Sony launches the vlogger-friendly RX100 VII

Sony’s newest RX100 camera address a long-asked-for feature: an external mic port. The RX100 VII brings this feature along with Sony’s real-time tracking and eye autofocus systems, which were first seen in the A6400 and A9. Combining this with the flip-up screen, you have a camera built for vlogging. The RX100 VII has the same lens as last year’s model. It comes with a 24-200mm zoom lens with an f/2.8-4.5 that offers up to 8.3x optical zoom. It’s 20-megapixel 1-inch sensor has been upgraded to a stacked sensor, which uses similar technology as the full-frame version found on the A9.

The RX100 VII has a new Single Burst Shooting Drive Mode that can take still pictures up to 90fps with a single shutter press. It gives you a better chance of getting the photo you wanted. In the US, its retail price is at US$1,200 (approx. CA$1,600), and it’ll be available later in August.

Source: The Verge

Apple buys ‘majority’ of Intel’s smartphone business for US$1 billion

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Apple is moving forward with its plans of developing its own cellular hardware with its latest acquisition. The company is buying the “majority” of Intel’s smartphone modem business for US$1 billion. It’ll see Apple taking on 2,200 Intel employees, intellectual property, and leases. The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter of this year if regulators approve of the handover, that is.

In the smartphone chipset market, Intel won’t be completely out of the game. But it’ll scale back. And its focus on 5G will be in areas where it “most closely aligns” with what its customers want. The focus would be on customers like network operators, cloud service providers, and equipment manufacturers. The company will also work on developing modems for computers, Internet of Things devices, and self-driving cars.

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Microsoft gets rid of the ‘Online’ name for its Office web apps

You no longer have to call apps like Word, Excel, and PowerPoint with the “Online” branding if you’re using the web apps. The company plans to drop this for its Office Online suite of apps. It does make sense to just drop the Online name, since using it through the web basically means you are online. However, this might cause some confusion when Microsoft tries to differentiate the web version from its desktop and mobile apps. Microsoft said it’ll just call them “Office for the web” to clarify things, which if you think about it is what the Online name did for them anyway. That said, other Microsoft products will still hang on to the Online descriptor. These include Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, Project Online, and Office Online Server.

Source: Engadget

Nintendo will reportedly repair Switch Joy-Cons with ‘drift’ problems for free

An internal memo that got leaked reportedly instructs Nintendo customer support representatives to offer free Joy-Con repairs for units that suffer from the “drift” issue. This infamous drifting issue causes some of them to move things on the screen on their own. Customers wouldn’t need to show proof of purchase and just take them at their word. For those who paid for a previous Joy-Con repair, the customer support reps are advised to issue refunds. Nintendo hasn’t confirmed the existence of this memo.

Vice got in touch with Nintendo’s customer support about this issue, and they were told to update their system’s software. They were instructed to call back if the behaviour repeated itself, which it did. They weren’t given any pushback when they called back and were told they were being sent a pre-paid shipping label to send the defective Joy-Cons in for repairs.