HP's new PCs include its first Dragonfly Folio and a 34-inch all-in-one

HP’s work PCs typically focus more on performance than clever features, but you can’t accuse it of playing it safe this time around. The company has unveiled a pair of computers that each have their share of tricks for remote workers. To start, HP has introduced the first Folio hybrid in its Dragonfly line, the Dragonfly Folio G3. As with earlier Folios, you can pull the 13.5-inch screen forward to convert the machine from a laptop to a presentation device or tablet. Don’t expect the Snapdragon chip from the Elite Folio, though — this is a conventionally-powered PC with a 12th-gen Intel Core i5 or i7, up to 32GB of RAM and a new cooling system that promises to maximize performance without extra bulk.

The 3.1lb design is also thoroughly up to date. You can choose between either a 1,920 x 1,280 LCD or a 3,000 x 2,000 OLED panel. There’s no slot for the stylus, alas, but you can magnetically attach and charge the pen on the side like you can with some recent iPads. You’ll find a pair of Thunderbolt 4/USB 4 ports plus the usual audio jack, and optional 5G can keep you online away from WiFi. Storage starts with a 256GB SSD and scales up to 2TB.

The Dragonfly Folio G3 is already available with a $2,379 starting price. That’s far from modest, but it’s better than the $2,642 Elite Folio HP was selling as of this writing while offering better performance.

HP 34-inch All in One desktop PC
HP

Desktop-bound remote workers are well accounted for. HP has unveiled a 34-inch All in One (that’s the actual name) whose centerpiece, beyond the 5K ultra-wide display, is its webcam system. You can move the magnetically attached 16MP camera to multiple places on the top bezel, and point it toward the desk for sharing documents. You can even add a second camera to share your notes while you stay on-screen. 

You have the choice of 12th-gen Core i5, i7 or i9 processors, and you’ll have GeForce RTX 3050 or 3060 dedicated graphics. Expansion shouldn’t be much of an issue with up to 128GB of RAM, 4TB of SSD storage, two Thunderbolt 4 ports, four USB-A ports, Ethernet, HDMI 2.1 output, an audio jack and an SD card reader. The 34-inch All-in-One arrives in September with a base price of $2,119.

HP Z32k 4K monitor
HP

There are a pair accessories that might prove appealing whether or not you care for HP’s computers. The 32-inch Z32k G3 is billed as the first monitor to combine LG’s IPS Black tech (higher contrast ratios) with Thunderbolt 4. You can plug in and charge many recent laptops (up to 100W), daisy-chain another 4K screen and otherwise minimize the need for cables and docks. It’s not the brightest display at 400 nites, but the 98 percent DCI-P3 color coverage, pivoting and tilting will make it useful for creatives. It doesn’t ship until November and has yet to receive a price.

There’s also an add-on webcam. The HP 965 touts a 4K resolution, AI-guided framing and autofocusing and a low-light-friendly 18mm f/2.0 lens. You can buy it today for $199.

DJI unveils Avata, a cinewhoop-style FPV drone

DJI has launched a new cinematic drone called Avata, which was made to work with the new DJI Goggles 2 video headset. While it’s in the same category as the brand’s previous first-person view (FPV) cinematic model, it takes on a more usual “cinewhoop” form factor with prop guards protecting its quad propellers. Since it’s a cinewhoop, the Avata was designed to have the speed and agility of racers but with the stabilization technology needed to be able to capture smooth and vivid footage. 

It can hover, accelerate like a racer and zoom in and out of tight spaces while shooting videos, and its battery can last for up to 18 minutes before needing a recharge. The Avata is equipped with a stabilized camera that has a 1/1.7-inch CMOS sensor with 48 million effective pixels, an f/2.8 aperture and an ultra wide-angle lens. That camera is capable of shooting 4K videos in 60fps and 2.7K videos in 50, 60, 100 or 120 fps. And users can shoot quite a bit of footage before worrying about space, since it has 20GB of internal storage.

While it can be controlled using the existing DJI FPV Remote Controller 2 and the DJI FPV Goggles V2, it was designed to be used with the company’s newer models. DJI Goggles 2 is the brand’s next-gen video headset with a clearer micro-OLED screen than its predecessor and an adjustable diopter, so that people who wear glasses wouldn’t need them while using the device. It can wirelessly stream the drone’s live footage from the user’s phone or computer for an immersive first-person viewing experience. Meanwhile, the DJI Motion Controller gives pilots the power to perform complex flight maneuvers with one hand. 

The DJI Avata is available starting today from the company’s website and various retailers. On its own, the drone costs €579, £499 or $629, while a set with the DJI Goggles 2 and a DJI Motion Controller costs €1,429, £1,229 or $1,388.

DJI
DJI

Rocket Lab Seeks to Answer 'Are We Alone?' by Launching First Private Mission to Venus

SpaceX might have its sights set on Mars, but Rocket Lab is seeking to become the first private company to reach Venus and explore its clouds for signs of potential habitability.

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Rapper Disses A Ridiculous Detroit Amusement Slide That’s Causing Wipeouts

Belle Isle Park’s giant slide reopened after a pandemic shutdown and quickly gained fame for some seriously risky thrills.

8 Best Uses For Old Flat-Screen TVs

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DuckDuckGo opens up its free email privacy service to everyone

Last year, DuckDuckGo announced a free service designed to fend off email trackers and help people protect their privacy. The Email Protection beta was initially available through a waitlist. Now, it’s now in open beta, meaning everyone can try it without having to wait for access. 

Email Protection is a forwarding service that removes trackers from messages. DuckDuckGo will tell you which trackers it scrubs as well. During the waitlist beta, DuckDuckGo says it found trackers in 85 percent of testers’ emails.

Anyone can now sign up for an @duck.com email address, which will work across desktop, iOS and Android. DuckDuckGo says you can create unlimited private email addresses, including a throwaway one for every website, if you prefer. You can also deactivate an address at any time.

The company has been beefing up Email Protection with more privacy-focused measures. It says Link Tracking Protection helps prevent tracking in email links, while Smarter Encryption upgrades unencrypted HTTP links in emails to secure HTTPS links whenever possible. On top of that, you can now reply to messages with an @duck.com address instead of your regular email account.

Email Protection is available on the DuckDuckGo Privacy Browser for iOS and Android. Go to the Email Protection section of the settings to try it. On desktop, you’ll need the DuckDuckGo Privacy Essentials extension for Firefox, Chrome, Edge and Brave or DuckDuckGo’s Mac browser. Simply visit the email section of the company’s website.

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Philly locals share the faux pas they often see visitors committing and what to do instead.

'The Dark Pictures: The Devil In Me' launches on November 18th

Supermassive Games, which you might know for developing Until Dawn, has released the trailer for the fourth entry of The Dark Pictures Anthology at Gamescom 2022. The anthology, which the developer first announced in 2018, is comprised of interactive standalone titles that tackle various horror tropes and subgenres. This entry is entitled The Devil in Me, and it’s all about serial killers. It centers around a group of documentary filmmakers who gets invited to visit a replica of the Murder Castle, the hotel in Chicago where H. H. Holmes tortured and killed his victims. And because it’s a survival horror game, of course things aren’t what they seem, and the characters find themselves being watched and controlled.

The game serves as the anthology’s Season One finals and will have to solving tool-based puzzles to survive and escape “killing rooms” where failure means death — and yes, all playable characters can die during your playthrough. If you don’t want to play alone, you can share your story online with a friend or play offline with up to four other people using the pass-the-pad mode. 

The Devil in Me will be available starting on November 18th, 2022, and unlike Until Dawn, it won’t be a PlayStation-exclusive. In addition to the PS5 and the PS4, it will also be playable on the Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, as well as on PCs. You can watch the game’s full trailer below:

The Morning After: Apple’s big iPhone event is happening September 7th

Apple has just sent invites for its next hardware event. As expected, the company will share what it’s been working on for the past year on September 7th, with a live broadcast from Apple Park starting at 1 PM ET. The invite features the words “Far out”, so hit up Reddit for what that could possibly mean. We’re expecting new phones and wearables from Apple.

Rumor-wise, the iPhone 14 may include more RAM, longer-lasting batteries and a better selfie camera. Meanwhile, the Pro models are expected to feature a new design that swaps a display notch for a Samsung-style hole-punch front camera cutout. The Pro phones might also pack a new 48-megapixel main camera and thinner display bezels.

– Mat Smith

 

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HyperX Armada 25 is a monitor with an arm, but no stand

That’s not normal, but it’s welcome.

TMA
Engadget

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Plex tells users to reset their passwords after potential data breach

A third-party entity accessed users’ emails, usernames and encrypted passwords.

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Fitbit unveils Sense 2, Versa 4 and Inspire 3 in smartwatch and fitness tracker refresh

The smartwatches both gain turn-by-turn directions and Google Wallet.

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Fitbit

Fitbit has several updated wearables to announce, all at once. Both the Sense 2 and Versa 4, which already have continuous heart rate monitoring, will connect to Google Maps for turn-by-turn directions on your wrist. The pair also get access to Google Wallet – reminding all of us that the company is now owned by, well, Google. Its entry-level Inspire fitness tracker has also got a battery upgrade and more.

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Get ready for a movie based on the rise and fall of BlackBerry

It will reportedly star Jay Baruchel and Glenn Howerton.

It’s the spicy tech tale we all needed to see at the movie theater. Relive the rise and fall of the company from the time it was still known as Research in Motion (RIM) until it lost the smartphone fight against Google and Apple. Miss the phone keyboard? Then you won’t want to miss this epic.

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Bill in New York State Senate would require new cars to have speed-limiting tech

The legislation also targets blind spots in larger vehicles.

New York State Senator Brad Hoylman has proposed legislation that would require automakers to fit speed limiting tech to new cars. If the bill passes, any passenger vehicle built after January 1st, 2024, registered in the state will need to have “advanced safety technology.” The bill notes there were 270 traffic-related deaths in New York City’s streets in 2021, up from 243 the previous year.

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The U.S. Ran a Disinfo Campaign Against Russia, China, and Iran on Facebook and Twitter, Researchers Say

We’ve all grown accustomed to hearing about foreign-seeded disinformation campaigns, but we seldom hear about America’s own covert influence operations. On Wednesday, however, social media researchers revealed details about what appears to have been a long-running U.S. disinformation effort aimed at web users in…

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