Repairable Google Chromebooks Vs Cheap Windows Laptops: Whats best for students and the environment

Google is trying to showcase its dedication to the “Right to Repair” phenomenon spreading worldwide. It recently took to Twitter to tout how repairable and sustainably made the Chromebooks are. Google further wants to start a repairability program to enable Chromebook repair workshops in Schools and simultaneously help children learn valuable IT skills. 

With Google Chromebook currently dominating sales in schools in the US, Microsoft is slowly trying to catch up with cheaper and affordable Windows laptops. Here’s what you need to know.

Google Chromebooks Vs Cheap Windows Laptops

In addition to Google, a number of other third-party OEMs also manufacture Chromebooks. In a blog post, the tech giant claims that over 50 million students and teachers currently use Chromebooks in US schools. Moreover, with a combined effort from third-party OEMs, Google claims 46% less energy consumption while manufacturing Chromebooks.

While Google supports repairability for such devices in the US, it does not offer a similar program in India. Moreover, the 3rd party OEMs will still void your Chromebook’s warranty in case of any self-repair. 

Most Chromebooks available in India are available with an Intel Celeron Dual-Core processor, around 4GB RAM and 64GB of storage. HP Chromebooks however use an ARM-based MediaTek processor instead of Intel or AMD. Compared to Chromebooks, Windows laptops are still expensive, very much so if you’re talking scale. One of the cheapest ones starting its range at around Rs 25,000 in India. Compared to Chrome OS, which runs on Chromebooks, Windows is relatively more resource hungry. However, it supports a much larger number of creative and productive applications. 

Google’s repair learning program seems like a direct response to the Right to Repair bill which is actively gaining support from both parties in the US. Therefore, it’d be interesting to see how the self-repair idea reaches our shores after spreading across assemblies in the US and enables Google to introduce an equally favourable learning program for Indian students.

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Apple cars could come with Sunroof Technology with user control Transparency

The rumoured Apple Car has been in development for years now but there is still no concrete information from the company or sources. In yet another news, a new patent by Apple has hinted towards another one of the features of the anticipated car. The US Patent and Trademark Office has granted a new patent to Apple which appears to be a sunroof technology for the upcoming electric car from the company. The patent is for a system that lets drivers adjust how transparent the roof is. Which will help alter the amount of natural light that comes in depending on the weather and conditions outside. The technology also allows the sunroof to open in tandem with the car’s side windows. 

Could we see the Apple Car soon?

The patent document also shows various drawings of what appears to be a car’s roof. The diagrams indicate how the sunroof would move and showcase the mechanism within the sunroof. Further, an abstract in the patent application reads: “a vehicle includes a roof, an opening in the roof, and a window that is located forward from the opening.” The Apple Car has been highly anticipated and speculated since rumours started flying about its production. The rumours claim the car will be completely autonomous, with a hands-off experience complete with an infotainment system that can integrate into Apple’s existing suite of services.

It is also expected to feature LED screens all over the vehicle to regulate the other drivers what the self-driving car is doing. The display will update information, the speed of the car and other messages via graphics and video mode. It is speculated that the car will use a  “C1” chip based on the A12 Bionic processor with in-cabin AI capabilities such as eye-tracking. It will be a long time before we hear official news about the much-anticipated car from the company itself. fIf rumours are to be believed the electric car is said to debut in 2025. 

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IBM will provide Canada with its first universal quantum computer

IBM said today that it will deploy its first quantum computer in Canada, putting the country on a small list of countries with access to an IBM Quantum System One machine. The Canadian province of Quebec is collaborating with IBM to construct the Quebec-IBM Discovery Accelerator, which will improve research and development in the domains of quantum computing, artificial intelligence, semiconductors, and high-performance computing. IBM will deploy a Quantum System One as part of a Quebec-IBM Discovery Accelerator initiative addressing scientific and commercial challenges over five years.

According to the partners, the partnership will establish the groundwork for breakthrough energy materials and life science discoveries. The new technology centre will also focus on STEM education and talent development, with a particular emphasis on genomics and drug discovery. 

The collaboration will see IBM and the Quebec government promote microelectronics work, particularly advancements in chip packaging, due to an existing IBM facility in the province. The two also intend to demonstrate how quantum and classical computers can collaborate to solve scientific problems, and they anticipate that quantum-powered AI can aid in the discovery of novel treatments and materials.

What is the IBM Quantum Computer?

The IBM Quantum System One is projected to be operational at IBM's Bromont, Quebec, facility by early next year, according to Anthony Annunziata, IBM's director of rapid discovery, in an interview with Reuters. IBM stated that the collaboration will make use of the company's expertise in semiconductor design and packaging.

The Quebec-IBM Discovery Accelerator, according to Dr Daro Gil, senior vice president and director of research at IBM, is "further proof of our commitment to building open communities of innovation to tackle the big problems of our time through a combination of quantum computing, AI, and high-performance computing, all integrated through the hybrid cloud."

According to Quebec Premier François Legault, "the specialised IBM quantum computer will open the way for us to achieve amazing advances in fields such as artificial intelligence and modelling." To add to his assertion, quantum physics is the future of computers. We're putting ourselves at the forefront of this future with our innovation zone.

IBM has announced similar collaborations in recent years with the Cleveland Clinic, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and the UK's Science and Technology Facilities Council Hartree Centre. The Canadian Quantum One system is IBM's sixth worldwide installation, following engagements in the United States, Germany, Japan, and South Korea. While IBM has generally offered its quantum computing platform as a service, the corporation announced the IBM Quantum System One as an on-premises option in 2019, billing it as "the world's first fully integrated universal quantum computing system."

IBM did not specify when the quantum computer will be installed. However, it will be just the sixth Quantum One installation by 2023, following similar collaborations in Germany, Japan, South Korea, and the United States. So Canada has joined a rather select group.

The country has a long history with quantum computing. After all, the contentious firm D-Wave is situated in Canada. Nonetheless, IBM's decision is important. It provides Canada with a more generic system capable of overcoming issues that are impractical to tackle with traditional supercomputers. This will not necessarily transform Canada's scientific community, but it may give an advantage until quantum computing becomes more ubiquitous.

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Netgear has released AX1800 and AX6000 WiFi 6 mesh extenders in India

Netgear India has expanded its WiFi 6 mesh extender collection in India with the new Nighthawk range of models. There is the Nighthawk AX1800 and AX6000, each of which is designed for a different use case. As their moniker might suggest, the AX6000 is the higher-end model and so it specced as such. It supports 8-streams with speeds up to 6Gbps and is targeted for big roomy spaces with up to 6 bedrooms. In comparison, the AX1800 might be the one you want if your home is small-to-medium in size with 4 bedrooms or so. 

Netgear Nighthawk AX1800 4-Stream Mesh Extender (EAX20) 

Netgear AX1800 is armed with WiFi 6 with speeds of up to 1.8Gbps and up to 1.5x stronger network capacity than WiFi 5. This facilitates 4-streams of WiFi which should be fairly broad bandwidth and less congestion for the connected devices in the network. It has got 2 antennas, which claims to be capable of covering small to medium-sized homes with up to 4 bedrooms.

Netgear Nighthawk AX6000 8-Stream Mesh Extender (EAX20) 

Netgear AX6000 comes equipped with WiFi 6, but with faster speeds of up to 6Gbps and up to 4-times resilient network capacity than the previous-gen WiFi 5. It boasts support for 8 WiFi streams capable of delivering the fastest broadband speeds. Not only that, it features 4 antennas for longer WiFi coverage. Putting it in room terms, the AX6000 is said to be optimal for large-sized homes with up to 6 bedrooms.

Both these Netgear mesh extenders also have OFDMA technology which is a feature that enables efficient transmission of data in large amounts without connection delays. And be it managing the connected devices and the network management tools, you can make use of the Nighthawk app, which is available on both iOS and Android app stores.

Netgear AX1800 and AX6000 WIFI 6 mesh extenders Price and Availability

Netgear AX1800 and AX6000 mesh extenders are launched at ₹12,799 and ₹27, 499 respectively. They will retail through leading e-commerce stores and the company’s own netgearstore.in.

“We have seen recent technological development in every area. The need for wider bandwidth and faster Internet speed has grown, however spectrum congestion is becoming an intractable problem in many places. With these extenders that reach every nook and corner of your room, users can enjoy flawless network connectivity which will boost their overall WiFi experience,” says Marthesh Nagendra, Country Manager India, ME & SAARC, Netgear, while speaking about the launch.

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Oppo Watch Free with SpO2 tracker and 100+ sports modes launched in India

At its Reno 7 series launch event, Oppo launched some accessories as well like the Oppo Watch Free and a green-coloured Oppo Enco M32. The former is a pared-back model compared to the original Oppo Watch and comes at a lower price too. It presents a rectangular dial, AMOLED display, more than 100 sports modes, sleep monitoring, and 5ATM water resistance. 

Let’s now go through its specs in detail.

Oppo Watch Free Specs and Features

Oppo Watch Free has a rectangular fascia that can be customized with over 100 watch faces. There is even a trick to generate watch faces based on your attire. The frame is made of polycarbonate and fibre. This is attached to a silicone strap. The watch’s dimensions are 46x29.7x10.6mm and its weight is around 32.6 grams.

The screen on it stretches 1.64-inches and is AMOLED in nature. You can interact with the watch via touch. It sports 280x456 pixel resolution, 326ppi pixel density, and DCI-P3 colour coverage.

Inside it, a 230mAh cell keeps the lights on. The claimed battery life is up to 14 days. And when it dies down, plug in the charger to fill it up in 75 minutes.

As for when it is up and running, you can use its 100+ sports modes (including the likes of cricket, badminton, swimming, volleyball, etc along with auto monitoring for walking, running, rowing machine, and elliptical machine), heart rate, SpO2, and sleep trackers. The latter also lets you keep tabs on snoring. Among other things, there are also sedentary reminders, step counter, six-axis motion sensor, and ambient light sensor.

Oppo Watch Free and Enco M32 Green Color Price and Availability

Oppo Watch Free is made available in India at ₹5,999 and you can grab it from Flipkart once it's available. Oppo has said that it will be coming soon. We will update you once we have the date.

As for the Enco M32, its green colour variant is priced at ₹1,799 and will be available from February 9. And for a limited time between February 9 to 11, it will be out at a discounted price of ₹1,499.

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Oppo Reno 7 5G and Reno 7 Pro 5G launched in India with MediaTek processor and triple rear cameras

The Oppo Reno 7 series has finally arrived in India and there are two phones, namely, the Oppo Reno 7 5G and the Oppo Reno 7 Pro 5G. As you see, they are both 5G-equipped. They both come with 90Hz AMOLED displays upfront with a left-cornered cutout for the selfie camera. On the back, they both have a triple camera setup, albeit with different sensors. And, the differences extend to their internal machinery too. For instance, the vanilla Reno 7 comes with a MediaTek Dimensity 900 chip while the Reno 7 Pro goes for a higher-end Dimensity 1200 Max chipset.

Let’s see how else they are similar yet different from each other in the following spec breakdown. 

Oppo Reno 7 5G Specs

Reno 7 5G sports a 6.43-inch FHD+ AMOLED display with a 90Hz refresh rate, 430nits of brightness (typical), or 600nits of brightness while playing HDR content. It has got Gorilla Glass 5 protection and an in-display fingerprint scanner.  

Towards the top left corner, there is a punch-hole cutout that houses its 16MP selfie clicker. Flip to the back, and there is a 48MP triplet consisting of a 2MP depth-sensing unit and a 2MP macro module. It supports up to 4K30fps recording from the main camera.

Unlock the device and you’d be interacting with Android 11 based ColorOS 12 software. It is laid on top of a Dimensity 900 chipset. The internals also includes 8GB LPDDR4x RAM, 256GB of UFS 2.2 storage, and a 4500mAh battery. The device supports 33W fast charging. 

Other goodies in the mix are dual-band WiFi 6, Bluetooth 5.2, USB-C 2.0 port, and GPS with A-GPS. You can pick it in Black, Blue, and Gold colors.

Oppo Reno 7 Pro 5G Specs

Reno 7 Pro 5G flaunts a 6.55-inch FHD+ AMOLED display with a 90Hz refresh rate, HDR10+ support, up to 920nits of peak brightness. It has got Gorilla Glass 5 protection and an under-screen fingerprint scanner. Its bezels are slimmer than the regular Reno 7 model.

It also seats its front camera within a punch-hole and this is a 32MP sensor. By the back, you’ve got a 50MP primary camera, an 8MP 119° ultrawide shooter, and a 2MP macro snapper. It also supports up to 4K30fps videography from the main camera.

The software UI is ColorOS 12 based on Android 11. It is powered by a Dimensity 1200 Max chipset coupled with a combo of 12GB LPDDR4x RAM, 256GB of UFS 3.1 storage. A 4500mAh battery keeps the phone running backed by 65W fast charging. 

Other goodies in the mix are dual-band WiFi 6, Bluetooth 5.2, USB-C 2.0 port, and GPS with A-GPS. So, again pretty much the same paraphernalia. And as for colors too, you get Black, Blue, and Gold as the choices.

Oppo Reno 7 5G, Reno 7 Pro 5G India Price and Availability

Oppo Reno 7 carries a price tag of ₹28,999 and will be available from February 17 while the Reno 7 Pro 5G would cost you ₹39,999 and be available from February 8. The online retailer for the new Oppo phones is Flipkart.

The launch offers include up to 10% cashback with select bank cards and up to 6 months of no-cost EMI purchase option.

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Activision Said It Faced Subdued Demand for Call of Duty, Other Games in Q4; Misses Adjusted Sales Estimates

Activision Blizzard, which is being acquired by Microsoft for $68.7 billion (roughly Rs. 5,13,300 crore), missed market estimates for fourth-quarter adjusted sales, as the pandemic-fuelled sales boost for its games such as Call of Duty showed signs of cooling.

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