Category: Technology

Bitcoin is in the news today more than ever. Thanks to skyrocketing prices and roller coaster rides, everyone and their dogs are keen to learn how to buy and sell Bitcoin.

As the most popular form of cryptocurrency (and the blockchain technology that powers it) is Bitcoin now recognized worldwide and has a growing number of uses. However, if you want to take advantage of this, the first thing you need to know is how to buy bitcoin and what to do with it when you have bitcoin.

Would you like to mine Bitcoin instead? It is not advisable, but it is still possible. Here is how.

Step 1: Find a Reliable Bitcoin Wallet

Bitcoin is stored in digital “wallets” until you are ready to spend it or exchange it for another currency. Wallets vary in terms of features, platforms they accept, and level of security. So it’s important to choose one that works for you – although you should probably stay away from the one evangelized by John McAfee.

For those who are just starting out, it is best to use the wallet that is automatically provided to you on our recommended Coinbase exchange. However, it is also a good idea to set up a wallet that is not connected to a crypto exchange to ensure that you can access your Bitcoin instantly, even if there is overwhelming traffic or the website closes.

Here are our recommended options:

Exodus: Exodus is an all-in-one offline application with support for multiple cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin. It’s free to use, has built-in shape change trading, and includes some simple graphing tools that you can use to visualize your cryptocurrency portfolio.

Mycelium: This is a popular mobile wallet known to be compatible with more advanced technologies like Trezor hardware wallets (for maximum security) and Tor.

Bitcoin Core: Bitcoin Core is a free, open source option that acts as a Bitcoin node. They do an excellent job of verifying payments and only accept payments from valid blockchains.

To take a look at some of our favorite wallets, here is a more in-depth guide to the best Bitcoin wallets.

Note: While an online wallet is great for your first Bitcoin purchase, if you are confronted with a lot of valuable cryptocurrencies due to trading or appreciation, keep it in an offline “cold storage” wallet for maximum protection.

Step 2: choose the right bitcoin trader

The best place to make your first Bitcoin purchase is with an exchange. There are a lot of exchanges with varying levels of performance. Some are less trustworthy than others, and some can be very limited. Therefore, it is important to choose the correct exchange first. We recommend using Coinbase, though it doesn’t hurt to check out the competition using a Bitcoin exchange comparison site.

Signing up for a Coinbase account is easy, but you’ll need to show some ID. This could include sending a copy of your photo ID and possibly sending a live image of your face via webcam. It is imperative to follow these rules as they allow the websites to know the rules that your customers are aware of.

While Coinbase alone allows you to buy and sell Bitcoin, it’s also worth signing up to the linked exchange platform Coinbase Pro, which gives you better control over your purchases.

If you prefer a more direct route when buying Bitcoin, you can use a peer-to-peer service like LocalBitcoin or BitQuick. They offer a wider range of payment options and allow you to buy Bitcoin directly from a seller without the intermediary. If you want to use these and trade in person, you should meet in a safe place.

Step 3: Choose your payment method

Exchanges accept a variety of payment options, although one should beware of scam sites. Coinbase allows both bank account and credit or debit card transfers for payments, although a payment solution must be linked to your account before you can make a trade. Coinbase recently added PayPal as an option for transferring Bitcoin, although there are certain restrictions.

Note: Bitcoin ATMs allow you to exchange Bitcoin for cash in compatible wallets. These ATMs are available in a limited number of cities and offer an alternative to withdrawing money through an exchange. Again, most exchanges and online wallets won’t handle cash directly.

Step 4: buy bitcoin and keep it in your wallet

The exchanges tell you how many (or how much) Bitcoin you can buy for certain sums of money. However, due to its volatility, Bitcoin prices can vary dramatically depending on the exchange and moment to moment. That means you’ll likely buy a fraction of a bitcoin even if you have a lot of money to burn. There is nothing wrong with that, and for most people, this is the route they will go as few but the rich can afford to buy multiple bitcoins at once.

To make your first trade, enter the amount of Bitcoin you want to buy in the space provided and click the Buy button. Coinbase or Coinbase Pro is a standard market buy order where Bitcoin is bought at the best market price. Alternatively, you can place a limit order that allows you to set a price that you are willing to pay for a certain amount. A trade will only take place if this amount is displayed at that price.

Once you have made your purchase, your newly acquired Bitcoin will be transferred to your Coinbase wallet for safekeeping. You should then seek the option of transferring those funds to the address of the Bitcoin wallet you created. You have to pay a small fee to remove the money from the exchange, but that’s an essential part of Bitcoin transfers. Fortunately, the cost of such transfers is much lower than in the past.

Just a note: Bitcoin transfers can be made sporadically. When buying bitcoin funds, unlike other forex trades, the transaction must be recorded and confirmed on the blockchain. The transfer process can take a while (approximately an hour or two), especially during busy trading hours. It is a good idea to plan your transfers accordingly before boarding.

Step 5: get ready to use it

Whether you want to sell your Bitcoin (hopefully for a profit) or use it to buy goods or services, you can always do so. Bitcoin’s value fluctuates widely, so it is important that you plan your endgame early. Prepare now by setting up a seller account on an exchange or finding out how to use it to buy what you want before the time to buy. That way, you won’t panic about completing your transactions at a specific time.

We have compiled a list of compatible online stores to give you an idea of ​​where to spend your Bitcoin. Do your research by reading reviews and fine print before buying or exchanging bitcoin.

Editor’s recommendations

Now is the time of year to find the best bargains on electronics of all kinds. Cyber ​​Week offers discount everything from computers to smartwatches. This is a great time to buy what you’ve always wanted to buy but never seem to enjoy. Or when you buy Christmas gifts, you can give that special someone a great gift at a great price. One category that you should definitely check out is drones, as these once exclusive technologies are now cheaper than ever. Whether you want to get aerial photography of an area or an event, or just want to have fun with friends or family while flying a drone outdoors, you can find tons of Cyber ​​Week drone deals today.

Best Deals on Cyber ​​Week Drones

How to choose a drone during Cyber ​​Week

There are tons of different types, brands, and prices of drones. How do you know which one to choose? When choosing the best drone for your needs, consider factors such as video resolution and frames per second, additional features like video stabilization and obstacle avoidance, and the weight of the drone. More high-end drones not only record better quality videos, but are also easier to control in the air thanks to intelligent environmental sensors and more precise inputs. This is especially important on days with wind and bad weather, as it is more difficult to control a drone in these conditions. So think about what you want to use your drone for and whether you are at the mercy of the weather when you fly your new drone.

Weight is also an important factor as drones weighing more than 250 grams must be registered if you want to fly them in the US. So drones like the original DJI Mavic Mini and the newer DJI Mini 2 weigh just 249 grams, both of which are great choices for those who want to start flying right away and don’t want to worry about paperwork. If you are looking for the best video quality for professional productions, a high-end model like the DJI Mavic 2 Pro or even the DJI Mavic Air 2 offers features such as environment detection, autonomous tracking of a subject, exceptionally solid build quality, responsive controls and an excellent camera . Of course, all of these features aren’t cheap, so high-end drones are expensive!

There are tons of affordable drone pilot options for beginners too. Brands like Snaptain have many inexpensive entry-level drones under $ 200, and you can find inexpensive models from well-respected brands like Potensic too. The Potensic T25 or Snaptain SP650 are two examples of affordable drones that still allow you to enjoy the fun of flying and record videos in 1080p quality. This makes them perfect for home and leisure use.

Should you buy a drone during Cyber ​​Week?

For all bargain hunters, Cyber ​​Week is the last big sales event of the year where you get the best drones at the highest discount on the market. If you don’t take advantage of these Cyber ​​Week offers, the next time you’ll see discounts as good as 2021. There is no better time to start purchasing these Cyber ​​Week drone deals than today.

Are drone deals too good to be true?

The old axiom “if something seems too good to be true, it probably is” always applies to sales like Cyber ​​Week. Retailers like to take advantage of these events to clear their shelves of stale inventory, so a hot Cyber ​​Week drone deal you noticed earlier may be out of date by today’s standards and not have the features you really want in 2020 The excitement about the sale (or pressure tactics like countdown timers and limited availability warnings) can improve your judgment. Feel free to add the item to your cart, but do take a look around and compare prices first before hitting the checkout button.

It is also a good idea to do your research by reading guides like this before shopping for Cyber ​​Week drone deals. So you already have a good idea of ​​what you want, what features to look for, and what is actually a really great bargain. This will help you set a budget to stick to while also providing you with the information you need to prevent you from making a purchase that may later disappoint you.

We strive to help our readers find the best deals on quality products and services, and we carefully and independently select what we cover. The prices, details and availability of the products and offers in this post are subject to change at any time. Make sure they are still valid before making a purchase.

Digital Trends can earn commissions on products purchased through our links, which supports the work we do for our readers.

Editor’s recommendations

During the UK’s initial lockdown, I received an email from my son’s elementary school with a list of webcams we might like to check out. We particularly enjoyed observing and identifying the animals at a specific African watering hole that we were able to observe live online.

I continued to explore this world of location-based live streaming webcams which I had previously overlooked. I was fascinated by those who focused on city centers and revealed largely deserted urban landscapes. I left nature cams and coastal web cameras open on my PC monitor to distract myself when working from home. They offered me a portal to the outside world when, like so many others, I was trapped inside.

I suspected that I wasn’t alone in my virtual journeys. Indeed, the media soon described a massive increase in the use of these webcams. At Edinburgh Zoo, webcam views increased from around 100,000 to 5 million per month. As a tourism expert, I wanted to research this further. I completed a questionnaire and heard from 227 members of the public about their experiences traveling with webcams.

Some had used webcam travel for years to reconnect with nature. One respondent described the appeal of his favorite webcam in an eagle’s nest:

I enjoy watching the eggs hatch and watching the eagles ripen in spring, learn to fly and leave the next. I find it a nice antidote to the urban environment in which I live and work.

Respondents found webcam travel relaxing, especially when it came to nature and wildlife. “I feel calm and relaxed when I’m stressed or anxious.” Coastal scenes were also very popular. One person told me:

Before the lockdown, I’ve always found that looking out to sea is relaxing. I really miss walking along the coast. Watching the waves help me feel more connected to the outside world and remind me of what’s waiting when it’s safe to venture out again.

One thing these reports revealed was the importance of the vivid and unfiltered nature of webcam travel: “It helps to keep in touch with places and things that I like. Watch too Real time You almost feel like you do [you are] There. “The living nature of the experience seemed to encourage a sense of connection.

Virtual travel

The places that are virtually visited via these mostly static webcams are varied, numerous and are becoming increasingly popular. Wildlife, coastal scenes, city centers, zoos, aquariums, and landscapes are all favorites.

[Read: Why AI is the future of home security]

This surge in popularity isn’t surprising given the events of 2020. This year, our freedoms have been restricted in ways that most people have never experienced. In this context, webcam travel is a way to connect with nature and nature.

The Brockholes Nature Reserve in Lancashire informed me that they had seen 850 views from their two nature cameras in February 2020, but two months later, in April, that number had risen to 13,917 – an increase of 1,537%. SkylineWebcams now has more than 1,000 location-based webcams around the world showing city centers, heritage sites and a variety of resorts. In May they told me that they too had seen a huge surge in the popularity of their webcams and said:

With the spread of COVID-19, our website has actually seen an increase in numbers, from an average of 70 million monthly page views to 120 million in March. Webcams definitely played an interesting role during the lockdown. They have connected individuals with both distant countries and areas of their own cities that they would normally attend on a daily basis.

My research supported these reports: I found that nearly a third of respondents tried webcam travel for the first time during the lockdown, and 64% viewed webcams for longer than normal. 69% said they were more likely to physically visit places they viewed on webcams once restrictions were lifted.

Webcam trips therefore provide tourism organizations with a relatively inexpensive way to connect with visitors when recovery is on the horizon. 90% of the respondents felt connected to the place or nature and 83% felt more positive after traveling with the webcam.

Of the two-thirds who tended to view webcams from places they knew before they were locked, 83% said the experience brought back happy memories. One wrote on his favorite Arnside webcam: “A beautiful and unspoilt place in Cumbria – every time I look it brings back very fond memories of nice visits.” Nostalgia can ward off negative feelings such as loneliness, boredom and stress . This provides refuge from the challenges, fears, and frustrations associated with being locked out.

Many webcams are subject to natural outdoor environments or wildlife. Environmental psychology offers insights that explain this stimulus. Exposure to natural environments has been shown to provide health-related benefits associated with positive feelings such as calm, refreshment, and enjoyment. Even exposure to images of natural surroundings can be linked to mood restoration.

In 2020, webcam travel offers a sense of control over our movements so that we can exercise our freedom – at least virtually, if not physically. However, the experience is uplifting. It appears to be relaxing and mood-enhancing at a time when there are widespread mental health concerns. It offers an unfiltered experience that complements and supports the connection to place and nature.

As our freedom of movement continues to be restricted due to COVID-19, traveling with the webcam appears to continue. This may seem depressing to some, but webcam travel isn’t just a way to deal with escape or nostalgia: it allows you to connect to places we know or want to explore sometime in 2021.

Such imaginative trips can allow us to look to a more positive future. It also offers the tourism sector an opportunity to connect with its customers when considering how to relax. And connecting with nature, albeit virtual, isn’t a bad thing for us, the wildlife charities sharing their nature cameras, or the planet.

This article by David Jarratt, Senior Lecturer in Tourism Management at the University of Central Lancashire, is republished by The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

We’ve reviewed hundreds of laptops, so we know what to look for in a laptop regardless of the price. The best laptop you can buy is the Acer Swift 3. It does everything that laptops cost hundreds of dollars more can do — and in some cases, it does it even better.

But if your budget is a bit lower, or if you want to be able to game on your laptop, we’ve included options for you as well. If you’re looking for savings, you can also check out some of the best laptop deals and best Cyber Monday laptop deals, some of which are featured in our roundup of the best Cyber Monday sales happening now.

The best budget laptops at a glance:

The best budget laptop: Acer Swift 3

Why you should buy this: You want a fast, well-built laptop for very little money.

Who’s it for: Anyone who doesn’t mind sacrificing style for power.

Why we picked the Acer Swift 3 (AMD):

Finding a fast, well-built laptop for $650 isn’t easy. Normally, one of the things you give up is processing power, relegated to low-end and/or last-generation Intel Core CPUs, in addition to builds that are plasticky and don’t elicit confidence in their long-term viability.

Fortunately, Acer has come on strong with the Swift 3 equipped with AMD’s latest Ryzen 7 4700U CPU. For around $650 (prices fluctuate), you get an eight-core laptop with AMD Radeon integrated graphics. That helps the laptop not only perform productivity tasks with aplomb but even churn through demanding tasks like encoding video. The display isn’t the best we’ve seen, but you’ll forgive it once you see how well this budget laptop performs.

The $650 Acer Swift 3 also gets you 8GB of RAM and a large 512GB SSD. It’s not a sleek or modern-looking laptop by any means, although it’s very well built, but you’ll be hard-pressed to find a faster or better-built laptop for this kind of money.

Read our in-depth Acer Swift 3 (AMD) review

The best budget laptop for students: Microsoft Surface Laptop Go

Why you should buy this: It’s inexpensive and fits a student’s mobile lifestyle.

Who’s it for: Students, buyers on a budget.

Why we picked the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go: 

Students usually want a few things in a laptop — something that’s easy to carry around, that provides good enough performance for getting their homework done, and something that’s not going to embarrass them when they pull it out to take notes. Oh, and it needs to be affordable. Microsoft’s new Surface Laptop Go meets all those criteria and more.

To begin with, it’s the first Surface device offered at budget prices, in this case, $550 for a 10th-gen Ice Lake Core i5 CPU, 4GB of RAM, and a 64GB PCIe solid-state drive (SSD). You can spend a bit more, namely $700, and double the RAM and storage. Those are remarkably low prices for a Surface laptop and should appeal to students at all levels.

Next, the Surface Laptop go is a highly mobile device with a 12.4-inch IPS display that, although it’s not quite FHD resolution, is still of very high quality and a pleasure to use. It’s solid for both productivity and media binging.

Finally, the Surface Laptop Go is a good looking device that comes in a variety of colors to let students choose just the right one for them. It’s as well-built as all Surface devices and shares a common aesthetic — it’ll look great sitting on a desk.

Read our in-depth Microsoft Surface Laptop Go

The best budget Chromebook: Lenovo Chromebook Duet

Why you should buy this: It’s extremely affordable, with a great screen, and more than all-day battery life.

Who’s it for: Anyone on a budget who doesn’t mind sacrificing performance for extreme value.

Why we picked the Lenovo Chromebook Duet:

Chromebooks have become popular budget choices over the last few years, and many have won us over as well. One style that hasn’t done as well as some others is the detachable Chrome OS tablet. That’s changed with the introduction of the Lenovo Chromebook Duet, which not only is a very usable tablet but that represents a tremendous value thanks to the included kickstand cover and detachable keyboard.

The Lenovo Chromebook Duet’s low price brings some limitations — performance isn’t the greatest, for example, although it’s good enough for the kinds of tasks you’ll want to run on it. And the display is very good but not great, with a 16:10 1,920 x 1,200 resolution that’s not as pixel-sharp as Apple’s baseline iPad that the Duet competes against.

However, if you want a tablet for web browsing, light productivity work, and consuming media, then the Duet has you covered. It’s a very comfortable size as a tablet — although it’s a bit chunky with the kickstand cover and keyboard attached — and it feels great in hand. Not only is this the best budget Chromebook, but it’s one of the best budget laptops you can buy, period.

You will have to get used to Chrome OS too. It’s not as functional as Windows, and it works best when you have an active internet connection, but it’s more fleshed out today than it was in the past. If you find yourself using a lot of Google web services and watching streaming services like Netflix, the Lenovo Chromebook Duet could be a great way to save a lot of money on your next upgrade.

Read our in-depth Lenovo Chromebook Duet review

The best budget gaming laptop: Dell G5 SE Gaming Laptop

Why you should buy this: It offers solid gaming performance for under $1,000.

Who’s it for: Gamers, and only gamers.

Why we picked the Dell G5 SE:

Although gaming laptops are typically expensive, the Dell G5 SE is a great example of why they don’t need to be. Starting at just under $900, you get an AMD Ryzen 5 4500H CPU, an AMD Radeon RX 5600M graphics chip, 8GB of RAM, and a 256GB SSD, with options for faster CPUs, more powerful graphics, extra and faster storage, and memory if you don’t mind spending a little more. Every model comes with a 15.6-inch, 1080p IPS display. For $1,049, you’ll get a fantastic machine with 16GB of RAM, a 512GB SSD, and the faster Ryzen 7 4800H.

With a decent build quality and surprisingly good gaming performance that rivals laptops with Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 2060 GPU, the G5 SE offers an all-around solid gaming package at an impressively competitive price. It does have its weak points, most notably a less than stunning display — it’s dull, but it offers a fast 144Hz refresh rate that’s great for gaming.

The keyboard is surprisingly good and offers RGB lighting for $30 more, and overall there are fewer sacrifices than expected to keep the price down on such a capable gaming machine.

There are far better gaming laptops out there, but we’d struggle to find one that’s as powerful as Dell’s G5 SE at this price point. It’s a fantastic, budget gaming machine.

Read our in-depth Dell G5 SE review

The best budget laptop for video editing: HP Envy x360 13 (Ryzen)

Why you should buy this: You won’t find a better video editing laptop for less than $1,000.

Who’s it for: Video and photo editors who demand fast performance and a low price.

Why we picked the HP Envy x360 13 (Ryzen):

Finding a laptop for video editing under $1,000 isn’t easy. When it comes to video editing, the more cores the better. The best video editing laptops like the Dell XPS 15 and MacBook Pro 16-inch will cost you well over $2,000.

Fortunately, HP has released the Envy x360 13 with AMD’s latest Ryzen 5 4500U CPU. For $730, you get an eight-core machine with AMD Radeon graphics that can handle demanding video and photo editing tasks unlike many other laptops in its price range — or even higher. The Envy x360 actually outperforms many premium laptops costing well over $1,000 at tasks like rendering video.

The Envy x360 even has an excellent display, with a fairly wide color gamut (71% of AdobeRGB and 96% of sRGB) and a DeltaE of 2.26 (not the most accurate, but not terrible either). But it’s also a bright screen at 399 nits and enjoys an excellent contrast ratio of 1110:1 (we consider anything over 1,000:1 to be very good indeed).

The $730 also gets you 8GB of RAM and a 128GB SSD, which can be upgraded to 256GB for only $40. And the Envy x360 is also a great looking 360-convertible 2-in-1 with pen support, giving you some creative flexibility. It’s a great creative laptop for an almost unbelievably low price.

Read our in-depth HP Envy x360 13 (Ryzen) review

The best business budget laptop: Dell Inspiron 13 7000

Why you should buy this: With powerful and efficient hardware, this budget laptop enjoys solid battery life for an all-day work schedule.

Who’s it for: Office workers who want to game in their off-hours.

Why we picked the Dell Inspiron 13 7000:

Whether you’re typing up another spreadsheet or winding down with a game at the end of a long workday, the Dell Inspiron 13 7000 strikes a great balance. It features powerful and efficient general computing power, like a ninth-generation Intel CPU — options include Core i5, Core i7, and Core i9 chips — and up to 16GB of RAM, and this laptop sports a dedicated graphics chip. The standard model comes with an Nvidia GTX 1050 3GB for entry-level gaming chops, but there’s also an option for a new-gen 1650, which can play all sorts of games if you tweak the settings enough.

With the typical Inspiron build quality, we’d expect this system to borrow a number of great design features from the more premium XPS range, but make them available in a more affordable form. It’s not the lightest laptop at just over four pounds, but it has a great, spill-resistant keyboard, full Wi-Fi 5 and Bluetooth connectivity, and a top-mounted 720p webcam for conferencing.

The Dell Inspiron 13 7000 also comes in an attractive white paint job, which helps it stand out from all of its silver contemporaries.

The best budget 2-in-1: Microsoft Surface Go 2

Luke Larsen / Digital Trends

Why you should buy this: It’s quick, lightweight, and versatile.

Who’s it for: Anyone who needs the on-the-go mobility of a small, 2-in-1.

Why we picked the Microsoft Surface Go 2:

The Surface Go 2 may be limited by its small size and, at the entry-level, by a low-powered Intel Pentium processor — which can be upgraded to an Intel Core m3 for $130 more — but it offers something never before seen in the Windows world: A truly budget-minded 2-in-1. Its build is every bit as solid as its bigger brother, the Surface Pro 7, and it boasts a beautiful, bright display to boot. The best part? It’s actually thin and light enough to be held in one hand like a proper tablet.

While performance doesn’t feel as smooth as on something like an iPad or even a Chromebook, those devices can’t do quite as many things as the Surface Go 2, which runs a full version of Windows 10. On the battery front, however, it’s a bit lacking. That’s its most unfortunate compromise since this is a device made for portability. Also, we still wish the excellent Type Cover keyboard and Surface Pen came bundled in.

But even with its fair share of faults, the Microsoft Surface Go 2 is absolutely the best budget 2-in-1 you can buy. Competitors in this price range lack its high build quality and often have a less impressive display or keyboard.

Read our in-depth Microsoft Surface Go 2 review

Research and buying tips

Are budget laptops any good?

Absolutely! Depending on what you need your laptop to do, budget options can be just as good as their high-end counterparts. If you only need a laptop for watching Netflix and answering emails, a budget Chromebook can save you hundreds of dollars and perform no worse than something that costs $2,000 or more.

That said, you do need to be careful about which system you pick. Budget laptops tend to make some sacrifices where the expensive options don’t, so be sure to make sure that the system you’re interested in can do what you need it to before buying.

Do any budget laptops have Thunderbolt 3?

There are certain features that are less common in budget laptops, and Thunderbolt 3 is one of them. Plenty of budget laptops offer USB-C support, but only some provide Intel’s Thunderbolt 3 spec, such as the Dell Inspiron 13 7000.

Do budget laptops have good battery life?

Some do, some don’t. The models that prioritize portability tend to offer a little more, and you’ll want to skip a dedicated graphics chip if you want the most battery life.

However, you can find plenty of budget systems that offer a full workday and beyond on a single charge. In some cases, an option like the Asus ZenBook 13 UX333 offers better battery life than many laptops that cost a few hundred dollars more. Many Chromebooks also offer impressive battery life thanks to how lightweight the software is.

Can I find a good display on a budget laptop?

Definitely, but as with battery life or specific ports, you’ll need to pick and choose the right laptop. A good display will need to be a key component of the laptop, as color accuracy and contrast can be some areas where savings can be made on certain systems.

The best-looking screen of our budget recommendations comes with the HP Envy x360 13, which is yet another reason why it’s our pick for the best video editing laptop.

Is AMD better for budget laptops?

AMD’s release of the Ryzen 4000 line of CPUs has shaken up the budget laptop space. In short, the fastest machines we’ve tested that aren’t based on Intel’s 45-watt powerhouse CPUs have been running AMD, and that’s a major advance. Intel is still a far more dominant force in the laptop space with a wider range of options available, but as far as the CPUs that go into budget — and even premium thin and light — laptops, Ryzen 4000 rules the performance roost.

We strongly suggest that you consider AMD when picking your next budget laptop. If you can find one that matches your needs, you’ll get much better performance per buck.

Editors’ Recommendations

State researchers in China recently developed a quantum computing system that is said to be 10 billion times faster than Google’s “Sycamore” machine. If so, it would be a significant milestone for the field.

Front: As far as we can tell, it’s true. After a quick look at the research paper and a look at the peer response, it is evident that the Chinese team managed to do something extraordinary here.

Here is the jargon from the paper itself:

Quantum computers promise to perform certain tasks that are believed to be impossible for classical computers to solve. Boson sampling is one such task and is considered a strong candidate to demonstrate the benefit of quantum computation. We perform a Gaussian boson scan by sending 50 indistinguishable single-mode squeezes into a 100-mode, low-loss interferometer with full connectivity and random matrix – all of the optical setup is phase-locked – and the output with 100 highly efficient singles -Sample mode samples. Photon detectors.

Basically, the researchers say they built a quantum computer machine that uses light to perform a very specific task (boson scanning) to demonstrate and measure its effectiveness.

Background: The reason this is important is because, in theory, quantum computers can solve really difficult problems. We’re talking about the kind of problems that physicists and computer scientists value that a classic machine would take thousands of years to solve.

In 2018, Google claimed it had developed the first machine that could demonstrate a “quantum advantage.” This just means that supposedly a quantum computer was able to do something that a classical computer either couldn’t do or couldn’t do in a reasonable time.

Google claimed that its system, a 53-qubit machine that shakes a quantum chip called “Sycamore”, could solve a specific problem that a supercomputer couldn’t solve. Unfortunately for Google, IBM was quick to deny this claim. According to Big Blue, it can solve the same problem on one of its classic supercomputers in just a few days – using algorithms that already existed at the time of Google’s announcement.

Take quickly: What China has done is completely different from what Google has done. In essence, China has built a machine that can only perform the experiment that demonstrates quantum superiority. In other words, it doesn’t actually solve any problems, which makes being a computer a bit voluntary.

The Google machine, on the other hand, is “programmable”. This means that in theory it could be tweaked to solve one or more problems.

That doesn’t mean what China did isn’t a breakthrough. Pushing the boundaries of what quantum science can achieve is the goal of everyone working in this field. The various laboratories around the world working on building quantum computing machines use different approaches because while the future holds promise for the field, we are still taking the first theoretical steps towards useful quantum computers.

China’s methods may have made the most recent breakthrough, but as Lu Chaoyang, the professor who led the experiment, told the Financial Times:

Building a quantum computer is a race between humans and nature, not between countries.

You can find more information on quantum computing in our primer here.

Published on December 4, 2020 – 18:47 UTC

As self-driving cars gain momentum in today’s automotive landscape, the issue of legal liability in the event of an accident has become more relevant.

Studies of the interaction between humans and vehicles have shown time and again that even systems for automating driving – such as adaptive cruise control, which keeps the vehicle at a certain speed and distance from the car in front – are anything but error-free.

Recent evidence suggests that drivers have limited understanding of what these systems can and cannot do (also known as mental models), which contributes to system abuse.

In the video above, a webinar on the dangers of advanced driver-assisted systems.

There are many issues worrying the self-driving car world, including imperfect technology and the lukewarm public acceptance of autonomous systems. There is also the question of legal liability. In particular, what are the legal responsibilities of the human driver and the automaker who built the self-driving car?

Trust and Accountability

In a study recently published in Humanities and Social Science Communications, the authors deal with the problem of excessive driver trust and the resulting system abuse from a legal perspective. They are examining what self-driving car manufacturers should legally be doing to ensure drivers understand how to use the vehicles appropriately.

One solution suggested in the study is to require buyers to sign end-user license agreements (EULAs), similar to the terms that an agreement would require when using new computer or software products. To get consent, manufacturers may use the ubiquitous touchscreen installed on most new vehicles.

The problem is that this is far from ideal or even safe. And the interface may not provide enough information to the driver, creating confusion about the nature of the consent forms and their implications.

The problem is, most end users don’t read EULAs: A 2017 Deloitte study shows that 91% of people agree to them without reading. In young people, the percentage is even higher. 97% agree without checking the terms.

In contrast to using a smartphone app, operating a car involves considerable safety risks, regardless of whether the driver is human or software. Human drivers must agree to take responsibility for the software and hardware results.

“Warning drowsiness” and distracted driving are also a cause for concern. For example, a driver who is upset after receiving continuous warnings might choose to just ignore the message. If the message is displayed while driving, it can be a distraction.

Given these limitations and concerns, the manner in which this consent is to be obtained is unlikely to fully protect automakers from their legal liability in the event the system fails or an accident occurs.

Driver training for self-driving vehicles can help drivers fully understand system capabilities and limitations. This needs to go beyond just buying the vehicle – recent evidence shows that even relying on the information provided by the dealer won’t answer questions.

Against this background, the way forward for self-driving cars will not go smoothly.

This article by Francesco Biondi, Assistant Professor of Human Kinetics at the University of Windsor, has been republished by The Conversation under Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

SHIFT is brought to you by Polestar. It’s time to accelerate the transition to sustainable mobility. That’s why Polestar combines electric driving with state-of-the-art design and exciting performance. Find out how.

Published on December 5, 2020 – 16:00 UTC

Have you always wanted to fly drones but have held back because of the costs? Drone prices keep falling as more drones fly. Affordable drones are now within the reach of most people and are no longer just a toy for people with high expendable incomes. These days, you can find good but cheap drones for less than $ 500 (or even less) if you grab one while it’s on sale. To make this easier, we’ve rounded up the best cheap deals on drones right now.

Today’s best drone deals

How to choose a drone

The right drone for you depends on what you want to do. A cheap drone – especially those that are under $ 250 – has the fewest features and may not have some features that may not make it the best solution for you.

In general (and this is not a hard and fast rule) a cheap drone will usually provide 720p video and a relatively low frame rate, typically 30 frames per second. While this will be fine for most of us, the video will lack that cinematic smoothness. Stepping up to a mid-range drone (usually in the $ 250 to $ 750 range) gives you 1080p video and often 60 fps, resulting in higher quality videos.

Most modern high-end drones offer 4K video, but you will likely have to spend more than $ 1,000 to get 4K video at 60 frames per second. If video quality is a primary concern, expect higher costs.

A cheap drone also lacks other useful features, including tracking, video and drone stabilization. In ideal flight conditions this is not a problem. However, you should take advantage of these features when you want to fly in different conditions or work without much user input.

We also found that many cheaper drones either don’t avoid obstacles or are not as good as more expensive drones. If you’re flying in wide open spaces, you don’t have a big problem here. However, if you plan to fly in areas with obstacles nearby, make sure that the drone you choose has sufficient obstacle avoidance capabilities.

Do drones make noises?

All drones make noise. Most describe it as a humming sound, similar to a bee. The propellers are spinning at extremely high speeds, and that is what makes this noise. It is most noticeable when you are closest to the drone, but you will hardly hear it if it is ever higher in the air.

Can you fly a drone at night

Most drones can be flown at night, although we would not recommend doing so until you have a lot of experience. We recommend keeping your drone in view when flying at night. Drones that can be deployed at night have lights so that they can be seen during night flight.

Remember that most drones don’t have night vision capabilities. Therefore, the video you record during the night flight will only be lit by available ambient lights like moonlight, street lights, etc.

Can you fly a drone in the rain

Most drone manufacturers advise against flying your drone in the rain. Most cheap drones are neither waterproof nor waterproof, so even small amounts of water can damage your drone, especially the motor and battery. The moisture creates a short circuit that causes your drone to stop working with little or no warning. As a rule, therefore, do not fly your drone in rain, fog or excessively humid conditions.

If you are trapped in these conditions, land as soon as possible and move your drone to a dry place, disconnect the battery and let it dry. You may also want to gently shake the drone itself to get water out of the inner case and let it dry as well. Use techniques similar to drying out a wet phone to dry out your drone. If this is your first time flying it, take some time to test the drone at low altitude before returning to normal flying.

Do drones have to be registered?

The Federal Aviation Administration requires that you register your drone based on your scheduled flight and tag your drone with your provided registration number. Any drone weighing more than 250 grams and less than 55 pounds must be registered, which covers nearly every drone currently sold in the market. This registration must be renewed every three years.

You must also have proof of registration with you at all times during the flight and you are not allowed to fly for commercial purposes according to the license terms. Drone flights are only permitted below 400 feet and class “G” or uncontrolled airspace. It is your responsibility to follow these rules.

In some states, drone pilots must comply with additional regulations. So be sure to check the laws of the state in which you are flying before you take off.

Do you need a license to fly a drone?

No license is currently required for recreational or hobby drone pilots. However, additional certifications may be required to fly for commercial purposes.

We strive to help our readers find the best deals on quality products and services, and we carefully and independently select what we cover. The prices, details and availability of the products and offers in this post are subject to change at any time. Make sure they are still valid before making a purchase.

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Stanford University

A friend of mine who works in game design recently showed me a 3D model of the earth that has been rendered in great detail using topographically accurate satellite data so that we can fly at high speed through canyons and our respective neighborhoods like a pair of super people. “Let’s see if we can go underwater,” he said enthusiastically as we flew over the Pacific.

We could not. The amazingly accurate model on land apparently had no data with which to model the underwater environment. There was an unrendered void beneath the glassy surface of the water, like this was a sub-aquatic version of the Truman Show, and we had reached the end of the world.

Neither of us was particularly surprised. The shock would have been if the oceans had been rendered. Where would this information have come from? And how exactly would it have been? It would have meant that the makers of the model knew something that even the world’s leading oceanographers don’t.

Despite all the justified excitement surrounding space exploration in the 2020s (Elon Musk is “very confident” that humans will be racing towards Mars by 2026), our planet’s oceans remain a largely unknown and unknown domain that is much closer to their home lies. Water covers roughly 71 percent of the earth’s surface, with the freshwater material we drink making up a tiny 3 percent, little more than a rounding error. But the vast majority of Earth’s oceans – up to 95 percent – is an unexplored mystery.

While we’re still far from a Google Street View equivalent for the underwater world, a new project carried out by researchers at Stanford University could pave the way for something like this in the future – and much more. Imagine if you could fly an airplane over a piece of water and see with absolute clarity what is hiding under the waves.

It sounds impossible. As it turns out, it’s just very, very difficult.

The problem with lidar, the problem with sonar

“Mapping underwater environments from an airborne system is a challenging task, but it has many potential applications,” Aidan James Fitzpatrick, a PhD student in the electrical engineering department at Stanford University, told Digital Trends.

The obvious candidate for this imaging job is lidar. Lidar is the bounce laser technology best known for helping autonomous vehicles (without Tesla) perceive the world around them. It sends out pulsed waves of light and then measures how long it takes for them to bounce off objects and return to the sensor. In this way, the sensor can calculate how far the light pulse has moved and thus create an image of the world around it. Self-driving cars are still the most popular use of lidar, but they can also be used as a powerful mapping tool in other contexts. For example, researchers used it in 2016 to uncover a long-lost city hidden under a dense canopy in the Cambodian jungle.

Lidar is not suitable for this type of assignment. Although advanced, high-performance lidar systems perform well in extremely clear waters, much of the ocean – especially coastal waters – is cloudy and opaque. According to Fitzpatrick, much of the underwater recordings made to date have relied on in-water sonar systems that use sound waves that can easily travel through murky waters.

Unfortunately there is a catch here too. In-water sonar systems are mounted on or pulled by a slow moving boat. Aerial imaging with a flying aircraft would be more effective as it could cover a much larger area in less time. However, this is impossible because sound waves cannot get from the air into the water and then back again without losing 99.9999 percent of their energy.

What comes to PASS

While lidar and radar systems have mapped the entire landscape of the earth (focus on the “land”), consequently only about 5 percent of global waters have been subject to similar imaging and mapping. This corresponds to a world map that only shows Australia and leaves the rest dark like an unexplored Age of Empires map.

“Our goal is to propose a technology that can be mounted on a flying vehicle to provide extensive coverage while using an imaging technique that is robust in murky water,” said Fitzpatrick. “For this purpose, we are developing a photoacoustic air sonar system that we have designed. PASS uses the advantages of the propagation of light in the air and the propagation of sound in the water to map underwater environments from an airborne system. “

Stanford University

PASS works as follows: First, a special customer-specific laser system fires a burst of infrared light that is absorbed by the first centimeter of water. Once laser absorption has occurred, the water thermally expands and creates sound waves that can move into the water.

“These sound waves now act as a sonar signal in the water that was generated remotely by the laser,” continued Fitzpatrick. “The sound waves are reflected by underwater objects and travel back to the surface of the water. Some of this noise – only about 0.06 percent – passes the air-water interface and travels towards the air system. Highly sensitive sound receivers or transducers record these sound waves. The converters [then] convert the sound energy into electrical signals that can be passed through image reconstruction algorithms to create a perceptible image. “

The things that are below

PASS is currently in progress. The team demonstrated high-resolution three-dimensional imaging in a controlled laboratory environment. Fitzpatrick acknowledged that this is in a “container the size of a large aquarium,” although the technology is now “close to the stage” where it could be deployed over a large swimming pool.

Stanford University

There is, of course, a slight difference between a large swimming pool and all of the world’s oceans, and it requires a lot more work. Specifically, a major challenge that needs to be resolved before testing in larger, more uncontrolled environments is how to approach imaging through water with turbulent surface waves. Fitzpatrick said this is a head scratcher, but it’s one that “certainly has workable solutions” that some are already working on.

“PASS could be used to map the depths of unknown waters, study biological environments, search for lost wrecks, and possibly much more,” he said. “Isn’t it strange,” he added, “that we don’t have to explore all of the earth we live on yet? Maybe PASS can change that. “

The combination of light and sound to solve the air-water interface would be a game changer. And then? Bring the mapping drone army to finally show us what’s under the ocean’s surface.

An article describing the PASS project was recently published in IEEE Access magazine.

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