AMD announces two new VPs of Radeon graphics, filling void left by Raja Koduri

Remember when AMD’s graphics chief left for Intel? AMD has announced the appointment of two new Senior Vice Presidents to take over and assuage fears that Radeon’s development might suffer such a high-profile loss. The two new Radeon heads will both be taking on Senior Vice President roles at AMD’s Radeon Technologies Group. Mike Rayfield is the new Senior Vice President and General Manager, while David Wang is Senior Vice President of Engineering.

“Mike will be responsible for strategy and business management for RTG, including consumer and professional graphics as well as our semi-custom products,” the press release reads. “[David’s] past roles at AMD included the position of corporate vice president responsible for SOC development of processor products, including GPUs, CPUs and APUs.”

In short, it’s good news for AMD, and very good news for anyone worried about the Radeon group’s future. With the departure of such a high-profile figure like Raja Koduri — to competitor Intel, no less — the Radeon group could have been left in a precarious position with regards to its ongoing development efforts. These two new hires — well, one hire, and one promotion — make it clear that AMD has no intention of losing ground to Nvidia or other competitors in the graphics market.

“Mike and David are industry leaders who bring proven track records of delivering profitable business growth and leadership product roadmaps,” said AMD President and CEO Dr. Lisa Su. “We enter 2018 with incredible momentum for our graphics business based on the full set of GPU products we introduced last year for the consumer, professional, and machine learning markets. Under Mike and David’s leadership, I am confident we will continue to grow the footprint of Radeon across the gaming, immersive, and GPU compute markets.”

The press release goes on to describe how Mike Rayfield and David Wang will help usher in a new era for the Radeon group and it’s not wrong. The market for graphics cards is currently getting a little weird. With cryptocurrency miners crowding out enthusiasts, and prices skyrocketing, the development of new and innovative GPU solutions is something every PC enthusiast should keep an eye on.

Editors’ Recommendations

• After teaming with AMD, Intel poaches its graphics guru to build its own GPUs
• Intel’s ‘Hades Canyon’ NUC packs gaming hardware into just 1.2 liters
• AMD’s Mark Papermaster on why its collab with Intel is good for Radeon fans
• AMD’s Adrenalin Edition driver sports shorter name, longer feature list
• AMD CEO shows off first laptop packing a Ryzen-branded chip at Best Buy

The pages of this book have working circuits that teach you how electronics work

We have to look all the way back to Google Cardboard to find an example of when the tech and, err, wood pulp-based worlds converged as beautifully as they do with a new book freshly arrived on Kickstarter. Called Papier Machine (we see what they did there!), it’s an attractive tome bringing together six different electronic paper toys to help you or your kids better understand the world of electronics.

Like an interactive scratch-and-sniff book for the Snapchat generation, what makes Papier Machine so neat is that it doesn’t just tell you about how different electronics projects work — it shows you. The book essentially comprises a series of different electronics kits, which the user completes by cutting out pieces, assembling items, coloring in, and more.

“There is no knowledge needed,” Agnes Agullo, one of the project creators, told Digital Trends. “It’s designed for everyone curious. Anyone can interact with paper. Even someone not attracted by electronics can find it interesting. To adults, it should remind you of some old games you played when you were little. To children, it will stimulate curiosity and help [them comprehend] the world without having to touch a screen. To teachers, this should be what you’d use to have your students like electronics.”

One example of the kind of project you can assemble with Papier Machine is a wind sensor, in which a circuit is completed with the aid of wind, breath or some other form of air agitation. Depending on how and where air is blown onto the page, the contact zone evolves and so does the sound. Another involves a music sheet which can be “played” by a rolling metallic marble that completes a circuit and triggers a sound each time it crosses a hand-drawn graphite zone. By coloring in different sections, you can control when the sound is played.

Although we haven’t yet gotten our hands on Papier Machine, it looks brilliant — and just the kind of thing to promote an interest in electronics and circuitry at a time when we’re worried about simply putting our kids in front of a screen to learn.

It can currently be reserved on Kickstarter, where a single Papier Machine book, notebook and poster will set you back 45 euros ($55). Shipping is set to take place in July.

Editors’ Recommendations

• This amazing 3D-printed radio works, despite having no battery or outlet plug
• New 3D-printing technique uses UV light to print working electronic circuits
• A working version of the canceled Xbox smartwatch surfaces
• Samsung is working on a detachable two-in-one Chromebook
• Qualcomm is working on patches to address Meltdown and Spectre flaws

‘Far Cry 5’ on PC will support multi-GPU configurations, 4K at 60 fps

Ubisoft updated the official Far Cry website with the minimum and recommended system requirements for gamers who want to play the fifth installment on PC. The minimum processor requirements aren’t that high, but you need 8GB of system memory at the very least, and a GeForce GTX 670 or Radeon R9 270 graphics card/chip to play the game at a 720p resolution using the low video preset. 

Here are the requirements: 

Minimum
1,280 x 720
Low video preset

Recommended
1,920 x 1,080 at 60 fps
High video preset

Processor: 

Intel Core i5-2400
AMD FX-6300

Intel Core i7-4770
AMD Ryzen 5 1600

Graphics: 

GeForce GTX 670
Radeon R9 270

GeForce GTX 970
Radeon R9 290X

Memory: 

8GB

8GB

OS: 

Windows 7 SP1 / 8.1 / 10
64-bit only

Windows 7 SP1 / 8.1 / 10
64-bit only

 Not too shabby, right? But the love doesn’t stop there. If you have the hardware, Ubisoft provides a list of what you need to run Far Cry 5 at a 3,840 x 2,160 resolution, aka 4K or 2160p, at 30 and 60 frames per second. Here are the hardware requirements: 

4K at 30 fps
High video preset 

4K at 60 fps
High / Ultra video preset 

Processor: 

Intel Core i7-6700
AMD Ryzen 5 1600X 

Intel Core i7-6700K
AMD Ryzen 7 1700X 

Graphics: 

GeForce GTX 1070
Radeon RX Vega 56 

GeForce GTX 1080 in SLI
Radeon RX Vega 56 in CrossFire 

Memory: 

16GB 

16GB 

Operating system: 

Windows 10 64-bit only 

Windows 10 64-bit only 

 We’re going to presume that you only need a single GTX 1080 or Radeon RX Vega 56 graphics card to run the game using the high video preset at 2160p and 60 frames per second. The need for two or more cards in SLI or CrossFire mode likely applies to running the same 2160p/60 fps combo using the ultra graphics preset. Meanwhile, here are all the graphics cards supported by the game at launch: 

Nvidia 

AMD 

GeForce GTX 670 or better 

Radeon R9 270 or better 

GeForce GTX 760 or better 

Radeon R7 370 or better 

GeForce GTX 950 or better 

Radeon RX 460 or better 

GeForce GTX 1050 or better 

Radeon RX Vega 56 or better 

Far Cry 5 will arrive on Windows-based PCs along with the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 consoles on March 27, 2018. The PC version will include a built-in benchmark feature and video memory usage meter to better calibrate the game’s settings for the optimal performance and visuals on your system. These settings include a frames-per-second lock, field of view adjustment, and resolution scaling. The game will auto-calibrate the settings based on the installed hardware too if you’re not in a tweaking mood. 

“PC has always been a key element of Far Cry’s DNA, and this couldn’t be truer with Far Cry 5,” said Kirill Bragin, PC version producer on Far Cry 5. As shown in the hardware specifications, Ubisoft also indicates that Far Cry 5 will support multi-GPU configurations, which isn’t the case for many games brought to the PC. The company will likely reveal additional PC-based secrets as we grow closer to the game’s March release. 

“This is just a sneak peek at some of the features we are excited about for the PC version,” Bragin added. 

Editors’ Recommendations

• AMD vs. Intel: How does tech’s oldest rivalry look in 2018?
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• Intel ‘Hades Canyon’ NUC hands-on review
• Cheap, fast laptop gaming is finally becoming reality at CES 2018

DJI Mavic Air hands-on review

Research Center:
DJI Mavic Air

The Mavic Air, according to DJI, is the company’s most intelligent drone yet. Michael Perry, the managing director for DJI in North America, said that after launching the Mavic Pro, the company went back to the drawing board to create “a brand new class of drones that empowers everyone to create without limits.”

“We had to improve on all our key breakthrough technologies,” Perry added.

That meant DJI had to improve the camera, obstacle detection and avoidance, gesture-based controls, and flight performance. And all that work led to the Mavic Air, a compact, foldable drone that fits easily inside any bag, yet has the performance and image capture that were “once possibly only in larger and more expensive drones,” Perry said.

During the Mavic Air’s launch event, we had an opportunity to try the gesture controls for ourselves. DJI also demoed the Mavic Air’s obstacle avoidance system, and while we weren’t able to fly the drone, we received a good look at it works. We will have a full review shortly, where we can talk more about image quality and flight performance, but here are our first impressions.

Pocket friendly, speed demon

The Mavic Air slots between the DJI Spark and DJI Mavic Pro not only in price, but also size. It’s slightly larger than the Spark, yet fits inside a coat pocket (when folded up), and boasts more advanced features than its smaller sibling.

Roughly the size of a smartphone in width and height, the Mavic Air is about as thick as a small paperback book, and relatively lightweight. According to DJI, the Mavic Air is 41 percent lighter and half the size of the Mavic Pro. Its arms fold in, with a stronger hinge design. However, unlike the propellers on other DJI drones, the Mavic Air’s do not fold.

Les Shu/Digital Trends

Les Shu/Digital Trends

Les Shu/Digital Trends

Les Shu/Digital Trends

Design wise, it’s more similar to the Spark than the original Mavic Pro. However, DJI said it had to reengineer how drones have been built when designing the Mavic Air. To increase the transmission performance, DJI placed the omnidirectional antenna in the landing gear, away from the body. The Mavic Air also uses a new ventilation system, near the gimbal, that pulls air in from the front and out through the back, which helps prevent overheating.

Although DJI was not able to demo flight performance within the event space, the Mavic Air has a top speed rated at 42.5 miles per hour when in sport mode, making it the fastest Mavic drone yet. DJI also says it fly more stably in high-wind situations, and can take off from as high as 16,404 feet above sea level.

The Mavic Air allegedly boasts a maximum flight time of 21 minutes, and while that isn’t as long as the Mavic Pro, it is a smaller drone after all. Still, it’s nothing to brag about.

The drone also includes a joystick controller that folds up, making it compact as well. DJI said the controller has a range of up to 2.5 miles.

Enhanced imaging system

The camera is capable of shooting 4K at 30 frames per second (fps) and 100Mbps, as well as slo-mo in Full HD 1080 at 120 fps. The camera uses a 1/2.3-inch, 12-megapixel CMOS sensor, and is attached to a three-axis gimbal for stabilization — a first in a drone of this size, according to DJI. But the company said the gimbal is also more precise and durable due to its recessed casing and vibration dampeners.

We can’t comment on image quality yet, but from what we saw during the presentation, photos and videos look generally solid, especially when projected onto a large screen. DJI even brought noted photographer Chris Burkard onstage to show off some great looking photos he shot using the drone.

What we’re looking forward to trying are some of the shooting modes. The drone can shoot a 32-megapixel spherical panorama akin to a 360-degree image; 25 high-res images are stitched in-camera using computational imaging, and the whole process takes just a single minute to complete.

The Mavic Air also introduces Asteroid and Boomerang to its Quickshot suite, which adds creative effects to your aerial shots. With Asteroid, a sphere panorama is stitched together with a short video clip, while Boomerang creates a flight path around the pilot that creates a reveal of what’s around. Both features drew applause from the crowd, and while they may just have been DJI employees, the new modes look like fun nonetheless.

The drone also has improved Active Track functionality for locking in on a subject and tracking it. DJI said the Mavic Air has a higher tracking precision than previous drones, and algorithms help prevent subject loss when there are changes in speed or direction.

Even experienced drone pilots sometimes forget their memory cards, or a card runs out of space. As a backup, the Mavic Air has 8GB of internal storage.

Smarter gesture controls

Gesture controls, or what DJI calls Smart nCapture, can be found in the Mavic Pro and Spark, but they are limited. With the Mavic Air, users now have greater control over the drone without using a remote or app.

Gesture controls work very well, while the obstacle detection system is DJI’s best yet.

Using one hand, the pilot can control lift-off and landing, and also move the drone side-to-side or up-and-down. With two hands, you can fly the Mavic Air toward you or away from you, simply by spreading your hands apart or moving them closer together (thankfully, the obstacle avoidance system is smart enough to never bring the drone too close to you). Triggering a selfie is as easy as flashing a peace sign with your fingers, while initiating a video recording can be done by making a frame with your thumbs and index fingers. This is the one feature we were able to try, and we must say it works well and is tons of fun. Controlling a flying robot with a wave of your hand makes you feel very god-like.

Of course, for more advanced operation you would still need the remote or app, but for quick shots within your surroundings, gesture control works well.

Better obstacle avoidance

DJI calls the Mavic Air its most intelligent drone yet, and an example of this is its improved obstacle avoidance system. Using seven sensors (forward, downward, and backward) for “three-directional environment sensing,” the Mavic Air can detect objects far in advance and make smart decisions on how to avoid them.

DJI Mavic Air Compared To

Propel Star Wars Battle Drones

DJI Spark

DJI Inspire 2

Parrot Bebop 2 FPV

Hover Camera Passport

3DR Solo Drone

DJI Phantom 4 Pro

Yuneec Breeze

Parrot DISCO FPV

eHang Ghostdrone 2.0

Horizon Hobby Chroma

Yuneec Typhoon H drone

Yuneec Typhoon Q500 4K

Parrot BeBop Drone

dji Phantom 2 Vision+

During a demo, a pilot flew the Mavic Air toward some fake trees. As the drone came toward a tree, it automatically swerved around it to continue its forward path. The drone recognized the object early on and made the maneuver even as the pilot continued to have his thumb in the forward position on the remote. The Mavic Air can go around or above objects, but DJI said the drone will pick the option that uses the least amount of battery life.

Called Advanced Pilot Awareness System (APAS), DJI said it took several years of research on flight path calculation. It allows pilots to fly with confidence, but more importantly, it could help pilots avoid crashes, which is something that turns people off instantly from flying.

A smarter and safer consumer drone

When used effectively, a drone lets you create amazing aerial shots. The compact design makes the Mavic Air more approachable than, say, the Mavic Pro or GoPro’s outgoing Karma Drone, yet it has some excellent features that make it a high-performance drone that captures great image quality. Plus, did we mention it’s pretty damn fast?

The Mavic Air won’t replace the Mavic Pro or Spark, as all three drones cater to different users. For example, the Mavic Pro has a longer flight time and better wind resistance, while the Spark has a more affordable cost of entry, more compact design, and is well-suited for beginners. The Mavic Air, however, certainly offers the best of both worlds (and then some) — so while the $799 starting price isn’t cheap, we think this little drone is incredibly well-rounded and appealing.

We also think the improved obstacle avoidance system is a great feature for new users, as is the real-time geofencing that helps you avoid restricted areas. These features and the others mentioned above certainly make a drone easier and fun to fly, but is it enough to attract new drone buyers, especially in a time where there are few places to fly these things? That’s something we will certainly be looking at in our full review.

Honor 7X vs. Honor 6X: Which should you buy?

A small difference in price for small differences in devices.

Last year’s Honor 6X was one of the best devices in the budget category, offering long battery life, a sturdy metal build, and reasonably good dual cameras. Naturally, we were excited when the company refreshed its lineup with the Honor 7X, and it once again proved to be a powerful budget contender.

Rather than eliminating the 6X from its selection, Honor is still selling both devices through its online store, which begs the question … which one should you buy? We’re here to help you make that decision.

What the Honor 7X does better

A quick glance at the 7X is all it takes to notice some pretty significant updates to the Honor design. The new 18:9 display brings a modern feel to the phone, and the dual camera layout has been rearranged to sit along the antenna line.

Because the display of the Honor 7X is taller than that of the 6X in roughly the same-sized body, it also covers a larger footprint — 5.93 inches vs. 5.5 inches, respectively. This means more room for scrolling lists, web pages, and photos. It’s also a better looking panel; both are IPS LCD, but the Honor 7X gets noticeably brighter than the Honor 6X.

A taller aspect ratio can go a long way.

Internally, the SoC has been bumped from a Kirin 655 to a Kirin 659, but just about everything else is the same; both the Honor 7X and 6X have 3 to 4GB of RAM, and either 32GB or 64GB of microSD-expandable storage. Each phone also boasts a 3340mAh battery, along with a dual SIM tray.

The Honor 7X ships with EMUI 5.1 running over Android 7.1 Nougat. While not hugely different, it brings a number of small improvements over EMUI 5.0, including better resource management, an improved gallery, and faster app launching.

The cameras have also seen a slight upgrade. Last year’s 12MP/2MP camera combo around the back has been bumped up to a 16MP/2MP pairing, though the 8MP sensor up front has stayed the same.

See at Amazon

Where the Honor 6X still holds its own

Despite the 7X’s improvements, the Honor 6X is still a great budget device. Its Kirin 655 chipset is plenty fast enough for daily operation (though it chokes up a bit at times), and just like the 7X, the large 3,340mAh battery translates to impressive longevity.

The Honor 6X is one of the few phones in its class to feature a rear-mounted fingerprint sensor, with fast and accurate readouts. And while it may not have the 18:9 aspect ratio of the newer 7X, the Honor 6X still has relatively slim bezels above and below the display — we’ve certainly seen much worse on much more expensive phones.

There’s also something to be said about build quality. The Honor 6X features a mostly metal design, and feels more premium than most of the other phones in its price range. Its curved backing feels comfortable in the hand, and the hardware buttons are clicky and responsive.

See at Amazon

Which should you buy?

If you’re already rocking the Honor 6X, there’s no real reason to upgrade. EMUI 5.1 certainly isn’t enough to make 5.0 feel outdated, and while the modernized design of the Honor 7X is nice, the 6X is still a solid performer with good battery life and premium materials.

The updated software and design of the Honor 7X are easily worth the extra $20.

If, however, you don’t own either device and you’re shopping for something new, the Honor 7X easily justifies its $20 premium over the 6X — the elongated aspect ratio means more room for apps, and the 16MP camera sensor has a slight edge in sharpness and low-light performance. It’s also likely to receive better long-term support — hopefully including an update to Oreo some time in the near future.

If you haven’t made up your mind and ordered the 7X yet, maybe the fancy new red paint job will help sway your decision.

Google Home can link to specific Netflix profiles based on your voice

Now your Google Home knows who’s watching what on Netflix.

The Google Home was an awesome smart speaker when it first launched in late 2016, but it was made even better last August with support for multiple users based on voice recognition. This made the Google Home a much more viable option for homes with multiple people, and now it’s getting even better with Netflix integration.

If you already have multiple profiles set up with your Google Home, adding your Netflix info is dead simple. Within the Google Home app, head to Menu -> More Settings -> Videos and Photos. From here, you’ll want to tap Manage Profile under the Netflix icon. This will take you to Netflix’s website, and you’ll be able to choose which Netflix profile you want linked to your Google Home/Assistant.

With this done, Google Home will know which profile to use when you ask it to play something on Netflix based on which voice it hears.

Each person in your home will need to go through this same process to link their Google and Netflix accounts together, but it thankfully just takes a few seconds and will ensure that you aren’t getting recommendations for new shows to watch based on what your kids, spouse, or roommate is watching.

Audiobooks now available on Google Play without a monthly subscription

Elon Musk’s second LA tunnel faces criticism from local government

Elon Musk’s Boring Company hasn’t finished digging its first LA-area tunnel, but it’s already talking about a second… and it’s facing some resistance. The startup has pitched Culver City’s council on a 6.5-mile “proof of process” tunnel between the town and LA that would gauge its ability to build across jurisdictions, which is rather vital when you’re planning large-scale transportation systems. This wouldn’t be as focused on individual cars, however — rather, the emphasis would be on mass transit that it has previously hinted at in vague terms.

The Boring Company devoted its attention to the Loop, a system of small multi-passenger pods (8 to 16 people each) that would shuttle you across the city. This wouldn’t be a direct subway equivalent. While it would have numerous stations, a pod would carry everyone aboard to one station instead of pausing at every station along the way. The autonomous electric skates carrying these pods would be faster than conventional public transportation, the company argues, and would have “comparable, if not lower” fares than existing options. They’d serve as supplements to LA County’s MTA and wouldn’t require public funds.

It sounds good at first glance, but there’s a significant amount of pushback. There are concerns that this would compete against and undermine public options, and that a private system wouldn’t be held to the same standards. Public transportation is held to certain standards for affordability and coverage that the Boring Company wouldn’t have to fulfill. The city council might not greenlight Musk’s vision until it has promises that its tunnel pods would be affordable and easy to use.

Source: Culver City (PDF), Wired

The ‘God of War’ reboot comes to the PS4 on April 20th

It’s been nearly two years since Sony announced it would revitalize the God of War franchise, and now we finally know when Kratos’ next adventure will arrive. The next game in the series, simply titled God of War, will be available on April 20th. To go along with the release date, Sony has also detailed some extremely lavish and expensive pre-order bundles and released a new trailer. The latter will likely be more exciting to fans, so let’s start there, shall we?

The trailer gives us more detail about the game’s plot than any preview we’ve seen thus far. As we already know, Kratos will be journeying through the world of Norse mythology with his son — it seems that the pair are on a mission to bring the boy’s mother’s ashes to a far-off location as her last wish. But along the way, the fact that Kratos is a god (which also appears to make his son some sort of immortal being, as well) will cause some problems between the pair. The trailer features many quieter, character-driven moments than one might typically expect in a God of War game, but don’t worry — there are also teases of many giant monsters that should be a delight to take on.

As for pre-orders, Sony is selling a $130 collector’s edition that includes the game, a steelbook case, a nine-inch statue of Kratos and son Atreus, two wooden figurine carvings, a cloth map and a lithograph. Naturally, there are in-game items, as well, including a shield, armor, a comic, artwork gallery and PS4 theme. If that’s not enough, an elaborate $150 “Stone Mason” edition includes everything from the collector’s edition plus four more physical artifacts from the game world. They look pretty lovely, but this is clearly only something for the true completist. Finally, for those who don’t care about all the physical goodies, there’s a $70 “digital deluxe” edition that includes all the digital content from the other editions; those who pre-order will also get an enamel pin mailed out to them.

You can also pre-order the standard, $60 game at most retailers now, if you don’t need all these extras. Putting aside all the semi-crass marketing that unfortunately comes with every big game release, the trailer makes God of War look all that much more intriguing. If you were a fan of Kratos’ earlier adventures but got a bit burnt out as Sony milked the franchise dry, this new game seems like it’ll be a good place to get back on board.

Source: Sony

This is why you shouldn’t bite an iPhone battery

We’re nothing if not helpful here at Engadget and we’re always looking out for your wellbeing. So today we have a little bit of advice for you: Don’t bite your iPhone battery. One man found this out the hard way, Appleinsider reports, causing a minor explosion at an electronics store in China.

You can check out a video of the incident here. It shows the man bringing an iPhone battery up to his face, then biting it, and as he removes the battery from his mouth, it explodes. Taiwan News reported that the customer was at the store buying a replacement battery for his iPhone and that because Chinese electronics stores often carry fake Apple products, the man was probably biting it as a way to test its authenticity.

Apparently nobody was hurt and the video — CCTV footage posted to Miaopai.com — is nearing five million views. However, that no one was injured by the blast is probably just a major stroke of luck, so please don’t go repeating it just for fun. We don’t need battery biting to be the next Tide Pod Challenge.

Via: AppleInsider

Source: Miaopai.com

Apple’s latest iOS update brings Siri news briefs and HomePod support

Siri’s news reading feature is no longer limited to the beta testing crowd. Apple has officially released iOS 11.2.5, and the centerpiece is the ability to ask Siri for the latest happenings. If you’re in the US, UK or Australia, you can get a briefing from a slew of local sources, such as NPR and the Washington Post in the states or the BBC and Sky News in the UK. And it doesn’t have to be general news, either — you can ask for business, music or sports news as well.

Not surprisingly, 11.2.5 is also key to unlocking support for the HomePod speaker. If you happen to score Apple’s Siri-savvy device, you can set it up and transfer all your account details in one fell swoop.

The release comes alongside a slew of updates for the Apple TV, Apple Watch and macOS, although they’re mostly minor. The biggest improvements come for Mac users: macOS High Sierra 10.13.3 fixes a number of security issues (such as running code when playing malicious sound files), while those still running Sierra or El Capitan are getting fixes for Meltdown.