Category: Computers

Categories
Computers

Acer Chromebook Plus 514 Review: A Great Budget Laptop

[ad_1]

Last year, Google trotted out a new “Chromebook Plus” label, ensuring Chromebooks meet specific hardware requirements so that they have a certain threshold of quality and—importantly—a starting price of $400. It’s been fairly successful. Chromebooks from companies like Acer and Lenovo perform well for the money—functional, affordable hardware that does the job.

Acer’s Chromebook Plus 514 (model CB514-4H/T) is yet another laptop that achieves this goal. This specific model name doesn’t roll off the tongue, but it indicates that this is the Intel-powered model not to be confused with the AMD-powered Chromebook Plus 514 (CB514-3H/T) the company launched last fall. It’s a bit confusing, and it doesn’t help that there’s also the similarly named Acer Chromebook Plus 515, which is close in price but has a larger screen and a slightly different processor.

Front view of open black laptop sitting on a desk with an image of a large partially submerged rock in the ocean on the...

Photograph: Daniel Thorp-Lancaster

Despite slight differences in port selection and screen ratio between the Intel and AMD variants of the Chromebook Plus 514, expect them to perform largely the same. The grunt work for this machine is handled by a capable 13th-gen Intel Core i3-N305 processor, which is on par with other Chromebook Plus models and a nice bump over Chromebooks of years past. Combined with the 8 GB of RAM and a 512-GB solid state drive on the CB514-4HT-359X configuration Acer sent me for this review, you have a pretty speedy machine for school and work. This model is just $350 at Costco, and weirdly, the 128-GB model is more expensive at Amazon for $380.

Chrome OS is designed to be lightweight, and the Core i3-N305 processor subsequently tears through most tasks with ease. My daily ritual of writing in Google Docs while watching YouTube videos with several other tabs open never felt sluggish or unresponsive. Battery life has held up, getting me through eight-hour workdays, usually with an hour or two of battery life to spare.

Despite pulling from the cloud, Google Photos edits feel very responsive. I had a lot of fun using the built-in editor to tweak my (many) cat photos, and video edits felt nearly instantaneous. Just keep in mind this relies heavily on the speed of your internet connection to pull photos and videos down from your cloud storage, so your experience may vary.

I’ve never found myself drawn to using touch on laptops, but the 14-inch touch panel on the Chromebook Plus 514 grew on me. Chrome OS lends itself to touch, and the smooth matte display feels great to use under your fingertips (plus it doesn’t leave fingerprints). In my week of testing, I constantly found myself reaching out to get a better selection when editing photos in the Google Photos app or when I wanted to more precisely scroll through YouTube.

My one disappointment is that this isn’t a convertible laptop. The ability to swing the screen around to turn it into a quasi-tablet would make using touch more comfortable (and fun), so the clamshell design is a bit limiting. On the bright side, the hinge allows the back of the display to extend downward a bit when opened, propping it up on your table or lap for a more comfortable angle.

[ad_2]

Source Article Link

Categories
Computers

Asus Zenbook Duo (2024) Review: A Two-Screened Laptop That Nails It

[ad_1]

Conceptually, it’s very close to what Lenovo did last year with the Yoga Book 9i, complete with shorthand gestures that help you pull up a virtual keyboard or touchpad, expand the screen to fill both displays or “flick” content from one screen to the other. This is all fairly easy to get the hang of. For the most part, working with the Zenbook Duo is no different than working with two monitors on a standard PC.

Many prior dual-screen laptops suffered on the performance front, and while the Duo didn’t set any records, it’s perfectly capable across a wide spectrum of benchmarks. Business apps load and run quickly, and graphical capabilities are acceptable despite the lack of a discrete graphics processor. Even AI-oriented performance was reasonably good (again, considering there’s no GPU to boost it). If there’s a downside, it’s battery life. I got just 6 hours and 48 minutes of YouTube run time with one screen active, and that fell to 5 hours and 13 minutes with both live. Neither score is all that great.

The muscle behind this is an Intel Core Ultra 9 185H CPU with 32 GB of RAM and a 1-terabyte solid-state drive. The port selection is fine, if a bit limited, featuring two USB-C Thunderbolt 4 ports, one USB-A port, and a full-size HDMI output jack.

The Zenbook Duo is fairly compact given its design, at 25 mm thick with or without the keyboard sandwiched in the middle. The complete package weighs 3.5 pounds, or 2.8 pounds without the keyboard. That’s a bit on the heavy side, which is to be expected, but less than some traditional 14-inch laptops I’ve tested in the past couple of years.

While the dual-screen concept continues to improve, it’s not without some lingering growing pains. I encountered occasional hiccups where the screens didn’t reorient from portrait to landscape automatically. And the unit had the same problem with third-party chargers that I encountered with Asus’ Zenbook 14 OLED, dropping out of plugged-in mode and switching to battery power and back, almost randomly.

Two tabletlike screens attached and laying flat

Photograph: Asus

My biggest complaint however is design-related. Unlike the Yoga Book 9i, the Duo’s screens aren’t flush with each other when the screen is opened flat. Instead, one sits more than a centimeter behind the other, creating a staggered, stairstep effect. This displeases the OCD side of my brain, which insists that side-by-side screens be aligned on the same plane.

That said, having two screens does change the game when it comes to mobile productivity, even if they are a little cattywampus. I’m used to working on dual screens in my daily life when I’m desk-bound, but when I’m on the road and have to shift to working directly off a single laptop display, my productivity vanishes.

The Duo has a price tag of $1,700—and that’s for the fully loaded configuration. That’s not exactly cheap, but it’s far less expensive than most other dual-screen laptops and even competitive with many that have a single display. Ultimately, I’m hard-pressed to find a reason not to recommend this device if you’re at all like me, finding that a single, small screen fences you in and slows you down.

[ad_2]

Source Article Link

Categories
Computers

Samsung Galaxy A35 5G Review: Struggling to Stand Out

[ad_1]

The optical in-display fingerprint scanner is quick and reliable, and while there’s no headphone jack on this handset, you get a microSD card slot to expand on the base 128 GB of storage. The Galaxy A35 is IP67 water resistant, so it’ll be OK if you accidentally drop it in the pool, and it supports contactless payments—I’ve been using Google Wallet to pay for pretty much everything these past few weeks.

Problems start with the performance. The Samsung Exynos 1380 chipset inside is paired with 6 GB of RAM, and while it bested the Moto G Power 5G’s benchmark scores, my real-world testing has been noticeably laggier than Motorola’s phone, with far more stutters in daily operation. I can do everything I usually do with flagship smartphones, but apps load slowly, switching to another app can feel stuttery, and the interface can feel janky with the slowdowns.

It’s not frustrating like the Galaxy A15’s performance, just annoying. It’s not always like this; there are periods when it feels smooth and fast when I’m siloed in one app for a while (like doomscrolling on X before bed).

Battery life is also nothing to write home about. There’s a 5,000-mAh cell. With average use, I usually ended a full day with around 40 to 30 percent left. But on a few occasions, if I used it more rigorously—for GPS, music streaming, browsing Instagram, and taking pictures (around five and a half hours of screen-on time)—I’ve had to recharge it by 5 or 6 pm.

Strong Points

Backside of a mobile phone showing its 3 camera lenses

Photograph: Julian Chokkattu

There’s a triple-camera system on the A35, but you should stick to the main camera. It’s a 50-megapixel primary sensor joined by an 8-MP ultrawide and a 5-MP macro. Over on the front is a 13-MP sensor. Selfies look sharp—no qualms there—and I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the photos out of the main sensor.

[ad_2]

Source Article Link

Categories
Computers

10 Great Deals on Last-Minute Mother’s Day Gifts (2024)

[ad_1]

Time flies. If you too just looked at a calendar and realized Mother’s Day is this Sunday, you may be panicking about your weekend plans (or lack thereof). A gift is a nice way to show appreciation for your mom (she might not care for one!), and we’ve hunted down deals on last-minute Mother’s Day gifts that will hopefully arrive in time, especially if you have Amazon Prime. Target also offers fast shipping before the weekend or in-store pickup for most of the picks below.

Many of these options come from our Mother’s Day Gift Guide, and you can read our Best Gifts for Moms for other ideas.

Special offer for Gear readers: Get WIRED for just $5 ($25 off). This includes unlimited access to WIRED.com, full Gear coverage, and subscriber-only newsletters. Subscriptions help fund the work we do every day.

If you buy something using links in our stories, we may earn a commission. This helps support our journalism. Learn more.

Amazon Kindle Paperwhite

Kindle Paperwhite

Photograph: Amazon

This price is for the Paperwhite that has ads on the lock screen. The ad-free model is discounted to $135 ($35 off). Kindles are our favorite e-readers and the Paperwhite is the best of Amazon’s lineup. It’s waterproof, with warm backlighting, and the 16 GB of storage is enough to hold thousands of books. The Signature edition offers auto-adjusting lighting and wireless charging, but isn’t on sale. If Mom doesn’t need those extras, the base Kindle is discounted to $80 ($20 off).

If your gift recipient always has spare plastic utensils in her bag, this silverware set from Cliffset includes a fork, spoon, knife, and case. Better yet, it includes a cleaning system—a refillable spray and cloth—to keep everything clean after lunch at the park.

kitchenaid stand mixer

KitchenAid Artisan Stand Mixer

Photograph: KitchenAid

KitchenAid stand mixers are the gold standard of kitchen equipment that should last forever. There are a ton of colors available from both Amazon and Target, but only some qualify for quick shipping. The slightly smaller, 4.5-quart version is also discounted to $240 ($90 off). That one is only available in white and black.

Click the on-page coupon to apply this discount. Papier makes some of our favorite paper planners and the company has other notebooks and journals we love, including this recipe book. Mom can write down all her signature dishes for herself, or to pass down, or it can be something you fill in together. Papier’s site offers many more cover designs, but you’d have to spend the same amount on shipping to get it by Sunday.

Aura Walden digital picture frame mounted on a wall

Aura Walden 15-inch Digital Frame

Photograph: Aura Frames

I love digital frames and they make great gifts. Aura frames are the best out there. This one is large with a 15-inch screen and your gift recipient can hang it on the wall or use the metal stand to prop it on a table. I prefer Aura’s Carver frame, which isn’t on sale, but at $149 it’s much more affordable. That one can only sit in landscape orientation, but the Mason, which is discounted to $169 ($30 off), can be rotated just like the Walden.

If your mom has an Android phone and could use a smartwatch upgrade, we love the Google Pixel Watch 2 (7/10, WIRED Recommends). It looks pretty and has helpful functions like auto-start and stop workout detection, fall detection, and Safety Check for sharing your location with emergency contacts. The redesigned Fitbit app looks much more modern too.

Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones

Bose QuietComfort Ultra Wireless Headphones

Photograph: Bose

These are pricey, but they’re the best noise-canceling headphones we’ve tried (9/10, WIRED Recommends). If the mom in your life needs peace and quiet, it might be a worthy investment. Importantly, they deliver balanced and articulate sound. The sandstone color is particularly nice.

If the nearly $400 Bose headphones above are a bit much, you can still gift quality wireless headphones. These are our favorite cheap noise-canceling headphones, and they get 40 hours of battery life. They’re just a bit more fragile, and while the sound quality is great for the money, it won’t match the quality of the Bose.

Person holding the Beachwaver B1 curling iron

Photograph: Brenda Stolyar

This viral curling iron is great for beginners. The Beachwaver B1 (8/10, WIRED Recommends) rotates, so all Mom has to do is clamp the hair, press a button, and watch as the hair automatically wraps around the wand. It’ll result in a beautiful curl. Just know it won’t work for all hair types.

A few of us on the Gear team are Bath People. If your mom is too, a bathtub caddy is a serious upgrade. She can prop up her Kindle or tablet to read or watch TV, and it holds a drink and even a candle for setting the mood. Depending on where you live, this might be delivered after the weekend, so make sure to check. If it is going to be a little late, throw in a few extras like a bath pillow, a MakeUp Eraser set, and maybe a candle in her favorite scent.

[ad_2]

Source Article Link

Categories
Computers

19 Best Sex Toys (2024): Gender Inclusive, Couples, Solo

[ad_1]

Sex tech has come a long way in the past 10 years—not only in terms of cultural acceptance and awareness but also technology. Gone are the days of clunky, pink, plastic rabbit vibrators and sex toys that feel like knockoff action figures. Today’s toys are designed by sex educators, medical professionals, and some of the world’s greatest sexperts. They feature ultra-premium, medical-grade silicone, robust Bluetooth connectivity, programmable vibration patterns, and multiple motors all designed to help you have a good time.

There’s never a bad time to invest in a little extra self-care. These are the best sex toys, vibrators, smart vibrators, personal wand massagers, and accessories, all of which we’ve personally tested. There’s something here for everyone, every gender, and every body. The language on these products isn’t always gender-inclusive, but we approached testing with a gender-inclusive mindset, testing these with a variety of different genitals, bodies, and partners.

Be sure to check out our other bedroom-related guides, including the Best Vibrators, Best Clitoral Suction Toys, Best Lubes, Best Mattresses, and Best Sound Machines.

Updated May 2024: We’ve added the Coconu Wave and Le Wand vibrators.

Special offer for Gear readers: Get WIRED for just $5 ($25 off). This includes unlimited access to WIRED.com, full Gear coverage, and subscriber-only newsletters. Subscriptions help fund the work we do every day.

Image may contain Screen Electronics Projection Screen and White Board
Collection of different types of sex toys on a blue and pink background

Photograph: MyroslavaPavlyk/Getty Images

Which Toys Are for My Body?

The sex tech industry has conditioned us to think of toys in terms of male and female, penis and vagina, but that’s reductive and inaccurate, and it contributes to a larger narrative about the relationship between genitals and gender. It’s unhelpful, and I have a lot of feelings about it. We opt to be as specific as possible and use anatomical terms to describe individual erogenous zones—and there are way more than just P and V.

The vulva is the exterior part of the vagina. It includes the labia majora, labia minora, the urethra, and the clitoris. The clitoris is the center of erogenous nerves in the vulva, and it’s much larger than just the exterior portion. Its internal structures extend down to either side of the vagina, which is where you’ll find the G-spot—the area stimulated by toys that curve toward the front of your body.

The phallus is what’s commonly referred to as the shaft of the penis, and it includes a couple of erogenous zones. The glans is the top of the phallus, usually referred to as the “head,” and the frenulum is a thin strip of connective tissue on the underside of the glans that can be particularly sensitive to targeted stimulation. Last but not least, the anus is, well … it’s the butthole. The rectum is the interior portion that attaches to the anus. Both of these areas can be sensitive to internal and external stimulation.

For people born with phalluses, there’s an additional erogenous zone here: the prostate or P-spot. This is a walnut-sized gland that lives between the internal structures of the penis and the rectum, and it can be reached by toys that curve toward the front of your body.

[ad_2]

Source Article Link

Categories
Computers

Britax Willow SC Review: A Fantastic Stroller and Car Seat Combo

[ad_1]

Everyone tells you how tired you’ll be with a newborn, but take it from someone with a 3-month-old: It’s more than you can anticipate before having kids, unless you were previously an ultramarathoner and/or offshore oil rig worker.

When you’re putting your freshly baked human into a car seat, stroller, or generally taking it anywhere with you (which you have to do, apparently), you don’t just want the process to be easy; you need the process to be easy. That’s why I’ve fallen in love with the Britax Willow Grove SC travel system.

This car seat base, car seat, stroller, and stroller base all come in a package together, and everything just works. There are no tricks for installation or daily use. Anyone can easily figure out how to use every part of these things, even when you haven’t slept in days. Just click your little one into either the stroller or car seat attachment, fold up the wheeled base with one hand, and you’re off to wherever you need to go. The price you pay for this system is about $100 higher than you might pay for another all-in-one option from Chicco, but the build quality and ease of use is well worth the extra cost.

Getting Loaded

The most important thing for any newborn is a quality car seat and base; the hospital literally checked that we had ours installed before they allowed us to leave. There aren’t any official safety ratings for this system, but the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration recommends rear-facing seats like this for infants. I grew up (and later babysat) in a time when you had to take your car to the fire department to install your car seat base permanently in the back seat until a child was old enough to not need it, so color me excited when I realized how easy the Britax base was going to be to install.

Black base for a car set installed in the back seat of a car with straps and buckles

Photograph: Parker Hall

Simply click the two hooks around the now-standard child seat restraint area on your car’s seats (two hooks that often hide behind the cushions), put the seat belt through the company’s proprietary ClickTight Installation system, and press down. It all tightens in place easily, taking about 30 seconds to install. Once you’ve done it one time, swapping between cars is a breeze. No need to own two bases for different cars/friends/family.

Clicking the actual car seat into the base is also a breeze; it just clicks right in, with a handle on the forward side of the carrier (where your baby’s back faces) that easily allows you to detach it with one hand as your other grabs the handle of the carrier. Apart from the weight of your baby (we have a lunker!), it’s extremely wieldy and convenient.

I like that there are little plastic tabs on the left and right sides of the car seat you can use to hold the straps while you place your baby’s butt in the seat. This makes it super easy to then click your baby in place with the three-piece click harness and to cinch them in with the strap between their legs.

On a Stroll

The best part of the car seat is that it easily clicks in and attaches to the foldable stroller base, which means you don’t have to transfer a sleeping kid to a stroller seat when you want to roll them somewhere fresh out of the car. This is awesome, especially because the foldable stroller section can easily be deployed one-handed, thanks to a simple hook-to-hold mechanism on the outside of the right rear wheel pole. You just unhook the plastic piece that’s holding the stroller folded, and gravity does the rest.

Left Baby stroller frame upright on the sidewalk. Right Baby stroller frame folded sitting on the ground

Photograph: Parker Hall

[ad_2]

Source Article Link

Categories
Computers

Delonghi Specialista Arte Evo Espresso Machine With Cold Brew Review: A Little Weird

[ad_1]

The counter space in my kitchen is at a premium. It’s valuable real estate, and every square inch matters. So when a new espresso machine arrives at my door, I always have to play a high-stakes game of countertop appliance Tetris to figure out how everything will fit—or who needs to get banished into a cupboard. When the De’Longhi Specialista Arte Evo rolled into my kitchen, I was ready to make tough decisions.

From the box’s size, I was sure the rice cooker or the food processor would have to be exiled. When I got the De’Longhi out of its box, though, my appliances breathed a sigh of relief. This is a svelte espresso machine, and it fits perfectly without sending any of my favorite appliances to a pantry gulag. Things were off to a good start, and it only got better—mostly.

Slim and Consistent

The first couple of shots I pull out of any espresso machine will usually require some finagling. When an espresso machine has an internal burr grinder, that’s just one other thing I have to dial in from scratch. By the second shot, I was happy with what I was getting out of the Specialista.

The espresso poured into the cup in two streams of luxurious caramel-gold liquid, the crema gathering on top in an even layer. I changed the settings and pulled more tester shots to see how it performed with different grind consistencies and amounts for testing purposes, but by that second shot, I knew I’d found the sweet spot.

Closeup view of the knobs buttons and meter of a silver home espresso machine

Photograph: Jaina Grey

Something I always like about De’Longhi espresso machines is the knobs. A lot of different models from the company up and down the price spectrum have really good knobs. The ones here are a joy to use. They’re raised from the surface of the control panel, and the outward face has the signature concentric circles of machined steel; the sides are adorned with textured metal accents. One controls the amount of coffee to grind, and the other toggles between brewing modes.

When you turn the grind knob, there’s a little resistance, just enough to feel like you have very fine control. The mode knob has a satisfying click when you switch from one mode to another. How much you enjoy using a device is important, and these little details make the Specialista Arte Evo feel good to use.

The Specialista Arte Evo comes in at a delightfully narrow 11.2 inches, sparing quite a bit of my counter space—especially since this is taking the place of two appliances, an espresso machine and a coffee grinder. There are smaller espresso machines—the new KitchenAid Semi-Automatic Espresso Machine is about as narrow as the Specialista—but most that have a built-in grinder are a little wider.

Front view of silver home espresso machine on kitchen counter

Photograph: Jaina Grey

Some Assembly Required

The Specialista’s built-in conical burr grinder can grind coffee fine enough for espresso and coarse enough for drip or other brewing methods, so it’s capable of replacing a stand-alone grinder. There is one little quirk, though. The portafilter can’t slot into place underneath the grinder unless you attach the “grinding and tamping guide.” This component is a short cylinder of plastic that locks onto the portafilter to guide the grounds directly into the basket and help direct the tamp down onto the grounds.

It’s weird. The guide doesn’t feel as high-quality as other parts of the Specialista, almost like a cheap 3D-printed plastic. If you try to slot the portafilter underneath the grinder without the guide, you have to hold it there the whole time, and the grinder will likely spill some grounds into the drip tray. It feels like the grinding and tamping guide was added as a fix to the issue of the grounds spilling out.

[ad_2]

Source Article Link

Categories
Computers

C’mon, Why Isn’t the New Apple Pencil Pro Backward Compatible?

[ad_1]

But what’s grinding my gears is that the new Apple Pencil Pro works only with the new 2024 iPad Pro and iPad Air models. Yes, even if you spent $1,099 on the 2022 iPad Pro two years ago, you cannot use this new “Pro” stylus on that model. You’ll have to upgrade. This is probably a good time to mention that the 2024 iPad Pro models are more expensive across the board, starting at $999 for the 11-incher and $1,199 for the 13-inch model (a $200 and $100 jump, respectively).

Know what’s worse? If you thought you could upgrade to the new iPad Pro or iPad Air from an older iPad and keep using the second-gen Apple Pencil you already own, think again. The new iPad Air and iPad Pro tablets only work with the two newest styli: the Apple Pencil (USB-C) that came out last year and the new Apple Pencil Pro. So if you are an avid Pencil user and want one of the new slates, you probably have to buy a new Apple Pencil.

Apple would not comment on the record about this when I attended an iPad hands-on event today. The company’s marketing materials do highlight a “new magnetic interface” for the Apple Pencil Pro, which is the interface the Apple Pencil uses to recharge, pair, and stay attached to the tablet. However, there are no details on what exactly is “new” about this interface besides the fact that Apple had to move its placement slightly to accommodate the iPad’s front-facing landscape camera. The new interface doesn’t offer faster or more efficient charging, faster pairing, or more secure magnets—nothing of the sort. It feels practically identical to the existing system.

And the Apple Pencil is a stylus. For the love of god, it should be one of the easiest things to make backward compatible. So what if the Squeeze gestures might not work on an older iPad? I don’t think it’s difficult to indicate that certain new features won’t be available on older tablets; Apple already does this with its software updates. Certain new features in iOS don’t work on older iPhones, even if the hardware is still supported. At the very least, let the customers who have bought your stylus from years past use it on the new models. I can’t find a good reason why a second-generation Apple Pencil would just not be compatible at all.

Person writing on an iPad with the Apple Pencil Pro

You can’t use this Pencil on older iPads.

Photograph: Julian Chokkattu

The only answer I am coming up with is the lack of processing power on older slates, but if the M2 chipset inside the 2022 iPad Pro is already not powerful enough to handle a few new stylus tricks, that doesn’t speak very well to the performance prowess of Apple’s silicon.

It’s all very silly. The Apple Pencil Pro, second-gen Apple Pencil, and USB-C Apple Pencil at the least should work on all of Apple’s current lineup, regardless if certain functions are not available. There probably also shouldn’t be four Pencils to choose from in the first place.

“It just works” is the motto often equated with everything Apple. Not so with the Apple Pencil.

If you buy something using links in our stories, we may earn a commission. This helps support our journalism. Learn more.

[ad_2]

Source Article Link

Categories
Computers

7 Best Clitoral Suction Toys (2024): Suction Vibrators, Air Pulse Toys, and More

[ad_1]

Designed to simulate the sucking or tapping sensation of oral sex, clitoral suction toys are a relatively recent addition to the pantheon of sex toy superstars. Suction toys are a bit of an outlier in the industry—vibrators and dildos have a long and occasionally misogynist history as medical instruments used to induce orgasm as treatment for “hysteria” and “women’s problems.” But suction toys are designed specifically to make you feel good. They were created with sexual pleasure in mind—specifically the sexual pleasure of women and people with vulvas.

Over the years, I’ve tested dozens of suction toys solo and with partners of various gender identities, genitals, and sexual preferences. These are the cream of that particular crop, the absolute best clitoral suction toys on the market.

If you’re interested in other kinds of sex toys, be sure to check our guides including the Best Sex Toys, Best Vibrators, and Best Lubes.

Special offer for Gear readers: Get WIRED for just $5 ($25 off). This includes unlimited access to WIRED.com, full Gear coverage, and subscriber-only newsletters. Subscriptions help fund the work we do every day.

How Do Suction Toys Work?

Smooth white device on pink background

Photograph: Dariia Chernenko/Getty Images

Clitoral suction toys can be a bit of a mystery if you’re unfamiliar with their ins and outs. Vibrators contain motors that provide the vibration by just shaking, but a suction toy is a little more complex.

They work by modulating air pressure with an internal diaphragm. They all have a mouth, and inside that mouth is a (typically) silicone membrane that an internal motor moves in and out. When you press the mouth against your body, it traps the air in there, keeping it from escaping. The movement of the membrane uses that air to create modulating high and low air pressure. Those changes in air pressure create the sucking sensation suction toys are famous for.

[ad_2]

Source Article Link

Categories
Computers

Google Pixel 8A: News, Specs, Features, Price, Release Date

[ad_1]

The Pixel 8A is powered by Google’s Tensor G3 chipset with 8 GB of RAM, just like the Pixel 8 series. That means it’ll be capable of much of the same software wizardry Google showed off last year with the debut of its flagship, including Audio Magic Eraser, which lets you erase unwanted sounds in video clips (like sirens); Magic Editor, where you can move subjects around and have the software generate a background to fill in the space; and Best Take, which can replace a person’s face in a photo by clipping it from a similar photo, which is useful in case someone blinked and ruined an otherwise perfect shot.

This phone will also be able to tap into Google’s Gemini Nano large language model. To enable Gemini Nano, you’ll have to go into the Pixel’s developer settings and check a box that says you agree to run experimental features that may or may not work perfectly yet. When enabled, Gemini Nano lets you access specific on-device AI features, like summarize in Google’s Recorder app and Smart Reply in Gboard. Gemini Nano will be available in a future software update, but Google confirmed that while the default assistant in this handset remains Google Assistant, you can replace it with its Gemini assistant easily out of the box, just like you can on most other Android phones today.

Speaking of, just like the Pixel 8 series, Google is promising seven years of software updates on this phone. That makes the Pixel 8A one of the only sub-$500 devices to get such a long software support window. Google’s also offering the same built-in VPN function too. The device comes with 128 GB of storage, and there’s now a 256-GB option, though that’s restricted to the Obsidian color. The Pixel 8A’s other colors include Bay, Porcelain, and a lovely new Aloe.

Overhead view of 4 mobile phones all face down on a wooden surface with a variety of case colors

The Pixel 8A comes in Bay, Obsidian, Porcelain, and Aloe.

Photograph: Julian Chokkattu

[ad_2]

Source Article Link