Friday 31 August 2018

Google Fuchsia release date, news and rumors

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Best Mac apps: the best macOS apps for your Apple computer

We might be about to get a smattering of iOS apps, like News and Stocks, in macOS Mojave, but the software built into macOS High Sierra is still worth paying attention to. Because, at the end of the day, it’s the software, more than anything else, that keeps people coming back to the Jony Ive-designed hardware every single year. 

You can do so many different things with the best Mac apps, so some might not appeal to you. However, there are some Mac apps like Evernote, the best note-taking app around, that anyone can find a use for. 

Not all of these apps will be found on the Mac App Store, but the best Mac apps are all still worth a look. So, keep reading to find the best Mac apps you can find today. From free apps and utilities to more professional programs, these are the Mac apps that will make the best Macs feel alive in 2018.  

Gabe Carey has also contributed to this article

Check out our Linux vs Windows vs Mac - OS comparison video below.

No brand of computer is without its annoyances. For so long now, it’s been impossible to use our MacBooks – unbound by the chains of a power adapter – while video outputs to an external monitor. As we all know here at TechRadar, Apple’s laptops automatically enter sleep mode whenever the lid is closed. For the lot of us, this can be a huge inconvenience should you prefer the sheer magnitude of a monitor as opposed to a 12- or 13- or 15-inch laptop screen.

Fortunately, Amphetamine allows you to continue using your MacBook while closed. Before, you could do this by using a similar app called Caffeine, but we prefer the UI features you get with this freebie. Not only does it fit in naturally with the rest of your Menu Bar items, but Amphetamine also supports hotkey commands as well as deactivation reminders – not to mention there are no annoying ads in sight.

  • Get it from: App Store
  • Price: $9.99 (£7.99 or around AUS$14)

While you’ve been able to snap programs to the edge of the screen in Windows since Windows 7, Apple didn’t have a solution until OS X El Capitan. What’s more, even then it lacked some of the comprehensiveness of Microsoft’s alternative. Luckily, HyperDock gives us that full-fledged functionality we so desperately crave, allowing anyone with a Mac to apply it to both the app Dock and windows.

In Windows, you can drag an app to the left or right edges of the screen (or the corners) and it’ll automatically fill that space. This makes it much easier to be productive on the desktop without wasting time dragging windows from the corners. For the Dock, hovering over apps activates something close to Windows 7’s thumbnail previews, giving an overview of the window that can be accessed by a click or closed directly from the preview. Useful.

  • Get it from: Parallels
  • Price: $79.99/year (Home & Student) Around £60 or AUS$100)

If you have recently picked up a Mac and miss some of your old Windows applications, don’t fret – Parallels Desktop 13 can bring them back. Instead of having to dual-boot your Mac into a Windows partition, Parallels Desktop 13 allows Windows and macOS Sierra to co-exist side by side, and you can even run Microsoft-only programs such as Visual Studio 2015, or the Windows versions of the company’s Office 365 apps, alongside your native macOS ones.

All you need is a Windows 10 license – so prepare to buy one if you haven't already. Or, alternatively, you can use Parallels to try a handful of free operating systems including Chromium (a free distribution of Chrome OS) or Linux Debian. The latest version of Parallels in particular has seen improvements such as Touch Bar support, better resolution scaling for Retina displays and picture-in-picture for using other operating systems in conjunction with macOS. 

  • Get it from: App Store
  • Price: £14.99 (around $20 or AUS$25)

If you’re anything like us, working on just one monitor or screen is just painful. Portable monitors are still fairly expensive (and bulky), luckily, though, you can use an iPad instead using a nifty app called Duet. Developed by ex-Apple engineers, it works by tethering your iPad to your Mac using one of Apple’s Lightning cables and firing up the app on both devices.

You can then drag apps and windows onto your iPad’s screen just like you would with a second monitor, and if you have a more recent iPad with a Retina display, you’ll get the full benefit of all those beautiful pixels. Just realize that the bandwidth isn’t quite what you would get with one of the best monitors, so it can be a bit laggy when you bump the quality up. But it’s still better for watching videos, reading websites and typing up documents. 

  • Get it from: Atom
  • Price: Free

Atom is a text editor that's primarily designed for coders, but its flexibility and customization options make it a viable option for many different types of users. That's because of two reasons: first, you can download a number of different Packages - effectively plug-ins - to make it bend to your will. It can be transformed into a Markdown editor for writing blog posts, for example, or you can hook it up to Evernote for storing notes in the cloud.

There's at least 10 different word counters out there, and you can even add typewriter sound effects as you hammer out your delicious prose. Atom is also infinitely customizable on the visual side thanks to an editable back-end, allowing you to do anything from changing the font size, line height and colors to giving the caret Word 2016-like elasticity.

  • Get it from: App Store
  • Price: £149.99 (around $195 or AUS$255)

Whether you’re a world-famous producer or you just like creating some music in your downtime, Logic Pro X is one of the best music creation suites on the Mac. Developed by Apple itself, its accessible interface hides a ton of advanced functionality. The latest version also comes with a svelte design, 64-bit architecture and a new session drummer that will save you from having to drop more cash on a drum machine.

It also works in natural harmony with iPads, providing a touch-based alternative method of creating song structures to dragging and dropping blocks in the main visual editor. Whether you're a seasoned producer already (Sia used the app to record her hit song 'Chandelier') or are looking to upgrade from Garageband, Logic Pro X likely has what you need.

A simple app but an important one, to-do app Wunderlist's strength lies in its cross-device functionality. It's available on Mac, PC and Android and iOS, allowing you to pick up where you left off wherever you are using macOS's Handoff feature.

Once you've created a list you can schedule reminders, add notes and embed it into the macOS Notification Centre using a widget. Team-based features are unlocked by signing up to Wunderlist's Pro option for a yearly fee, and you can add files of any size without running into limits.

Evernote has morphed into a mighty note-taking app over the years. While some people will say that it's too bloated, the sheer number of things that you can do with it still makes it best-in-class. You can type up notes, obviously, organizing them using a combination of folders and tags. You can even embed Google Drive documents, which are accessible in a click.

There's also the ability to set reminders, share notes with friends, find information related to notes using Evernote's 'Context' feature, create lists, and favorite notes that you frequently return to. Better yet, all of your notes are synchronized using the company's servers, making them accessible on nearly any PC (through a browser or the native Evernote app) or mobile device in the world. The paid version lets you use Evernote with more than two devices while upping the amount of data you can sync each month.

GIMP or GNU Image Manipulation, is one of the best free image editing apps on the market. It’s a great alternative to Adobe Photoshop and comes with a wide variety of professional quality functions that let you tweak existing images saved in a range of formats or create fresh ones from scratch. Features include layers, highly customizable brushes, automatic image-enhancing tools and filters. You can do even more with plugins, which are available to download from the GIMP Plugin Registry. 

  • Get it from: App Store
  • Price: £34.99 (around $45/AUS$60)

These days, balancing features with simplicity and good design in the best Mac apps is critically important. However, unlike Word 2016, or even Apple’s own Pages, Ulysses has an extremely minimalistic interface. This allows you to get on with writing without being distracted by so many buttons and menus. The app uses its own version of Markdown – a type of text formatting engine – that allows users to focus on their writing in a way that not only makes organization easier but also makes exporting easier – Ulysses will format it in an attractive way, using one of many export styles, when you’re done writing.

There's a handy attachments bar on the right-hand side that features an attractive word counter and lets you write notes to assist you in your writing. Notes can be accessed anywhere thanks to iCloud support, so you can pick up your iPad and carry on where you left off using macOS's Handoff feature.

Sometimes you want to play your Xbox One, but you can’t because your roommate has decided to use the living room TV for watching the whole run of Ugly Delicious in one sitting. Now, you could technically stream Halo 5 or Sea of Thieves if you had a Windows PC. However, you just have a Mac.

That’s where OneCast comes in, a third-party work of reverse engineering performed by an independent developer to bring Xbox One game streaming to macOS. It works as easily as connecting both your Mac and Xbox One to the same network and subsequently logging in to Xbox Live. It works pretty well in our experience, though you should have both systems connected to your modem via ethernet if possible.

  • Get it from: Website
  • Price: Free

If you’re a gamer who loves using your Mac, whether it’s for work, school or leisure, Nvidia GeForce Now will silence all the haters. Seemingly since the dawn of time, it seems like PC gamers have shut down the prospect of using a Mac to play triple-A video games. The graphics weren’t there, neither was the library.

Now, we’re in the middle of an era of streaming. We no longer have to download our favorite TV shows and movies, when we can just stream them on Amazon Prime or Netflix. Why should games be any different? Well, now that the Nvidia GeForce Now beta is live, they may not be for much longer. You can stream Fortnite, Overwatch and more at the highest settings from the comfort of your MacBook.

It’s simple and not at all essential in the grand scheme of things, but DeskCover is a free and easy way to stay focused when you need to. 

For anyone working on larger monitors, full screen apps can strain your peripheral vision, and so you’ll have no other choice but to resort to smaller windows. Of course, this can lead to you getting distracted by your desktop background – this is where DeskCover comes in handy. Allowing you to easily blur your desktop and lower the opacity, DeskCover puts the task at hand front and center so that nothing else can get in the way of getting your work done.

In other words, DeskCover is basically a free version of Hazeover, which we’re not complaining about. What’s more, your options aren’t limited to manipulation of your existing wallpaper alone. You can also temporarily replace your background with something a little more plain, blocking it out with a solid color of your choosing. Best of all, DeskCover is compatible with hotkeys, thereby minimizing the distraction possibilities of the app itself.

The market for disk optimization apps is neither desolate nor particularly exciting, especially on the best Macs, where Apple does a pretty good job of cleaning up its drives on its own. However, for a program that’s far more intuitive and user friendly than, say, the built-in Macintosh HD storage management software, your best bet is to turn your attention to Dr. Cleaner. This app splits all of your data into easily digestible bit that would otherwise be quite obtuse.

Dr. Cleaner will group all the junk on your Mac with labels like ‘Junk Files’ and ‘Big Files’ – rather than listing off 30GB of documents and 10GB of iOS files you don’t understand. Then, you can look at the file names themselves and decide whether or not you want to keep them on your computer. You can also use Dr. Cleaner to monitor CPU, network and RAM usage as well, for the sake of putting some pep in your aging Mac’s step.

  • Get it from: Website
  • Price: Free

It might be kind of like three apps than just one, but SoftMaker Office 2018 takes all the key features of Microsoft Office and puts them into an interface that tailors to your needs. It comes with a group of programs called TextMaker, PlanMaker and Presentations 2018 that are similar enough to Office 365 without the rolling subscription.

Regardless of whether you need an easy-to-use word processor or a spreadsheet or slideshow creator of equal accessibility, SoftMaker Office has what you’re looking for. And, because it’s still in beta, you can get a complimentary, albeit temporary, license over email if you want to give it a spin. Otherwise, there’s a permanent free version called SoftMaker FreeOffice, but it’s only available on Windows, Android and Linux.

  • Get it from: App Store
  • Price: $9.99 (about £7.19, AU$12.82)

Since you’re obviously going to install all of the other apps we’ve mentioned, you’re going to need at least a utility that, well, declutters your desktop. Unclutter is the solution you’re looking for whether you’re a frivolous notetaker or a temporary file hoarder like we are. It’s designed to keep your memos, documents and pasteboard clips in one place rather than scattered across several folders.

It’s a brilliant idea made even better by the fact that it can be configured for use with gesture controls. At any given point, you can swipe down from the top of the screen with two fingers on the trackpad (or one on the mouse) to reveal a trio of windows that can be concealed and re-summoned whenever you please.

  • Get it from: Website
  • Price: Free

When you’re out there hustling every day, it’s easy to lose track of messages. With so many social media companies, SMS platforms and instant messaging services to choose from, most of us also have a number of different accounts used to administer to all of those messages. But what if you only had to log into one?

That’s the central idea in Franz, a messaging app that allows you to view and send messages in WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Slack, HipChat and more. It lets you seamlessly switch between any of these apps as easily as you can toggle between Slack workspaces. Best of all, there’s no limit to the amount of services you can use at once. That way, even if you have 10 Facebook accounts for whatever reason, all of your messages will be visible in the same place.



from TechRadar - All the latest technology news http://www.techradar.com/news/software/applications/30-best-mac-apps-for-just-about-everything-712511
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What is 5G? Everything you need to know

What is 5G?

5G networks are the next generation of mobile internet connectivity, offering faster speeds and more reliable connections on smartphones and other devices than ever before.

Combining cutting-edge network technology and the very latest research, 5G should offer connections that are multitudes faster than current connections, with average download speeds of around 1GBps expected to soon be the norm.

The networks will help power a huge rise in Internet of Things technology, providing the infrastructure needed to carry huge amounts of data, allowing for a smarter and more connected world.

With development well underway, 5G networks are expected to launch across the world by 2020, working alongside existing 3G and 4G technology to provide speedier connections that stay online no matter where you are.

5G - the latest news

31/08 - ANALYSIS - Golf's digital ambitions make it an unlikely 5G pioneer - Golf looks to new technologies - including 5G...

31/08 - NETWORKS - German operators will have no rural obligation for 5G - 5G spectrum auction will take place in 2019...

30/08 - DEVICES - Larger screens and 5G to drive smartphone growth through to 2022 - Smartphone market 'generally healthy' despite recent dip...

28/08 - NETWORKS - German regulator calls for fourth operator for 5G - Competition chief believes new entrant will kickstart German 5G...

28/08 - NETWORKS - Nokia secures €500m EU loan for 5G research - New funding will accelerate 5G technology R&D...

23/08 - NETWORKS - Major 5G trends become more apparent as first network launch nears - The past seven days have been a long time in the world of 5G...

23/08 - ANALYSIS - Huawei & ZTE banned from Australia 5G networks - Australian government says 5G architecture makes it too risky...

22/08 - PRODUCTS - Qualcomm to start shipping its 5G modems - However chipmaker says it doesn't expect 5G phones to launch this year...

22/08 - NETWORKS - Speed takes centre stage as operators ramp up 5G testing - Report suggests 82 per cent of mobile operators worldwide are testing 5G...

22/08 - DEVICES - Nokia expects to make €3 from every 5G smartphone - Finnish giant sets rate for its essential 5G patents...

20/08 - NETWORKS - Government to test 5G on UK railways - DCMS invites participants for pilot to see how 5G can improve transport sector...

20/08 - NETWORKS - Verizon and Nokia test 5G with a moving vehicle - Partners make progress in mobile broadband and connected car apps...

17/08 - NETWORKS - 5G network slicing could be worth £51bn to mobile operators - Researchers say efforts by operators and vendors could bear fruit...

16/08 - NETWORKS - Cisco posts healthy revenues ahead of 5G push - Cisco is happy with innovation roadmap as it prepares for next generation networks...

16/08 - NETWORKS - Telstra switches on 5G for the Gold Coast, but wider availability remains murky - Australian telcos Optus and Vodafone say there’s a long road ahead...

15/08 - NETWORKS - O2 tests light-based wireless transmission ahead of 5G tests - Li-Fi is pitched as a Wi-Fi alternative...

15/08 - DEVICES - LG to launch 'first 5G smartphone' in 2019 - LG and Sprint will release a 5G-ready device in the US next year...

13/08 - NETWORKS - Ericsson hopes US 5G investments will speed up deployments - Ericsson makes investments in 5G R&D...

08/08 - NETWORKS - Samsung invests billions in 5G and AI - Samsung's £17bn investment programme looks to guard against smartphone slowdown...

07/08 - NETWORKS - US set to lose out to China in 5G race - Deloitte report urges policymakers to promote investment...

02/08 - DEVICES - Moto Z3 is the world's first 5G-upgradable smartphone, say Motorola and Verizon - The first 5G-almost-ready smartphone...

02/08 - OPERATORS - Three focuses on 5G after revenue and customer rises - Three now boasts 10.1m customers across the UK...

31/07 - DEVICES - Lenovo says it'll be the first to launch a 5G smartphone - Could be here before the end of the year...

30/07 - NETWORKS - Nokia and T-Mobile ink $3.5bn 5G network deal - US operator presses ahead with 5G rollout plans...

27/07 - OPERATORS - Mobile helps BT Q1 results ahead of 5G trials - Consumer division continues to offset BT business decline...

26/07 - OPERATORS - O2 invites FTSE 500 to trial its 5G - O2 presses ahead with 5G tests as it adds more customers...

26/07 - OPERATORS - Nokia looks to 5G after sales slowdown - Nokia says drop is to be expected but is confident for second half of 2018...

26/07 - OPERATORS - Sky Mobile extends O2 MVNO agreement to cover 5G - Sky Mobile now has 500,000 customers across the UK...

23/07 - REGULATION - UK Government promises new regulations and investment for full fibre and 5G - Government report outlines plans to deliver fibre to entire UK by 2033...

23/07 - PRODUCTS - Qualcomm's mmWave antennas pave way for first 5G smartphones - The first 5G smartphones should arrive in 2019...

20/07 - NETWORKS - Barriers to 5G could stop UK being a global leader - BSG report identifies issues and resolutions...

18/07 - NETWORKS - South Korea plans 2019 5G launch - "Korea 5G Day" will see new networks introduced a year ahead of schedule...

10/07 - NETWORKS - China Mobile, Intel and Huawei complete 5G interoperability testing - Tests pave way for China Mobile 5G launch next year...

09/07 - NETWORKS - SSE Enterprise Telecoms unbundles BT exchanges to boost broadband and Three 5G - SSE Enterprise Telecoms doubles its reach...

03/07 - NETWORKS - Samsung, Cisco and Orange hold multi-vendor 5G FWA trial - FWA will deliver a fixed-like broadband experience when 5G launches...

29/06 - DEVICES - OnePlus 7 could support 5G and be sold by US carriers - But don't expect it for a while...

28/06 - NETWORKS - "World's first" 5G network launches - Finnish operator Elisa claims global first in launching a commercial 5G network...

27/06  - ANALYSIS - The World Cup and 5G: the trials you need to know about - 5G will change how you watch football forever...

25/06 - NETWORKS - UK 'needs shared spectrum' for 5G - Ofcom urged to rethink 5G spectrum auction to ensure fairer rollout...

20/06 - NETWORKS - Vodafone launches 5G trials in seven UK cities - Vodafone to hold trials later this year with plans for a 2020 5G launch...

19/06 - NETWORKS - Mobile signal woes 'strengthens' business case for 5G - Only half of mobile users in the UK are happy with their speeds, but willing to pay more for faster service...

15/06 - NETWORKS - First standalone 5G network standard approved - 3GPP finalizes 'Release 15' of 5G after three years of work, meaning networks are on the way this year...

14/06 - ANALYSIS - Three CEO: 5G capacity is a 'big opportunity' to lead UK market - Dave Dyson says Three's spectrum holdings mean it could be the UK's 5G leader...

13/06 - NETWORKS - Vodafone: 5G smartphone uncertainty means focus on core network and IoT - Vodafone UK CTO says 5G will be a gamechanger, but smartphone innovation in the 4G era won't be matched...

12/06 - NETWORKS - 5G networks still set to arrive this year - Ericsson report suggests Europe will fall behind US and Asia on 5G adoption...

11/06 - NETWORKS - 'First ever' UK 5G report paints rosy picture - UK's 5G ambitions rely heavily on startup and research community...

06/06 - ANALYSIS - EU telecoms rule changes will hinder rather than help 5G, claim industry - Telecoms groups label the new EU code a "missed opportunity"...

06/06 - NETWORKS - EE to switch on 'UK's first' 5G trial in London - Residents and businesses in Tech City will get chance to try out 5G...

05/06 - PRODUCTS - 5G PCs coming from Intel and Sprint next year - US telecoms giant Sprint has joined the race to bring 5G to the masses, announcing at Computex 2018 to start shipping Intel-powered 5G computers next year...

01/06 - ANALYSIS - 5G UK - How far away are we really? - 5G will deliver immediate benefits in 2019, but the true mobile revolution will take time...

25/05 - POLICY - Mobile industry 'shouldn't wait' for 5G to roll out small cells - Small cells will be essential for delivering the 5G vision but industry warns there is no time too wait...

25/05 - POLICY - Nordic Prime Ministers reach agreement to support 5G - Joint agreement is welcomed by Nokia, Ericsson and regional operators...

22/05 - NETWORKS - Qualcomm details 5G small cell platform - Qualcomm wants to help operators and network equipment manufacturers densify 5G networks...

18/05 - NETWORKS - Verizon to bring 5G to Los Angeles in 2018 - Verizon says America's second largest city will be its next 5G location...

16/05 - NETWORKS - Mobile IoT networks to be a 'core component' of 5G - GSMA says NB-IoT and LTE-M deployments are paving the way for massive IoT powered by 5G...

14/05 - NETWORKS - 5G and network convergence drives growth of carrier-grade Wi-Fi market - Fixed and mobile operators look to densify network infrastructure...

08/05 - PRODUCTS - Why self-driving vehicles could be the biggest winner in a 5G world - Telefónica tells us why autonomous vehicles are set to be a key 5G use case...

08/05 - NETWORKS - Verizon and Samsung get 5G regulatory boost - Verizon and Samsung make major headway towards 5G...

03/05 - NETWORKS - Deutsche Telekom holds live 5G NR trial in Berlin - German operator says test will see how 5G NR behaves in real world...

02/05 - ANALYSIS - Why T-Mobile and Sprint merger would give the US a 5G lead - A truly national 5G network could ensure the US retains its advantage...

01/05 - NETWORKS - Three futureproofs backend infrastructure for 5G - Three and SSE Enterprise Telecoms deal with start with data centre connectivity...

30/04 - NETWORKS - T-Mobile and Sprint merger promises 5G progress in the US - America's third and fourth largest mobile operators are to merge...

18/04 - NETWORKS - Huawei dampens 5G expectations - Huawei CEO says consumer might not notice the differences...

17/04 - NETWORKS - China has narrow lead over US in 5G race - Government support and industry momentum gives China slight advantage, report says...

16/04 - DEVICES - 5G anticipation set to slow smartphone sales - Manufacturers hope for 5G boost as worldwide smartphone demand slows...

13/04 - NETWORKS - What does the Ofcom 5G auction mean for the UK mobile industry? - The long-awaited auction is over, paving the way for 5G...so what next?

12/04 - NETWORKS - Vodafone hits major UK 5G milestone - Vodafone is first UK operator to test 3.4GHz spectrum in preparation for 5G...

09/04 - NETWORKS - Europe set be left behind in 5G race - US and Asia will lead the way in 5G development, claims report...

05/04 - NETWORKS - Mobile networks fork out £1.4bn for 5G spectrum - Ofcom publishes the results of its 5G spectrum auction, revealing that the UK's biggest mobile network operators spent almost £1.4 billion...

28/03 - NETWORKS - 'World's first' 5G public trial switched on in Australia - Australian telco Telstra flips the switch on the world's first public trial of 5G at the Gold Coast...

28/03 - NETWORKS - 5G RuralFirst looks at smart farming, spectrum sharing and broadcasting - Government funded project will use Cisco tech to help transform rural lives...

28/03 - POLICY - UK5G group makes bid for global 5G leadership - Government and industry backed UK5G looks to establish UK 5G community...

27/03 - NETWORKS - GSMA: 5G will be dominant mobile tech in USA by 2025 - Mobile industry body report shows US will be a 5G leader...

27/03 - NETWORKS - Telefonica tests tech that could boost 5G broadband - Telefonica spectral efficiency trials hope to pave the way for better fixed wireless access (FWA)... 

23/03 - NETWORKS - 5G networks are now just a year away - Korea Telecom plans commercial 5G launch next March...

20/03 - NETWORKS - UK 5G spectrum auction gets underway - Five bidders will battle it out for more of the UK's airwaves...

19/03 - NETWORKS - UK university makes major 5G breakthrough - University of Kent-based iCIRRUS consortium says Ethernet equipment can help deliver 5G networks...

16/03 - NETWORKS - O2 kickstarts the UK's 5G charm offensive to consumers - 5G hypetrain moves from industry into the mainstream...

15/03 - NETWORKS - Digital minister pledges to eliminate barriers to 5G deployment - Margot James says she wants to work with mobile operators and local government on 5G...

14/03 - NETWORKS - O2: 5G will save local councils and households £6bn a year - Report details how smart technologies powered by 5G can improve society...

12/03 - NETWORKS - Ofcom 5G spectrum auction will start next week - Ofcom confirms that bidding for 5G frequencies will begin on 20 March...

12/03 - NETWORKS - Government reveals £25m prize fund for UK 5G - £25m competition will see 5G testbeds located across the UK...

11/03 - DEVICES - 5G a key factor to seamless VR experience, says Lenovo EMEA President - Lenovo wants to create memorable experiences for its customers, but is that enough?

09/03 - NETWORKS - Ofcom plans new rural coverage obligations for 700MHz spectrum - Ofcom says 700MHz is an important opportunity to improve rural coverage as it plans for 5G future...

05/03 - NETWORKS - EU Parliament and US Congress take steps to accelerate 5G legislation - EU chambers reach provisional agreement while US Congress to vote on spectrum auction...

05/03 - DEVICES - HTC CEO: 5G will turn any VR device into the most powerful in the world - Cher Wang says the smartphone still has a role to play in VR...

03/03 - NETWORKS - Qualcomm hopes 5G vision will stand out from the hype - Qualcomm's influence in the industry is significant, so its 5G roadmap is worth listening too...

02/03 - NETWORKS - BT CEO: EE convergence even more important ahead of 5G - Gavin Patterson says BT never really left mobile and is preparing for converged network era...

28/02 - NETWORKS - Intel and NTT DoCoMo prepare 5G plans for Tokyo 2020 Olympics - After success at PyeongChang 2018, Intel is stepping up plans for next Olympics...

27/02 - NETWORKS - Satellite-supported UK 5G testbed will trial mission critical apps - Juniper Networks and Satellite Applications Catapult say satellite cannot be ignored...

27/02 - MOBILE - Qualcomm looks to make it easier to make 5G phones - Launch will help OEMs build 5G connectivity into more devices...

27/02 - NETWORKS - Ofcom confirms six bidders for 5G spectrum - All four mobile operators have been approved, with small cell operator and Hull fixed wireless firm joining...

27/02 - NETWORKS - Ericsson tells operators: 5G is ready - Ericsson has agreements with 38 operators around the world as 5G moves from idea to reality...

27/02 - PRODUCTS - Get ready for a 5G Internet of the Sky - Drones like the Ehang 184 will usher in a 5G-powered autonomous airspace...

26/02 - NETWORKS - Telstra plans to ramp up 4G speeds in the lead up to its full 5G rollout - Major cities in Australia to get increased bandwidth...

26/02 - NETWORKS - Cisco targets mobile operators with '5G Now' - Cisco wants to help operators prepare for the next era of networks...

25/02 - MOBILE - Huawei reveals 5G-ready modem - Test beds for 5G networks will be launched this year, Huawei reveals...

23/02 - NETWORKS - Why PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympics are a 5G milestone - Athletes are making history at the Winter Olympics, but it's an important event for 5G networks too...

22/02 - NETWORKS - O2 reveals UK 5G test bed - Operator will test 5G applications at iconic London venue later this year...

19/02 - NETWORKS - Vodafone and Huawei successfully test IP Microwave backhaul for 5G - Vodafone and Huawei achieve 2Gbps on IP microwave link, claiming it shows the tech is viable for 5G...

16/02 - NETWORKS - Why startups and research can make the UK a 5G leader - Does the UK really need to be first to the mark or be an industry powerhouse to be a 5G leader?

16/02 - OPINION - No time to waste now 5G legal challenges are over - For an industry keen to avoid a repeat of the 3G and 4G auctions, Three's failed appeal removes a barrier to 5G...

14/02 - MOBILE - Fiber-like internet and a glimpse of our 5G future are coming to smartphones in 2019 - Qualcomm's new mobile modem offering speeds of up to 2Gbps...

14/02 - NETWORKS - 5G spectrum auction to go ahead after Three's legal challenge fails - Three's bid to decrease an overall spectrum cap falls on deaf ears and prevents further delay...

12/02 - NETWORKS - China Mobile plans 5G launch in 2019 - China Mobile joins a select few number of operators planning to beat original 2020 target...

08/02 - MOBILE - The first 5G smartphones are coming in 2019 - But you won't see 5G service everywhere by next year...

07/02 - MOBILE - 5G set to push mobile data use sky-high - Giffgaff research estimates customers will use nearly 100GB of mobile data a month by 2025...

05/-2 - NETWORKS - Telstra joins Optus on 5G bandwagon, also aiming for 2019 rollout - Australian carrier Telstra will trial new tech during Commonwealth Games...

05/01 - NETWORKS - AT&T set to run 5G trials - Company to adopt new 3GPP guidelines as it continues push for next-generation networks...

04/01 - NETWORKS - Samsung teams up with Verizon on 5G - New service to be launched in Sacramento later this year...

02/02 - NETWORKS - Optus 5G network rollout set to begin in early 2019 - Australian telco Optus announces its plans for 5G rollout...

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What will 5G networks mean for me?

  • Faster download and upload speeds
  • Smoother streaming of online content 
  • Higher-quality voice and video calls 
  • More reliable mobile connections
  • Greater number of connected IoT devices 
  • An expansion of advanced technologies - including self-driving cars and smart cities

How fast will 5G be?

It’s still not exactly known how much faster 5G will be than 4G, as much of the technology is still under development.

That being said, the networks should provide a significant upgrade to current download and upload speeds - with the GSMA proposing minimum download speeds of around 1GBps.

Most estimates expect the average speed of 5G networks to reach 10Gb/s, and some even think transfer rates could reach a whopping 800Gb/s.

This would mean that users could download a full-length HD quality film in a matter of seconds, and that downloading and installing software upgrades would be completed much faster than today.

Will I be able to get 5G networks on my phone?

Existing smartphones, tablet or other devices that were released when 4G networks were the standard may not be able to connect to 5G to begin with, or may incur extra costs to do so. 

However following the 2020 deadline for the initial rollout, we should soon see devices coming with 5G connection as default.

Don't worry though - although 5G should represent a major step up from current 4G and 3G networks, the new technology won’t immediately replace its predecessor - at least, not to begin with.

Instead, 5G should link in with existing networks to ensure users never lose connection, with the older networks acting as back-up in areas not covered by the new 5G coverage.

So-called “4.5G” networks (also known as LTE-A) are set to fill the gap for the time being, offering connections that are faster than current 4G networks, although only certain countries such as South Korea can benefit from them right now.

Once launched however, implementing 5G may be a slower process. Much like the gradual takeover of 4G networks from the previous generation, existing network infrastructure may need to be upgraded or even replaced in order to deal with the new technology, and homes and businesses may also need to get new services installed.

It’s not yet known how 5G networks will take over from existing networks, but again, much like the rollout of 4G, you may not be able to immediately connect to the new networks without upgrading your technology.

What will a 5G network need?

The GSMA has outlined eight criteria for 5G networks, with a connection needing meet a majority of these in order to qualify as 5G:

  • 1-10Gbps connections to end points in the field (i.e. not theoretical maximum)
  • 1 millisecond end-to-end round trip delay (latency) 
  • 1000x bandwidth per unit area
  • 10-100x number of connected devices 
  • (Perception of) 99.999 per cent availability 
  • (Perception of) 100 per cent coverage
  • 90 per cent reduction in network energy usage 
  • Up to 10 year battery life for low power, machine-type devices 


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Golf's digital ambitions make it an unlikely 5G pioneer

For a sport which has a governing body called the ‘Royal & Ancient Golf Club’, golf is proving surprisingly progressive with its use of technology – especially with regards to 5G and broadcasting.

As is the case with so many other sports, golf is competing not only with the likes of football, basketball and other disciplines, but also with other forms of entertainment like Netflix for people’s attention.

And with younger demographics, which might have shorter attention spans and see golf as a more traditional sport, the challenge is that much greater.

Digital priorities

But mobile technology is seen as the answer in not only attracting younger people to the sport, but also to make its broadcasts more dynamic and more efficient.

European Tour CTO Michael Cole, for example, sees his organisation as an entertainment and content company that can appeal to multiple geographies and age groups, especially those that can’t attend an event.

Part of his remit is to transform the European Tour’s systems and infrastructure, and this is why it has signed up with Tata Communications. Each year, the Tour operates 47 events in 30 countries across five continents – a schedule that necessitates the rapid rollout of IT equipment across an entire golf course in a matter of days.

The Tata partnership helps deliver a consistent experience at each venue and will eventually see the creation of proof-of-concepts for Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) experiences that will attract new audiences.

5G broadcasting

And this is where 5G could have a role to play. The first 5G networks are expected to go live later this year, delivering gigabit speeds, high capacity and, crucially, ultra-low latency.

The ability for mobile operators to move more functions to the edge of the network will bring them closer to the end user, allowing for the almost real time performance of VR and AR applications, as well as drone cameras. What’s more, the increased bandwidth will be able handle 4K Ultra-High Definition (UHD) feeds.

At present, broadcasting golf events involves the use of wired and wireless infrastructure located around the course. For the 2018 US Open at Shinnecock Hills, US broadcaster Fox Sports deployed 38 miles and 706 strands of fibre cables, 848 Ethernet Ports and 91 distinct managed networks managing 3Gbps of internet data and 73Gbps of broadcast data.

The use of 5G could not only limit the amount of cabling that needs to be strung around the course, making broadcasting more cost efficient, but also power VR and AR experiences that will attract new viewers.

 

At the same event, Fox Sports used Intel’s 5G Mobile Trial Platform on the seventh hole to transmit a 4K feed. Ericsson network equipment transmitted the 1.6Gbps feed using AT&T’s millimetre Wave (mmWave) spectrum to Fox Sports’ production truck, which then encoded and decoded the stream for broadcast.

“The high-speed and low-latency delivered by this trial allows the cameras to move without being restricted by cables and create a unique filming environment,” added Melissa Arnoldi, president of AT&T Technology Operations. “We believe live sports will be transformed by 5G – whether it’s virtual and augmented realities for those watching from afar or how connected sensors could help analyze golf swings, wind conditions, even the speed of greens for the golfer in future U.S. Opens.”

Another key element of 5G is network slicing, a feature which allows operators to effectively create virtual networks for individual users. In this case, broadcasters would use a separate slice to public safety teams, operations and the general public. Some even believe that entirely private 5G networks will be a possibility, with industrial giants bidding for spectrum, however the most obvious use case for this would be at a plant or factory.

Future advances

“We’ve never worked with technology that is as revolutionary as 5G before — the sky is really the limit on what is possible,” added Fox Sports’ Michael Davies.

The one event in Golf that tends to appeal to more casual fans is the Ryder Cup – a biennial matchplay contest between Europe and the US’s finest golfers.

This year’s tournament takes place at Le National Golf Club in Paris, France, and making sure the public Wi-Fi is up to scratch has been a key consideration for organisers, with Hewlett-Packard Enterprise (HPE) helping create a network that can support up to 51,000 users each day and organisers’ needs.

As sports organisations seek new audiences and growth in an era of unprecedented entertainment choice, the use of mobile technology and connectivity is a tool that cannot be ignored.



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German operators will have no rural obligation for 5G

German mobile operators will not be required to cover the entire of the country with 5G connectivity according to leaked documents detailing the proposed auction of spectrum next year.

Communications regulator (BNetzA) plans to auction 2GHz and 3.6GHZ airwaves in early 2019, with the ‘big three’ of Deutsche Telekom, Vodafone and Telefonica all set to participate.

Reuters says the proposed terms state that at least 98 per cent of the German population must be able to access 100Mbps by 2022, while at least 50Mbps must be available on busy rail lines.

German 5G auction

However, there is no sign of the radical measures suggested by Germany’s main competition administrator to stimulate investment.

Andreas Mundt from the Cartel Office has concerns that market concentration means the major mobile operators have less incentive to invest in revolutionary new mobile technologies. He called for a fourth mobile operator to enter the auction and terms that obliged incumbents to open up their infrastructure to Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNO).

Any such provisions would be opposed by the big three. They argue that if they were forced to spend more money on spectrum, they would have less capital to invest in infrastructure and Germany would fall even further behind in the race to 5G.

They also claim that proposals to open up their networks would allow MVNOs to benefit from their investments without undertaking the same financial burdens, putting incumbents at a further disadvantage.

The UK has already held its first 5G spectrum auction and it is expected the first commercial services will go live in 2019 or 2020. The next major sale of airwaves will be in the 700MHz band, with regulators seeing at as a ‘unique’ opportunity to deliver 5G to rural areas.



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The 5 coolest desktops at IFA 2018

At IFA 2018, we’ve seen all kinds of bizarre and amazing pieces of technology shown off to prospective consumers – everything from new smartphones, 8K televisions to smart dishwashers. But, what we’re interested in here is the amazing new desktop PCs shown off by Acer and Lenovo. The best gaming PCs are about to get a lot more interesting.

We can’t wait to get our hands on the PCs that will be running all the best PC games of 2019 and beyond, and we got a sneak peek this week. 

So, with all the hype around the Nvidia RTX 2080, we thought it’d be a great time to take a look at some of the desktops that are going to be featuring all the new PC components. From compact PCs that’ll feel at home in your living room to massive workstations with multiple CPUs, let’s dive in. 

  • IFA 2018 is Europe's biggest tech show. The TechRadar team is in Berlin to bring you all the breaking news and hands-on first impressions of new phones, watches and other tech as they're announced.  

We’re going to start things off small here – literally. The Lenovo Legion C730 is a small form-factor gaming PC that you’ll be able to put next to your TV without having it stick out too much. It does have a pretty gamer-y aesthetic, but it looks slick enough.

What’s more interesting is the horsepower that Lenovo shoved inside this thing. Sure, you can just configure this thing with a simple Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060, but where it’s really going to shine is in its maximum configuration, with Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070 or 2080  graphics – you can have ray tracing in your living room.

We’re going to get our hands on this bite sized PC this November, and the refresh will start off at €1,999 (about $2,330, £1,790, AU$3,200) for the RTX 2070 configuration and €2,699 (about $3,140, £2,420, AU$4,330) for the higher-end RTX 2080 configuration. When you consider the 8th-gen processors and copious amounts of RAM, we think that’s a pretty good price.

At IFA 2018, Acer announced a refresh for its entire Predator Orion lineup. The Acer Predator Orion 3000, 5000 and 9000 are all getting updated with the latest high-end parts. The 9000, especially, is going to be capable of some insane performance – you can kit it out with dual Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 Ti graphics cards, 128GB of RAM and an Intel Core i9 processor. This configuration will absolutely destroy your wallet, but hey, we won’t judge.

Acer will be keeping all of this high end hardware cool with its own IceTunnel 2.0 cooling solution, which combines liquid cooling and air cooling which drives heat away from the center of the case. Good thing, too, because this desktop stands to get toasty.

The lesser two configurations are nothing to shake a stick at either, though. No matter what you decide to go for, the Acer Predator Orion is going to be able to cover all of your gaming bases for a very long time. We don’t know what the pricing looks like for these Orion desktops, but we put our money on them being quite expensive.

Back at E3 2018, Lenovo hinted that its refreshed Legion desktops would contain the next generation of Nvidia graphics. What we didn’t know, was that it’d be among the first gaming PCs to feature these RTX-enabled cards. 

Not only does this desktop look cool as heck, but it’s going to be able to pack a ton of power at a pretty reasonable price. The pricing is similar to the Lenovo Legion C730 included earlier in this list: it’ll start at €1,999 (about $2,330, £1,790, AU$3,200) for the RTX 2070 configuration, with the 2080 option coming in at €2,699 (about $3,140, £2,420, AU$4,330).

The Lenovo Legion T730, apart from the graphics cards, will be available with up to 32GB of RAM, an Intel Core i7-8700K and a 512GB SSD with dual 2TB HDDs. It’ll launch in November 2018.

After IFA 2018, no one will be able to utter the word ‘excess’ without thinking of the Acer Predator X. This thing isn’t content with just having a typical high-end setup. No, the Acer Predator X is going to have two processors. Not just any processor either, these are full on server or workstation Intel Xeon chips – this goes far beyond just gaming.

Regardless of what Xeon chips are included here, it’s going to generate a ton of heat, which is probably why Acer’s IceTunnel 2.0 system will be included here. Acer hasn’t finalized the configurations, but it’s pretty much impossible to think of a single situation where the Predator X won’t cost a fortune – and that’s not to mention what your power bill will look like.  

The Acer Predator Thronos isn’t technically a desktop, but more like a crazy gaming throne that not only will contain your desktop, but up to three of the best gaming monitors. We felt the need to include this insane gaming bubble on this list because it fits the bill of insane PC gaming. 

Not only is it a gaming chair, with room for all your tech, but it's completely motorized, with a roof, footrests and even a cup holder. If you’re a serious gamer with deep pockets, you’re going to want to check the Acer Predator Thronos out. 

As is the trend that you’ve likely noticed with the other Acer products on this list, we have no idea how much this thing is going to cost or when (if?) this chair will make it to market. However, chances are that it’s not going to be cheap – but isn’t it worth it to have your own private gaming bubble that kind of looks like it can roll around?



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The 9 biggest computing reveals of IFA 2018

IFA 2018 is well underway, and the biggest consumer tech show in Europe didn’t disappoint this year, with plenty of exciting computing products being shown off. From new mobile processors to insane dual-CPU gaming PCs, we saw plenty of exciting stuff at the Berlin event. 

So, naturally, we here at TechRadar did what we do best: we collected all the most exciting computing reveals of IFA 2018 and listed them here. So, whether you’re looking for a new practical laptop or you want to spend thousands of dollars on a futuristic gaming pod, read on to find the next big thing in computing.

  • IFA 2018 is Europe's biggest tech show. The TechRadar team is in Berlin to bring you all the breaking news and hands-on first impressions of new phones, watches and other tech as they're announced.  

We finally got the launch of Whiskey Lake and Amber Lake, the next generation of mobile Intel processors. Well, when we say the ‘next generation’, we really mean ‘new 8th-generation processors,’ as these won’t be included in the Coffee Lake Refresh-led Intel 9th generation of CPUs. 

Regardless of whatever generation Whiskey Lake and Amber Lake belong to, Intel has pushed mobile processing power even further with these processors, with boost clocks up to 600MHz faster on the Core i7 chip. Intel claims that these new processors will increase performance over Kaby Lake R chips somewhere in the realm of double digits. Whether that’s true or not remains to be seen, but the next best Ultrabooks are going to be rocking these chips, so we can’t wait to see what they’re capable of. 

The Acer Predator Triton 900 might be one of the most bizarre gaming laptops we’ve ever seen, but for some reason, we just can’t look away. The hinge on this thing will allow you to swivel the display in any orientation you imagine, meaning that this isn’t just a 2-in-1 laptop – it’s more like a 5-in-1.

This flipping screen functionality means that you can center the display right above the keyboard, so that the display is marginally closer to you – a true revolution in technology, if we’ve ever seen one. We’re not sure exactly what kind of hardware is included, but we imagine an 8th-generation Core i9 and either mobile Nvidia Turing graphics, or maybe a GTX chip. We’re sure we’ll hear more about this unique laptop at CES 2019. 

Image credit: Tom's Hardware 

Dell has been killing it recently, and it looks like it’s about to offer some high-end features to its budget-minded Inspiron lineup. They’re refreshing these mainstream 2-in-1 laptops with the latest 8th-generation Intel processors, fingerprint scanners and even a webcam that’s in a reasonable location – if only the Dell XPS 13 would follow in its footsteps.

The Dell Inspiron 14 5000 2-in-1 will start at just $479 and will include up to a 2TB HDD paired with a 256GB SSD. The slightly higher-end Dell 13 7000 2-in-1 will launch at a starting price of $879 with faster storage. Both the 5000 and 7000 lineups will launch on October 2.

Asus revealed a spattering of new ZenBooks at IFA 2018: the ZenBook 13, 14 and 15. Not only are these premium laptops extremely thin and light – Asus claims they’re the ‘world’s most compact laptops’ – but they’re packing in some seriously high-end specs. On top of the latest 8th-generation Intel Core processors, up to 16GB of RAM and speedy SSDs, Asus is including its exclusive NumberPad, which sees the touchpad transform into a keypad on demand. 

It’s all pretty cool stuff, but what’s especially interesting is that these new ZenBooks meet military-grade reliability standards. So, not only are these laptops easy to carry with you wherever you go, but you can actually carry them anywhere you travel without having to worry about them breaking. Asus says these new ZenBooks will be available in October, with a worldwide launch following later. Prices have yet to be confirmed, but we expect them to fall in line with other Ultrabooks. 

The Lenovo Yoga Book is one of the most unique laptops on the market – it’s not quite a notebook and not quite a tablet. The new Lenovo Yoga Book C930 takes this concept and brings it to the modern age with a ton of exciting new features.

Where the Yoga Book of yesteryear felt like this weird combination of Windows and Android tablets, the Lenovo Yoga Book C930 brings things like an E-ink keyboard and a ‘tap to open’ mechanical hinge to the device. This all combines to make one of the most unique laptops we’ve ever used, and it feels like a natural development over the 2016 model. 

It’s also more powerful, packing a 7th-generation Intel Core processor, meaning that it can keep up with light computing work, instead of being limited to some casual web browsing. If this sounds as exciting to you as it does to us, you can get your hands on it in October, starting at $999 (about £750, AU$1,300).

Now, we’re getting into stuff that just radiates sheer power and opulence. While we don’t know the full specs of the previously-teased Acer Predator X, we do know that this gigantic tower will rock not one, but two Intel Xeon processors on top of whatever other high-end hardware Acer decides to pack into this thing that it teased once more during the show. 

We don’t know who this tower actually appeals to, but Acer did say that it’s targeted at people who are doing content creation and also gaming. However, we feel like there are more cost-effective ways to get that stuff done – Ryzen Threadripper, anyone? Either way, we expect that the Acer Predator X will be not only extremely powerful, but also obscenely expensive – we’ll know more at CES, probably. 

So, you’ve seen the best PC gaming chairs out there. But, what about a PC gaming chair that effectively is your gaming PC? That’s an untapped market if we’ve ever seen one, but don’t worry, the Acer Predator Thronos is here to save the day. 

Not only is this thing a fully mechanized gaming seat with a cup holder and foot rests, but it also has a mount for up to three 27-inch gaming monitors, with space for a gaming PC under the seat. It’s like a bubble of PC gaming – so immersive that you’ll forget the outside world is a thing. Again, we have no idea what the pricing or release window for this thing is going to be, but with a gaming accessory this ornate, you can expect to pay an exorbitant sum.

Acer recently launched the Acer Swift 7, which is the thinnest laptop in the world right now. It achieved this unparalleled thinness by sacrificing apparently trivial things, like CPU power and a touchpad that clicks. With the Acer Swift 5, it looks like the Taiwanese manufacturer is doubling down on this goal of unmatched portability with a thin and light machine that is apparently the lightest 15-inch laptop on the market. 

Acer did mention that the Swift 5 would feature a magnesium-lithium alloy build which allows it to be extremely light, without sacrificing the rigidity of the build. Add that on top of the inclusion of the latest Intel 8th-generation Core i7 and i5 processors – and we could be getting an extremely powerful laptop that’s easy to carry around when it launches for $1,099 (around £900, AU$1,500) in January.

With the Lenovo Yoga C930, the manufacturer is taking a completely different approach with its flagship 2-in-1 laptop lineup. Instead of that signature watchband style hinge that we all fell in love with, we’re instead getting a ‘speaker hinge.’ This hinge will have what is essentially a Dolby Atmos soundbar inside, delivering amazing sound. 

We’re not quite sure how well this new speaker hinge setup is going to work out, but it could end up being the best 2-in-1 laptop for anyone that likes to consume media on the go. Lenovo has also included a slot to store the included stylus, so you don’t have to worry about losing it the second you take it out of the package.

The revolutionized Lenovo Yoga C930 is going to launch in October at $1,399 (about £1,000, AU$1,900). A steep price, but then again this is a laptop that has reinvented itself.



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AC Milan vs Roma live stream: how to watch Serie A football online

Two of Italian football's biggest clubs meet in Serie A this weekend, and we're here to help you live stream AC Milan vs Roma no matter where you are in the world.

AC Milan are yet to get off the mark in Serie A this season, having lost 3-2 to Napoli on the opening weekend and not played last week. That makes the visit of Roma all the more important on Friday, and star striker Gonzalo Higuain will no doubt be desperate to get off the mark after joining from Juventus this summer. 

But Roma have a talented new Argentine forward of their own, with Javier Pastore now in the ranks. He's already netted this season, as has strike partner Edin Dzeko, suggesting the Romans have plenty to trouble their hosts in the San Siro.

The stage is set for a cracking Serie A contest and you can grab a live stream of AC Milan vs Roma by following the instructions below. 

Use a VPN to watch Italian Serie A football from anywhere

If you're in a country that's not showing live Serie A action on TV – don't sweat. With a VPN service you can connect to channels from a country that will have the match, enabling you to live stream the matches you want to see, wherever you are in the world. 

Best of all, VPNs are extremely easy to use and we've rounded up some of the best platforms you can use below:

How to stream AC Milan vs Roma live in the UK 

How to watch AC Milan vs Roma: US live stream 

How to watch AC Milan vs Roma: Canada live stream 

How to watch AC Milan vs Roma: Australia live stream

Main image courtesy of acmilan.com



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Huawei P30 confirmed by CEO

Huawei CEO, Richard Yu has name checked the Huawei P30 during an interview at IFA 2018 in Berlin, Germany.

When quizzed in a group interview about Huawei's recent impressive sales performance, Yu gave a lengthy response where he said "Mate 20 will be even better [than the P20 Pro]… and next year the P30 will be even better."

Huawei's next major launch will be the Mate 20 in the next couple of months, with the Huawei P30 not expected to arrive until 2019 - and thanks to Yu's comment we now have confirmation of this.

Object recognition

As well as dropping the P30 name, Yu also revealed that the upcoming Mate 20 will feature real time object recognition made possible by the firm's new, recently announced Kirin 980 chipset.

If it proves successful, it could well feature in the P30 come 2019 too.

Developing...



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The most secure VPN of 2018: top picks for the best encryption

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IFA 2018 awards: best of the show

There’s been a heap of top tech shown off at IFA 2018 in Berlin - from the latest smart speakers, to state-of-the-art watches and top-of-the-line TVs. There’s a lot to take in, but don’t worry because we’ve scouted the halls, booths and conferences to bring you the very best in our IFA 2018 awards.

Some tough choices were made but our team of crack judges got their heads together to really thrash out which deserved our nod - so here are the winners of TechRadar’s IFA 2018 awards.

Best in Show: LG 8K OLED

LG won the show for us, launching the first OLED TV with captivating 8K resolution at IFA 2018. Although the TV is way out of the average person’s price range, retailing at £20,000 (around $25,000 / AU$35,000), the screen is undeniably stunning - providing picture clarity from every angle. 

No wonder LG called the 8K OLED the “pinnacle of technological achievement and the next evolutionary step in display technology”.

Best Smartphone: Sony Xperia XZ3

Yes, Sony's new Xperia XZ3 is similar to the Xperia XZ2, but brand new screen technology really gives it an edge over the competition. 

The Xperia XZ3 has a vivid new OLED display and improved design that sets it apart - and certainly caught our eye with refined edges and more focus on the things that matter to consumers.

Best TV: Samsung 8K QLED (Q900)

Samsung announced its first 8K QLED TV, the Q900R (Q900FN in the US), at IFA 2018. We loved that the mammoth TV remains sleek, despite its 85-inch size (65, 75 and 82-inch for those in the UK), providing amazing clarity and the ability to make even low-resolution content look good.

You may be wondering why LG won best in show but not best TV? We judged that because the Samsung is a TV you'll be able to buy soon, and it’s not as conceptual as the LG, it was a more just winner of the best TV award. 

Best in Home Theater: Harman Kardon Citation range

Harman Kardon’s speaker range is the epitome of sleek and sophisticated design - but the exterior isn’t all that impressed us. 

All speakers in the range have built-in Google Assistant, meaning you can ask the smart speaker questions, use it to set reminders, control media from it and much more. 

If that’s not enough, they also come with a high-resolution LCD touchscreen and Chromecast built-in - plus nice sound indeed.

Best in Smart Home: Sonos Amp

It’s taken Sonos over 10 years to update its Sonos Connect Amp - but the wait was worth it. The new product is a redesigned Sonos amp, with has twice the power of the old Connect amp. 

The Sonos Amp will cover all your audio needs, with the ability to stream music, an HDMI port on the back and audio inputs. In addition, it supports AIrPlay 2 and has a new design which allows it to fit inside a rack, be mounted on the wall or just exhibited as a decor.

Best smart speaker: Huawei AI Cube

The Huawei AI Cube is Huawei’s first smart speaker, offering a built-in Amazon Alexa assistant which gives it similar skills to the Amazon Echo, such as the ability to answer questions, control smart home devices, play music and access a library of over 50,000 skills.

While the Huawei AI Cube is pretty impressive volume-wise,  what sets it apart from the Amazon Echo is that it is both a 4G router and a speaker, meaning it can be used to connect devices to the internet. 

Best headphones: Sony WH-1000XM3

The latest addition to the Sony headphones family, the Sony WH-1000XM3 headphones are a huge upgrade from the previous X2 model. The audio is crystal clear, the noise-canceling technology works wonders and they have an improved design that's more comfortable than ever. 

Definitely one for those who like to shut out the noise of the world on their commute.

Highly commended headphones: Audio-Technica ATH-MSR7b / Sennheiser Momentum Earbuds

Not quite winners, but a close second. The Audio-Technica ATH-MSR7b / Sennheiser Momentum Earbuds provide enhanced sonic performance and portability.

Best Wearable Tech: Garmin Vivosmart 4

The Garmin Vivosmart 4 was a definite standout. The fitness tracker measures your blood oxygen saturation levels using a wrist-based pulse ox2 sensor, meaning it can track your sleep quality. Arguably, even more impressive is the built-in body battery which estimates your body’s energy levels.

In addition to this, the Garmin Vivosmart 4 includes a heart rate monitor, VO2 max, stress tracking and the ability to track walks, runs, yoga and strength training.

Best Innovation: Bang & Olufsen Beosound Edge

Blurring the line between a sculpture and a speaker, the Beosound Edge is a marvel to look at and to use. The coin-shaped wireless speaker has proximity sensors which bring the aluminium interface to life when you are near - from there it’s a simple tap to stop, start or skip songs. 

If you want to increase or decrease the volume you simply rock the speaker backwards or forwards. 

The hefty speaker can be mounted on a wall or placed in a room to seamlessly blend with the decor, while sound direction can be controlled using the Band and Olufsen app. 

It’s definitely a unique product. 

Highly Commended Innovation: Acer Predator Thronos

Just losing out the the Beosound Edge, the Acer Predator Thronos ushers in a new level of gaming chair - with ergonomic seat design, a foot rest and super immersive vibrations which react according to the gameplay.

Best in Computing: Lenovo Yoga Book C930

The new Lenovo Yoga Book C930 marked a triumphant return to Lenovo’s Yoga Book product line. Lenovo’s sequel addresses many of the issues associated with the original model, delivering sharper displays, more power and ports, and a fingerprint reader. But it doesn’t come cheap, retailing at $450 (about £340, AU$600).



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Criminals could use 'skill squatting' to hijack your smart speaker

Researchers have demonstrated how crooks could use the idiosyncrasies of voice recognition to carry out unwanted commands on a smart speaker. 

A team from the University of Illinois showed that by giving a malicious application or Alexa skill a name that sounds the same as a legitimate one, criminals could trick a device into triggering it – a tactic it calls 'skill squatting'.

The words didn't even have to be exact homophones. Results varied depending on the speaker's accent and gender, but the team found that 'coal' was easily misinterpreted as 'call', 'dime' as 'time' and 'wet' as 'what'.

There are already some examples of this happening on the Alexa Skill Store. For example, both 'cat facts' and 'cat fax' give information about cats, but from different providers.

Sounds suspicious

The principle is much like domain squatting (also called cybersquatting). Domain squatters register domain names that are identical or similar to names used by real companies. The squatters use these domains to trick people into viewing their own content, or offer to sell them to the business whose name they're using at an inflated price.

The university's researchers used Amazon Alexa, but the same principle could apply to other voice-activated virtual assistants, including Google Home, Siri and Cortana. It's a thorny problem, and as voice recognition is integrated into ever more products, it will be increasingly important to solve.

Via Ars Technica



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The best VPN for gaming in 2018

A VPN for gaming? Surely that’s a daft idea, you might well think to yourself, given that using even one of the best VPNs – encrypting traffic and routing it through a server – can potentially affect performance, with the danger of a higher ping time and a slower connection in general.

And we’re not going to argue with you in terms of these possible pitfalls, but that said, there are a number of good reasons why you might want to use a VPN for playing games online.

One of the more obvious ones is unrestricted access. A VPN allows you to unblock games that are geo-restricted, access servers locked to other regions and play anything freely from any part of the world.

There’s also the ever-present consideration of security. Using a VPN can increase your protection against DDoS attacks, and it’s not unheard of for these to be used as a weapon against online opponents, particularly when it comes to competitive gaming.

And there’s always a chance that the VPN connection will actually reduce your ping time and improve download/upload speeds, which all affect the responsiveness of your game (although ping is by far the most important consideration). Of course, it’s difficult to state this categorically, and everyone’s mileage will vary, but in some of our VPN testing, we’ve actually found our connection to be faster with the VPN turned on compared to our standard rates.

Top 5 VPNs for gaming in 2018

IPVanish runs its own network and infrastructure, and this shows in terms of performance – in our testing, we found this service up to five times faster than some rivals over short hops, with excellent download speeds all-round.

This provider also offers a good number of servers in over 60 countries, and it’s easy to find a solid server – indeed you can sort by ping time, and usage options which allow you to hunt specifically for servers tailored for gaming.

The drawback here is pricing, as IPVanish is a bit more expensive than your average VPN. There’s no free trial either, but subscriptions do come with a 7-day money-back guarantee. Out of the three available plans, the 1-year plan offers the best value-for-money. The packages available are:

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VyprVPN is also a tier-1 network with its own servers and infrastructure, offering some impressive performance levels as a result. Indeed, in our tests we found our download rates increased by a factor of 2.5 with this VPN.

The service features a worldwide server network with plenty of locations and 200,000+ IP addresses, plus there’s a NAT firewall to block unrequested inbound traffic and a host of easy-to-use apps for almost every device.

One point to bear in mind is that VyprVPN doesn’t do refunds on any grounds, but you can test the service with a free three-day trial.

There are only two subscription plans to choose from: Basic or Premium, and you can subscribe on either a monthly or annual basis. The Basic plan offers three connections while Premium gives you five and is generally the better option. The packages available are:

With 148 different locations across 94 countries, ExpressVPN should allow you to find a swift server from anywhere in the world. The service excels in the mobile department by offering intuitive custom apps, in particular for Android and iOS. Naturally, all of that means nothing without solid speeds and this VPN certainly delivers in that regard with very good performance levels overall.

ExpressVPN costs more than most VPNs and there’s no free trial available to get a sneak preview. If you opt to sign up, the 1-year plan is the most affordable choice, plus you get a bonus three months. However, if you're not satisfied with the service, you can contact customer support within 30 days of your purchase and get a full refund, no questions asked. The packages available are:

We found that this Panama-based VPN delivered impressive performance levels in our testing, with speeds nearly matching our regular (non-VPN) rates. Doubtless the fact that NordVPN boasts over 4,836 servers in 62 cities globally helps when hunting for a fast and stable connection. 

Gamers have a wide range of smart native clients at their disposal – Windows, Mac, iOS and Android – with tutorials for a variety of other devices and platforms.

This provider is particularly strong on the security front, offering ‘double VPN’ functionality (where traffic is sent through two separate VPN servers), the option of a dedicated IP, and DDoS protection on selected servers. NordVPN operates a ‘no logs’ policy.

The service offers a free trial but you wouldn’t know it from NordVPN’s homepage. While monthly billing is expensive, things get far more affordable if you commit for longer, and indeed the limited three-year subscription represents very good value for money. The packages available are:

With servers in 45 locations, Buffered VPN offers decent global coverage, but it’s the performance which is of most interest here – specifically the low latency offered. In our tests, this provider actually gave us slightly lower ping times than our normal connection, with fast upload speeds to boot (although download speeds weren’t so hot).

That said, if you’re into mobile gaming,  you have both Android and iOS as an option. iOS client is fairly recent so it might not be as polished as other clients. Also, setup instructions are given for manually configuring smartphones and tablets for the more tech-savvy.

Buffered VPN is among the pricier providers, even if you opt for a 13-month plan which is the best option. At least there’s a sterling refund policy here, allowing you to get your money back as long as you haven’t gone over any of the following limits: 10 hours, 100 sessions or 10GB of bandwidth. The packages available are:

How to choose the best gaming VPN

There are a couple of things you need to pay attention to if you want to muster the best gaming experience from a VPN. The more servers the firm has available, the better, as this will increase your chances of finding a fast connection.

Speedy performance levels are obviously important, as is having a stable and reliable connection. Finally, be on the lookout for handy bonus features like DDoS protection and dedicated gaming servers.



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