Microsoft discounts the new Surface Laptop Go 2 and Razer Blade 14

As the back-to-school season is kicking into high gear, companies are trying to entice buyers with some discounts on tech products, and the Microsoft Store is offering some compelling discounts right now. One of the most notable is the Surface Laptop Go 2, a budget-oriented device that launched just a couple of months ago.

Featuring a 12.4-inch display with a 3:2 aspect ratio, a premium-feeling design, and solid performance thanks to the Intel Core i5-1135G7 processor, the Surface Laptop Go 2 is a very good device for anyone on a tighter budget. Usually, it starts at $599.99 and the top-tier configuration costs $799.99, but now you can get up to $100 off, making the most expensive configuration a very tempting $699.99. Other configurations have smaller discounts, but they’re still great opportunities. This discount is matched at Best Buy, so you can buy it wherever you prefer.

Surface Laptop Go 2

The Surface Laptop Go 2 is a very capable budget-oriented device with a premium design, ideal for school.

See at Best Buy

See at Microsoft

If you want something a bit more high-end, the Surface Pro 8 is also up to $360 off at the Microsoft Store. That specific discount applies to the model with an Intel Core i5-1135G7 processor, and you also get 8GB of RAM and 512GB of SSD storage. Plus, you’re looking at a very sharp 13-inch display with touch and pen support. Usually, this model costs $1,399.99, but now it’s just $1,039.99. Other configurations are also discounted, but not by as much. However, if you want to get it with the Surface Pro Keyboard, you can actually get $350 off a bundle with the device and keyboard at Best Buy, though you’re limited to 256GB of storage.

Surface Pro 8

The Surface Pro 8 is Microsoft's flagship tablet, with super-sharp 13-inch display capbe of a 120Hz refres rate, as well as other high-end specs.

See at Microsoft

Finally, Microsoft is still offering a big discount on the latest Razer Blade 14 gaming laptop, and this one is exclusive to the Microsoft Store. It’s not the first time Microsoft offers this discount, but it’s still the best place to buy this laptop if you want it. The Razer Blade 14 comes with a powerful AMD Ryzen 9 6900HX processor along with Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 Ti graphics, plus a Quad HD display with a 165Hz refresh rate. It’s a fantastic gaming machine that’s still somewhat portable, and while the usual $2,599.99 is a little high, now you can get it for $2,299.99, which is a very good deal.

Razer Blade 14

The Razer Blade 14 is a powerful but compact gaming laptop, perfect for students who want a gaming rig they can take anywhere.

See at Microsoft

Aside from these highlights, there are a few other deals running on Microsoft’s website, though not all of them are very interesting. For example, you can save $100 on the HTC Vive Pro 2 headset if you buy select gaming laptops along with it. Here are a few you might like:

• Surface Laptop 4 13.5-inch (up to Intel Core i7, 32GB RAM, 1TB SSD) – up to $300 off (also available at Best Buy)
• Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 9i (Intel Core i7-1195G7, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD) – $799.99 ($960 off)
• Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Pro (AMD Ryzen 5 5600H, 8GB RAM, 512GB SSD) – $469.99 ($440 off)
• Microsft Modern Mobile Mouse – $22.99 ($12 off)

While we’d definitely recommend checking out the highlights first, there are some decent deals on the list above that you might prefer. Either way, if you’re looking for some back-to-school gear, these are some great options.

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Samsung Galaxy Unpacked August 2022: How to watch the official livestream

Samsung’s Galaxy Unpacked is a biannual event held to showcase its latest smartphones, laptops, tablets, accessories, and more. Last year, Samsung showcased its foldable phones, debuting the Galaxy Z Flip 3 and Galaxy Z Fold 3. Today, we hope to see its predecessors, the Galaxy Z Flip 4 and Galaxy Z Fold 4.

While those will be the main stars of the show, the company could also potentially announce a new Galaxy Watch lineup. In just a few hours, we won’t have to rely on rumors or leaks, and we will finally get to see what Samsung has been working on for this year’s Galaxy Unpacked event. So, now you must be wondering, how can I watch Samsung’s Galaxy Unpacked event? Well, below is all the information that you’ll need.

What time is Samsung Galaxy Unpacked August 2022?

The Samsung Galaxy Unpacked event will go live later today at:

• West Coast: 6 AM PT
• East Coast: 9 AM ET
• UK: 1 PM GMT
• India: 6:30 PM IST

How to watch the main event

Samsung will host one keynote event, Galaxy Unpacked, that will showcase its devices and accessories. You can watch it by clicking on the YouTube video embedded above. If you’re anxious to find out what’s coming, check out our full guides on the Galaxy Z Flip 4 and Galaxy Z Fold 4. This will get you up to date when it comes to all the information that has been released so far. This includes official, rumored, and leaked details that give us a good look at what’s to come.

Reserve your Galaxy Z Fold 4 or Galaxy Z Flip 4 by following this link

Also, reserve your handset on Samsung’s official website for special incentives, and check out all of the teaser material that was released before the day of the event. The site even has a catalog of events from the past.

So what are you looking forward to most? The Galaxy Z Flip 4, Galaxy Z Fold 4, Galaxy Watch, or something else? Let us know in the comments section below!

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Microsoft redesigns OneDrive as it turns 15 years old

Microsoft’s cloud storage service, OneDrive, turns 15 years old this month, and to celebrate, the company is redesigning the home page. OneDrive originally launched in 2007 as Windows Live SkyDrive, and it’s changed significantly over the years. The latest redesign aims to make the experience more tailored to the specific needs of each user.

First, there’s the new Home page, headlined by the new For You section. In this section, you’ll find highlighted files more relevant to you, such as documents you’ve been working or pictures taken on that day in past years (for personal accounts). Below that, you’ll see a list of your recent files, which you can filter by type to make it easier to find something specific. In an organization, OneDrive will show you who owns the file, when you last opened it, and also a new Activity column, which shows you who interacted with the file most recently. This can include new comments, whether someone shared the file, and so on.

This new Home page will be the default landing experience on OneDrive, but you’ll still be able to see the My Files section to see all your files. The Activity column will also be shown there, so you can be aware of recent activity on your files. Microsoft has also worked to make the file management experience coherent across OneDrive, Teams, and SharePoint, so navigating your files on any of these platforms should feel similar and intuitive.

Microsoft also highlighted some other recent changes to OneDrive, including a new sharing experience, which is also consistent across OneDrive, Teams, and other parts of Microsoft 365. Over on mobile, OneDrive is currently testing a new “photo story” feature, which is a new way to share photos from OneDrive library with family and friends. This feature was released in preview at the beginning of July, and Microsoft says it plans to roll it out to users before the end of the year.

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Source: Microsoft

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Samsung rolls out surprise update for the 7-year-old Galaxy J7

Samsung has inarguably improved a lot over the years in supporting its smartphones and tablets with the latest software updates. A few months ago, the Korean OEM even pledged to provide four major Android OS updates and up to five years of security updates for its high-end devices. As if beating Google at its own game wasn’t enough, the company has now updated a seven-year-old smartphone with a new software update.

The Samsung Galaxy J7, a phone released back in 2015, has started getting a fresh new software update in multiple Asian regions. The new release, which has firmware version J700FXXU4BVG2 (for the SM-J700F model) / J700HXXU3BVG2 (for the SM-J700H model), brings GPS stability improvements to the phone. Unfortunately, the update packages do not appear to improve upon the April 2018 (August 2017 for the J700H edition) security patch level that signaled the end of these Galaxy J7 variants some three years ago.

Other than the GPS fixes, it’s actually unclear just what the OTA updates actually contain. It’s highly likely that the new firmware provides protection against a critical bug or security exploit, which is why the software is being patched for the few people out there still rocking the phone.

Samsung Galaxy J7 XDA Forums

Obviously the latest firmware update doesn’t change the version of Android OS. The Galaxy J7’s aforementioned models continue to run Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow, that too with the pre-One UI and Samsung Experience-era TouchWiz skin. In other words, the latest firmware update claims to add GPS-related stabilization code, but the security patch level remains unchanged.

We can’t imagine it will be much fun using such an old device at this stage of 2022, especially as most affordable Android devices will offer far superior performance, battery life, and features. However, if you are still clinging on to the Galaxy J7, then you should see the update appearing over the coming days and weeks, depending on your region.

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Source: Samsung Update Server (1, 2)

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WhatsApp’s “View Once” feature will start blocking screenshots soon

In August last year, WhatsApp rolled out a new “View Once” feature that allowed users to share disappearing media on the platform. But it did not offer screenshot blocking at launch, which meant that recipients had the option to save the disappearing media on their phones by taking a quick screenshot. This rendered the feature useless. WhatsApp is now finally working on bringing screenshot blocking for View Once messages to rectify this glaring issue, along with a couple of other privacy features.

Mark Zuckerberg, Founder and CEO of WhatsApp’s parent organization Meta, recently announced three new privacy features for the popular messaging platform. These include screenshot blocking for View Once messages, an option to leave groups silently, and the ability to choose who can see when you’re online.

Screenshot blocking for View Once messages will essentially prevent recipients from taking a screenshot of disappearing media, finally making the feature useful. It is currently being tested and will roll out to all users soon. WhatsApp has been working on an option to let users hide their online status for some time now. We spotted the in-development feature in a beta release a few weeks ago and Zuckerberg has now finally confirmed its existence. The feature will reportedly start rolling out to all users later this month.

Lastly, WhatsApp users will soon be able to exit groups without notifying all other participants, making things less awkward. However, group admins will still be notified when someone leaves. Like the upcoming online status visibility option, this change will roll out to users later this month.

Along with these three new privacy features, WhatsApp has also kicked off a new campaign to educate users about its new features and “its continued commitment to protecting users’ private conversations.”

What do you think of these new WhatsApp privacy features? Let us know in the comments section below.

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Intel introduces Arc Pro graphics for professional use cases

Intel has debuted the new Arc Pro range of GPUs, geared towards professional users, at the SIGGRAPH 2022 event. These professional GPUs – basically Intel’s version of something like the Nvidia Quadro lineup – will be available for both laptops and desktops, starting with the Intel Arc Pro A30M for laptops, along with the Arc Pro A40 and A50 for desktops.

The company didn’t share much about the specs of the new GPUs, but it did say it will feature built-in ray tracing hardware, machine learning capabilities, and AV1 hardware encoding acceleration, just like other Intel Arc graphics cards. Intel also says it’s seeking certification for professional applications in various industries, including architecture, design and manufacturing, and more. The GPUs will also be optimized for apps like Blender, and run the open-source libraries included in the oneAPI Rendering Toolkit.

Aside from that, all Intel really had to say in terms of specs, aside from the fact that the Intel Arc Pro A40 is a single-slot card, while the Arc Pro A50 is a dual-slot card, both meant for small form factor desktops. The Arc Pro lineup is set to be available later this year, though it remains to be seen how widely available they are.

Existing Intel Arc GPUs have taken a notoriously long time to be available. The laptop GPUs have started to show up on devices like the HP Spectre x360 16 and the Samsung Galaxy Book 2 Pro, but they’re not available in a ton of laptops just yet. Back in June, Intel also announced the availability of the Intel Arc A380 desktop GPU in China, but it has yet to make its way to other countries. If past trends continue, it may be a while before most users can get their hands on any kind of Intel Arc GPU, let alone the new Arc Pro models. We’ll have to wait and see if Intel manages to get these GPUs out on the market in the desired time frame.

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Source: Intel

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Parallels Desktop 18 makes it easier to install Windows 11 on Intel Macs

Parallels has released the latest version of Parallels Desktop for Mac – that being version 18 – delivering some significant improvements to the virtual machine experience on Mac. Among those improvements are a better gaming experience on Windows, improved support for ProMotion displays, and better performance. The update also adds full support for the upcoming macOS Ventura update, so you can run Parallels Desktop on it, but also create macOS Ventura VMs inside Parallels.

The list of changes is significant, starting by making it easier to install Windows 11 on Intel-based Macs with a single click. You can now download and install a Windows 11 VM more easily, but this still won’t work for Apple M-series Macs because Microsoft doesn’t officially distribute installation files for Arm-based versions of Windows. For that, you still have to download the latest build from the Windows Insider website. However, M-series Macs also have a new capability, so you can choose what edition of Windows 11 you want to install during setup.

Parallels Desktop 18 also has better support for ProMotion displays in Windows virtual machines. Now, if your Mac has a ProMotion display and you change the refresh rate of the panel in macOS, Windows will automatically change its refresh rate to match, so the experience should feel smoother. Additionally, Parallels has added support for Bluetooth controllers so you can connect a controller such as the Xbox Wireless Controller, and it will simply work in Windows when you launch a VM. If you game with a mouse, there’s also improved precision for gaming.

This update also improves support for USB 3.0 devices in virtual machines, so you can use hardware like webcams and capture cards for streaming inside a VM. Additionally, the network driver used for Linux and Windows now supports Ethernet jumbo frames. And speaking of Linux, the latest version of Parallels Desktop adds support for network boot for Arm-based Linux machines, too.

Another notable upgrade, though this is only available in the Pro edition of Parallels Desktop 18, is the ability to assign more RAM and more CPU cores to your Windows VM on a Mac Studio with the M1 Ultra chip. You can assign up to 18 CPU cores and 62GB of RAM to the virtual machine, resulting in up to 96% faster performance on Windows 11. Previously, M series Macs could only assign up to 8 CPU cores and 32GB of RAM to VMs.

Other changes in this release include improvements to Shared Folders for better compatibility with Intel-based Windows apps on M-series Macs, some design tweaks, and easier network settings that try to prevent user errors and conflicts with macOS settings. For Pro editions, you can also use a network conditioner to simulate specific network conditions in a VM, and for the Business edition, Single Sign-On (SSO) is now an option for setting up Parallels Desktop.

You can find the full list of changes in Parallels Desktop 18 here. If you haven’t yet, you can buy a Parallels Desktop license from the official website, with the standard license available as either an annual subscription or a one-time payment. If you have a subscription, the upgrade to Parallels Desktop 18 is free.

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