Science and Technology Secretary Peter Kyle says police should `embrace change` as talks over funding continue. Read...

I’ve always loved the idea of VR gaming. It’s a fascinating technology, and there are some experiences that just can’t be had without a VR headset. But VR gaming as an industry is struggling in 2025. Gamers and game developers are largely reliant on Meta’s Quest platform, and Meta is neglecting VR gaming while in pursuit of the metaverse. The only plausible challenger? Valve, who breathed life into the handheld PC gaming space with the Steam Deck. Valve is the only company with enough influence and resources to do the same thing—and if Valve’s long-rumored Deckard headset lives up to its potential, us VR gamers might finally get what we’ve been hoping for so long. The rise (and slide) of VR gaming The Oculus Rift launched over a decade ago in 2012 as the first big consumer VR headset. Oculus was then acquired by Facebook in 2014. Facebook was willing to pour money into VR headsets at the time, which led to the Oculus Quest line of headsets becoming the most popular line of gaming VR headsets—and that still holds today. Meta You can play games right on the headset, or you can plug it into your PC and use it in conjunction with your PC’s graphics card, or even stream VR games wirelessly from your PC to the headset. Meta’s Quest headsets beat the competition, no contest. Microsoft’s line of Windows Mixed Reality headsets are a historical footnote and the HoloLens is dead. Meanwhile, I still roll my eyes at the Apple Vision Pro, which costs $3,499 and can’t even play Beat Saber? No thanks! I’ll stick with the Meta Quest 3S that starts at $299. Keep your overpriced hunk of junk, Apple. Yet while Meta’s headsets are the undisputed leader in market share, Meta is faltering as the de facto steward of VR gaming. The future of VR headsets looks shaky—and it doesn’t help that the hype has shifted from the metaverse to AI. Yep, now it’s not about having a 3D Mark Zuckerberg avatar floating in a void; instead, the future will involve an AI-generated Mark Zuckerberg floating in that same void. Meta is squandering the VR gaming space From what I can tell, Zuckerberg truly was personally excited about virtual reality and “the metaverse” as it was later dubbed. That’s one reason why Facebook (and now Meta) willingly sunk so much money into it. He honestly thought it would be “the next big thing.” But the metaverse hasn’t quite taken off like he hoped, with his thunder stolen by the likes of AI. Is it any wonder why Meta making cuts to its Reality Labs division? Part of the issue is that Meta has mainly pursued “metaverse-style” experiences like Horizon Worlds rather than delivering a robust platform that game developers trust enough to invest in. Many VR game developers are facing declining sales on Meta’s store and struggling to sell enough games to survive. In fact, game developers as a whole are losing faith in VR as a gaming market. 2K Games As Owlchemy Labs CEO Andrew Eiche told UploadVR: “I think [Meta] made a video game console and they want a general computing device.” Other developers, who wished to remain anonymous, made statements like “Meta is not interested in being a gaming platform anymore. They just want to be a metaverse, and they just happen to have a legacy store.” and “It feels a bit like Meta has seen the [Meta Store] data and is keeping it as a legacy option rather than the future of the platform.” All of this points to how Meta is mishandling the Meta Store, where it increasingly prioritizes its “Horizon Worlds” experiences—many of which feel like clones of actual existing games—on its search results pages, pushing down other games and software created by other developers. The future of Meta looks free-to-play and not necessarily about games. With increased competition in VR headsets, from the Apple Vision Pro to Google’s Android XR project and Samsung’s Project Moohan, Meta will probably lean even further away from games. Nobody seems to think there’s any money in VR gaming… and it’s playing out like a self-fulfilling prophecy. VR gaming is dying because it’s being neglected. The VR version of a Steam Deck? The Valve Index VR headset came out in 2019 with a price tag of $999, and it had to be tethered to a PC. It was really good for the time, and with it Valve proved that they had what it takes to deliver high-quality VR gaming hardware. Later, with Half-Life: Alyx, Valve proved that they could deliver high-quality VR games, too. (The Lab is another fun Valve VR experience that was impressive back in 2016 when it launched.) Valve But Valve hasn’t made any moves in VR since then. Instead, we got the Steam Deck, which transformed the handheld gaming space. The Steam Deck isn’t just awesome hardware—it runs the Linux-based SteamOS operating system with excellent compatibility with Windows games. That’s a massive accomplishment that isn’t talked about enough. The Steam Deck was also impressive because Valve delivered something people actually wanted. Microsoft never really cared about the handheld gaming experience on Windows PCs until Valve started eating into its market share with the Steam Deck. Valve lit a fire under Microsoft’s seat, and the latter now appears to be getting a little more serious (even if Windows-based handhelds are still pretty lackluster). That’s the same kind of innovative fire that we need in the VR gaming space. With Meta dropping the ball, could Valve take it and run? How Valve could save VR gaming with the rumored Deckard headset Valve’s Project Deckard has been the stuff of online rumors for a long time, but those rumors have ramped up recently. Earlier this year, a leaker claimed that Project Deckard may be on the way by end of 2025. I don’t want to get lost in too much speculation, but here’s the picture that’s emerging: a high-end VR headset made for gaming, one that can be completely standalone just like a Meta Quest headset so you can play without plugging into a PC. It’s extremely compelling. And the reason it’s compelling? Not only did Valve prove themselves with the Index, and not only did Valve make enormous waves with the Steam Deck, but Valve cares about gaming in a way that Facebook—the company that once flooded social feeds with FarmVille—doesn’t. These are the patent drawings for Valve’s Project Deckard, filed in December 2021 and published with patent number US-20220187609-A1.Joel Lee / Foundry Valve also has Steam, which is a huge asset. In a world where VR game developers say they’re facing sliding game sales on the Meta Store, and in a world where so many interesting VR games just aren’t getting made because the future looks grim, Valve could revitalize it all if they made a concerted push for VR games on Steam—complete with a Steam Deck-style “you don’t need any other hardware, just buy this one device” experience. You know, the thing that made Quest headsets so good. Hardware aside, this could unleash a new wave of interesting VR games and revive the industry, or at least keep it going as a sustainable platform for geeks like myself who find it pretty cool. Just like handheld gaming PCs before the Steam Deck, gaming VR headsets are being largely ignored by companies. Valve has a massive opportunity here. We don’t really know, though. Valve is almost certainly experimenting with a variety of products in house, and the company hasn’t actually announced anything official about Project Deckard. But I hope they do! The VR gaming industry needs something like this, and Valve is the most credible company that could deliver results. I like VR gaming, not the metaverse Many people still aren’t interested in virtual reality. I get it. I don’t want to wear a VR headset for extended periods of time, and I don’t want to live in the metaverse. I’ll happily play AAA games like Doom: The Dark Ages on my gaming PC, and I certainly don’t want to work while wearing a VR headset, even though Windows 11 now supports that. But I do think VR gaming is cool. There’s nothing quite like Beat Saber. It takes me back to the Dance Dance Revolution craze from my teenage years! There’s something special about VR as a gaming technology even if the technology isn’t quite there yet. So I hope Valve picks up the ball and runs with it—someone definitely needs to. Read...

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Every smart home deserves a smart pool cleaner, and with Dreame’s Z1 Pro you can strike off your list the most tiresome job of all. Summer should be a time for having fun and chilling out, but pool cleaning is the persistent headache that never goes away. Skip a week in the maintenance schedule, and you’ll pay for it later. Since proper pool maintenance is no five-minute task, enlisting some help is a sensible move. Dreame’s Z1 Pro tackles this job for you, offering hands-free pool maintenance and freeing you from long hours spent picking up fallen leaves, scrubbing grime from the pool walls and floor, and other dirty jobs no-one has time for. Who wants to do that when they could be lounging in the sun, drinking iced something or other, and reading a book? What to expect from Dreame Z1 Pro Powerful suction With 8,000GPH suction power the Z1 Pro is able to remove dirt and debris from the bottom of the pool, pick up anything that’s fallen into the water and is now floating on the surface, and even scrub clean the walls to leave a dazzling finish. Once complete, it self-parks at the edge of the water, ready for you to collect at your leisure. Cordless design This pool cleaner has a cordless design, so there are no wires to tangle, trip you up or send you hunting for extension cables. A single charge powers the Dreame Z1 Pro for up to 180 minutes, during which time it can clean over 2,160 square feet. How many hours would it take you to clean a pool that size? Dreame’s Z1 Pro supports pools of all shapes and sizes. Its AI-powered PoolSense technology divides the pool into areas, decides which type of cleaning job each area requires, and simply gets to it. It will perform a flawless cleaning job in the least possible amount of time. Remote operation While most robot pool cleaners must be programmed before they go into the water, this one comes with a remote controller. This quirky remote uses LiFi technology, letting you connect you to the underwater robot to assign tasks, steer the cleaner, or end a job because the guests are here and the pool party is about to start. This remote supports both freshwater and saltwater pools. Remote control is also possible using the Dreamehome mobile app. This straightforward app gives you all the info you need, from the map the robot made of your pool to the multiple cleaning modes available, to job logs that include the area cleaned, the time taken to complete, pool profile and route taken. Reclaim your summer now Dreame’s Z1 Pro has a full price of $1,499, but you can currently find it discounted to $1,099 at Dreame–and now take a further 15% off with the exclusive discount code PROMO15. The money off is always welcome, but even at full price you’ll welcome the savings on your time and effort. Take a further 15% off Dreame Z1 Pro Use Promo Code PROMO15 Read...

ChatGPT is rapidly changing the world. The process is already happening, and it’s only going to accelerate as the technology improves, as more people gain access to it, and as more learn how to use it. What’s shocking is just how many tasks ChatGPT is already capable of managing for you. While the naysayers may still look down their noses at the potential of AI assistants, I’ve been using it to handle all kinds of menial tasks for me. Here are my favorite examples. Write your emails for you Dave Parrack / Foundry We’ve all been faced with the tricky task of writing an email—whether personal or professional—but not knowing quite how to word it. ChatGPT can do the heavy lifting for you, penning the (hopefully) perfect email based on whatever information you feed it. Let’s assume the email you need to write is of a professional nature, and wording it poorly could negatively affect your career. By directing ChatGPT to write the email with a particular structure, content, and tone of voice, you can give yourself a huge head start. A winning tip for this is to never accept ChatGPT’s first attempt. Always read through it and look for areas of improvement, then request tweaks to ensure you get the best possible email. You can (and should) also rewrite the email in your own voice. Learn more about how ChatGPT coached my colleague to write better emails. Generate itineraries and schedules Dave Parrack / Foundry If you’re going on a trip but you’re the type of person who hates planning trips, then you should utilize ChatGPT’s ability to generate trip itineraries. The results can be customized to the nth degree depending on how much detail and instruction you’re willing to provide. As someone who likes to get away at least once a year but also wants to make the most of every trip, leaning on ChatGPT for an itinerary is essential for me. I’ll provide the location and the kinds of things I want to see and do, then let it handle the rest. Instead of spending days researching everything myself, ChatGPT does 80 percent of it for me. As with all of these tasks, you don’t need to accept ChatGPT’s first effort. Use different prompts to force the AI chatbot to shape the itinerary closer to what you want. You’d be surprised at how many cool ideas you’ll encounter this way—simply nix the ones you don’t like. Break down difficult concepts Dave Parrack / Foundry One of the best tasks to assign to ChatGPT is the explanation of difficult concepts. Ask ChatGPT to explain any concept you can think of and it will deliver more often than not. You can tailor the level of explanation you need, and even have it include visual elements. Let’s say, for example, that a higher-up at work regularly lectures everyone about the importance of networking. But maybe they never go into detail about what they mean, just constantly pushing the why without explaining the what. Well, just ask ChatGPT to explain networking! Okay, most of us know what “networking” is and the concept isn’t very hard to grasp. But you can do this with anything. Ask ChatGPT to explain augmented reality, multi-threaded processing, blockchain, large language models, what have you. It will provide you with a clear and simple breakdown, maybe even with analogies and images. Analyze and make tough decisions Dave Parrack / Foundry We all face tough decisions every so often. The next time you find yourself wrestling with a particularly tough one—and you just can’t decide one way or the other—try asking ChatGPT for guidance and advice. It may sound strange to trust any kind of decision to artificial intelligence, let alone an important one that has you stumped, but doing so actually makes a lot of sense. While human judgment can be clouded by emotions, AI can set that aside and prioritize logic. It should go without saying: you don’t have to accept ChatGPT’s answers. Use the AI to weigh the pros and cons, to help you understand what’s most important to you, and to suggest a direction. Who knows? If you find yourself not liking the answer given, that in itself might clarify what you actually want—and the right answer for you. This is the kind of stuff ChatGPT can do to improve your life. Plan complex projects and strategies Dave Parrack / Foundry Most jobs come with some level of project planning and management. Even I, as a freelance writer, need to plan tasks to get projects completed on time. And that’s where ChatGPT can prove invaluable, breaking projects up into smaller, more manageable parts. ChatGPT needs to know the nature of the project, the end goal, any constraints you may have, and what you have done so far. With that information, it can then break the project up with a step-by-step plan, and break it down further into phases (if required). If ChatGPT doesn’t initially split your project up in a way that suits you, try again. Change up the prompts and make the AI chatbot tune in to exactly what you’re looking for. It takes a bit of back and forth, but it can shorten your planning time from hours to mere minutes. Compile research notes Dave Parrack / Foundry If you need to research a given topic of interest, ChatGPT can save you the hassle of compiling that research. For example, ahead of a trip to Croatia, I wanted to know more about the Croatian War of Independence, so I asked ChatGPT to provide me with a brief summary of the conflict with bullet points to help me understand how it happened. After absorbing all that information, I asked ChatGPT to add a timeline of the major events, further helping me to understand how the conflict played out. ChatGPT then offered to provide me with battle maps and/or summaries, plus profiles of the main players. You can go even deeper with ChatGPT’s Deep Research feature, which is now available to free users, up to 5 Deep Research tasks per month. With Deep Research, ChatGPT conducts multi-step research to generate comprehensive reports (with citations!) based on large amounts of information across the internet. A Deep Research task can take up to 30 minutes to complete, but it’ll save you hours or even days. Summarize articles, meetings, and more Dave Parrack / Foundry There are only so many hours in the day, yet so many new articles published on the web day in and day out. When you come across extra-long reads, it can be helpful to run them through ChatGPT for a quick summary. Then, if the summary is lacking in any way, you can go back and plow through the article proper. As an example, I ran one of my own PCWorld articles (where I compared Bluesky and Threads as alternatives to X) through ChatGPT, which provided a brief summary of my points and broke down the best X alternative based on my reasons given. Interestingly, it also pulled elements from other articles. (Hmph.) If you don’t want that, you can tell ChatGPT to limit its summary to the contents of the link. This is a great trick to use for other long-form, text-heavy content that you just don’t have the time to crunch through. Think transcripts for interviews, lectures, videos, and Zoom meetings. The only caveat is to never share private details with ChatGPT, like company-specific data that’s protected by NDAs and the like. Create Q&A flashcards for learning Dave Parrack / Foundry Flashcards can be extremely useful for drilling a lot of information into your brain, such as when studying for an exam, onboarding in a new role, prepping for an interview, etc. And with ChatGPT, you no longer have to painstakingly create those flashcards yourself. All you have to do is tell the AI the details of what you’re studying. You can specify the format (such as Q&A or multiple choice), as well as various other elements. You can also choose to keep things broad or target specific sub-topics or concepts you want to focus on. You can even upload your own notes for ChatGPT to reference. You can also use Google’s NotebookLM app in a similar way. Provide interview practice Dave Parrack / Foundry Whether you’re a first-time jobseeker or have plenty of experience under your belt, it’s always a good idea to practice for your interviews when making career moves. Years ago, you might’ve had to ask a friend or family member to act as your mock interviewer. These days, ChatGPT can do it for you—and do it more effectively. Inform ChatGPT of the job title, industry, and level of position you’re interviewing for, what kind of interview it’ll be (e.g., screener, technical assessment, group/panel, one-on-one with CEO), and anything else you want it to take into consideration. ChatGPT will then conduct a mock interview with you, providing feedback along the way. When I tried this out myself, I was shocked by how capable ChatGPT can be at pretending to be a human in this context. And the feedback it provides for each answer you give is invaluable for knocking off your rough edges and improving your chances of success when you’re interviewed by a real hiring manager. Further reading: Non-gimmicky AI apps I actually use every day Read...

Data is omnipresent. It’s stored on different devices — traditionally on a desktop PC, but now perhaps even more importantly on a mobile device such as a smartphone or tablet. Even though data and system backups are often automated via the cloud, especially on mobile devices, you often feel more comfortable if you still have a tangible medium in your hand on which to store your digital treasures. What’s more, sometimes you just want to move data from A to B quickly and easily. Or simply be available offline. Or move it directly to a storage medium to free up internal hard drive space. Further reading: The best external drives There is portable storage for all purposes. But there is no one solution for all applications. This guide summarizes the most important advantages and disadvantages of external SSDs, HDDs, and USB sticks to make it easier for you to decide on the best portable drive. External SATA SSD: All-round storage for everyday use Internal SSDs with a SATA connection are now outdated and less common. However, they remain justifiably popular as external drives. The reason: With a bandwidth of 6 Gbit/s, SATA delivers a theoretical transfer speed of up to 560 MB/s read and 530 MB/s write. These values exceed the transfer rates of the widely used external interface USB 3.2 Gen1 (formerly USB 3.0), which is up to 500 MB/s, at least in theory. This makes external drives in 2.5-inch format still a competitive storage solution for everyday PC use. A SATA SSD that is no longer required can easily be reused as an external drive in an external housing. Installation is uncomplicated. In addition to USB-A, Type-C is also gaining ground as a PC connection. IDG Advantages: In principle, the SATA drives in the external housings also have the advantages of all flash storage devices. They can read and write very quickly, especially with many small files. And this pays off in everyday use. Low latency and short access times to small blocks of data randomly distributed on the drive are what count here. That’s why extensive programs can be started quickly from an external 2.5-inch hard drive or large photo collections can be opened without delay. In addition to the speed, external SATA drives also benefit from the silent operation of the flash memory — as is generally the case with flash, only stationary parts are used. In contrast to HDDs, SSDs are insensitive to shocks. Depending on the housing design, external SSDs can even withstand drops from a height of several feet without damage. And there is another advantage of SATA SSDs that is worth mentioning: If you have removed the drive from the computer for a capacity upgrade, you can continue to use it as an external SSD without any problems. All you need is an external housing in which to install the used drive. Inexpensive models in 2.5-inch format are available from around $10 — for example from Delock, Ugreen or Verbatim. Further reading: Best external SSDs for gaming At this price, the enclosures usually come with a USB 3.0 interface. If the enclosure is to be equipped with a USB Type-C port, prices start at around $20 — which is also not too high a hurdle. Disadvantages: The SATA connection is on the decline for SSDs. At the same time, the interface is no longer being developed further. Higher transfer speeds are therefore not to be expected with SATA. As a result, the choice of models is decreasing. An external SSD in 2.5-inch size, such as the Lexar SL200 model, costs around $90 with a capacity of 512GB and is therefore a manageable investment. At higher capacities you will not usually find details of the flash type used. For this capacity, assume QLC (Quadruple Level Cell) flash modules, which store four bits per cell. They are intended for high capacities when maximum write speed is not important. An example of an external 8TB SSD can be found in the Samsung Portable SSD T5 Evo. At $525, it’s not exactly a bargain. The price is put into perspective, because at around 7 cents per GB, it achieves a very fair result. At 8TB, the Samsung Portable SSD T5 offers the maximum capacity of mobile SSDs with internal SATA technology. It comes into question when a lot of storage space is the top priority.IDG Most mobile 2.5-inch SSDs have a capacity of 1 or 2TB. TLC (Triple Level Cell) flash memory can also be used here. It stores three bits per cell. These mobile storage devices are priced at around $70 for 1TB and $130 for 2TB. This results in prices per GB of between 6.5 and 7 cents. External NVMe SSD: Lots of mobility and high speed Ultra-mobile SSDs now make up the majority of external SSDs. The housings contain an NVMe drive that was originally intended for the M.2 slot. These SSDs have a card shape — mostly 22 millimeters wide and 80 millimeters long. This is why you will also find them labelled 2280 if you are looking for an internal drive. Further reading: Is USB or Thunderbolt better for portable SSDs? The key differences, explained Advantages: Thanks to their compactness, many external NVMe SSDs are only slightly larger than a USB stick. This means they are very light and can fit into any bag. This is ideal if you need an external SSD for travelling. External NVMe SSDs use USB-C as a connector throughout. It is twist-proof and therefore cannot be plugged into the port the wrong way round. The majority of models use USB 3.2 Gen2 as the standard with a transfer speed of 10Gbit per second. Sequentially, data rates of around 1,000MB/s can be achieved for both reading and writing. This makes them approximately twice as fast as external SATA SSDs. pcworld`s favorite 10GBps external SSD Crucial X9 Pro Read our review Best Prices Today: $89.63 at Amazon The increase in speed is noticeable with every copying process. Regardless of whether you are writing and reading many small or very large files, the work is done quickly. This is why external NVMe SSDs are recommended both for quick file copies in between and for extensive weekly backups. As a rule, you can use external NVMe SSDs across all devices. This is because most of them are formatted in the exFAT file system. It can be used with Windows and Mac OS as well as with the Android and iOS mobile phone operating systems. Some external NVMe SSDs are even explicitly designed for use with mobile devices. They are designed to relieve the internal memory or make extensive media content available at any time. For example, you can take high-resolution photos and videos with your mobile phone camera and store them directly on the external data storage device. In this way, they can also be easily transferred to PCs and laptops. One example is the Lexar ES4 Portable SSD model, where the external SSD can be attached to the back of the smartphone using a magnet. This means it doesn’t get in the way during use. As with the external SSDs with SATA technology, the maximum possible capacity is 8TB. You no longer have to pay a high surcharge for the smaller and faster mobile drive. An 8TB model such as the Sandisk Extreme Portable SSD costs around $600. As with the 2.5-inch variants, the price per GB is 7 cents. External NVMe SSDs are available with different capacities. They usually start at 500GB, for which an average of $80 is currently due. This results in a comparatively high 16 cents per GB. Most models are available with 1 and 2TB capacity. In the cheapest case, you pay around $70 (1TB) or $110 (2TB) or between 7 and 6 cents. The latter applies to the 2TB version, which is the best value for money. NVMe SSDs with cutting-edge USB interfaces such as the Adata SE920 with USB4 must ensure good heat dissipation if data transfers are not to be throttled due to the heat. This comes at the expense of compactness.IDG You usually have to pay a little more for extras such as rubber coating, drop protection, or protection against moisture. Additional programs such as those for assigning a password or for SSD maintenance, on the other hand, are usually included free of charge. They are either included directly on the drive or can be downloaded from the manufacturer’s website. Disadvantages: NVMe SSDs are often so small that they can easily get lost. Small cut-outs on the housings are designed to prevent this, as they can be attached to something else — such as a bag. As only Type-C is provided as a connection, you need an adapter or adapter cable to connect to USB-A interfaces. The accessories are usually, but not always, included in the box. The speed advantage is lost when connected to older USB interfaces. Data transfer drops to the level of the connected type A interface. With USB 3.0 (USB 3.2 Gen1) to around 500MB/s, with USB 2.0 even to a maximum of only 50MB/s. Some external NVMe SSDs, such as the Sandisk Extreme Portable SSD, are available in many different capacities. Additional data protection is provided by rubber coating and insulation against moisture. IDG Speaking of USB: External NVMe SSDs are available in many USB standards. These now include USB 3.2 Gen2x2 with 20Gbit/s, USB4 with 40Gbit/s, USB4.2 with 80Gbit/s, and Thunderbolt as TB 3 and TB 4 with 40Gbit/s and TB 5 with 80Gbit/s. The variety often leads to confusion, as you need to know about the standardizations to avoid making the wrong purchase. The faster the data transfer, the more heat is generated. This is why the fast NVMe SSDs can get very hot. In the worst case, this harbors the risk of data loss. Enclosures with ventilation slots and even built-in mini fans are designed to counteract this. However, they come at the expense of compactness and are reflected in higher prices. A cutting-edge USB4 model — for example from the Adata SE920 series — costs a good 10 cents per GB for the 1TB version. PCWorld`s favorite usb4 external ssd Adata SE920 USB4 SSD Read our review Best Prices Today: $159.99 at Amazon USB stick: Perfect for short-term storage activities The most mobile form of external storage is the USB stick. It can even be the size of a thumbnail and still offer space for lots of data. USB sticks differ in terms of capacity and interfaces. Basically, it must be clear: The flash components used in USB sticks are not of the highest quality. Advantages: USB sticks are at the top in terms of mobility. They are designed from the outset to transport data stored on them from one computer to another. The emphasis is on transport, not on long-term storage of data. There are model variants of USB sticks that have two different USB interfaces — in addition to USB-A, there is also the twist-proof type C connector. With dual sticks, you save on extra adapter solutions.IDG With sticks, you can find models that are equipped with both USB A and C interfaces. This saves you adapter solutions if you often need to exchange data between older and newer computers. You can find these USB sticks under terms such as “dual drive” or “dual stick,” such as the Verbatim Dual Quick Stick models, which are available in capacities from 128GB to 1TB. Disadvantages: The cheaper the USB flash drives on offer, the more skepticism is required. Even with a stick with a type C connection, the data transfer speed can drop to an outdated USB 2.0 level. In many cases, there is no precise information on the packaging. If you need a fast stick, look out for information such as USB 3.2 Gen2 or data transfer speeds of up to 1,000MB/s. Cheap sticks from brand manufacturers cost around 7 cents per GB. If an offer is significantly lower, caution is advised. It may be a counterfeit. In this case, the specified capacity is usually incorrect. In addition, the quality of the flash modules or the controller chip may be poor. It’s likely the modules will soon fail and the stick will quickly become unusable. The size of a USB stick can have an impact on data security. Very small USB sticks usually have poorer heat dissipation than larger versions. In addition, mini housings are often less robust. They are less resistant to frequent plugging and unplugging than larger sticks. External HDDs: Still used for backups and archiving Even though the competition from SSDs is putting pressure on HDDs, magnetic hard drives remain useful as mass storage devices in external enclosures and NAS systems. Both 2.5 and 3.5 inch HDD designs can be installed inside. SATA III is always used as the internal connection. External HDDs in 3.5-inch format are capacity wonders with 24TB to even 26TB. At the same time, the price per GB is unbeatably favorable. However, these storage devices are not designed to be taken away, but for stationary use.IDG Advantages: External HDDs are capacity monsters. Currently, the maximum storage capacity of mobile 3.5-inch HDDs is 28TB. Such storage monsters are primarily intended for professional use — such as Seagate Expansion Desktop drives. At a price of less than $400, you can see what incredible value a high-capacity external HDD be can be. In most cases, this will be sufficient for home use. Prices per GB of around 2 cents are not unusual here — for example, the Seagate Expansion 8TB desktop hard drive for $150. An external drive with a 2.5-inch magnetic hard drive usually has a maximum capacity of 5TB. You can get a 4TB drive for less than $110 — for example from Toshiba’s Canvio Basic series. This results in extremely favorable prices of around 3 cents per GB. Further reading: How to turn any SSD into a DIY external drive Both external HDD variants are perfect if you want to create regular backups where reliability is more important than the fastest mode of operation. pcworld`s favorite external hdd for backup Seagate Expansion Desktop Read our review Best Prices Today: $119.99 at Seagate | $149.99 at Amazon NAS HDDs are a special form here: They are designed for continuous operation in network storage. Thanks to customized firmware, they tolerate many simultaneous accesses from several client PCs better than desktop hard drives. They also react less sensitively to vibrations — this is important because they are often used in a raid network with several hard drives. NAS are special forms of external storage. They make data available to several clients in the network. As they need to be constantly accessible, they require HDDs that are designed for continuous operation. IDG Disadvantages: Due to their design with disks and mechanical components such as read/write heads, HDDs generally tolerate shocks and drops much worse than SSDs. As external drives, they are also relatively heavy. This is why only the 2.5-inch variants are actually suitable for carrying around. An external HDD in 3.5-inch format also requires an external power supply unit to ensure that the power supply works — this alone speaks against mobile use. Not every NAS hard drive can be used in network storage. Before you decide on a specific model, you need to check the compatibility lists of the respective NAS device manufacturer. To do this, search the website for your exact NAS product designation and also check the desired capacity. Even in this respect, not all NAS hard drives pass the compatibility tests. Read...

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The Privacy Commissioner says facial recognition technology in supermarkets has potential safety benefits, despite raising significant privacy concerns. Read...

`When [Epi islanders] saw an eruption rising from the ocean off their coast... that was a shock to the people, and so when we arrived, they immediately wanted to know more about it.` Read...

From spring to fall, every weekend — and even more frequently if it rains — a couple of hours go into maintaining the lawn. But what if it didn’t? What if you had all those hours back to yourself without worrying that your yard would turn into a jungle? This is the problem Segway’s Navimow i series robot lawnmowers aim to solve. Available at a discounted price of $849* (regular price $999), the Navimow i105N can mow up to 1/8 of an acre without needing your input for anything. For larger lawns there is also the currently discounted $1,099* (usual price $1,299) Navimow i110N, which can mow up to 1/4 of an acre on a single charge. These robotic mowers could be the best investment you can make into a summer free of yard chores—and potentially also the best Father’s Day gifts. Either Segway Navimow i Series model will be the ultimate upgrade for your smart home. Not only will you have more time to spend with your family, but these devices fit right in with the other smart home gadgets you alreay have. If a robot vacuum cleaner is already handling floor care inside your home, why not let a Navimow handle your yard? View deal on Segway Navimow i Series 24/7 Automation over Manual Mowing The Segway Navimow i Series uses a proprietary navigation technology called EFLS 2.0, which combines Real-Time Kinematics (RTK) with vision for accurate navigation. This makes it super-easy to set up and uses AI to help map out the yard, and ensures the machine operates accurately within the boundaries of your yard without going beyond your lawn. The built-in camera and AI-trained algorithm also helps these robot lawnmowers avoid obstacles along the way, with some 150 objects already logged, from pets and furniture to your kids’ forgotten footballs. An animal-friendly mode lets the Navimow detect cats, dogs, even hedgehogs, within a five-meter range, recalculating the mowing path to ensure they are given a wide berth. Segway And don’t worry, this isn’t a robot lawn mower that can only handle picture-perfect yards: its large wheels are ideal for navigating all sorts of terrains, including rocky areas, and can even climb lawn slopes with up to a 30% incline. A Cool Robot Turns Yard Work into a Fun Experience The Segway Navimow comes with a smartphone app that you have to install on your phone. Once paired, you can run mowing jobs from the comfort of your couch, and get real-time updates on how the process is going. Even better, the robot works with Alexa and Google Assistant so you can issue voice commands too. One really cute thing you can do with the app is to Doodle. Yep, you read that right. You can select an area, choose what message you want to write, for instance, and it will get it done. Maybe you want to write “Happy Father’s Day!” or draw a bunny—it’s all up to you. These Segway robots return to their base if it starts to rain or snow, or in very high temperatures, but IP66 protection means you needn’t be overly concerned by the elements. In case it gets stolen, it comes with built-in GPS tracking and an anti-theft alarm. You can even set up a PIN so noone but you can use it. A robot lawnmower could save you dozens of hours and a ton of cash you might otherwise spend on landscaping services. So, pick the right Segway Navimow i-series robot lawn mower for your home and relax. Get Dad the perfect gift with up to 15% of Segway Navimow i Series View Deal *Discounted price offer available June 2-8 2025. Read...