Amazon buys smart doorbell and home security firm Ring for over $1 billion

Amazon has opened up its wallet and splashed more than $1 billion on buying Ring. Famed for its selection of smart doorbells, security cameras and other security devices, the purchase of the Santa Monica, California firm is Amazon's latest foray into home security. While details of the deal are currently a little thin on the ground, it is expected that the Ring name will live on, and it is likely that future products released under the brand will feature Alexa smart assistant integration. See also: Amazon offers refunds to people who paid to remove ads from Prime Exclusive Phones Amazon… [Continue Reading]

Logitech Craft keyboard gets new features, more supported apps, and GitHub-hosted SDK

When it comes to keyboards, it can be hard for manufacturers to truly create something revolutionary. For the most part, new keyboards just get silly things like RGB lighting, because, well, everything must have lights these days, right? This lack of innovation is sort of OK, because let's be honest, folks -- existing keyboards are already rather wonderful. With that said, my colleague Mark Wilson recently reviewed a rather unique keyboard from AZIO that looks pretty cool. Last year, Logitech decided to take a stab at creating an innovative new keyboard, and not surprisingly, it succeeded. I was not surprised,… [Continue Reading]

Microsoft promotes piracy on Xbox One

As the maker of Windows, Office, and Xbox, Microsoft is undoubtedly against software piracy. When people pirate its games and other software, it arguably takes money out of the company’s pockets. Believe it or not though, Microsoft is actually promoting piracy! No, not software piracy, but traditional piracy, like with actual pirates. Well, the historical/make-believe type at least. You know, peg legs, eye patches, parrots and such. You see, today it announces the Xbox One S Sea Of Thieves Bundle. "As we approach the global launch of one of the most anticipated Xbox One exclusives for 2018, we’re pleased to announce… [Continue Reading]

Microsoft releases Windows 10 Spring Creators Update (Redstone 4) Build 17110 for the Fast ring

We’re pretty much on the home straight for the next big feature update of Windows 10. Rumored to be called the Spring Creators Update, the final release on the Redstone 4 branch will introduce a lot of new features and improvements to Microsoft’s newest OS. Today's Insider build polishes things up and adds some improvements for enterprise customers. Build 17110 for Insiders on the Fast ring will allow enterprises to run custom actions/scripts synchronously during pre-install (before system and device compatibility scans run) and pre-commit (before the system reboots into the offline phase). Enterprises will also be able to run… [Continue Reading]

Supposed inventor of Bitcoin sued for $10 billion

The self-proclaimed creator of Bitcoin, Craig Wright from Australia, has been hit by a $10 billion lawsuit. The family of his former business partner is suing Wright for allegedly stealing Bitcoins and intellectual property. The pseudonym of the inventor of Bitcoin is Satoshi Nakamoto, but his true identity has never been confirmed -- but this is who Wright claims to be. The lawsuit accuses him of stealing Bitcoins from collaborator Dave Kleiman who died in 2013. It aims to get back these coins from the early days of mining, as well as the intellectual property of the business -- W&K… [Continue Reading]

Battle of the flagships: Galaxy S9 vs Pixel 2 vs iPhone X

With the launch of Samsung's Galaxy S9 and S9+, we now have a full contingent of new flagship smartphones to pit against each other. The S9 joins the iPhone X and the Pixel 2 as one of the handsets shoppers will be choosing between. While you may feel that you are settled firmly in the Android or iOS camp, it's not until you look at the full specifications of each of these top of the range phones that you can really make a decision. So that's just what we're doing. Here's how the Galaxy S9, Pixel 2 and iPhone X… [Continue Reading]

AZIO Retro Classic: an incredible steampunk-inspired mechanical keyboard [Review]

If it's not immediately obvious from a quick glance, AZIO explains that its striking Retro Classic keyboard is inspired by the look of a vintage typewriter. It's not just the look that's inspired in this way -- as it's a mechanical keyboard, there's a distinct typewriter sound to things. There is just so much to like about this keyboard. Regardless of whether you are a fan of steampunk, the look is undeniably eye-catching. The build quality is quite phenomenal -- well... you'd hope so at these prices. The key action is gorgeous, and the clickity-clack perfectly suits the typewriter-style keys.… [Continue Reading]