If you’re still using an old USB charger, it’s probably large, bulky, heavy, slow, and a big heat producer. In short, not an efficient use of your electricity or time. That’s why I often recommend upgrading to something modern with GaN tech, like this extra-compact Anker Nano 3 USB-C wall plug that fits in your palm and only costs $12 on Amazon right now thanks to an awesome 25% discount. View this Amazon deal With a 30W output, this tiny USB-C charger will handle your smartphone just fine, as well as your earbuds, tablet, and anything else that charges via USB-C (or even USB-A if you have the right cable). Using GaN technology, Anker made this adapter more compact and more energy-efficient, and it has safety features like temperature monitoring that protects your connected devices against risks. This fast USB-C wall plug can get your smartphone from 0% to 50% in about 20 minutes, giving you the quick recharge you need before leaving home. It’s ultra-portable, too, at just 1.12 inches thick and weighing 0.1 pounds, plus it has foldable prongs so you can pack it away without worrying that it’ll get damaged or cause damage. It’s an excellent upgrade for anyone who’s still stuck using a crappy power adapter, and the value is unbeatable with this deal. Get it now for just $12! It’s so versatile that it even makes a great stocking stuffer or Secret Santa gift for the holiday season. Get the Anker Nano 3 for 25% off in time for the holidaysBuy now at Amazon Read...

At a glanceExpert`s Rating Pros Large keyboard with good key feel Wide range of physical connectivity Frequently sold at deep discount at retailers Cons 16-inch IPS-LCD display is sharp enough but lacks contrast Intel Core Ultra 7 255U has 12 cores, but only two are performance cores MSRP is way too high—be sure to buy it on sale! Our Verdict The HP Omnibook 5 16 is overpriced at MSRP but is often sold at a steep discount. Even so, it struggles to stand out due to the performance of Intel’s Core Ultra 7 255U, which isn’t as quick as the Core Ultra 7 branding might have you think it is. Price When Reviewed This value will show the geolocated pricing text for product undefined Best Pricing Today Best Prices Today: HP OmniBook 5 16 Retailer Price Check Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket Best Prices Today: Check today’s prices The HP OmniBook 5 16 is an odd duck. It is listed on HP’s website at $1,199.99 and, at that price, doesn’t feel remotely competitive. However, this laptop is also available at far lower prices from major retailers and, when that’s taken into account, it feels like a decent buy. Even so, I can’t help but feel the Intel Core Ultra 7 255U—a chip with just two performance cores and without Intel Arc graphics—is holding this particular configuration back. HP OmniBook 5 16: Specs and features as-tested The HP OmniBook 5 16’s basic specifications are rather typical for a mid-range Windows laptop. It includes an Intel Core Ultra 7 255U processor, 16GB of RAM, and a 512GB solid state drive. One important thing to note, though, is that the Core Ultra 7 255U serves up entry-level “Intel Graphics” rather than Intel’s Arc graphics, so unimpressive graphics performance can be expected. Model number: af1037nr CPU: Intel Core Ultra 7 255U Memory: 16GB LPDDR5x-7467 Graphics/GPU: Intel Graphics NPU: Intel AI Boost (12 TOPS) Display: 16-inch 1920×1200 Storage: 512GB M.2 PCIe 4.0 solid state drive Webcam and microphone: 1080p FHD IR camera Connectivity: 1x USB-A 3 (10Gbps), 1x USB-A 3 (5Gbps), 2x USB-C 3 (10Gbps) with DisplayPort 1.4a, 1x HDMI 2.1 Networking: Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3 Biometrics: Windows Hello facial recognition Battery capacity: 59 watt-hours Dimensions: 14.08 x 10.03 x 0.73 inches Weight: 3.92 pounds Operating System: Windows 11 Home Price: $1,199.99 MSRP, $500 to $800 typical retail HP’s website lists this model at an MSRP of $1,199.99, which is very high for the laptop’s specifications. However, most retailers are selling the OmniBook 5 16 for around $500 to $800; the lowest price I could find was $479 from Walmart over the Black Friday weekend, which has since risen to $599 (and that variant had an upgrade to a 1TB solid state drive). This particular review covers the HP OmniBook 5 16 with Intel hardware. It’s important to note that HP sells many OmniBook 5 variants with AMD or Qualcomm inside. Some of these are significantly different: the Qualcomm-powered models, for example, have OLED displays. The HP OmniBook 5 16 doesn’t excel in any particular category, but doesn’t fall far behind the pack, either. HP OmniBook 5 16: Design and build quality Foundry / Matthew Smith The design of the HP OmniBook 5 16 is quite basic, as is typical for inexpensive Windows laptops. Most of the exterior seems to be constructed from plastic and a familiar light silver hue is the order of the day. Branding is minimal, too, with only a chrome HP logo on the lid and a tiny OmniBook 5 badge below the keyboard. What it lacks in flair, though, the OmniBook 5 16 makes up for with good fundamentals. The chassis materials feel good (for the price, at least) and there’s not much flex across the display lid or interior. I did notice that the overall feel is not as robust as the smaller HP OmniBook 5 14, which is very rigid. There’s a lot of competition in this price point, and the quality of alternatives varies significantly. Lenovo’s IdeaPad Slim 5i arguably looks more luxurious. On the other hand, I slightly prefer the OmniBook 5’s feel over the Asus VivoBook 16 Flip (and most VivoBook laptops). HP OmniBook 5 16: Keyboard, trackpad Foundry / Matthew Smith You’ll be pleased if you need to sit down and bang out a few thousand words on the HP OmniBook 5 16’s keyboard. It provides an extremely spacious layout. Most keys are large, with only the left-side Tab, Caps Lock, and Control keys feeling a bit small. A numpad is provided and the numpad keys are a little undersized, but not by much. Key feel is good with plenty of travel and a crisp bottoming action. I think it’s a good keyboard for any laptop, and particularly for a budget machine. The touchpad is less impressive. It measures about four and three-quarters of an inch wide and a tad over three inches deep, which is small for a 16-inch laptop. The touchpad is usable, to be sure, but the limited space can make multi-touch gestures feel cramped. HP OmniBook 5 16: Display, audio Foundry / Matthew Smith The HP OmniBook 5 16 that I reviewed had a 16-inch IPS-LCD display with a resolution of 1920×1200. This is a rather typical display for an inexpensive 16-inch laptop and, like most such displays, it’s fine. The image looks sharp enough and delivers acceptable color performance, but the contrast ratio is limited and darker scenes in movies and games can look washed out. Brightness is mediocre; it’s enough in many situations but a sunlit window can begin to overwhelm the display. Outdoor use is largely out of the question. While the display is fine for most use, it suffers from the fact that OLED displays are now common even among inexpensive laptops. And in fact some OmniBook 5 16 variants, such as those with Qualcomm Snapdragon X hardware, have an OLED display. Asus VivoBook and Acer Swift models also tend to provide OLED displays at pricing similar to the OmniBook 5 that I reviewed. The OmniBook 5 16 has user-facing speakers with reasonable volume and good clarity. That’s enough to make the speakers above-average for an inexpensive laptop. Still, you should keep your expectations in check, as the maximum volume is still modest. HP OmniBook 5 16: Webcam, microphone, biometrics A 1080p webcam is stuffed in the top bezel of the HP OmniBook 5 16. It provides a reasonably sharp, vibrant image. Though still obviously a webcam image due to its grainy look in low light and trouble adjusting exposure, the image quality is good enough. The same can be said for the dual-array microphone, which captures clean, loud audio. There’s also an IR camera that is used to support Windows Hello facial recognition. Though increasingly common, it’s still not standard for budget machines. It provides a quick, easy way to log in the instant you open the laptop’s lid. HP OmniBook 5 16: Connectivity Foundry / Matthew Smith The HP OmniBook 5 16 has a fair selection of physical connectivity. It includes two USB-A ports, two USB-C ports, HDMI 2.1, and a 3.5mm combo audio jack. The USB-C ports offer data rates up to 10Gbps, DisplayPort, and Power Delivery (to charge the laptop). This is a typical range of connectivity for an affordable laptop. Some laptops in a similar price range, such as the Acer Aspire 16 AI, will offer USB-C 4 ports with higher data rates. But others, like the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 5i, have less capable connectivity. Wireless connectivity is similarly mediocre, as HP sticks to the older Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3 standards. This isn’t a major issue as the performance from each is more than adequate. Still, some competitors offer Wi-Fi 7, which will be more future-proof. HP OmniBook 5 16: Performance The HP OmniBook 5 16 has the Intel Core Ultra 7 255U. That name might lead you to think it’s a rather capable chip, but it’s not what it seems. The Core Ultra 7 255U has 12 CPU cores, but only two of those are performance cores. It also lacks Intel Arc branded graphics and instead provides only the more generic Intel Graphics. 16GB of memory and 512GB solid state storage round out the specifications on the model I tested, though the Intel model of the HP OmniBook 5 16 available at retailers can be purchased with a 1TB solid state drive. Foundry / Matthew Smith We start off with PCMark 10, a holistic system benchmark which reports a moderate score of 6,214 on the HP OmniBook 5 16. This defeats the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 5i and comes close to the Acer Swift 16 AI. However, the Core Ultra 7 255U struggles to keep up with chips in a higher performance and price tier such as the Intel Core Ultra 7 258V and AMD Ryzen AI 7 350. Foundry / Matthew Smith The Cinebench 2024 multi-threaded test reports a rather tepid result for the HP OmniBook 5 16, which seems to have trouble sustaining a high level of performance over time. In this benchmark the Core Ultra 7 255U simply can’t deliver. Perhaps that is not so surprising. Even the Intel Core 5 210H has more performance cores (four vs. the Core Ultra 7 255U’s two). Foundry / Matthew Smith Handbrake flips the results, as here the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 5i with Core 5 210H falls behind the pack. However, the Core Ultra 7 255U in the HP OmniBook 5 16 still delivers entry-level performance that doesn’t compete outside the budget category. Foundry / Matthew Smith As mentioned earlier, the HP OmniBook 5 16 with an Intel Core Ultra 7 255U lacks Intel Arc branded graphics and instead has less capable Intel Graphics. That translates to four Xe cores, which is half the number of Xe cores delivered by Intel Arc 140V in the Intel Core Ultra 7 258V. That has consequences for performance, as the HP OmniBook 5 16 is clearly far less capable than the Asus VivoBook 16 Flip. It also falls behind the Asus ExpertBook P3, which has AMD hardware including Radeon 860M integrated graphics. It’s not all bad news, though. The HP OmniBook 5 16 manages to beat both the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 5i with Intel Graphics and the Lenovo ThinkBook 16 with Qualcomm Adreno X1-45 graphics. While definitely not a graphics powerhouse, the OmniBook 5 16’s performance is slightly above average for the price. Speaking of price, that’s something shoppers need to keep in mind. The HP OmniBook 5 16 I tested has a listed MSRP of $1,199.99 and actually sells at that price on HP.com, and the laptop’s performance is woefully inadequate if that’s the price paid. However, it’s often sold for half as much at online retailers, in which case the OmniBook 5 16’s performance is competitive, even good.  Remember, too, that AMD and Qualcomm models exist, and that their performance could differ dramatically from the Intel model tested for this review. HP OmniBook 5 16: Battery life and portability A small 59 watt-hour battery is crammed in the HP OmniBook 5 16. By comparison, the Asus VivoBook 16 Flip has a 75 watt-hour battery and the Acer Swift 16 AI has a 70 watt-hour battery. The Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 5i, though, is similar with a 60 watt-hour battery. So, what does this mean for battery life? Foundry / Matthew Smith I saw roughly 12 hours and 30 minutes of battery life in the standard PC World battery test, which loops a 4K clip of the short film Tears of Steel at a display brightness of approximately 200 nits. As the graph shows, that’s a below-average result. Some 16-inch laptops can deliver 15 hours of battery life or more. With that said, the particulars of price matter. Laptops like the Acer Swift 16 AI and Asus VivoBook 16 Flip carry an MSRP similar to the OmniBook 5 16, but are often more expensive at retail. Battery life aside, the OmniBook 5 16’s portability is fine for a 16-inch machine. It weighs slightly less than four pounds, measures up to 0.73 inches thick, and ships with a mid-sized USB-C power brick that delivers up to 65 watts. The OmniBook 5 16 is portable enough if you have a backpack with a laptop compartment but, like most 16-inch machines, it doesn’t fit comfortably in an average tote or messenger bag. HP OmniBook 5 16: Conclusion The HP OmniBook 5 16 with Intel Core Ultra 7 255U is a reasonable choice if you want a well-rounded 16-inch laptop at a low price. Though it has an MSRP well over $1,000, it tends to retail around $600, which is quite affordable for a laptop of this size. The OmniBook 5 16 doesn’t excel in any particular category, but doesn’t fall far behind the pack, either. However, shoppers should take care to note the specific OmniBook 5 16 model they’re considering when they make a purchase. HP sells models with AMD or Qualcomm inside, and their specifications can vary a fair bit. The Qualcomm models, for example, have a superior OLED display. Read...

While cloud-based AI solutions are all the rage, local AI tools are more powerful than ever. Your gaming PC can do a lot more with AI than just run large language models in LM Studio and generate images with Stable Diffusion… and unlike with cloud-based AI tools, you maintain full control over your data and have complete privacy. Here’s a taste of the cool AI stuff you can do on a desktop PC right now. Most of these are community-created hobbyist projects, by the way, so be sure to go in with the right expectations. Note: Many local AI tools are open-source software, so you can download them for free and work pretty well, but they won’t have the same level of polish or user-friendliness of proprietary software. Voice-to-text transcription Whisper Desktop OpenAI’s Whisper voice-to-text model is open source and you can run it on your own PC with tools like Whisper Desktop. Whisper Desktop will run the Whisper model on your PC’s GPU for fast transcription. It’s a capable solution for converting audio to text. You can speak directly into your microphone or provide an audio file. While Whisper isn’t perfect—no AI tool is—it does outmatch the professional transcription software you would’ve had to pay for just a few years ago. Image upscaling Upscayl These days, so many companies have caught up on offering cloud-based image editing and upscaling tools. Adobe Photoshop even has this feature, but Photoshop does it on Adobe’s cloud servers. If you want to increase the resolution of images using your own PC, Upscayl is a user-friendly tool for upscaling images from lower resolutions to higher ones via local AI. Cloud-based AI image editing tools are convenient, but if you have a powerful enough rig, this is the type of thing you can do right on your PC without uploading your images to a cloud server. Real-time webcam and microphone effects Nvidia Broadcast Microsoft is really pushing Windows Studio Effects as part of its Copilot+ PC suite of AI features, and many of the latest laptops I’m reviewing have “AI webcam effects” packages preinstalled. If you have a Copilot+ PC laptop, try using Windows Studio Effects. If you have a recent laptop in general, dig in the Start menu for webcam filter tools. But if you have a powerful gaming PC (whether a desktop or laptop) with an Nvidia RTX GPU, you can use the free Nvidia Broadcast app to unlock AI webcam and microphone effects like background removal, fake eye contact, and even high-end features like “studio-quality lighting” on top-end GPUs. It all happens in real time, so you can use it while live-streaming a game or in a video meeting. Video upscaling and editing Topaz Labs You can AI upscale and edit videos using your PC’s own hardware, too. Topaz Labs offers popular paid professional apps for AI video and image editing work, with all the processing happening on your PC’s local hardware. It’s a pricey solution designed for professional workflows, but it shows what’s possible with local AI. For a free and open-source option, take a look at Video2X. That one’s a surprisingly user-friendly tool for AI-upscaling video files. These tools are good examples of the “last mile” challenge. While there are lots of powerful local AI models out there, the most polished user interfaces that are easy to work with tend to be paid tools. Hobbyists and researchers can make powerful software, but they often don’t spend much time on polishing it into a shiny end-user product. Voice cloning GPT-SoVITS Did you know you can clone your voice using your PC’s hardware? Tools for this aren’t particularly polished yet—like lots of the local AI landscape—and you’ll often get a web UI and have to download some large files. You can do this with GPT-SoVITS or RVC, but expect some jankiness. However, it’s a great example of what’s possible: you can already clone a voice using consumer hardware and some open-source software. The only missing piece of the puzzle is an easy user interface. Music generation YuE If you’ve seen AI-generated songs on social media, they were probably created using Suno, a cloud-based music generation tool. Local AI solutions for generating music exist, but most of them are early in development and still unpolished. YuE is an open-source tool that looks like it could one day compete with Suno. You can download YuE and run it on your own hardware, but you’ll probably want to stick with Suno until tools like YuE are more user-friendly. As is often the case with local AI solutions, YuE is making it easier to access the kinds of features that were only available via companies running on cloud servers in the past. According to YuE, generating 30 seconds of audio takes about 360 seconds (6 minutes) on a PC with an RTX 4090 GPU. That’s not bad! Give it a few more years and you might be able to generate full songs on your gaming PC. Remove vocals from music Ultimate Vocal Remover If you like to perform karaoke to backing tracks, or if you just prefer to listen to instrumental music, you may wish you had a tool that could remove the vocals from any song. People have been able to do that for a long time, but it’s been a painstaking process that takes a lot of time—until now, thanks to Ultimate Voice Remover. This free application is simple, user-friendly, and gets the job done in mere minutes rather than hours or even days. Just provide an MP3, FLAC, or WAV file and it’ll spit out a version with vocals stripped. Local AI is powerful but unpolished If you’ve been disappointed by the amount of AI hype over the past few years, I understand. Despite all the high-flying talk about local AI, Microsoft Windows and consumer software packages have done very little integration of useful AI tools. The most interesting things are happening in the open-source software community, where surprisingly powerful local AI models come with unsurprisingly janky and amateurish user interfaces. Fortunately, there’s a good chance more user-friendly solutions will pop up in the next few years that take better advantage of powerful PC hardware. For now, you can already do a lot with local AI if you’re willing to get your hands dirty, suffer through rough learning curves, and equip yourself with some relatively powerful hardware (e.g., RTX GPU). Unfortunately, NPUs won’t help you run local AI tools just yet. Want more PC goodness? Sign up for Chris’s newsletter, The Windows ReadMe. It’s always written by a human, even when it’s about AI. Read...

At a glanceExpert`s Rating Pros Dual lenses cover wide-angle and zoomed-in views Smooth pan-and-tilt movement Very affordable price Cons Conspicuous industrial design Dependent on a wired power supply Built-in power-surge protection Generic third-party app with pushy upsells Our Verdict The Annke WCD600 offers impressive coverage and durability, making it a smart choice for broad outdoor monitoring, provided you’re comfortable with its wired power requirement and a less-than-polished app experience. Price When Reviewed This value will show the geolocated pricing text for product undefined Best Pricing Today Best Prices Today: Annke WCD600 Retailer Price Annke $39.99 View Deal Check Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket Best Prices Today: Check today’s prices The Annke WCD600 is a dual-lens outdoor security camera built for people who want to cover a lot of ground without cluttering their space. Each lens captures a three-megapixel view—one wide-angle, one telephoto—helping reduce blind spots across driveways, yards, and side lots. This camera connects to your 2.4GHz Wi-Fi network (i.e., it’s not a dual-band camera), is weatherproof, and costs far less than most cameras that offer similar coverage. The Annke WCD600’s dual-lens setup gives you two complementary perspectives rather than one stitched panorama. Design and features The WCD600 isn’t designed to blend into the background. With its two exposed antennas, bulbous lower housing, and rings of LED lights around each lens, it’s something intruders will notice immediately, and some people will consider that part of its appeal. The white-and-black shell feels solid, weather-sealed, and built to handle the elements. It carries an IP66 rating for protection from the elements, meaning it’s dustproof and can withstand powerful jets of water, such as from a pressure washer, from any direction. (Read our IP code guide to learn more about that topic.) An unusual feature that will be of interest to homeowners living in areas with frequent lightning storms is the camera’s built-in surge protection (up to 2kV). The WCD600’s dual-lens setup gives you two complementary perspectives rather than one stitched panorama. The top 3MP lens delivers a static wide-angle view of your overall scene, while the lower 3MP lens is mounted to a pan/tilt motor to follow movement. The lower camera pans 300 degrees horizontally and tilts 90 degrees vertically. Together they provide context and close-up detail simultaneously, so you see both the big picture and what triggered an alert. At night, the WCD600 switches to its dual-light system: a pair of infrared LEDs for discreet video capture in low light. It also has red-and-blue strobe lights and a built-in siren that trigger on motion. Those deterrents can be set to run automatically or manually from the app, giving you the option to scare off trespassers or just light up the driveway when you step outside. The WCD600’s two lenses capture wide and telephoto views for contextual coverage. Annke The camera can detect both general motion and human activity. When it identifies a person, the lower lens automatically pans and tilts to follow them, keeping the subject centered as they move. You’ll get an instant notification through the iCSee app, and tapping it opens a live view so you can see what’s happening in real time. Video can be saved locally to a microSD card up to 128GB, letting you store footage directly on the camera without a subscription. The camera also supports cloud backup via the iCSee app, with subscription plans that start with 7- or 30 days of storage at a cost of $3.99 or $6.99 a month respectively.  The camera also integrates with Alexa and Google Home, allowing you to pull up live video on a smart display or control basic functions with voice commands. Setup and performance Everything you need to get started is in the box, including a mounting bracket and screws and a power supply. Because the camera draws power from a 12-volt adapter, you’ll need an outlet nearby or a weatherproof extension cord. The WCD600 uses the iCSee mobile app for setup, live viewing, and storage management. iCSee isn’t exclusive to Annke—it’s a third-party platform used by several budget and midrange camera makers. Once you create and account and start the pairing process, the camera’s booming voice prompts guide you through the steps to connect the camera to your network. The app displays both camera views at once, stacked vertically in portrait mode or side by side when you turn your phone horizontally. The daytime image quality is very good, and the twin lenses capture a broad, balanced view without visible distortion. The camera automatically switches between day and night modes based on ambient light, or you can adjust it manually in the app. Night Mode activates the infrared LEDs for clear black-and-white video, while Day Mode disables light enhancement entirely. The third-party ICSee app makes it easy to control the camera and manage its settings, but it feels generic compared to Annke’s own software. Michael Ansaldo/Foundry Human detection worked well in my testing. The camera reliably distinguishes people from moving trees or passing cars, and motion tracking keeps subjects centered without excessive motor noise. You can configure the app to frame people with a yellow box for easier visibility on playback, and there are several options for taming notifications including interval settings and detection sensitivity. The iCSee app handles everything from pairing to live viewing, video playback, notifications, and the camera’s many settings. But it also doubles as a storefront for iCSee’s “value-add” services. Once you open it, you’ll see prominent prompts to activate “AI” functions and cloud storage, along with a countdown timer on any free trial. It’s functional and responsive, but the upselling can feel a bit aggressive—especially if you just want to use the camera’s local recording features. Should you buy the Annke WCD600? The Annke WCD600 normally lists for $79.99, but as of this writing Annke has discounted it to $39.99. That low price makes it an easy gamble. My main reservation is the third-party iCSee app. It’s functional and responsive, but it pushes add-on services too aggressively for my taste, and the interface lacks the polish of Annke’s own software. Still, this camera delivers strong performance and flexibility for the price, making it a smart, affordable option if you want broad outdoor coverage without overcomplicating your setup. This review is part of TechHive’s in-depth coverage of the best home security cameras. Read...

If your TBR list is longer than Santa’s naughty list, then you need a proper way to tackle all those books. Luckily, Kindles are on sale! Pretty much every model is available at a nice discount, making it easy to snag the perfect gift for yourself or someone you love. I’ve had several Kindles over the years, and I use mine every chance I get, especially now with my reading nook all decorated and fluffy blankets mandatory in this chilly weather. If there’s one gift I’d recommend to anyone, it’s a Kindle. The Kindle Paperwhite is my personal favorite, and you can get the newest model for 16 percent off–that’s just $135 right now. The 7-inch screen and perfect brightness make reading at any hour of the night effortless. Want to go a bit fancier? The Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition is 20 percent off at $160. It comes with double the storage at 32GB, wireless charging, and an auto-adjusting front light. These features are all handy, though the auto-adjusting light is probably the one you’ll really notice. Even the regular Kindle has seen some upgrades, including improved screen brightness. If you want to spend less, this 6-inch model at $90 is a solid choice. Looking for something bigger? The Kindle Scribe is 33 percent off at $280. This large e-ink tablet is perfect for note-taking as well as reading. And for the comic book lovers among us, the Kindle Colorsoft might be your best bet. With its color screen and the fact that it’s currently 24 percent off ($190), it’s a vibrant way to enjoy your favorite stories. Ready, set, read! Get the Kindle Paperwhite 16GB for 16% offBuy now at Amazon Get the Kindle 16G for 18% offBuy now at Amazon Get the Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition 32GB for 20% offBuy now at Amazon Get the Kindle Scribe 32GB for 33% off Buy now at Amazon Get the Kindle Colorsoft 16GB for 24% offBuy now at Amazon Read...

There’s this spot at the back of my house where the Wi-Fi signal just isn’t right. The connection is patchy, the signal is weak, and you can never reliably finish a game of Hearthstone without getting disconnected. I’ve thought about upgrading my router, but I’ll probably just get one of these nifty little Wi-Fi extenders, especially since it’s only $19 (that’s 30 percent off). This little device gets plugged into any outlet and expands your wireless network coverage by up to 12,000 square feet, so you get proper internet everywhere in your home. The extender operates on dual bands, delivering combined speeds that are suitable for almost anything you need to do, from streaming content to gaming and yes, even browsing without interruption. It features three adjustable external antennas that help to optimize coverage and maintain stable connections. It’s the most straightforward way to boost your signal. There’s even a Gigabit Ethernet port you can use to give a more stable wired connection to a device of your choice, like a TV. So go ahead and grab the TP-Link AC1200 Wi-Fi Extender on Amazon for $19 before this deal runs out. Grab this 30% discount from TP-LinkBuy now at Amazon Read...

With gift season here, why not treat yourself to a gaming upgrade? This 27-inch LG UltraGear monitor is just $157 right now, which is 37 percent off of the original price. View at Amazon This LG monitor is more than ready for your favorite games, thanks to its 180Hz refresh rate and 1ms GtG response time–that’s extremely fast for smooth gameplay. The 2560×1440 resolution is equally impressive, delivering sharp visuals whether you’re gaming or streaming content. Think that’s great? But wait, there’s more. This monitor features a 1000R curvature, wrapping the screen around your field of view for deeper immersion. It also has a sleek borderless design for an even better experience. Plus, the LG UltraGear includes AMD FreeSync technology to minimize screen tearing and stuttering. Frankly, at $157, the LG UltraGear gaming monitor is an absolute gem, so add it to your collection sooner rather than later. The perfect deal exists — it`s 37% off for the LG UltraGearBuy now at Amazon Read...

At a glanceExpert`s Rating Pros Very compact form factor with a fully-fledged i9 platform Many connections including USB4, 2.5 Gbit LAN, and triple 4K support Strong single-core performance also for development and light rendering 32GB RAM and 1TB NVMe SSD ex works, second M.2 slot for upgrades Cheaper than many current AI mini PCs with Core Ultra or Ryzen AI Cons CPU and GPU performance noticeably below the latest HX-370 and Core Ultra systems, especially for 3D and AI Chassis and cooling seem less high-quality and service-friendly than some competitors SSD somewhat slow for PCIe 4.0 level Our Verdict The Acemagic M1 with i9-13900HK is a very fast, surprisingly compact mini PC that brings classic desktop performance and near silent operation. Although it lacks an NPU and some GPU power compared to the latest AI mini PCs, it impresses with a powerful processor, many ports and an attractive price. If you mainly run office, development, and moderate media workloads, you’ll get a lot of computing power in a small form factor. Price When Reviewed This value will show the geolocated pricing text for product undefined Best Pricing Today Best Prices Today: Acemagic M1 Retailer Price $599 View Deal Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket Acemagic M1: The specs Processor: Intel Core i9-13900HK, 14 cores (6 Performance 8 Efficiency), 20 threads, base 2.6/1.9 GHz (P/E), turbo up to 5.4 GHz, 24 MB L3 cache Graphics: Intel Iris Xe Memory: 32 GB DDR4-3200 (2 × 16 GB SO-DIMM from the manufacturer Kinsotin), dual-channel, expandable up to 64 GB Internal storage: 1 TB NVMe SSD Biwin M350 (PCIe 4.0 x4), an additional M.2-2280 slot is available (expandable up to 4 TB) Front connections: 1 × USB4 Type-C (40 Gbit/s, DP 1.4, PD output), 2 × USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A, 1 × 3.5 mm audio, power button Rear connections: 4 × USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A, 1 × 2.5 Gbit/s RJ45 LAN, 1 × HDMI 2.0, 1 × DisplayPort 1.4, 1 × DC-In Connectivity: 1 × 2.5 Gbit/s LAN (Realtek RTL8125), Wi-Fi 6E (MediaTek MT7922), Bluetooth 5.2 Operating system: Windows 11 Pro (64 bit) Power: external 19 V power supply unit with 6.3 A (approx. 120 watts) Dimensions: 128.2 × 128.2 × 41 mm (W × D × H), 1.18lbs The manufacturer Acemagic is known for providing compact, powerful mini PCs that combine desktop performance and ease of use with an attractive price-performance ratio. On Amazon, Acemagic offers several models in the entry-level to mid-range segment, often with good ratings for price, features, and simple plug-and-play installation. Let’s see if the M1 can prove itself to be a good value in our review. The Acemagic M1 with i9-13900HK is a classic old-school performance mini PC: excellent single-core performance, very decent multi-core performance and a usable iGPU for everyday 3D and media acceleration. Acemagic M1: Design As soon as you open the box, it becomes clear where the journey is heading: as much notebook hardware as possible in as little volume as possible. The mini PC itself, the pleasingly compact 120 watt power supply unit, an HDMI cable, VESA mount with screws and a brief quick start guide are included in the box. In principle, the setup is as simple as with a notebook dock: connect the power, connect it to a display via HDMI/DP or USB-C, plug in the peripherals, and switch it on. With its housing, the Acemagic M1 with Intel Core i9-13900HK is more visually appealing than the often angular barebones from classic PC manufacturers. The flat, square housing measures 128.2 × 128.2 × 41 millimeters and weighs around 1.18lbs. This means that the computer disappears effortlessly under a monitor or on a VESA mount behind the display. The M1 is only slightly larger than the Sapphire Edge AI 370. Christoph Hoffmann The top is simply printed with the Acemagic logo. The rounded edges give the device a much less “gaming box” look in the office than you would expect from an i9 system. The chassis is made of plastic on the outside and a metal core on the inside. Although this structure reduces the weight, it does not make the surface look quite as high-quality as the milled aluminum blocks of a Geekom A9 Max or Minisforum AI X1 Pro. A USB-C port (USB4), two USB-A ports, the combined 3.5 mm jack and the power button are located on the front. The arrangement is well thought out: headphones, a USB stick, or an external SSD can be plugged in quickly without the desk becoming cluttered with cables. Christoph Hoffmann At the rear, the M1 offers the rest of the ports: four additional USB-A sockets, 2.5 Gbit/s Ethernet, HDMI 2.0, DisplayPort 1.4 and the DC input. Large ventilation slots are located on the sides. The computer is clearly designed to be operated horizontally – therefore, anti-tilt rubber feet are only available on the underside. Christoph Hoffmann In practice, the computer remains relatively silent in idle mode, and in normal office operation the operating noise disappears behind any normal ambient volume. Under prolonged full load, the fan revs up and is then audible, but not shrill – more like the typical hissing noise of a compact notebook cooler. Acemagic M1: Features The centrepiece of the system is Intel’s Core i9-13900HK – a mobile high-end chip with 14 cores and 20 threads based on Raptor Lake (Intel 7), which reaches up to 5.4 GHz in Turbo mode. It was launched at the beginning of January 2023 and is therefore no longer the youngest member of the i9 series. Nevertheless, it still ranks in the upper class in practice – more on this later. Christoph Hoffmann In our configuration, it’s flanked by 32GB DDR4-3200 in dual-channel mode and a 1TB NVMe SSD (Biwin M350). Christoph Hoffmann It’s exciting that Acemagic accommodates two M.2 slots despite the compact 128 mm design: both in 2280 format – both support NVMe storage with up to 4 TB capacity. Mentioned in this article Sapphire Edge AI 370 Read our review The combination of 32GB RAM and 1TB SSD is sufficient for typical office and development workloads. Those who maintain large media databases, for example, can simply add a second SSD without an external housing – although access is somewhat more fiddly than with mini PCs with a magnetic lid such as the Sapphire Edge AI 370 due to the housing design. When it comes to connections, the M1 is surprisingly generous: six USB-A ports (two of them with 10 Gbit/s), a USB4 port with up to 40 Gbit/s and DisplayPort Alt mode, plus HDMI 2.0 and DisplayPort 1.4. In total, three 4K monitors can be operated in parallel – a scenario that is quite realistic in practice, for example for creative professionals or in the software development environment. On the network side, Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.2, and a 2.5 Gbit/s LAN port are available. This puts the M1 slightly behind the latest AI mini PCs with Wi-Fi 7 and dual 2.5 Gbit LAN, but offers more than enough reserves for typical desktop use. A direct comparison with devices such as the Geekom IT15 or Geekom A9 Max clearly shows the difference in focuses: While these models shine with DDR5 RAM and partially integrated NPU, especially with AI PC features and ample upgradeability, the Acemagic M1 relies on a classic PC concept with a focus on CPU performance and many ports at a comparatively moderate price. For professional AI workloads and maximum future-proofing, enthusiasts are better off opting for the new HX-370 systems with Radeon 890M, while the M1 is easily sufficient for everyday office and creative work. Acemagic M1: Operating system The Acemagic M1 is supplied with Windows 11 Pro, which is automatically activated online after the first start. The basic setup is completed in a few minutes; we then update the system from Windows version 24H2 to 25H2. Christoph Hoffmann Before the benchmarks begin, we install all the latest Intel drivers for the Iris Xe graphics and the chipset (Intel Alder Lake-P) to ensure that the mini PC runs under optimum conditions and that all components can develop their full performance. Christoph Hoffmann Acemagic M1: Performance The Intel i9-13900HK is formally two CPU generations behind the current Core Ultra chips and Ryzen AI SoCs, but this is only noticeable at certain points in everyday use. In the PCMark 10 overall score, the M1 achieves 6,288 points, with 11,097 points in Essentials and 7,966 points in the Productivity category. In Digital Content Creation, the M1 is slightly lower at 7,633 points, but still clearly in an area where office, browser multitasking, light image editing and Full HD video editing run completely unproblematically. For comparison: a Geekom IT15 with Core Ultra 9 285H achieves 8,341 points, the Geekom A9 Max with Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 achieves 7,976 points – the M1 is therefore around 20 to 25 per cent behind, without dropping noticeably in typical office workloads. Christoph Hoffmann The 3DMark CPU profile confirms this impression. With 6,172 points at maximum threads and 1,082 points in the single thread, the i9 in the M1 almost reaches the single-core performance of current HX-370 systems, which are around 1,160 points, but falls well short of their 8,300 to 8,800 points in the multi-core scaling. In practice, this means that interactive applications, compilation times, and scripts continue to benefit from the high peak performance of a single processor core, while long rendering jobs or 4K transcoding simply run faster on the new AI chips – in tests with 30-minute 4K material, a Core Ultra 9 285H sometimes only encodes for half as long as the 13900HK in the M1. Christoph Hoffmann Graphically, the Iris Xe graphics used here is in the midfield of the current iGPU landscape. With 1,467 points in 3DMark Time Spy (1,283 graphics points and 7,960 CPU points) and 863 points or 6.4 FPS in Steel Nomad Light, it’s clear that we are dealing with a machine that maxes out with eSports titles and casual games, not a replacement for an RTX or RX GPU. Measurements on mini PCs with Radeon 890M – such as Minisforum AI X1 Pro or Sapphire Edge AI 370 – show a GPU performance that is around 30 to 40 percent higher with 3,500 to 3,700 time-spy points and over 3,000 points in Steel Nomad Light; Intel’s Arc graphics in the Geekom IT15 even tops this with 4,244 time-spy points. If you’re aiming for current AAA titles with high settings, it’s therefore better to use a system with a Radeon 890M or a mini PC with a dedicated GPU; however, the M1 is sufficient for 1080p eSports in medium presets. The classification of the AI performance is interesting. Geekbench AI Pro certifies the M1 with 2,740 points (Single Precision), 1,085 points (Half Precision) and 5,213 points in the Quantised test. This puts it well below the values of modern AI platforms: Minisforum AI X1 Pro with Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 achieves around 7,007 points in the Quantised score, the Sapphire Edge AI 370 is at 6,616 points, a Geekom IT15 with Core Ultra 9 285H even at 8,005 points. Christoph Hoffmann The reason is simple: The 13900HK does not have a dedicated NPU, all AI workloads run via CPU and GPU. This is still sufficient for occasional image upscaling jobs, transcription or local language models in the low-parameter range, but anyone who works with AI workloads on a daily basis will be more efficient with a current Ryzen AI or Core Ultra system. The SSD performance determined by CrystalDiskMark is solid, but not spectacular, at 3,425 MB/s read and 3,284 MB/s write. These values are roughly on a par with a good PCIe 3.0 SSD and clearly below the 5,000 to 6,000 MB/s that we measured in mini PCs such as the Geekom IT15, A9 Max, or Sapphire Edge AI 370. Christoph Hoffmann Subjectively, this is hardly noticeable: Windows starts up quickly, large applications such as Visual Studio or Lightroom load fast enough, but project folders with thousands of small files still feel a touch more responsive on some of the other competitors mentioned. Is the Acemagic M1 worth it? All in all, the Acemagic M1 with i9-13900HK is a classic old-school performance mini PC: excellent single-core performance, very decent multi-core performance, a usable iGPU for everyday 3D and media acceleration, but no specialized AI hardware and its SSD values are just below the high-end level. It clearly loses out to the latest mini PCs with Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 or Core Ultra 9 285H in synthetic benchmarks, but comes close enough in everyday office and creative work. The extra performance of its competitors should only be relevant for heavy users and professional AI workloads. Otherwise the M1 is a more than capable day-to-day or work mini PC. Read...

TL;DR: Grab this versatile open-box ASUS Chromebook CM30 Detachable 2-in-1 for $159.99 (MSRP $329.99) for a limited time. If you’ve been juggling laptops, tablets, and devices to get through work, school, or streaming, the ASUS Chromebook CM30 makes life simpler and more fun. This nimble 2-in-1 machine lets you switch between laptop and tablet — and right now, it’s just $159.99. The Chromebook’s 10.5-inch WUXGA touchscreen delivers crisp visuals, while the garaged stylus lets you sketch, take notes, or annotate with precision. Flip it into tablet mode with the magnetic detachable keyboard and versatile stand for reading, browsing, or streaming anywhere. Dual 5MP cameras handle video calls and snapshots, while Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.3 keep you connected wherever you go. It features a MediaTek Kompanio 520 processor, 8GB RAM, and 128GB eMMC storage, giving you fast performance for multitasking, creative projects, and web-based apps. Built tough with a military-grade aluminum chassis and 30% recycled materials, this Chromebook can survive bumps and scrapes without compromising style or portability. The 12-hour battery keeps you powered through a full day of work or binge sessions without hunting for an outlet. Its “open-box” status means it is a new item but may have been excess inventory, or returned and repackaged. This deal comes complete with all essential accessories and a 1-year warranty. For a limited time, get the ASUS Chromebook CM30 Detachable Touchscreen on sale for $159.99 (MSRP $329.99) ASUS Chromebook CM30 (2024) Detachable Touchscreen 8GB RAM 128GB eMMC (Open Box)See Deal StackSocial prices subject to change. Read...

Google Gemini has launched real-time, continuous translation using your phone and a pair of connected earbuds, in what looks like a powerful transformative change to the way in which we interact with speakers from other countries. Google buried its announcement in an update to Gemini voice model updates on Friday, but the additional translation features look like they could change the way in which people interact with foreign speakers. Google is launching a beta of Google Translate to accommodate both real-time translation and two-way conversations, powered by Gemini. Wander through the markets in Bangkok, and the update promises that you’ll hear the ambient conversations of vendors around you translated into English, via a pair of connected earbuds. In a two-way conversation, you’ll have the same experience, but you’ll have a chance to speak, and then your phone will play back what you’ve said via your phone’s speaker. Google is promising that Translate will auto-detect over 70 languages and 2,000 language pairs, or a direct back-and-forth translation between English, for example, and Italian. The company is also promising that the phone will filter out extraneous noise as well as preserve the nuance of the conversation using AI. Translate will even accommodate multiple languages in a single session. Those are all issues that I’ve wrestled with while traveling overseas, using various translation devices. In Taiwan, for example, I naively thought that Mandarin would be the primary spoken language, and it seems to be. But locals use others, including Hakka or Hokkien, and switched back and forth at will. I also can speak some French, but like others who lack immersion training I can speak French far better than I understand it — and probably not all that well at that. Put simply, in my experience translation apps have almost reached a level of utility where I could depend upon them. If Google’s services works as advertised, however, this could really put translation services over that critical threshold. Google published a video showing off what the new service could do, and it’s amazing in its simplicity. One of the things that I personally have loved about technology is watching its impact on culture. ReplayTV and TiVo introduced the ability to pause live TV, which was revolutionary to a generation of consumers, even those who owned VCRs. Remember GPS devices? When Google released its free Google Maps app for Android phones with GPS and directions, companies like Magellan faded from public view almost overnight. Many, many people own smartphones and headphones or earbuds, and travel overseas without fluency in the local language. A few years ago, you’d be at the mercy of a local who understood English. Google’s updated Translator app really looks like we’ve moved past that, where translators will always be available in our ear. Read...