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Microsoft says Edge is now the 'best performing' Windows 10 browser
The next release of Edge will be the "best-performing" browser available on Windows 10 when it arrives later this week, Microsoft claimed at its Build 2021 event.
Chrome's new tab grouping feature brings order to chaos
Chrome is getting a handful of new features and faster tabs.
Google’s Web Vitals helps websites put visitors first
Google's new developer tool will help achieve optimal performance for websites.
Samsung's latest storage chip will make flagship smartphones faster
Samsung has started mass production on 512GB storage chips based on the new eUFS 3.1 standard. These are the chips already being used in the company's Galaxy S20 lineup, so it won't be long before we see them turning up in models from other brands, too. And it's big news because it means smartphones are about to get very noticeably faster.
France threatens large fines and possible jail time for e-bike mods
France does not look kindly upon e-bike owners that hot rod their wheels. The country has just introduced a law that could see "offenders" slapped with a maximum fine of €30,000 (US$34,000), and up to a year in jail. And they could have their driving license suspended for up to three years.
FCC gives Google and Sony permission to dole out 3.5GHz spectrum
The FCC just gave Google, Sony and two other companies the greenlight to open the 3.5GHz band to commercial use. Considered by many as a building block for 5G networks, the 3.5GHz band could speed up 4G communication and enhance 5G networks, helping the latest iPhone and Android devices reach faster data speeds in the US.
Chrome may shame slow-loading sites with 'speed badging'
While there are many, many worse things going on in the world than waiting far too long for a website to load, that's bound to tick off even the most patient of us. Google's not standing idly by, though, as it might start naming and shaming sites that take forever to display their contents in Chrome.
Samsung says its new flagship processor is 20 percent faster
Samsung has unveiled a bunch of new chips that mean the next slate of smartphones are going to be faster, more efficient and have much improved battery lives. If you go for next year's flagship Samsung Galaxy, chances are it'll come with the newly-announced Exynos 990 processor, which according to the company is offers a 20 percent improvement in performance or a power efficiency gain of up to 20 percent.
Comcast Xfinity internet customers just got a free speed boost
Comcast's internet speeds just got a lot faster. In what is expected to be a nationwide upgrade, the company has deployed free downstream speed boosts in cities within its West division -- namely Oregon and Washington.
Elon Musk says the Tesla Model S just set a new track speed record
The Model S has set a new record for the fastest four-door car at California's Laguna Seca racetrack, according to Elon Musk. The Tesla boss didn't give any more details in his brief tweet announcing the news, but did say that a video of the lap will be released tomorrow. Update (9/11, 10:17PM ET): As promised, the video is here.
Samsung crams 100 layers and more speed into its latest SSD
Samsung has started mass production on solid state drives (SSDs) that feature the company's sixth-generation 256GB three-bit vertical NAND memory. This means the drives come with an industry first 100 layers of NAND cells, a writing speed of 450 microseconds and a reading response time of 45 microseconds. Compared to Samsung's previous 90-layer SSDs, performance is up 10 percent and power consumption down 15 percent, according to the company.
Brave web browser is really fast at blocking ads
Google recently unveiled "Manifest V3," a new suite of proposed Chromium browser changes that would make it a lot harder to block ads. Now, the third-party browser Brave, which uses Chromium technology, has essentially defied Google by unveiling extremely rapid ad-blocking tech (in beta) that's much, much faster than before, but without the Manifest V3 limitations.
Chevy's safety feature won't let teens drive without seat belts
Because a chiming dashboard alert isn't enough to get teens to buckle up, Chevrolet introduced a new feature that prohibits drivers from shifting out of park until their seat belt is fastened. The "Buckle to Drive" system includes visible and audible alerts, and the company says it's an industry first. It only runs when Teen Driver mode is active -- so adults can risk driving seat belt-free if they choose -- and it will be standard in the 2020 Chevrolet Traverse, Malibu and Colorado.
Firefox is about to get much, much faster
Firefox got speedy last year when its Quantum browser rolled out -- now it's set to get even faster. The latest release rolling out today prioritizes its performance management "to-do" list with a set of features that'll load pages up to 40-80 percent quicker. The browser will now suspend idle tabs, delay lesser-used scripts and skip unnecessary work during start-ups.
Microsoft says FCC data on improved broadband coverage is misleading
It's a well-known fact that large swathes of the US remain without broadband connectivity -- indeed, some $22 billion has been poured into closing this gap over the past five years. However, exactly how many Americans are going without is up for debate. As a new blog post by Microsoft explains, "official" data from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) can't be trusted.
AT&T has the 'fastest wireless network' in the US
Just two days after AT&T declared itself the first 5G carrier in the US to reach gigabit speeds, the company has released a statement claiming it's the fastest wireless network in the nation. The findings come from third party network-testing company Ookla, which cited AT&T's top average US download speed at 40.7Mbps.
Sony's CFexpress cards will bring blistering speeds to cameras
Cameras are getting so fast now that it's hard for regular SD storage cards, even fancy UHS II models, to keep up. Sony has just announced that it's developing new cards using the all-new CFexpress tech that are up to the challenge. They can read and write data at speeds of 1,700 and 1,480 MB/s, respectively, blowing past every current type of camera storage. Several new cameras on the market, including Nikon's Z6/Z7 and the Panasonic S1/S1R, will support the cards.
Chrome's new cache will speed up your back button
Bouncing around the internet is set to get a whole lot faster in Chrome, thanks to a new feature called bfcache -- back-forward cache. Google is currently working on a system that will store a web page as you navigate to a new page. If you go back to that page, Chrome will then bring up that page rapidly, without having to build it from scratch. The same applies if you then hit forward.
Qualcomm's new 60GHz WiFi chips promise better VR
Mobile chip manufacturer Qualcomm has announced a family of 60GHz WiFi chips, the QCA64x8 and QCA64x1, which can deliver speeds of over 10Gbps. The WiFi 802.11ay standard that these chips use bring with it theoretical speeds that can surpass even most types of home Ethernet connections. To put the speed of 802.11ay at 60Ghz into context, that's 10 times more than the 1Gbps internet connection speeds that most major US cities top out at. Given the theoretical speeds of 802.11ay at 60GHz, the bottleneck would likely be your computer's internal components.
The Essential Phone’s camera may be getting a lot faster
When Andy Rubin's Essential Phone came out in September, our review called out its poorly-performing camera while also noting that there were two new updates to improve things in the week we had the device. Now, Essential users are getting another upgrade for the phone and Camera app that brings impressive performance to the device, including a speed boost of 40 percent in regular or low light.
