MICROSOFT customers have been left devastated after the tech giant moved to discontinue beloved keyboards, mice, and webcams. The move reportedly sparks the end for most ergonomic keyboards. 2 Microsoft is discontinuing all Microsoft-branded PC accessoriescredit: Getty 2 The move is marking the end for most Microsoft ergonomic keyboardsCredit: Best Buy Microsoft confirmed with The Verge in April that it would no longer manufacture mice, keyboards, and webcams that are specifically Microsoft-branded. Instead, the company is turning its attention to Surface-branded gadgets. “Going forward, we are focusing on our Windows PC accessories portfolio under the Surface brand,” Dan Laycock, senior…
Tag: cool gadget gifts
Apple Sends the OG iPad Air to Gadget Heaven
The original iPad Air came out in 2013 and was renowned for packing a surprising amount of power in a rather small body.Photo: Eric Limer/Gizmodo Apple is finally ready to put down two of its venerable and well-loved products: the old-school Thunderbolt display and the first generation of the iPad Air. It’s been a good and unusually long run, but soon users won’t be able to look to Apple for any fixes or repairs on the aging tech. The iPad Air with M1 Is the Tablet to Buy MacRumors reported Tuesday based on a leaked internal memo that, by the…
I asked Amazon to show me really expensive gadgets and oh, dear
Not so good at the pricey searches? SOPA Images/Getty Images Spare a thought for the moneyed. Or for those who just have to spend a lot on the latest gadgets, just to feel, well, something. They have the right to spend their money whichever way they choose, and online shopping is there to assist them. Also: How to turn your old devices into Amazon gift cards I wanted to assist them too. So I tried to put myself into the minds of these more exalted types, in order to discover what happens when you ask Amazon to show you not…
The Most Ridiculous and Weird Tech Gadgets From the Last 25 Years
Not every gadget is a winner. And as it turns out, quite a few are complete losers. The massive electronics bonanza known as CES 2023 is in the books and it features plenty of weird gadgets of its own, from pee-reading toilets to a cutting board with a screen. But what if we turn back the clock to take in the CES shows of yore? Over the past 20-plus years, I’ve seen gadgets so stupid that sometimes they seem to exist purely because journalists like me will write about them. But it’s time to call out the really awful ones,…
Gadgets: These Soundcore headphones, earbuds feature excellent noise cancellation
Products frequently get buried in my office. This was the case with a pair of headphones and true wireless earbuds from Soundcore by Anker. To make them feel better for the lost time, I rewarded them by taking them along for testing on a recent vacation to Mexico. [–The first is the Anker Space Q45 over-the-head headphones with Adaptive Active Noise Cancellation (ANC). ANC is a popular feature and often a main draw when purchasing headphones, along with the price. The Q45s score on both fronts with excellent productions out of the ANC. [–They are advertised to have…
The best tech products, devices and gadgets of 2022
Tech specs: Sizing: 6-13 | Material: Durable titanium and PVD coating | Colors: Silver, black, stealth, gold, rose gold | water resistance: Up to 328 feet | Sensors: Heart rate, blood oxygen, PPG, skin temperature, 3D accelerometer | Connectivity: Bluetooth Low-Energy | Battery: Up to 7 days For this writer, this is the No. 1 tech product I purchased in 2022, and it’s changed the wearable game for me forever. As someone who hates wearing watches and loves wearing rings, the Oura Ring was a no-brainer, but its technology and in-depth and accurate data make it even more of a…
Windows 11 could control lighting for RGB gadgets
What do you get if you use a gaming PC from Alienware, a keyboard from Cooler Master, a headset from HyperX, and a mouse from Razer all at the same time? You get four different programs and interfaces to control all those blinking RGB lights. Sorry, that wasn’t a punchline, it’s just the annoying reality of different proprietary software to control a bunch of different PC gaming gadgets. But according to the code of the latest Windows 11 test build, it might be getting a more practical solution soon. Twitter’s prolific Windows analyst (via The Verge) spotted RGB lighting controls…
The ‘geeks’ obsessing over their new heating systems
Mick Wall closely monitors his home’s energy needs He’s got heat meters fixed to the pipework. Room temperature monitors. And gadgets tracking how much electricity his solar panels are generating. The jewel in the crown of this system, though, is a recently installed heat pump. “It’s like a geek’s paradise, really,” says Mick Wall of his 1930s semi-detached house in Sheffield. Mr Wall, who works in IT, has made a hobby out of monitoring his household energy consumption and honing his heat pump’s performance in a dogged pursuit of maximum efficiency. The UK government has set a target of 600,000…