Jumat, 02 Agustus 2019

How fast is Wi-Fi 6? Here's our very first speed test - CNET

wi-fi-6-logo

The age of Wi-Fi 6 is just beginning. So how much faster will those transmissions be?

We're at the very beginning of the Wi-Fi 6 era, and new, next-gen routers capable of putting 802.11ax's upgraded features to work are already up for sale. It's early, though. Despite the fact that Wi-Fi 6 routers are backward-compatible with previous-gen Wi-Fi devices, they won't be able to do much of anything to speed them up. For that, you'll need new devices that support Wi-Fi 6, too -- and hardly any are currently available.

That also means that it'll be a while before we're really able to test out Wi-Fi 6's claims of being much, much better at connecting with lots and lots of devices at once. Ultimately, that might mean faster Wi-Fi at places like airports and stadiums, but we're probably a few years away from feeling the full impact.

Still, that hasn't stopped us from wondering just how fast Wi-Fi 6 top speeds will ultimately be once new hardware gets here. Early estimates describe those top Wi-Fi 6 transfer speeds as 30% faster than the top Wi-Fi 5 transfer speeds. Sure enough, a quick look at the specs on a new Wi-Fi 6 router like the Netgear Nighthawk AX12 pegs the top speed on the 2.4GHz band at 1.2 gigabits per second, which is right around 30% faster than the fastest Wi-Fi 5 speeds we've tested here at CNET.

The Killer 1650x Wi-Fi 6 module works with select PCs, and is available now on Amazon for $35.

Rivet Networks

And, while it's true that there aren't many Wi-Fi 6 client devices available yet, that doesn't mean that there aren't any. In fact, if you've got the right kind of computer, you can get a Wi-Fi 6 adapter on Amazon right now for $35.

We picked one of those up for ourselves, along with that Netgear Nighthawk AX12 Wi-Fi 6 router. With the two of them, we were able to do some early Wi-Fi 6 speed tests. Here's how that went.

Our test setup

The Netgear Nighthawk AX12 promises speeds of up to 1.2 Gbps on the 2.4GHz band and up to 4.8 Gbps on the 5GHz band. There are a lot of limitations on that at the moment -- one of them being that our internet speeds at the office aren't nearly that fast.

We can still test the router's top transfer speeds by measuring its ability to move files around locally, though. The router comes with a set of two 1-gigabit Ethernet ports in the back that you can aggregate into a single connection from two incoming servers. We connected those ports to a pair of MacBooks that acted as our servers for the test. They'd transmit data to the router over those Ethernet connections for an aggregated upload speed of 2 Gbps. From there, a third computer equipped with that Killer Wi-Fi 6 module would connect to the router to download the data wirelessly. 

In other words, we'd be able to measure top download speeds of up to 2 Gbps using speed-testing JPERF software.

The result: a top speed that clocked in at 1,320 Mbps, or 1.32 Gbps. The support team for that Killer module at Rivet Networks told us that the numbers we were seeing sounded about right, and that in a different environment, perhaps one with less interference, we might see speeds as high as 1.4 or 1.5 Gbps. We'll keep testing, but for now, 1.32 Gbps is the best result we've seen.

But hey, that's a lot of numbers, and numbers are easier to process when you put them into perspective. To do so, I'mma call in the big guns.

Avengers, assemble!

Setting aside Spider-Man: Far From Home, which isn't available as a digital download yet, the Marvel Cinematic Universe consists of a whopping 22 films adapted from Marvel comic books, stretching from Iron Man to Guardians of the Galaxy to Black Panther all the way up to Avengers: Endgame. It'd take more than 48 hours of screen time to watch them all -- just ask CNET's Abrar Al-Heeti, who actually pulled it off in a single 59-hour marathon.

Now, let's say you wanted to follow in Abrar's footsteps and host a Marvel marathon of your own. You don't want to rent, you don't want to stream, and you don't want to wrangle a bunch of discs -- you want your own, high-quality digital copies of each film, and you'll need to download them. 

Ry Crist/CNET

Assuming you were downloading them in 4K resolution using the same compression standards as Blu-Ray, each film would eat up about 70 gigbytes of storage space. The grand total for 48 hours and 11 minutes of footage? 1,580 gigabytes -- more than a terabyte and a half.

So. How long would it take you to download all of those files?

Well, according to the global speed index at Ookla, a top speed-testing site, the average download speed in the US is now 119 megabits per second. Bits aren't the same as bytes, mind you, but the conversion is easy: You just divide the bits by 8. So, with that average, 119-megabits-per-second connection, you'd be able to download about 15 megabytes per second -- or .015 gigabytes per second. Dividing our grand total of 1,580 gigabytes by .015 tells us that downloading the entire MCU with an average connection speed would take 105,333 seconds. 

That's roughly 29 hours and 16 minutes. And you don't even have a time stone to speed things up.

In my home, I'm lucky enough to have a direct fiber connection. My plan is set at 300 Mbps, which is easily fast enough for my purposes, but entry-level as far as fiber goes. If that speed held steady, I'd be able to download the entire MCU in about 11 hours, 42 minutes. 

What if I upgraded to the best possible fiber connection, complete with the top-of-the-line hardware needed to take advantage of it? The fastest Wi-Fi 5 router we've tested is the Asus RT-AC86U, which clocked in with an impressive transfer speed of 938 Mbps on the 5GHz band. With that router and a fiber connection that was fast enough to match it, I could download all 22 MCU films in about 3 hours and 45 minutes.

This brings us to Wi-Fi 6. Like I said before, we clocked the Netgear Nighthawk AX12 at a top transfer speed of 1,320 Mbps. Assuming we had an internet connection of at least that speed, we'd be able to download all 22 films in just 2 hours and 40 minutes. At that speed, you could download the entire MCU almost 11 times before someone at the average US speed was able to download it once.

Hold your horses

Again, the big, obvious problem with all of that is that most people don't have access to faster-than-average internet speeds. A direct fiber connection only became available in my neighborhood very recently -- before that, I was living with cable internet download speeds of about 62 Mbps, which is well below the national average.

A Wi-Fi 6 router wouldn't do much of anything to speed up a connection like that, or even the speedier fiber connection I'm enjoying now. And without Wi-Fi 6-compatible laptops and devices, I wouldn't be able to enjoy the faster local transfers within my home's network, either. For almost all of us, it's way too early to upgrade to a new Wi-Fi 6 router.

It's a bit like a bucket brigade. A Wi-Fi 6 router is like someone who's really, really good at passing buckets of water back and forth -- say, 100 buckets a minute. But that only matters if the guy next to him is also capable of handling 100 buckets per minute. If that person can only hand off 20 buckets per minute, then 20 buckets per minute is all you can expect from the entire brigade.

tp-link-archer-ax11000-wi-fi-6-router-wifi

The TP-Link Archer AX11000 promises wireless top speeds of nearly 11 gigabits per second -- but it'll likely be years before you're able to hit speeds like that.

TP-Link

In other words, your internet connection is only as fast as its slowest link. And for most of us, our ISP's top download speed is going to be the slowest link.

The silver lining to that is that is that we can expect some pretty dramatic jumps in internet speeds in the coming years. Experts pegged Wi-Fi 6 as 30% faster than Wi-Fi 5, and our early tests seem to indicate that it's an accurate claim. But that's compared to the fastest possible Wi-Fi 5 connections. The speed jumps are much, much more significant when you compare them to the average internet speeds that most of us are currently stuck with. Not 30% faster, but 1,000% faster. 

And that's just based off of our first speed test -- other routers might produce even faster results in the months ahead. One option from TP-Link even promises theoretical maximum speeds of 10,756 Mbps -- nearly 11 gigabits per second.

Of course, jumps like that are going to require more than just a new router -- they're going to require fiber internet speeds that are faster than a single gigabit per second. Connections like that aren't widely available yet, but when they get here, it appears that the hardware will be ready to take advantage of them. That's thanks to Wi-Fi 6.

In the meantime, we'll continue testing out the newest routers to see if we can find any that are even faster than the Netgear model we used here. You can also expect to see fresh tests and reviews for the current-gen routers and mesh systems that can tide you over until Wi-Fi 6 becomes a more meaningful upgrade. Do stay tuned.

CNET Smart Home

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https://www.cnet.com/news/how-fast-is-wi-fi-6-heres-our-very-first-speed-test/

2019-08-02 11:00:06Z
CBMiTmh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmNuZXQuY29tL25ld3MvaG93LWZhc3QtaXMtd2ktZmktNi1oZXJlcy1vdXItdmVyeS1maXJzdC1zcGVlZC10ZXN0L9IBWWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmNuZXQuY29tL2dvb2dsZS1hbXAvbmV3cy9ob3ctZmFzdC1pcy13aS1maS02LWhlcmVzLW91ci12ZXJ5LWZpcnN0LXNwZWVkLXRlc3Qv

The Morning After: Top Twitch streamer 'Ninja' switches to Microsoft's Mixer - Engadget

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Tyler 'Ninja' Blevins

Hey, good morning! You look fabulous.

Just as summer begins to fade and the back to school push ramps up, Intel is finally ready to deliver its 10nm, 10th-gen Ice Lake mobile chips. In other news, Burger King's not-meat Whopper is about to go nationwide, and Twitch's #1 streamer changed teams.


High-end 'G7' chips have enough power for 1080p gaming.Intel unveils its first 10th-gen 'Ice Lake' laptop CPUs

While Intel's last few processor upgrades felt like incremental steps, the 10th-gen "Ice Lake" hardware seems like a huge leap forward — at least based on their specs. You can expect greater efficiency, faster AI computation, Thunderbolt 3 support for up to four ports and next-generation Wi-Fi 6 connectivity.

The only bad news? More options for embedded graphics means model numbers are getting longer and more mysterious than ever. Check out some early benchmarking action on Upscaled to see just how much faster things can get with the new CPUs.


The former pro 'Halo' player is back with Microsoft.Top 'Fortnite' streamer Ninja is ditching Twitch for Mixer

Tyler 'Ninja' Blevins said in an announcement video that the move is partly about helping him "get back in touch with my roots." There's no word on a financial arrangement between the two, but separating the streamer from his 14.7 million Twitch followers likely means getting in touch with a lot of guaranteed money. Since the announcement, Ninja has grown his Mixer channel to over 230,000 subscribers.


Inevitable.Burger King takes the Impossible Whopper nationwide August 8th

Starting on August 8th, you'll be able to go to any Burger King location in the United States and get your hands on the alternative meat burger. From August 8th to September 1st, DoorDash will deliver the Impossible Whopper with a $0 delivery fee. Users can even order the Impossible Taste Test -- an Impossible Whopper and original meat-based Whopper -- for $7 with no additional delivery fee


Now Amazon is all about 'virtual' dash buttons.Amazon will disconnect Dash Buttons on August 31st

After this month, you won't be able to instantly order household necessities with the tap of a physical button. In a statement, Amazon said "Since sales of Dash Button devices ceased earlier this year, we have seen continued growth of other shopping options to meet customer needs, including Virtual Dash Button, Dash Replenishment, Alexa Shopping, and Subscribe & Save."


'Grading' had contractors listen in to judge Siri's performance.Apple suspends the Siri program where people listened to your questions

Last week, The Guardian dug into a program where third-party contractors listened in to anonymized recordings of Apple users asking Siri questions to judge the assistant's responses, and now Apple has shut it down. While it conducts a "thorough" review, it's suspending the program globally -- and this comes shortly after Google announced it would temporarily shut down a similar effort, but only for users in the EU.


Dongus.Galaxy Note 10 won't have a headphone jack, according to its leaked dongle

Leaks around Samsung's incoming Galaxy Note 10 have reached the point of revealing dongles that will come with it. In this case, it means a USB-C dongle that will ensure your 3.5mm headphones will work with your new productivity-focused phone. Yep, it's the final nod that Samsung, one of the great headphone port hold-outs, is joining the pack with only a USB-C connection to do everything on its next flagship phone.

But wait, there's more...


The Morning After is a new daily newsletter from Engadget designed to help you fight off FOMO. Who knows what you'll miss if you don't Subscribe.

Craving even more? Like us on Facebook or Follow us on Twitter.

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https://www.engadget.com/2019/08/02/the-morning-after/

2019-08-02 10:45:28Z
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Google to charge rivals to become default search engine for Android users in Europe - CNBC

Google said it will require other search providers to pay to become one of the default options available to European users when setting up their Android device.

The company said in a blog post on Friday that European users will see a new choice screen when setting up their device, showing a list of options they can select to be their default search engine for the search box on their home screen and Google Chrome.

Google already lets Android users change their default provider at any time, but the new set up page allows them to change it when setting up their device.

Rival search engines will have to bid in a blind auction to become one of those default options, Google said. The company explained that process in a separate page on Android's website:

In each country auction, search providers will state the price that they are willing to pay each time a user selects them from the choice screen in the given country. Each country will have a minimum bid threshold. The three highest bidders that meet or exceed the bid threshold for a given country will appear in the choice screen for that country.

The auction winners, and Google, will be ordered randomly in the choice screen. In the event of a tie, Google will allocate the slots randomly among the tied bidders. In the event that fewer than three eligible search providers meet or exceed the bid threshold, Google will fill any remaining slots randomly from the pool of eligible search providers. The pool of eligible providers will include those that applied to participate in the choice screen but did not submit bids.

A screen capture shared by the firm showed three alternative search providers, including Qwant, Ecosia and Yahoo. Google said other platforms can apply to be part of the new choice screen, adding it will be introduced on Android phones in Europe by early 2020.

Google says it will let users in the EU choose their default search provider when setting up an Android device, starting from early 2020.

Google

The news follows a record $5 billion antitrust fine levied by the European Commission last year over alleged competition breaches from Google. One of the EU executive arm's main contentions was with the company's practice of bundling its Chrome and Search apps on Android.

Google has since appealed the fine, and said it is making a number of changes to comply with the EU's decision. Previously announced changes include letting smartphone makers distribute forked versions of Android, a new paid licensing agreement for Android phones and separate licenses for the Search and Chrome apps.

Clarification: This article has been amended to reflect the fact that Google already lets Android users change their default provider at any time, but the new choice screen allows them to change it when setting up their device.

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https://www.cnbc.com/2019/08/02/google-to-let-eu-users-choose-their-default-search-provider-on-android.html

2019-08-02 08:07:15Z
CAIiENMAJLFaHS52ilaukH71jXoqGQgEKhAIACoHCAow2Nb3CjDivdcCMP3ungY

Google to charge rivals to become default search engine for Android users in Europe - CNBC

Google said it will require other search providers to pay to become one of the default options available to European users when setting up their Android device.

The company said in a blog post on Friday that European users will see a new choice screen when setting up their device, showing a list of options they can select to be their default search engine for the search box on their home screen and Google Chrome.

Google already lets Android users change their default provider at any time, but the new set up page allows them to change it when setting up their device.

Rival search engines will have to bid in a blind auction to become one of those default options, Google said. The company explained that process in a separate page on Android's website:

In each country auction, search providers will state the price that they are willing to pay each time a user selects them from the choice screen in the given country. Each country will have a minimum bid threshold. The three highest bidders that meet or exceed the bid threshold for a given country will appear in the choice screen for that country.

The auction winners, and Google, will be ordered randomly in the choice screen. In the event of a tie, Google will allocate the slots randomly among the tied bidders. In the event that fewer than three eligible search providers meet or exceed the bid threshold, Google will fill any remaining slots randomly from the pool of eligible search providers. The pool of eligible providers will include those that applied to participate in the choice screen but did not submit bids.

A screen capture shared by the firm showed three alternative search providers, including Qwant, Ecosia and Yahoo. Google said other platforms can apply to be part of the new choice screen, adding it will be introduced on Android phones in Europe by early 2020.

Google says it will let users in the EU choose their default search provider when setting up an Android device, starting from early 2020.

Google

The news follows a record $5 billion antitrust fine levied by the European Commission last year over alleged competition breaches from Google. One of the EU executive arm's main contentions was with the company's practice of bundling its Chrome and Search apps on Android.

Google has since appealed the fine, and said it is making a number of changes to comply with the EU's decision. Previously announced changes include letting smartphone makers distribute forked versions of Android, a new paid licensing agreement for Android phones and separate licenses for the Search and Chrome apps.

Clarification: This article has been amended to reflect the fact that Google already lets Android users change their default provider at any time, but the new choice screen allows them to change it when setting up their device.

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https://www.cnbc.com/2019/08/02/google-to-let-eu-users-choose-their-default-search-provider-on-android.html

2019-08-02 07:49:15Z
CAIiENMAJLFaHS52ilaukH71jXoqGQgEKhAIACoHCAow2Nb3CjDivdcCMP3ungY

Google will charge search providers to be the Android default in Europe - The Verge

Starting in early 2020, Google will present a new search provider choice screen to Android users in Europe when first setting up a new phone or tablet. The selection will then be the default search provider that powers the search box on the Android home screen as well as the Chrome browser if installed. Search providers must pay Google to be included in the selection screen alongside Google search. The search providers will be selected through a sealed-bid auction, with the top three bidders appearing on the selection screen.

Today’s announcement follows the record-setting $5 billion fine against Google for antitrust violations in the EU. The July 2018 ruling required Google to stop “illegally tying” its Chrome and search apps to Android. The European Commission then left the means of compliance up to Google, which the Commission continues to monitor.

Here’s how Google describes the new auction process in a blog post published today.

In each country auction, search providers will state the price that they are willing to pay each time a user selects them from the choice screen in the given country. Each country will have a minimum bid threshold. The three highest bidders that meet or exceed the bid threshold for a given country will appear in the choice screen for that country.

Google does not say what the minimum bid threshold is. However, it does say that the number of bidders, and their bids, will be kept private.

Google justified the auction process in a FAQ:

An auction is a fair and objective method to determine which search providers are included in the choice screen. It allows search providers to decide what value they place on appearing in the choice screen and to bid accordingly.

Google had previously argued that it needed search tied to Android and the Chrome browser in order to monetize its significant investment in the operating system. The Commission rejected that assessment, noting the billions Google earns in the Play Store alone, as well as the data it collects in order to increase the value of its advertising business.

Android users in Europe will be able to switch their default search provider at any time after the initial setup, as is the case already.

The deadline for search providers to apply for eligibility and submit bids is September 13, 2019, with winning bids for each country, and inclusion on the choice screen, confirmed by October 31, 2019.

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https://www.theverge.com/2019/8/2/20751353/google-will-charge-search-providers-to-be-the-android-default-in-europe

2019-08-02 06:38:16Z
CAIiEFDK8R2xFwILtNjqvVsRS40qFwgEKg4IACoGCAow3O8nMMqOBjCd2ugF

Apple suspends the Siri program where people listened to your questions - Engadget

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Craig Federighi, Apple's senior vice president of Software Engineering, speaks about Siri during an announcement of new products at the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference Monday, June 4, 2018 ASSOCIATED PRESS

Just last week a report by The Guardian dug into a program where third-party contractors listened in to anonymized recordings of Apple users asking Siri questions to judge the assistant's responses, and now Apple has shut it down. In a statement to TechCrunch, the company said that while it conducts a "thorough" review, it's suspending the program globally. This comes shortly after Google announced it would temporarily shut down a similar effort, but only for users in the EU.

While Apple has touted the privacy built into its products and derided models that mine user data for advertising, just like Amazon and Google it relies on real people to improve its AI assistant. However, as The Guardian's report indicated, listening in on real-world recordings could mean picking up all kinds of situations, including criminal activities and sexual encounters. As TechCrunch notes, its terms of service indicate that these programs exist, but exactly how much end-users understand about the possibility of being overheard by a real person -- even if less than one percent of queries are ever reviewed -- is unclear.

While we don't know what will happen with the program or when it may restart, according to Apple a future software update will give users the option to explicitly choose whether they want to participate in grading.

Apple:

We are committed to delivering a great Siri experience while protecting user privacy. While we conduct a thorough review, we are suspending Siri grading globally. Additionally, as part of a future software update, users will have the ability to choose to participate in grading.

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https://www.engadget.com/2019/08/02/siri-recordings-response-grading-apple/

2019-08-02 05:29:08Z
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Kamis, 01 Agustus 2019

Fortnite Season 10 Changes How Daily And Weekly Challenges Work - GameSpot

The start of a new season in Fortnite inevitably brings with it a number of new features and tweaks to the way the popular battle royale title plays. However, the newly launched Season 10, has one of the most significant changes the game has received in quite some time. Developer Epic Games has done away with Weekly Challenges and, in turn, made playing the game without spending money on a premium Battle Pass far less rewarding.

Previously, players could load up Fortnite and see a set of Daily Challenges alongside a set of Weekly Challenges. The Weekly Challenges would have a set of challenges that could be completed by anyone playing the game and another set that was only available to those that purchased a Battle Pass.

Now, however, the Daily Challenges have been replaced by Limited Time Missions. Epic Games has explained in a statement that these Limited Time Missions "are free for all players" and "by completing objectives, players can earn rewards."

It continued: "As part of the Limited Time Mission, a new objective will unlock daily at 9AM ET. Players will have a week to complete these objectives. They will then be replaced by a new set of Limited Time Mission objectives."

All players will now have 70 unique objectives to undertake and complete over the course of the Season 10. Additionally, free events will be introduced throughout the season along with additional rewards. Weekly Challenges, meanwhile, have been morphed into themed sets.

Gallery image 1Gallery image 2

Currently, there's the Rumble Royale and Road Trip Mission sets available and, in both cases, the challenges that are included in them are locked entirely behind a Battle Pass. This is a huge change as it effectively locks out Fortnite players that don't spend money on a Battle Pass from a huge part of the game that they've become accustomed to engaging with.

While a free silver tier of the Battle Pass still exists and there are unlockable rewards attached to them, the rewards aren't nearly as exciting as those available to Battle Pass owners. And unlocking them is done primarily through simply playing the Battle Royale mode to score kills and earn Victory Royales. You can take a look at the difference between challenge availability with and without a Battle Pass above.

Those that purchased the Breakpoint bundle, which includes Daily Challenges that must be completed to earn its rewards, are now finding that the challenges are not available, halting their progress entirely.

Fortnite is a game that is continuously evolving, so it may be that the way challenges work changes in the coming weeks and, similarly, more to do is introduced for those without the premium Battle Pass. GameSpot has contacted Epic for further insight on why these changes were made and if players can expect more free-focused content in the future.

If you want to see all the changes and tweaks, check out the Fortnite Update 10.00 patch notes. We've also put together a comprehensive guide on the Season 10 Battle Pass, which includes everything you need to know about what it is, what you get for having one, and making the most of one. For more on the new season, take a look at our Fortnite Season 10 hub, which collects all the pre-releases teases, information on its launch, and details on everything that is new. This hub is being updated regularly, so check back for the latest updates on what's happening with the game.

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https://www.gamespot.com/articles/fortnite-season-10-changes-how-daily-and-weekly-ch/1100-6468825/

2019-08-01 15:15:00Z
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