Anandtech News - Page 750
Page 750 of 830 First ... 250650700725740745746747748749750751752753754755760775800 ... Last
Results 7,491 to 7,500 of 8299
11-03-17, 02:47 PM #7491
Anandtech: QNAP Begins to Ship AMD Ryzen-Based TS-x77 Series NAS: 6, 8, 12 Bays
Capacity 64 GB (4&times;16 GB) 16 GB
(2&times;8 GB) 8 GB
(2&times;4 GB) 16 GB
(2&times;4 GB)
Bays 8 &times; 3.5"
4 &times; 2.5" 6 &times; 3.5"
2 &times; 2.5" 4 &times; 3.5"
2 &times; 2.5"
M.2 Slots 2&times;M.2 slots (up to M.2-22110)
Ethernet 4&times;GbE, 10/40 GbE supported via add-in-cards
PCIe Slots 1 &times; PCIe 3.0 x8
2 &times; PCIe 3.0 x4
2 &times; audio in
USB 1 &times; USB 3.1 Type-A
QNAP Launches TS-1277 NAS Powered by AMD&#39;s Ryzen CPUs: 12 Bays, 64 GB DDR4, Starts at $2,299
11-03-17, 11:14 PM #7492
Anandtech: AMD Releases Radeon Software Crimson ReLive Edition 17.11.1
?Oculus Dash may experience a random application hang.
11-04-17, 08:44 AM #7493
Anandtech: BenQ Launches the SW271 Display for Professionals: 27-inch 4K with HDR and
Inputs 1 &times; DP 1.4 (HDCP 2.2)
2 &times; HDMI 2.0a (HDCP 2.2)
11-06-17, 09:03 AM #7494
Anandtech: Intel to Create new 8th Generation CPUs with AMD Radeon Graphics with HBM2
Today Intel (and AMD) are announcing a partnership to create processors using Intel&#39;s high-performance x86 cores, AMD Radeon Graphics, and HBM2 within a single processor package using Intel&#39;s latest EMIB technology for multi-die designs.
11-07-17, 07:37 AM #7495
Anandtech: Broadcom Makes Unsolicited $105 Billion Bid for Qualcomm
Under the terms of the Broadcom proposal, shareholders of Qualcomm will get $60 in cash and $10 in Broadcom stock per share. Broadcom&#39;s offer represents a 28% premium over the price of a Qualcomm share on November 2, 2017, which is in line with historical premiums offered in other acquisitions. It is noteworthy that Broadcom will bid for Qualcomm regardless of the pending acquisition of NXP Semiconductors by the U.S.-based company. Broadcom is particularly interested telco products by Qualcomm, which include SoCs for mobile devices as well as solutions for Gigabit LTE and 5G networks.
Avago Technologies (the current owner of the Broadcom brand) has been on an acquisition spree for years, trying to get access to various technologies, buy patents, gain new clients, and become a more powerful semiconductor firm in general. Since 2013, Avago has completed five major acquisitions, so the company is an experienced buyer. Qualcomm however poses some unique circumstances for Avago/Broadcom, simply due to the company&#39;s massive value.
Market capitalization of Qualcomm is $92.16 billion, it has $20.86 billion in the U.S. banks, is sitting on $21.9 billion in debt, has 33,800 employees, and earns $23 billion a fiscal year. Broadcom is also a huge company, but its valuation only recently surpassed Qualcomm&#39;s, never mind the fact that it&#39;s considerably smaller than the combination of Qualcomm and NXP is expected to be. It has a market capitalization of $119.38 billion, it has $5.45 billion in cash, its total debt is $13.57 billion, its headcount is 15,700, and it earned $16.93 billion its most recent fiscal year.
11-07-17, 11:18 AM #7496
Anandtech: Securifi Almond Guard DIY Home Security System: A Beta-Testing Report
Securifi&#39;s products have been covered before on AnandTech. They were the first consumer networking equipment vendor to successfully integrate a working IoT hub in a Wi-Fi router. By integrating ZigBee and Z-Wave support into their touchscreen routers, they managed to open up their addressable market and go up against more established players in the space. Today, Securifi is making public their plans to build upon their IoT platform. The Almond Guard, a DIY home security system, is being launched via a crowdfunding campaign. Starting with the Almond 3 platform, Securifi has added home security system features to both the hardware and software. An optional professional monitoring service will also be made available for $10/mo.
ZigBee, Z-Wave, and Bluetooth have emerged as the connectivity options in this area. Low-power Wi-Fi also has a strong presence. Most smart home devices come with a hub to bridge the communication network with an IP network. It is evident that integrating the radios into a router and avoiding the hub makes for a more unified solution. Securifi was the first vendor to bring such a product to the market. This integration has slowly started spreading to products from other manufacturers also. For example, Google&#39;s OnHub router has a 802.15.4 radio, but the firmware does not enable it. ASRock recently started supporting ZigBee peripherals with their X10 IoT router. Z-Wave has a wide install base, and, to our knowledge, the Securifi Almond routers are the only ones supporting both ZigBee and Z-Wave.
Consumer IoT has not taken off as planned because of the fragmented ecosystem. Each vendor wants the user to use their own app and cloud backend. Recent efforts such as Apple HomeKit, Google Home, and Amazon Alexa have a partial solution for this problem. Despite being forced to have some sort of integration with the above services, smart device vendors still opt to make most of their products entirely cloud-reliant. Cloud infrastructure needs maintenance. Hardware sales alone are not enough in the long run. The vendors have therefore been forced to partner with larger companies or turn to subscription-based &#39;smart home as a service&#39; revenue model. The average consumer does not see much value in paying monthly fees to each IoT device vendor.
The &#39;smart home as a service&#39; (SHaaS) model works in the general case only when tangible benefit is provided to the end user. Incumbent players who receive recurring revenue from the average household are ISPs and TV service providers (such as Comcast, and AT&T in the US), and home security / alarm service providers (such as ADT, Frontpoint Security, Livewatch Security etc.). Essentially, SHaaS has to be an add-on to such services. ISPs and TV service providers are harder to disrupt because of the capital expenditure involved in the consumer premises. This has allowed incumbents like Xfinity (with Xfinity Home) to make significant inroads with this approach. On the other side, ADT and other similar security / alarm service providers have also been making a killing in the market by adding home automation / smart home functionality as an expensive add-on to their offerings (with the package rates going up as more sensors are monitored). However, the expensive nature of this value addition has prevented smart home technology from becoming popular through this market segment.
Securifi is one of the very few vendors who can target both of these aspects. At CES earlier this year, they introduced a subscription-based internet security service. Other vendors in the space concentrated on the antivirus and antimalware aspects. At that time I wasn&#39;t sure whether the value offered was worth the subsription being charged. However, inclusion of home alarm motoring for a modest increase in premium would definitely deliver more value. Securifi is working towards that by introducing the Almond Guard.
During our beta testing period, the web UI didn&#39;t have any particular enhancements for the home security system aspect. Given that the whole market has moved towards a mobile-first approach, we weren&#39;t surprised that the bulk of the efforts were being put towards honing the Almond app.
Note that the mobile app can connect to the Almond Guard via the local network or through Securifi&#39;s cloud servers. In the local connection mode, the system can be set to Home and Away. Arming and disarming the system is available only in the cloud connection mode. This makes sense given that the system can inform the monitoring services only if it can connect to the cloud servers. The cloud connection mode also enables users to sign up for the Internet Security and/or Professional Monitoring services. The Almond Guard can also uses inferred information (using a Wi-Fi device availability-based scheme) to automatically arm or disarm the system.
A four-digit PIN is used to disable the alarm via the hub&#39;s touchscreen. A duress PIN and a safeword can also be configured. These are features that are available in traditional home security / alarm systems.
The home security market is ripe for disruption, and a number of players have entered into the market recently. Consumer Reports recently updated their pick for the best DIY security system. Scout emerged as the best value with professional monitoring considered. Doing the equivalent math and specifications comparison shows that the Almond Guard comes out on top in every metric. The professional monitoring plan is $10/mo compared to $20/mo. for the equivalent Scout plan. On top of it, Almond provides cloud connectivity for free ($6/mo. for cellular backup if professional monitoring is not chosen), compared to Scout&#39;s $10/mo. On the hardware side, the Scout hub needs to be connected to the router, but, the Almond 3S is a router by itself.
In terms of initial hardware pricing, Securifi is selling the Almond 3S, 5x door / window sensors, 2x motion detectors, and 2x Peanut plugs (switchable power outlets) for $400 (early birds can get this for $300). An equivalent Scout package costs $372 up front (Scout doesn&#39;t have a Peanut Plug equivalent - the corresponding Almond Guard package after removing that would be $360 / $260).
Configuring a similar SimpliSafe bundle resulted in a total cost of $320 up front (compared to $360 / $260 for the Almond Guard). SimpliSafe simply doesn&#39;t have the home automation capabilities of the Almond 3S. Securifi also manages to undercut the professional monitoring services fee ($10 vs. $15/mo.).
An ADT / SmartThings package similar to the Almond Guard&#39;s high-end package costs around $705 (compared to Securifi&#39;s $400 / $300 pricing). On top of that, the minimum monthly subscription for intrusion detection monitoring with ADT is $25/mo. This also makes little financial sense similar to the Nest Secure package.
The latest entrant to the home security market is Honeywell with its DIY solution using an intelligent camera in its base station. A package similar the Almond Guard&#39;s top configuration costs close to $700 (though, admittedly, the Honeywell base station is much more powerful with its IP camera integration). There is no professional monitoring service add-on, making a direct comparison to Securifi&#39;s offerings much more diifficult. Canary&#39;s offering is similar.
The hardware in the Almond 3S that I evaluated was feature-complete, though some features were not working in my beta unit as expected. The placement of some of the slots (such as the SIM card and the power inlet) were not final, and were difficult to access and use. The T-Mobile SIM that I tried didn&#39;t work, though the fault probably was on my side since I couldn&#39;t find a suitable SIM tray. The 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi SSID was also non-functional, but, that didn&#39;t affect the operation otherwise. All these aspects are bound to be fixed in the final unit.
While Securifi also touts the mesh Wi-Fi feature, I wouldn&#39;t suggest power users to rely on it as the sole solution for their wireless network. The Almond Guard uses a Mediatek platform (the same as the Almond 3 launched in
mid-2016). By the time the Almond Guard ships to retail in mid-2018, the platform would be quite out of date in the fast-moving Wi-Fi market space. It might serve the purpose for casual users. Our recommendation would be to use the Almond Guard as a smart hub, rather than a traditional router. Of course, one can associate Wi-Fi-based IoT devices with the Almond Guard&#39;s WLAN.
The Almond&#39;s app and web UI have a separate smart home section with the ZigBee and Z-Wave devices in it. I would also like Securifi to support Wi-Fi-based smart devices (such as LIFX bulbs and WeMo switches) in that section.
Moving on to the home security subscriptions, the pricing is very disruptive at $10/mo. With this type of pricing (similar to the now-delayed Ring Protect), moving away from traditional alarm services like ADT or Livewatch Security is a no-brainer. The plans from the incumbents start at $25+, and consumers have absolutely no visibility into the operation of these alarm systems. Smart home features add heavily to the monthly subscription. Securifi&#39;s smart home features are already proven, and they don&#39;t require a subscription. The professional monitoring services severly undercut the incumbents. Assuming that works as advertised, I am sure power users will immediately move to these low-cost plans. Securifi could even sweeten the deal with their Internet-security solution as a modestly-priced add-on.
Another consumer-friendly aspect is that Securifi&#39;s monthly charges are fixed irrespective of the number of sensors used in the system. Many incumbent home alarm service vendors often hike up the monthly prices for just adding a couple of sensors.
11-07-17, 11:18 AM #7497
Anandtech: Logitech and HTC Team Up to Integrate Physical Keyboards Into VR Environme
Logitech and HTC are not explaining precisely how their technology works, but based on the press images they&#39;ve sent out, the Vive Tracker senses positioning of hands above the keyboard, whereas software renders the keyboard and recreates movements of hands in virtual worlds. Logitech claims that such approach can help create virtual context-aware keyboards for both gaming and non-gaming applications. For example, they have managed to implement a keyboard across the Steam VR system.
11-07-17, 02:42 PM #7498
Anandtech: Lian Li Announces Alpha Series Mid-Tower Chassis: Tempered Glass Panels Pl
Dust filters are found on both the top (magnetic) and bottom (slide out) of the case helping keep the internals clean. The fans in the front are mounted to a fan/radiator rack for easier installation, maintenance, and removal. Cable management is uniquely handled by a hinged panel on the back covering a channel for cable routing. Front Panel connectivity consists of a power button, two USB 3.0 ports, audio jacks, as well as the latest USB Type-C port, all hidden behind a flip-down panel at top front part of the case on the 550 RGB while the 330&#39;s controls are exposed. Both the 330 and 550 have support for a vertically oriented graphics cards, up to 400mm in length, to better display the hardware through the glass panels.
11-07-17, 05:45 PM #7499
Anandtech: Raja Koduri, AMD’s Radeon Tech Group Leader, Resigns
I want to thank Lisa and the AET for enabling me to pursue my passion during the last four years at AMD, and especially the last two years with RTG. Lisa has my utmost respect for exhibiting the courage to enable me with RTG, for believing in me and for going out of her way to support me. I would also like to call out Mark Papermaster who brought me into AMD, for his huge passion for technology and for his relentless support through many difficult phases. And of course, I want to thank each and every one of my direct staff and my indirect staff who have worked so hard with me to build what we have now got. I am very proud of the strong leaders we have and I&#39;m fully confident that they can execute on the compelling roadmap ahead.
On a final note, I have asked a lot of you in the last two years. You&#39;ve always delivered. You&#39;ve made me successful both personally and professionally, for which I thank you all from the bottom of my heart. I have these final requests from you as I leave:
11-07-17, 07:15 PM #7500
Anandtech: NVIDIA Launches Star Wars Themed Titan Xp Collector’s Edition Graphics Car
Just like the Titan Xp graphics adapters introduced this April, the new Star Wars-themed Titan Xp boards use the fully-fledged GP102 GPU running at up to 1582 MHz with all 3840 stream processors, 240 texture units and 96 ROPs enabled. The video card carries 12 GB of 11.4 Gbps GDDR5X DRAM that uses a 384-bit bus and features a total of 547.2 GB/s of memory bandwidth. To make a long story short, the collector&rsquo;s Titan Xp cards will demonstrate exactly the same performance in games as their regular counterparts. So, what&rsquo;s new? Cooler shrouds inspired by designs of lightsabers and their lighting. To modder&#39;s rejoice, NVIDIA&#39;s flagship prosumer graphics cards will gain lighting for the first time
Anandtech News - Page 750
Page 750 of 830 First ... 250650700725740745746747748749750751752753754755760775800 ... Last
Results 7,491 to 7,500 of 8299
11-03-17, 02:47 PM #7491
Anandtech: QNAP Begins to Ship AMD Ryzen-Based TS-x77 Series NAS: 6, 8, 12 Bays
Capacity 64 GB (4&times;16 GB) 16 GB
(2&times;8 GB) 8 GB
(2&times;4 GB) 16 GB
(2&times;4 GB)
Bays 8 &times; 3.5"
4 &times; 2.5" 6 &times; 3.5"
2 &times; 2.5" 4 &times; 3.5"
2 &times; 2.5"
M.2 Slots 2&times;M.2 slots (up to M.2-22110)
Ethernet 4&times;GbE, 10/40 GbE supported via add-in-cards
PCIe Slots 1 &times; PCIe 3.0 x8
2 &times; PCIe 3.0 x4
2 &times; audio in
USB 1 &times; USB 3.1 Type-A
QNAP Launches TS-1277 NAS Powered by AMD&#39;s Ryzen CPUs: 12 Bays, 64 GB DDR4, Starts at $2,299
11-03-17, 11:14 PM #7492
Anandtech: AMD Releases Radeon Software Crimson ReLive Edition 17.11.1
?Oculus Dash may experience a random application hang.
11-04-17, 08:44 AM #7493
Anandtech: BenQ Launches the SW271 Display for Professionals: 27-inch 4K with HDR and
Inputs 1 &times; DP 1.4 (HDCP 2.2)
2 &times; HDMI 2.0a (HDCP 2.2)
11-06-17, 09:03 AM #7494
Anandtech: Intel to Create new 8th Generation CPUs with AMD Radeon Graphics with HBM2
Today Intel (and AMD) are announcing a partnership to create processors using Intel&#39;s high-performance x86 cores, AMD Radeon Graphics, and HBM2 within a single processor package using Intel&#39;s latest EMIB technology for multi-die designs.
11-07-17, 07:37 AM #7495
Anandtech: Broadcom Makes Unsolicited $105 Billion Bid for Qualcomm
Under the terms of the Broadcom proposal, shareholders of Qualcomm will get $60 in cash and $10 in Broadcom stock per share. Broadcom&#39;s offer represents a 28% premium over the price of a Qualcomm share on November 2, 2017, which is in line with historical premiums offered in other acquisitions. It is noteworthy that Broadcom will bid for Qualcomm regardless of the pending acquisition of NXP Semiconductors by the U.S.-based company. Broadcom is particularly interested telco products by Qualcomm, which include SoCs for mobile devices as well as solutions for Gigabit LTE and 5G networks.
Avago Technologies (the current owner of the Broadcom brand) has been on an acquisition spree for years, trying to get access to various technologies, buy patents, gain new clients, and become a more powerful semiconductor firm in general. Since 2013, Avago has completed five major acquisitions, so the company is an experienced buyer. Qualcomm however poses some unique circumstances for Avago/Broadcom, simply due to the company&#39;s massive value.
Market capitalization of Qualcomm is $92.16 billion, it has $20.86 billion in the U.S. banks, is sitting on $21.9 billion in debt, has 33,800 employees, and earns $23 billion a fiscal year. Broadcom is also a huge company, but its valuation only recently surpassed Qualcomm&#39;s, never mind the fact that it&#39;s considerably smaller than the combination of Qualcomm and NXP is expected to be. It has a market capitalization of $119.38 billion, it has $5.45 billion in cash, its total debt is $13.57 billion, its headcount is 15,700, and it earned $16.93 billion its most recent fiscal year.
11-07-17, 11:18 AM #7496
Anandtech: Securifi Almond Guard DIY Home Security System: A Beta-Testing Report
Securifi&#39;s products have been covered before on AnandTech. They were the first consumer networking equipment vendor to successfully integrate a working IoT hub in a Wi-Fi router. By integrating ZigBee and Z-Wave support into their touchscreen routers, they managed to open up their addressable market and go up against more established players in the space. Today, Securifi is making public their plans to build upon their IoT platform. The Almond Guard, a DIY home security system, is being launched via a crowdfunding campaign. Starting with the Almond 3 platform, Securifi has added home security system features to both the hardware and software. An optional professional monitoring service will also be made available for $10/mo.
ZigBee, Z-Wave, and Bluetooth have emerged as the connectivity options in this area. Low-power Wi-Fi also has a strong presence. Most smart home devices come with a hub to bridge the communication network with an IP network. It is evident that integrating the radios into a router and avoiding the hub makes for a more unified solution. Securifi was the first vendor to bring such a product to the market. This integration has slowly started spreading to products from other manufacturers also. For example, Google&#39;s OnHub router has a 802.15.4 radio, but the firmware does not enable it. ASRock recently started supporting ZigBee peripherals with their X10 IoT router. Z-Wave has a wide install base, and, to our knowledge, the Securifi Almond routers are the only ones supporting both ZigBee and Z-Wave.
Consumer IoT has not taken off as planned because of the fragmented ecosystem. Each vendor wants the user to use their own app and cloud backend. Recent efforts such as Apple HomeKit, Google Home, and Amazon Alexa have a partial solution for this problem. Despite being forced to have some sort of integration with the above services, smart device vendors still opt to make most of their products entirely cloud-reliant. Cloud infrastructure needs maintenance. Hardware sales alone are not enough in the long run. The vendors have therefore been forced to partner with larger companies or turn to subscription-based &#39;smart home as a service&#39; revenue model. The average consumer does not see much value in paying monthly fees to each IoT device vendor.
The &#39;smart home as a service&#39; (SHaaS) model works in the general case only when tangible benefit is provided to the end user. Incumbent players who receive recurring revenue from the average household are ISPs and TV service providers (such as Comcast, and AT&T in the US), and home security / alarm service providers (such as ADT, Frontpoint Security, Livewatch Security etc.). Essentially, SHaaS has to be an add-on to such services. ISPs and TV service providers are harder to disrupt because of the capital expenditure involved in the consumer premises. This has allowed incumbents like Xfinity (with Xfinity Home) to make significant inroads with this approach. On the other side, ADT and other similar security / alarm service providers have also been making a killing in the market by adding home automation / smart home functionality as an expensive add-on to their offerings (with the package rates going up as more sensors are monitored). However, the expensive nature of this value addition has prevented smart home technology from becoming popular through this market segment.
Securifi is one of the very few vendors who can target both of these aspects. At CES earlier this year, they introduced a subscription-based internet security service. Other vendors in the space concentrated on the antivirus and antimalware aspects. At that time I wasn&#39;t sure whether the value offered was worth the subsription being charged. However, inclusion of home alarm motoring for a modest increase in premium would definitely deliver more value. Securifi is working towards that by introducing the Almond Guard.
During our beta testing period, the web UI didn&#39;t have any particular enhancements for the home security system aspect. Given that the whole market has moved towards a mobile-first approach, we weren&#39;t surprised that the bulk of the efforts were being put towards honing the Almond app.
Note that the mobile app can connect to the Almond Guard via the local network or through Securifi&#39;s cloud servers. In the local connection mode, the system can be set to Home and Away. Arming and disarming the system is available only in the cloud connection mode. This makes sense given that the system can inform the monitoring services only if it can connect to the cloud servers. The cloud connection mode also enables users to sign up for the Internet Security and/or Professional Monitoring services. The Almond Guard can also uses inferred information (using a Wi-Fi device availability-based scheme) to automatically arm or disarm the system.
A four-digit PIN is used to disable the alarm via the hub&#39;s touchscreen. A du
ress PIN and a safeword can also be configured. These are features that are available in traditional home security / alarm systems.
The home security market is ripe for disruption, and a number of players have entered into the market recently. Consumer Reports recently updated their pick for the best DIY security system. Scout emerged as the best value with professional monitoring considered. Doing the equivalent math and specifications comparison shows that the Almond Guard comes out on top in every metric. The professional monitoring plan is $10/mo compared to $20/mo. for the equivalent Scout plan. On top of it, Almond provides cloud connectivity for free ($6/mo. for cellular backup if professional monitoring is not chosen), compared to Scout&#39;s $10/mo. On the hardware side, the Scout hub needs to be connected to the router, but, the Almond 3S is a router by itself.
In terms of initial hardware pricing, Securifi is selling the Almond 3S, 5x door / window sensors, 2x motion detectors, and 2x Peanut plugs (switchable power outlets) for $400 (early birds can get this for $300). An equivalent Scout package costs $372 up front (Scout doesn&#39;t have a Peanut Plug equivalent - the corresponding Almond Guard package after removing that would be $360 / $260).
Configuring a similar SimpliSafe bundle resulted in a total cost of $320 up front (compared to $360 / $260 for the Almond Guard). SimpliSafe simply doesn&#39;t have the home automation capabilities of the Almond 3S. Securifi also manages to undercut the professional monitoring services fee ($10 vs. $15/mo.).
An ADT / SmartThings package similar to the Almond Guard&#39;s high-end package costs around $705 (compared to Securifi&#39;s $400 / $300 pricing). On top of that, the minimum monthly subscription for intrusion detection monitoring with ADT is $25/mo. This also makes little financial sense similar to the Nest Secure package.
The latest entrant to the home security market is Honeywell with its DIY solution using an intelligent camera in its base station. A package similar the Almond Guard&#39;s top configuration costs close to $700 (though, admittedly, the Honeywell base station is much more powerful with its IP camera integration). There is no professional monitoring service add-on, making a direct comparison to Securifi&#39;s offerings much more diifficult. Canary&#39;s offering is similar.
The hardware in the Almond 3S that I evaluated was feature-complete, though some features were not working in my beta unit as expected. The placement of some of the slots (such as the SIM card and the power inlet) were not final, and were difficult to access and use. The T-Mobile SIM that I tried didn&#39;t work, though the fault probably was on my side since I couldn&#39;t find a suitable SIM tray. The 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi SSID was also non-functional, but, that didn&#39;t affect the operation otherwise. All these aspects are bound to be fixed in the final unit.
While Securifi also touts the mesh Wi-Fi feature, I wouldn&#39;t suggest power users to rely on it as the sole solution for their wireless network. The Almond Guard uses a Mediatek platform (the same as the Almond 3 launched in
mid-2016). By the time the Almond Guard ships to retail in mid-2018, the platform would be quite out of date in the fast-moving Wi-Fi market space. It might serve the purpose for casual users. Our recommendation would be to use the Almond Guard as a smart hub, rather than a traditional router. Of course, one can associate Wi-Fi-based IoT devices with the Almond Guard&#39;s WLAN.
The Almond&#39;s app and web UI have a separate smart home section with the ZigBee and Z-Wave devices in it. I would also like Securifi to support Wi-Fi-based smart devices (such as LIFX bulbs and WeMo switches) in that section.
Moving on to the home security subscriptions, the pricing is very disruptive at $10/mo. With this type of pricing (similar to the now-delayed Ring Protect), moving away from traditional alarm services like ADT or Livewatch Security is a no-brainer. The plans from the incumbents start at $25+, and consumers have absolutely no visibility into the operation of these alarm systems. Smart home features add heavily to the monthly subscription. Securifi&#39;s smart home features are already proven, and they don&#39;t require a subscription. The professional monitoring services severly undercut the incumbents. Assuming that works as advertised, I am sure power users will immediately move to these low-cost plans. Securifi could even sweeten the deal with their Internet-security solution as a modestly-priced add-on.
Another consumer-friendly aspect is that Securifi&#39;s monthly charges are fixed irrespective of the number of sensors used in the system. Many incumbent home alarm service vendors often hike up the monthly prices for just adding a couple of sensors.
11-07-17, 11:18 AM #7497
Anandtech: Logitech and HTC Team Up to Integrate Physical Keyboards Into VR Environme
Logitech and HTC are not explaining precisely how their technology works, but based on the press images they&#39;ve sent out, the Vive Tracker senses positioning of hands above the keyboard, whereas software renders the keyboard and recreates movements of hands in virtual worlds. Logitech claims that such approach can help create virtual context-aware keyboards for both gaming and non-gaming applications. For example, they have managed to implement a keyboard across the Steam VR system.
11-07-17, 02:42 PM #7498
Anandtech: Lian Li Announces Alpha Series Mid-Tower Chassis: Tempered Glass Panels Pl
Dust filters are found on both the top (magnetic) and bottom (slide out) of the case helping keep the internals clean. The fans in the front are mounted to a fan/radiator rack for easier installation, maintenance, and removal. Cable management is uniquely handled by a hinged panel on the back covering a channel for cable routing. Front Panel connectivity consists of a power button, two USB 3.0 ports, audio jacks, as well as the latest USB Type-C port, all hidden behind a flip-down panel at top front part of the case on the 550 RGB while the 330&#39;s controls are exposed. Both the 330 and 550 have support for a vertically oriented graphics cards, up to 400mm in length, to better display the hardware through the glass panels.
11-07-17, 05:45 PM #7499
Anandtech: Raja Koduri, AMD’s Radeon Tech Group Leader, Resigns
I want to thank Lisa and the AET for enabling me to pursue my passion during the last four years at AMD, and especially the last two years with RTG. Lisa has my utmost respect for exhibiting the courage to enable me with RTG, for believing in me and for going out of her way to support me. I would also like to call out Mark Papermaster who brought me into AMD, for his huge passion for technology and for his relentless support through many difficult phases. And of course, I want to thank each and every one of my direct staff and my indirect staff who have worked so hard with me to build what we have now got. I am very proud of the strong leaders we have and I&#39;m fully confident that they can execute on the compelling roadmap ahead.
On a final note, I have asked a lot of you in the last two years. You&#39;ve always delivered. You&#39;ve made me successful both personally and professionally, for which I thank you all from the bottom of my heart. I have these final requests from you as I leave:
11-07-17, 07:15 PM #7500
Anandtech: NVIDIA Launches Star Wars Themed Titan Xp Collector’s Edition Graphics Car
Just like the Titan Xp graphics adapters introduced this April, the new Star Wars-themed Titan Xp boards use the fully-fledged GP102 GPU running at up to 1582 MHz with all 3840 stream processors, 240 texture units and 96 ROPs enabled. The video card carries 12 GB of 11.4 Gbps GDDR5X DRAM that uses a 384-bit bus and features a total of 547.2 GB/s of memory bandwidth. To make a long story short, the collector&rsquo;s Titan Xp cards will demonstrate exactly the same performance in games as their regular counterparts. So, what&rsquo;s new? Cooler shrouds inspired by designs of lightsabers and their lighting. To modder&#39;s rejoice, NVIDIA&#39;s flagship prosumer graphics cards will gain lighting for the first time