Geek News

Dell's XPS 13 has been one of our favorite laptops for years, and with good reason. Its compact design, brilliant display, comfortable keyboard and long battery life make it a well-rounded device. Dell wasn't content to simply offer an incremental upgrade this year, though. It has given the XPS 13 a makeover, with narrower bezels, a new cooling system and a white option with a stain-resistant coating. That sounds like a lot, but on the outside the XPS 13 doesn't appear to have changed much. At least, not when you're looking at the silver/grey version anyway. The rose gold/white edition, though, will catch your eye (for better or worse). While I'm not a fan of the new color, I appreciate that Dell found a way to keep it from yellowing or getting stained. The white XPS 13 uses a glass fiber weave with coating to prevent discoloration, especially the areas where your palms rest. During a recent briefing, a Dell rep showed me how marks from a Sharpie were easily c...

Now that the industry has settled on a spec for 5G , carriers are racing to use it -- and AT&T hopes to be one of the first. It just unveiled plans to launch spec-based mobile 5G (not the fixed-in-place kind ) to everyday consumers in 12 cities by late 2018. It's not specific about where those markets are or which devices will be the first to adopt the faster speeds, but the arrival of the 5G spec has kicked off the start of hardware development. No, AT&T isn't giving up on its not-really-5G wireless service. The provider currently has "5G Evolution" in 23 urban areas, and expects to bring it to "hundreds" of additional markets (not to mention additional devices) throughout 2018. Like it or not, there will probably a repeat of the confusion you saw when networks tried to market fast 3G as 4G , with the real 5G coexisting alongside souped up 4G for a while. The carrier isn't going to have a lot of lead time over its rivals. Sprint has committ...

Lenovo just revamped the lion's share of its ThinkPad lineup , and it's good news if you want a speedy portable that won't weigh down your laptop bag... or if you're privacy-conscious, for that matter. Its new ThinkPad X, T and L models have all made the switch to faster 8th-generation Intel Core processors while sporting slimmer, lighter bodies. The 12.5-inch X280, for example, is 15 percent thinner (0.69in) and 20 percent lighter (2.6lbs) than its predecessor. There's also a new 13-inch L-series (the L380) for people who want a no-frills pro laptop in a more portable design than the 14- and 15-inch versions. Logically, there are specific upgrade perks depending on the machine in question. The ThinkPad Yoga X360 has Active Pen and an infrared camera for Windows Hello, while the X280 has rapid charging that gives it 80 percent within an hour. And if you're using the 14-inch L480 or 15-inch L580, you now have new choices for dedicated AMD graphics. Not that ...

Creating a smart home can be a complicated affair, with a ton of options available to add voice-control and automation to your lights , window coverings, thermostats and more. GE wants to simplify your options (with its own branded products, of course), and its bringing some new smart ceiling fixtures, wall switches, and lamps to market in 2018. The C by GE series of connected lighting now includes what the company calls the industry's first voice-integrated ceiling fixtures that hide all the smarts in a flush mount or recessed can option. There's a smart wall switch, too, which can provide voice-control to your connected lights, turning them on or off, dimming them, or changing the temperature of the light. No separate GE hub is needed, either, and there's a built-in antenna to make sure you can access it, even if someone accidentally flips the switch manually. If Amazon Alexa devices are your thing, you can now use it with GE's Sol lamp extensions. You can sync...