Belkin reveals 2018 lineup of smart charging solutions

Belkin, a leading mobile accessory manufacturer announced its 2018 portfolio of mobile power products including wireless charging solutions for various use case scenarios, USB-C power banks, and fast-charging power delivery wall chargers. 

 “This year we are taking our extensive knowledge of consumer trends, expected changes in charging behavior, and experience building the best wireless charging and mobile power products to the next level,” said Steve Malony, GM & VP, Belkin. “From our vantage point of being first and best to market, we expect to see a race to deliver wireless charging products given the spike in adoption in 2017.” 

Click to read more ...

Cortana's music recognition feature no longer works the way it used to

Avid Windows 10 users who interacted with the built-in Cortana voice assistant on their PCs had the option of quickly finding out what song was playing by invoking the smart assistnat's music reognition feature. This gave quick access to song name, artists and even a link to streaming or purchasing the song. It's a feature that Google copied on the Pixel 2 which tells you what song is playing when it is recognised.

Sadly, with the shuttering of the Groove Pass music service from Microsoft early this week, this feature no longer works the way it used to on Cortana but it still works when you ask Cortana what song is this and follow a link. It's all kind of a mess right now, Microsoft promises it will get better.

Click to read more ...

HP announces three education focused Chromebook devices

HP announced three new Chrome OS devices that take advantage of the latest enhancements to the Google for Education ecosystem: the HP Chromebook 11 G6 Education Edition, the HP Chromebook 14 G5 and the HP Chromebox G2.

"The historic rise of Chromebook adoption in schools has driven more equitable access to technology for students, offering a simple and manageable solution for digital education transformation. In fact, Chromebooks accounted for an astonishing 58% of mobile PC device shipments to K-12 schools (not including desktops) in the United States last year and now lead school markets in Canada and Sweden^{," says Gus Schmedien, who is VP of Worldwide Education for HP.}

The sixth-generation HP Chromebook 11 G6 EE is purpose-built for the daily demands of students. With industrial co-molded rubber, reinforced corners and a unique impact dispersion pattern on the internal chassis to protect hinges, the device can withstand bumps and drops from 70 cm onto bare concrete surfaces and designed to pass MIL-STD 810g testing.

Click to read more ...

Meltdown and Spectre patches for Surface devices released by Microsoft

As computer and smartphone manufacturers and IT managers alike scramble to mitigate the unprecedented flaws found in Intel, AMD and ARM processors. it is now clear that Meltdown and Spectre  can lead to serious exploits and opens up a Pandora's Box of possibilities for hackers and malware.

Click to read more ...