Month: October 2019

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  This is the 2020 Jeep Gladiator Rubicon. [credit: Jeep ]

The new 2020 Jeep Gladiator is Jeep's first pickup truck in 27 years. Rather than compete head-on in concept with other mid-sized pickups in the market like Chevy's Colorado and Ford's new Ranger, Jeep has based it loosely on the legendary Wrangler in order to keep nearly all of that vehicle's off-roading capability in the transformation to pickup life. The Gladiator tackles off-road duties like, well, a Jeep, but it can also haul greater loads than other mid-sized trucks.

Jeep officials stress the notion that the Gladiator is 100-percent truck and also 100-percent Jeep, which means solid axles, boxiness, mud-wrestling through slimy trails and being ready for anything. It's rated to tow more than nearly everything in its class, but it doesn't really love that role. So, we've driven it, spat dirt and rocks off its tires, and scraped its dangly bits to take you deep into the Gladiator arena.

Rolling in the deep and muddy

This Gladiator's arena happens to be filthy; that's where Jeeps shine. On the road, though, the Gladiator acquits itself well. A 19.6-inch (500mm) longer wheelbase than Wrangler reduces rocking and porpoising over bumps and heaves in the road. Steering itself is rather vague and slow to react, but one must adjust expectations of a vehicle with this kind of off-roading focus. No vehicle with this kind of ability in the rocky stuff also ticks the sports-car-steering box.

Enlarge / Man sips a beer. (credit: Getty | Bloomberg)

To reduce the risk of having a baby with a congenital heart defect, men should avoid drinking alcohol for at least six months prior to fertilization. At least, that’s the claim that researchers made in a press release last week. It's the same claim that multiple news outlets dutifully parroted in startling headlines and stories about the researchers’ study.

The problem is that the researchers’ study does not support that claim. In fact, the question of whether six dry months before fertilization could reduce the risk of congenital heart defects wasn’t addressed in the study. The researchers didn’t even have the data to know if any fathers abstained from alcohol for that long prior to helping form a babby.

It seems that the now-widespread recommendation was merely the researchers’ personal opinions, which were oddly included in the press release and don’t appear to be based on any evidence from their study or otherwise.

Enlarge (credit: Valentina Palladino)

If the changes brought to the Dell XPS 13 earlier this year intrigued you, you may be even more excited for the XPS 13 2-in-1. Dell updated its flagship convertible even more than it updated its laptop. The company changed up the 2-in-1's screen, hinge, keyboard, and internals—including new Ice Lake processors.

A lot of laptop diehards are out there, but the improved XPS 13 2-in-1 may convince some of them to embrace a more flexible life. However, the XPS 13 2-in-1 has to compete with devices like HP's Spectre x360 13 and Lenovo's ThinkPad X1 Yoga. And when pitted against the others, Dell's machine may not satisfy every user's needs.

Look and feel

Dell XPS 13 7390 2-in-1

$999 from Dell

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Since the XPS 13 is our current favorite Windows Ultrabook, I was not surprised to find that the 2-in-1 version has the same stellar build quality. Its CNC aluminum chassis weighs 2.9 pounds, and our review unit's white fiber glass interior complemented its silver edges nicely. There's little to no flex to this laptop, so while it's not a MIL-SPEC certified machine, it should be able to hold its own in your bag surrounded by all your other essentials.