PC Magazine April 2018

Several years ago, I met inventor James Paar at a tech event in New York City. Paar was demoing a prototype of his Open Space Agency Ultrascope, an open-source, 3D-printed telescope (powered by a smartphone!) that’s intended to make astronomy feasible for interested amateurs across the globe. Paar’s concept is that a widespread community of these citizen scientists will be able to watch the sky for approaching asteroids that could be on a collision course with Earth. They’ll then report their sightings to NASA, exponentially expanding the agency’s ability to monitor asteroid activity and potentially, well, save the planet. No part of this project would even be conceivable without today’s technology—cloud computing, high-speed networks, low-cost, high-performance computer chips, and of course, 3D printing. Michelle Z. Donahue’s cover story in this month’s issue—”Citizen…

I have a problem with my current mobo [motherboard] (Gigabyte Z77X-UD3H) and was looking at upgrading. However, I want to stay with Windows 7 and was looking at not reinstalling after swapping in new mobo plus CPU. I heard newer intel CPUs officially require Windows 10, but is it actually possible to upgrade to one of these unofficially? Anyone done it? Certainly this is all an area to consider when building a new PC, and it might be worth adding a note in your article. —Philip Meyer I had the same feeling about Windows 10 as you, but I finally bit the bullet and upgraded. I now have two desktops and a laptop running Win10. It is not as bad as you think… A hint: If you swap the mobo, you will…

Fast Forward is a series of conversations with tech leaders hosted by Dan Costa, PCMag’s Editor-in-Chief. Dr. Chris Winter is an expert on sleep and the author of The Sleep Solution: Why Your Sleep is Broken and How to Fix It. Dr. Winter has helped patients including Arianna Huffington and the New York Rangers. In this interview, he and Dan discuss the increasingly complex role technology plays in our sleep. Dan Costa: What’s wrong with the way we’re sleeping now? Chris Winter: I think there is a fundamental lack of understanding about sleep that as technology comes in, it’s giving us information we’re not equipped to process or understand. I also think it is creating a hyper-focus in areas that don’t need it. I have talked to many individuals, even writers, who…

When it comes to trade shows dedicated to mobile devices and technologies, they don’t get bigger than Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. Last year’s event attracted close to 110,000 attendees; this year, Samsung returned to Spain to announce the highly anticipated Galaxy S9, and the official attendee count was very close to that number. We saw plenty of phones to get excited about, and even a laptop or two. But although some new tablets were on display, none managed to secure a spot on this list. The same goes for wearables, which made a stronger splash on our “Best of CES 2018” list. After a few days of pre-briefs and a couple of days on the show floor, we found eight new products and technologies that truly impressed us. We’ll need to…

According to Google, Android One is the “purest form of Android.” Last year’s HTC U11 carries the Android One designation, and Nokia (among other manufacturers) announced three new Android One phones at this year’s Mobile World Congress. Unlike Android Go, which is a low-impact version of Google’s mobile OS designed to run smoothly on lower-end hardware, Android One refers to a stock Android experience, similar to what you get on Google’s Pixel phones. It wasn’t always like this. When Google launched the Android One initiative in 2014, it was a very different concept. As emerging markets grew and buyers’ tastes shifted, Google changed Android One to reflect it. Let’s look at what Android One was, how it changed, what it is today, and why you should care. ANDROID ONE: YEARS ONE AND…

By now, you’ve heard the cries of anguish from all sides as the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) moves to reclassify internet service providers (ISPs) so that they fall under Title I of the Telecommunications Act. Previously, they’d been classified under Title II. One side of the discussion is claiming that the FCC repealed net neutrality while the other side is claiming that the FCC restored net neutrality. Here’s what’s actually going on. Back in 2015, the FCC, acting under instructions from the White House, voted on party lines to reclassify broadband internet and the ISPs that provide it from Title I of the Telecommunications Act to Title II. Title II is the part of the Telecommunications Act that regulates phone companies, and most of its provisions are either irrelevant to the…