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- Microsoft's $399 Surface Go aims to stand out from iPads or Chromebooks
- Electronics Deals – July 9, 2018: Hitachi, Anker, ECOVACS & More
- Security researchers find workaround for iOS 11.4's USB Restricted Mode
| Microsoft's $399 Surface Go aims to stand out from iPads or Chromebooks Posted: 10 Jul 2018 05:00 AM PDT Microsoft's new Surface Go is finally official after months of rumors and leaks. It's an inexpensive 10-inch tablet designed to be a smaller and less powerful version of the Surface Pro. While the exterior of the Surface Go makes it look like a baby Surface Pro, Microsoft has changed a lot inside. The base model is priced at $399, but it only ships with 4GB of RAM, 64GB of slower eMMC storage, and a less powerful Intel Pentium Gold processor. Prices quickly jump to over $600 after adding the all important Type Cover, more RAM, a faster SSD, and other Surface add-ons. With these specs and price points in mind, who exactly is the Surface Go for? Microsoft isn't targeting its Surface Go at any particular customer from what I can tell. It's not an iPad killer, it's not going directly after Chromebooks, and it's not really challenging $400 Windows laptops. While the Surface Laptop launched at an education event alongside Windows 10 S, the Surface Go appears to be targeted far more broadly across education, regular consumers, and even commercial usage. It's clearly designed to be a cheaper and more portable Surface that lowers the barrier of entry for those put off by the price of a Surface Pro and its more capable specifications. It's also aiming to be more than an iPad or a Chromebook. :format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/11595355/dseifert_180625_2693_0009.jpg) It's natural to compare the Surface Go to Apple's iPad, but the two are not like-for-like competitors. Apple's base model iPad is priced at $329. If you only want a pure tablet, the Surface Go won't offer the best experience as it doesn't have the 1.3 million apps that are designed and optimized for the iPad. Let's face it: if you're going to buy just a tablet, the iPad is the only one worth buying right now. Surface has carved out its own niche in tablet computing through hybrid devices. That's why Microsoft continues to advertise its Surface devices with Type Covers that, in the case of Surface Go, cost an extra $99. These keyboards turn the Surface Go into more of a laptop, in the same vein the Surface line has always tried to capitalize on. It's the unique selling point of Surface tablets, and it leverages Microsoft's strength in PCs. Apple doesn't offer a keyboard for its regular iPad, but it has managed to mostly copy the Surface concept with its iPad Pro, as have many of Microsoft's PC partners. But Apple has so far refused to add cursor support to its iPad lineup, so users are forced to constantly reach out and touch the screen to navigate around. Microsoft's Surface devices do a better job of bridging that gap between tablet and laptop. Equally, the Surface Go isn't directly challenging Chromebooks or $400 Windows laptops. Once you've added the Type Cover, the price for the base Surface Go model jumps to $498. If you're considering a laptop in this range then there are better options with bigger screens, and Google's Chromebooks regularly sell for less than $500. Microsoft's higher-specced Surface Go model is priced at $549 for 8GB of RAM and 128GB of faster SSD storage instead of eMMC. Once you've added a keyboard to this, it's $649 and approaching iPad Pro and Surface Pro pricing. :format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/11595351/dseifert_180625_2693_0005.jpg) Microsoft appears to be targeting the area of the PC market between budget and premium. The Surface Go, like the $799 Surface Pro, is a tablet with a keyboard and stylus support that offers more than a regular iPad or Chromebook. It's still dropping into a tricky part of the PC market, though, because the $400-$700 price point is where PC makers typically try to shove slower components into a more premium chassis. Microsoft is pulling the same trick, and the $399 base price is a typical marketing move meant to generate interest with the hope that you'll buy the $549 model. While it's a tricky part of the PC market to play in, it's also fraught with risk. The Surface 3 debuted three years ago as a cheaper Surface tablet targeted at students. It was a little fiddly to use as a laptop due to its size and kickstand, and performance wasn't as good compared to similarly priced laptops. Microsoft has certainly learned some lessons from the Surface 3. The Surface Go has a big trackpad, USB-C charging (and a Surface Connector), a much better kickstand, and the type of premium design you don't typically see at this end of the PC spectrum. But Microsoft's new device is even smaller than the Surface 3. Microsoft's risk is betting on a base model, with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of eMMC storage, to power an acceptable Windows 10 experience in such a small form factor. That risk will either pay off and open up the Surface concept of tablet+laptop to a much broader audience, or it could dent the Surface brand, known for giving users a premium Windows experience. It's especially risky launching an underpowered machine when Microsoft is still dealing with the fallout from Consumer Reports dropping its "recommended" badge from Surface devices due to reliability problems. We'll find out if Microsoft's Surface Go choices will pay off once the devices hit shelves next month. |
| Electronics Deals – July 9, 2018: Hitachi, Anker, ECOVACS & More Posted: 09 Jul 2018 05:04 AM PDT Today, Amazon has started offering its Prime Day deals, a full week ahead of actual Prime Day. So if you are a Prime Member, you’ll be able to get some pretty sweet deals today. This includes a 50-inch 4K TV from Hitachi for just $289. That is a really great price for a 4K TV right now, considering most are closer to $400. There’s also a big sale on Anker fast charging accessories, so if you are looking for a new wall charger or car charger, or even some USB cables, then this is the time to pick up one or more. Finally, as part of Amazon’s deals of the day, you can also get the ECOVACS DEEBOT 900/901 robotic vacuum, which is priced at just $279 right now, and that brings it down to its all-time lowest price. The deals above are only available for Amazon Prime members. If you are not a member, you can sign up for a 30-day free trial today and also use it for Prime Day when that launches next week. This is a great way to take advantage of these sales, without having to pay for Prime. Of course, if you don’t cancel within the 30 days, you will end up paying for Prime, which is $12.99 per month or $119 per year. Of course, paying the full year at once is cheaper than paying per month here. All of the deals listed below are accurate for today, and will expire at midnight PST on their expiration date. But keep in mind that some of these deals may end before then, if stock runs low or simply runs out. Also keep in mind that prices on Amazon do tend to fluctuate. So if you are looking to get in on one of these deals, you’ll want to do it as soon as possible.  Expires: July 9, 2018 Amazon has discounted the Hitachi 50-inch 4K TV today, for Prime members. So if you aren’t already a Prime member, you can sign up for a 30-day free trial here and still take advantage of this deal. This TV is priced at $289, which is a pretty insane price for a 4K TV of this size, and that’s a deal that you’ll want to jump on for sure.  Expires: July 9, 2018 Amazon Prime members can also save on a slew of different Anker Fast Charging accessories today. This includes some USB cables, car chargers, wall chargers and so much more. If you aren’t already an Amazon Prime member, you can still sign up for a 30-day free trial and take advantage of this deal today.  Expires: July 9, 2018 Amazon Prime Members can also save on the ECOVACS DEEBOT 900/901 smart robotic vacuum today, which is priced at $279.98 right now, and that’s a really good price for this robotic vacuum, especially since it is also the lowest price all-time for this model. If you aren’t already an Amazon Prime member, you can sign up for a 30-day free trial and still grab this deal.  Amazon is currently offering up a 4-month trial for Amazon Music Unlimited, which is priced at just $0.99. That’s less than a quarter per month for trying out Amazon Music Unlimited, which is definitely pretty impressive here. This isn’t going to last long, so you’ll want to jump in on this before it’s over.  Sony’s XBR55X800E is on sale right now for $898, which is $300 off of its regular price. This is a 4K Smart TV from Sony, that does have Android TV built-in, which is great because you will get all of your favorite apps and games available on this TV, without needing another set-top box. Software & AppsSmartphones & TabletsSmartphone AccessoriesHeadphones & SpeakersTVs, Set-Top Boxes & Video GamesComputers, Laptops & AccessoriesSmart Home |
| Security researchers find workaround for iOS 11.4's USB Restricted Mode Posted: 10 Jul 2018 06:45 AM PDT  Less than a day after Apple officially added an iPhone and iPad hack-preventing USB Restricted Mode to iOS, security researchers at ElcomSoft have detailed a simple workaround that can be used by law enforcement personnel to mitigate the feature. The workaround requires a Lightning connector accessory, such as Apple’s $39 Lightning to USB 3 Camera Adapter, but is expected to work with numerous other Lightning accessories, as well. USB Restricted Mode was added to iOS 11.4.1 and iOS 12 after beta testing in iOS 11.4. The feature is designed to lock an iPhone’s or iPad’s Lightning port after one hour of device inactivity, preventing the port from being used for anything except basic charging until a password is entered again. Apple says that it added USB Restricted Mode to iOS to increase device security against a known means of hacking, which notably has been used by law enforcement personnel to extract the contents of criminal suspects’ phones without their permission. According to ElcomSoft, USB Restricted Mode generally works exactly as expected: Even if the device is rebooted or software restored, the lock persists. However, if the device is connected to a Lightning accessory — including one that has never been connected before — the one-hour countdown timer to initiate USB Restricted Mode will be reset. As a result, the Lightning port can be kept accessible for an hour past the point of initial seizure by plugging in a Lightning accessory. The loophole apparently doesn’t work with every Lightning accessory, notably failing with Apple’s $9 Lightning to 3.5mm adapter, which is included with some iPhones. Additionally, if the Lightning accessory doesn’t include a pass-through power port, there’s no way to keep the device fueled during transport. But with a power-transferring accessory, police — or other hackers — have a fairly straightforward means of accessing a seized iOS 11.4.1 device. They can connect the Lightning accessory, tether an external battery for power, place everything in a Faraday bag so the phone cannot be reached wirelessly, then transport it to the location of a Cellebrite or Grayshift hacking solution for immediate processing. ElcomSoft notes that Apple could update a future version of iOS to “remember which devices were connected to the iPhone, and only allow those accessories to establish connectivity without requiring an unlock,” but doesn’t see other practical ways to enhance the USB Restricted Mode, given the design of existing Lightning accessories. On the other hand, the researchers note that Grayshift is said to already be able to defeat USB Restricted Mode through other means, though that’s unconfirmed at this point. History suggests that the back-and-forth between Apple and hackers will continue until one side gives up — and given the stakes and money on the hacking side, that’s unlikely to be anytime soon. |
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