V loňském roce jsem měl na recenzi drátovou verzi sluchátek HyperX Cloud 3, které dopadly velmi dobře a popravdě již tenkrát jsem netrpělivě vyhlížel jejich bezdrátovou verzi. Ta mi konečně nyní s lehkým časovým odstupem, (díky reorganizaci HyperX a HP), přistála na stole, respektive na hlavě. Po vydání Cloud Alpha Wireless s výdrží neuvěřitelných 300 hodin jsem byl zvědav, zda Cloud 3 Wireless náhodou nebudou spojením těchto dvou výše zmíněných sluchátek.

Hráči, ale i běžní uživatelé tráví u PC týdně desítky hodin a jedna z věcí, kterou přitom používají jsou sluchátka, díky kterým mohou efektivně pracovat i hrát tak, aby nerušili okolí a zároveň sami nebyli příliš rušeni. Já osobně mám sluchátka na hlavě vždy, kdy zasednu k PC a používám je i jako tlumič okolních zvuků, abych se byl schopen lépe soustředit na práci. Za svou kariéru jsem měl možnost testovat řadu sluchátek a musím říci, že ne se všemi jsem byl vždy zcela spokojen. Mezi mé oblíbené značky však patří HyperX, který má ve svém portfoliu několik opravdu skvělých kousků a nabízejí skvělý poměr cena/výkon.

Během posledních dvou týdnů jsem měl to potěšení testovat nejnovější sluchátka Cloud 3 Wireless. Jejich konstrukce je velmi podobná předcházejícím Cloud 2, ovšem má některá vylepšení, která tento nový headset posouvají dále, Jedním z nich je baterie s mnohem delší výdrží. Další změnou je USB-C dongle s volitelným USB-A nástavcem, což další inovace. S USB-C donglem totiž nyní můžete sluchátka bezdrátově připojit i s mobilním telefonem, tabletem, PS4, PS5 nebo handheldem.

Design

Design testovaných sluchátek je vyveden v černo-černé barevné kombinaci, ale dělá se i v tradiční černo-červené kombinaci. Samotná sluchátka váží 340 gramů, což přispívá k dlouhému a pohodlnému nošení. Náušníky jsou polstrované paměťovou pěnou, která se přizpůsobí každému tvaru hlavy a nijak netlačí. Kryt z umělé kůže dobře chrání od okolních zvuků, je ale otázka, jak dlouho tato umělá kůže vydrží. Nedávno jsem zpozoroval, že na některých dvouletých sluchátkách se začala „kožená“ úprava nepříjemně loupat. Ovládací prvky jsou standardní: plynulé ovládání hlasitosti pomocí kolečka, ztlumení mikrofonu a tlačítko napájení, víc netřeba.

Zvuk

Nejdůležitějším aspektem sluchátek je ale kvalita zvuku, 53mm audio měniče s impedancí 60 ohmů jsou již použity v drátovém modelu, a proto slibují dobrou kvalitu zvuku. Cloud 3 s přechodem na bezdrát přesto trochu ztrácí a zní o něco méně bohatě než jejich drátová verze. Konkrétně basy nejsou tak hluboké, ale i přesto jsou jasně patrné. pokud ale nebudete mít srovnání, tak vám to může přijít vcelku normální. Na druhou stranu středy a výšky jsou srovnatelné s drátovými Cloud 3.

V některých hrách jsem zaznamenal mírné kolísání zvuku při zapnutém DTS, což může vést k méně přesné lokalizaci příchozích nepřátel. Je možné, že toto vyřeší některá z budoucích aktualizací softwaru a nebo také ne. HyperX poskytuje v aplikaci Ngenuity 10 pásmový ekvalizér pro individuální nastavení, ten je ale dostupný pouze na PC a nastavení se nijak nenahrává do samotných sluchátek, což je trochu škoda. Bylo by skvělé mít jedno nastavení zvuku na několika zařízeních.

Mikrofon

Každý hráč potřebuje pro dobrou komunikaci se spoluhráči kvalitní mikrofon a ten, který je obsažen u Cloud 3 Wireless poskytuje solidní výkon. 10mm mikrofon je nejen zcela odnímatelný, ale je také vybaven vnitřním pop filtrem, který účinně minimalizuje rušivý hluk na pozadí. Ovšem opět zde platí, že pokud sluchátka nebudete používat na PC, tak mikrofon bude zaznamenávat i více okolních ruchů.

Baterie a dosah

Zvláštní technickou zajímavostí je nadprůměrná výdrž baterie až 120 hodin při 50procentní hlasitosti. Díky tomu můžete sluchátka používat po opravdu dlouhou dobu. Škoda, že zde HyperX nepoužil stejnou výdrž, kterou disponují Clud Alpha Wireless.

Pokud jde o bezdrátový dosah, tak Cloud 3 Wireless jsou na tom velmi dobře a sluchátka bez problému přenáší signál i na vzdálenost přes  metrů a nějakou tu zeď.

Celkově

HyperX Cloud 3 Wireless zaujmou kvalitním designem, dobrým zpracováním a solidním vyváženým zvukem. Velkým bonusem je nově přidaná kompatibilita s různými platformami, odnímatelný mikrofon a dobrá výdrž. Nevýhodou je nemožnost uložit si zvukový profil přímo do sluchátek a také nekonzistentní výkon v DTS. Pokud však hledáte pohodlná bezdrátová sluchátka primárně pro PC hraní za přijatelnou cenu, Cloud 3 Wireless by měly být ve vašem hledáčku.

Článek RECENZE: HyperX Cloud 3 Wireless – Vylepšení již tak skvělých sluchátek se nejdříve objevil na GAME PRESS.

For decades now, U.S. wireless carriers have sold consumers “unlimited data” plans that actually have all manner of sometimes hidden throttling, caps, and restrictions. And every few years a regulator comes out with a wrist slap against wireless carriers for misleading consumers, for whatever good it does.

Back in 2007, for example, then NY AG Andrew Cuomo fined Verizon a tiny $150,000 for selling “unlimited” plans that were very limited (Verizon kept doing it anyway). In 2019, the FTC fined AT&T $60 million for selling “unlimited” plans that were very limited, then repeatedly lying to consumers about it (impacted consumers saw refunds of around $22 each).

Similar state and federal fines and lawsuits have also been levied against these companies prepaid wireless brands over the years. This never-ending game of patty cake over the term “unlimited” also happens in Canada fairly routinely.

Last week, NY AG Leticia James that T-Mobile, Verizon, and AT&T will pay a combined $10.2 million settlement for — you guessed it — selling “unlimited” plans that were very limited:

“A multistate investigation found that the companies made false claims in advertisements in New York and across the nation, including misrepresentations about “unlimited” data plans that were in fact limited and had reduced quality and speed after a certain limit was reached by the user. The companies will pay $520,000 to New York and are required to change their advertising to ensure that wireless service plans are accurately and fairly explained.”

Will wireless carriers actually change their marketing tactics? Probably not! Will consumers see refunds? Probably not! Do the carriers have to admit any legal wrongdoing? Nope! Are the penalties stiff enough to deter future abuses? No way.

In this case, the settlement — which involved every U.S. state but DeSantistan Florida — was built on an investigation that started nine years ago but was effectively slow walked by industry lawyers. The investigation found that not only do wireless carriers (and their prepaid subsidiaries) routinely sell “unlimited” data plans with limits, but they also promote “free” phones that aren’t free.

If telecom industry history is any indication, the $10.2 million in fines will likely be watered down after another year or two of legal wrangling. And you’ll probably be right back here a few years from now reading about another wrist slap levied against an industry seemingly obsessed with abusing consumer trust — and the dictionary definition of very basic terminology.

Aria Alamalhodaei reports via TechCrunch: Hubble Network has become the first company in history to establish a Bluetooth connection directly to a satellite -- a critical technology validation for the company, potentially opening the door to connecting millions more devices anywhere in the world. The Seattle-based startup launched its first two satellites to orbit on SpaceX's Transporter-10 ride-share mission in March; since that time, the company confirmed that it has received signals from the onboard 3.5mm Bluetooth chips from over 600 kilometers away. The sky is truly the limit for space-enabled Bluetooth devices: the startup says its technology can be used in markets including logistics, cattle tracking, smart collars for pets, GPS watches for kids, car inventory, construction sites, and soil temperature monitoring. Haro said the low-hanging fruit is those industries that are desperate for network coverage even once per day, like remote asset monitoring for the oil and gas industry. As the constellation scales, Hubble will turn its attention to sectors that may need more frequent updates, like soil monitoring, to continuous coverage use cases like fall monitoring for the elderly. Once its up and running, a customer would simply need to integrate their devices' chipsets with a piece of firmware to enable connection to Hubble's network.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Last month Oregon state lawmakers passed a new “right to repair” law making it easier and cheaper to repair your electronics. The law requires that manufacturers that do business in the state provide users with easy and affordable access to tools, manuals, and parts. It also cracks down on practices like “parts pairing,” which often uses software locks to block use of third-party parts and assemblages.

It’s arguably the toughest state right to repair law yet. And it almost didn’t pass thanks to Apple, which (as it has in other states) lobbied to kill the bill, falsely claiming it was a threat to user safety and security.

Last week, The Washington Post proudly declared that Apple was slightly reversing some long-standing restrictions on repair and accessibility:

“Apple told The Washington Post it is easing a key restriction on iPhone repairs. Starting this fall, owners of an iPhone 15 or newer will be able to get their broken devices fixed with used parts — including screens, batteries and cameras — without any change in functionality.”

Notice this isn’t a full reversal of Apple’s restrictions, which (despite what it often claims) are designed to monopolize repair and accelerate the sales of new phones. And it takes the Washington Post until the seventeenth paragraph to inform readers that the changes are thanks in large part to Oregon’s new law.

And again, the Post never really informs the reader clearly that Apple lobbied to have the law killed. Or really properly frames the impact Apple’s restrictions have long had on the environment, consumer rights and costs, or the small independent repair shops Apple has a history of bullying. But it does let Apple falsely claim, without correction, that the law is a threat to consumer privacy:

“Neither Ternus nor Apple spokespeople commented on what changes may have to be made to abide by Oregon law, but the company said in an earlier statement that the bill’s language “introduces the possibility that Apple would be required to allow unknown, non-secure third-party Face ID or Touch ID modules to unlock” a user’s personal information.”

That’s just scare mongering. You can read in detail over at iFixit how “parts pairing” actually works and how it’s harmful. Apple (like John Deere and every other company angry that their repair monopolies are being dismantled) loves to pretend their interest here is solely in user safety. Their interest is in new phone sales and maintaining a profitable monopoly over repair.

Apple’s whole pivot is framed by the Post, which seems simply thrilled to even have access to an Apple engineering VP, as something Apple just came up with one day because it’s just that forward-thinking and courteous. It’s another example of how Apple’s widely proclaimed “180 on right to repair” is more of a drunken 45 degree begrudging and overdue waddle, propped up by a lazy press.

Experts at the Table: Semiconductor Engineering sat down to discuss Vehicle-To-Everything (V2X) technology and the path to deployment, with Shawn Carpenter, program director for 5G and space at Ansys; Lang Lin, principal product manager at Ansys; Daniel Dalpiaz, senior manager product marketing, Americas, green industrial power division at Infineon; David Fritz, vice president of virtual and hybrid systems at Siemens EDA; and Ron DiGiuseppe, senior marketing manager, automotive IP segment at Synopsys. What follows are excerpts from that conversation.

L-R: Ansys’ Carpenter; Ansys’ Lin; Infineon’s Dalpiaz; Siemens EDA’s Fritz; Synopsys‘ DiGiuseppe.

SE: What is the potential of vehicle-to-everything technology, and what role will the semiconductor ecosystem play in making this a reality?

DiGiuseppe: V2X is a technology that’s not just years, but decades, in the making. It initially started as a dedicated short-range communications (DSRC) type of technology, and has globally transitioned into a cellular technology, although many of those V2X applications are not just cellular. There are other spectrum allocations V2X can run on, including WiFi or other general-use technology. So it’s not limited to cellular. Also, it’s not just a technology. It’s an application, an outcome, and there are a lot of valuable uses, many of which are safety-related, but there are others, such as efficiency of traffic management notifications. V2X has a wide number of uses. The deployment will be done in stages, and there’s a lot of activity even though it’s taken a long time.

Lin: When I see the keyword V2X, it reminds me of everything about how the car can communicate with anything in the world. It’s a very exciting moment that we’re here today to be able to make some kind of technology to enable great communication between vehicles and people, in network infrastructures and car to car communications. Today, there is already something implemented. For instance, in car network systems we can connect our phone to the car already, but we’re still in the first mile. We’ve started on the journey, but we have a long way to go as far as how to connect car-to-car, how to connect the car to the entire infrastructure of networks, and to the internet. There are a lot of unknowns on the road while we start driving on this journey, and safety and security are definitely the biggest concerns. What if my network is being jeopardized?

Dalpiaz: V2X is part of a much bigger smart grid ecosystem. This will certainly play a very important role, especially as the grid becomes smart and decentralized. This is what will enable the future energy ecosystem, having renewable energies, energy storage systems all connected. And as we see more EVs being used as mobile battery storage. this is something that will certainly enable, and is part of, a smart grid ecosystem that everybody’s talking about.

Fritz: The days of independent semiconductor and software development are over. It is the need for OEMs to control their own destiny, driven by growing consumer and competitive demand, that has all but eliminated the ability to sell a one-size-fits-all product. We’ve known for a very long time that software needs to drive semiconductors, and semiconductors need to drive software. This symbiotic relationship, and the tools and methodologies needed to support this paradigm shift, are essential to producing a highly successful, complex, and competitive solution that meets consumer demands.

SE: What are the discrete pieces of V2X that need to be connected?

Dalpiaz: From the semiconductor point of view, especially with the usage of wide bandgap materials, a few companies are seeing that it’s possible to increase efficiency and power density. Being able to not only provide such solutions, but have everything connected in one box, is part of the smart ecosystem. Then, having the electric vehicles, energy storage, solar — everything combined into one box. Twenty years ago, before the iPhone, we used to have a fax machine, a camera for photographs, a computer. The future of this ecosystem is going to have one box sitting in your home, and have all this stuff connected together. So from the semiconductor point of view, especially with silicon carbide, it is something that is possible today, and it can achieve a very high level of efficiency — about 99%, very close to 100%. And of course, we need to make the system smaller to fit in a vehicle.

DiGiuseppe: One of the key stakeholders is the cellular companies. When we look at cellular V2X, one of the main challenges is interoperability. You have different devices in different model-year cars, so for the vehicle-to-vehicle communications, those different devices need to be interoperable. Then, the car will be talking to the infrastructure, so the roadside units need to be interoperable with the cars and devices in the cars. Then, of course, you have vehicle-to-pedestrians, vehicle-to-e-mobility like vehicle-to-bicycles, vehicle-to-motorcycles interoperability between all the devices over the medium. Whether it’s cellular or Wi-Fi or other technologies, it all needs to be interoperable. That will allow deployments in one locality to work in another locality, because even if they’re interoperable in one deployment in one region, we’ve got to make sure they’re also interoperable in other regions. So it’s a large scale interoperability goal.

Lin: Ron, you’re talking about interoperability, and Daniel talked about the ecosystem. From my side, I would also mention some standards are necessary. For EDA, to help build such an ecosystem and chips, we need some rules to give to engineers as to what’s to be followed. There are two important standards in my mind. One is the vehicle safety standard ISO 26262, which regulates a couple of safety standards for on-road vehicle chip design. Another is the cyber security standard, ISO 21434. If I make a tool, I probably will follow those standards, and then think about how the tool could help users decide a pass/failure criteria regarding their design, making sure to meet the security and safety target from the standard.

DiGiuseppe: In addition to standards, last October the U.S. Department of Transportation released its national V2X deployment plan. That plan, which is still in draft feedback stage, lays out — at least in the U.S. — the whole timeline for deployments. That kind of oversight plan overlays onto the standards that Lang was just talking about. That deployment plan outlines the different contributions from all the different stakeholders, from the automakers/OEMs to the software developers for the applications. So overlaid on top of standards is a deployment plan, and a government deployment plan outlines that. Plus, there are a lot of government stakeholders, like the FCC allocating spectrum, and the Department of Transportation deploying all these deployments, and that’s in addition to the technology providers.

Fritz: It would take days to adequately answer those questions, but at the core, the root design components are connectivity, power, performance, and acceleration. Connectivity with the proper protocols allows computational tasks to be distributed. This is particularly important in automotive, where the physical distance between sensing, actuating and computing nodes is critical for predictable performance. In the case of V2X, connectivity enables the normalization of external data, whether it involves smart city infrastructure or another vehicle. It’s important to note that the form of the shared data grows exponentially with the capacity to describe the environment, and therefore the compute requirements to process and understand it. For example, a data form that can describe signage in the U.S. is relatively small, but one that is universal with variations recognizable is much larger and more ambiguous. This drives design parameters that directly impact manufacturing, development, and service cost functions. Further, the normalization of the data has an impact on the overall design and design component interactions. In the case of power, it goes without saying that high compute requirements, and the associated necessary cooling, can have a significant impact on EV range and manufacturing costs. Performance can take many forms, but as software loads increase with hypervisors, specialized operating systems, and protocol stacks, not to mention very complex application software, all must meet stringent mission critical requirements. Finally, acceleration is of growing importance because it allows workloads to be handed off to specialized hardware that is better equipped to handle that load. An example is running AI inferencing on a CPU is typically far slower and more power-hungry than on an NPU, but a GPU could be idle and available to do the same task. On the other hand, a small CNN can be handled quite easily on a CPU with a few simple instructions. It is at the intersection of these major design components where an OEM will find its differentiation. Therefore, having a system capable of exploring this complex hardware and software space quickly, and with a small team, is critical for an OEM to demand of its suppliers what is required for the success of its platforms. Again, controlling your own destiny is essential to survival.

SE: With all of this interoperability, what happens when there are parts of the ‘everything’ — whether it’s the car or the infrastructure or pedestrians — that are not updated with the latest technologies or different aspects of what needs to be there for conductivity?

DiGiuseppe: In addition to that challenge, this includes backward compatibility for automotive. For someone buying a car in 2025, you would expect any V2X technology to work in 2040. But in the meantime, all those standards that we’re talking about are continuing to evolve, so they need to be backward compatible.

Carpenter: This highlights the need for a digital twin capability for modeling this infrastructure to be able to understand that when we get two years down the road, some devices may not be reprogrammable. We may not be able to flash a particular device. We need to be able to look at that, and be able to simulate that in advance to understand what will happen. What will this do? We’re seeing this show a little bit, even giving a nod to what Ron was talking about earlier with interoperability. We have customers who want to be able to validate real hardware stuff that they’re developing on the lab bench, but they want to do it with the fidelity of a real system operating on a car, in a virtual city, with the live interaction of the channel with a gNodeB 5G base station mounted up on a building someplace, and they want to know how this will work in the context of the situation that it’s supposed to serve. And if something goes wrong in that scene, can we introduce something into this device and run our real silicon development platform against it to understand what happens here. If we go into a deep shadow, a deep fade area, and I’m not getting updates, yet I’m hurtling down the road at a certain speed, how long can I do this before I receive corrective information? What if someone’s software deck out there doesn’t get reprogrammed or doesn’t get the latest version of the standard safety protocols or something like that? We’re going to need this ability to carry models of stuff that was built two or three years ago in today’s infrastructure, model that, and understand in advance what’s going to happen with it so that we have an approach to do this. This is what the Department of Defense is doing today with their digital thread enablement, to have a way to capture that with legacy models of what they built years ago, but apply it in modern missions and understand, ‘Does it work? Does it fit? Does it not fit? What do we need to do to the existing system to make sure that we’re safe here?’ That is an approach we clearly see the automakers beginning to look at as a way to future-proof some of these systems and make sure that they’ve got a way to test them as they go forward.

Fritz: It’s become very clear from several popularized incidents that simply stopping and waiting for tech support to find you and get you going again is not going to be a successful strategy. In the end, the vehicle must make decisions at least as thoughtful as an average human would make. This is entirely possible, but not if too much emphasis is placed in the design phase on the dependencies between communicating (or non-communicating) actors. For this reason, we will always require sophisticated decision-making in-vehicle to be widely accepted.

SE: How does the design team stay up to date with everything?

DiGiuseppe: On the vehicle side, they’re going to be relying on over-the-air (OTA) software updates, which is relatively new in the automotive industry. But clearly, once we identify a software update, we’re going to need to roll out that software update, and OTA is obviously going to be used hand-in-hand with the updates to V2X as it moves forward.

SE: From a developer standpoint, they have to design to these all these regulations. What are the issues here?

Lin: As a software developer, if you think about a vehicle 10 years ago, you mainly just replaced hardware. You replaced your brakes, you replaced your engine, adding some fluid. These are all old styles. Right now, if you have the V2X network, you’d expect probably daily updates because software is evolving daily, and your whole communication system infrastructure is under the whole internet evolution, so you’re going to have to keep pace with it. That’s a lot of work for developers.

Carpenter: There could be implications on edge processing. The telecommunications providers are going to need to put a lot more compute closer to the radio head, and clearly they’re already exploring the possibilities of getting not just central processing cores, CPU cores, but there will be GPU cores and Tensor Processing Units, and we don’t know what all yet for AI, that will be a part of this safety infrastructure and information/infotainment delivery. There’s a lot more compute that’s going to have to happen with a much shorter latency. Augmented reality with heads-up displays — imagine the possibilities coming in safety systems with heads-up displays in cars. Then imagine the amount of processing that it’s going to take. So the telecom providers will need to be a major part of that, together with most of the local government regulatory groups that are going to foster that safety system. Each municipality probably has to decide what do they adopt, what level of standard will they use, and deliver. Who invests in that? The future is really exciting, but there are a few things yet to be sorted out in terms of the investment needed to really deliver that promise.

Dalpiaz: I’m more in the infrastructure side, and one of the questions we always have is, ‘With all this focus on renewables and decentralization of the grid, can the grid handle such expectations or such projects?’ Having more people connecting and feeding energy back into the grid, and managing all of this, that’s always the question that you have to go through and consider.

Fritz: The fact is that keeping up to date is not practical. However, that doesn’t mean that a methodology cannot be employed to accept changes into the development system, and therefore be folded into the development process. CI/CD systems with digital twin golden models already are being developed, with nightly regressions run against complex (and possibly changing) requirements. In this way, requirement changes are automatically addressed as they occur, and solutions can be rolled into an Agile methodology through nightly regressions. This is an important benefit of a modern development methodology that has been used in other industries for years, but it’s just now finding purchase in progressive automotive companies.

Related Reading
Growing Challenges For Increasingly Connected Vehicles
OEMs have high expectations for connected vehicles and global growth opportunities, but it’s not that simple.
Software-Defined Vehicles Ready To Roll
New approach could have big effects on cost, safety, security, and time to market.

The post V2X Path To Deployment Still Murky appeared first on Semiconductor Engineering.

Aging satellite TV provider Dish Network is supposed to be undergoing a major transformation from tired old satellite TV provider to streaming and wireless juggernaut. It was a cornerstone of a Trump administration FCC and DOJ plan to cobble together a new wireless carrier out of twine and vibes as a counter-balance to the competition-eroding T-Mobile and Sprint merger.

It’s… not going well. All of the problems critics of the T-Mobile and Sprint merger predicted (layoffs, price hikes, lest robust competition) have come true. Meanwhile Dish has been bleeding satellite TV, wireless, and streaming TV subscribers for a while (last quarter the company lost another 314,000 TV subscribers, including 249,000 satellite TV subs and 65,000 Sling TV customers).

Dish’s new 5G network has also generally been received as a sort of half-hearted joke. Dish also lost 123,000 prepaid wireless subscribers last quarter; it can’t pay its debt obligations, can’t afford to buy the spectrum it was supposed to acquire as part of the Sprint/T-Mobile merger arrangement; and expanding its half-cooked 5G network looks tenuous at best.

Last year Dish proposed merging with Echostar in a bid to distract everybody from the company’s ongoing mess. They’ve also tried to goose stock valuations by hinting at an equally doomed merger with DirecTV. But those distractions didn’t help either, and there are increasing worries among belatedly aware analysts that this all ends with bankruptcy and a pile of rubble:

“MoffettNathanson analyst Craig Moffett offered a blunt assessment of the company’s future based on Dish’s deteriorating pay-TV and mobile subscriber customer base: “Dish’s business is spiraling towards bankruptcy. Gradually, then all at once, the declines are gathering speed,” he wrote in a research note.”

From 2019 or so I noted that this whole mess was likely a doomed effort, primarily designed to provide cover for an anti-competitive, job-killing wireless merger. It always seemed likely to me that Dish (which had never built a wireless network) would string FCC regulators along for a few years before selling off its valuable spectrum assets and whatever half-assed 5G network it had managed to construct.

Despite this, trade magazines that cover the telecom industry tried desperately to pretend this was all a very serious adult venture, despite zero indication anyone involved had any idea what they were doing. And the deal rubber stamping and circular logic used to justify it ran in very stark contrast to the ongoing pretense that we supposedly care about “antitrust reform.”

Ultimately Dish will make a killing on spectrum, the FCC will fine them a relative pittance for failing to meet the flimsy build requirements affixed to the merger conditions, and Dish CEO Charlie Ergen will trot off into the sunset on a giant pile of money. Some giant player like Verizon will then swoop in to gobble up what’s left of the wreckage, and the industry will consolidate further (the whole point)

The regulatory impact of approving Sprint/T-Mobile, which consolidated the U.S. wireless market from four to three major providers (jacking up prices and killing off thousands of jobs), will be forgotten, and the regulators and officials behind the entire mess will have long ago moved on to other terrible, short-sighted ideas.

Google's swanky new office building located on the Alphabet's Mountain View, California headquarters has been "plagued for months by inoperable, or, at best, spotty Wi-Fi," reports Reuters citing six people familiar with the matter. "Its recliner-laden collaborative workspaces do not work well for teams carting around laptops, since workers must plug into ethernet cables at their desks to get consistent internet service. Some make do by using their phones as hotspots." From the report: The company promoted the new building and surrounding campus in a 229-page glossy book highlighting its cutting-edge features, such as "Googley interiors" and "an environment where everyone has the tools they need to be successful." But, a Google spokeswoman acknowledged, "we've had Wi-Fi connectivity issues in Bay View." She said Google "made several improvements to address the issue," and the company hoped to have a fix in coming weeks. According to one AI engineer assigned to the building, which also houses members of the advertising team, the wonky Wi-Fi has been no help for Google pushing a three day per week return-to-office mandate. "You'd think the world's leading internet company would have worked this out," he said. Managers have encouraged workers to stroll outside or sit at the adjoining cafe where the Wi-Fi signal is stronger. Some were issued new laptops recently with more powerful Wi-Fi chips. Google has not publicly disclosed the reasons for the Wi-Fi problems, but workers say the 600,000-square-foot building's swooping, wave-like rooftop swallows broadband like the Bermuda Triangle.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

As wireless systems become complex and reach for more spectrum, RF engineers must rely on high-fidelity simulation solutions to model and test their proposed new networks effectively.

We offer tools to address these challenges and enable network architects and mission planners to digitally model and simulate dynamic wireless networks within an accurate systems simulation environment. Leveraging solutions for electromagnetic wave propagation, electronically steered antenna design tools, and a digital mission simulation, engineers can rapidly deploy models and execute them within a high-fidelity, physics-accurate digital testing environment. Engineers will understand the impacts of terrain, urban landscapes, and the dynamic kinematic motions across any number of simulated scenarios needed to test anticipated wireless network performance against design requirements thoroughly.

Register now to attend this free webinar!

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Ansys is combining these industry-leading modeling and simulation tools to provide a workflow-driven solution to these unique needs and challenges. Join us to learn more about the new Ansys RF Channel Modeler and how it can help you and your organization leverage digital modeling and simulation tools like never before.

What you will learn:

• How high-fidelity simulation solutions effectively model and test proposed new networks
• How to enable network architects and mission planners to digitally model and simulate dynamic wireless networks within an accurate systems simulation environment
• How the impacts of terrain, urban landscapes, and the dynamic kinematic motions across any number of simulated scenarios are needed to test anticipated wireless network performance against design requirements

Wireless spectrum is always at a premium—if you’ve ever tried to connect to Wi-Fi in a crowded airport or stadium, you know the pain that comes from crowded spectrum use. That’s why the industry continues to tinker with ways to get the most out of available spectrum. The latest example: Qualcomm’s FastConnect 7900 chip, which the company unveiled Monday at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

Qualcomm touts the FastConnect 7900 as a provider of “AI-enhanced” Wi-Fi 7, which the company views as an opportunity to create more reliable wireless connections. The chip will also better integrate the disparate technologies of Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and ultrawideband for consumer applications. In addition, the chip can support two connections to the same device over the same spectrum band.

The FastConnect 7900 comes as the wireless industry renews its focus on reliability with Wi-Fi 7, the wireless tech standard’s latest generation. The emphasis comes in addition improving throughput and decreasing latency, something to which every Wi-Fi generation contributes.

(Wi-Fi is a range of wireless networking protocols based on the IEEE 802.11 set of standards. The IEEE is IEEE Spectrum‘s parent organization.)

AI-Enhanced Wi-Fi

“[Wi-Fi’s] a bit like the wild, wild West,” says Javier del Prado, vice president for mobile connectivity at Qualcomm. “It’s all sorts of devices out there, congestion, devices that come in and go off, access points that do this, access points that do that—it’s very difficult to guarantee service.” Del Prado says that AI is the “perfect tool” to change that.

Key to the FastConnect 7900’s capabilities is the chip’s ability to detect what applications are in use by the device. Different applications use Wi-Fi differently: For example, streaming a video may require more data throughput, while a voice chat needs to prioritize low latency. After the chip has determined what applications are in use, it can optimize power and latency on a case-by-case basis.

Using AI to manage wireless spectrum connections isn’t a new problem or solution, but Qualcomm’s chip benefits from running everything on-device. “It has to run on the device to be effective,” says del Prado. “We need to make decisions at the microsecond level.”

Put another way, using the Wi-Fi connection itself to transmit the information about how to adjust the Wi-Fi connection would defeat the purpose of AI management in the first place—by the time the chip receives the information, it’d be way out of date.

Also important: The chip doesn’t suck power—in fact, it saves power overall. “These are fairly simple models,” says del Prado. “It’s not a 5 billion parameter AI. It’s a much smaller model. The key performance indicators are the speed and the accuracy.”

Del Prado says that the chip’s power consumption is negligible. In fact, because of its ability to optimize power depending on what applications are running, the chip saves its device up to 30 percent in power consumption.

Wi-Fi and Bluetooth and Ultrawideband, All in One

Outside of cellular, Wi-Fi is the most common way our phones connect with the world. But it’s not the only tech—Bluetooth is used for things like wireless earbuds, and ultrawideband (UWB) also sees some use for applications like item tracking (think Apple’s AirPods) and locking and unlocking cars remotely. All three technologies rely heavily on proximity and distance ranging to maintain wireless connections.

“There are all these use cases that use proximity and that use different technologies,” says del Prado. “Different technologies bring different benefits. There’s not always a single technology that fits all use cases. But that creates complexity.”

Qualcomm’s FastConnect 7900, del Prado says, will hide that complexity. “We make it technology-agnostic for the consumer.”

Sharing Spectrum Bands

One final trick the FastConnect 7900 offers is an ability to host two Wi-Fi connections on the same band of spectrum. Here, the chip is building on previous FastConnect generations. “We already introduced what we call ‘hybrid-simultaneous’—this is the capability of doing multiple channels simultaneously on the 5- and 6-gigahertz bands,” says del Prado.

New to the 7900 is audio over Wi-Fi, says del Prado. Qualcomm is calling it “XPAN,” and it’s a separate channel for audio only in those 5-GHz and 6-GHz bands.

This matters because those spectrum bands can deliver a much higher audio quality to the device compared to, say, Bluetooth, which operates in the 2.4-GHz band. By carving out a separate channel just for audio, says del Prado, the 7900 chip can provide that much better audio quality without it succumbing to the strain that typically emerges when multiple connections demand the same wireless signal. “That’s something that cannot be done with Bluetooth today, because it’s bandwidth-limited,” says del Prado.

Qualcomm is already sampling the FastConnect 7900 to its customers—that is, manufacturers of phones and similar devices. Del Prado estimates that the first products with the chip will hit the market in the second half of the year. “When the new round of premium Android phones hits the market later this year, those should support this functionality.”

At this point in the year, new wireless Bluetooth earbuds are arriving at a constant pace. This means even more options are worth considering, with most of them offering features like active noise cancelation (ANC), great sound and solid battery life in increasingly comfortable packages. As the new models pile up, sorting through the noise can be a chore, but we’re constantly testing and reviewing to provide the best buying advice. This guide breaks down our current top picks, and lays out some things you should compare before choosing which pair of wireless earbuds is right for you.

What to look for in wireless earbuds

When it comes to shopping for earbuds, the first thing to consider is design or wear style. Do you prefer a semi-open fit like AirPods or do you want something that completely closes off your ears? If you’re shopping for earbuds with active noise cancellation, you'll want the latter, but a case can be made for the former if you want to wear them all day or frequent places where you need to be tuned in to the ambient sounds. The overall shape of earbuds can determine whether you get a comfortable fit, so can the size and weight, so you’ll want to consider all that before deciding. And remember: audio companies aren’t perfect, so despite lots of research, the earbud shape they decided on may not fit you well. Don’t be afraid to return ill-fitting earbuds for something that’s more comfortable.

As wireless earbuds have become the norm, they’re now more reliable for basic things like consistent Bluetooth connectivity. Companies are still in a race to pack as much as they can into increasingly smaller designs. This typically means a longer list of features on the more premium sets of earbuds with basic functionality on the cheapest models. Carefully consider what you can’t live without when selecting your next earbuds, and make sure key items like automatic pausing and multipoint connectivity are on the spec sheet. You’ll also want to investigate the volume controls as you’ll often have to sacrifice access to something else to make that adjustment via on-board taps or swipes.

When it comes to battery life, the average set of earbuds lasts about five hours on a single charge. You can find sets that last longer, but this is likely enough to get you through a work day if you’re docking the buds during lunch or the occasional meeting. You’ll want to check on how many extra charges are available via the case and if it supports wireless charging.

Companies will also make lofty claims about call quality on wireless earbuds. Despite lots of promises, the reality is most earbuds still leave you sounding like you’re on speakerphone. There are some sets that deliver, but don’t get your hopes up unless reviews confirm the claims.

Sound can be subjective, so we recommend trying before you buy if at all possible. We understand this isn’t easy at a time when we’re doing most of our shopping online. But trying on a set of earbuds and listening to them for a few minutes can save you from an expensive case of buyer's remorse. If a store doesn’t allow a quick demo, most retailers have return policies that will let you take earbuds back you don’t like. Of course, you have to be willing to temporarily part with funds in order to do this.

We also recommend paying attention to things like Spatial Audio, Dolby Atmos, 360 Reality Audio and other immersive formats. Not all earbuds support them, so you’ll want to make sure a perspective pair does if that sort of thing excites you.

How we test wireless Bluetooth earbuds

The primary way we test earbuds is to wear them as much as possible. We prefer to do this over a one- to two-week period, but sometimes embargoes don’t allow it. During this time, we listen to a mix of music and podcasts, while also using the earbuds to take both voice and video calls. Since battery life for earbuds is typically less than a full day, we drain the battery with looping music and the volume set at a comfortable level (usually around 75 percent).

To judge audio quality, we listen to a range of genres, noting any differences in the sound profile across the styles. We also test at both low and high volumes to check for consistency in the tuning. To assess call quality, we’ll record audio samples with the earbuds’ microphones as well as have third parties call us.

When it comes to features, we do a thorough review of companion apps, testing each feature as we work through the software. Any holdovers from previous models are double checked for improvements or regression. If the earbuds we’re testing are an updated version of a previous model, we’ll spend time getting reacquainted with the older buds. Ditto for the closest competition for each new set of earbuds that we review.

Other wireless Bluetooth earbuds we tested

Bose Ultra Open Earbuds

Bose created something very unique for this set of earbuds that allows you to stay in-tune with the world while listening to audio content. The clip-on design is very comfortable, but sound quality suffers due to the open-type fit, especially when it comes to bass and spatial audio.

Audio-Technica ATH-TWX7

These stick buds have a compact design that’s comfortable to wear and the warm sound profile is great at times. However, overall audio performance is inconsistent and there’s no automatic pausing.

Master & Dynamic MW09

Retooled audio, better ambient sound mode and reliable multipoint Bluetooth are the best things the MW09 has to offer. They’re expensive though, and you can find better ANC performance elsewhere.

Beats Studio Buds +

Updates to sound, ANC and battery life top the spec sheet here, and the new clear color option has some throwback energy I love. But there are some basic features missing, and Beats doesn’t come close to Apple’s natural audio quality in transparency mode.

JBL Tour Pro 2

These earbuds are feature-packed, including a touchscreen “smart case.” They aren’t the most consistent in terms of overall performance though, and I’m not convinced that case provides a lot of utility just yet.

Pending reviews

Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 4

Sennheiser’s latest impressed us during a brief hands-on at CES and they’re due to arrive March 1. Consistently great audio quality and improved ANC are part of the appeal here, as is ANC being less of a drain on battery life.

FAQs

Is sound quality better on headphones or earbuds?

Comparing sound quality on earbuds and headphones is a bit like comparing apples and oranges. There are a lot of variables to consider and the differences in components make a direct comparison difficult. Personally, I prefer the audio quality from over-ear headphones, but I can tell you the sound from earbuds like Sennheiser’s Momentum True Wireless 3 is also outstanding.

Which wireless earbuds have the longest battery life?

With new models coming out all the time, tracking the hours of battery life for each this can be difficult to keep tabs on. The longest-lasting earbuds we’ve reviewed are Audio-Technica’s ATH-CKS5TW. The company states they last 15 hours, but the app was still showing 40 percent at that mark during our tests. The only downside is these earbuds debuted in 2019 and both technology and features have improved since. In terms of current models, Master & Dynamic’s MW08 offers 12 hours of use on a charge with ANC off (10 with ANC on) and JBL has multiple options with 10-hour batteries.

What wireless earbuds are waterproof?

There are plenty of options these days when it comes to increased water resistance. To determine the level of protection, you’ll want to look for an IP (ingress protection) rating. The first number indicates intrusion protection from things like dust. The second number is the level of moisture protection and you’ll want to make sure that figure is 7 or higher. At this water-resistance rating, earbuds can withstand full immersion for up to 30 minutes in depths up to one meter (3.28 feet). If either of the IP numbers is an X, that means it doesn’t have any special protection. For example, a pair of wireless earbuds that are IPX7 wouldn’t be built to avoid dust intrusion, but they would be ok if you dropped them in shallow water.

Which earbuds stay in ears the best?

A secure fit can vary wildly from person to person. All of our ears are different, so audio companies are designing their products to fit the most people they can with a single shape. This is why AirPods will easily fall out for some but stay put for others. Design touches like wing tips or fins typically come on fitness models and those elements can help keep things in place. You’ll likely just have to try earbuds on, and if they don’t fit well return them.

What wireless earbuds work with PS5?

PlayStation 5 doesn’t support Bluetooth audio without an adapter or dongle. Even Sony’s own gaming headsets come with a transmitter that connects to the console. There are universal options that allow you to use any headphones, headset or earbuds with a PS5. Once you have one, plug it into a USB port on the console and pair your earbuds with it.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/best-wireless-earbuds-120058222.html?src=rss

© Photo by Billy Steele/Engadget

DNA assembly of 3D nanomaterials

Scientists from Brookhaven National Laboratory, Columbia University, and Stony Brook University developed a method that uses DNA to instruct molecules to organize themselves into targeted 3D patterns and produce a wide variety of designed metallic and semiconductor 3D nanostructures.

“We have been using DNA to program nanoscale materials for more than a decade,” said corresponding author Oleg Gang, a professor of chemical engineering and of applied physics and materials science at Columbia Engineering, in a release. “Now, by building on previous achievements, we have developed a method for converting these DNA-based structures into many types of functional inorganic 3D nano-architectures, and this opens tremendous opportunities for 3D nanoscale manufacturing.”

Researchers program strands of DNA to “direct” the self-assembly process towards molecular arrangements that give rise to properties such as electrical conductivity, photosensitivity, and magnetism, which can then be scaled up to functional materials.

The team used the method to grow silica on a DNA lattice, which helped to create a robust structure. They then used vapor-phase infiltration and liquid-phase infiltration, which bonds a precursor chemical in vapor or liquid form to a nanoscale lattice, to produce a variety of 3D metallic structures.

Scientists used a new, universal method to create a variety of 3D metallic and semiconductor nanostructures, including this structure revealed by an electron microscope. The scale bar represents one micrometer. The superimposed graphics convey that the researchers combined multiple techniques to layer silicon dioxide, then alumina-doped zinc oxide, and finally platinum on top of a DNA “scaffolding.” This complex structure represents new possibilities for advanced manufacturing at small scales. (Credit: Brookhaven National Laboratory)

“Stacking these techniques showed much more depth of control than has ever been accomplished before,” said Aaron Michelson, a postdoctoral researcher at Brookhaven’s Center for Functional Nanomaterials, in a release. “Whatever vapors are available as precursors for vapor-phase infiltration can be coupled with various metal salts compatible with liquid-phase infiltration to create more complex structures. For example, we were able to combine platinum, aluminum, and zinc on top of one nanostructure.”

They were also able to add on semiconducting metal oxides, such as zinc oxide, to an insulating nanostructure, providing it with electrical conductivity and photoluminescent properties. [1]

Mott insulator transistor

Researchers from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Brookhaven National Laboratory, University of the Basque Country, and NYU Shanghai propose a way to make transistors out of Mott insulators.

The researchers were able to direct the Mott transition from insulator to metal and back again by topping a Mott insulator with a gate insulator made of a ferroelectric material and using a voltage to flip the ferroelectric material’s polarization. A third layer beneath the Mott channel that allows charges to migrate from the Mott down to it improved control over the insulator-metal transition with an on-off ratio of 385.

Additionally, the researchers claim that the Mott-ferroelectric pairing is more energy-efficient than other non-volatile but magnetism-based memory, including MRAM.

“We can have very high-performance devices, retaining many manufacturing processes of conventional semiconductors and overcoming some fundamental limitations of them,” said Xia Hong, professor of physics at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, in a release. “I think it’s ready. It’s really competitive with other non-volatile memory technologies.” [2]

Faster wireless data speeds

Researchers from Osaka University and IMRA America suggest a way to increase wireless data transmission speeds by reducing the noise in the system using lasers.

Future 6G transmitters and receivers are expected to use the sub-terahertz band, which extends from 100 GHz to 300 GHz, using an approach called “multi-level signal modulation” to further increase the data transmission rate. However, this approach is highly sensitive to noise at the upper end of the frequency range.

“This problem has limited 300-GHz communications so far,” said Keisuke Maekawa of Osaka University in a statement. “However, we found that at high frequencies, a signal generator based on a photonic device had much less phase noise than a conventional electrical signal generator.”

The team used a stimulated Brillouin scattering laser, which employs interactions between sound and light waves, to generate a precise signal. They then set up a 300 GHz-band wireless communication system that employs the laser-based signal generator in both the transmitter and receiver. The system also used on-line digital signal processing (DSP) to demodulate the signals in the receiver and increase the data rate.

“Our team achieved a single-channel transmission rate of 240 gigabits per second,” said Tadao Nagatsuma, a professor at Osaka University, in a release. “This is the highest transmission rate obtained so far in the world using on-line DSP.” The researchers expect that with multiplexing techniques and more sensitive receivers, the data rate can be increased to 1 terabit per second. [3]

References

[1] Aaron Michelson et al., Three-dimensional nanoscale metal, metal oxide, and semiconductor frameworks through DNA-programmable assembly and templating. Sci. Adv. 10, eadl0604 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adl0604

[2] Hao, Y., Chen, X., Zhang, L. et al. Record high room temperature resistance switching in ferroelectric-gated Mott transistors unlocked by interfacial charge engineering. Nat Commun 14, 8247 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-44036-x

[3] Keisuke Maekawa, Tomoya Nakashita, Toki Yoshioka, Takashi Hori, Antoine Rolland, Tadao Nagatsuma, Single-channel 240-Gbit/s sub-THz wireless communications using ultra-low phase noise receiver, IEICE Electronics Express, Article ID 20.20230584, Advance online publication December 25, 2023, Online ISSN 1349-2543, https://doi.org/10.1587/elex.20.20230584

The post Research Bits: Feb. 19 appeared first on Semiconductor Engineering.

What gift do you get this holiday season for the computer builder in your life?

Well, first of all, probably not computer parts! Unless they’ve asked for a specific component, there’s a good chance you’d be giving them something redundant or unwanted.

But don’t worry! There are still plenty of things that the average PC builder could receive that are almost never redundant (like additional storage space) or which a builder is unlikely to have bought for themselves (like an uninterruptible power supply). Good gift ideas for PC building enthusiasts are what this list is all about.

The following 10 gifts ideas cover a spectrum of prices, and are sure to find use on or near the desk of any friend or family member who’s into building computers. Of course, suggestions you get directly from the intended recipient should always be prioritized; but if you haven’t received any guidance from them, these ideas will surely come in handy. Let’s begin!

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Tier 1 Gifts ($1-50)

 

The first tier of gifts is the lowest in price and has the most examples. These gifts will find use by both novice and experienced builders alike.

#1 – Headphone Stand ($9)

A straightforward gift that is enough of an unnecessary nicety that most computer builders won’t already have one. Yet it’s useful enough to be used everyday, while being cheap enough to choose as a budget gift or to throw in as a stocking stuffer. By simply offering a place to safely store headphones, this gift clears up desktop space and provides a cleaner appearance overall.

*Headphones, of course, not included! Unless you also buy gift #9…

 

#2 – Multiport Power Strip Surge Protector ($22)

Despite their solid metal construction and aggressive, angular designs, computers are soft and temperamental on the inside, particularly regarding electricity. It’s important to ensure that any unexpected changes in the power supplying a PC are controlled by an external device so no expensive components are damaged or destroyed. A surge protector like this one from reliable power accessory brand Anker will prevent unexpected pulses of electricity from damaging computer components while also expanding the number of power ports near the PC, all for only $22! Help the computer builder in your life replace the little ratty power strip they’ve been using since 2014; it’s time for it to go.

#3 – All-in-one Univeral Wireless Charging Pad ($30)

Another gift idea from Anker is their all-in-one wireless charging pad. Having a wireless charger on my own desk has been incredibly convenient and keeps my phone charged up while working from home for evenings, where I don’t have access to another charger. Many high-wattage charging pads require special power adapters to maximize their charging potential, but they often aren’t included with the pad itself. This universal charging pad includes a full adapter built in for no-fuss universal charging straight out of the box. Whether they have an Android or an iPhone, they’ll appreciate having such a convenient location to charge their phone!

#4 – Essential Electronics Toolkit ($30)

Working on computers doesn’t inherently require much more than a screwdriver and some resolve, but having this iFixit essential electronics toolkit would have made my days repairing laptops, computers, and smartphones significantly easier. Including both essential tools like various magnetic screwdriver bits and plastic separators, this kit also includes a variety of useful specialty bits for unique parts and electronics, as well as a couple cleaning tools that are sure to find use in any computer builder’s tool box. As I indicated a moment ago, these tools can also be used to repair laptops and smartphones—provided all appropriate safety and warranty measures are followed, of course!

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Tier 2 Gifts ($51-100)

 

This second tier steps up the price range and has two examples. They remain general enough to find use no matter the experience level of the recipient, while some of the next section is a bit more niche.

#5 – Bluetooth Desk Speakers ($50)

For many computer builders, their audio experience ends with a headphone cable. Speakers alternatively provide a more relaxed listening experience without the headgear, even at volumes low enough to avoid disturbing house- or room-mates. This speaker pair from Edifer features 2.75 inch drivers and a compact design that doesn’t dominate valuable desk space. They can even be placed anywhere thanks to their Bluetooth connectivity, whether that’s a desktop, a bookshelf, or a TV stand. Or they can be connected to a laptop instead, and used as a mobile pair of speakers for parties, elegant dinner events, and various other soirées.

#6 – 2TB External Hard Drive ($70)

External hard drives can store large amounts of data and can be transported anywhere, making them great gifts for computer-savvy travelers that like to watch media on the go. They can load the drive with shows and movies and bring it with them for direct playback on a laptop or tablet, keep it at home and stream directly from it over another service like Plex, or simply use it as a backup for their important data. This Western Digital My Passport drive is a reliable option with plenty of storage for most applications, but it would also be possible to scale this gift up or down according to your gift budget and how much storage you think your gift recipient could use! A lower-capacity 1TB version can be had for $50, or you can spring for up to a 5TB version for $120 if you happen to know a real data hoarder. For reference, to make more sense of what 1TB can hold, it is capable of storing ~158 copies of a 1080p version of the movie Scorpion King 2: Rise of a Warrior. That’s a terrible movie—but what they do with the drive is up to them, so we won’t judge. If the intended gift recipient really loves collecting media or really prizes backing up their work, it may be best to spring for 2TB or greater.

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Tier 3 Gifts  ($101-150)

 

This third tier of gifts has three examples at a higher price range than tier 2: a DAC/Amp to boost audio experiences, a more premium storage solution, and a nice pair of headphones at a great price!

#7 – Digital-to-Analog Converter / Amplifier for Headphones ($110)

A Digital-to-Analog Converter, shortened to DAC, is a device that translates a computer’s audio output from digital to analogue, which increases the fidelity of the signal. This gift is a great idea for those with a particular interest in music or even movies and games, as it can increase the quality of computer audio dramatically while the included amplifier permits more powerful higher-impedance headphones to be used. Even “standard” headphones will see a benefit from this compact DAC that requires nothing outside of the box before use. If you’re okay with the gift being less than a surprise, then it may be worth checking if the recipient has a DAC already before buying… though that rule applies to pretty much any gift in this price range and above!

#8 – 2TB M.2 Solid State Drive ($130)

Most computer motherboards now have at least one M.2 SSD slot on them, and the Samsung 980 PRO EVO is a great drive that fits perfectly into that very space. Solid State Drives still command higher prices than traditional hard drives for a given capacity, but their significantly faster transfer speeds and slightly better longevity for most users ensure that any data loaded on the drive can be accessed quickly and reliably. This high-capacity SSD can store dozens of large games while also cutting down on loading times, or an entire library of movies and TV shows. No matter the intended use, this drive would be a welcome gift for any level of computer enthusiast with a port in their machine that can accommodate it. Looking to spend a little less but still want to get them a high-speed internal drive like this one? Select the 1TB option to bring it down to $80!

#9 – Over-the-ear Open-back Audiophile Headphones ($150)

Alright, call me a little biased on this one since these are the headphones I currently use myself, but that just means I’m speaking from experience when I recommend these to anyone who may enjoy a nice set of wired, open-back headphones for their desktop at home. For the current price of $150, this luxurious set is a steal and has far surpassed the audio quality of every other pair of headphones I’ve tried in this price range (even without a DAC). They’re lightweight, comfortable, and have a great sound profile for a huge range of uses, from gaming to watching media to listening to music.

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Tier 4 Gift ($151+)

 

This is the final, most expensive tier of the list. It includes but a single gift, for those who can afford to provide extra stability to a desktop computer this holiday season:

#10 – 600-Watt Uninterruptible Power Supply ($165)

An Uninterruptible Power Supply, shortened to UPS, is a power storage system which continues powering a PC for a limited time in the event of a power outage. The idea is that the power supplied by a UPS is enough to safely shut the computer down in the event of an outage, preventing both data loss and component damage in the process. This particular power supply from CyberPower features 12 outlets, half of them linked to the battery system, and all of them surge-protected at all times. This $165 model is capable of putting out 600 Watts of power, which is enough for most computers, but a few ultra-powerful builds may require the 880-Watt version for $200.

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And that concludes our list! As always, these ideas are just suggestions and can be tailored to suit the needs of the recipient, such as tweaking the max output of the UPS or the capacity of the SSD, or as ideas for similar gifts. Have another idea for a gift that a computer builder would probably enjoy? Let us know what it is in the comments!

Thanks for reading!