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Deal: Grab a Cubot X15 for Just $146.99!

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EverBuying is selling the Cubot X15 for only $145.99. For an unlocked phone, that’s an amazing price. When you get into what it is, it’s even better.

The Cubot X15 is powered by a 1.3 GHz quad core ARM Cortex-A53 processor and 2 GB of RAM. A dual core Mali-T720 MP2 GPU powers a 5.5″ 1080p IPS LCD.

A 5.5″ 1080p display comes out to 401 ppi (pixels per inch). 401 ppi is well in excess of Apple’s definition of Retina, which is 326 ppi, so you know you’re getting a fantastic display.

The camera is the real selling point. The rear camera is 16 MP interpolated, or 13 MP. This will allow for plenty of room to crop or zoom in on photos without losing quality. While megapixels mean almost nothing when it comes to the actual quality of the image, aperture absolutely does. With the Cubot X15, we have a nice, large aperture at f/1.8. The only other phone with a camera that has an aperture that large is the LG G4.

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The rear camera looks to be really great, but the front camera is truly impressive. The front camera is 8 MP, which is perfect, since selfies rarely need to be cropped. 6 MP will almost fill a 4K display.

Of course, 8 MP on its own is nice, but I wouldn’t call it impressive. What’s really impressive is that the front camera on the Cubot X15 has a 4 element lens with an f/2 aperture. An f/2 aperture on a front camera is rare, especially on a device at this price. If you like to take selfies, this is certainly the phone for you.

The battery on the Cubot X15 is 2750 mAh, which is going to provide all day battery life.

Also, beginning tomorrow, you can grab a Cubot X12 from EverBuying for just $105.38. If you’re one of the first 100 to buy it, you can grab it for $79.99.

You can grab the Cubot X15 from EverBuying right here for $146.99.

Make sure to use the coupon code EBX15

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Windows RT 8.1 Update 3 Will Not Support Universal Apps

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When Windows 10 was first announced, we had heard that Windows RT would not get Windows 10; however, it would feature a subset of features.

If you asked anyone who had a Windows RT device, the one feature that mattered was universal app support and sadly, they will not get this wish. The reasoning is sound.

To be clear, that Windows RT update, called Windows RT 8.1 Update 3, will feature start menu and lock screen improvements.

Continue reading Windows RT 8.1 Update 3 Will Not Support Universal Apps →

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Deal: Get a Beelink i68 TV Box for Just $78.99

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Today, Gearbest and I are introducing something new, something that the U.S. market might not be entirely familiar with just yet. Here, we have our Rokus, our Apple TVs, our Chromecasts, our Fire TVs, etc.; however, they’re all a bit limited.

The Beelink i68 TV Box runs full Android. That’s the really big deal here. Personally, I have a Roku 2, Amazon Fire TV Stick, Apple TV, and an Xbox One, but I always find myself switching between those devices because there’s always another app that is not available on the one I’m using.

Continue reading Deal: Get a Beelink i68 TV Box for Just $78.99 →

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Why Your Car Is Insecure

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You may not know this, but most of you drove into work today in a computer.  Don’t believe me?  Oh, maybe because you commonly refer to it as your car.  For the past 40 years car manufacturers have been making cars with computers that typically are located in proximity to the automobiles engine.  The on-board computer controls many things including fuel injection, the anti-lock braking system (ABS), gear shifting, and diagnostics (you know, the infamous check engine light) to name a few.

However over the past decade manufacturers have started to add more smarts into the cars, specifically to the entertainment system.  Bluetooth, iPod and USB connectors, as well as WiFi all add the ability to connect 3rd party devices to your car.  As consumers we have taken all of these new features for granted but now we are going to need to rethink these capabilities because they are being used also as attack vectors for hackers.

Over the past year more and more reports have been surfacing regarding groups of people who have been able to successfully hack into the car’s computer and expose some serious exploits.  Last month Chrysler recalled 1.4 million of Dodge Rams, Vipers, Durangos, Chargers and Jeeps due to a flaw in their UConnect entertainment system which could allow an attacker to gain control of critical functions such as braking, steering, speed control, and the transmission.  Then this week Tesla Model S cars pushed out a patch to a flaw that could allow hackers to take control of the vehicle (The details of this hack will be announced during Def Con).  I am pretty sure that we will be hearing more car hacks relating to other car makers in the up coming months too.

The major problem is that there is a design flaw in the how the components in the car connect to the computer.  They use a standard protocol called CAN bus which is similar to the internal bus in typical computers.  Car manufacturers say that the components are “firewalled” from the entertainment system but clearly this isn’t enough.  They need to go back to the drawing board and physically separate the entertainment system from the CAN bus and this will prevent these types of attacks from happening in future model cars.  But there is no word yet whether or not manufacturers are going to be taking this route.  For now if you get a recall letter for your car you should always take it seriously and get your car fixed, regardless of the reason.

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For the Love of Tech Windows 10 Universal App is Live!

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This is something that I’m very excited about. I’ve been working on this for a long time, and the official For the Love of Tech Windows 10 universal app is now live in the Store, and it’s absolutely FREE!

If you’re still on Windows 8.1 or Windows Phone 8.1, you can still grab version 2.0. If you’re on Windows 10 Mobile Insider Preview, you’re still going to get version 2.0 of the For the Love of Tech app. The reason is because the mobile side of the Universal Windows App requires Windows 10 Mobile build 10240 or better, which hasn’t been publicly released. You can download version 2.0 right now, and as soon as Microsoft pushed out a new Windows 10 Mobile build, you’ll be updated

You can download the official For the Love of Tech universal app right here from the Windows 10 Store!

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Deal: Get a Blackview Alife P1 Pro for $99.99 Unlocked

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Today, EverBuying is offering a Blackview Alife P1 Pro for just $99.99.

This phone is a very powerful device, given the price. The Blackview Alife P1 Pro uses a 1.3 GHz ARM Cortex-A53 processor which powers a 5.5″ HD display.

A really big deal here is that the Blackview Alife P1 Pro has 2 GB of RAM. For a $99 device, 2 GB of RAM is unheard of. It’s also all that you need to run mobile apps. Some of the really expensive flagship phones have 3 or even 4 GB of RAM, which is completely unnecessary.

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Then there’s the camera. The Blackview Alife P1 Pro uses a 13 MP rear camera and a 5 MP front camera. This allows for plenty of room to crop photos without losing quality.

Let’s not forget that the Blackview Alife P1 Pro has a 3000 mAh battery, which will deliver all day battery life. It also runs Android 5.1 Lollipop.

If you order the Blackview Alife P1 Pro on a Wednesday, you can grab it for $99.99, which also comes with a free selfie stick, case, screen protector, and a 32 GB microSD card. On Mondays and Fridays it’s $119.99 and on any other day, it’s $139.99.

You can grab the Blackview Alife P1 Pro right here.

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Web Browser Toolbars should Just be Banned

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I always find it fascinating that even the most reputable companies still do some shady stuff on the Internet.

If you’re reading this, you probably know that the next time you have to install Adobe Flash Player for whatever reason, you have to remember to uncheck the box for McAffee Security Scan Plus. You probably know that if you try to unsubscribe from a mailing list, they’ll tell you that it will take 10 days (just enough time for you to forget that you’ve unsubscribed) and then they won’t unsubscribe you at all.

Of course Adobe knows that you don’t want McAffee Security Scan Plus. Of course PCMag knows I don’t want to hear about their fucking best deals anymore. They do it anyway, mostly because at the end of the day, everyone simply rationalizes it as being just the way it is.

Continue reading Web Browser Toolbars should Just be Banned →

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Deal: Get a OnePlus 2 without an Invite!

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If you’re like me…well, if you’re like any human being with warm, red blood flowing through his veins, you’re pretty excited about the OnePlus 2.

One thing you might not be excited about is getting an invite to purchase the phone. Last year, you probably jumped through hoops just for the privilege of buying the OnePlus One. Take this year off. No need to jump through hoops this time.

The OnePlus 2 features an octa core Snapdragon 810 processor with an Adreno 430 GPU. That Adreno 430 powers a 5.5″ 1080p IPS LCD.

Let’s go over the display for a moment. Yes, it’s 1080p. I’ve gone on record numerous times to say that there is absolutely no benefit to a 1440p display. Your eyes can’t see the difference, and it’s harder on the battery and the GPU. Now, we have the latest GPU from Qualcomm paired with a 1080p display.

The OnePlus 2 comes in 16 GB and 64 GB models, which come with 3 GB of RAM and 4 GB of RAM, respectively. I can assure you that 3 GB of RAM is plenty.

Now, let’s get into the camera. I’ve heard many say that the camera is the same as the OnePlus One. That would be very disappointing. Luckily, nothing could be so far from the truth.

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The OnePlus One used a Sony IMX214 Exmor RS sensor in its camera, while the OnePlus 2 uses an OmniVision OV13860 sensor. It’s still 13 MP with an f/2 aperture, but there is a very key difference, which is that it has laser focus. This is the same technology that LG uses to deliver crystal clear images from their cameras. There’s also a 5 MP front camera.

There’s even an option in the brand new Camera app to take 50 MP photos, which will give plenty of room to crop the photos without losing quality. The rear camera can record 4K video at 30 fps, 1080p at 60 fps, and 720p at 120 fps.

OnePlus also added a physical home button which doubles as a fingerprint scanner. OnePlus promises that the new fingerprint scanner will be even faster than Apple’s TouchID.

What could be better than that? How about all day battery life, with a powerful 3300 mAh battery.

You can grab the OnePlus 2 right now for $397.89 or $477.89 for the 16 GB or 64 GB models, respectively.

You can grab the 16 GB OnePlus 2 right here.

You can grab the 64 GB OnePlus 2 right here.

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Windows 10 Review: Fixing a Hole

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When Windows 10 launched on July 29, 2015, the Internet was littered with Windows 10 reviews. I didn’t write one, nor did I read any. After all, we’ve been writing about Windows 10 for ten months. Build after build after build, we all made a big deal about each and every one.

I use my Surface Pro as my Windows 10 testing machine and my Surface Pro 3 as my main machine. When a new Insider Preview build came out, I’d install it on my Surface Pro, make a walk through video, shut off the Surface Pro, and put it away.

The main reason that I never chose to use Windows 10 as a daily driver is because Microsoft stripped out the OneDrive functionality that they added in Windows 8.1, a functionality that I have come to rely on. We’ll get to that later.

When July 29 rolled around, I decided to take the plunge on my Surface Pro 3 and I’ve been using it ever since…

Continue reading Windows 10 Review: Fixing a Hole →