This week Google “quietly acquired a company called Neverware Inc. that sells software to transform old personal computers and Macs into Chromebook devices,” reports SiliconANGLE: The acquisition was announced by Neverware on Twitter, and Google later confirmed the news in a statement. Google had taken part in the company’s Series B funding round three years ago. Neverware’s software is called CloudReady…
Tag: PCs
Firefox 84 Claims Speed Boost from Apple Silicon, Vows to End Flash Support
The Verge reports: Firefox’s latest update brings native support for Macs that run on Apple’s Arm-based silicon, Mozilla announced on Tuesday. Mozilla claims that native Apple silicon support brings significant performance improvements: the browser apparently launches 2.5 times faster and web apps are twice as responsive than they were on the previous version of Firefox, which wasn’t native to Apple’s chips……
Microsoft Is Designing Its Own Chips for Servers, Surface PCs
Microsoft is working on in-house processor designs for use in server computers that run the company’s cloud services, adding to an industrywide effort to reduce reliance on Intel’s chip technology, Bloomberg News reports. From the report: The world’s largest software maker is using Arm designs to produce a processor that will be used in its data centers, according to people familiar…
Google Will Officially Support Running Chrome OS On Old PCs
This week, Google acquired a company called Neverware that allows users to turn their old PCs and Macs into a Chromebook with its CloudReady software. Now, Google is planning to make CloudReady into an official Chrome OS release. Engadget reports: When that happens, Neverware says its existing users will be able to seamlessly upgrade to the updated software. Moreover, once that…
‘Cyberpunk 2077’ Players Are Fixing Parts of the Game Before CD Projekt
Cyberpunk 2077 is here in all its glory and pain. On some machines, it’s a visual spectacle pushing the limits of current technology and delivering on the promise of Deus Ex, but open world. On other machines, including last-gen consoles, it’s a unoptimized and barely playable nightmare. Developer CD Projekt Red has said it’s working to improve the game, but fans…
Urban Explorers Discover A Treasure Trove Of Soviet Computing Power
“The building did not stand out. Unremarkable industrial building, which was built in hundreds of Soviet cities,” explains a web site called Russian Urban Exploration. Hackaday describes what happened next:
It’s probably a dream most of us share, to stumble upon a dusty hall full of fascinating abandoned tech frozen in time as though its operators walked away one day and simply…
Should Qualcomm Feel Threatened By Apple’s M1 Macs?
PCMag.com’s lead mobile analyst calls Qualcomm “a little too unbothered by Apple’s M1 Macs” Qualcomm executives brushed off a question about Apple’s new M1-based Macs during a question-and-answer session at the company’s Snapdragon Summit today, where Qualcomm announced a new flagship smartphone chipset but no upgrades to its year-old chips for PCs… In general, reviews of Qualcomm-powered laptops such as the…
‘Welcome To the PC Malaise Era’
Long-time research analyst Wes Miller, who previously worked at Microsoft, believes that Windows-powered PCs are now stuck in the same rut that American cars grappled with in 1973 to 1983. He writes: I’ve said before that Windows has never escaped x86. I’m still not sure if it ever can. So the challenges then come down to three things: 1. Can Intel…
No, the New MacBook Air is Not Faster Than 98% of PC Laptops
Gordon Mah Ung, writing at PC World: Let me just say it outloud, OK? Apple is full of it. I’m referring to Apple’s claim that its fanless, Arm-based MacBook Air is “faster than 98 percent of PC laptops.” Yes, you read that correctly: Apple officials literally claimed that the new MacBook Air using Apple’s custom M1 chip is faster than 98…
SiFive Unveils Plan For Linux PCs With RISC-V Processors
SiFive today announced it is creating a platform for Linux-based personal computers based on RISC-V processors. VentureBeat reports: Assuming customers adopt the processors and use them in PCs, the move might be part of a plan to create Linux-based PCs that use royalty-free processors. This could be seen as a challenge to computers based on designs from Intel, Advanced Micro Devices,…