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History of 802.11ac The technical development of 802.11ac began in 2011. While the standard was finalized at the end of 2013 and formally approved on January 7, 2014, consumer products based on earlier draft versions of the standard appeared earlier. 802.11ac Technical Specifications To be competitive in the industry and support increasingly common applications like video streaming that require high-performance networking, 802.11ac was designed to perform similarly to Gigabit Ethernet. Indeed, 802....

Graphics cards with a graphics processor unit are one of the specialized processors people have installed in their computers. These cards handle complicated calculations related to 2D and 3D graphics. These are so specialized they render certain calculations better than the central processor. Here are some of the ways GPUs are becoming important for more than graphics. Accelerating Video The first application outside of 3D graphics that GPUs were designed to deal with is video....

The company just introduced a pair of nifty Bluetooth speakers called the Victrola ME1 and ME2. The ME1 is a handheld speaker while the ME2 is a tabletop design. Both speakers in this Music Edition (ME) line transmit audio via Bluetooth, feature anodized aluminum grills, and IP67 waterproof ratings. The compact and handheld Victrola ME1 includes a 2-inch driver and passive bass radiators for a rich low-end sound. It’s battery-powered, suiting the portable form factor, and gets around 12 hours of use per charge....

Lens Shift vs. Keystone Correction Both lens shift and keystone correction allow you to make changes to the shape and location of the projected image without having to relocate the projector. While most video projectors include keystone correction, cheap projectors generally do not include lens shift as an additional option. Lens shift allows you to physically move the projector’s lens assembly up, down, side-to-side, or diagonally without moving the projector. Keystone correction (also referred to as Digital Keystone Correction) digitally manipulates the image before it passes through the lens....

Multiversus was supposed to launch next week, but developer Player First Games just announced there will be a delay to an unspecified date in the future, though they assure players the game is still coming. This delay also pertains to the release of Morty, of Rick and Morty fame, as the little scamp was scheduled to accompany the launch of season one of the competitive free-to-play fighter. “We know this might be disappointing for some and want to assure our community that we are dedicated to delivering new and exciting content that delights players,” Player First Games wrote....

Dolby and DTS are brands that license their audio encoding technologies to various electronics manufacturers. The number following the brand name refers to the type of sound system that a device or media is formatted for. These systems include surround sound, home theater receivers, DVD/Blu-ray players and discs, and other components. What Does 5.1 Channel Mean? The first number in, for example, “Dolby 5.1,” refers to the number of channels that a home theater receiver can provide....

A Brief History of LAN LANs were first used by colleges and universities in the 1960s. These computer networks were used to catalog library collections, schedule classes, record student grades, and share equipment resources. LANs didn’t become popular with business organizations until after Xerox PARC developed Ethernet in 1976. Chase Manhattan Bank in New York was the first commercial use of this new technology. By the early 1980s, many businesses had an internet network (intranet) consisting of hundreds of computers that shared printers and file storage at a single site....

Sometimes the safest thing a computer can do when it encounters a problem is to stop everything and restart. When this happens, a STOP code is often displayed. The code can be used to troubleshoot the specific issue that caused the Blue Screen of Death. Most are due to problems with a device driver or your computer’s RAM, but other codes can imply problems with other hardware or software....

That can lead to some cost savings (at least in the short term) and potentially a more impressive array of features due to the nature of some Asus routers. What Is AiMesh System? AiMesh is Asus’ technology for building a mesh network of routers without buying a specific collection of mesh routers for the job. It makes it easy to upgrade your existing router or purchase an additional one and use the combination of that new router and your current Asus router to build a mesh network....

Benefits Screen overlay has its uses, and many advanced features of modern applications wouldn’t be able to run without it. It enables them to “draw” over the application you’re using. Screen overlays allow you to continue interacting with an app, no matter what else you’re doing on your device. Without that capability, if you want to receive updates from that app, open it manually; apps that make visual tweaks to your phone won’t work at all....

Dolby partnered with several AV receiver and speaker makers to bring the Dolby Atmos experience to home theaters following its initial success in cinemas. Dolby Labs provided these manufacturers with a physically scaled-down version that is suitable and affordable to most people. Dolby Atmos Basics Many home theater receivers have surround-processing formats, such as the Dolby Prologic IIz and Yamaha Presence. Because of this, you can add a broader front sound stage, and Audyssey DSX fills in the side sound field....

Owned and operated by Alphabet, the parent company of Google, Google Fiber was announced in 2010 and began its initial rollout in 2012, a year after choosing Kansas City as its official launch location. A small test rollout near Palo Alto was completed prior to launching in Kansas City. Why Get Excited About Google Fiber? Google Fiber offers internet as the speed of 1 gigabit per second (1 Gbps). By way of comparison, the average household in the United States has an Internet connection of just under 20 megabits per second (20 Mbps)....

How Does Optimized Battery Charging Work on an iPhone? The lithium-ion battery on our mobile devices is the critical failure point. They have a finite amount of life, and a rapidly depleting battery can significantly cause dissatisfaction on an expensive iPhone. Optimized Battery Charging is a default feature on all iPhones running iOS 13 and later. Optimized Battery Charging helps to improve battery health with these steps: The iPhone monitors your everyday phone usage and tracks when you connect it to a charger for an extended period....

Computers aren’t the only devices that run a POST. Some appliances, medical equipment, and other devices also run very similar self-tests after being powered on. The Role of POST in the Startup Process A Power On Self Test is the first step of the boot sequence. It doesn’t matter if you’ve just restarted your computer or if you’ve just powered it on for the first time in days; the POST is going to run, regardless....

Additional RAM allows a computer to work with more information at the same time, which usually has a considerable effect on total system performance. Some popular manufacturers of RAM include Kingston, PNY, Crucial, and CORSAIR. What Is RAM? Put simply, the purpose of RAM is to provide quick read and write access to a storage device. Your computer uses RAM to load data because it’s much quicker than running that same data directly off of a hard drive....

The Echo Look is essentially a 5-megapixel camera, equipped with LED lighting and depth-sensing, built into an Echo smart speaker. It comes equipped with Wi-Fi, which it uses to connect to the Internet, and also provides a method for controlling it through the Alexa app on your phone. Like most other Echo devices, the Echo Look requires internet access to get anything done. What Are the Echo Look’s Capabilities? When you wake up the Echo Look with a specific voice command, it immediately starts listening for additional instructions....

Wi-Fi Range A wireless network’s range can vary wildly depending on the type of network. A standard home network using one wireless router can serve a single-family dwelling, but often not much more. Business networks with grids of access points can serve large office buildings, and wireless hotspots spanning several square miles have been built in some cities. The cost to build and maintain these networks increases significantly as the range increases, of course....

How Does Xbox Game Pass Work? Xbox Game Pass is pretty simple. With the subscription, you gain access to a large library of Xbox One, Xbox 360, and even original Xbox games that you are then able to play for free. Here’s a basic rundown of how the service works: More on the Xbox Game Pass With an Xbox Game Pass, there are no limitations on how many games you can download, or how much time you can spend playing them, but you are limited by your available storage space....

Windows 11 was officially announced and launched in 2021. Windows 10 was first released in July 2015, about two years after Windows 8.1. What Is the Date for the Next Windows Event? We don’t yet know when the next Window event will happen. The Windows 11 event took place virtually on June 24, 2021, at 11 am ET. Windows experts had been patiently waiting for a significant update to the operating system, but rumors about the timing were never precise....

Apple TV: More Than Apple’s Version of Chromecast Apple TV and Google Chromecast do two different things. Apple TV gives you everything you need apart from a TV and an internet connection. That’s because it has apps built into it including Netflix, Hulu, YouTube, WatchESPN, and dozens of other services. If you already have a subscription to one of these services, you can start enjoying entertainment right away. Google Chromecast, on the other hand, doesn’t have any apps installed on it....