Month: December 2021

Lilbits: Game Boy Color could have been an email device, more Lenovo laptop leaks

Over the past week or so Lenovo’s Chinese division has teased a few upcoming products including a Lenovo Legion Y700 tablet designed for gaming and a Lenovo Legion Y7000P gaming laptop. But thanks to a series of leaks, we also have a look at some of the company’s upcoming global products including the latest ThinkBook […]

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Over the past week or so Lenovo’s Chinese division has teased a few upcoming products including a Lenovo Legion Y700 tablet designed for gaming and a Lenovo Legion Y7000P gaming laptop. But thanks to a series of leaks, we also have a look at some of the company’s upcoming global products including the latest ThinkBook Plus dual-screen laptop and now a number of ThinkPad, ThinkBook, and Yoga laptops as well.

ThinkPad X1 Nano G2 (via MSPowerUser)

But that’s all forward-looking stuff. Turning to the past, journalist Liam Robertson has a fascinating look at a gadget that was under development 20 years ago, but which never saw the day: a Page Boy accessory that would have turned the Game Boy Color handheld game console into a portable wireless communication device at a time when cellphones were still uncommon and smartphones weren’t a thing at all yet.

Here’s a roundup of recent tech news from around the web.

20 Years Ago, Nintendo Had Plans To Bring Email, Internet Searching, And Live Streams To The Game Boy Color [Kotaku]

A canceled PageBoy accessory for the Game Boy Color could have turned the handheld game console into portable email, web search, and photo/video machine years before smartphones took off (using the same tech some pagers used at the time). Liam Robertson dug up the details. 

Lenovo Legion Y7000P 2022 gaming laptop teaser [Sparrow News]

Lenovo teases Y9000P 2022 laptop with a slim body, at least 2 USB-C ports, and 180-degree hinge on Chinese social media. Lenovo says the laptop is stronger, thinner, and lighter than previous models and has a QHD display with 165 Hz refresh rate.

Lenovo’s CES 2022 laptop line-up looks good in latest leak [MSPowerUser]

More Lenovo laptops leaked ahead of CES. Specs aren’t available yet, but now we have a good idea what the latest ThinkBook 13x, ThinkBook 14, ThinkBook 16, ThinkPad X1 Carbon, Nano, and Yoga look like (plus a few more).

NanoPi R2C Plus dual GbE router board adds 8GB eMMC flash [CNX Software]

NanoPi R2C Plus is a tiny single-board computer with a RK3328 processor, 1GB of DDR4 memory, 8GB of eMMC 5.1 flash storage, USB-A and USB-C ports, a microSD card reader and dual Gigabit Ethernet ports (for use as a small cheap router).

Avidemux 2.8.0 release notes [Avidemux]

Open source, cross-platform video editor Avidemux version 2.8.0 is now available with new features including support for converting HDR video to SDR, TrueHD audio track decoding, resizing output up to 8192 x 8192 and more.

Next-gen AYA NEO handheld gaming PC launch now scheduled for January 4, 2022 [@AYANEO__]

AYA has rescheduled its announcement fore the upcoming “AYA Neo Next” handheld gaming PC. Instead of Dec 28, 2021 we’ll get details about the next-gen handheld on January 4, 2022.

WSATools is now discoverable in the Microsoft Store [@Simizfo]

WSATools, an application that makes it easy to sideload Android apps on Windows 11 PCs (that have the Windows Subsystem for Android enabled) is now fully listed in the Microsoft Store and should appear when you search for it.


Keep up on the latest headlines by following Liliputing on Twitter and Facebook and follow @LinuxSmartphone on Twitter and Facebook for the latest news on open source mobile phones.

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ONEXPLAYER Mini 7 inch handheld gaming PC is smaller (but thicker) than the 8.4 inch ONEXPLAYER

The ONEXPLAYER line of handheld gaming computers is expanding. After launching the original model with an 8.4 inch display and an Intel Tiger Lake processor earlier this year, One Netbook followed up with an AMD Edition in November. Next up? The ONEXPLAYER Mini, which is a smaller model with an Intel processor and a 7 […]

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The ONEXPLAYER line of handheld gaming computers is expanding. After launching the original model with an 8.4 inch display and an Intel Tiger Lake processor earlier this year, One Netbook followed up with an AMD Edition in November.

Next up? The ONEXPLAYER Mini, which is a smaller model with an Intel processor and a 7 inch display. It went up for pre-order in Japan recently and should begin shipping globally soon. But now that some folks in Japan have been able to get their hands on the Mini, we have a better idea of just how much smaller it is than the original.

Top: ONEXPLAYER / Bottom: ONEXPLAYER Mini (PC Watch)

We already knew from the spec sheet that the ONEXPLAYER Mini was physically smaller and lighter than the 8.4 inch models, although a little thicker:

Device Dimensions Screen Size Weight
ONEXPLAYER Mini 7 inches 262 x 108 x 23mm 589 grams
ONEXPLAYER 8.4 inches 280 x 128 x 25mm 825 grams

But it can be hard to get a sense of what that actually looks like based on numbers alone.

Fortunately, recent reviews from PC Watch and Daily Gadget include some shots of the 7 inch ONEXPLAYER Mini next to the 8.4 inch model. Overall it really does look like it should be a little more comfortable to hold in your hands… if you’re willing to give up on a bigger, higher-resolution display that’s also apparently a little brighter.

Helpfully, Daily Gadget also threw a Nintendo Switch into the comparison, making it clear that even the new Mini model is wider than Nintendo’s handheld game console.

The ONEXPLAYER Mini features a 1920 x 1200 pixel touchscreen display, an Intel Core i7-1195G7 processor, 16GB of RAM, and 512GB to 2TB of PCIe 3.0 x3 NVMe solid state storage.

It also has two USB4 Type-C ports, a USB 3.0 Type-A port, 3.5mm audio jack, front-facing stereo speakers, a 10,455 mAh battery, and support for WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5.0.

 

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CDC draws criticism for shorter COVID quarantine, isolation as omicron bears down

Data backs shorter periods, but experts say testing is key.

Travelers wait in line to check-in at LaGuardia Airport in New York, on December 24, 2021. -On Christmas Eve, airlines, struggling with the Omicron variant of Covid-19, have canceled over 2,000 flights globally, 454 of which are domestic, into or out of the US.

Enlarge / Travelers wait in line to check-in at LaGuardia Airport in New York, on December 24, 2021. -On Christmas Eve, airlines, struggling with the Omicron variant of Covid-19, have canceled over 2,000 flights globally, 454 of which are domestic, into or out of the US. (credit: Getty | YUKI IWAMURA)

As the ultratransmissible omicron coronavirus variant bears down on the US, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Monday made a controversial decision to ease COVID-19 isolation and quarantine rules.

The country's omicron surge has sent graphs of case counts vertical, and is already causing severe strain on health systems, shuttering businesses, and wreaking havoc on holiday travel and festivities. The US is currently averaging over 243,000 new COVID-19 cases per day, near the country's all-time high of an average just over 250,000 per day set in early January 2021. Still, federal officials and public health experts say this is only the beginning of omicron's towering wave, which may not peak until next month.

The CDC's decision Monday is intended to ease the economic burden of the skyrocketing cases and follows an accumulation of data suggesting that infectiousness tends to wane two to three days after the onset of symptoms. However, some public health experts called the new rules "reckless" for not incorporating testing requirements.

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LG OLED Shelf concept stacks two 55-inch transparent displays

LG Display will show off four see-through OLED concept displays at CES 2022.

LG Display's OLED Shelf.

Enlarge / LG Display's OLED Shelf. (credit: LG Display)

LG Display wants to make OLED panels a more compelling to consumers and is showing off some concepts in advance of the Consumer Electronics Show in January.

The OLED Shelf concept uses two transparent, 55-inch OLED displays that LG Display initially commercialized in in 2019. They're 40 percent transparent, but according to The Verge, LG's concept includes an opaque sheet that can roll down "like a projector screen" to make the images look more saturated.

One display sits atop another, as discernible from the visible horizontal line diving the two, and the pair has a mantle-like shelf on top.

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Xiaomi launches the Xiaomi 12, 12 Pro, and 12X smartphones with 120 Hz displays, up to Snapdragon 8 Gen 1

The Xiaomi 12 Pro is a smartphone with a 6.73 inch, 3200 x 1440 pixel AMOLED display featuring a 120 Hz refresh rate, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor, three 50MP cameras, and support for up to 12GB of RAM and 512GB of storage. It’s very much a flagship phone, but a fairly affordable one […]

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The Xiaomi 12 Pro is a smartphone with a 6.73 inch, 3200 x 1440 pixel AMOLED display featuring a 120 Hz refresh rate, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor, three 50MP cameras, and support for up to 12GB of RAM and 512GB of storage. It’s very much a flagship phone, but a fairly affordable one (by recent standards) with prices ranging from around $740 to $910.

It’s also just one of three new Xiaomi 12 Series smartphones launching in China.

Xiaomi 12 Pro

The Xiaomi 12 Pro stands out thanks to its big, high-resolution display and camera system that includes three high-res rear cameras:

  • 50MP Sony IMX707 primary camera
  • 50MP ultrawide camera
  • 50MP 2X telephoto camera

The phone also has a 4,600 mAh battery, support for 120W fast wired charging, 50W fast wireless charging, and a display with support for up to 1500 nits of peak brightness.

At 205 grams, it’s a fairly hefty smartphone. But not only does it have a massive display, there are also quad speakers (two woofers and two tweeters).

Other features include support for WiFi 6, Bluetooth 5.2, NFC, 5G NR, and Dolby Atmos sound. The phone features LPDDR5 memory and UFS 3.1 storage and it has a USB Type-C port and a 32MP front-facing camera in a hole-punch cut-out.

Xiaomi 12 and Xiaomi 12X

Folks who are looking for something a little smaller and/or cheaper can opt for the Xiaomi 12 or Xiaomi 12X, which weigh 180 grams and 176 grams respectively.

Xiaomi 12X

Both of these phones have 6.28 inch, 2400 x 1080 pixel, 120 Hz displays with support for up to 1100 nits of peak brightness, 4,500 mAh batteries with support for 67W fast wired charging, stereo speakers with Dolby Atmos support, and the same wireless capabilities as the Pro model.

But these smaller, cheaper phones have camera systems that include 32MP front-facing cameras and three rear cameras:

  • 50MP Sony IMX766 primary
  • 13MP ultrawide
  • 5MP macro camera

The Xiaomi 12 has a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor, support for 50W fast wireless charging and prices that range from about $580 for an 8GB/128GB model to $690 for a 12GB/256GB version.

The Xiaomi 12X has a Snapdragon 870 processor, lacks support for wireless charging, and costs about $500 for an 8GB/128GB configuration or $600 for a 12GB/256GB model.

All three phones go up for pre-order in China on December 30, 2021.

via xda-developers, GSM Arena, and Mi Global (1)(2)(3)

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Riot Games to pay $100 million to settle gender discrimination lawsuit

Riot was accused of paying women less for similar work, fostering culture of harassment.

Riot Games to pay $100 million to settle gender discrimination lawsuit

Enlarge (credit: Chris Delmas | Getty Images)

Riot Games has settled a class-action lawsuit for $100 million. Filed in 2018 by two female employees and later certified as a class-action, the lawsuit accused the studio of discrimination, sexual harassment, and unequal pay.

Under the terms of the settlement, Riot Games will pay $80 million directly to women who have worked at the company from November 2014 through to the present, including full-time, part-time, and temporary employees. The remaining $20 million will go to attorneys' fees.

In addition to the $100 million payout, Riot Games will enact workplace policy reforms. These include the creation of an application pipeline for current or former contractors to apply for permanent positions and more transparency regarding salaries for job applicants.

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