Indice dei contenuti per August 2020 in Tech Advisor

Microsoft is launching a new generation of Surface devices that aims to offer something for everyone. The devices include the new Surface Book 3, Surface Go 2 (reviewed on page 17 ) and Surface Dock 2. To help you stay focused, Microsoft will soon ship the Surface Earbuds, and – surprise – the Surface Headphones 2. While the Surface Book 3, Surface Go 2 and Surface Dock 2 were not unexpected, the breadth of Microsoft’s Surface-related hardware comes as a bit of a shock. Virtually all of the new Surfaces can be classified as refreshes. The Surface Book 3 adds new 10th-gen Ice Lake Core processors, as well as Nvidia GTX and Quadro RTX ray-tracing GPU options. The Surface Go 2, meanwhile, boasts 8th-gen Intel Core m chips. Tying them…

Virtually everyone now realizes that a good webcam matters. As Microsoft rolls out the spring refresh of its Surface hardware – including the Surface Book 3, Surface Go 2 and associated peripherals – you might not be aware of one particular selling point: the Surface camera. Surface user-facing cameras capture 5Mp still images and 1080p video, while the vast majority of competing laptops capture 1Mp images and 720p video. That might not have mattered as recently as the May issue, when we reviewed the Surface Pro 7 Windows tablet. But in a world suddenly aware of what a ring light is, good, well-lit video is important. Webcams have become our window to the world. Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Google Meet or WebEx are replacing restaurants, conference rooms, hotels, cafés and coffee…

Laptops work great on the road or in the office, but now that so many of us have been suddenly thrust into working from home, you may be realizing that your tiny notebook isn’t optimal for being pounded on for eight hours straight. Yes, it can get the job done. But with a little help, your laptop can get the job done so much better. We’ve rounded up a list of gear and services that can make working from home just a little bit easier, because the less added stress in your life right now, the better. You won’t find big, pricey, obvious stuff here; you already know that if you can devote extra space and cash toward a proper desk and an office chair, you’ll be more comfortable. Instead,…

Webcams are hard to come by at the moment. These sudden necessities have sold out across major retailers, with remaining stock going for inflated prices through third-party and eBay sellers. All is not lost, however – you might still be able to cobble together an equivalent set-up with a digital SLR (dSLR) camera, camcorder, GoPro or premium point-and-shoot you already own. Provided that the device passes muster, you just need to buy a capture device and possibly a few accessories. The cost? About the same amount of cash as those opportunistic webcam listings (currently between £130 and £180 for models with RRPs of £100 and below). And you’ll likely end up with better picture quality, too. Before you buy anything Not only does your digital camera or camcorder need to…

Price: £719 (inc VAT) from fave.co/35RxmbX The Surface Go 2 is a tablet that doesn’t fit easily into traditional niches. As the entry-level product in Microsoft’s Surface line, it’s still somewhat expensive, but it offers a beautiful screen and one of the best camera sets you’ll find anywhere. Performance is another matter: At its best, with an 8th-gen Intel Core m3 under the hood, the Surface Go 2 is comparable to the Surface Pro 3 from 2014. That’s fine if you stick with everyday productivity, but don’t expect much more. What’s a competent, though pricey, ultra-mobile tablet to do? The Surface Go 2 could be an ideal secondary device for business travellers, who will appreciate its fanless design, LTE options, and its ability to squeeze onto a tray table. The…

Microsoft’s Surface cameras may now be among the best around, one of many premium touches in Microsoft’s new Surface line-up. So why don’t they have a physical privacy mechanism? Documented cases of hackers listening in on baby monitors has prompted some electronics manufacturers to build them in, from buttons that turned off the microphone in smart speakers, to shutters that slide over cameras. According to Stevie Bathiche, a Technical Fellow and an Applied Sciences Group lead at Microsoft, that’s because the Surface webcam already notifies you that it’s on, via a small LED light next to the camera itself. That’s not been good enough for a company like Lenovo, which has built its ThinkShutter privacy shutter into members of its ThinkPad laptop family for some time. That shutters slides over…

If you’re sick of peeling the tape off your laptop’s camera every time you need to call into a virtual meeting, look no further than the Android phone lying on your desk. That’s right, you can use your Android phone as a makeshift webcam for Zoom or Skype video calls – no cables required. There are a few different apps you can use, depending on your PC. If you have a Mac, your best bet is EpocCam, which also works well with an iPhone or iPad. For Windows or Linux users, we like DroidCam. Both offer free and paid tiers, depending on your streaming needs. No matter which app you choose, you’re going to need to install the app on your phone and a companion driver on your PC: EpocCam:…

It’s as easy to make a custom Zoom background that’s silly to mess around with your friends and co-workers, as it is to make a serious Zoom background for business meetings. We’ll show you how. Normally, a webcam shows just what it sees: you, your kitchen table, maybe an unkempt desk in the background. But Zoom, like Microsoft Teams, can use custom backgrounds that completely obscure all that background clutter. After enabling that background, the only thing the camera will see is your face, like this. We’ll show you how to enable that option and take advantage of Zoom’s built-in backgrounds. But there’s more: Zoom offers background video, too – a looping video that can replace the Zoom’s static background image. We’ll also show you how to select your own…

Microsoft launched the Surface Book 3, refreshing the powerful detachable 2-in-1 with 10th-gen Intel Core chips and the choice of either an Nvidia GTX or Nvidia Quadro RTX GPU to enable real-time ray tracing. With the new Surface Book 3, Microsoft employed the same basic strategy it’s pursued with other Surface devices: maintain the overall look and feel, while improving the microprocessor and GPU. It will ship in either a 13.5- or 15in configuration for £1,599 and above, and is available to buy now. Microsoft claims the Surface Book 3 will deliver 50 per cent more performance than the Surface Book 2, which offered a choice of Intel’s 7th-gen and 8th-gen processors. The Surface Book 3 offers Intel’s 10th-gen Ice Lake chips and a choice of GPUs: Nvidia’s GTX 1650…

Microsoft has officially confirmed that it’s delaying its dual-screen Windows experiences, including the Surface Neo, until “the right moment” arrives. That announcement was part of a recent blog post in which Panos Panay, the new chief product officer of Windows and Devices, laid out his vision of what he sees for Microsoft’s Windows 10 and related hardware programmes. In some sense, the blog post announcing the changes reads like a recap of what we already know: the Windows 10 May 2020 Update began shipping to the general public last month; Microsoft is turning its Build conference into a free, online-only event; and Microsoft is postponing its own dual-screen devices. The tech giant had only internally communicated the latter choice internally, according to a recent ZDNet report. That report said Panay…

Just because you’re working from home now doesn’t mean you’re off the hook when it comes to meetings. And just because you don’t have a spare webcam around doesn’t mean you need to peel back the tape that’s covering your laptop’s camera – as long as you have an iPhone or an iPad, you can easily turn it into a makeshift webcam. There are a few different apps you can use, but we recommend Kinoni’s EpocCam Webcam. Not only is it easy to set up, but the free version with ads and occasional watermarking works with both Mac and PC. Alternatives include iVCam (free from fave.co/362ADFy ), which is a good option if you’re using Windows, while NDI has made its HX Camera app free, go to fave.co/2LuJExn . Any…