
Internet Newslinks - Page: 7
| BBCWorld - 22 Jan (BBCWorld)Trump said he had called Ulbricht`s mother to let her know he had granted her son a full pardon. Read...Newslink ©2025 to BBCWorld |  |
|  | | ITBrief - 21 Jan (ITBrief) Oracle`s ongoing Java licensing changes may soon lead to audits, pushing organisations to evaluate their compliance and consider alternatives like OpenJDK. Read...Newslink ©2025 to ITBrief |  |
|  | | PC World - 18 Jan (PC World)You’re not the only one who’s mourning the loss of TikTok. Instead of putting your internet addiction into yet another social media app, invest it in your 2025 learning goals with Pearls!
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StackSocial prices subject to change. Read...Newslink ©2025 to PC World |  |
|  | | PC World - 18 Jan (PC World)According to one analyst firm, the combined shipment of desktop and laptop computers in 2024 was 245.3 million units. That’s a big number — a new computer for one out of every thirty or so people on the planet — and it’s showing a growth over 2023. But with the previous post-pandemic slump in sales, and big pushes around AI and Windows 11, it still feels like a big disappointment.
The numbers come from Gartner, which lays out a lot of statistics for the global and US markets broken down by major manufacturers. Apple’s Mac computers and ChromeOS devices are included. In the fourth quarter of 2024, Asus (9.8 percent growth), Acer, Apple, and Lenovo are the big winners in terms of total shipment increase over Q42023, with HP and Dell getting small dips. Apple, Asus, and Lenovo showed the biggest jumps in market share globally, while HP had a sizable seven percent dip.
Restricting the focus to the US market shows a healthier shipment increase, 17.192 million shipments in Q4 with an increase of 3.5 percent. Asus and Acer made huge gains over the same period in previous year, 35 percent and 20 percent respectively, while Dell and HP were both down by small margins.
Gartner summarizes 2024 as a “modest recovery” for the PC market, with the consideration that 2023 was the weakest year in the last decade. Compared to 2021, when 340 million units were shipped at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, sports fans would say we’re still very much in a rebuilding phase.
Considering the hard marketing pushes this year, I can’t help but feel like a modest recovery is still damning with faint praise. Microsoft partnered with Qualcomm and most of the major laptop manufacturers to push the Arm-based Snapdragon platform, arm-in-arm with Copilot AI and a renewed plea for consumers to buy new machines and upgrade to Windows 11. Google had its own AI-focused marketing around Chromebook Plus-certified devices.
But since Microsoft and Google have both been forced to integrate AI features into existing software and web services while upping the price, it’s safe to assume that not enough people were interested in the original $20-a-month upsell. And while “AI-capable” PCs appear to be on the rise, it’s not at all clear that consumers are actually interested in those features instead of, you know, just buying a new PC. At the close of the third quarter 2024 Canalys says that 20 percent of new PCs sold were “AI-capable” (read: had an NPU), but only 720,000 of the sales in that quarter were the Snapdragon-equipped laptops Microsoft had so aggressively promoted.
Microsft is still pushing hard for Windows 11 with the out of service deadline for Windows 10 looming later this year, and opening up Windows on Arm to other chip makers like Nvidia and MediaTek might shake up the market a bit. But I doubt I’ll be contradicted if I say that the PC market is hoping for a much bigger jump in 2025. Read...Newslink ©2025 to PC World |  |
|  | | PC World - 18 Jan (PC World)What does a massive $150 billion corporation do when a law forces it to make slightly less money? It takes its ball and goes home. At least, that’s what AT&T chose to do, ending a long saga of New York state attempting to enforce its affordable broadband law. AT&T has completely withdrawn its 5G home internet service from the state in retaliation.
Technically, this counts as compliance with the law in a “you are free to leave” sort of way. But not for lack of trying to get around it. As Ars Technica reports, the New York law requiring internet service providers to offer plans as cheap as $15 per month to qualifying low-income households was actually put on the books way back in 2021. Lobbyists for AT&T and other ISPs sued, lost, and appealed all the way to the US Supreme Court, which declined to hear the case and effectively punted the ruling down to a previous loss.
New York began enforcing its Affordable Broadband Act earlier this week, at which point AT&T pulled its home wireless broadband out of the state completely. “New York’s broadband law imposes harmful rate regulations that make it uneconomical for AT&T to invest in and expand our broadband infrastructure in the state,” it said in a statement to Ars. Other internet service providers appear to be staying, at least for the moment. AT&T is able to so quickly withdraw New York service because it’s entirely wireless, built off the back of its existing mobile phone infrastructure.
Cell phone service will not be affected, and those who have AT&T hardware for 5G home internet will graciously be allowed to keep their now-useless boxes at no extra charge.
The Affordable Broadband Act requires ISPs to provide $15-a-month internet plans of at least 25Mbps, or $20-a-month for at least 200Mbps. But it isn’t a mandate that demands affordable internet for everyone, everywhere. To get access to these lower-priced plans, a New York resident needs to qualify for the National School Lunch Program or have gross household income below 185 percent of the federal poverty guidelines. ISPs need to provide regular documentation on the program, and can apply for exceptions in areas where providing service at those speeds simply isn’t practical.
These kinds of mandates for low-priced internet access to less affluent residents are hardly unprecedented. On the federal level, the Affordable Connectivity Program expanded broadband access to underserved and low-income communities across the US from 2021 to 2024, a subsidized plan which AT&T participated in. Various government-led programs have made similar attempts over the last few decades, notably the National Broadband Plan in 2009.
One wonders how many millions of dollars AT&T has spent fighting this law in court and in courting legislators through entirely legal lobbying efforts. And one must then also wonder how many households could have been provided internet with those millions.
Most of the households that qualified for New York’s mandated lower rates wouldn’t have been able to afford AT&T’s rates anyway, so it’s not as if AT&T would be cannibalizing its own more lucrative customers. I suspect that a couple of other factors led the company to object so strongly, namely the text of the bill saying that forcibly bundling TV or phone services at these tiers isn’t allowed, and that any hardware rental (the 5G router, in this case) would need to be included in that $15 or $20 monthly charge, and that ISPs have to advertise the availability of these low-income plans. From the text of the law:
“Every person, business, corporation, or their agents providing or seeking to provide broadband service in New York state shall make all commercially reasonable efforts to promote and advertise the availability of broadband service for low-income consumers including, but not limited to, the prominent display of, and enrollment procedures for, such service on its website and in any written and commercial promotional materials developed to inform consumers who may be eligible for service pursuant to this section.”
ISPs have fought tooth and nail across the US to prevent any requirement to provide service for low-income households, while also fighting to prevent alternatives to local service monopolies from taking place, such as community-owned municipal broadband. Read...Newslink ©2025 to PC World |  |
|  | | PC World - 18 Jan (PC World)For nearly as long as we’ve had smartphones, there have been attempts to turn them into something “more.” Motorola tried with the Atrix 4G and Webtop chassis back in 2011, and Razer’s Project Linda gave the concept another whirl in 2018.
But the dream of taking a smartphone, plugging in peripherals, and using it like a laptop never quite came to life. The closest thing we ever got to a success is Samsung’s DeX, but even that hasn’t truly taken off.
With the latest rumblings in Android devices, the concept might be ready for another go. More devices now support display output over USB, plus desktop-style interfaces, plus serious leaps in performance. Microsoft’s recent push for Arm makes the prospect that much more interesting.
All combined, Android phones now have more potential than ever before to fulfill the needs of someone who wants a phone and laptop in one device and live that convenient double-life.
Rethink what you know about performance
Smartphones, with their piddly little mobile processors, are no match for most laptops, right? I’ve strongly agreed with that sentiment for a long time, but the latest smartphone SoCs have blown me away.
Sure, there are still plenty of high-end laptop CPUs that smoke mobile CPUs with no contest. But I’ve also tested tons of low-end laptops with crappy performance — and Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite has advanced enough to match or even surpass those slowpokes.
In testing Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite, I’ve seen the impressive benchmarks and real-world testing results with my own eyes. The chip averages over 3,090 points in Geekbench 6’s single-core test and 9,724 points for multi-core performance.
To put that into perspective, I also recently tested the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon 13th Gen Aura Edition laptop with a brand-new Intel Core Ultra 7 258V processor. The Geekbench 6 results for that one showed 2,659 points for a single core and 10,797 for all cores. That puts the mobile SoC within spitting distance (while running on battery power, no less).
Qualcomm
Looking at some additional testing we’ve done, these phones aren’t terribly far behind the latest from Intel or AMD, and they consistently have the lead in single-core performance, and they’re remarkably competitive where on-battery performance is concerned.
Even graphics performance is up to snuff. The same phones that achieved these Geekbench scores averaged 2,298 points in 3DMark’s Steel Nomad Light benchmark while the ThinkPad managed 2,518 points. Again, very close! I also tested the Dell XPS 13 (9345) with a Snapdragon X Elite X1E-80-100 chip, and its 1,969.5-point average in Steel Nomad Light shows that its job could possibly be filled by the phones instead. Intel’s Arc graphics and AMD’s Radeon 890M show a clear advantage in graphics performance, but the difference isn’t world’s apart.
All of this shows how well modern phones stack up against the better laptop configurations available today. They perform even better when you start comparing them against budget options and alternatives.
While smartphones might not have the most powerful innards for a system to run on, it’s clear that some of them now have what it takes to hold up in everyday tasks, like web browsing and basic productivity.
How to make it happen today
It’s no longer the internal hardware that’s holding phones back from doubling as laptops. But there are still other hurdles to overcome.
For one thing, not every phone is ready to use its USB charging port as a display output. It’s becoming increasingly more supported, of course, and Google’s recent introduction of DisplayPort Alt Mode via USB-C in the Pixel 8 series was a big step in the right direction from one of the market’s key players. But overall movement is still slow.
Mark Hachman / IDG
Once smartphones are ready to connect to external displays, the next step is the supporting hardware. There’s always the option to build your own “franken-system” by hooking up a portable monitor and a keyboard through a USB hub accessory. A mouse or trackpad could be a good idea, too. (Fortunately, some phones turn their screens into trackpads while in a setup like this, giving you one fewer thing to worry about.)
Some complete solutions already exist, by the way, like the ones by NexDock and Uperfect. These all-in-one solutions are great because you can easily connect your phone to all necessary peripherals with one swift action. That said, DIY options still offer more modularity and piecemeal upgradeability akin to what Framework laptops offer.
Ways it could be even better
A functional external display is essential and becoming more common, but software support is another big obstacle here.
Some device makers already have special apps and platforms that allow their phones to shift their operating systems into “desktop mode” when docked. Samsung DeX is one of the best examples, but it’s only available on its flagship and upper-tier devices. Motorola has a similar capability through Ready For. Few others have hopped aboard, though.
These tools change the look and behavior of their respective operating systems when connected to an external display. For devices with these features, really the only thing to wait for is newer devices that have the newer Snapdragon 8 Elite chips, which should narrow the performance gap between thin-and-light laptops and smartphones, making it possible to use a phone as a laptop seamlessly without poor performance.
For other devices, like those from OnePlus and Google, you might find that they offer display outputs but don’t have the same kind of tuned desktop experiences offered by Samsung and Motorola. For example, I couldn’t quickly or easily get phones from either brand working with an external display beyond simply mirroring the phone’s screen. This might do in a pinch, but it’s hardly an elegant long-term solution.
“Did someone say dual OS?”Lenovo
To realize the dream of a phone that doubles as a computer, we need more support from device makers and their software. Better yet, Google could bake it into Android at the system level and make it available to a wider swath of devices without the need for phone manufacturers to roll up their own solutions a la Samsung DeX. There are already some elements of this in Android — though so far I’ve only seen them in developer options and couldn’t get them working — and Google has the power and influence to take it all the way.
While Android phones are probably the only avenue for this (just look at Apple’s obstinance in allowing macOS on iPads), I don’t see why it needs to be relegated to only Android phones. Even if workable Android-based solutions already exist, Android may not be the operating system people want for a phone that can double as a laptop.
In 2024, Microsoft made a massive push to promote Snapdragon processors, and therefore Arm architecture, on Windows devices. While I’m sure there are some sneaky differences between Snapdragon SoCs made for laptops and phones, I have little doubt that greater Windows compatibility with Arm architecture could make Windows 11 dual-boot setups on phones all the more realistic.
In fact, we’ve already seen that Windows 11 for Arm can run on an Android smartphone (as Tom’s Hardware reported) and that was managed with a weaker device running an older Snapdragon 860 chip. The newer Snapdragon 8 hardware that got me excited about this prospect in the first place could make all the difference.
Barriers clearly still exist. But with performance catching up, proper hardware checking the right boxes, and software support looking better every day, this dream may not be too far from reality anymore. Read...Newslink ©2025 to PC World |  |
|  | | PC World - 17 Jan (PC World)At a glanceExpert`s Rating
Pros
Unique decentralized Mixnet provides superior anonymity
Open source
Privacy-first approach
Cons
Still in beta
Lacks some common VPN features
Limited server network
Future cryptocurrency payment model not accessible to everyone
Our Verdict
NymVPN is a really interesting, if somewhat incomplete, service built on decentralized blockchain technology. There are potentially huge privacy upsides with its Mixnet connections, but the beta version still has some bugs to work out and essential features to be added before I’d recommend it to anyone.
Price When Reviewed
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NymVPN is a brand new service out to shake up the whole VPN market. It’s an ambitious project that uses blockchain technology to decentralize control of user privacy, taking it out of the hands of a central VPN provider and into those of individual users.
Through the use of a decentralized Mixnet, traffic is routed through distributed nodes instead of just one encrypted tunnel in order to further obfuscate a user’s identity.
NymVPN’s decentralized approach to privacy is set to make big waves in the VPN industry. That being said, it’s still in beta at the moment. This means there are kinks to work out and features yet to come. I took the pioneering service for a test drive to see what it’s all about and how its feature set, speeds, and privacy match up in the more traditional VPN market.
NymVPN in brief:
P2P allowed: Yes
Simultaneous device connections: 10
Business location: Switzerland
Number of servers: 700+ “mixnodes”
Number of country locations: 34
Cost: Currently free during beta
Further reading: See our roundup of the best VPN services to learn about competing products.
What are NymVPN’s features & services?
Sam Singleton
Since NymVPN is still in beta, it hasn’t yet released its full set of features. At the moment the VPN Windows app offers little more than a server list, choice between a Mixnet or WireGuard connection, and a “Connect” button. Under the sparsely populated “Settings” menu there are a few cosmetic options and an area to provide feedback on the beta client.
When discussing NymVPN’s feature set I can only really talk about what’s in store for the future full release. So, what will NymVPN have coming?
Obligatory VPN features such as a kill switch and split tunneling are on the way, which will undoubtedly help the service compete against rivals. There are currently no plans for ad- and tracker-blocking, nor are there many other security extras on the horizon.
NymVPN is also planning to offer some more unique privacy solutions in the near future. These include zero-knowledge proof access to allow you to access the network with total anonymity, as well as post-quantum cryptography and censorship-resistance features.
NymVPN is pretty bare-bones right now with very little in the way of extra features or settings.Sam Singleton
NymVPN’s sole focus seems to be its biggest selling point, the Mixnet. Unlike a traditional VPN which encrypts and routes your data through a single VPN server, NymVPN instead splits up your data, encrypts it, and then sends it through a multi-layered network. Your data is then mixed with the traffic of other users to anonymize it as it moves through the Mixnet before being rebuilt and decrypted at the endpoint.
It’s a similar concept to how Tor anonymizes user traffic, but with the added benefit of built-in cover traffic and timing obfuscation so that even if someone were monitoring the entry and exit nodes they wouldn’t be able to discern one user’s traffic patterns from another.
All of this will be run by volunteer node operators who, through Nym’s cryptocurrency system will be rewarded with Nym tokens for providing high-quality networking performance. Thus, the system is theoretically self-incentivizing—better operators means better anonymity for users means more rewards for the operators, and the cycle continues.
Technical know-how aside, NymVPN has a few more things going for it. Not only does it allow privacy-first users to take advantage of the Mixnet for total anonymity, it also allows for more traditional two-hop WireGuard connections in case you need faster connections as well.
The app itself is extremely easy to use. Switching entry and exit locations is dead simple and even toggling between “Anonymous (mixnet)” mode and “Fast (WireGuard)” mode is straightforward enough.
NymVPN supports Windows, macOS, Android, and Linux platforms.
NymVPN rewards its volunteer node operators with cryptocurrency tokens in a theoretically self-incentivizing system.
How much does NymVPN cost?
Currently, NymVPN is free during its beta access. All you have to do is sign up on NymVPN’s website, create an account, and download the app.
After the official launch of the service though, NymVPN will move into a crypto-based payment system using the Nym blockchain. You’ll then be able to pay for the service using various popular cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum.
In order to maintain total anonymity, users will be required to convert their cryptocurrencies to Nym tokens, which will then be used to fund a VPN connection. Essentially, a user will purchase a subscription (e.g., one month, a year, or two years) and pay using whatever method they wish such as a credit card, PayPal, crypto, etc.
NymVPN will then issue what it calls zk-nyms, or zero-knowledge Nym credentials. These zk-nyms act as ticketbooks representing purchased bandwidth access on the Nym network. This process delinks a user’s payment details from their network access credentials. The user can then use the zk-nyms to gain anonymous access to the NymVPN network.
NymVPN’s token flow for both user payments and node operator rewards.
NymVPN
In theory, all of this sounds appealing. The issue is that proprietary tokens such as those issued by Nym have a tendency to fluctuate in value, sometimes wildly so. If the value of the token becomes worthless, then server operators won’t be incentivized to keep supporting the network. The token economy surrounding Nym isn’t likely to succumb to the same scenario, but only time will tell how well the monetization system works.
How is NymVPN’s performance?
In order to test NymVPN’s speeds I rated connection speeds across its servers in six different countries all around the world for multiple days and then compared them to my baseline internet speeds. I conducted these tests for both the “Anonymous (mixnet)” mode and the “Fast (WireGuard)” mode.
The results for the Anonymous (mixnet) connections were, let’s just say, disappointing. Almost half of the time my connection was so slow that the speed tests couldn’t register anything or my internet simply wouldn’t work at all. The rest of the time my connection speeds were less than 1Mbps—making it practically unusable.
It’s safe to say that as of right now, while still in beta, the mixnet is not a viable everyday option. I don’t doubt that once perfected, you’ll experience unparalleled privacy and anonymity, but there are still major kinks yet to be worked out.
Fortunately, the WireGuard connections were better, but still won’t win any races. Across all locations tested, the speeds averaged just under 15 percent of the base download speed and 21 percent of the base upload speed. Those might not sound good, and on their own they’re not, but relatively speaking these aren’t terrible.
This is because even with the faster WireGuard mode, NymVPN still uses a built-in multi-hop for all connections. This means that your connection will be routed through two encrypted servers rather than the standard single server that most other VPN connections use. As such, you’re just about guaranteed to see slower average speeds due to the longer routing and extra server hop. I reckon that if you were to test average multi-hop speeds on all other VPNs you might find that speeds are similar to NymVPN’s two-hop WireGuard connections.
When it comes to streaming unblocking, NymVPN probably isn’t your best bet here either. Disregarding the fact that the Anonymous (mixnet) connections have trouble even loading webpages, I found the WireGuard mode hit-or-miss with streaming as well.
While connected via the WireGuard mode, I was able to access Netflix and Amazon Prime in the U.S., but struggled with other countries. Disney Plus and HBO Max were blocked on every connection I tested.
Theoretically, the Anonymous mode should work about as well as the WireGuard mode as the endpoint servers will be the same. But until the speeds become much faster and more reliable, I just can’t recommend NymVPN as a good streaming VPN.
This shouldn’t be taken as too much of a hit against the service though, as it doesn’t advertise itself as a streaming VPN nor do I suspect that many users interested in the NymVPN model will use it to stream anyways—it knows its lane.
How is NymVPN’s security and privacy?
Privacy is where NymVPN really shines. As I mentioned previously, NymVPN uses a multi-node mixnet that splits up your data, sending each part through different nodes that individually encrypt the data before sending it on and repackaging it at the endpoint. Additionally, fake cover traffic and timing-delay methods are thrown in to further obfuscate the origin of the data when it reaches the exit point.
NymVPN’s mixnet vs. traditional VPNs and Tor.
NymVPN
NymVPN backs this up by using multiple encryption methods such as AES-256, ChaChaPo-ly, and Lioness. Due to the nature of the mixnet mode, there is no need for access to different protocols like a traditional VPN. However, under the “Fast” two-hop mode you’ll have access to the WireGuard protocol, but no others. WireGuard is generally considered to be one of the best protocols available so this isn’t too much of an issue.
NymVPN is owned by Nym Technologies SA, and is based out of Switzerland. This is another huge privacy boon as Switzerland has strong data privacy laws and is not a member of any intelligence sharing alliances such as 5, 9, or 14 Eyes.
NymVPN does collect some user data though. Per its privacy policy this includes browser type and version used, timestamps, duration of sessions, and device model. It claims that all of this data is used to run and optimize the website and improve Nym products.
Because of the nature of NymVPN’s unique, zero-knowledge mixnet, it says that there is no need for a “No logs” promise. The company justifies this claim by saying that at “no single point in the Nym mixnet can there be a way to connect the origin and destination for a user’s traffic.” This may be true in theory, but until NymVPN undergoes a proper independent audit we’ll just have to take its word for it.
Is NymVPN worth it?
NymVPN is a fascinating attempt at a large-scale decentralized VPN service and it definitely shows promise. With a privacy-first model and blockchain foundation, the VPN has the bones to be something really revolutionary. Beyond the fact that the beta version has some bugs, the biggest issue is that the market just may not be ready for these kinds of changes.
The mixnet is an exciting concept that unfortunately works better in theory right now than reality. The crypto-based payments seems to be a perfect pairing for a VPN where users demand total anonymity, but a token system is likely too niche for the mass market.
Overall, NymVPN is one to watch for the future. For now, you’re probably better off sticking with a traditional VPN provider for your day-to-day privacy needs.
Editor’s note: Because online services are often iterative, gaining new features and performance improvements over time, this review is subject to change in order to accurately reflect the current state of the service. Any changes to text or our final review verdict will be noted at the top of this article. Read...Newslink ©2025 to PC World |  |
|  | | PC World - 17 Jan (PC World)For nearly as long as we’ve had smartphones, there have been attempts to turn them into something “more.” Motorola tried with the Atrix 4G and Webtop chassis back in 2011, and Razer’s Project Linda gave the concept another whirl in 2018.
But the dream of taking a smartphone, plugging in peripherals, and using it like a laptop never quite came to life. The closest thing we ever got to a success is Samsung’s DeX, but even that hasn’t truly taken off.
With the latest rumblings in Android devices, the concept might be ready for another go. More devices now support display output over USB, plus desktop-style interfaces, plus serious leaps in performance. Microsoft’s recent push for Arm makes the prospect that much more interesting.
All combined, Android phones now have more potential than ever before to fulfill the needs of someone who wants a phone and laptop in one device and live that convenient double-life.
Rethink what you know about performance
Smartphones, with their piddly little mobile processors, are no match for most laptops, right? I’ve strongly agreed with that sentiment for a long time, but the latest smartphone SoCs have blown me away.
Sure, there are still plenty of high-end laptop CPUs that smoke mobile CPUs with no contest. But I’ve also tested tons of low-end laptops with crappy performance — and Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite has advanced enough to match or even surpass those slowpokes.
In testing Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite, I’ve seen the impressive benchmarks and real-world testing results with my own eyes. The chip averages over 3,090 points in Geekbench 6’s single-core test and 9,724 points for multi-core performance.
To put that into perspective, I also recently tested the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon 13th Gen Aura Edition laptop with a brand-new Intel Core Ultra 7 258V processor. The Geekbench 6 results for that one showed 2,659 points for a single core and 10,797 for all cores. That puts the mobile SoC within spitting distance (while running on battery power, no less).
Qualcomm
Looking at some additional testing we’ve done, these phones aren’t terribly far behind the latest from Intel or AMD, and they consistently have the lead in single-core performance, and they’re remarkably competitive where on-battery performance is concerned.
Even graphics performance is up to snuff. The same phones that achieved these Geekbench scores averaged 2,298 points in 3DMark’s Steel Nomad Light benchmark while the ThinkPad managed 2,518 points. Again, very close! I also tested the Dell XPS 13 (9345) with a Snapdragon X Elite X1E-80-100 chip, and its 1,969.5-point average in Steel Nomad Light shows that its job could possibly be filled by the phones instead. Intel’s Arc graphics and AMD’s Radeon 890M show a clear advantage in graphics performance, but the difference isn’t world’s apart.
All of this shows how well modern phones stack up against the better laptop configurations available today. They perform even better when you start comparing them against budget options and alternatives.
While smartphones might not have the most powerful innards for a system to run on, it’s clear that some of them now have what it takes to hold up in everyday tasks, like web browsing and basic productivity.
How to make it happen today
It’s no longer the internal hardware that’s holding phones back from doubling as laptops. But there are still other hurdles to overcome.
For one thing, not every phone is ready to use its USB charging port as a display output. It’s becoming increasingly more supported, of course, and Google’s recent introduction of DisplayPort Alt Mode via USB-C in the Pixel 8 series was a big step in the right direction from one of the market’s key players. But overall movement is still slow.
Mark Hachman / IDG
Once smartphones are ready to connect to external displays, the next step is the supporting hardware. There’s always the option to build your own “franken-system” by hooking up a portable monitor and a keyboard through a USB hub accessory. A mouse or trackpad could be a good idea, too. (Fortunately, some phones turn their screens into trackpads while in a setup like this, giving you one fewer thing to worry about.)
Some complete solutions already exist, by the way, like the ones by NexDock and Uperfect. These all-in-one solutions are great because you can easily connect your phone to all necessary peripherals with one swift action. That said, DIY options still offer more modularity and piecemeal upgradeability akin to what Framework laptops offer.
Ways it could be even better
A functional external display is essential and becoming more common, but software support is another big obstacle here.
Some device makers already have special apps and platforms that allow their phones to shift their operating systems into “desktop mode” when docked. Samsung DeX is one of the best examples, but it’s only available on its flagship and upper-tier devices. Motorola has a similar capability through Ready For. Few others have hopped aboard, though.
These tools change the look and behavior of their respective operating systems when connected to an external display. For devices with these features, really the only thing to wait for is newer devices that have the newer Snapdragon 8 Elite chips, which should narrow the performance gap between thin-and-light laptops and smartphones, making it possible to use a phone as a laptop seamlessly without poor performance.
For other devices, like those from OnePlus and Google, you might find that they offer display outputs but don’t have the same kind of tuned desktop experiences offered by Samsung and Motorola. For example, I couldn’t quickly or easily get phones from either brand working with an external display beyond simply mirroring the phone’s screen. This might do in a pinch, but it’s hardly an elegant long-term solution.
“Did someone say dual OS?”Lenovo
To realize the dream of a phone that doubles as a computer, we need more support from device makers and their software. Better yet, Google could bake it into Android at the system level and make it available to a wider swath of devices without the need for phone manufacturers to roll up their own solutions a la Samsung DeX. There are already some elements of this in Android — though so far I’ve only seen them in developer options and couldn’t get them working — and Google has the power and influence to take it all the way.
While Android phones are probably the only avenue for this (just look at Apple’s obstinance in allowing macOS on iPads), I don’t see why it needs to be relegated to only Android phones. Even if workable Android-based solutions already exist, Android may not be the operating system people want for a phone that can double as a laptop.
In 2024, Microsoft made a massive push to promote Snapdragon processors, and therefore Arm architecture, on Windows devices. While I’m sure there are some sneaky differences between Snapdragon SoCs made for laptops and phones, I have little doubt that greater Windows compatibility with Arm architecture could make Windows 11 dual-boot setups on phones all the more realistic.
In fact, we’ve already seen that Windows 11 for Arm can run on an Android smartphone (as Tom’s Hardware reported) and that was managed with a weaker device running an older Snapdragon 860 chip. The newer Snapdragon 8 hardware that got me excited about this prospect in the first place could make all the difference.
Barriers clearly still exist. But with performance catching up, proper hardware checking the right boxes, and software support looking better every day, this dream may not be too far from reality anymore. Read...Newslink ©2025 to PC World |  |
|  | | PC World - 16 Jan (PC World)If YouTube TV’s latest price hike feels like a breaking point to you, you’re not alone.
Over the last week, I’ve heard from a bunch of folks who say the rate hike—from $73 per month to $83 per month, starting January 13, 2025—is the last straw. They’re now seeking alternatives to YouTube TV that will provide comparable channel coverage for less.
Unfortunately, that sort of easy escape hatch doesn’t exist. Like every other live TV service (including satellite and cable), YouTube TV keeps raising prices because TV programmers keep demanding more money for their channels. Unless the entire industry embraces cheaper, more flexible bundles, the bill for all of these services will keep going up.
The only alternative is to ditch your big pay TV package entirely. While this approach does involve sacrifice, the savings can be significant. Here are your options.
This story is part of TechHive’s in-depth coverage of the best live TV streaming services.
Consider an antenna
With an inexpensive over-the-air antenna and good-enough reception, you can watch the big four broadcast channels—ABC, CBS, Fox, and NBC—for free, along with PBS and a smattering of rerun-centric subchannels. An antenna won’t entirely replace a bigger bundle, but it’ll give you a big head start. You can even set up an over-the-air DVR to record shows for later.
Antennas won’t work for everyone. Roughly speaking, you’ll want to be within at most 30 miles of local broadcast stations to use an indoor antenna, and within 60 miles for an outdoor model. Even then, obstructions and topography can impact the signal. Use the Antennaweb site to look up nearby stations for a sense of what you need, and be prepared for some trial and error. If you’re ready to experiment, we have a list of the best indoor and outdoor antennas available.
Stream (some) local stations
If an antenna isn’t feasible, you can stream some local stations instead, but it’ll cost you:
Paramount+ with Showtime ($13 per month) includes a live feed of your nearest CBS station, including NFL coverage, along with on-demand access to primetime CBS shows. The cheaper Paramount+ Essential tier with ads ($8 per month) does not include CBS, but does offer the NFL games. You can often get Paramount+ for free in one-month increments.
Peacock Premium Plus ($14 per month) includes a feed of your nearest NBC station, including Sunday Night Football, plus on-demand access to primetime NBC shows. The cheaper Premium tier with ads ($8 per month) does not include a local NBC feed, but does carry NFL games.
The PBS app includes live feeds of local PBS stations for free, along with on-demand PBS programming. An optional $5-per-month “Passport” donation unlocks additional content.
You can also use the free NBC and ABC apps to watch some network TV shows without a subscription, while the Paramount+ app offers some CBS programs for free as well.
Unfortunately, live feeds of ABC and Fox are unavailable without a large pay TV package, but you can watch primetime shows from both networks on Hulu, which starts at $10 per month.
Look for live news
The major cable news networks—CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC—are not available without a big pay TV package, but you can access some of their content in alternative ways:
Max offers an alternative CNN live feed with much of the same programming, but not in the same order as CNN proper.
MSNBC’s website and mobile app offer live audio of the cable network for free.
Some primetime Fox News shows are available on-demand via Fox Nation, but there’s no live feed.
In lieu of cable news channels, consider the many free options available for streaming the news instead:
Local news: Many local stations offer their newscasts for free if you know where to look. Check out NewsOn, Zeam, Local Now, Haystack News, or your local station’s own website. You’ll also find local news via Tubi, the Roku Channel, Amazon’s Fire TV News app, and the free channels on Google TV devices.
National and international news: Pluto TV, Tubi, The Roku Channel, Xumo, and Sling TV Freestream, all offer round-the-clock streaming news channels, even from major networks such as CBS and NBC. That may scratch the background TV itch you’d otherwise get from cable news.
Find favorite shows elsewhere
Outside of news and sports, it’s rare for cable channels to carry exclusive new shows that aren’t available on standalone streaming services. If there’s a show you like on YouTube TV (or cable), sites like Reelgood or MyBundle can tell you where else to find them.
And if by chance a show is only on cable—like Yellowstone, whose final season was exclusive to Paramount Network—you can always buy that show individually through stores like Amazon Video, Fandango, or Apple TV.
Sort through sports streaming options
Sports are where replacing a service like YouTube TV gets tricky.
Currently, there’s no way to watch ABC or Fox without a big TV package or an antenna. ESPN isn’t available on a standalone basis either—although that will change in 2025—nor are FS1, FS2, or college conference channels such as SEC Network and Big Ten Network.
So what can you get without a service like YouTube TV? Some options:
As I mentioned earlier, the ad-free tiers of Paramount+ and Peacock include live feeds of CBS and NBC respectively, including all sports coverage.
Max streams all sports coverage from TNT, TBS, and TruTV. This will eventually cost an extra $10 per month on top of a standard Max subscription, but is included at no extra charge for now.
Many regional sports networks are now available on a standalone basis. I’ve compiled the options for NBA and NHL teams.
MLB TV and NBA League Pass offer games that are not broadcast in your local market. ESPN+ offers the same service for NHL games.
NFL+ offers local and nationally-televised football games, but only on a phone or tablet.
Amazon Prime, Apple TV+, and even Netflix are picking up more sports programming as well, but their offerings are fairly scattershot.
I’ve also compiled some additional tools to help sort through the sports streaming options, particularly if you’re trying to follow a specific team or league.
Not ready to unbundle? Some other options:
For now, the most complete live TV streaming service that’s markedly cheaper than YouTube TV is Sling TV. It offers a smaller bundle of pay TV channels, but still carries major sports channels, with three available base packages:
Sling TV Orange ($46 per month) is currently the cheapest way to access ESPN and other ESPN-owned channels, such as SEC Network.
Sling TV Blue ($46 per month) is the cheapest way to access FS1 and FS2. It also includes live access to NBC and ABC in some markets, and on-demand programming from all three channels everywhere.
Sling Orange + Blue ($61 per month) combines both of the above packages.
Unfortunately, Sling’s local channel coverage is lacking, with ABC, Fox, and NBC available only in select markets, and no CBS anywhere. For that reason, it pairs best with an over-the-air antenna.
Hulu + Live TV is also worth a look. While it’s no cheaper than what YouTube TV will soon cost at $83 month, it includes the full Disney bundle (Disney+, ESPN+, and Hulu’s on-demand catalog) at no extra charge. If you subscribe to any of those services on their own, you’ll save money by switching from YouTube TV to Hulu + Live TV instead.
Lastly, you might take a look at some TV packages that don’t include sports or local channels. Because they omit the most expensive content on cable, their prices are significantly lower:
Frndly TV ($7 per month) offers Hallmark Channel and a smattering of other largely rerun-centric channels.
Philo ($28 per month) offers entertainment channels with a big emphasis on reality TV, but no sports, broadcast, or major cable news channels.
Comcast’s NowTV is a $20-per-month bundle of entertainment channels and Peacock, with an option to add Netflix (with ads) and Apple TV+ for $10 per month extra. It’s available to customers with Xfinity home internet or Comcast’s cheaper Now Internet plans.
Spectrum TV Stream is a $40 bundle of entertainment channels that also includes CNN and Fox News, available to Spectrum home internet customers.
Just let go
If you’re thinking that the cost of a la carte streaming adds up to more than YouTube TV or even cable, you’d be right. This has been the case for years, is not an original thought, and entirely misses the point.
Unbundling your TV options does not automatically save you money, but it does let you decide what’s truly worth paying for. For that reason, standalone services are also highly incentivized to offer seasonal sales, comeback deals, and other discounts. These can considerably defray the cost of having a bunch of services at the same time.
When you drop a live TV streaming service such as YouTube TV, you’re adopting a different mindset, in which you make peace with not having everything. The sooner you realize you weren’t going to watch it all anyway, the easier unbundling becomes.
Sign up for Jared’s Cord Cutter Weekly newsletter for more streaming TV advice. Read...Newslink ©2025 to PC World |  |
|  | | PC World - 16 Jan (PC World)There’s a growing trend of developers flexing their muscles to make PDF documents do completely different things than what they’re intended to do. The goal is to push the boundaries of the PDF format.
PDF (which stands for Portable Document Format) was created in 1992 as a way to present documents independently of software, hardware, and operating systems. It’s practical, but it’s also complex — and that’s what makes the format attractive to programmers and malware creators alike. (Where some see security risks, others see a chance to shine.)
As it turns out, one GitHub user named ading2210 — a “high school student with an interest in programming, web development, and cybersecurity” — has pushed the envelope even further with DoomPDF, a port of Doom that runs directly in a PDF file. The only catch is that it needs a PDF reader that supports JavaScript, which is usually only available in Adobe Acrobat and browsers like Chromium.
You can try playing DoomPDF yourself here (PDF). The developer was inspired by PDFtris, a PDF version of Tetris created by Thomas Rinsma. Read...Newslink ©2025 to PC World |  |
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