Teenage Engineering's TX-6 Is An Amazing Tiny Mixer With Big Audio Chops And A Big Price Tag

Hey musicians and DJs, do you ever feel like your mixer is just a bit too bulky? Do you ever feel like you need to lay down that mix as soon as inspiration strikes, but you're not in the studio? Well, Teenage Engineering has an admittedly pricey but beautiful, petite and elegant solution for you. The new rechargeable battery-powered TX-6 from Teenage Engineering appears to be as elegant as it is functional. The device is a 6-channel stereo mixer with 12-channel mono option in a beautiful CNC-machined aluminum chassis that provides a bevy of features. Those features include an equalizer, filters,...

Microsoft Claims Hololens Is Doing Great Actually And Is Critical To Its Metaverse Plan

by Nathan Wasson - Mon, Feb 07, 2022

Last week, we wrote about a report that Microsoft recently ditched its plans for the device that would have launched as the HoloLens 3, according to three insiders. However, the claim of these insiders goes against Microsoft’s official messaging regarding HoloLens. Frank Shaw, Microsoft’s spokesperson, without saying anything about the HoloLens 3 specifically, said that the HoloLens is a “critical part of [the company's] plans for emerging categories like mixed reality and the metaverse." He further stated, "We remain committed to HoloLens and future HoloLens development." Microsoft...

OnePlus Buds Z2 Review: Solid ANC Earbuds For Under $100

by Myriam Joire - Thu, Dec 16, 2021

Since OnePlus introduced the original and excellent OnePlus Buds ($79) a year and a half ago, the company has launched two more pairs of TWS (true wireless) earbuds – the affordable ($49) OnePlus Buds Z, and the higher end ($149) OnePlus Buds Pro with ANC and wireless charging. Today we’re taking a listen to OnePlus’ fourth set of earbuds, the brand new OnePlus Buds Z2 ($99), which feature ANC but lack wireless charging. Basically, the OnePlus Buds Z2 are to the Buds Pro what the Buds Z were to the original OnePus Buds – lower specced, but also more affordable. So, what...

HiFive Unmatched: Exploring A RISC-V Computing Experience

by Colton Westrate - Wed, Dec 01, 2021

Experimenting with SiFive's HiFive Unmatched RISC-V development board over the last few weeks has felt a bit like stepping back in time. The experience left me feeling a bit nostalgic. Picture this. It's 1997. I'm a high school sophomore. I head over to my friend's house after class because a long-awaited CD with something called "Slackware Linux" on it has arrived. It's installed on a 486DX4 100 PC that lives in their poorly-lit, unfinished basement. The day's 30 minutes of free dial-up from the local ISP are used to download "tarballs" with "Kermit." Linux is strange and confusing, but I do like...

DJI Mavic 3 Review: Did The Best Drone Get Even Better?

by Keith May - Tue, Nov 09, 2021

DJI's worst-kept secret has arrived. After months of extensive leaks, the new DJI Mavic 3 has landed (or taken off depending on your perspective). DJI has advanced its done line-up significantly since introducing the first Mavic Pro back in 2016. The Mavic Pro line, including the upgraded Mavic 2 Pro, have been workhorses for those in the aerial photography and videography fields, while the Mavic Air line targeted consumers who craved a quality drone with good camera chops, but didn't quite want to jump into prosumer territory. We mention DJI's previous-gen products here hoping to avoid some confusion....

TCL MoveAudio S600 ANC Earbuds Review: Great Sound At $99

by Dave Altavilla - Thu, Sep 23, 2021

When it comes to wireless earbuds, you might say we're fairly particular and almost snooty about them. It's not easy to reproduce decent acoustics with such tiny drivers, never mind with quality active noise cancellation (ANC) that doesn't make it sound like you're listening to music in some kind of weird anechoic chamber. Regardless, at under $100, that's what the TCL MoveAudio S600 True Wireless Earbuds try to achieve. We recently looked at OnePlus' $149 ANC wireless buds offering with the Buds Pro, and found them to be a quality set of wireless buds with a few caveats, most of which could...

Dell UltraSharp 4K Webcam Review: Up Your WFH Video Quality

by Chris Goetting - Wed, Aug 25, 2021

The humble webcam has seen a surge to prominence fueled by the rise of web conferencing and remote work, spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic. Only a few short years ago, a webcam could be buried away below the display of a laptop and few users would complain or even notice. With those days behind us, consumers and professionals alike have been scrambling to improve their on-screen presence to the point of creating a shortage of the now critical device. That same demand has drawn more players into the discrete webcam space, including Dell. Dell's recently released 4K-capable UltraSharp Webcam aims...

OnePlus Buds Pro Review: Terrific Features, Tunable Sound

by Dave Altavilla, Myriam Joire - Mon, Aug 23, 2021

After releasing the excellent $79 half in-ear OnePlus Buds last summer (now just $59), followed by the decent $49 full in-ear OnePlus Buds Z last fall, OnePlus just launched its most stylish and expensive TWS (true wireless stereo) earbuds to date, the $149 full in-ear OnePlus Buds Pro, which crank things up a notch by adding ANC (active noise cancellation) and wireless charging to the standard feature list. While OnePlus is clearly targeting Apple's $249 AirPods Pro (currently $179 on sale) and Samsung’s brand new $149 Galaxy Buds2, it’s also competing with more affordable, yet...

EVGA XR1 Review: Full-Featured High Quality Stream Capture

by Chris Goetting - Fri, May 07, 2021

HDMI capture cards, or HDMI capture devices, are extremely valuable tools with a wide variety of uses. As the description implies, these devices allow virtually any HDMI feed to be routed through them to be captured by a computer. The HDMI inputs on capture devices can be used with game consoles, video cameras, or even another computer -- just about any HDMI video source. This signal can then be encoded on the fly for a livestream, recorded for preservation, or both simultaneously. Most capture cards also allow for an HDMI output which passes a signal through the device, directly to a display with...

OnePlus Watch Review: A Great First Effort In Need Of Polish

by Myriam Joire - Tue, Apr 13, 2021

Last month, OnePlus launched its OnePlus 9 and 9 Pro flagships, which we recently reviewed. At the same time, it also announced the OnePlus 9R (a reworked Snapdragon 870-equipped OnePlus 8T for India and China) and the $159 OnePlus Watch. This didn’t come as much of a surprise considering rumors of a OnePlus smartwatch have been swirling for years. It even looks similar to the Watch RX that its partner company Oppo teased last year. Before we dive into reviewing the OnePlus Watch, we have to set clear expectations. This device doesn’t compete directly with the Apple Watch, Galaxy Watch,...

Behold The Sweet Rock Pi X Powered Serene Screen Aquarium And How To Build One

by Colton Westrate - Thu, Mar 11, 2021

Some may think it strange to design and build an entire PC and custom enclosure dedicated to running a 20-year-old screensaver, but I can explain. Retro computing fans and well-seasoned enthusiasts may remember that the superlative Defender of the Crown first hit the Amiga in 1986. Four years old at the time, and eight years away from getting my first PC, I had no idea what I was missing. I figured it out a few years and a couple of computers later though, when I stumbled upon the Serene Screen Marine Aquarium. This classic screensaver from the late 90s was created by the legendary artist of Defender...

DJI Mini 2 Review: 4K Drone Excellence For Beginners

by Brandon Hill - Tue, Nov 10, 2020

A few months back, we took DJI's Mavic Air 2 for a test flight and came away impressed with its performance, overall photo/video capabilities, and its ability to stay aloft for a half hour or more. Today, DJI is back again with another new drone, and this one will go a lot easier on your wallet than the Mavic Air 2. We're talking of course about the Mini 2; the "Mavic" portion of its name has been dropped with this generation. The Mini 2 retains the compact, lightweight form-factor of the Mavic Mini, weighing in at just 249 grams. This allows the Mini 2 to continue to skirt Federal Aviation...

Exploring AI With NVIDIA’s $59 Jetson Nano 2GB Dev Kit

by Ben Funk - Tue, Nov 03, 2020

Machine learning is everywhere. Voice and handwriting recognition, medical diagnoses, digital assistants (like the Google Assistant or Siri) and self driving cars are just a scratch in the surface of all the different means and methods by which machines infer, learn, grow and seemingly think on their own. NVIDIA is incredibly invested in machine learning tech, and has seen explosive growth in its datacenter business due to the massive advancements in AI. Of course, data centers are only one place where AI and machine learning live; intelligent devices at the edge also need to capture input from...

TONOR Q9 USB Microphone Kit Review: Affordable, Quality Audio

by Chris Goetting - Thu, Sep 10, 2020

This is undoubtedly the year of video conferences and virtual meetings. Perhaps nothing makes one of these conferences more insufferable than someone’s scratchy, low-quality integrated microphone -- and the last thing you want is for that scratchy mic to be yours. Fortunately, upping your microphone game can be very easy. You do not need to dive into the expensive world of audio interfaces, mixers, and XLR cables to see a massive improvement. The TONOR Q9 USB microphone kit we'll be showing you here provides everything necessary to step up your audio production quality for a very attractive...

DJI Mavic Air 2 Review: A Powerful Drone For Any Skill Level

by Brandon Hill - Fri, Aug 28, 2020

DJI brought a lot to the table with its original Mavic Air that launched back in 2017. It was a step up from DJI's entry-level Spark, but not quite as feature-packed and robust as the Mavic Pro. In other words, Mavic Air struck a nice balance in between the aforementioned product bookends with respect to performance, features, and price. And unsurprisingly, it became one of DJI's most popular drones as a result. As you might expect, DJI needed to follow up on the original Mavic Air with a worthy successor, and we have that now with the aptly-named Mavic Air 2. The Mavic Air 2 bests...

OnePlus Buds Review: Great Sound, Battery Life And Price

by Myriam Joire - Fri, Jul 24, 2020

If there’s still any doubt that truly wireless earbuds are a thing, let us introduce you, dear reader, to the second wave -- exemplified by the OnePlus Buds. See, the first wave really took off when Apple introduced the original AirPods -- meh sound, OK battery life, high price. The focus was on convenience, reliability, and calls. Other major brands followed suit, like Samsung, Sony, Jabra, Amazon, Microsoft, and most recently Google -- some offering special features like long battery life, or active noise cancellation, or tight AI assistant integration. You either spent upwards to $200...

Google Pixel Buds 2 Review: A Triumphant Second Coming

by Myriam Joire - Tue, May 12, 2020

True wireless earbuds are all the rage these days, and with many phones lacking a headphone jack, it’s really no surprise. You can mostly blame Apple for the missing port, but you can also thank them for giving the entire industry a reason to copy the AirPods. And Google is finally in the game. See, the first Pixel Buds, which were neckbuds, were a bust back in 2017. So, we were pretty excited when Google announced these new, true wireless earbuds last October. And in terms of first impressions, the $180 Pixel Buds 2 deliver. Google Pixel Buds 2 Design Picture an egg. Now imagine you...

DJI Osmo Mobile 3 Review: Top-Notch, Affordable Phone Gimbal

by Chris Goetting - Tue, Dec 03, 2019

There are few better ways to record memories than video. You have probably recorded clips of birthday parties, vacations, or family holidays here and there. Maybe you enjoy sharing a glimpse of your daily grind to Instagram. Videos help us to share our world with others and reminisce about days gone by. Impromptu filming has become ever more accessible as smartphones have overtaken camcorders with remarkable new capabilities. While smartphone camera quality has improved dramatically year after year with powerful image stabilization capability, shots can still be ruined by human hand shake shortcomings....

NVIDIA SHIELD TV 2019 Review: AI Enhanced Android TV Streaming

by Marco Chiappetta - Mon, Oct 28, 2019

The NVIDIA SHIELD TV is widely regarded as the best media streaming device on the market. In addition to offering high-performance, access to a massive repository of 4K streaming services and apps, and leading-edge features that some competitors have only just recently caught up with, the SHIELD TV gives users access to GeForce NOW and game streaming capabilities from a GeForce-enabled PC. There is a growing library of native AAA Android games too, along with a myriad of casual games as well. And that's not to mention the huge community of enthusiasts that use the SHIELD TV to emulate a multitude...

Nyrius Aries Pro Wireless HDMI Kit Review: Low Latency Cord Cutting

by Brittany Goetting - Tue, Oct 22, 2019

The number of “cord cutters” has accelerated over the last decade. Many people are cutting their ties to cable companies TV programming packages, and instead looking for online entertainment solutions. In that regard, consumers have been turning to streaming devices like Google Chromecast, Roku and NVIDIA Shield TV. However, HDMI wireless transmitters and receivers are another viable option for cord cutters. Wireless transmit/receive video products like these can be used for much more than streaming your favorite shows, including everything from gaming to office presentations...

Lenovo Smart Clock Review: A Bedside Google Assistant

by Brittany Goetting - Thu, Jun 06, 2019

Humans have been dreaming up machines that take care of everyday household tasks since the Industrial Revolution. Smart home devices of various types have existed for several decades, but have become increasingly popular over the last few years as they have become more powerful, intelligent, and connected. Many consumers are now able to do everything from preheating their ovens to checking up on their home security cameras, with a simple tap on their smart device. Lenovo started to inch its way into the smart home market last year. The Lenovo Smart Display with Google Assistant was released...

Alienware AW988 Wireless Headset And AW959 Elite Mouse Review

by Paul Lilly - Tue, Feb 26, 2019

When you think of Dell or its Alienware brand, the first thing that comes to mind is probably a PCs and not a peripheral. Be that as it may, Dell is uniquely positioned to capitalize on the peripheral market as part of a larger play, one in which it can sell gamers on a unified ecosystem through its Alienware division. You could, for example, buy an Alienware desktop and plug it into an Alienware monitor (even a giant 55-inch OLED display, if you have the bankroll), and then surround it with Alienware peripherals. Talk about an invasion! Whether you would want to is another question, and to help...