PCWorldAugust 2018的目錄

For all of Microsoft’s claims about mobility, the Microsoft Surface lineup of Windows tablets really haven’t been all that portable. The smaller, cheaper, lighter Surface Go announced in early July hopes to change all that, with a new 10-inch spin on the traditional Surface tablet. No, this isn’t the Surface Mini, or the rumored two-screen device, “Andromeda”. The Surface Go is most reminiscent of the Microsoft Surface 3 (), 2015’s quirky $499 Atom-powered tablet that provided a cheaper alternative to the pricey Surface line. The Surface Go dives even lower—prices start at just $399 for a bare-bones model with 4GB of memory and 64GB of storage when it ships on August 2. A keyboard will be sold separately, beginning at $99, and the optional Surface Pen will cost $99 as…

When Samsung officially announces its results for the second quarter, the numbers will look plenty good to the untrained eye: $13 billion in profit on $51.8 billion revenue. However, analysts will tell you that those figures represent a 0.7 percent decline in sales compared with the prior year’s quarter. That might not seem like a terrible dip, but when you zoom in a little further, it spells trouble for one of Samsung’s most visible products: the Galaxy S9. According to reports, Samsung sold the fewest number of S series flagship phones since 2012’s Galaxy S3, with a reported 31 million units shipping in 2018. To put that in perspective, the Galaxy S7 was the high-water mark for Samsung’s S flagship, with some 50 million sales. That means many people are either…

Nvidia’s dueling GeForce Now services just got a lot less complicated—and a whole lot more appealing for Shield TV owners. Originally created as a Netflix-like all-you-can-play subscription service for Nvidia’s set-top box, the waters became murkier with the beta launch of the wildly different GeForce Now for PCs and Macs, which essentially runs the PC games you already own on an Nvidia server in the cloud. Recently, Nvidia announced that the services are unified. Shield TV now runs the same version of GeForce Now as the PC and Mac. Better yet, GeForce Now is still free while it’s in beta. And while PC and Mac users have to register for the beta and cross their fingers that they’ll be accepted for the service, “Access to the GeForce Now beta is included…

Dell already had a winning formula for its flagship desktop replacement. The Alienware 17 R4 sat atop our guide to the best gaming laptops ever since we reviewed it just shy of a year ago. Sure, it was big and heavy like all the most powerful gaming laptops are, but the notebook delivered such blisteringly fast performance that the trade-off proved worthwhile for enthusiasts. The classic Alienware design delivered nice touches (like side RGB accent lights) you don’t often see elsewhere. It kicked ass, full stop. The newest iteration largely sticks with proven success, with one key difference: an upgrade to Intel’s 8th-gen mobile processors, which pack more CPU cores than previous generations did. The Alienware 17 R5 we’re reviewing today packs Intel’s debut high-performance Core i9 laptop chip. Friends, the Core…

Even though Toshiba’s RC100 is the slowest NVMe SSD we’ve tested, it’s still a kick in the pants after SATA. And because it’s so thin and light, it’s a worthy laptop upgrade. The RC100 caught us just a tad off guard. We hadn’t seen a drive in the 2242 form factor (22mm wide, 42mm long) since…well, never. The longer 2280 form factor has been the name of the game around here since we started covering NVMe SSDs. Despite its diminutive nature, the RC100 is available in capacities up to 480GB. Check out our regularly updated guide to the best SSDs for other storage options. DESIGN AND SPECS As I said, the RC100 is a shorty. One might even say it’s cute. The drive is PCIe 3.0 using two lanes, rather…

As always, it’s hard to believe we’re already halfway through 2018. Seems like just yesterday we were crowning 2017’s best PC games, and now there’s six more months of titles swelling the backlog. This year’s been a bit odd though, with many of the biggest and most anticipated games (Sea of Thieves) floundering, and others ending up on this list that I hadn’t even heard of until they popped up on Steam (Yoku’s Island Express). We’ll see how many of them survive for our final Game of the Year list in December, but for now? Read on for our 10 favorite PC games of 2018…so far. SUBNAUTICA I’m not much of a fan of survival games normally, but Subnautica ($25 on Humble) had me hooked for weeks. The mysteries of…

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 quickly clear out hundreds of megabytes or even a gig or two 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 from a…

It’s no coincidence that Apple released a series of iPad international video spots just hours before Microsoft unveiled its most affordable tablet (see page 7), the Surface Go. The four 15-second ads spotlight the iPad’s ability to make mundane tasks like paperwork, packing, and traveling easier with the low-cost tablet. But now Microsoft has a strong competitor to Apple’s entry-level $329 iPad. With a $399 price tag and a 10-inch screen, the Surface Go isn’t just Microsoft’s cheapest Surface tablet, it’s one of the most affordable full-featured tablets you can buy. And it just might be a better investment than the 9.7-inch iPad, depending on what you need. Here’s why (and why not): WHY THE SURFACE GO BEATS THE iPAD It’s a real computer The basic Surface Go might look a…

Fans of the classic Microsoft Intellimouse 3.0 from 2003 can now buy an updated version, which, Microsoft has promised, is true to the spirit of the original. In fact, Simon Dearsley, Devices Design Director at Microsoft, said this week that some of the components in the new Classic Intellimouse remain the same as those in the original Intellimouse 3.0, its inspiration. The key improvements are in the switch and tracking technology, updating the components for the modern era. “We’ve reached a point where tracking and switch technology and price has matured immensely,” Dearsley said. “We saw this as an opportunity to improve on an icon by updating it with modern technology.” The Microsoft Classic Intellimouse is priced at $40. The BlueTrack sensor reports mouse movements up to 1,000 times per second,…

This puppy chatbot is the most adorable example yet of the promise of fintech. Fintech is a blanket term for financial technologies. Fintech ranges from the payment and banking apps many of us already use, to the AI and machine-learning applications that crunch transactional data for financial companies, to cryptocurrency, blockchain, and other complete re-imaginings of how money works. In June, at Intuit’s Innovation Lab in San Francisco, the puppy was one of several experiments shown by the company’s developers that explore how consumers could experience fintech in their daily lives—and maybe have more fun with managing money. A PUPPY (OR KITTEN) THAT CARES The puppy chatbot, along with a kitten and some human-like characters, are an experiment in what Intuit called empathetic virtual assistants. Designed to present a friendly face…

The best antivirus solution is one that’s as simple as possible. After all, if a user can’t navigate the app to take advantage of its features, then much of the program’s usefulness is lost. Trend Micro’s Maximum Security nails this principle with some of the easiest navigation we’ve seen yet. The default dashboard is very straightforward. There’s a large Scan circle in the middle that changes color based on the status of the PC. Clicking on the circle initiates a quick scan, while clicking the downward-facing arrow to the right of it offers the choice of quick, full, and custom scans. Above that circle are the four basic security categories for the app: Device, Privacy, Data, and Family. DEVICE TAB The Device tab includes the settings for Trend Micro’s real-time…

A wearable GPS tracker could strike the right balance between giving your children increasing independence while preserving your peace of mind. You can track where your kids are, discover if they’re not where they’re supposed to be, keep in touch, and even get an SOS if something really bad happens. GPS trackers come in many shapes and sizes—some are pocket-sized modules that can be fastened to bags or clothing; others are watch, pendant or necklace designs. Most of them, however, come bundled with similar bells and whistles ranging from two-way calling and text messaging to step counters and even panic buttons. Some trackers are even designed specifically for elderly relatives in mind, though most can be used by anyone of any age. Of course, a particular model may lack a…

Spam lives on, despite all our efforts to snuff it out—but Outlook has some features to help slow it down. Here are some things anyone can do to manage their email, plus some tips for working within a corporate Outlook system. 1. USE BLOCK SENDER FREQUENTLY Use Outlook’s Block Sender feature to add intrusive spam to your Block Sender List, and then move it to the Junk Email folder. This works fine if you receive fewer than a dozen emails a day. Select the spam email, right-click on it, choose Junk from the drop-down menu, and click Block Sender. Or, Select Home > Junk > Block Sender. Outlook marks it and relocates it immediately. 2. SET UP A BLOCKED SENDER LIST If you get a lot of spam from a…

Most how-to articles on a given subject walk you through a series of steps, perhaps with a video attached. Windows 10’s new free help feature, Cortana Show Me, is different: It actually performs basic Windows tasks for you on your PC while you follow along. Even better, Cortana Show Me strikes a nice balance between showing you what to do, actually performing those steps, and providing an “escape hatch” if you need to slow down. All you need to do is wiggle your mouse, and Cortana Show Me will stop. Microsoft’s free app is part of the Windows 10 April 2018 Update, and includes walkthroughs for many basic tasks—we show the full list in this article. Let’s be clear, though: Most advanced users won’t need to use Cortana Show Me.…

With Apple announcing recently that it has dropped a 6-core 8th-gen Core i7 8750H into the MacBook Pro 15, there are two things we know for sure: The first is that the boost in performance will be huge. The second—it still won’t be faster than the fastest PC laptops. Sure, you could say we’re just being haters because we heart PC. But unlike the iPad and iPhone, Apple doesn’t make its own CPUs. It relies on the same ones PC laptops have been using since at least April. All of the testing we’ve done already on Intel’s 8th-gen Kaby Lake R (reviewed here), the 8th-gen Kaby Lake G (reviewed here), and the 8th-gen Coffee Lake H (reviewed here) lets us say with high confidence just how fast the new 2018 MacBook…

While a form of the Zacinlo rootkit has been active for several years, BitDefender said in June that it has adopted a more sinister appearance: as an anonymous “VPN” service, S5Mark, that worms its way into Windows 10 systems and can send screenshots of whatever you’re looking at to its control server. While it’s not clear how many systems have been infected in the wild, BitDefender says that the majority of Zacinlo systems that have been attacked have been in the United States, and running Windows 10. Check out PCWorld’s roundup of the best VPNs before downloading an untested version from a shady part of the web. In a report (PDF), BitDefender said that the platform has been active for several years, usually tagging along on freeware programs that might claim…

Kaby Lake G’s marriage of Intel CPU and AMD GPU is an unusual partnership in the spirit of peanut butter and chocolate, R2-D2 and C3PO in Star Wars, and, yes, even Tom Hanks and the dog in Turner and Hooch. People love the unexpected. Built out of an Intel 8th-generation quad-core CPU and an AMD custom Radeon RX Vega M graphics chips, Kaby Lake G shook the PC industry when Intel announced the chip at CES. After putting Kaby Lake G through the wringer via HP’s Spectre x360 15, it’s now clear to us that this new CPU/GPU combination may very well represent the future of the PC and deserves the fear it’s generating among competitors. WHAT IS KABY LAKE G? When Kaby Lake G was first announced, many assumed Intel had…

With the U12+, HTC somehow manages to mess up the one thing that all other phones get right: the volume and power buttons. I don’t generally pay much mind to the buttons on my phone—the Bixby key on the Galaxy S9 notwithstanding—but the U12+’s are so finicky, I actively tried to avoid them. The U12+’s buttons notwithstanding, I’d still have a hard time recommending this phone. Yes, it improves on the U11 in some key areas—most notably, the camera—but it’s also a stark reminder of just how frustrating HTC’s phones have become. Ever since the glorious One changed our perception of what a high-end Android phone should be, HTC has consistently taken one step forward and two steps back with each new flagship phone. I was hoping the U12+’s fresh…

Oh, Internet. We know you’ve been throwing shade at Intel’s 8th-gen 6-core Core CPUs since they were announced. In fact, we bet you’re snidely commenting in YouTube or Reddit right now that the CPU is just another re-badge of the “same old thing.” Well guess what? While it is essentially a derivative of the previous CPU, there’s a whole lot more to the 8th-gen Core i7 than you think. It’s enough of a difference, in fact, that it’s probably one of the rare times we can say it may be worth upgrading over the previous CPU generation. So yeah, that means it’s a big deal. We’ll explain why—and show you benchmarks to prove it—right here. WHAT EXACTLY IS 8TH-GEN CORE? First, we had 8th-gen Core i7 “Coffee Lake S” for desktops.…

It’s been nearly five years since Google shut down its Reader service, and we still haven’t gotten over it. We’ve tried our share of replacements—Feedly, Inoreader, NewBlur, etc.—but between subscription fees, cross-platform compatibility, and interface oddities, we’ve yet to find anything that completely fills the void Reader left in our feeds. But Google hasn’t given up on organized, personalized news feeds. Quite the contrary: After taking several swings with services such as Google+, Google Now, and News and Weather, Google unveiled at its I/O developer conference in May a brand-new Google News app, with a uniform experience across Android, iOS, and the web, a new philosophy, and a completely redesigned interface. The new Google News isn’t quite a resurrection of Reader. But with a simplified interface and a nice combination…