PCWorldの August 2020 の目次

Intel’s endless 10nm nightmare has cost it so, so much. It all started on September 5, 2014. That’s the day Intel introduced 5th-gen Core M chips based on “Broadwell”, the company’s first processors built using the 14-nanometer manufacturing process. Despite some manufacturing woes that pushed Broadwell back from its expected 2013 release, Intel’s offering served as the vanguard of processor technology. AMD remained stuck on the 28nm process with its abysmal Bulldozer architecture. A mere month later, the Apple iPad Air 2 launched with a custom A8X chip that couldn’t quite hang with Intel’s older Haswell CPUs in Geekbench—but it was getting close. Nearly six years later, the tables have turned. Intel’s 10th-gen Core processors remain on an (upgraded) 14nm process. AMD’s Ryzen chips have snatched the computing crown, and Apple’s…

Recently, Qualcomm unveiled the Snapdragon 865 Plus 5G platform, confirming previous rumors while offering faster CPU and GPU clock speeds, upgraded Wi-Fi, plus 5G modem support. The Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 Plus 5G platform (also referred to as the Snapdragon 865 Plus, when speaking about the chip itself) is essentially an upgraded version of the Snapdragon 865 chip the company unveiled last December for premium smartphones. The Snapdragon 865 introduced a host of new features, including camera upgrades, AI, security, and gaming. The Snapdragon 865 was designed around Qualcomm’s standalone X55 5G modem, and the Snapdragon 865 Plus is as well, though neither is integrated. Both the 865 and the 865 Plus are 7nm chips. Almost all of the features on both the Snapdragon 865 and 865 Plus are common to both platforms.…

Microsoft said in early July that it’s making OneDrive file sharing more manageable, adding a convenient way to share folders and files with friends, while giving business users more control over a file as it moves through an organization. “Sharing” a file or folder seems simple, but it’s really not—not when you (or your company) needs to decide who has access, and what happens when things move locations. Negotiating all of those requirements is the foundation for the OneDrive changes Microsoft announced recently. NEW ONEDRIVE CONSUMER CONTROLS Microsoft already allows you to right-click a file within OneDrive for the web and share it with specific contacts, with permissions that include edit controls, passwords, and the like. What Microsoft calls “family and group sharing” will arrive on OneDrive for the web…

At first glance, it’s easy to dismiss this particular model of Lenovo’s Yoga C640, a Best Buy exclusive with a relatively anemic dual-core i3 Comet Lake CPU, a puny 128GB SSD, and a $600 price tag. That said, this sleek convertible (officially the Yoga C640-13IML) has an ace up its sleeve: a beefy battery that just goes, and goes, and goes. While this made-for-Best Buy system isn’t a great pick for users looking to process 4K videos or crunch big numbers (there are other Yoga C640 configurations better suited for such CPU-intensive tasks), it could be a great fit for users looking for a versatile 2-in-1 that can go all day long without an AC cord. SPECS AND FEATURES Lenovo offers three versions of the Yoga C640-13IML (we’ll just call…

We’ve been reviewing Avira Antivirus Pro for a few years now and wondering why it was worth purchasing when the free version of Avira offered so much. At the time, Avira’s top-level offering, Prime, was just too expensive. Those days are over, however, and Avira Prime is now available at a competitive price. Prime is the company’s one-stop shop for antivirus, web protection, ad blocking, privacy protection, and system maintenance. It includes access to Phantom Pro, the company’s VPN, as well as system tune-up options, a secure file shredder, and more. Avira also recently overhauled its interface, offering a much nicer look, and a vast improvement on Avira’s previous design. FEATURES AND SERVICES Avira Prime starts with a very simple dashboard with three icons: Security, Privacy, and Performance. There’s also a…

It’s been one hell of a year, eh? Or one hellish year, whichever you’d prefer. This year was already on track to be a weird one for video games, with new consoles just over the horizon. The transition is always awkward, as publishers rush out their last few efforts before the door closes and everyone stops caring about the “old” consoles forever. But obviously a world in flames has made the release schedule even more volatile than expected. Most of the spring’s big games—Cyberpunk 2077, Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2, Wasteland 3, Watch Dogs Legion—were pushed to the end of 2020, leaving us to celebrate…Halo 2? Halo 2 is a hell of a game. In all seriousness, there have been some good’uns released in the first half of 2020.…

Can Microsoft Word read to me? Yes, it can. There are three ways to accomplish this task: The Speak and Read Aloud features in Word, or the Narrator feature in Windows. The Speak feature was incorporated into Microsoft Office (Word, Outlook, PowerPoint, etc.) back in version 2003. It was called Text To Speech (TTS) then, and it functioned much the same as it does now. Fortunately, it’s a very simple procedure to set up and use, so you can get started immediately. ADD THE SPEAK BUTTON TO THE QUICK ACCESS TOOLBAR 1. Click the Customize arrow on the Quick Access Toolbar. 2. From the drop-down menu, select More Commands. 3. Go to Word Options > Customize The Quick Access Toolbar and locate the Choose Commands From box. Scroll down to…

Apple Macs “just work” (for now, at least). PCs are hobbyist machines. Both are stereotypes, sure, but they might offer some explanation why Apple Stores are thriving and Microsoft just decided to close all of its stores. Microsoft spun the closure into a “new approach to retail,” one that would be driven through its website and online sales channels, rather than through a network of physical stores. (Amazon must be chuckling at this.) But the writing was on the wall: In 2019, Microsoft shuttered virtually all of its retail kiosks at malls and other shopping centers, leaving the larger Microsoft Stores on uncertain ground. If you walked into a mall the last few years, the evidence was there in front of you: shoppers visited Apple Stores, and generally ignored Microsoft Stores.…

In late June, Belkin launched the Thunderbolt Dock Core, which the company claims is the first Thunderbolt-certified dual-powered Thunderbolt 3 dock. The $170 Thunderbolt Dock Core accepts your laptop’s power supply (assuming it charges via USB-C), which can plug into the USB-C (PD) port on the side of Belkin’s dock. The port then supplies up to 60W to the laptop, which is typically enough to power an ultralight laptop or similar model. Because the device is dual-powered, the opposite is also true: The dock can pull its own power directly from the laptop’s Thunderbolt cable if needed. What’s the difference between a USB-C hub and a Thunderbolt dock? They use the same physical interface—a Thunderbolt port can sometimes be indicated by a small lightning bolt, though your laptop’s manual is sometimes…

Oculus stopped selling its entry-level virtual reality headset, the Oculus Go, in June. Usually this kind of announcement would be met with nostalgic retrospectives and beers poured on the floor. Much lamenting, and all that. Even the worst products usually get a rose-colored sendoff. But virtual reality is better off without Go around, and so is Oculus. THE GEAR VR ERA You’ll get no eulogy from me. Not a fond one, anyway. The Oculus Go was a play for the mass market that completely misunderstood the mass market. Staring down the barrel of the $600 Oculus Rift, the goal was to get people into virtual reality as cheaply as possible. Break down the barriers. Build the ecosystem. That process began with the Samsung Gear VR. Using an existing Samsung phone…

The HP Chromebook x360 12b is an affordable Chromebook made for grown-ups. It takes you a cut above the rock-bottom basic Chromebooks that hover around $250 (and continue to sell well). Get one of those for your kids—who cares if they destroy it? But you, the adult in the room, deserve the Chromebook x360 12b, with its surprisingly good design and great battery life. This is still a budget-grade Chromebook, so there are some compromises: Performance is mediocre, and the 3:2 display, while nice and tall, isn’t very bright. Still, we think HP made reasonable choices to provide a productive and enjoyable experience without breaking the bank. SPECS AND FEATURES The Chromebook x360 12b we tested currently goes for $360 at Adorama. As you’ll see from the somewhat modest specs…

We’re just gonna say it—you’re crazy to take your Galaxy S20 out in public without something to protect it. With prices starting at $1,000 and going all the way up to $1,600, it’s one of the most expensive phones ever made. It’s also the biggest, with the S20 Ultra tipping the scales at a whopping (and eminently droppable) 6.9 inches. So check out these picks and stop playing chicken with your phone. SMARTISH WALLET SLAYER VOL. 1 Price: $20 Colors: Black, various Why we love it: The Smartish Wallet Slayer doesn’t just have a cool name, it lives up to it. The case has enough room for three credit cards on the back, but its soft material keeps it from getting too bulky. The texturized sides are nice to grip,…

Few things in life are as annoying as finding that your Android handset refuses to install any more app updates because it’s run out of storage. Unlike many of life’s little annoyances, though, this one’s easy to fix. You can’t do anything about your system files, but you can quickly clear out precious gigs by sweeping up stale downloads, rooting out offline maps and documents, clearing caches, and wiping unneeded music and video files. And if these tips don’t do the trick, check out our picks for the best Android phones for every need and budget. 1. CLEAR OUT ALL CACHED APP DATA If you dig into the Apps storage setting screen and tap on an individual app, you’ll notice that each app has its own stash of “cached” data—anywhere…

For all its positives, Windows sometimes acts in unexpected ways—like a sudden lack of audio. If your PC abruptly stops playing sound, try these easy steps to fix the issue: NO SOUND IN ONE APP 1. First, reboot your computer. 2. Confirm the program’s volume isn’t turned down or muted. In browsers like Chrome and Firefox, each tab can be muted individually—right-click a tab to see its status. (The option will say Unmute Tab if a tab is currently silenced.) 3. If you still can’t hear anything in this program, try uninstalling and reinstalling it. Before doing so, first back up any data and/or write down how your settings are currently configured, as applicable. Note: For paid software, your license for the program may be tied to a specific version—if…

Microsoft today said that it’s shaking up online Teams video meetings with a new Together mode that places participants in a virtual auditorium. It’s all part of a redesigned Teams experience that capitalizes on some of the promises Microsoft has been making for years. There’s even a pair of Teams smart displays. Microsoft said the company has spent much of the last few months rethinking the way in which video meetings were conducted. About 60 percent of those surveyed said they felt less connected to their colleagues due to the coronavirus, so Microsoft’s new Teams update tries to make nonverbal communication a priority. Several features play into this aspect of the Teams revamp, including chat bubbles, an updated way to “raise your hand” during meetings, and even live reactions. An…

Accidentally deleting a file can be a nightmare. A new Windows 10 recovery tool, Windows File Recovery, can help—though it’s geared towards those who don’t mind using a command-line interface. Windows File Recovery, a free Microsoft app now on the Windows Store, offers a way to restore files that have become accidentally deleted. It does require Windows 10 build 19041 or higher, however, and also doesn’t work on a file that’s been stored to the cloud. You’ll also need two separate drives, which can be as simple as a USB drive if you’re trying to recover a file from the boot disk. The app is essentially a command-line interface disguised as an app, so recovering a file is a strictly text-based affair. Microsoft automatically creates a recovery folder for you…

Timing is everything in the PC business, and the Dell XPS 15 9500, an overdue refresh to the company’s high-end workhorse, arrives just in time for it to be truly considered the “MacBook Pro killer” it’s always aspired to be. Yes, we know “MacBook Pro killer” is overused Internet clickbait. But with Apple’s decision to throw in the towel on x86-based laptops, anyone buying a Mac today is basically volunteering to stand on the deck of the Titanic and wave as the last lifeboats pull away. Some laptop refreshes can be fairly minor. For the XPS 15 9500 ($2,254 at Dell.com), it’s a complete redesign of a laptop that’s changed little since 2015, when it first adopted its “InfinityEdge” bezels. On this model, gone is the 16:9 display aspect ratio…

The Samsung 870 QVO (‘Q’ as in 4-bit QLC), is our first look at a drive that will eventually ship with a whopping 8TB of NAND on board. Announced June 30, this is the new top capacity available, superseding a still-new flock of 4TB models. Samsung sent us the 2TB version for testing. It’s a great everyday performer; however, when you run out of cache (which shouldn’t be often), write pace falls off drastically. SPECS AND PRICING A standard 2.5-inch SATA 6Gbps SSD, the 870 QVO is currently available for preorder in a few of its capacities: the 2TB we tested ($250 from Newegg), and 4TB ($500 from Newegg). The 1TB capacity is on sale now for $130 on Amazon or $130 from Newegg in $130/1TB, $250/2TB (tested), and $500/4TB flavors. The…

When I say an Xbox Game Pass for PC subscription is the best deal in gaming today, that’s no idle recommendation. I have a deep-seated hatred of today’s subscription culture. Yes, many streaming and subscription services are worth every penny, but in general, I hate that everything from Microsoft Office to Adobe’s Creative Cloud to freaking underwear tries to tie you up with monthly payments. So when I say Game Pass is worth it, I really mean it. Step aside, Humble Bundles. At first, I actually refused to pony up for Xbox Game Pass for PC, because again, I’ve had just about enough of subscriptions. But I succumbed to its siren song when Obsidian’s The Outer Worlds debuted, thanks to its day-one inclusion on the service. The service’s hooks sunk deeply…

Videos can be trickier than photos to share with friends and family. If you’ve captured more than a few seconds of content, the original file ends up too big to send directly through text message or a chat app like WhatsApp or Hangouts. You can’t upload and send it as-is. Fortunately, the default photo gallery app on your phone should have built-in features that circumvent this problem. You just select the video you want to share, generate a link, and then send that URL to your recipient. The app takes care of uploading the file to the cloud and all the other back-end work. HOW TO SHARE VIDEO ON ANDROID 1. Open your phone’s photo gallery app. Samsung users should look for Gallery and stock Android users should look for…