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What if a silicon computer chip could produce sound? That’s the idea behind xMEMS' Sycamore, a full-range, open-air, solid-state speaker driver that aims to revolutionize headphones, smart glasses, and other wearable devices. Magnetic speaker drivers—which we’ll call “conventionalspeaker drivers”—have remained largely unchanged over the past century. They’re pretty simple, too: a copper voice coil is manipulated by an electrical current to vibrate a diaphragm and produce sound. There are some constraints to this conventional design....

Summary You could say there’s never been a better time tobuy a new TV. Screens are bigger, picture quality is better, designs are slimmer, and you can get more for your money than ever. The one area where that unfortunately isn’t true, however, is sound quality. That’s been true for quite some time, of course, but the decline has become noticeably more pronounced in recent years—especially when it comes to more budget-level and mid-range TVs....

Summary When choosing a Linux distribution, you may hear about standard or “rolling release” distros. What is a rolling release distro? Let me help straighten out the confusion. What Are Rolling Release Distros? A rolling-release Linux distro is different than a standard Linux distro. Where a regular release distro will compile a bunch of discrete versions of a software into a single release at a distinct point, a rolling-release distro will take “upstream” software, programs created by third parties, and release it as they make certain modifications....

Quick Links Summary YouTube’s ambient mode enhances your video-watching experience by adding lighting effects. You can enable this mode on your computer, iPhone, and Android devices. We’ll show you how to do just that. What Is Ambient Mode on YouTube? Ambient mode on YouTube is a lighting effect that displays the colors from the video you’re current watching around the outside edge of the video player. This enhances your experience by making your video’s surroundings more immersive....

Quick Links Summary IDE stands for “Integrated Development Environment.” An IDE helps programmers create code. This type of application combines features for writing, testing, and executing programs in the same interface. For example, IDEs include text editors with syntax highlighting as well as features for compiling and debugging code. If you’ve just started to learn how to program, you’ll have heard of something called an IDE, a type of application that coders use....

Quick Links Summary You won’t find a Galaxy S24 ad without the “Galaxy AI” buzzword attached to it. Samsung is hyping up Galaxy AI to be a “new era of mobile AI” that will change the way we experience the world. That sounds exciting, but what actually is Galaxy AI, and is it even something worth buying a new phone for? What is Galaxy AI? ​​​​​​​ Galaxy AI is a suite of generative AI tools that respond to text prompts,similar to ChatGPT, but can also understand more than just text....

Summary Does it feel like you’re watching an old martial arts movie, where the lips and dialogue don’t quite match? This is just one example of how audio latency can mess with your enjoyment of content, but why does it happen? What Is Audio Latency? Audio latency is simply the amount of time between an audio signal being generated and you hearing that sound. So, for example, it’s the time it takes from reading music from a CD to the actual sound waves reaching your ear....

Summary Linux. You’ve heard about it. You’ve maybe even tried it. However, statistically, you probably don’t use it. Globally as of 2024, just over 4% of desktop PCs run Linux. That’s a tiny slice of the market, and yet it’s a milestone for Linux worth celebrating. You’d think that at this point, waiting for the “year of desktop Linux” is pointless, and that overall desktop Linux is irrelevant. I’m here to tell you that even if desktop Linux never gains a single point of market share again, it’s important and needs to exist....

Quick Links I resisted smart devices for years. I’ve since not only accepted smart home tech, but the way in which something integrates with my smart home is now actively shaping what I buy. ​I Was a Smart Home Skeptic​ For most of my adult life, I had zero interest in smart home tech. These devices felt like a scam to get me to regularly replace things that would otherwise last decades....

Quick Links My family’s first computer was a beige IBM-compatible 80286, and for decades after, every computer I owned was beige. Then seemingly overnight, the beige wave was over. But why was this the ubiquitous color of computing in the first place? Computers Were About Serious Business Beige was definitely the color of serious business, when I visited my dad’s open-plan cubicle office in the 90s, this was the predominant color....

Quick Links The mouse and keyboard are the cornerstone of PC gaming, but there are many games that simply play more comfortably with a controller, even if they don’t technically support one! Likewise, the rise of handheld gaming PCs has left many games in a weird spot where you can’t play them unless you hook up peripherals. Well, with Steam Input, it’s no problem. What Is Steam Input? Steam Input started out as part of the (sadly) now defunctSteam Controller project, but today it still exists today as a part of Steam....

Summary Google Chrome is the most popular web browser by a long shot—but should it be? Firefox provides many advantages over other web browsers, encourages an open internet, and focuses on you, the user. Here are the top reasons you should be using it. Firefox Uses Less Battery Than Chrome Using Firefox can increase the battery life on your laptop due to itssuperior resource efficiency compared to Chrome. This, along with other proven methods toimprove your battery life, means you’re able to go longer between charges and get more done whileon the move....

Quick Links There once was a time when people could only dream of taking all their favorite books wherever they went. Thanks to eReaders like theAmazon Kindle, this dream is now a reality. However, Kindles offer much more than the ability to store and read eBooks on the go. To help you take your Amazon eReader to the next level, we’re highlighting 10 ways to make the most of your Kindle....