Friday, July 12, 2019
Thursday, July 11, 2019
Confirmed: Apple's new MacBook Pro gets a big speed boost
"These two entry-level Apple laptops get spec upgrades and, in one case, an important price cut.
Apple kicked off the back-to-school season with some pretty significant changes to the MacBook lineup on Tuesday. There were price cuts, trickle-down features and a few quiet cancellations, including the old, pre-redesign MacBook Air and the cult favorite 12-inch MacBook.
Getting an update are the MacBook Air and the lowest-end version of the 13-inch MacBook Pro. For the Air, that's a significant point, as the system received its largest overhaul in a decade just last year.
Both new MacBooks have arrived in the CNET Labs for review. Our testing is ongoing, but here's an early look at some of the initial results and our first hands-on impressions.
The entry-level MacBook Pro now includes Apple's Touch Bar.
Sarah Tew/CNETThe new MacBook Air doesn't look any different, but it adds Apple's True Tone display, which can adjust the screen's color temperature based on the ambient lighting. It's already found on iPad Pro, recent iPhones and some MacBook Pros.
But more important than that, the starting price has been cut by $100, from $1,199 to $1,099 (£1,099, AU$1,699). That's still not the classic MacBook Air price of $999, but it's getting closer and students can get it for $999.
Watch this: Back-to-school MacBooks get faster, cheaper
5:15
More consequential are the changes to the 13-inch MacBook Pro. That $1,299 model was a favorite for some, as it excluded the Touch Bar found in more-expensive MacBook Pros. Now you can no longer avoid the Touch Bar, but it's included for the same $1,299 price, along with the TouchID fingerprint reader and T2 security chip.
It also jumps from an older dual-core Intel CPU to a newer quad-core version, so the least expensive Pro feels more like, well, a Pro. Case in point, we ran the new quad-core 13-inch MacBook Pro against an older dual-core version. Yes, the eighth-gen chips have an advantage over the seventh-gen ones, but the difference between the two base models is huge.
Geekbench 4 (multicore)
MacBook Pro 13-inch (quad-core, 2019)
16949
MacBook Pro 13-inch (dual-core, 2017)
9032
Note:
Longer bars indicate better performanceCinebench R15 CPU (multicore)
MacBook Pro 13-inch (quad-core, 2019)
647
MacBook Pro 13-inch (dual-core, 2017)
381
Note:
Longer bars indicate better performanceSystem Configurations
We're currently testing both the new MacBook Pro and MacBook Air, and will report full benchmark results, including battery life, in upcoming reviews. While the Pro is getting a big speed boost, I wouldn't expect any real change in the MacBook Air performance -- the biggest move there is the price. "
Confirmed: Apple's new MacBook Pro gets a big speed boost
Tuesday, July 09, 2019
FCC: Phone Companies Can Block Robocalls by Default
"Unlucky Atlantans
Which area code was hardest hit last month? The 404 area code in Atlanta had that sorry distinction in May, with an estimated 78.7 million robocalls, according to YouMail.
After Atlanta, the next hardest hit area codes were 214 in Dallas, 72.1 million; 832 in Houston, 70 million; 678 in Atlanta, 61.6 million; 954 in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., 47.5 million; 817, also in Dallas, 46.3 million; 917 in New York, 45.9 million; 310 in Los Angeles, 45.6 million; 210 in San Antonio, 43.9 million; 702 in Las Vegas, 43.6 million; and 901 in Memphis, Tenn., 42.3 million.
Because you take a cellphone anywhere, YouMail's estimates are based on area codes, regardless of where you actually live, said Alex Quilici, CEO of YouMail.
Under the FCC's decision, customers can opt out of call blocking. They may worry about missing legal automated calls about medical appointments, school closures, flight changes or late payments.
And phone companies will be able, though not required, to charge for the call-blocking service.
YouMail's Quilici said he expects the phone companies first will begin blocking robocalls that are obviously illegal: for example, those displaying area codes and prefixes that don't exist, or numbers that are unassigned.
That means “tons” of robocalls still will be able to get through as carriers judge which calls are wanted and which aren't, he said.
"I think the carriers are going to move slowly and not go whole hog,” he said. “They have to be careful with what they block."
Sunday, July 07, 2019
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