Ryan Whitwam
Recent posts
If you're a regular HotHardware reader, you've likely played Tetris. It's one of the most iconic games in the world, and it's been around for about 34 years. So, how did someone just now beat it? A 13-year-old who goes by Blue Scuti has managed that feat, and it was more difficult than you can probably imagine.
As...
Read more...
The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) is just around the corner, and MSI is teasing a big announcement. MSI, it seems, will be the latest company to launch a Steam Deck competitor. We don't know what the device will be called, the specs, or the price just yet. But RGB? You bet there will be RGB.
The Instagram teaser...
Read more...
No one likes to lose things, so Facebook's new "Link History" sounds okay at first. It's a new feature rolling out to the Android and iOS mobile apps that promises to keep a list of the links you've recently visited from Facebook. Is this a rare instance of benevolence from Mark Zuckerberg? Nope, Link History might...
Read more...
Microsoft has spent most of the last couple of decades playing catchup in an number of key growth markets. Microsoft, however, is now in a leadership position in the AI space thanks in part to its partnership with OpenAI. The company's GPT-infused Copilot has popped up in Windows, Office, Bing, Edge, and now it's on...
Read more...
The upcoming Samsung Galaxy S24 series is expected to leverage AI in a few interesting ways, with upgraded machine learning hardware and a raft of features. A new leak reveals one of those features, an AI-powered photo editor, is set to rival Google's popular Magic Eraser tool.
Samsung typically pushes the envelope...
Read more...
Chrome's Incognito Mode isn't really incognito. Google still tracks users browsing in Incognito Mode, which led to a $5 billion class action lawsuit in 2020. Google has reportedly agreed to settle the case in order to avoid a messy trial, but the exact terms of the deal are not yet available. Chrome users will...
Read more...
Well, that was a scary few days—Apple has convinced an appeals court to let it sell the latest Apple Watch hardware, pausing an import ban imposed by the International Trade Commission (ITC). So, you can once again head to Apple's website or your nearest brick-and-mortar Apple store to get the Apple Watch Series 9 or...
Read more...
Security researchers first spotted the Chameleon Android malware this past spring. This pervasive banking trojan has now evolved to become something much more dangerous. Through a series of fake system dialogs, the malware attempts to use the Android system Accessibility service, whic effectively gives Chameleon the...
Read more...
It must be a Thursday, because there's been another major data breach that affects millions of consumers and may force you to change passwords. The target of the latest attack was Comcast, which has confirmed that online criminals ran roughshod over its Xfinity servers for days before detection. The hack has...
Read more...
HHKB Studio: MSRP - Starting at $429 The first major upgrade to the legendary, original HHKB packs a ton of features into a tiny package. Hotswappable switches Mouse pointer built in Efficient compact layout Comes with high-quality PBT keycaps Steep learning curve Uses AA batteries instead of a rechargeable Only available in black-on-charcoal...
Read more...
A reckoning has come for mobile app stores. Apple is, by all accounts, going to be forced to open up app distribution on the iPhone thanks to Europe's Digital Markets Act, and Epic has bested Google in court to show that the Play Store is an illegal monopoly. In a separate case, Google was sued by numerous state...
Read more...
Google has invested heavily in artificial intelligence research over the past decade, and it paid off when researchers developed transformer algorithms in 2017—then it did nothing with it. Transformers are the underlying technology for all the fancy new generative AI applications. It was caught flatfooted when...
Read more...
There's a shakeup at the top of Sports Illustrated. The storied magazine has abruptly fired CEO Ross Levinsohn, replacing him with Manoj Bhargava of 5-Hour Energy fame. While the company didn't explain the reason for the firing, it no doubt has something to do with the recently revealed use of AI content on the Sports...
Read more...
Sony just released a slim variant of the PlayStation 5, but the rumor mill says a Pro update is still coming. This supposed Sony console won't reinvent the wheel, but reportedly will offer a substantial speed boost. The latest round of leaks claim higher clock speeds and a big GPU upgrade. For gamers who want to play...
Read more...
A recent glitch in the desktop Google Drive app caused some files to disappear from users' cloud storage containers. It's been a few weeks of Google asking for patience, but it has now released a fix. Assuming affected individuals followed Google's recommendations, it should be possible to restore the missing files now.
This issue first
Read more...
Headphone jacks can be hard to come by in 2023, as smartphones, tablets, and even laptops drop the legacy port to save space. The new Fiio KB3 keyboard is going the other way, however, with not one but two headphone jacks. The KB3 isn't just a keyboard—it's also a HiFi amp.
You might not know Fiio, but it's a popular manufacturer of portable
Read more...
The holiday season is upon us, and Google has some early presents for Android fans. A raft of new features are beginning to roll out today. They run the gamut from phones, to TV, to wearables, to the Google Messages app.
Google has split its surprise feature drop into two parts, with a special focus on Google...
Read more...
Saving your files in the cloud affords a number of benefits, not least among them reliability. Why worry about hard drive failures when Google can keep copies of your files on multiple servers? That's all well and good in theory, but Google Drive has encountered a problem. In recent days, Drive users have reported...
Read more...
Samsung will likely reveal the Galaxy S24 family in early 2024, and we already know it plans to integrate AI features with the phones. However, a new report illustrates just how much Samsung will embrace AI. According to some new trademark filings, Samsung will market the S24 as an "AI Phone." Hopefully, this works out better for Samsung than
Read more...
Almost every smartphone today is constructed from slippery metal and glass, so cases are an essential accessory for the more clumsy among us. Phone cases are big business, and it looks like two of the leading makers are headed to court. Dbrand has filed a lawsuit against Casetify, claiming the latter copied and...
Read more...
Your phone number is about to get more secure, and you don't even have to do anything to make it happen. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has issued new directives for cell carriers that will force them to take SIM swapping and port-out attacks seriously. Carriers will now have to use secure authentication...
Read more...
Here's an announcement that can be filed under "unexpected." After previously refusing, Apple has confirmed it will add RCS support to the iPhone, giving Android users the ability to send feature-rich messages to Apple's smartphone. The days of green bubble discrimination are finally coming to an end. However, Apple...
Read more...
