Technology

Microsoft releases “C” and “D” updates to people who click “Check for Updates” in Windows Update. Those people become unwitting beta testers. January 2019’s C update has a rare distinction: Microsoft tested it with Windows Insiders first.

C and D updates are released in the third and fourth week of most months. They include non-security fixes and are only installed for people who click the “Check for Updates” button in Windows Update. These people essentially beta test the updates before the fixes form part of next month’s stable Patch Tuesday updates. Those Patch Tuesday updates are named “B” updates, as Patch Tuesday is in the second week of each month.

These C and D updates have caused problems before. For example, a “D” update recently caused blue screens on Microsoft’s own Surface Book 2 hardware. Only people who clicked the “Check for Updates” button would have installed it and encountered the problem. Microsoft calls these people “seekers” and thinks they’re looking for more updates, but we think most people clicking that button have no clue they’re opting into unstable updates.

There’s finally some good news, though! As Woody Leonhard points out at AskWoody.com, this month’s C update—Windows Update KB4476976—has actually gone through thorough testing in the Windows Insider Release Preview ring earlier this month:

It’s finally out. The first Win10 patch (to the best of my knowledge) that’s been thoroughly tested in the Windows Insider Preview Ring — and I’d be willing to bet that it’s pretty stable.

…Raise a glass of cheer. We may be witnessing a fix to Microsoft’s fumbled fixing method.

This is still a C update and it’s still only installed if you click “Check for Updates,” but “seekers” who do click that button will be getting a patch that’s already gone through a round of testing with people who know what they’re getting into. Windows Insiders are, of course, people who’ve chosen to be beta testers.

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Are you the proud owner of a 2016 or newer MacBook Pro? Unfortunately, there’s a ticking time bomb on the inside that will eventually cause issues for the display’s backlight, and it’s a design flaw that affects every single unit.

Forever known as “Flexgate” (and detailed by iFixit), the issue deals with the MacBook Pro’s flexible display ribbon cables, which Apple designed to be extremely thin in the newer models. Unfortunately, they made them too thin, and with enough opening and closing of the lid, that thin cable will prematurely wear down and tear apart.

This causes the backlight of the display to give off a “stage light effect” at the bottom of the screen, and eventually craps the bed entirely once the lid is fully open, as demonstrated in the video below.

Unfortunately, according to iFixit, these cables are a part of the display, so the cables alone aren’t replaceable, but rather the entire display assembly has to be replaced, which is an expensive repair to say the least. Worse yet, iFixit says that it’s not a matter of “if” this will happen to your unit, but “when” it will happen.

This isn’t just a manufacturing defect that affects a small number of MacBook Pro units. Rather, it’s a design flaw which affects every single unit made since 2016. Some users have been able to get their unit repaired free of charge, but others haven’t been so lucky. The best thing you can do is contact Apple support as soon as you start having issues.

Apple has yet to officially address the issue, but as time goes on, we’re betting that we’ll see more and more complaints about this, and Apple will eventually have to do something.

via iFixit

For the longest time, Twitter has been doing that thing where it shows “popular” tweets instead of the newest stuff. The thing is, that’s a terrible way to experience Twitter. But now you can (finally) arrange tweets chronologically.

This is a relatively new feature on both iOS and Android, but at this point, it should be available to everyone. To keep things simple, the process is identical on both platforms. Here’s the skinny.

With your Twitter open on your timeline, take a look in the upper-right corner. There should be a little star icon there. Tap that thing!

A new menu will open, giving you the option to “See latest Tweets instead.” Tap that to magically, automatically, and some other “cally” get your Tweets in chronological order. The tastiest way to consume Twitter.

If you get sick of seeing things in a way that makes sense, you’re also free to go back to the Twitter-curated method. Just tap the little star icon again, the choose the somewhat-snarkily named “Go back Home” option.

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With iPhone and iPad, particularly the former, iMessage is integral to the way we communicate. It’s likely one of the most used apps for a lot of us. Emoji users love it, but did you know you can easily use words to call up Emoji?

One of the great things about iPhone and iPad is that their onscreen keyboards make it possible to quickly and easily switch to a host of Emoji that you can enter with a tap, but there are some other ways to send Emoji via Messages, and one of them, in particular, is super fast. In fact, there are two methods of adding Emoji-shaped flair to a message that you might not know about.

If you’re in the middle of writing a great message, nobody likes to have to switch keyboards mid-flow. If you’re using an iPhone, that’s not necessary because iOS will suggest Emoji based on the word that you just typed. To test it out, type the word “Apple” into a Messages text entry window and note what happens in the QuickType bar, just above the keyboard. Notice the two Emoji apples?  To select one, just tap it.

Note: Turn off the QuickType bar and forget how to turn it back on? Here’s how to enable and disable Predictive Typing on your iPhone or iPad.

This works mid-sentence and is a super quick way to avoid having to switch keyboards when composing a message. It even works for multi-word Emoji names, like “Thumbs up.”

If you’ve gotten to the end of a message and want to add some Emoji for a little color, that’s not a problem either. There’s no need to go back and start editing; instead, switch to the Emoji keyboard by tapping the icon below the keyboard.

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If you own an iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Mac, or an Apple TV, you might be pleased to know that a software update is available for each of these devices. So you may want to hit refresh in settings.

The version numbers for these updates are as follows:

• iPhone, iPad: 12.1.3
• Apple TV: 12.1.2
• Mac: 10.14.3

These updates merely just consist of bug fixes that improve the “security, stability and compatibility” of most devices, but even though they don’t come with any big new features, it’s worthwhile to update your device to the latest and greatest.

The most noteworthy thing is probably for HomePod. iOS 12.1.3 fixes issues that could cause HomePod to restart, as well as an issue that causes Siri to stop listening. Otherwise, here’s what’s going on under the hood on iOS devices:

– Fixes an issue in Messages that could impact scrolling through photos in the Details view
– Addresses an issue where photos could have striped artifacts after being sent from the Share Sheet
– Fixes an issue that may cause audio distortion when using external audio input devices on iPad Pro (2018)
– Resolves an issue that could cause certain CarPlay systems to disconnect from iPhone XR, iPhone XS, and iPhone XS Max

via AppleInsider

Wacaco

In need of an espresso fix wherever you go? We’ve got you covered with a bunch of great portable espresso machines that mean you won’t miss out on a delicious cup of coffee.

We’ve looked at portable espresso machines that are exactly that — small enough to take out and about with you, while also being powered through some means that doesn’t require a mains electricity supply. Wherever you’re on a long drive and need a cup of coffee to keep going, or you’re out hiking or camping, there’s a portable espresso machine for you.

RELATED: The Best Big Thermoses And Insulated Growlers For Hot And Cold Drinks

One thing you may want to keep in mind is that you’ll need super hot water to power most of these portable presses. If you’re at an office that has an electric kettle or water cooler with a hot water tap, that’s one thing, but if you’re in your car or on a hike you’ll want to tote along a big thermos full of hot water.

Here are some of our favorite portable espresso machines currently out there.

We’re going to level with you straight away—the Wacaco Nanopresso isn’t for the faint hearted but wow, does it make a good cup of espresso. It’s built around a pumping system so there’s no need for a battery or electrical supply. The downside here is that you have to pump it hard to maintain stable enough pressure to make a great espresso. It’s worth it though (especially if you’ve ever thought “I wish making my morning coffee was more similar to pumping up bike tires”).

It works with all varieties of ground coffee, and you simply add boiling water to its tank then pump manually until complete. At the end of that, you have a great drink and you never once had to worry about electricity. The water tank can hold up to 80ml of water with the device itself small and lightweight so it’s perfect for taking on trips with you. It’s tough too, so you don’t have to worry about the odd knock.

If you’ve got the arm strength for it, you can’t fault the Wacaco Nanopresso. It works great and you can make good espresso anywhere from a hotel room to a mountain slope.

The Barsetto Tripresso is a great portable espresso maker that makes an even better gift. It brews up to 355ml of coffee with a consistent flavor from start to finish. It’s made from stainless steel with a high-quality anti-slip silicon so it’s able to withstand you taking it out and about without an issue. A double wall vacuum gives you insulation while fully closed, keeping your coffee warm for up to 6 hours.

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DxOMark, the website that’s trusted for its camera ratings, has been testing the image quality on phone cameras for a while. But now they’ve started rating the selfie cameras on phones, a move that shows how powerful our phone’s cameras have become.

There’s a chance that you haven’t heard of DxOMark, but you’ve felt the website’s impact. Tech journalists consider DxOMark a leading authority in image quality assessments, and their ratings for phone cameras have a big influence on product reviews and marketing. If you’re a self-proclaimed phone photographer, then DxOMark is probably one of the reasons why you own the phone that’s in your pocket right now.

Earlier today, DxOMark published ratings for the selfie cameras on 12 different phones, and the company promised to rate cellphone selfie cameras in the future. But up until this morning, DxOMark only provided ratings for cellphones’ primary cameras. They didn’t bother testing the selfie cameras that are on phones, presumably because selfie cameras are notoriously underpowered and inconvenient for conventional photography.

DxOMark’s choice to start rating selfie cameras is an acknowledgment that our culture and our technology are changing. Selfies have become a serious form of photography. Even if you think that selfies are stupid, you can’t escape the fact that a large percentage of the photos that we take today are selfies. The cameras in our phones have grown to accommodate this trend, and as DxOMark shows, the front-facing cameras in our phones are only a little less powerful than our phones’ main cameras.

So, which phones have the best selfie cameras? Well, DxOMark gave both the Google Pixel 3 and the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 an average score of 92. But they’ve detailed some aesthetic differences in the cameras that may appeal to different people. The Samsung has a low noise ratio that makes faces appear smoother, while the Pixel shows a lot of texture that makes photos appear slightly noisy. The iPhone XS/Max came in with a score of 82 points, mostly due to its poor low-light performance.

Just think, the selfie cameras in phones have become so good that they’re discussed on terms of minute aesthetic differences, not just resolution.

via DxOMark

Unless you work from home, Google Maps is fantastic at knowing where you need to be, and how long to get there. But you did the math on when to leave. Thankfully Google can tell you that now too.

Google Maps is excellent for finding directions to the places you need to go, even if that means making multiple stops. And Google is always improving the service, whether that’s adding commute features or helping you find Electric Vehicle Charging Stations.

The one downside has always been that unless you use the website, you have to figure when to leave on your own. In the Android app, Google historically provided an estimate of the travel time, but you did the math on what that meant for departure and arrival time. Now in its latest update, you can set either a depart time or an arrival time, and it will provide an estimate of the other end for you. That is, if you set a depart time it will give you an estimate of when you should arrive. And if you set an arrival time, you will receive an estimate on when you should leave.

Obviously, like most mapping features, this won’t be perfect. If you set a departure time for tomorrow, it can’t know about a wreck that may happen during the drive when it provides an estimated arrival time.

First, enter start and end destinations as you usually would. Then tap on the overflow menu.

From there, tap on the “Set depart & arrival time” choice.

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Mike Liu/Shutterstock

The Super Bowl is two weeks away. If you’re looking for a shiny new TV for your hosting party, now’s the time to get it.

We’ve selected the best deals at the most common price points, along with more general deals if those don’t appeal to you. On the principle that sports are best when seen biggest, we’ve prioritized pure panel size over things like fine-tuned image quality, smart TV features, or sound. Which isn’t to say that any of the selections below are slouches in the image quality department, just that most shoppers looking for a dedicated football TV want the biggest inch-to-dollar ratio they can find.

The four primary picks below are our choices for the biggest and best TVs under $500, $1000, and $1500, along with a pick for those who are blessedly unburdened by financial considerations. Those won’t change, unless we see even better prices on those specific TVs. The ten rolling deal picks at the bottom of the page will be updated every day until the Super Bowl, representing the best TVs at the lowest prices around.

A few years ago finding a 65-inch TV for less than five C-notes was unheard of, unless you searched for refurbished units or old rear projection tech. But TCL has been driving the price of its surprisingly good panels down as low as it can, and the market has responded with steady sales. This 65-inch 4KTV with a built-in Roku smart TV system just barely squeaks under our $500 category, but it’s an amazing deal nonetheless.

If you’ll be using a web service to watch the game, it’s a snap to set up over Wi-Fi—the interface is identical to the much-loved Roku set-top boxes. If not, it includes three HDMI ports (one with ARC), standard and optical audio out, and a set of RCA jacks for easily connecting an older console or VHS player.

If you want something a little more premium while still hitting a big size, this 2018 Samsung model is a great pick. The 65-inch panel adds HDR color support, 120Hz refresh rate for smoother motion, and a stylish curved design over the TCL model above.

Samsung’s smart TV system isn’t the best around, but it supports all the major streaming services over Wi-Fi, and there are three HDMI inputs plus USB ports for directly loading local media. Component, composite, and Ethernet round out the connection options. At 40 watts, the onboard speakers are decent (and much better than TCL’s), but you’ll want a good soundbar or surround sound system if you’re planning on filling up your living room with football fans.

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Still kicking yourself for missing a good Fire tablet deal over the holidays? Well, here’s your chance at redemption.

Right now, Amazon is selling its new 16GB Fire HD 8 for just $50. That’s about $30 less than retail. This tablet comes with “special offers”—unobtrusive advertisements on the lock screen. If you don’t want the ads, then you’ll be happy to know that Amazon’s also offering the ad-free 16GB Fire HD 8 for a discounted $65.

You’re probably well aware that these tablets are great for reading books, streaming videos, and playing games. But if you have an older Amazon tablet, then you may be impressed by some of the HD 8’s features. You may even consider making a cheap upgrade.

The Fire HD 8 has an HD 8″ display (go figure), a 2MP rear-facing camera, Alexa integration, and 50% more RAM than the Fire HD 7 tablet. It comes in four different colors, and it holds a 10-hour battery life. Not bad for a tablet that costs less than $100.

If 16GB doesn’t sound like enough for you, then you’ll be excited to know that Amazon is also offering a $30 discount on the 32GB Fire HD 8. You can buy the 32GB Fire tablet with ads for just $80, or without ads for $95. Just keep in mind that most of the Fire tablet’s defining features operate on the cloud. If you’re streaming videos and music through Amazon Prime, then you probably don’t need a lot of internal storage.

Remote Assistance lets you—or someone who you trust—gain access to your computer remotely. It’s a useful way to let a family member or trusted tech diagnose a problem you’re having with your PC without having to be there. When not using Remote Assistance, you might want to disable this potentially vulnerable service.

Open up Control Panel by clicking the Start Menu, typing “Control Panel,” and then clicking the application’s icon.

From the list of settings, click on “System and Security.”

Next, click on “System.”

On the list of setting on the left side, click on “Remote Settings” to open the Remote Assistance settings window.

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Robocalls are a scourge, leaving many people unwilling or afraid to pick up their phone unless they know the caller. If you’re waiting for a job interview or support callback, this is incredibly stressful—but now phone carriers are helping.

If you have T-Mobile service and a Galaxy S9, soon you will start seeing “Caller Verified” when calls arrive, if T-Mobile can verify the caller ID matches the real phone number. The Caller Verified message means that the call originated from T-Mobile, and they can confirm that no spoofing or intercepting occurred in placing the call.

Verifying calls relies on a new standard called STIR (Secure Telephone Identity Revisited) and SHAKEN (Signature-based Handling of Asserted information using toKENs). Not to be confused with martini preparation directions, STIR/SHAKEN will allow phone carriers to determine if the number a call identifies with is real. Current caller ID technology doesn’t have any method to determine if the information provided is accurate and STIR/SHAKEN will solve that problem.

And as other carriers implement STIR/SHAKEN, they will work together so that phone calls verification occurs even when they come from a different carrier.

Additionally, T-Mobile, Verizon, and others are already offering blocking services that rely on crowdsourced blacklists. Robocaller blocking has been free on AT&T since 2016, free on T-Mobile since early 2017, and now Verizon has announced they will no longer charge for call filtering starting next March.

Crowdsource based spam blocking software is already ubiquitous, and chances are you can either subscribe to it from your carrier or download an app for your phone that will achieve the same goal. But the new STIR/SHAKEN standard will take longer to implement fully.

If you have T-Mobile and a Galaxy S9, you have the first stages of the technology right now and ‘more devices’ will receive STIR/SHAKEN in 2019. Meanwhile, Verizon and AT&T have promised to implement, but not specified an exact timeline beyond 2019. Sprint has made no such promises and instead questioned the cost and effectiveness.

Apple, Google, and other phone manufacturers haven’t commented on any plans to assist with the implementation of the standard. Microsoft supports SHAKEN/STIR and helped in its development. While they aren’t working on Windows Phone anymore, they do have an interest through Skype.

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If the short range and limited connectivity of Bluetooth is ruining your movie or music experience, then it may be time to try out a powerful set of RF headphones.

Bluetooth connections only have a limited range of about 30 feet, and they can usually only connect to a single Bluetooth device. But RF signals are much stronger. The best RF headphone transmitters have a signal range of 328 feet, and they can broadcast to an unlimited number of devices. That makes RF headphones perfect for whole-home listening parties, or for quietly watching a movie from across the room.

A set of RF headphones always comes with an RF transmitter. These transmitters take the audio signal from your TV or stereo and turn them into radio waves, like a miniature radio tower in your living room. In fact, if you need any convincing to go with an RF headset over a Bluetooth model, that’s probably it: there’s no pairing, repairing, or lost connections once you do the initial setup. Like a radio tuned to a specific station, the headphones will never lose their connection. It’s all the wireless freedom of Bluetooth but none of the annoyances. These transmitters are also used to dock and charge your RF headphones, which are powered by batteries, not cables.

That’s seems simple enough, but it can be hard to find yourself the perfect set of RF headphones. Some of them are pretty straightforward, while others are chocked full of knobs and EQ options. That’s why we’ve taken the time to find the best RF headphones for everybody’s needs.

It’s hard to find a good set of RF headphones without breaking the bank. If you’re looking for an affordable set of RF headphones that comes with some premium features, then you should take a look at the Sennheiser RS 120. The RS 120 transmitter can hold a connection of 120 feet, and it connects to your TV via RCA, 1/4″ or AUX cable.

The RS 120 headphones are light and ergonomic, and they have volume controls, so you don’t have to get up to adjust your sound. They may not have any EQ or noise-cancellation settings, but for $74, they’re a great way to listen to music or TV from anywhere in your home. They’re among the best rated RF headphones on Amazon—four stars over a staggering 15,000+ ratings—for a good reason, after over a decade the design is still going strong.

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Street photography and travel photography are similar genres: really, street photography is just travel photography in your hometown. That means they use the same broad camera settings.

Generally, for street and travel photography, you want a relatively natural-looking image. The viewer should almost feel like they see things for themselves. Let’s look at how to achieve that.

There are three traditional focal lengths for street and travel photography: 24mm, 28mm, 35mm, and 50mm. They correspond to some of the most common prime lenses available.

At 50mm, you get a perspective that closely mimics what the human eye sees. Everything looks natural. 35mm, 28mm, and 24mm all show a wider field of view so you can include more of the scene without adding much distortion.

RELATED: What is DSLR Crop Factor (And Why Should I Care)

Note that these are the traditional focal lengths on full frame bodies. For crop sensor cameras, they correspond roughly to 16mm, 18mm, 24mm, and 35mm. If you want, you can use a prime, but 18mm, 24mm, and 35mm all fall nicely in the range of the standard 18-55mm kit lens that comes with most cameras. Convenient, eh!

Arthur “Weegee” Fellig famously said that the secret to good street photography was “f/8 and be there.” It’s a motto that’s been picked up by photojournalists for a good reason: shooting at f/8 with a 35mm lens gives your images a nice wide depth of field. This means that all you have to do is be where something interesting is happening.

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CPUs are made using billions of tiny transistors, electrical gates that switch on and off to perform calculations. They take power to do this, and the smaller the transistor, the less power is required. “7nm” and “10nm” are measurements of the size of these transistors—“nm” being nanometers, a miniscule length—and are a useful metric for judging how powerful a particular CPU is.

For reference, “10nm” is Intel’s new manufacturing process, set to debut in Q4 2019, and “7nm” is usually referring to TSMC’s process, which is what AMD’s new CPUs and Apple’s A12X chip are based on.

Moore’s Law, an old observation that the number of transistors on a chip doubles every year while the costs are halved, held for a long time but has been slowing down lately. Back in the late 90s and early 2000s, transistors shrunk in size by half every two years, leading to massive improvements on a regular schedule. But further shrinking has gotten more complicated, and we haven’t seen a transistor shrink from Intel since 2014. These new processes are the first major shrinks in a long time, especially from Intel, and represent a brief rekindling of Moore’s law.

With Intel lagging, even mobile devices have had a chance to catch up, with Apple’s A12X chip being manufactured on TSMC’s 7nm process, and Samsung having their own 10nm process. And with AMD’s next CPUs on TSMC’s 7nm process, this marks a chance for them to jump past Intel in performance, and bring some healthy competition to Intel’s monopoly on the market—at least until Intel’s 10nm “Sunny Cove” chips start hitting shelves.

CPUs are made using photolithography, where an image of the CPU is etched onto a piece of silicon. The exact method of how this is done is usually referred to as the process node and is measured by how small the manufacturer can make the transistors.

Since smaller transistors are more power efficient, they can do more calculations without getting too hot, which is usually the limiting factor for CPU performance. It also allows for smaller die sizes, which reduces costs and can increase density at the same sizes, and this means more cores per chip. 7nm is effectively twice as dense as the previous 14nm node, which allows companies like AMD to release 64-core server chips, a massive improvement over their previous 32 cores (and Intel’s 28).

It’s important to note though that while Intel is still on a 14nm node and AMD is set to launch their 7nm processors very soon, this doesn’t mean AMD’s will be twice as fast. Performance doesn’t scale exactly with the transistor size, and at such small scales, these numbers aren’t as precise anymore. The way each semiconductor foundry measures can vary from one to another, so it’s best to take them more as marketing terms used to segment products rather than exact measurements of power or size. For example, Intel’s upcoming 10nm node is expected to compete with TSMC’s 7nm node, despite the numbers not matching up.

A node shrink isn’t just about performance though; it also has huge implications for low-power mobile and laptop chips. With 7nm (compared to 14nm), you could get 25% more performance under the same power, or you could get the same performance for half the power. This means longer battery life with the same performance and much more powerful chips for smaller devices since you can effectively fit twice as much performance into the limited power target. We’ve already seen the A12X chip from Apple crushing some older Intel chips in benchmarks, despite being only passively cooled and packed inside a smartphone, and that’s just the first 7nm chip to hit the market.

A node shrink is always good news, as faster and more power efficient chips affect nearly every aspect of the tech world. 2019 will be an exciting year for tech with these latest nodes, and it’s good to see Moore’s law isn’t quite dead yet.

1. David Prowse
2. Liam Neeson
3. Harrison Ford
4. Peter Mayhew

Think you know the answer?

If you find yourself constantly plugging and unplugging HDMI cables from your TV, then it may be time to buy an HDMI switch.

Most people have a handful of game consoles, digital receivers, and video players in their entertainment center. But most TVs usually have just two or three HDMI ports, a frustrating design choice that can turn a simple game night into a complicated adventure behind the TV. If only you could add more HDMI ports to your TV!

Well, it’s clear that TV manufacturers aren’t going to suddenly start bulking up TVs to house more ports, so you have to take matters into your own hands. An HDMI switch is the easy cost-efficient way to add more HDMI ports to your TV, and it can actually help you organize all of the messy cables that have snaked their way around your entertainment center.

But there are a lot of HDMI switches to choose from, and they all serve different functions that will inevitably appeal to different people. Some HDMI switches are the size of a DVD player, but they’re usually remote-controlled, and easier to organize down the road. Some HDMI switches are small enough to hide behind your TV, but you may find yourself digging around to choose your video source or to reorganize your setup. Here’s a little something for everybody.

Not all TVs, projectors, or computer monitors have audio outputs. This isn’t a big deal for most people, but if you want to use external speakers in your entertainment setup, then you should consider getting an HDMI switch that supports audio extraction.

If you’re looking for a semi-automatic remote-controlled HDMI switch that has audio extraction capabilities, then you should check out the Proster HDMI switch. Its five HDMI inputs support 4K and 3D, so you don’t have to compromise quality for convenience. Plus, it has an auxiliary output and optical audio output for external speakers. The Proster also has an automatic function that, when active, can automatically switch to whichever source is outputting video.

The Proster is also small enough to hang behind your TV, which is a plus for anyone that wants to keep their entertainment center looking clean. It requires power from a micro-USB cable, but that’s to be expected from such a powerful little device.

The iArkPower is a nice, premium HDMI switch. Its three HDMI inputs support 4K and 3D, and it has an RCA output and optical audio output for external speakers. This device also comes with a remote control, and it has an automatic feature that can be toggled on and off.

Really, this is an HDMI switch that you don’t have to hide behind your TV. All of the ports are on the back of the device, so it looks good and is easy to access. This is a good HDMI switch for entertainment centers that don’t have a lot of hiding space, or for situations where you’ll be plugging and unplugging different video sources.

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Today, DIY security system company Abode has released the 2nd-generation version of its gateway that comes with 4G cellular backup support, as well as improved Z-Wave connectivity thanks to an upgrade to Z-Wave Plus.

This is mostly just an internal hardware update, as the gateway on the outside remains completely unchanged and looks identical to the previous model. However, the addition of 4G makes cellular backup a bit more reliable this time around. And support for Z-Wave Plus means that users should see much better battery life out of their devices and sensors connected to the gateway, on top of improved reliability.

The updated gateway will automatically come included with the Abode Essential Kit for new buyers, and those with existing Abode gateways that want to upgrade can purchase a standalone gateway for $199 starting today on Abode’s website.

The Chromecast Audio is no more, and while existing units out in the wild will continue to work just fine, the change just highlights how much Google needs to refresh its original Google Home.

The Chromecast Audio was Google’s audio-only version of the Chromecast, and by plugging it into the auxiliary jack of a speaker or stereo system, it allowed users to beam music from their phones to their speaker system effortlessly. It didn’t matter if your sound system was decades old or brand new, if you could plug a 3.5 mm audio cable or optical cable into it, then you could bring it into your Google Home.

You can, of course, connect an external Bluetooth speaker to your Home speaker, but Google really just needs to refresh the original Home, as it’s getting a bit long in the tooth and the lack of audio out is more apparent than ever now. Here’s what they need to do in order to breathe new life into the speakers.

The Google Home has never really been the better speaker when compared to the Echo, and Amazon has since refreshed the Echo with an even better speaker. Google needs to do the same.

Don’t get us wrong—the Google Home still sounds pretty good, especially compared to the Home Mini and even the Home Hub, but when comparing it side-by-side to the 2nd-generation Echo, the Home is outclassed.

Of course, there’s always the Home Max, which offers a much better sound experience for those who want the best audio quality possible. But for $400, it’s way more money than what a majority of people likely want to spend. Plus, a lot of us don’t need the best audio quality possible, but rather just a Google Home that at least competes with Echo speaker.

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The initial appeal of smarthome devices can be one of intrigue. Furthermore, these products can do a lot more than you might think from first glance.

RELATED: How to Put Together Your First Smarthome (Without Getting Overwhelmed)

When most people think of how you control smarthome devices and what you can do with them, they most likely envision the ability to control things from their smartphones or using their voice with Alexa or Google Assistant.

All of this is true, and it’s certainly the basis of controlling smarthome devices, but there’s also a lot more you can do with this stuff. Let’s go over a few cool ways you can improve your smarthome experience.

Using your phone to control things like the thermostat and your lights is pretty cool, especially when you can do it while you’re away from home. But the real superpower is not having to control them manually at all.

In an ideal smarthome, everything is automated—devices control themselves based on some parameters that you’ve set up ahead of time. There are several different ways you can automate everything, including by motion, scheduling, geofencing, or triggering by a separate action.

RELATED: Forget Voice Control, Automation Is the Real Smarthome Superpower

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