Inhoudsopgave van December 2022 - Tech Advisor

Downloading and even copying local files may be as much as 40 percent slower using Windows 11’s 2022 Update, a Microsoft program manager has confirmed. Ned Pyle, a principal program manager at Microsoft, wrote that there is a performance regression in Windows 11’s 2022 Update (22H2) when copying files from a remote computer using the Server Message Block (SMB) protocol (fave.co/3CoDAkh). It’s not entirely clear whether copying files will slow down when downloading them from a remote server, or merely accessing them from a remote PC. Microsoft doesn’t appear to know quite yet, either. “The issue is not actually in SMB code, so I can’t give you an ETA for a permanent fix yet; SMB is just the most likely scenario to be noticed,” Pyle wrote. “You could see this…

Google Stadia, the company’s first foray into the gaming market and a potentially earthshattering approach to high-end game streaming, is dead. Or at least it will be, once 2023 rolls around. In a sombre blog post (fave.co/3RUM7Ry), Stadia’s general manager Phil Harrison said that the service will be shutting down on January 18 of next year. Most users will have their hardware and software purchases refunded. Stadia was formally announced at the Game Developers Conference in 2019, just three and a half years ago, after a few months of testing the as-yet-unnamed game streaming service. Stadia was introduced with great expectations: PC-game level performance, utilizing the latest in hardware to both enhance graphics and create brand-new kinds of game experiences, all streamed near-instantly to players around the world via Google’s…

Since making its debut a little over five years ago, the Surface Laptop has consistently ranked among the best thin and light laptops you can buy, and Microsoft is no doubt hoping that the new Surface Laptop 5 will be worthy of the same praise. Announced alongside the Surface Pro 9 and the Studio 2+ all-in-one, it’s fair to say that the Laptop 5 is a conservative upgrade, with upgraded Intel processors and Thunderbolt 4 support embedded into a laptop with the same design and displays as last year’s model – and indeed as the year before. Still, even if not much is new, the Surface Laptop 4 was great, and an upgraded take on it sounds like no bad thing. Here’s what you need to know. AVAILABILITY The Surface…

The thing that struck me most watching Google’s launch of the Pixel 7 was just how much the phone is a repackaged Pixel 6. Sure, the design has been tweaked slightly, and the display is a smidge smaller at 6.3in rather than 6.4in, but otherwise this is an identical device to last year’s. The Pixel 7 has Android 13 software, the same 128GB storage, same 8GB of RAM, and same camera hardware as the Pixel 6 down to the very last spec. The Pixel 7 Pro is a similar story, with the same screen size and core specs as the Pixel 6 Pro. A new macro mode is nice, but unremarkable. Google might tell you the Tensor G2 processor is a big upgrade, but it won’t be for most people.…

Price: £1,199 from fave.co/3ymch8Q Asus is on a mission in 2022. Just weeks after the company announced its flagship ROG Phone 6 and 6 Pro, two new high-end handsets were revealed. The ROG Phone 6D and 6D Ultimate aren’t being pitched as direct successors – just alternatives. That’s because they both use MediaTek’s Dimensity 9000+ chipset, rather than the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 found on the 6 and 6 Pro. How much of a difference does that actually make? And do the cooling upgrades on the 6D Ultimate justify the extra cost? I spent a few weeks with the most expensive gaming phone you can buy to find out. DESIGN From a quick glance at the ROG Phone 6D Ultimate, you could be forgiven for thinking that Asus has re-released…

Price: £999 from fave.co/3vQDpvr Mark Levinson is to audio what Lamborghini, Porsche and Ferrari are to automobiles. The high-end brand, named after its legendary founder, has left an indelible mark with audio products priced in the four and five figures. The Mark Levinson team is looking to add a new – and admittedly atypical – product to that legacy: The £999 No. 5909 wireless noise-cancelling headphone. This is the first headphone model Mark Levinson has ever produced, and it’s designed for the busy professional or passionate listener. What makes this headphone special isn’t necessarily its pedigree, premium materials, onboard tech, or noisecancelling performance (though it has all of those, too). Rather, what’s notable is the No. 5909’s voicing to the so-called Harman target curve for headphones. The result? A gorgeous…

More and more high-resolution displays are quietly including HDR capabilities as an added feature – and now Windows 11 will help make sure they’re used to the best of their ability with the new Windows HDR Calibration app (fave.co/3VjC4bL). It’s available for free from Microsoft via the Microsoft Store, was a small app that Microsoft launched alongside the Windows 11 2022 Update (22H2). It doesn’t appear to depend on Windows 11 22H2 specifically, though it does require Windows 11. The app ships with some relatively strict hardware requirements (fave. co/3EAFuRv): you’ll need an AMD Ryzen with integrated Radeon graphics oran11th-genIntelCore chip (Ice Lake) or higher. Alternatively, the app will work with pretty much any processor with a discrete GPU (AMD RX400 or Nvidia GeForce GTX 1000 or later). Of course,…

If you’re a Windows 11 user whose been having problems with your printer’s more advanced features, Microsoft has some bad news: You may have to wait – on both your printer problems and the upgrade to the Windows 11 2022 Update (22H2). Microsoft has placed a compatibility hold on certain PCs trying to update to Windows 11 22H2. This is meant to prevent them from receiving the upgrade before the issue resolved, Microsoft says (fave.co/3TbHbc8). The scenario is a catch-22 of sorts: certain printers may have issues wirelessly communicating to their host PCs, and informing them of certain advanced features. In this case, Windows controls the printer with the Microsoft IPP Class Driver or Universal Print Class Driver, essentially a generic interface to allow the printer to print. The connectivity…

Google is challenging the notion that you can’t game on a Chromebook with… cloud gaming Chromebooks. We’ve known how to game on a Chromebook for months now, and Google and its partners (Acer, Asus, and Lenovo) have adopted the same approach for Chromebooks: adopt cloud gaming from major providers like Microsoft’s Xbox cloud gaming service, Amazon’s Luna, and the GeForce Now service from Nvidia. What Google is doing, though, is taking modern gaming-class hardware – Core i7 chips from Intel, plus 144Hz+ 1440p displays – and combining them together in premium cloud gaming Chromebooks. On a PC, this approach might cost well over £1,000. In a Chromebook, Google executives say they’re targeting £700 or so as the maximum – in part because they can exclude a pricey GPU and let…

Microsoft’s Surface Studio 2+ represents the rebirth of Microsoft’s iconic, massive touchscreen all-in-one PC – with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 under the hood alongside an 11th-gen Core chip. Otherwise, little has changed from its predecessor. The focal point of the Surface Studio 2+ remains its massive 28-inch (4,500x3,000) touch display, which absolutely commands attention as it rises majestically from its undersized base via a ‘zero gravity hinge’. Nevertheless, enthusiasts are likely to be disappointed by two key facts of this launch: No, there’s no standalone Studio monitor yet, and Microsoft has continued to use mobile components inside the Surface Studio 2+. So what’s changed? Microsoft has made the leap to a semi-modern mobile Core processor, though the 11th-gen Core (as opposed to the modern, shipping 12th-gen ‘Alder Lake’ chip)…

Price: £999 from fave.co/3yuFDBZ The Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Pro proves that gaming and entertainment laptops don’t have to be expensive – this rig costs £999, with cheaper models available. You get a decent amount of machine for your money. It has a 16in, high-resolution screen, Nvidia GeForce RTX graphics and a decent AMD Ryzen processor. Lenovo’s laptop isn’t the only affordable entertainment machine on the market, though. Laptops from Asus, MSI and Dell all offer comparable specifications at similar prices, and two of those occupy longterm positions on our best cheap gaming laptop chart – so the Lenovo IdeaPad has strong competition. DESIGN The IdeaPad is designed for everyday use alongside gaming, so its aesthetic is more restrained than many rivals – and for many buyers, that’s a good thing.…

Price: £949 from fave.co/3fP6By3 Sony has nailed it with the Xperia 5 IV (mark four), even if that is a terribly confusing name for a phone. The company has decided its smartphones aren’t going to be crowd pleasers anymore. It’s got PlayStation for that. Instead, the Xperia phones are now extensions of the company’s Alpha camera products, with bits of its Bravia TV and Walkman heritage thrown in for good measure. To some, that is very enticing. This direction won’t appeal to everyone, and that’s okay with Sony. It’s not here to compete with Samsung or Apple, or even Oppo or Xiaomi. It’s just here doing what it, and its hardcore fans, love. If you want a phone with a superb display, a headphone jack that supports hi-res audio, solid…

If you really don’t like the look and feel of Windows, Stardock Software is back at it. The company’s latest beta of WindowBlinds 11 allows you to make Windows 11 look and feel like XP. WindowBlinds 11 allows for unique customization of the Windows Start menu, taskbar, window frames, control buttons, and more using desktop interface themes called skins, according to the company. It can also be paired with Start11, which modifies the Start menu, for further customization. The app costs £17.37. You can download the beta from the Stardock site (fave.co/3VgUH09). The software will only work with release builds of Windows 11 or Windows 10, not the Windows Insider beta builds that Microsoft makes available to test out new Windows code. “Windows 11 introduced a new design language for…

Though Microsoft recently released the new Windows 11 2022 Update, there’s no obligation to upgrade. It will continue to support Windows 10 through October 2025, company executives said. “We remain committed to Windows 10 and will continue to service Windows 10 through October of 2025,” said John Cable, vice president of program management for Microsoft’s Windows Servicing and Delivery, in a briefing with reporters. Microsoft’s Windows 11 2022 Update (previously code-named ‘Windows 11 2H22’) is a collection of new features that address many things that many people don’t use regularly, including accessibility features, as our Windows 11 2022 Update (22H2) review concludes (see Tech Advisor, October 2022). PCs running Windows 10 and Windows 11 are eligible to upgrade to Microsoft’s new feature update for free. If you don’t want to…

In 2021, Microsoft released the biggest update to the Surface Pro in many years. The Surface Pro 8 was undoubtedly a success, helping Microsoft to re-establish itself as the 2-in-1 maker to beat. A year later, you could be forgiven for expecting a very minor update: there’s no need to change a winning formula so soon after it was introduced. But while that may look like the case, the new Surface Pro 9 includes several interesting updates that make it worth considering – for the right kind of person. That includes the option for an ARMbased Qualcomm chip for the first time, bringing 5G to the Surface Pro for the first time and likely replacing the Surface Pro X. But there are also new Intel CPUs if you’d prefer. Here’s…

The Pixel 7 range arrives at a time when smartphone innovation leaves a lot to be desired and many question the relevance of the Pixel’s existence. Still, these are the benchmark for third-party Android phone makers and has plenty of fans around the world – including me. At the same prices as their predecessors, the Pixel 7 phones come with advancements such as Google’s new Tensor G2 processor, more eco-friendly designs, better cameras, and more. RELEASE DATE Both phones are available to order now from fave.co/3RJtzno. PRICE Google has kept the pricing the same as last year’s Pixel 6 range meaning prices start at £599. Here’s the full pricing: Pixel 7 128GB: £599 256GB: £699 Pixel 7 Pro 128GB: £849 256GB: £949 512GB: $1,099 (US only) NEW FEATURES As mentioned…

Price: £1,299 from fave.co/3rUOQQl It’s easy enough to find a small laptop, but the Asus ZenBook S 13 OLED tries to go beyond the norm with a sensational OLED display and a lightweight design. Beyond the eye-searing screen and svelte body, there’s plenty to like. The ZenBook deploys a factory-fresh AMD Ryzen processor and has long battery life, too. And, at a starting price of £1,299 in the UK, the price is not outrageous either. That sounds great, but the ZenBook S will have to perform if it wants to outpace the competition: there’s the dominant Apple MacBook Air and its updated M2 processor, and Dell’s XPS 13 and XPS 13 Plus are both impressive. DESIGN The ZenBook S 13 OLED is physically impressive. On the scales, this laptop only…

Price: £269 from fave.co/3EApa3b Fitbit is rightly considered one of the leaders of the activity tracker market thanks to early mover advantage and slim, well-featured products like the Charge 5. The brand has had a tougher time trying to make a killer smartwatch. 2017’s Ionic felt like a prototype, and it even got recalled recently and every customer refunded after a battery defect. The Versa watches have been slightly better, but have felt like activity trackers that look like watches. 2020’s Versa 3 and Sense watches were the best Fitbit smartwatches yet, though similar, and offered music control, select third party apps, and solid battery life. Now owned by Google, Fitbit has released the Sense 2, which I’ve had strapped to my wrist for several days. It is a well-made…

Let’s face it: searching your PC for files within Windows has always been mildly confusing, especially with several options for searching right within Windows 10 and 11. But if you’re convinced that a particular file is hidden somewhere on your PC, try these tips to find it and get back to work. We can’t guarantee that finding a file will be as easy as using a search engine like Google. (Incidentally, Google once made a desktop search engine for your PC, but it has since been discontinued.) But realizing what Windows is searching, when it’s doing it, and how to interpret results should make life much easier. Finally, it’s important to realize that there are essentially two search mechanisms built into your PC: the builtin Windows Search, and File Explorer.…