micro USB
Micro USB
Marketplace
Google Play
Google Play
Color offerings
Metal Silver, Metal Black
Blue, black, gold, red
Availability
Cricket Wireless
Honor
Price
$180
$200
DT review
3 out of 5 stars
4 out of 5 stars

Both of these phones offer some decent specs, but it’s clear that they’re a little different in their approach. It’s also clear that one approach scores much higher in the performance department.

The first thing to compare is the processor. The Alcatel Idol 5 offers a MediaTek MT6753 chip, while the Honor 7X includes Huawei’s HiSilicon Kirin 659. Both of these chips are decent midrange processors — but the Kirin 659 seems to be a much higher performer than the MediaTek chip. On AnTuTu, the Alcatel Idol 5 scored 31,000, while the Honor 7X scored 74,998 — more than double the score. That was the 3GB version of the Honor 7X, too — so you could potentially get an even better performing device by going for the 4GB model, though it’s only available outside of the U.S.

When it comes to storage, Honor beats Alcatel once again. While the Alcatel Idol 5 offers just 16GB of storage, the Honor 7X steps things up to a much nicer 32GB, or even 64GB for the international model. Both phones offer a MicroSD card slot, so you can expand upon that storage if you need to.

When it comes to raw power, there’s a clear winner here.

Winner: Honor 7X

Design, display, and durability

Andy Boxall/Digital Trends

Design is largely subjective, but these phones are both nicely designed in their own way. We like the fact that the metal bezel arcs up on the Idol 5 to house the dual front-facing speakers, and the overall metallic look of the Honor 7X is attractive. Sure, both phones are a little basic — but they’re not bad looking devices. In general, the Honor 7X’s design is a little more modern, thanks largely to its big 18:9 display, which we really appreciate.

The display is less subjective. Both phones offer a 1,080p display, but because of the 18:9 aspect ratio on the Honor 7X, its longer side comes in at 2,160 pixels over the Alcatel’s 1,920 pixels. While the Idol 5’s display measures 5.2-inches, the Honor 7X steps things up to 5.93-inches. There’s a trade-off there — the larger display, with almost the same pixel count, means a slightly lower pixel density — but we don’t think that it’s a noticeable difference, and the slightly larger display size is preferable.

Neither of these phones are all that durable. Because of the larger display the Honor’s screen is slightly more likely to get cracked in the event of a drop, but not by much. Neither offer water resistance either — so you’ll want to keep these devices away from water.

We like the Honor’s more modern design, and the nice big display is a bonus. This one goes to Honor.

Winner: Honor 7X

Battery life and charging

Christian de Looper/Digital Trends

These devices are fairly different when it comes to battery life. While the Alcatel Idol 5’s battery comes in at 2,800mAh, the larger body size on the Honor 7X allows it to boast a bigger, 3,340mAh battery. Some of that extra juice might be used up in the larger screen, but we found that the Honor 7X offers signifcantly longer battery life overall — which is good news for users.

Both of the phones also offer some kind of fast charging tech, though you’ll want to use the supplied chargers.

Because of the longer battery life, this one swings Honor’s way.

Winner: Honor 7X

Camera

Andy Boxall/Digital Trends

The cameras on these devices are also pretty different. While the Alcatel Idol 5 offers a single-lens camera that we found to be capable of handling most standard photo-taking situations, the Honor 7X steps things up with a dual-sensor camera that we found could also perform pretty well.

Let’s talk specs for a moment. The Idol 5’s single-lens camera comes in at 13 megapixels with an aperture of f/2.0. The Honor 7X, on the other hand, has a dual-lens 16 megapixel camera with a secondary 2 megapixel sensor and an aperture of f/2.2. We found that the camera produced generally sharp images with good detail and color balance. Not only that, but with the dual camera you can create portrait-mode effects that blur the background, helping your subject pop.

While the Idol 5’s camera is decent for most standard photos, the Honor 7X’s camera offers a little more in terms of features and delivers good quality images.

Winner: Honor 7X

Software

Christian de Looper/Digital Trends

Both of the phones are Android devices, and they both ship with Android 7.0 Nougat — and Honor has announced that the Honor 7X will be getting Oreo at some point soon.

Alcatel hasn’t announced which phones will get Android 8.0 Oreo, but we don’t expect the Idol 5 to get it. The company generally isn’t great with consistent updates. Because of that, this one goes to Honor.

Winner: Honor 7X

Price and availability

The price of the Honor 7X raised a few eyebrows at launch — not because it was high, but because it’s so low. The phone comes in at only $200, which is only $20 more than the Idol 5, but it offers much more than $20 of extra value.

Pricing is pretty similar, but availability is not. While you can get the Honor 7X unlocked from the Honor website, you can only get the Alcatel Idol 5 from Cricket Wireless, at least in the U.S. That’s not good news for anyone who’s not on Cricket Wireless or willing to switch over.

It’s important to keep in mind that the Honor 7X is a GSM-only phone — meaning that it won’t work on Verizon or Sprint. You’ll need to be willing to switch to a GSM network if you’re currently on a CDMA one.

We think the $20 price difference is pretty small — but the difference in availability is not. The Honor 7X is the winner here.

Winner: Honor 7X

Overall winner: Honor 7X

There’s a very clear winner here. While the Alcatel Idol 5 is a pretty good phone for the price, it just can’t hold its own against the Honor 7X. The Honor 7X is a better performer, has a better camera, a larger battery, and it’s more widely available. There’s no question — if you’re debating between these two phones, then the Honor 7X is the right choice.

Editors’ Recommendations

• Honor 7X vs. Nokia 6: Can Honor beat the Finnish veteran?
• Alcatel Idol 5 vs. Lenovo Moto G5S Plus: Clash of the budget smartphones
• Honor 7X vs. Moto G5 Plus: Which cheap phone gets the most bang for your buck?
• Honor 7X review
• Best Honor 7X cases to keep your budget phone beautiful

The best keyboards at CES 2018

If you’re on the market for a new mechanical keyboard, the Consumer Electronics Show is a great place to see what’s coming this year. All keyboards on our list target gamers, but they also work just fine in your typical home or office environment. That said, our list of the best keyboards at CES 2018 derive from well-known manufacturers such as Asus, Cooler Master, and HyperX. 

You’ll also see the return of Mad Catz in the PC peripherals arena. The company took a “break” after filing for bankruptcy in March of 2017, but now the brand is back under new management and packing a new portfolio of products. In addition to the mechanical keyboard listed below, the company also introduced a new ratty mouse we covered in a separate rodent-themed article. 

That said, three out of the five products on our list rely on Cherry MX mechanical switches, while all have customizable illumination. Several models attempt to push the mechanical keyboard form factor by providing unique features new to the peripheral market, such as analog movement control and gas pedal-like key presses. Take a look at our list of the best keyboards at CES 2018! 

Asus ROG Strix Flare 

Highlights

Cherry MX RGB switches 

Dedicated media keys and volume wheel 

USB pass-through port 

Customizable Aura Sync RGB 

Launch date: 1H 2018 

Price: TBD 

This new mechanical keyboard built for gamers relies on Cherry MX RGB switches with surface-mounted RGB LEDs. The company doesn’t list the exact types the keyboard will offer, but the MX RGB family includes Blue, Red, Brown, and Black flavors providing different styles of feedback and actuation force. Outside the switch aspect, the Strix Flare packs all the media keys you need into the upper left-hand corner, including a volume wheel – perfect for right-handed gamers. Unfortunately, there are no dedicated macro keys. 

Gamers will find an embedded, illuminated acrylic “badge” towards the upper right side sporting the ROG slash design. You can swap out this badge with another blank badge provided with the keyboard, which can be used to display a team logo, or a unique design. Other features include a USB-A pass-through port for connecting a mouse, USB headset, or some other peripheral, support for the Aura Sync platform, programmable RGB backlit keys, and a detachable wrist rest. LEDs are mounted under both sides of the keyboard for an awesome desktop illumination effect, too.

Vivo Fingerprint Sensor hands-on review

Research Center:
Vivo Fingerprint Sensor

One highly anticipated piece of new technology that failed to materialize in 2017 was the in-display fingerprint sensor. It was the subject of rumors for many months, and companies including Samsung to Apple struggled to incorporate it in their devices.

In fact, neither of these tech behemoths have shown off the first fully operational example. That honor goes to Vivo, a smartphone brand that’s not well known outside China, but has had teams of engineers working on the project for some time. The hard work has paid off. The in-display fingerprint sensor is no longer a myth or something to simply look forward to. It’s here, thanks to Vivo and sensor company Synaptics, and we’ve given it a try for our Vivo fingerprint sensor hands-on review.

The thing to know straight away is that you want this on your phone. It’s incredibly natural, works very quickly, and gives “bezel-less” smartphones with an 18:9 aspect ratio screen the sleek look they deserve. Vivo has integrated Synaptics Clear ID in-display fingerprint sensor into the screen of a new phone, which will be on sale in early 2018. The device you see in the photos and video is almost final, with only last minutes tweaks to be made before it goes into production.

Andy Boxall/Digital Trends

Andy Boxall/Digital Trends

Andy Boxall/Digital Trends

Andy Boxall/Digital Trends

We went through the setup process, which took slightly longer than regular fingerprint sensors, but it’s all done in the same way — place your finger on the screen until all the data is recorded. Scanning your finger happens in a very clever way. A fingerprint icon appears above the sensor to show you where to press, and light from the OLED screen illuminates the ridges of your print as it’s read. It’s just as fast as Apple’s Touch ID, but not quite as instantaneous as OnePlus’ fingerprint sensors. We’re nitpicking though, as it’s plenty fast enough for everyday use.

The sensor is equal to, if not more secure, than a sensor not set in the display.

What’s surprising is just how different it felt to using a fingerprint sensor in a button. The screen feels natural to touch, as that’s the way we have been interacting with our phones for years. It’s obvious where your finger goes, you don’t have to feel around for the right spot, and it’s clearly marked and operational when the phone’s used in the dark. It just makes sense.

Worried about security? Synaptics told Digital Trends the sensor is equal to, if not more secure than a sensor not set in the display. Vivo hasn’t tested it with mobile payment systems yet, though, so we can’t say whether it will support any at launch. Android Pay is not available in China — Vivo’s main market — hence it not being an immediately high priority. Vivo has worked on a few visual flourishes to make pressing the screen something special. We love the sci-fi animation surrounding our finger when the screen was unlocked from standby mode, for example.

This is our first look at technology that will become more commonplace in 2018. We’re fully expecting Samsung, Apple, and others to incorporate in-display fingerprint unlock systems, either as the sole security system, or as a complementary method to face or iris unlock. But Vivo’s almost certainly going to be first. We’ve recently been impressed by Vivo’s first international phone release, the Vivo V7+, and we hope this device also gets a wide release. For now though, take a good look at the tech you’re going to see a lot more of over the coming year.

Vivo Fingerprint Sensor Compared To

Cat S41

Motorola Stature i9

Sony Ericsson C902

Casio G’zOne Boulder

Motorola MOTORIZR Z3

Jitterbug Dial

Samsung SCH-u620

LG VX9400

Sony Ericsson K790a

Nokia N93

Blackberry 8700c

Blackberry 8700g

Nokia N90

Palm Treo 650

Motorola RAZR V3c

Pokémon gone: ‘Pokémon Go’ is ending support for iPhone 5 and 5C

Pokémon Go has been out in the wild for well over a year at this point, but if you’ve been catching creatures on an older device, you may have to upgrade if you want to continue playing. In an  update coming in February, support will be discontinued for both the iPhone 5 and iPhone 5C.

“In an upcoming update to Pokémon Go, we will end support for Apple devices not capable of upgrading to iOS 11, such as iPhone 5 and iPhone 5C models,” developer Niantic said in a blog post. “This change is a result of improvements to Pokémon Go that push the application beyond the capabilities of the operating systems on such devices.”

The change will take effect on February 28, and it also includes iPad models released earlier than 2013, such as the fourth-generation iPad and the first-generation iPad mini. If you’ve been using one of these devices, you also won’t be able to access your PokéCoins or any items in your account.

Even if you have a slightly newer iPhone, such as the iPhone 6, now is probably a good time to upgrade. The iPhone 6 can run iOS 11, but users have complained of decreased battery life, meaning that you’ll be limited to how long you can actually play Pokémon Go — the game is already quite demanding on batteries because of its GPS and online integration.

Niantic has yet to implement the two most-requested features in its game: Trading and player-versus-player battles. Speaking to IGN in December, global product marketing lead Archit Bhargava reiterated that both systems are “on the road map” but that his team hasn’t “full investigated” adding them. Given that raid battles and countless seasonal events have been introduced over the last year, it’s unlikely to instill much confidence in the developer.

Additionally, Niantic is working on another AR title, Harry Potter: Wizards Unite. Like Pokémon Go, players will explore the real world, but they’ll be learning how to cast spells and encountering creatures from the book series. We assume the ability to cast a Patronus Charm will be added in about 10 years, while a butterbeer-drinking mini-game will be included at launch.

Editors’ Recommendations

• ‘Pokémon Go’ levels up its augmented reality abilities with Apple’s ARKit
• ‘Pokémon Go’ may get its own social network
• ‘Pokémon Go’ is finally heading to the world’s largest mobile market
• Distracted ‘Pokémon Go’ players may have caused billions in damages
• We’re all wizards now — ‘Pokémon Go’ developer sets its sights on Harry Potter

Buy two Amazon Fire 7 kids edition tablets together and save $50

Designed for kids but designed for parents, too.

Buy two Amazon Fire 7 Kids Edition tablets for $149.98. Each tablet is $100 bought individually, so you’re saving $50 on the total. You can buy this bundle in Blue/Pink, Pink/Yellow, or Blue/Yellow. A different color for each tablet so your kids don’t get confused on which one is theirs.

The Kids Edition tablets have a special guarantee attached that protect you when your hyperactive kids smash the screens. They also have parental controls so you can see what they’re accessing and manage times.

Features include:

• Not a toy, a full-featured Fire 7 tablet with a 7-inch IPS display, 16 GB internal storage, and up to 8 hours of mixed-use battery life.
• 2-year worry-free guarantee: if they break it, return it and we’ll replace it for free. No questions asked.
• One year of FreeTime Unlimited gives your kids access to 15,000 popular apps and games, videos, books, and educational content from PBS Kids, Nickelodeon, Disney, and more
• Add even more content to your child’s profile in FreeTime to give them selected access to apps in your personal library, such as Netflix, YouTube, and Minecraft
• Best-in-class parental controls allow you to manage usage limits, content access, and educational goals

You can expand the storage of the tablet with a microSD card up to 256GB. This Samsung Evo Select 128GB microSD card is only $40.

See on Amazon

Unknown Sources: Everything you need to know!

The Unknown Sources setting isn’t the mystery — or the demon — it’s made out to be if you know a little bit about it.

To install apps that you downloaded from somewhere besides the “official” app store from Google or the company that made your phone, you need to enable the “allow unknown sources” setting. There has always been a bit of confusion about what it is exactly and how things work. We’re going to remedy that and talk through everything you need to know about unknown sources. Don’t worry, it’s gonna be fine.

What are ‘Unknown Sources’?

No, not people who leak government stuff to the press. The Android kind of unknown sources. It’s a scary label for a simple thing: a source for apps you want to install that is not trusted.

Unknown = not vetted directly by Google.

When we see the word “trusted” used this way, it means a little more than it usually would. In this case, trust means the same as it does for a web certificate and everyone involved on all sides will vouch for the source. Google says you can trust Google Play and Samsung Apps (for example) because they don’t require you to enable the installation of unknown (not in the circle of trust) sources to install apps from either. Samsung feels the same way and so does your carrier.

In short, a trusted source is one that the company you gave your money to, the company who built it, and the company who wrote the software all have vouched for.

Why is there even a setting for this?

Half the people reading this will think that no company should allow us to install apps they do not trust. The other half will think that nobody should be telling me what apps I can and can’t install. Having a setting in place is the only real solution.

It’s not really a good idea to just let any app from any place get installed on your phone. When you block app installs from places not in that trusted circle, random drive-by downloads can’t happen. Full stop. It’s insanely difficult to find an exploit that can force you to install an app you don’t want. It should be, because that sort of trickery is never done for a good reason. Going one step further and just outright blocking the darn things is the type of over-the-top phone security Google loves.

And Google doesn’t claim that apps from other places are a bad thing. It has a whole page that tells app devs how to go about offering apps without putting them in the Play Store. All Google has to say about the Unknown Sources setting is:

User opt-in for apps from unknown sources

Android protects users from inadvertent download and install of apps from locations other than Google Play (which is trusted). It blocks such installs until the user opts in to Unknown sources in Settings > Security on their device. Users need to make this configuration change before they download your apps to their devices.

Note that some network providers don’t allow users to install applications from unknown sources.

Google is cool with developers doing it and cool with you downloading and installing them. But they make sure you opt in for it before you do.

Are unknown sources a bad thing?

Nope. But enabling the setting for no good reason or leaving it on all the time is.

The internet is a big place. There are plenty of places to get apps that are as trustworthy as Google or Samsung or LG or any other company with their own on-device app store. You just need to do a tiny bit of poking around to make sure a place is trustworthy before you grab an app from it.

The Unknown Sources setting is like the stove: turn it off when you’re done using it.

Reading this article is a good start. Read other Android websites, too. We’re not afraid to tell you when you can trust something or some place. Here are two places I trust as much as anything from Google: Amazon and F-Droid. I use them both and am not afraid to tell you to use them if they have something you want. And everyone else here would say the same thing. In essence, Android Central trusts Amazon and F-Droid and thinks you can, too. But because of Google’s definition of trust, in this case, they can’t. Knowing that both Amazon and the folks running F-Droid scan all their files and are diligent about how they are distributing them isn’t enough for Google because they need to do those things themselves before they trust a source.

What is a bad habit is leaving the unknown sources box checked if you don’t need to. If an app you installed will run with the setting disabled, disable it until you need it again. If an app won’t run without it enabled, find out why before you install it.

You’re still protected

Google wants to scan every single app you install right before you install it. It will ask you to let it do so and to let it do it in the future the first time you try. At Google I/O, we were told that Google scans 50 billion apps per day to ferret out any with malware, including the ones you are installing. And this doesn’t depend on having the latest version of Android. Every single phone with access to Google Play running Android 4 or higher has these protections built in through Google’s Play Services feature. While no type of scanning is going to be 100% foolproof, chances are someone else has installed that app before you and Google has looked at it, and they will look harder if it does anything fishy. Or has a hidden ability to do anything fishy.

Fifty. Billion. Every day. That’s a helluva lot of apps.

Google, Apple, Samsung, and every other company takes the integrity of their app store very seriously. Nothing makes them look worse than me telling you about bad apps that slipped through, so they do everything they can to keep it from happening. In this case, that benefit rolls over to apps you installed from elsewhere. Win all around!

Why don’t companies just put their apps in Google’s Play Store?

That’s a question with a big, convoluted answer that no two people will agree on. Let’s just say that Google places some restrictions on ways developers can make money. Not everyone is willing to accept those restrictions.

Of course, test apps and beta apps and project apps are better off being hosted locally and set to whoever needs them. But for big production ready apps, not everyone wants to use Google Play.

How do I turn Unknown Sources on?

Open the device settings. Look for a gear icon in the notification shade near the top left corner and tap on it.
Scroll down to the Security section and tap to open it.
Scroll down to the entry labeled Unknown sources and read the subtext because you should always read any and all subtext in a “security” section of settings.
Read the pop-up box that tells you Google isn’t responsible if you install apps from places they do not explicitly trust and click OK to enable the setting.

You disable the setting the exact same way. Toggle the switch off and installation is once again blocked for apps downloaded outside of trusted app stores.

So should I enable the setting?

If you want to install an app that you trust — you know the source and are sure they aren’t pulling a fast one and that the app is exactly as the developers have written it, then you can enable it when you need it.

There are a lot of different ways to define trust, but we think that word of mouth is one of the best ones. Your friends, people in forums and comments, and your favorite Android blog can tell you whether or not they think you should trust a thing or place, and whoever is saying it should be willing to tell you why.

Most importantly, you don’t have to worry about temporarily enabling Unknown Sources if you trust a place that has an app you want to install.

I trust Amazon because it vets every app in its store and it is a popular source. That means if an app slips through, it will get caught quickly. I trust F-Droid because every app it offers has the full source code available and provides a checksum to make sure you’re downloading a verified copy that it compiled itself. Not everyone wants the source code. You don’t necessarily have to know either of these things because someone else has looked into it and the information is available. You should still do any personal vetting that you need to feel comfortable, but generally, a site that’s not trustworthy is going to be talked about even more.

Do a little bit of homework and you’re golden. Just be sure to turn the setting back off once you’re done installing your apps.

Wrapping it up

This is a simple breakdown to make sure everyone can understand what’s going on when asked to enable the Unknown Sources setting or when you see people warning against it. There are other more nerdy things like signing keys and heuristic scanning that could be talked about, but we feel that will muddy the water a little. If you’re the type of person interested in the minutiae, the Android Developers site has plenty of information about how Google Play works and what else Google does to make it safe. It’s great reading if you’re inclined.

For everyone else, just know that the Unknown Sources setting isn’t really a mystery or anything to be afraid of if you need it. And when you don’t make sure it’s turned off.

Stay safe!

Updated January 2018: With all the security worries lately, we’ve refreshed this piece to help you protect your devices and data.

How to get the most from your Chromebook touchpad

It may only be one big button, but the multi-touch touchpad on your Chromebook can do just about anything you would ask of it.

Your Chromebook’s touchpad is simple to set up and use, and a couple of handy features make it more than just a way to move the mouse pointer. With multi-touch gestures, you’ll be able to navigate web pages and apps easier, as well as see everything you’re working on at a glance. And yes, you can move the mouse pointer, too.

The touchpad on current Chromebooks is a one-piece unit missing the buttons you might be used to with other laptops. Instead, the touchpad itself is a button, and multi-touch — being able to register multiple actions at once — takes care of the rest. Because you might be used to having buttons for right and left clicking, we’ll start with the basics.

How to adjust your touchpad settings

To begin, have a look at the settings page, and you’ll find where you can adjust the pointer speed and a section for touchpad settings where you can enable tap to click, swapping your primary mouse button and using Australian scrolling.

• Tap to click is a setting that lets you tap your finger on the touchpad to do the same thing as a click would do on a regular button. If you want to use gestures you’ll want to keep this enabled.
• Swap your primary mouse button does the same thing it would do with a mouse or a trackpad with actual buttons. It switches actions that need a left click into actions that need a right click, and vice versa.
• Australian scrolling is having the screen scroll the opposite direction your fingers are moving on the touchpad. Traditional scrolling moves your view up the page when you scroll up, and Australian scrolling moves your view down the page when you scroll up.

When you’re done adjusting your settings, click OK to save them.

How to use the touchpad to control the cursor

Next, we’ll cover the basics of pointing, clicking and navigating. If you’re used to using a mouse, these will take a bit of time to get used to. Alternatively, you can use a mouse with your Chromebook if you would rather. It’s still worth learning how to use the touchpad for those times when your mouse batteries are dead and that drawer in the kitchen with a fresh or charged set seems miles away.

• To move the pointer, move one finger across the trackpad in the direction you want the pointer to move.
• To click on something, tap or press down on the lower half (the half closest to your body) of the touchpad with one finger.
• To right click, tap or press down on any spot of the touchpad with two fingers.You can also right-click by pressing the Alt key then tapping or clicking with one finger.
• To middle click, tap or press anywhere on the touchpad with three fingers.
• To drag and drop, tap or press the thing you want to drag with one finger and move the pointer while holding down. Let go when your pointer is where you want to drop it. You can also press and hold with one finger then move the pointer with a second finger.

How to use gestures on your touchpad

Gestures are that little extra which can make an experience better. Some apps may have their own gestures, like a three-finger swipe left and right to skim through Chrome browser tabs, but there are three common ones that work with everything you do on your Chromebook.

• To scroll, drag two fingers on the touchpad.
• Scrolling right and left, acts as forwards and back buttons. The faster you swipe the faster you will navigate. This setting is universal and works anywhere you can move horizontally.
• Scrolling up and down, moves the window content up and down. See Australian scrolling above for an option.
• To see all open windows. swipe up or down with three fingers on the touchpad. If you have Australian scrolling enabled, swipe up. Otherwise, swipe down.

Most of these are along the lines for features you find in any laptop with a good touchpad or trackpad, with or without buttons. They’re not too revolutionary. They do make working with the touchpad on your Chromebook as easy as using a mouse!

Updated January 2018: Updated with fresh tips on how to use your Chromebook touchpad to its fullest.

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Dell breaks down its new XPS laptops and jewelry debut

Dell’s new XPS 13 and XPS 15 laptops are promising additions to a popular series, but the company has continued to place the system’s webcams below the screen, making for awkwardly angled Skype calls. The company’s marketing director of the XPS products Donnie Oliphant explained that it’s because the display bezel is too thin to accommodate a camera on top. Hopefully, that will change in the future, as Oliphant said the goal is to ultimately place a camera inside the display. Check out the video above to see what else he had to say about the new XPS laptops, Dell’s future plans and its new e-waste recycling initiative with actor Nikki Reed.

Click here to catch up on the latest news from CES 2018.