
Search results for 'Technology' - Page: 6
| ITBrief - 29 Jan (ITBrief) Matt Quinn, Chief Technology Officer at Tanium, champions the transformative potential of autonomous endpoint management, promising efficiency and cost savings for IT teams. Read...Newslink ©2025 to ITBrief |  |
|  | | PC World - 29 Jan (PC World)Taiwan is the world’s biggest producer of high-end computer processors and semiconductors. The newly-minted Trump administration has announced its latest series of tariff plans, including a “25 percent, 50 percent, or even 100 percent tax” on chips produced in Taiwan. If implemented, the price of nearly all electronics imported to the US will skyrocket later in the year.
President Donald Trump has pursued tariffs as an immediate and dramatic means of achieving his political goals, threatening both US allies and rivals with tariffs to force capitulation to his demands. Notably the Trump administration has immediately threatened America’s biggest and most immediate trading partners, Canada, Mexico, and China, with tariffs on all imported goods if various conditions are not met.
Extra charges for finished goods from China are already expected to increase prices on a macroeconomic level, from multi-billion-dollar companies buying fleets of vehicles to consumers buying flash drives. The US Consumer Technology Association estimates that Trump’s proposed tariffs on China would make the price of individual laptops, tablets cell phones, and game consoles rise by multiple hundreds of dollars per unit. And to be clear, that’s China alone, before considering additional tariffs on Taiwanese goods.
“In particular in the very near future we’re going to be placing tariffs on production of computer chips, semiconductors, and pharmaceuticals to return production of these essential goods to the United States of America,” Trump announced late Monday night. “They left us and went to Taiwan, where, which is about 98 percent of the chip business by the way, and we want them to come back, and we don’t wanna give them billions of dollars like this ridiculous has, give everybody billions of dollars. They already have billions of dollars.”
Trump continued, “They’ve got nothing but money, Joe! They didn’t need money, they needed an incentive, and the incentive is they’re not gonna want to pay a 25, 50, or even a 100 percent tax. They’re gonna build their factory with their own money. We don’t have to give ’em money, they’re going to come in because it’s good for them to come in.”
Trump is obliquely referring to the CHIPS Act, signed into law under former president Biden in 2022. The program stimulates investment in US domestic semiconductor fabrication, notably including new chip foundries in the United States in New York, Texas, North Carolina, and Arizona, among others.
Taiwan produces 70 percent of the global supply of semiconductors, with the industrial giant Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) accounting for the bulk of that production. TSMC partners with companies like Nvidia, AMD, Qualcomm, Apple, Arm, Broadcom, and dozens of others to manufacture their chip designs and ship them out to factories for electronics production. Intel is one of the only major companies that doesn’t partner with TSMC for its primary chips, but even an Intel-powered laptop will be packed with components ultimately produced in Taiwan, among other places.
Following the CHIPS Act, TSMC has opened two factories in the US in Arizona with production beginning later this year, and a third under construction. While the company has already announced partnership plans with major industrial companies including Apple, the US is only expected to get a 14 percent slice of the semiconductor market by 2032.
In the meantime, the bulk of chips for electronics will need to be imported. Tariffs imposed on these chips will inevitably cause prices to rise for consumers and businesses on essentially all hardware, notably including computers, smartphones, vehicles, industrial and medical equipment, and most secondary devices like monitors and headphones. In short, almost everything with a computer chip in it will rise in price.
So far Trump has expressed his intentions verbally, but there is no formal declaration of policy by the US federal government. If there’s any hope of reprieve from these intentions, it will come from Trump’s apparently close ties to the US tech industry. The leaders of the country’s biggest technology players have attempted to cultivate a close relationship with the president since his election victory in November, frequently visiting him in his Florida mansion, attending his inauguration and funding it with millions in generous donations.
It’s possible that their influence could convince Trump that the fallout of sweeping tariffs, for both consumers and the American tech industry, wouldn’t be worth the alleged stimulus to domestic production. Read...Newslink ©2025 to PC World |  |
|  | | ITBrief - 28 Jan (ITBrief) Amber Technology has partnered with Rycote to distribute its premium microphone windshields and suspension systems across Australia and New Zealand. Read...Newslink ©2025 to ITBrief |  |
|  | | ITBrief - 28 Jan (ITBrief) Australian technology firm espresso Displays has chosen Oracle NetSuite to modernise its operations and support global expansion, enhancing efficiency across all sectors. Read...Newslink ©2025 to ITBrief |  |
|  | | Aardvark - 28 Jan (Aardvark)Has China become the world`s leader in AI technology or are they just kidding us? Read...Newslink ©2025 to Aardvark |  |
|  | | PC World - 28 Jan (PC World)Charging your devices doesn’t have to take forever, at least if you have one of these Anker wall plugs. Down to $40 from its $75 MSRP on Amazon, this three-port Anker USB-C power adapter is a great solution for keeping your phone, laptop, and something else fully juiced.
This wall plug uses GaN II technology, which means it’s not only more efficient at charging your devices than typical power bricks, but also much smaller in size. It also has improved heat dissipation, so it won’t get unbearably hot and accidentally burn your hand.
You’ll find three ports on this device: two fast-charging USB-C for your phone and laptop, plus a USB-A for other devices. The USB-C ports are capable of 100W output when used alone, but you can also use all three at the same time and hit 45W, 30W, and 18W max, respectively. (Don’t worry. That’s still plenty fast.)
The cherry on top is that the prongs on this wall plug are foldable, so you can tuck them and pack it away in a bag without concern for damage or it getting snagged on other stuff you have in there.
If you’re tired of slow-charging devices, this is a great opportunity to step things up. Snag this 100W Anker USB-C wall plug for $40!
Save 47% and charge three USB devices at once in a blinkBuy now at Amazon Read...Newslink ©2025 to PC World |  |
|  | | PC World - 28 Jan (PC World)PC laptop trackpads are really good now. The average laptop trackpad works well, and many even feel downright great. But there’s one big upgrade that can take your laptop trackpad experience to the next level — a haptic trackpad.
Haptic trackpads are still tough to find on modern PC laptops, but they’re getting there — as we see in Microsoft’s latest Surface Laptops. All else being equal, haptic trackpads offer a much nicer controlling-a-mouse-with-your-finger experience than typical trackpads, elevating any laptop to the next tier of premium feel.
If you’ve ever used a haptic trackpad, you know exactly what I’m talking about. But if you haven’t had the pleasure of using one yet, here’s why they’re awesome and why you’ll want your next laptop to have one.
Related: The best laptops, from premium to budget options
What is a haptic trackpad?
Let’s start by considering the traditional mechanical trackpad. When you press your finger down and click, the trackpad physically presses down and activates a physical switch. It’s simple and intuitive. Most laptops still include this type of conventional trackpad.
On the other hand, a haptic trackpad doesn’t physically move when you click down on it. Instead, it has several components — a touch sensor, a force sensor, and a haptic actuator — that detect a click intent and then respond with feedback to let you know a click was registered.
Microsoft Surface Pro 11 (2024)Mark Hachman / IDG
So, when you glide your finger over the touchpad, it senses where you’re touching and moves the cursor accordingly (just like on a mechanical touchpad), but when you press down to perform a click, the trackpad itself doesn’t move; instead, it vibrates. It’s a lot like the haptic feedback you experience on modern Android phones and iPhones. It’s a vibration. But it doesn’t feel like a vibration. It feels like a click.
How does this provide an improved trackpad experience? The differences are subtle yet significant. Let’s dive into why it’s better.
Why is a haptic trackpad better?
If you’ve ever used a good haptic trackpad like the ones in Microsoft’s latest Surface Laptops, you know that they just feel better to use. It’s clear as soon as you press your finger down for the first time.
Now, to be fair, “better” is always subjective. You may actually prefer the conventional trackpad experience with its physical actuations. But for many, here are some of the tangible advantages that make haptic trackpads superior in feel and performance:
You can click anywhere on the surface of a haptic trackpad, whereas on a mechanical trackpad you’re usually only able to click on the bottom half, not the top half.
The click force is consistent across the entire surface of a haptic trackpad, whereas on a mechanical trackpad you may have to use different amounts of force to perform a click on different areas.
Haptic trackpads are more durable because they don’t have physical switches that can wear out. They’re also thinner and take up less room in the laptop, making them perfect for thin-and-light laptops.
You can customize how a haptic trackpad works. For example, you can choose how much force is needed to register a click, and you can change the feedback’s vibration pattern. (On Windows 11, these options are available under Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Touchpad if your PC has a haptic trackpad.)
Chris Hoffman / IDG
Because haptic trackpads can measure the amount of pressure you’re applying with your finger, they can respond differently to different pressure levels and perform different actions. They can also provide different types of haptic feedback in different applications depending on what you’re doing. There’s a lot of potential customizability that can be unlocked by the various applications that support it.
But, for me, the biggest advantage of a haptic trackpad is that it just feels so much better to use. You can click anywhere on the surface with the same pressure level and get crisp, responsive feedback. It’s just qualitatively different than clicking down on a mechanical trackpad.
Which laptops have haptic trackpads?
PC manufacturers are a little late to the haptic trackpad game. I hate to do it, but I have to point out that Apple popularized this technology on MacBooks a long time ago — called Force Touch and first released back in 2015 on both MacBooks and MacBook Pros.
The PC industry is still playing catch-up, but they are catching up. We’re seeing an ever-increasing number of Windows laptops with haptic trackpads, and those trackpads are made by a company named Sensel.
Dell XPS 13 (2024)Mark Knapp / Foundry
At the start of 2025, here are some noteworthy Windows laptops with haptic trackpads available on the market:
Microsoft’s Surface Laptop 7 models offer haptic trackpads. That’s one of the big advantages they have when compared to other Copilot+ PC laptops in the same price range. The Surface Laptop’s trackpad feels excellent, and I prefer it to the mechanical trackpads on more expensive laptops I’ve reviewed.
Dell’s XPS 13 has a haptic trackpad, as do XPS 14 and XPS 16 models. Mark Knapp found the haptic trackpad on the XPS 13 to be “satisfying” in his review here at PCWorld.
Lenovo offers a few laptops with haptic touchpads, including the ThinkPad X1 2-in-1 and ThinkPad P1 Gen 7.
Yes, this is a very short list. Microsoft Surface Laptops, a few Dell machines, and a few Lenovo machines. Is that all? Really? Unfortunately, yes. It’s slim pickings out there for PC users at the moment, and I can only hope more PC manufacturers will follow suit and that haptic trackpads will become more common. They really are great.
That said, here’s a bit of good news for desktop users: At CES 2025, Hyper announced an external haptic trackpad accessory. Some people do prefer desktop trackpads, but I confess I’m not one of them. Give me a traditional mouse at my desk!
And as for mechanical trackpads…
When it comes to trackpads, I personally prefer the haptic one on my Surface Laptop. It blows away the mechanical trackpads on all the other laptops I own and review. But not everyone agrees. Yes, some people do prefer the mechanical trackpad experience with its physical click.
At the end of the day, trackpad preferences are just that — preferences. You have to figure out what you like, so I encourage you to visit any local electronics store, head over to the laptop area, and play with some of the trackpads there. There’s a good chance they’ll have at least a Surface Laptop on display. Again, decide what feels best to you. (If you aren’t sure about the trackpad or anything else before buying a laptop, you can always take advantage of laptop return policies.)
I’ve spent a lot of time talking about trackpads here, but for the record, I prefer a good physical mouse over any trackpad, even a haptic one. But when I’m working on a laptop and don’t have the option of using a separate mouse, a haptic trackpad is my ideal choice. Read...Newslink ©2025 to PC World |  |
|  | | PC World - 28 Jan (PC World)Years ago, I really wanted a laptop with an external GPU. It seemed like the holy grail of portable laptop gaming — a power-hungry GPU that lived on your desk, to be plugged in for gaming performance as needed, then unplugged when you needed to work on the go.
Sadly, external GPUs never really took off. While some products were released, the idea never went mainstream. But that doesn’t mean the dream is dead! In fact, one of our favorite showings at CES 2025 was a new Asus external GPU with Thunderbolt 5 connectivity.
Are we finally on the cusp of external GPUs taking off? Let’s look at what happened to external GPUs, why they didn’t take off, and why 2025 could be the year that sparks an eGPU revolution.
The first external GPUs weren’t so good
External GPUs now go back at least a decade. In 2015, we reviewed the Alienware Amplifier, an external GPU for Alienware laptops. A few years later, they were becoming more standardized and could connect to laptops over Thunderbolt 3. For example, in 2017, we reviewed the Akitio Node Cabinet, a Thunderbolt 3 eGPU.
The problem was, eGPUs like these only worked on some Thunderbolt 3-enabled laptops. It didn’t stop people from using them, but it wasn’t exactly ideal. So while some hobbyists even created their own DIY external GPU setups, eGPUs languished in uncertainty.
Furthermore, they just weren’t as fast as having the same GPU directly in your PC. Why? Well, the speed of the Thunderbolt 3 connection was a bottleneck, plus the extra latency that came from connecting the GPU over a cable rather than inserting it directly into a motherboard slot.
PCIe lanes were another factor. When you insert a GPU into a PCIe slot on your PC’s motherboard, you’re generally inserting it into a PCIe x16 slot with 16 “lanes” for data transfer. An external GPU would likely use a PCIe x4 slot instead, with only four lanes. That doesn’t make it four times slower, but it does have a non-trivial impact on performance.
Adam Patrick Murray / Foundry
And this isn’t just theoretical hand-waving. We can point to real benchmarks that show this in practice. In 2020, PCWorld’s Adam Patrick Murray benchmarked a variety of games with a Thunderbolt 3 eGPU. With The Witcher 3, the eGPU ran the game at 60 FPS while the same GPU in a desktop PC ran the game at 140 FPS. That’s more than double the performance… with the very same GPU! (By the way, the eGPU was faster than the laptop’s older built-in GPU, but not by much.)
Why external GPUs failed to take off
As PCWorld’s benchmarks demonstrated, while you could slap a powerful desktop GPU into an external GPU enclosure, you’d get much better performance from that very same GPU if it was running directly in your PC. So, your hard-earned cash was better spent buying a better gaming laptop with a more powerful built-in GPU.
Meanwhile, gaming laptops became ever thinner, lighter, and more portable over the last decade. Yes, they’re still a bit bulkier than thin-and-light laptops, but they’re no longer the heavy bricks that gaming laptops were a decade ago. You can now get surprisingly good battery life and portability from many gaming laptops, no external GPU required.
Plus, to really get the most value out of a desktop GPU, you needed it inside a full-blown desktop PC, not sitting in an enclosure that was bottlenecked by cable speeds. And besides, if you were spending that much on a powerful desktop GPU that you could only use while sitting at your desk anyway, why not just build a powerful gaming desktop? (Or buy an equally powerful pre-built PC.)
In the end, eGPUs were just too slow and too expensive. As gaming laptops grew more portable and as desktop PCs grew more powerful, it was hard to justify the expense back then. But maybe not anymore.
How Thunderbolt 5 makes a difference
In 2025, we’re talking about eGPUs again because we now have Thunderbolt 5, the cutting-edge tech that offers more.
While Thunderbolt 3 could only hit 40Gbps max, Thunderbolt 5 can reach up to 80Gbps — or even 120Gbps in some situations. And with Intel (who develops the Thunderbolt standard) trumpeting Thunderbolt 5 for external graphics, it’s all pretty exciting. But is it just hype?
Mark Hachman / Foundry
Asus was at CES 2025 showing off the latest version of the Asus ROG XG Mobile, an external GPU solution that supports everything up to Nvidia’s new $1,999 GeForce RTX 5090 GPU. While it looks impressive, will it perform as well as an RTX 5090 directly inside a desktop PC?
We haven’t had a chance to benchmark it yet, but I’m excited to see what those tests will show. If products like this can close the gap, that’ll be amazing — and I’ll be the first to jump on these new external GPUs.
Asus
But there’s a big hurdle right now: the lack of Thunderbolt 5 support in the latest PCs. As PCWorld’s Mark Hachman pointed out, Thunderbolt 5 was essentially a no-show on the latest laptops at CES:
“From my conversations at the show, device makers blamed two things. First, the continued lack of Intel chipsets with integrated Thunderbolt 5 inside. But they also pointed to the stalled transition to 8K content. Without it, device makers say that consumers seem happy enough with the capabilities Thunderbolt 3 and Thunderbolt 4 provide.”
So, even if Thunderbolt 5 external GPUs prove to be amazing, the “year of the external GPU” may not come until Thunderbolt 5 itself arrives in more laptops. And the industry may zoom right past these eGPUs, like with Nvidia announcing that GeForce RTX 50-series graphics cards will come to laptops. Why bother with an external GPU when you can get a faster built-in GPU on your laptop?
Why eGPUs might not be the future
A decade after my interest in eGPUs was piqued, I have to be honest: eGPUs still don’t feel like they’re about to go mainstream. Yes, the tech is getting better and more capable thanks to Thunderbolt 5, but the rest of the industry continues to change around it.
Gaming laptops just aren’t that inconvenient anymore. A gaming laptop can be your only laptop now, especially now that gaming laptops can be surprisingly lightweight and portable. You don’t need an external GPU to have a truly good gaming experience on a laptop.
IDG / Chris Hoffman
If you’re chasing absolute top-end performance, nothing beats a desktop gaming PC. Theres more to it than a GPU, too. Even in a perfect world where external GPUs performed equally as well as internal GPUs, the gaming PC would have a better CPU with stronger performance!
And the cost is still a problem. Dollar for dollar, you might be better off spending your cash on the right gaming laptop (or building a gaming desktop) than buying an external GPU in addition to a normal laptop.
Dominic Bayley / IDG
Not to mention that performance isn’t everything. The rise of gaming handhelds like Valve’s Steam Deck proves that, with integrated graphics hardware getting more and more capable as well.
Personally, I’m still intrigued by external GPUs. I want the technology to work and I want it to succeed. It’s just cool. But I no longer crave one like I used to because gaming laptops have become portable enough for me.
In 2025 and beyond, external GPUs look like they’ll get better and better. But will they ever truly go mainstream? We’ll see!
Further reading: The best gaming laptops under $1,000 Read...Newslink ©2025 to PC World |  |
|  | | Sydney Morning Herald - 26 Jan (Sydney Morning Herald)Australian sport has been rocked by a series of match and spot-fixing scandals as technology has facilitated the rise of online gambling. Read...Newslink ©2025 to Sydney Morning Herald |  |
|  | | BBCWorld - 25 Jan (BBCWorld)Tech Decoded is the BBC`s international technology newsletter, bringing you the latest. Read...Newslink ©2025 to BBCWorld |  |
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