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ASUS’ new ZenBook S is thin, light and rugged

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ASUS has announced the ZenBook S (UX391), a 13.3-inch ultraportable that is designed to be tougher than your average laptop. Built to military specifications , the company claims that the S has proved its mettle in a series of endurance tests in tough conditions. But, unlike most rugged devices, the ZenBook S is light and thin enough to make you think it's a delicate piece of gear. Measuring 12.9mm thick and weighing a little over two pounds, the ZenBook S' strength comes from its all-metal frame. Inside, you'll find one of two eighth-generation Intel CPUs, either the i5-8250U or an i7-8550U CPU paired with either 8GB or 16GB RAM. Being an ultraportable, you're stuck with Intel's integrated UHD 620 graphics, but you can pick between a 256GB, 512GB or 1TB SSD. And with a 50Wh lithium-polymer battery, ASUS claims that the machine will runs for 13.5...

ASUS' Project Precog is a dual-screen AI-powered concept PC

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ASUS always has a few surprises in store at Computex, and this year was no different. During its keynote today, ASUS unveiled its Project Precog concept computer, a dual-screen PC with a slew of AI-driven features. It looks similar to Lenovo's Yoga Book, but hopefully it'll be more than just a novelty like that machine. Project Precog is a full-fledged convertible: You can use it in a traditional tablet mode, a tent formation, or folded around as a tablet. You can also lay it completely flat, allowing you to play games across both screens. Developing... Click here to catch up on all the latest news from Computex 2018! via Engadget RSS Feed https://ift.tt/2sGC9tK If New feed item from http://www.engadget.com/rss-full.xml , then se...

Asus replaced the touchpad on its new ZenBook Pro with a 5.5-inch touchscreen

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Astronomy Picture of the Day: Complex Jupiter

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Complex Jupiter How complex is Jupiter? NASA's Juno mission to Jupiter is finding the Jovian giant to be more complicated than expected . Jupiter's magnetic field has been discovered to be much different from our Earth's simple dipole field , showing several poles embedded in a complicated network more convoluted in the north than the south. Further, Juno's radio measurements show that Jupiter's atmosphere shows structure well below the upper cloud deck -- even hundreds of kilometers deep. Jupiter 's newfound complexity is evident also in southern clouds, as shown in the featured image . There, planet-circling zones and belts that dominate near the equator decay into a complex miasma of continent-sized storm swirls. Juno continues in its looping elliptical orbit, swooping near the huge planet every 53 days and exploring a slightly different sector each t...

ASUS stuffed a screen into the ZenBook Pro 15's touchpad

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Remember Razer's Switchblade UI ? Remember Windows SideShow ? If you ever dreamt of a computer with its own secondary display , then ASUS' New ZenBook Pro is the device for you. In place of a traditional touchpad, the company is adding the ScreenPad, a 5.5-inch touchscreen that can even run its own apps. That's the headline feature, at least, of the company's latest flagship laptop aimed at creative professionals. The ZenBook Pro 15 with ScreenPad (UX580) is the first device to get ASUS' new touchscreen/touchpad hybrid. It comes with a 4K UHD, Pantone-validated display that, the company claims, will offer true and accurate color reproduction. The screen itself is surrounded by a bezel that's just 7.3mm thick, and has a maximum brightness of 400 nits with a 1200:1 contrast ratio. Buyers have a choice of either a Core i5, i7 or e...

Walkie-Talkie on the Apple Watch is a clever riff on FaceTime Audio

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After the health app improvements, the headline feature for watchOS 5 at WWDC was Walkie-Talkie, a new app that lets you send and receive quick voice messages with friends and family. Earlier today I got a brief demo of the feature and was surprised to discover that it works a little differently than I expected. What I expected was a sort of voice message feature, where you record a quick message, send it, and your contact does the same and sends one back. But that's not how Walkie-Talkie on the Apple Watch works at all. Instead, when you initiate a Walkie-Talkie chat, what you actually get is a real-time FaceTime Audio call that just happens to include push-to-talk (PTT) instead of a full-duplex audio call. Here's how it works: You... Continue reading… via The Verge - Tech Posts https://ift.tt/2JkVVSn ...

ASUS adds a dash of color to its upgraded midrange VivoBooks

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ASUS' midrange VivoBooks may not be as sexy as its ZenBooks , but they're still pretty solid laptops in their own right. This year's crop continues to provide meaty features at an affordable price, with the latest refresh of the VivoBook Flip 14, a 14-inch convertible laptop with 360-degree hinge, as well as the newest iterations of the VivoBook S15 and S14, two slightly more traditional laptops that come in not-so-traditional color-block designs. Plus, there's a new VivoBook S13 as well. Let's start with the VivoBook S15, S14, and S13 which are being marketed as "laptops designed for the young and the young at heart" for one simple reason: the design. As mentioned, they come in color block styles that pair bright and bold colors together. They're available in Firmament Green, Star Grey, Silver Blue, Gun Metal and Icicle Gold, and some ...

ASUS VivoWatch BP keeps track of your blood pressure and location

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ASUS may well have pulled out of the Android smartwatch market after its ZenWatch 3 , but it's actually not quite done yet with wearables. At Computex, the company made a little surprise by unveiling the VivoWatch BP, which is a follow-up to the original low-power VivoWatch from three years ago. We're looking at a handful of new features and improvements here, with the main highlight being the built-in blood pressure monitor -- a rare feature in the smartwatch category. The only other recent direct competitor is the Omron HeartGuide , which is also due to lau nch later this year. The VivoWatch BP won't be winning praises for its appearance. While the previously monochromatic high-reflective display has now gained some colors, it's also gained a much thicker bezel to accommodate extra sensors on the front. The screen is positioned i...

iOS 12 tests Restricted mode that locks USB access after an hour

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In recent beta releases of iOS 11 , Apple added a feature that disables device's ability to connect to accessories over USB after the phone has been locked for a period of time. In May, the lockout kicked in after a week, however, Elcomsoft (which makes forensic tools that can unlock and access data from mobile devices) noted just a couple of days ago that the iOS 11.4.1 beta release shortened the time to just one hour, and early testers of the iOS 12 developer beta are seeing the same thing there. The apparent target here are unlocking tools of the varieties offered by companies like GrayShift and Cellebrite , which have been used by law enforcement to access locked and encrypted devices. According to Elcomsoft, the most recent 11.4 beta beefed up the Restricted Mode even more, because once it kicks in, the device does not communicate or transfer data ove...