2018 February | AIVAnet

28

Feb

The lightest laptops you can buy

Every manufacturer likes to make ambitious claims about how light or thin its laptops are — they do, after all, have to compete with iPads and 2-in-1s. Because of that, designers and engineers do everything they can to lighten the load and make their laptops more portable. A lot of time that comes with its own set of compromises, whether it’s in the cooling system or in the sturdiness of the build.

But setting all that side, which laptops are actually the lightest of them all? Let’s take a look at the five lightest laptops on the market that really push the limit when it comes to shedding the pounds.

The lightest

Samsung Notebook 9

Bill Roberson/Digital Trends

Although lacking the big focus on the stylus like its range companion, the Notebook 9 Pen, the Samsung Notebook 9 is an extremely lightweight and portable laptop. Weighing in at just 1.8 pounds, its powerful Core i7-7500U CPU, 16GB of RAM, and 256GB of solid-state storage mean it’s no slouch in the performance department either.

Its battery isn’t the best out there, so portability isn’t as great as some of the slightly heftier laptops out there if you’re looking for all day operation, but when it comes to saving your back as you lug around a laptop, the Notebook 9 is hard to beat. It also has a great selection of ports, so is incredibly functional considering its small size. Its display quality is excellent too. Read our full review here.

Buy one now at:

Amazon Newegg

The rest

Apple MacBook

The 12-inch MacBook updates the standard MacBook with a new screen and more storage, but the weight manages to stay extra-low, bringing this MacBook into the lists of the second lightest at 2.03 pounds (and before you ask: Yes the MacBook Air is actually heavier, names aside).

If you already have a Mac, you know what to expect here. There’s a choice between 1.1GHz and 1.2GHz Intel Core M processors, 8GB of RAM, and storage options ranging from 256GB of onboard flash storage to 512GB. It has just a single Thunderbolt 3 port, and its battery can last for around nine hours of web-surfing.

Of course, MacBooks aren’t exactly known for being cheap: This is one of the most expensive computers on our list, with prices starting at $1,300 and rising to $1,600 for the more advanced models. Read our full review here.

Buy it now from:

Amazon Apple Store

LG Gram

Bill Roberson/Digital Trends

The LG gram 15Z980 we reviewed weighs just 2.42 pounds despite its 15-inch form-factor, which makes it an exceptionally light for its size. The 13.3-inch version trims the fat even more, getting down to a slimline 2.13 pounds.

While the screen’s 1080p resolution doesn’t match the XPS 13, MacBook and others, it’s still reasonably sharp. Battery life is good, though a lot else is In fact, aside from its weight, the word “adequate” probably best describes this system. It doesn’t excel in any area, though it’s still the lightest 15-inch laptop you’ll find out there. Read our full review.

Buy it now from:

LG

Asus ZenBook 3 Deluxe

Bill Roberson/Digital Trends

The Asus ZenBook 3 Deluxe is one of the lightest 14-inch laptops in the world at just 2.4 pounds, and yet it comes with an impressive array of hardware inside its stylish chassis. Along with its 14-inch, 1080P display, it has an eighth-generation Core i7 CPU, up to 16GB of RAM, and in our review unit, 512GB of solid-state storage too.

With a price tag of $1,700 it’s not the cheapest of laptops out there, but when it comes to powerful portability, it’s very capable. It’s a little lacking in terms of ports, though it does ship with a multi-port adaptor to make it more compatible than some of its comparably-streamlined contemporaries. Read our full review here.

Buy one now at:

Amazon Newegg

HP Spectre 13

Mark Coppock/Digital Trends

As a laptop that has even threatened to steal away our hearts from the Dell XPS 13, the HP Spectre 13 is a fantastic laptop for a variety of reasons, but one of its best assets is its trim physique. Although there are smaller laptops out there in the 13-inch form factor, few are lighter. At just 2.45 pounds, it’s supremely portable and with solid eighth-generation Intel hardware under the hood and options for a 4K display, it has great performance too.

It has lost a little rigidity in its frame due to weight cuts, but it does sport a roughly 10-hour battery life during extended media viewing, which is enough to get anyone through a work day or a relatively long-haul flight. Read our full review here.

Buy one now at:

Newegg

Special mention

Microsoft Surface Pro 3 ($800)

Yes, yes, the Surface line aren’t exactly laptops – they’re hybrids, which opens a whole new can of worms in this little competition of ours. Hybrid tablets don’t meet all the qualifications of lightest laptops and if we were to count them in this list it would be nothing but Surfaces and iPads, because they are absolutely the lightest around.

But hybrids still need to be mentioned: If you are really short on space and need a relatively simple machine that’s effortless to tote around, a hybrid is probably your best bet. They are getting increasingly powerful and it won’t be long before they overtake ultrabooks and threaten them with obscurity.

When it comes to utility, the Microsoft Surface Pro is one of your best bets. It has a 12-inch screen (with rumors of larger screens for the Surface 4), Windows 10, and a choice of processors up to an Intel i7 with 8 GB of RAM. Take a look at the Surface Pro 3 or consider the more expensive (and super light when in tablet mode) Surface Book 2. Read our full review here.

Buy it now from:

Amazon

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28

Feb

Wacom Cintiq Pen 24 upsizes the digital canvas — and works solo with Pro Engine

Wacom is making good on its promise to create larger digital canvases for creatives. On Tuesday, February 27, Wacom announced the Cintiq Pro 24-inch pen display alongside the Wacom Cintiq Pro engine, a PC module that turns the displays into a complete workstation without a computer.

Last year, Wacom teased that a 24-inch and 32-inch Cintiq Pro was coming sometime in 2018 but didn’t share full details. Now, Wacom says that the 24-inch 4K pen display will hit stores in mid-March with details on the 32-inch coming later this year. A Pen and Touch Cintiq Pro 24 version, which includes touch navigation alongside the pen, will also be available in May.

Building on the existing 13 and 16-inch Cintiq Pro models, the 24-inch option has a 98-percent Adobe RGD color accuracy rating, which the company says offers a true-to-life display. Updating to the Pro Pen 2 improves the display’s sensitivity to pressure from the pen. That increased sensitivity is mixed with an etched glass on the surface and optical bonding, all changes that Wacom says makes using the pen display more like using pen and paper.

The Cintiq Pro line is designed to be used alongside a computer as a touch-sensitive digital canvas — but Wacom’s new Cintiq Pro Engine will allow the displays to work as a self-contained workstation. The module, available in two versions, eliminates the cords for that computer connection and adds a Windows 10 system to the pen display. The Pro Engine slides into the back of the Cintiq Pro, while adding a new Wacom Ergo Stand creates a stand-alone touch graphics system.

Wacom says the module will support even the most demanding graphics programs, including augmented reality and virtual reality applications, 3D and CAD. That’s because both of the modules house a Nividia Quadro P3200 for graphics, while the Cintiq Pro Engine i5 uses an Intel Core i5HQ processor and the Cintiq Pro Engine Xeon a Intel Xenon processor. Both dedicate 6 GB of memory to graphics, while the pricier Xenon has 32GB of RAM and the i5 has half that.

“It is our mission to help professionals create with the least amount of distraction and clutter and to give them the power to tackle the new spaces of creating content for AR, VR, and MR,” Faik Karaoglu, executive vice president of the creative business unit at Wacom, said in a press release. “The Wacom Cintiq Pro Engine provides a beautiful, easy-to-use solution for creatives everywhere.”

Both versions of the Pro Engine will go on sale in May, listing at $2,499 and $3,200. The Cintiq Pro 24 will list for about $2,000, with the Pen and Touch listing for $2,500. The Pro Engine is compatible with the larger 24-inch and upcoming 32-inch displays, not the previous 13-inch and 16-inch displays.

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28

Feb

In honor of Pokémon Day, there are now apps for both Alexa and Assistant

It may not be Christmas yet, but it sure is Pokémon Day. And some tech companies are celebrating the arrival of the momentous occasion with about as much fanfare as we would expect for St. Nick, especially Amazon and Google. Both companies’ smart assistants now have Pikachu-themed apps available, because is it really a holiday if Alexa and Assistant aren’t involved?

With Pikachu Talk, you can now ask Pikachu anything you would like via either of the company’s A.I.-powered helpers. Pokémon trainers can strike up a lively conversation with Pikachu, telling him about your day, complaining to him about the injustices of the world, and anything in between. Alas, Pikachu won’t exactly provide sound advice — all he’ll be able to say is something along the lines of “Pikaaaaa.” But what more could you really want?

While most Alexa users will be able to access the skill regardless of location, it would appear that only Google Home owners within the United States will be able to take advantage of the Assistant version.

This certainly isn’t the first year that Pokémon Company International has celebrated the holiday, but it is the first time that it’s introduced smart home assistants into the mix. Generally, the gaming company is more keen on using the day to release promotions and branded merchandise, or roll out special edition games. But with the increased ubiquity of Assistant and Alexa, it’s high time that these A.I. helpers got involved.

If you’re not a smart home fanatic, however, don’t panic. Pokémon Company International has thought of you as well. There are three new limited-edition Snapchat lenses with emoji and effects inspired by Pokémon available, too. The first to make its debut features Bulbasaur, while Charmander and Squirtle-inspired lenses will make their debuts in the next few days.

Of course, there’s also a little something for folks who are still playing Pokémon Go (yes, they exist). There will be a Pikachu in a party hat coming out at some point in the near future, and while we doubt you’ll win anything if you spot him, bragging rights must count for something.

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28

Feb

Your Chromebook could soon be easier on the eyes when used in the dark

Let’s face it: Everyone likes a well-designed and well-implemented dark theme, no matter how frivolous or unnecessary it might seem at first glance. It’s a request as old as time itself from Android P users, and although Google has denied the rumors surrounding a dark mode on its mobile operating system, a report stemming from Chrome Unboxed suggests it’s coming soon to the company’s other operating system.

Chrome OS may not have a distinct identity or a cult following of loyalists dead set on grilling the competition, but it does have more than 25 million users and counting, which is nothing to scoff at. With Windows 10‘s Anniversary Update having introduced a dark mode back in summer 2016, it makes sense that Google would treat its Chromebook user base to a similar privilege.

Chrome Unboxed discovered the feature in a developer version of the Chrome OS not available to the general public. Originally, it was limited to the system tray and app launcher, but the outlet is now finding that it’s being more ubiquitously applied to all of its Chrome OS-based devices.

Given that most Chromebooks can now run Android apps with ease, via the Google Play Store, we would bet that it won’t be long before we begin to see a similar feature in the forthcoming Android P, or 9.0.

As of MacOS 10.12 Sierra, Apple’s laptop/desktop operating system also gives users access to a dark mode, however it only applies to the Dock and menu bar. Meanwhile, the Chrome OS dark theme appears to cover more ground.

It’s obvious why users would prefer a dark mode. It’s easier on the eyes in dim lighting, and even during the day with the windows open, it can be less of a distraction for some users. Most of all, though, it’s a nifty customization feature that should be there from the get-go for the sake of personal preference. Whether or not it will make it into a formal Chrome OS update remains to be seen.

Still, if one thing is for certain: Google is at least interested in teasing a dark mode for Chrome OS, or it would have left it out of its certain-to-be-leaked developer build.

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28

Feb

AC Wellness is a new health clinic that exclusively serves Apple employees

Apple has been inching closer and closer toward the medical field as of late, what with its Food and Drug Administration-approved medical device accessory (the KardiaBand) and its own rumored efforts to turn the Apple Watch into a tried-and-true electrocardiogram device. Now, the company has taken its largest and most concrete step in a medical direction. According to CNBC, Apple is launching AC Wellness, a group of health clinics aimed at Apple employees and their families.

Already, Apple launched a website that gives a bit more information about the new clinic. For the time being, AC Wellness is described as “an independent medical practice dedicated to delivering compassionate, effective healthcare to the Apple employee population.” The website notes further, “AC Wellness Network believes that having trusting, accessible relationships with our patients, enabled by technology, promotes high-quality care and a unique patient experience.”

It would appear that the wheels are already in motion to kick off the clinics sooner rather than later. There is a careers page that features job postings for primary care doctors, exercise coaches, care navigators, and a phlebotomist who will administer on-site lab tests. While these clinical staff will not be Apple employees themselves, they will be dedicated to those working for Apple, and as CNBC reports, “will initially only serve Apple’s employees in Santa Clara County, where its headquarters are located.”

As CNBC notes, a search on LinkedIn reveals that ex-Stanford Health Care employees have maintained ties to AC Wellness for at least five months, and while there’s no mention of Apple on these individuals’ profiles, a number of job listings on the AC Wellness site now describe the firm as a “subsidiary of Apple, Inc.”

Of course, given Apple’s reputation as being one of the most innovative companies in the world, its healthcare clinic won’t just provide standard healthcare. Rather, the company is also looking for “designers” who will be able to prevent disease and promote healthy behavior. Ultimately, Apple’s goal is to leverage what it learns from AC Wellness for its employees to help its customers.

If you are waiting for disruption in the healthcare industry, it may just be coming from Apple.

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28

Feb

AC Wellness is a new health clinic that exclusively serves Apple employees

Apple has been inching closer and closer toward the medical field as of late, what with its Food and Drug Administration-approved medical device accessory (the KardiaBand) and its own rumored efforts to turn the Apple Watch into a tried-and-true electrocardiogram device. Now, the company has taken its largest and most concrete step in a medical direction. According to CNBC, Apple is launching AC Wellness, a group of health clinics aimed at Apple employees and their families.

Already, Apple launched a website that gives a bit more information about the new clinic. For the time being, AC Wellness is described as “an independent medical practice dedicated to delivering compassionate, effective healthcare to the Apple employee population.” The website notes further, “AC Wellness Network believes that having trusting, accessible relationships with our patients, enabled by technology, promotes high-quality care and a unique patient experience.”

It would appear that the wheels are already in motion to kick off the clinics sooner rather than later. There is a careers page that features job postings for primary care doctors, exercise coaches, care navigators, and a phlebotomist who will administer on-site lab tests. While these clinical staff will not be Apple employees themselves, they will be dedicated to those working for Apple, and as CNBC reports, “will initially only serve Apple’s employees in Santa Clara County, where its headquarters are located.”

As CNBC notes, a search on LinkedIn reveals that ex-Stanford Health Care employees have maintained ties to AC Wellness for at least five months, and while there’s no mention of Apple on these individuals’ profiles, a number of job listings on the AC Wellness site now describe the firm as a “subsidiary of Apple, Inc.”

Of course, given Apple’s reputation as being one of the most innovative companies in the world, its healthcare clinic won’t just provide standard healthcare. Rather, the company is also looking for “designers” who will be able to prevent disease and promote healthy behavior. Ultimately, Apple’s goal is to leverage what it learns from AC Wellness for its employees to help its customers.

If you are waiting for disruption in the healthcare industry, it may just be coming from Apple.

Editors’ Recommendations

The Apple Watch gets serious — may soon be able to serve as an EKG
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Today, Alexa can order toilet paper. Tomorrow, it may save your life.

28

Feb

Stop Alexa with a wave of your hand with Elliptic Labs’ ultrasound technology

Elliptic Labs has been showing off a new application for its ultrasound-based gesture technology at MWC in Barcelona, and we caught up with the company to get a demo. The idea is that smart speakers with ultrasound virtual sensor technology inside can detect the presence of people and respond to a range of gestures.

Using a prototype consisting of a speaker with Amazon’s Alexa onboard and a Raspberry Pi, Elliptic Labs showed us how you can trigger Alexa with a double tap palm gesture or cut it off in mid-flow with a single palm tap. The gestures can work from some distance away, allowing you to control your smart speaker without having to touch it or utter a word.

If you’re unfamiliar with Elliptic Labs, we met up with the company a couple of years back when it first began to roll its ultrasound gestures out into phones. The hope was that ultrasound might replace proximity sensors in phones and the technology was subsequently integrated into Xiaomi’s Mi Mix handsets, allowing the manufacturer to shrink the bezels right down. The ultrasound sensor can detect when your hand or face is near and turn the screen on or off accordingly. Specific gestures can also be used to scroll around, snap selfies, or even play games.

With more microphones, Elliptic Labs tech can detect more specific gestures or positioning. In a phone with two microphones, this might allow you to wave your hand to turn the volume up or down. Most smart speakers have several microphones now, so there’s a great deal of potential for more gesture controls, or even for triggering specific actions when someone enters or leaves a room.

Elliptic Labs sees ultrasound as free spectrum that’s not being exploited right now and the company is very optimistic about the potential applications.

“Any space where there are humans is fair game,” Guenael Strutt, Elliptic Labs’ VP of Product Development, told Digital Trends. “The possibilities are infinite.”

In the second demonstration we saw at MWC, the smart speaker was hooked up to a light. By placing your hand on one side of the speaker and holding it there you could turn up the light level, while holding your hand at the other side dimmed the bulb. It’s easy to imagine how this same gesture could work to tweak volume levels.

We tested out both prototypes for ourselves and found them very easy and intuitive to use. The technology doesn’t require direct line of sight, because the sound can bounce off a wall, so even if your speaker is tucked behind a lamp or the arm of the couch, you can still use these gestures to control it. We think the stop gesture is the most potentially useful, because it can be tricky to use voice commands to stop Alexa when it starts speaking or plays the wrong song.

There’s no official support for ultrasound tech in smart speakers just yet, but Elliptic Labs has been talking to all the major players – Amazon, Google, and Apple. The company has also been working with chip manufacturers like Qualcomm and suppliers further up the chain in smart speaker manufacture to try and integrate the technology into the chipsets and components that go into smartphones and smart speakers.

Having tried it out, we expect more manufacturers to adopt it in the near future. Smart speakers may be an easier sell than smartphones, though, unless Elliptic Labs can get ultrasound technology into the chipsets that manufacturers buy.

One of the key challenges for smartphones is reducing the power draw of the ultrasound sensor and working out clever ways to determine when it should be listening. Advances in machine learning and processor speed could make an important difference here and Elliptic Labs has been working to determine the optimal model for gesture detection.

We’re excited to see what these ultrasound pioneers come up with next.

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28

Feb

Oregon is the latest state to jump on the net neutrality bandwagon

Oregon is pushing to become another state enforcing its own protection against internet service providers in the wake of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) discontinuing its net neutrality rules. The state’s proposal to create a local net neutrality policy passed the House on Monday, February 26 by a large margin, and now heads to the Senate.

Similar to what New York state now enforces, Oregon’s plan is to block state agencies from conducting business with internet service providers (ISPs) that don’t abide by net neutrality principles. Even though the FCC’s rules will officially go offline in April, state governments still expect ISPs to abide by those rules and treat all content and connections equally.

The big fear with the elimination of net neutrality is that unregulated ISPs will prioritize content. For instance, an ISP could offer its own media streaming service and throttle Netflix streaming speeds. In order for Netflix to have the same flow of data, the ISP could charge Netflix additional fees which would trickle down to subscribers.

While ISPs already provide multiple speed tiers to meet the budgets of all web surfers, blocking and/or prioritizing specific apps and content could lead to dividing the internet into “performance” tiers. Many ISPs already pledge to abide by net neutrality, but so far there is no written guarantee these companies won’t backtrack on their promise.

That is where the states come in. The governors in five states already have net neutrality rules in place including Hawaii, Montana, New Jersey, New York, and Vermont. Eight other states are still working on finalizing their net neutrality rules the old-fashioned way: Iowa, Kansas, Maryland, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Washington, and Wisconsin.

In most cases, these states aren’t regulating internet connections in the home. Instead, they’re making sure state-owned agencies and services aren’t dealing with mischievous content-throttling ISPs. These include educational institutions, offices spread out across the state, and public internet access. Anyone jumping on the internet from these access points is guaranteed a free and open web.

The FCC’s net neutrality rules officially come to a close on April 23 but ISPs won’t be let loose without some sort of a leash. These companies are required to publicly provide their commercial terms of service and must keep the public informed about their network management practices along with performance characteristics. The FCC believes this is a better option than forcing “costly” rules.

But lawmakers feel that pulling business away from ISPs not honoring net neutrality may be influential but won’t change their business practices. Others fear that overreaching state-owned agencies could regulate internet content on their own.

Oregon’s move to force net neutrality follows Washington’s recent bill landing a majority approval in the state House on February 9, which is now facing a vote in the Senate. But like all the other states enforcing their own net neutrality rules, Washington could face a legal battle. The FCC clearly stated that it will block any state-enforced ruleset that contradicts what it already has in place.

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