Logitech’s new Aurora gaming accessories are ‘inclusive’ but expensive

Logitech has launched the Aurora Collection, a line of “gender-inclusive” gaming accessories including a mouse, keyboard and headset. The devices are built around “comfort, approachability and playfulness” based on “feedback from women gamers across the community,” the company said. They have all-new designs and some interesting features, but also carry high prices suggestive of a “pink tax” on products designed for women.

The G735 wireless headset is a good example of that. It’s Logitech’s first G gaming headset with Blue VO!CE microphone tech that helps modulate your voice, while letting you save preferred settings directly on the headset. It also promises comfort for gamers with smaller heads, 2.4Ghz wireless connectivity and up to 56 hours of battery life with the side LEDs turned off. However, it’s very expensive for a gaming headset at $230, compared to say Logitech’s high-end $200 Pro X headset with similar features. 

The wireless and wired $200 G715 and $170 G713 tenkeyless keyboards offer per-key and perimeter RGB lighting and a choice of GX mechanical switches (tactile, linear or clicky), along with a cloud-soft palm rest. The G715 can connect via Bluetooth or a 2.4Ghz dongle, and offers around 25 hours of battery life on a charge. 

Finally, the $100 G705 lightweight (85 gram) wireless mouse is specifically designed for players with small hands. It comes with an 8,200 DPI “gaming-grade” sensor, offers battery life up to 40 hours with the LEDs enabled, and can connect to the G715 keyboard to avoid clutter. 

On top of the devices, Logitech is offering accessories we don’t see with many of its other gaming products. Those include pink or neon boom mics with earpads for $20, keyboard top plates ($20) and colored keycaps ($40). It’s also offering $30 mousepads and a $40 case for the G735 headset and G705 mouse. 

Logitech said that when it looked at its gaming products, “we realized we could be doing more” in terms of delivering solutions for all gamers. In one way, it has certainly achieved that considering the $500 price tag for the entire collection. If it really wants to expand its offerings for more players, though, it may need to expand its Aurora lineup with more budget-oriented products that match the quality and prices of its standard offerings. 

Update 7/26/2022 10:46 AM ET: The article originally stated the new accessories were “gender-exclusive” rather than “gender-inclusive.” The article has been corrected with right term. 

Google Play Store 以新圖標慶祝十歲生日

Play Store 自 2012 由 Android Market 轉變而來後，已經經過了十個年頭。為了慶祝這個里程碑，Google 稍微改變了一下 Google Play 的圖標，Google 的 Play Points 獎勵計畫今天起也會有特別活動，只要到 Play Points Home 開啟「賺取」頁面，24 小時之內購買的所有商品都可以獲得 10 倍的點數回饋。…

Google adds new multi-tasking features to its Workspace tablet apps

Google has started making good on its promise to update and optimize 20 of its apps for tablets. The tech giant has rolled out a number of new features for Google Drive, Docs, Sheets, Slides and Keep, which all take advantage of tablets’ larger screens. They’re tools you can use to make it easier to juggle multiple tasks and to transfer content from one app to another when you have two windows open side-by-side. You can now easily drag-and-drop text and images from apps like Chrome, for instance, to a Google document or a spreadsheet cell. That could make writing up notes or reports go much quicker than before.

If you need to upload anything to Google Drive, you can simply open the app in a split window and then drag-and-drop the files in. You can now even open two Drive windows side-by-side, so you can compare files without losing the current view for whatever’s already open. Sounds useful if you’re reviewing particularly lengthy PDF files or documents. To access the feature, make sure to click the three-dot menu on a Drive file and choose the “Open in new window” option.

Now, if you want to create links for direct access to specific drive files, you can easily do so by dragging files into Google Keep. And if you have any images in Keep that you want to use elsewhere, you can drag them out of a note and into another app. Finally, you’ll now be able to use keyboard shortcuts such as select, cut, copy, paste, undo and redo while navigating Drive, Docs and Slides if you’re using a keyboard with your tablet.  

Google hasn’t exactly been prioritizing Android tablet users over the past few years, but Android 12L’s release seems like a promising start in its attempt to address the platform’s shortcomings for larger screens. When it announced that it was going to optimize its apps at Google I/O back in May, the company showed it was getting serious about building apps for Android tablets again. Hopefully, that doesn’t change and future updates could continue improving the Android experience for tablet users.

DJI’s Action 2 camera and extended battery bundle returns to an all-time low price

DJI’s Action 2 is an option worth paying attention to if you’re in the market for an rugged camera, and now might be the time to scoop one up. It’s currently on sale as part of a bundle on Amazon for $279, which is a third off the regular price of $419.

Buy DJI Action 2 power combo at Amazon – $279

What helps set the Action 2 apart from other rugged camera options is a magnetic modular mounting system that can boost the functionality. This bundle includes a magnetic protective case that’s designed to reduce the surface temperature. In addition, you’ll get a battery module. DJI says this can extend the battery life from 70 minutes to up to 180 minutes while adding an extra microSD slot. You’ll also get a magnetic lanyard, so you can wear the Action 2 around your neck.

A module with a second touchscreen is available separately, which could be helpful for vlogging use. A bundle of the camera and the dual-screen module is also a third off on Amazon at the minute. Meanwhile, since it uses magnets, attaching the Action 2 to a mount should be a cinch.

DJI announced the Action 2 last year as a successor to the Osmo camera from 2019 — some Osmo accessories are compatible with the Action 2. The latest model has a 12-megapixel sensor that can capture 4K video at up to 120 frames per second and 1080p footage at up to 240 frames per second for your slow-motion edits. The camera has a 155-degree field of view as well.

There’s a sensor designed to help it capture accurate color tones in challenging lighting conditions and while it’s being used underwater. DJI says the Action 2 is waterproof at depths of up to 10 meters, as well as dustproof and drop proof. In addition, the SpanShot feature allows users to hold down the power button to turn on the camera and start recording right away. There’s also a stabilization system called HorizonSteady. DJI says its algorithm can detect and correct camera shake and rotation in real-time.

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Intel strikes a deal to manufacture MediaTek’s chips

Intel and MediaTek have formed a strategic partnership to build chips for “a range of smart edge devices” using Intel Foundry Services (IFS), Intel announced. The aim is to help MediaTek build a “more balanced, resilient supply chain,” with added capacity in the US and Europe. 

MediaTek is a fabless chipmaker that supplies processors for smartphones made by OnePlus, Samsung and others, with most of its capacity currently handled by fab giant TSMC. However, it looks like Intel will build chips for less glamorous devices used for industrial computing, medical devices, internet-of-things applications and more. Intel currently manufactures chips for MediaTek used in its 5G data card business.

Still, the partnership meets Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger’s pledge to seek customers for its foundry business. Intel launched IFS in 2021 to take advantage of surging demand for semiconductor manufacturing by offering “leading-edge process and packaging technology,” along with committed capacity in the US and Europe. As one of the leading fabless chip makers, MediaTek would be a key client. 

Last year, Intel announced that it would build chips for Qualcomm as part of its foundry launch. It also detailed its “IDM 2.0” strategy to catch rivals TSMC and Samsung by 2025, kicking it off with a $20 billion investment in two Arizona fabrication plants. Later in 2021, the Biden administration spurned plans by Intel to manufacture silicon wafers in China as a way to relieve global chip shortage issues, citing security concerns. 

The US Senate is set to vote on the CHIPS Act designed to bolster domestic semiconductor manufacturing with tax credits and up to $52 billion in subsidies. However, some industry players are concerned that it could unduly favor Intel, to the detriment of smaller manufacturers like AMD, Qualcomm and NVIDIA. Those companies design their own chips but don’t manufacture them, so would see no direct benefit from subsidies. 

A chess-playing robot broke its seven-year-old opponent’s finger

In something out of Black Mirror meets Queen’s Gambit, a chess robot accidentally broke the finger of its seven-year old opponent during an exhibition in Moscow, The Guardian reported. The child apparently moved his piece too soon and the robot grabbed his finger and squeezed it, causing a fracture before help could arrive. “The robot broke the child’s finger,” said Moscow Chess Federation president Sergey Lazarev. “This is of course bad.” 

Video shows the robot grabbing the boy’s finger and holding it for several seconds a group of people come to free him. It’s not clear what went wrong, but Lazarev said the child had “made a move, and after that we need to give time for the robot to answer, but the boy hurried and the robot grabbed him.” He implied that the robot’s suppliers may need work on the safety aspects, saying the are “going to have to think again.” 

The boy was identified as Christopher and went on to play the next day, finishing the tournament. His parents, however, have reportedly contacted the public prosecutor’s office. Russian chess official Sergey Smagin downplayed the incident, calling it “a coincidence” and saying the machine was “absolutely safe.” 

In any case, the incident can be seen as a modern parable of the dangers of robots, even in something as innocuous as chess. On a larger scale with things like robotic cars, however, the stakes are considerably higher. 

Google Pixel 6a 評測：Pixel 6 系列的第三隻旗艦機

今年的 Pixel 6a 上 Google 做出了重大的改變，讓它不是繼承 Pixel 6 的相機，而是選用了與 Pixel 6 / 6 Pro 相同的 Tensor 處理器，讓它在實質上成為與 6 / 6 Pro 相同的「旗艦」。當然，為了維持中階的定價，Pixel 6a 還是要有所犧牲的了。…