ASUS introduces first Chrome OS tablet

ASUS recently unveiled its Chromebook Education series and part of that line is a new form factor: a 9.7-inch ASUS Chromebook Tablet CT100. It’s the first ASUS Chrome OS tablet. This line of devices are designed to handle the wear and tear students will place on them, while making sure they stay creative and productive. The CT100 gets the same Chrome OS version available on the notebooks and Chromebox desktops, but helps introduce the technology to the kids. It features a rubberized chassis that’s less than 10mm thick, making it easier for small hands to grasp. If kids accidentally drop them, it’s rated for drops of up to 100cmm, which is around the height of most desks.

The screen is a QXGA display covered in strong tempered glass. It also comes with a stylus that hides into the tablet frame when it isn’t in use. It’s powered by a hexa-core OP1 processor, designed specifically for Chromebooks, and 4GB of RAM. Onboard storage is at 32GB and it comes with a 35Wh lithium-polymer battery, which ASUS claims is enough for a full school day. It charges via USB Type-C. ASUS hasn’t announced pricing or availability yet but it’ll be arriving in the coming months.

Facebook begins public testing of Messenger’s dark mode feature

If you’re fond of sending out messages in the middle of the night, you’ll probably welcome this update from Facebook. The company has finally started testing dark mode for its Messenger app. Web app developer Jane Wong reveals on Twitter, “Facebook Messenger, seemingly due to prolonged external nagging, has started public testing Dark Mode in certain countries. They have put up a fair warning that Dark Mode isn't everywhere yet so don't complain when some UI burns your eyes off.” There isn’t a specific timeline yet when it’ll be coming out but you can now see how it’s going to look like if you do get the feature and decide to use it. Having a dark mode option works on the idea that this limits screen glare and protects your peepers from effects of blue light when you use your phone in the dark or in the middle of the night.

Samsung Galaxy S10 Lite gets 3,100mAh battery

The rumour mill for the new Samsung Galaxy S10 devices keep spinning. The latest one revolves around the cheapest version of the lineup. GSMArena reports on the battery capacity of the Galaxy S10 Lite. The image above, which was taken from the Korean certification agency, shows that the battery is rated at 3,100mAh. And while, it might be considered on the lower end of the spectrum, this is the Lite version of the S10. It is expected to have the smallest display at 5.8 inches and it could mean it uses less battery than its more premium siblings. The Galaxy S10, which will reportedly sport a 6.1-inch screen, is rumoured to be getting a 3,500mAh battery. While the 6.4-inch Galaxy S10 Plus will reportedly have a 4,000mAh battery.

Apple's GarageBand app celebrates 15 years of music creation for the rest of us

John Mayer and Steve Jobs demo an earlier version of GarageBand

Apple is celebrating 15 years of Garageband, the app included in macOS which enables anyone to put together various loops and samples as well as integrate live voice or musical instrumentation. Garageband was an ambitious and successful application that was part of iLife, the suite of apps included with every Mac sold.

GarageBand brought drag and drop simplicity to music creation and added myriad options for instruments, loops, and beats which were mostly royalty free. For budding musicians or composers, it gave them the ability to put together music even without having to read notes or having access to various instruments.

The app, originally introduced onstage at Macworld '04 by Steve Jobs and John Mayer, has grown to be the most widely used music app in the world — and is now on over 1 billion iPhones, iPads and Macs globally. 

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