Tag: surprisingly

ChromeOS adopts a new default font – and surprisingly, I don’t hate it

Post author By lisa nichols
Post date May 5, 2024
No Comments on ChromeOS adopts a new default font – and surprisingly, I don’t hate it

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Google has a big change in store for ChromeOS users: a new default font for the operating system, which will replace Roboto as the go-to typeface on all Chrome devices.

The new default font is Google Sans (formerly known as Product Sans), which owners of the best Chromebooks will already be familiar with, even unknowingly; it’s already seeded throughout both the OS and Google’s websites, appearing in the Files app and Quick Settings menu as well as on Google’s own digital storefront.

If font changes are something that worries you (yes, they worry me; yes, I’m a big software interface nerd), then thankfully there’s no need to panic here: Google Sans is a pretty inoffensive font, a far cry from that other Sans font that virtually everyone hates. In fact, it’s very similar to the existing default Roboto, or fonts like San Francisco and Open Sans, to the point where an unaware user might not even notice the change.

Chrome, sans Roboto

Changing the primary font of an entire operating system is no small feat – there was uproar among font fanatics when Microsoft changed the default font of Word from Calibri to Aptos after a 17-year run. I’m personally quite averse to change, and while I approved of the shift away from Times New Roman (ugh) back in the day, I felt that the Calibri-to-Aptos move was unnecessary. After all, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, right?

Well, Roboto ain’t broke, but I can appreciate why Google wants to make the change to its own branded typography. Google Sans is a good font; after all, it’s the lettering that the search engine giant has chosen to represent itself with on official public material, so I can reasonably assume there has been a lot of money and many, many hours of work poured into ensuring its perfection. It’s a pleasingly modern typeface, most crucially opting for an open-tail lower-case ‘g’ – none of that hideous loop-tail business here, thank you very much. Yes, I know we use it here on TechRadar, and that you’re looking at it right now. No, I’m not happy about it, but you’ve got to pick your battles.

A typeface sheet showing the 'Product Sans' (now Google Sans) font.

Product Sans, now Google Sans, was originally introduced in 2015 for Google’s branding and marketing materials (Image credit: Google, Kashmiri)

Considering that Google Sans is already present in many corners of ChromeOS, it’s not likely to be a world-shaking change for most users. My fellow font fiends can relax, though – this isn’t even a big leap for those who pay close attention to lettering, if you ask me.

Roboto won’t be completely ousted from the OS just yet, either – judging by a Chromium Gerrit code commit spotted by 9to5Google, the former default font will stick around for times when Google Sans just won’t quite fit (due to a lack of specific glyph support, for example). We don’t have a concrete date for when the change will be implemented just yet; given that ChromeOS version 124 is already in beta and due to go live imminently, it’ll likely be in version 125 towards the end of May or the beginning of June.

Got a strong opinion about fonts? I know some of you do. Hit me up on X (cough, Twitter, cough) with your absolute worst font takes!

Surprisingly cheap Pro monitor provides unique features that even Apple Studio display doesn’t — AOC’s new monitors offer KVM capability, a whopping 11 ports and Hollywood-grade Calman software compatibility

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AOC has announced the Graphic Pro U3 Series of monitors, which it says are crafted with creative professionals in mind, particularly photographers, visual artists, designers, editors, broadcasters, and producers.

The Graphic Pro U3 line is made up of Q27U3CV, with a 27-inch QHD (2560×1440) display, U27U3CV, with a 27-inch 4K UHD (3840×2160) display, and the larger U32U3CV, with a 31.5-inch 4K UHD screen.

The standout feature of the Graphic Pro U3 Series is its compatibility with Calman, the Hollywood-grade color calibration software. The screens communicate directly with the software, allowing for precise and swift monitor calibration for color accuracy. It utilizes RGB-triplet control and 1D/3D-LUT profiling, unlike custom ICC profiles, offering a more robust display calibration at the hardware level, something not typically seen in monitors at this price point.

Plenty of ports

In addition to this, the AOC Graphic Pro U3 series comes with a welcome selection of ports. Q27U3CV has 1x HDMI 1.4, 1x DisplayPort 1.4 input, 1x DisplayPort 1.4 output, 1x RJ-45, 2x USB-C (1 up, 1 downstream) and 4x USB-A ports.

Both the U27U3CV and the top-of-the-range U32U3CV sport 2x HDMI 2.0, 1x DisplayPort 1.4, 1x RJ-45, 3x USB-C and 4x USB-A ports, as well as a KVM switch, so you can use a single keyboard and mouse to control multiple computers. Simply connect the devices to the monitor’s USB hub, and you can switch between PCs connected to the monitor’s USB-C ports. All three screens have 2x 3W speakers.

“At AOC, we understand that creative professionals demand the very best tools to bring their visions to life,” said Artem Khomenko, Head of Product Management at AOC.

“We are beginning a new chapter in AOC’s legacy. Our new Graphic Pro U3 Series is the result of our expertise in display technologies and our commitment to delivering high-quality, high-performance monitors that empower creators to push the boundaries of their craft. With exceptional color accuracy, hardware calibration with Calman Ready, versatile USB-C connectivity, and a sleek design, the new Graphic Pro monitors will deliver the perfect tools for content creators and designers.”

AOC’s Graphic Pro U3 monitors, priced from £289.99 for the Q27U3CV, £399.99 for the U27U3CV, and £499.99 for the U32U3CV, will be available in July 2024.

Scientists design super-battery made with cheap, readily affordable chemical element, Na — Salt-based cell has surprisingly good energy density and charges in seconds

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Researchers at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) have developed a high-performance, hybrid sodium-ion battery that charges rapidly and offers impressive energy density.

This revolutionary prototype uses sodium (Na), a chemical element over 1000 times more abundant and cheaper than lithium (Li), the main component of conventional batteries.

Generally, sodium-ion batteries face constraints such as lower power output, limited storage properties, and extended charging times. The innovative battery design, led by Professor Jeung Ku Kang of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at KAIST, combats existing limitations of sodium-ion batteries by integrating the anode materials used in traditional batteries with the cathodes used for supercapacitors into a hybrid system. The result reportedly delivers high storage capacity and rapid charge-discharge rates.

Multiple possibilities

Developing the hybrid battery hinged upon improving the energy storage rate of battery-type anodes and boosting the relatively low capacity of supercapacitor-type cathode materials.

The research team at KAIST made use of two distinct metal-organic frameworks to create an optimized synthesis of hybrid batteries, culminating in anode material with improved kinetics and a high-capacity cathode material.

The fully assembled hybrid sodium-ion energy storage device reportedly surpasses the energy density of commercial lithium-ion batteries and matches the power density characteristics of supercapacitors. Professor Kang says this new battery, with an energy density of 247 Wh/kg and a power density of 34,748 W/kg, could be used across a range industries, including electric vehicles, smart electronics and aerospace technologies.

The findings of this research, co-authored by KAIST doctoral candidates Jong Hui Choi and Dong Won Kim, were published in the international journal Energy Storage Materials with the catchy title of “Low-crystallinity conductive multivalence iron sulfide-embedded S-doped anode and high-surface-area O-doped cathode of 3D porous N-rich graphitic carbon frameworks for high-performance sodium-ion hybrid energy storages.”

Fujifilm’s next budget camera may house surprisingly powerful hardware

Post author By lisa nichols
Post date April 25, 2024
No Comments on Fujifilm’s next budget camera may house surprisingly powerful hardware

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New information on Fujifilm’s next camera, the X-T50, has recently leaked providing some insight into its performance. According to Fuji Rumors, the device will sport in-body image stabilization (IBIS). This feature will reduce the amount of camera shake to ensure crystal-clear photographs. It’s a piece of tech that can also be found on the higher-end Fujifilm X-T5. What’s more, the X-T50 is said to house a 40 MP X-Trans V image sensor just like its counterpart

This could mean the new camera might perform just as well as the X-T5, capable of taking the same level of high-quality photographs. However, as NotebookCheck points out, this is unlikely since the X-T50 is supposed to be a budget model. Fujifilm won’t want to cannibalize sales of the X-T5 so the publication theorizes that the company will hold back their new device in some way.

The X-T50 could house older hardware like the X Processor 4 instead of the more recent X Processor 5. Certain functions, like the SD card slot, may be “significantly degraded.” NotebookCheck doesn’t expand on this idea, but it could mean there’ll only be a single SD card slot onboard, for example. Little cuts like these would keep prices low.

Possible pricing

Because the X-T50 is slated to receive a hardware upgrade, there’s a good chance it’ll still cost more than the $900 X-T30 II. No word on how much it’ll cost. That X-Trans sensor and IBIS implementation will bump up the price tag regardless of any cost cutting measures by Fujifilm.

We won’t have to wait long to receive more details. Fuji Rumors claims the X-T50 will be officially announced on May 16 at the company’s X Summit event taking place in Sydney, Australia. Alongside it will be the Fujiflim GFX100SII and the Fujinon XF14-50mm f/2.8-4.8 kit lens. Little is known about either although images for the latter did surface. Sources close to the publication state it’ll receive features normally found on “higher-end lenses” like an internal zoom mechanism.

Until then, check out TechRadar’s list of the best camera for 2024.

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Tags Budget, camera, Fujifilms, hardware, house, Powerful, surprisingly

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256TB SSDs could land before 2026 with a surprisingly low price — but will most likely use a controversial and popular trick borrowed from tape technology

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ScaleFlux has announced its latest SSD controller in what could be a significant step up for the company.

The SFX 5016, the successor to the SFX 3016, incorporates several design advancements, including an upgrade from PCIe 4.0 to PCIe 5.0, doubling the host interface speed and bandwidth.

The new controller has been designed to support a maximum storage capacity of up to 256TB, a volume which JB Baker, VP of Products at ScaleFlux believes can be achieved sooner than expected, by taking a leaf out of tape technology.

256TBe drives are coming

Reaching 256TB is a big aim for SSD makers, and one that has some challenging hurdles to overcome. For starters, the physical space, determined by the size and form factor of the SSD, dictates how many NAND components it can accommodate. The density of these components also plays a part, with higher densities providing more storage capacity. The SSD’s overall capacity can be limited by the controller’s ability to handle a certain number of NAND chips and manage them effectively. Additionally, SSDs maintain a “logical to physical map” to track each byte of data stored, typically in DRAM for consistent performance in enterprise SSDs. The amount of DRAM that can fit in the drive can further limit the maximum drive capacity.

For all of those reasons, we likely won’t see a 256TB physical capacity drive arrive until 2026 at the earliest, with pricing expected to come in at around $25,000 each. But there is a solution that’s closer to hand. Baker says a “256T effective through compression drive could arrive by 2025 and cost a fraction of the price.”

While offering a 256TB SSD ahead of the competition, and at a lower price point, sounds great, the method of achieving this is not without controversy.

Transparent compression, a feature included in the SFX 5016 and carried forward from the SFX 3016, is a popular trick borrowed from tape technology that allows an SSD to store more data than its physical capacity by compressing it. As Baker explains “a 3.84TB SSD can store 7.68TB of 2:1 compressible data for ‘effective capacity’. Storage array vendors pitch the ‘TBe’ -Terabyte effective – capacity based on achieving a certain data compression ratio.”

Although there’s no firm timescale for it, if Baker is right, it’s possible we’ll start seeing the first 256TBe drives late next year.