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dracolucius-abraxusmalfoy · 5 years

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@drarryismehotp

Prompt: What’s tying us together? Soulmate AU

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Harry wakes up to burning pain just under his diaphragm and on his wrist. For a moment he thinks he’s hungover, that he’s going to throw up, but the pain doesn’t fade and resurface like a wave, and there’s a suspicious lack of pounding in his head.

He can’t quite remember what happened. Can’t quite put his finger on why he should be feeling this way. He wonders if maybe he really did get drunk and he just can’t remember, wonders if maybe he was injured or attacked, but he’s not in the infirmary, can tell by the light behind his eyelids and the clean soft smell of linen instead of the sharp pungent antiseptic smell that lingers in the sheets there, lingers in his clothes or pajamas long after he’s left.

There is sunlight hitting him directly in the face, and even though he’s almost certain he is indeed in his own bed, the sun doesn’t usually flow through the window at quite this angle. With a groan, he reluctantly pulls open his eyes, grainy and scratchy and aching for more sleep. If the sun is streaming through the window at all it’s far too late to still be in bed. He’s not really awake yet despite this, can’t process anything beyond the too bright too backlit to see brilliant morning sunlight that has him kicking off the covers and swinging his feet over the edge of the bed.

The minute he’s upright he realizes why the sunlight is entering the room at such an unusual angle; Draco has left his bed hangings open.

His roommate is sprawled, limbs across the bed, long limbs dangling over the edges, hair soft and falling across his pillow and face in a way Harry has never had the opportunity to see, in a way Draco would never allow it to be in his wakeful hours.

It had gotten long, during the war, during the summer before students returned, one year behind and war quiet. It’s long enough that Draco ties it at the base of his neck in a knot that doesn’t require a hair tie. Harry had thought it would make Draco look more like Lucius, cold and severe. Had thought it would accentuate his angles and make him look distant, pretentious: it doesn’t. Long hair on Draco does everything the opposite that it does on his father. It softens his cheekbones, his jaw, the sharp, piercing look in his eyes. Makes him look almost feminine, like his mother, and Harry can see Andromeda in there too, warm smiles and warmer hands. Harry smiles at him and takes the step that separates there beds to reach the side of Draco’s. He doesn’t sit, knows it wouldn’t be appreciated, doesn’t touch either, not the way he wants. He pokes him on the shoulder and whispers his name.

“Draco.” His roommate doesn’t stir, doesn’t even twitch, and Harry sighs. He’s been notoriously hard to wake up in the mornings, and even harder to make go to bed at night. He never would have thought, three two one years ago that he would be privy to the knowledge that Draco Malfoy is an unapologetic night owl, but here he is.

He moves from poking to shoving, pushing on his shoulder until he flops over onto his back. There’s no way he’s not awake now.

“Draco. We’re going to be late get your lazy ass up.”

He doesn’t budge, but Harry can see the way his breathing has changed, sees the way the fingers on his left hand twitch just so, one two three four lightly on the sheet, the same way he does when he’s annoyed at something Harry has said. He’s playing opossum. Harry thinks anyone but himself, who has spent an inordinate amount of time studying Draco’s... everything, might even have fallen for it.

“Merlin, Draco, it’s late, we don’t have time for this. We’ve been sharing a dorm for 8 months I know what you look like when you’re sleeping.”

Without opening his eyes, Draco snorts and swats a hand in Harry’s general direction.

“You know what I look like when I sleep? Little odd that don’t you think Potter?”

Harry rolls his eyes, turns away, decides not to dignify that with a response. “I’m going to pop over to Ron, ask him to bring up some breakfast, then shower. Just get up.”

Draco groans dramatically, end-of-days, this is murder, torture, I hate you sort of groan that always leaves Harry struggling to hold in a laugh because he’s always known Draco was an overdramatic git but he never really imagined it bleed over quite so thoroughly into all aspects of his life.

Ron’s dorm is right across the hall, so it only takes a couple of steps once he’s out the door to be close enough to knock, knock because he learned his lesson about not knocking the hard way.

“Come in, mate!”

When he opens the door he is immediately confronted with a bed-headed Hermione wearing one of Ron’s too big school shirts that’s barely buttoned and what he’s fairly certain are a pair of Ron boxers. She stares at him, in the eye, as if challenging him to say a word about it, and he nods acquiescingly and deliberately turns to face Ron, who is leaning over the desk in the corner shuffling through what looks like an explosion of parchment.

“Mione where’d you put my charms assignment? It was here last night!” He turns around to ask but seems to get caught on Harry first.

“Oh, right, hey mate.”

Harry smiles and holds out what he is pretty sure is Ron’s charms assignment, which had been on the chest of drawers just to his right.

“I woke up late this morning, I was hoping you could bring up a plate of food for me so I can eat before class?”

Ron has grabbed the parchment and is scanning his writing even as he nods. “Sure, no problem. I’m already bringing some up for Hermione.”

Harry nods, even though Ron’s not looking, and glances awkwardly to his left, wondering how he can ask Ron to bring enough for two without sounding terribly suspicious. His brain is feeling even fuzzier than it had when he’d woken up, and the burning pressure in his stomach hasn’t eased up, it feels like it’s getting heavier, and it’s all making it rather hard to think.

“Er... ah, well, Ron, would you.. mind bringing up a bit extra? I’m feeling very hungry this morning.” It feels like an awful lie, his appetite is basically non-existent, has always been small, and saying he’s super hungry feels obvious. He doesn’t look towards Hermione. He’s certain she’ll have it all figured out in a second if he looks her in the eye.

Ron has looked up from his assignment, and the expression on his face, a mixture of surprise and delight makes Harry feel a little bit guilty because he knows he won’t be eating it all.

“Really? That’s great! I’ll be sure to put extras of all your favourites, sound good mate?”

Harry nods and is suddenly struck by the urge to hug his friend, to tell both of them everything.

He can’t to one, it’s not just his secret to tell, and he understands that, he does, but he does do the other, wrapping his arms around Ron’s chest and squeezing as Ron’s arms come around his shoulders, startled.

“Thank you. You’re a really good friend”

“Harry. Are you alright?” Ron sounds worried, so Harry pulls back far enough that he can put his hand on Ron’s shoulder and nod.

“Yes. Yes, I’m just happy. And I felt like it.”

Ron looks a little bemused but seems to accept his answer without complaint, slapping a bracing hand against Harry’s back, hard enough to knock his breath out of his lungs a little, a large grin, before he strides out the door.

“Righto mate! Breakfast foods for all!”

Hermione looks a little confused and a lot unconvinced so Harry grins at her, gives a jaunty little wave, and sprints back to his room after assuring her he loves her too and getting a pillow chucked at his head.

Draco’s sitting on the edge of his bed when Harry comes back in, looking a little rough around the edges, looking much like Harry feels.

“I feel like I’ve been run over by the knight bus. What did we do last night?”

Harry shrugs, “I don’t know, as far as I’m aware nothing. I feel like crap too though, maybe we’ve caught a bug?”

Draco looks at him in disbelief. “A bug? Harry have you ever even been sick in your life?”

Harry opens his mouth to say of course he’s been sick, everybody gets sick, but if he’s being honest, he doesn��t remember.

“Right, of course, you haven’t. You’re a powerful wizard Harry, you probably won’t ever get sick.”

Harry isn’t sure what having power really has to do with anything, but arguing with Draco, especially in the morning, especially when he’s feeling snappish, is never a good idea.

“Right, sure, then I have no idea what’s going on.” He rubs his wrist, where the burning-tugging-tingling feeling has finally started to subside a little and turns towards the bathroom.

He showers as quick as he can, but he still hears Ron voice drifting through the half-open bathroom door. He’d started to feel dizzy the moment he’d stepped into the tub, so he gets out then, even though he hasn’t actually washed his hair yet, and dries off quickly before pushing the door open.

A door that immediately hits a solid object.

“Ow! Merlin Potter careful. That door never did a thing to you there’s no need to go throwing it open and hitting people like that.”

Harry raises an eyebrow. Draco is sitting on a chair, looking rather shaky and pale, which shouldn’t be unusual, except the chair is practically in front of the door to the bathroom.

“What are you doing?” Ron and his breakfast are momentarily forgotten.

“What are you on about? I’m talking to Weasely. What are you doing?”

Harry doesn’t respond, just shakes his head and turns his attention towards Ron, who has a plate piled high with breakfast foods in hand.

“Godric, it’s too early to be dealing with you two bickering. Here’s your food.” He holds out the plate and rolls his eyes.

“Thanks,” Harry says, ignoring the bit about bickering. Mentioning it will just make Ron repeat himself, you fight like my parents. Harry’s been ignoring a lot of things lately, he should honestly be getting an award for how tight a leash is temper has been on. Hermione’d be impressed, except she doesn’t know how much he’s been ignoring things.

“That’s a lot of food.” He’s a little intimidated that I’m hungry today somehow translates into I could eat enough for four of me in Ron’s brain, but Ron only shrugs, and jerks his chin towards Draco in his chair.

“You asked for extra food anyways so I figured I’d bring enough for ferret over there.” Despite the name, Harry smiles and holds in a laugh at the strangled, indignant noise Draco makes. “There’s an extra plate underneath.”

“Thanks, Ron.” Who nods, and closes the door behind him.

The burning feeling has lessened again and been replaced by a warm feeling that pools in his chest. Ron doesn’t much like Draco still, despite Harry’s friendship with him. Doesn’t quite get the bone dry humour, and tends to think the arrogant better-than-thou attitude is annoying rather than amusing, and Harry can’t really blame him, was right along with him at the beginning of the year, and yet he’d brought extra food anyways, just because Draco is Harry’s friend, just because Ron knows that Draco is important to him. Not for the first time, not even that morning, Harry wonders if it would be so bad to just tell them, everyone already knows they’re friends, good friends even, and he knows that being gay in the wizarding world isn’t taboo the same way it is in the muggle, isn’t even something that is considered minority, but he knows Draco’s worried, and for the most part he doesn’t mind it. He rarely has to lie about anything, and neither of his best friends will be terribly upset he kept it from them, they know him well enough to understand why he couldn’t. It’s Draco’s decision and he doesn’t want to push.

“If he gets to call be ferret I get to call him weasel.” Harry glares at Draco, who has gone from poised to sprawling in the seconds since Ron left the room, and raises an eyebrow. He doesn’t need to say anything, because he knows Draco won’t. He also knows that Hermione has ears like a hawk, and depending on her mood, might already be giving Ron hell for it.

“Come on then, we need to eat before we have to leave.”

Draco reaches for the bowl of fruit first, to no surprise of Harry’s, but he slaps his hand away from the slice of melon. “Oi! That’s mine and you know it. Eat your greengages and raspberries.” Draco snorts but complies, and Harry grins, victorious.

It doesn’t take them long to eat, the plate still filled with food neither of them could possibly ever have the room to eat, but Harry’s rather proud of his three sausages and egg, so he chooses not to feel bad.

They have their first class together, and they race along the halls towards transfigurations and slam into their desk at the back, just behind Hermione and Ron. The burning in his chest has eased to almost nothing, so Harry thinks that maybe their room was just a bit dusty. The class is as boring as ever, the new teacher Mcgonagal hired as her replacement is too focused on theory, in Harry’s opinion, but he’s amused himself with annoying Draco by poking his boots under the table and trying to grab his left hand, which is busy tapping out a rhythm on the side of his chair.

Draco huffs at him annoyed and swats his hand away, the sharp thwack bouncing around the room, but everyone seems busy gathering up their things, too busy to notice Draco and Harry, especially when it probably looks like they're just fighting again.

Harry grins at him, and slides away, surprisingly gracefully, before Draco can get at him, and follows Ron out of the classroom.

He and Ron have care of magical creatures with the seventh year Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors while Draco and Hermione are busy in Arithmancy. Harry sighs, wishing he could skip this class, just for today, and just go right onto charms, which is their last class before lunch, and the class where their all back together.

He rubs at his wrist again, the burning tugging is feeling back, and tries to clear his head of the sudden dizziness. He went from fine to barely able to breathe in a matter of minutes. He can hear Ron saying his name, and he realizes he’s stopped moving.

His last thought before everything goes black is of Draco, he thinks he hears Hermione's voice yelling too, bouncing off the stone walls of Hogwarts corridors.

#I’m sorry this took so forever! It got unreasonably long so I decided to split it into two part. Part two should be out soon.#harry potter #drarry #draco malfoy #drarry squad #fanfiction #writing #hc #my writing #soulmate au #ask #prompt #i wrote this all on tumblr mobile which i never do so i guess i apologize for any mistakes.#i never even write on browser so like

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tech-battery · 3 years

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ACER ASPIRE 5 REVIEW: A $549 LAPTOP THAT DOESN’T COMPLETELY SUCK

The Acer Aspire 5 is a very functional laptop. I used it as my primary work driver for over a week, including the whirlwind that was Black Friday weekend. It loads the pages I need it to. It handles a heavy share of tabs and apps without burning itself up. It’s not seven pounds. Basically, it’s a $549 laptop that doesn’t completely suck.

There was a time when that would’ve made this the best budget laptop you can buy. But that time has come to an end, and the reason rhymes with “bay-MD.”

This Aspire 5 model has a four-core Intel Core i5-1035G1, the same budget- and midrange-oriented processor that powers Microsoft’s Surface Laptop Go. Performance-wise, it gets the job done — but its battery life is disastrous, and its integrated graphics are behind the times at this point. My advice: if you can get your hands on one, buy the AMD model with a six-core AMD Ryzen 5 4500U for the same price instead.

Starting with the design, which is the same across both models. I’d say the Aspire 5 looks fine — it’s no Dell XPS, but it’s still respectable from all angles. It comes in a few colors including silver and black. (I have the silver one, though I think the black looks a bit fancier myself.) Most of it is plastic, but the top cover (the part people are most likely to see) is aluminum. There’s some flex in the keyboard and the screen, but not so much that I worried about snapping the thing in half. It’s neither ultraportable nor overly clunky, weighing 3.7 pounds (1.8 kg) and measuring 14.3 x 9.9 x 0.7 inches. Students should note that while the Aspire isn’t terribly heavy, its breadth makes it a bit of a chore to fit in a standard-sized backpack alongside a load of books and binders.

A few other touches you might notice: Like the higher-priced Swift line, the Aspire 5 has a lustrous center hinge with “Aspire” printed across it, which is a nice bit of flair. The bezels, though, are quite large and very plastic-looking. The top one is particularly hefty.

All fair enough. At $549, I’ll take it. But it is worth noting that you don’t need to spend all that much more to get significantly higher build quality if you’re willing to compromise on screen size. The Acer Swift 3 (if you’ll take a 14-incher) is a nicer-looking, slimmer, and sturdier-feeling machine. Its Ryzen 5 4500U model is only $80 more expensive than this Aspire 5 on Acer’s website (and is even cheaper when it’s on sale).

ACER ASPIRE 5 SPECS (AS REVIEWED)

15.6-inch 16:9 display, 1920 x 1080

Intel Core i5-1035G1 (1.0 GHz with turbo boost up to 3.6 GHz)

8GB DDR4 memory

256GB PCIe NVMe SSD, one available hard disk drive bay

3.97 lbs (1.8 kg)

Ports: one USB 3.1 Type-C Gen 1, two USB 3.1 Gen 1 (one with power-off charging), one USB 2.0, one HDMI 2.0, one audio jack, one Ethernet (RJ-45), one DC-in jack

Windows Hello fingerprint reader

$549.99

“Pure silver” color option

The strength of such a large chassis, though, is that there’s room for a useful port selection. In total, we have one USB 3.1 Type-C Gen 1, two USB 3.1 Gen 1, one USB 2.0, one HDMI 2.0, and one Ethernet, as well as a power port. That’s comprehensive, though you’ll need to look elsewhere if you’re seeking Thunderbolt support, a typical omission in this price range.

The display is a bit of a dud on paper. I measured it as covering just 66 percent of the sRGB gamut and 50 percent of AdobeRGB. It also maxes out at 220 nits of brightness. Those are both mediocre as laptop screens go, though they’re not terrible for the category; color-wise, the Aspire actually scored slightly better than the IPS panel on the Swift 3, as well as the Asus VivoBook 15.

The viewing experience wasn’t as bad as those metrics might indicate. The matte panel did a good job of reducing glare; even around 90 percent brightness, I could use the machine outdoors without a hassle. And while Netflix and YouTube looked drab next to more expensive screens, media consumption is still very doable. (Especially because the audio is quite good. It has a nice surround quality and can easily fill a room — I’d put it on par with a decent external speaker. I could actually hear the bass and percussion in my music.)

The Aspire has a nice keyboard. It’s backlit and quiet with decent travel. (It’s mushier than it is clicky, if you have strong feelings about that.) There’s a numpad on the right side, which is a nice feature, but it does push the touchpad to the left. This was irksome for me as someone with small hands. The area that was natural for me to touch with my right hand was the right-click area. I had to intentionally stretch over to left-click, and I never really got used to it — even after a week and a half, I was still accidentally right-clicking all the time. There’s also an embedded fingerprint reader in the top-left corner of the touchpad, but its location wasn’t super convenient for me as a righty and I never ended up using it much.

AGREE TO CONTINUE: ACER ASPIRE 5 (2020)

Every smart device now requires you to agree to a series of terms and conditions before you can use it — contracts that no one actually reads. It’s impossible for us to read and analyze every single one of these agreements. But we started counting exactly how many times you have to hit “agree” to use devices when we review them since these are agreements most people don’t read and definitely can’t negotiate.

The Acer Aspire 5 presents you with multiple things to agree to or decline upon setup.

The mandatory policies, for which an agreement is required, are:

A request for your region and keyboard layout

Windows 10 License Agreement and Acer License Agreement

A Microsoft account for sign-in (this can be bypassed if you don’t connect the computer to the internet during setup)

A PIN

In addition, there is a slew of optional things to agree to:

Connect to Wi-Fi

Windows Hello fingerprint sensor authentication

Device privacy settings: online speech recognition, Find My Device, Inking and Typing, Advertising ID, location, diagnostic data, tailored experiences

Link an Android phone

OneDrive backup

Office 365

Let Microsoft collect information (including location, location history, contacts, voice input, speech and handwriting patterns, typing history, search history, calendar details, messages, apps, and Edge browsing history) to help Cortana provide personalized experiences and suggestions

Enroll in Acer’s mailing list and the Acer User Experience Improvement Program (allowing Acer to collect information on your usage), and allow Acer to share contact details with Norton so it can send you updates about its pre-installed security software.

In total, that’s six mandatory agreements and 17 optional ones.

Of course, performance is what really makes or breaks a budget laptop. The base Aspire 5 configuration, listed at $399.99 on Acer’s website, can come with a Core i3-1005G1 or an AMD Ryzen 3 4300U (both with 4GB of RAM and a 128GB SSD). There are a number of models at different price points, including some with touchscreens. The system we’re looking at is listed at $549.99 on Amazon and has Intel’s four-core Core i5-1035G1, 8GB of RAM, and 256GB of SSD storage. A system with the same specs and a six-core Ryzen 5 4500U is currently listed on Acer’s website for the same price (though it’s hard to find and looks to be sold out on Amazon as of this writing).

It’s important to caveat here that I haven’t tried the AMD system yet — but the six-core 4500U is an impressive chip. In the $799 HP Envy x360 13 (which also has 8GB of RAM), it easily delivered the fantastic performance I’d expect from a Core i7, and it could even run Overwatch on its High settings at over 60fps. Make no mistake: the Intel Aspire 5 didn’t give me any problems during my various office work, social media, emailing, and the like. But performance wasn’t quite as zippy as it was on the AMD Envy. And I got the sense that the thing was chugging — I could almost always hear the fans spinning, even when I was just running a few Chrome tabs. I wouldn’t have wanted to try anything more intense (and unlike Intel’s new Iris Plus graphics, its UHD graphics aren’t a good choice for anything but the lightest gaming).

That’s before we even talk about the battery life. This Aspire 5 averaged four hours and 49 minutes of my daily workload (12-15 Chrome tabs, Slack, Spotify streaming, and occasional Zoom calls on the Battery Saver profile at 200 nits of brightness). That’s not good, and it’s especially not enough for students who are out and about all day. AMD processors, by contrast, have been killing it on battery: the 4500U-powered Envy could churn out eight hours of my typical workload while the Swift 3 with a Ryzen 7 4700U got up to seven hours, and the 4800U-powered IdeaPad Slim 7 achieved a monstrous 13 and a half hours.

Final note: there’s some bloatware. I got some annoying Norton pop-ups and occasional notifications from various other programs that came loaded onto the Aspire. These aren’t the end of the world at this price point, but note that you may have to take some time to uninstall if the alerts are bothering you.

So, look, the Aspire 5 gets the job done. It works. It does what you need it to (at least until the battery runs out). There are even a couple areas where it’s punching above its weight class — the audio is great, and it’s nice to have a fingerprint reader.

But if you can get all those benefits plus a six-core AMD processor for the same (or a comparable) price, I see no reason not to go that route instead if you’re wed to the 15-inch system. AMD systems are hard to find, but I recommend digging around or waiting until one becomes available. And if you’re willing to spend a bit more for the Ryzen-powered Swift 3, you’ll see a noticeable difference in build quality and portability as well as multiple extra hours of battery life. For students and on-the-go workers, I think that’s more than worth the cost.

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mealha · 4 years

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How does Google's Pixel 4 smartphone camera compare to the iPhone 11 Pro?

Shot through a shop window, the Pixel 4 handles the shiny, golden surfaces and contrasty pools of light very nicely. (Stan Horaczek/)

At its recent product announcement event in New York City, Google showed off a handful of new gear. But, the company dedicated considerable time—and presumably money spent to hire iconic portrait photographer Annie Leibovitz—showing off the Pixel 4 smartphone’s new camera. That emphasis makes sense. Consumers still indicate that photo quality is one of the most-important factors they use to pick a new device. And Google is coming off of a very strong showing in the Pixel 3, which was (at least as far as I was concerned at the time) the absolute best smartphone camera.

The Pixel 4 adds some more AI-powered smarts, relying increasingly on its software to determine the overall look of the final image. And while the camera has some moments where it’s truly excellent, I ran into a few growing pains as Google tries to calculate its way to perfect photos.

What's new?

The Pixel is about average when it comes to quickness in capturing photos. It took me roughly five tries before I got the timing right and caught the person up front with a punch extended. (Stan Horaczek/)

On paper, the Pixel 4’s camera doesn’t seem all that different from the hardware that came before it. The primary exception is the notable addition of a telephoto lens, which Google intends to improve performance specifically when it comes to zooming and portrait mode. The shooter’s competition, however, is stiffer this year: Apple seems to have corrected some the over-zealous HDR tech that made iPhone XS images look unrealistic and unnatural at times, and the Cupertino company promises to further improve the iPhone 11 Pro’s already-very-good camera when its detail-enhancing Deep Fusion tech arrives in the next iOS update.

Image quality

This scene is a great space to test HDR. There's natural light coming in through the archway and artificial light overhead. The Pixel 4 does a really excellent job of bringing up the shadows near the door while keeping the colors accurate to the scene as it looked in real life. If you wanted to edit the photo, it's a great, neutral starting point. But, it also looks fine the way it is. (Stan Horaczek/)

Google doesn’t pull punches when it comes to computational photography, which relies more on processing power and algorithms than pure hardware performance. The company makes it abundantly clear that the software magic that happens during and after you press the shutter has become extremely important in determining the look of the final image.

Like almost every smartphone camera at this point, pressing the shutter doesn’t simply take one photo. Instead, it captures a burst and combines information from those images into one finished file. This “smart HDR” tech does a lot of good: It can prevent highlights from getting blown out, or flatten out a super-contrasty scene that could lose crucial details. But, as with iPhone 11 Pro, it can be unpredictable.

These Bananas at Whole Foods illustrate the difference between the Pixel 4 (left) and the iPhone 11 Pro (right). The Pixel's image doesn't crank the contrast as much and the tones look smoother overall. If you weren't comparing them side-by-side, however, they're both totally acceptable. (Stan Horaczek/)

In good conditions shooting with the main wide-angle camera, I prefer the images that come out of the Pixel 4 to those from the iPhone 11 Pro. It’s close, but the Pixel’s camera still feels more neutral and natural to me. I don’t notice the HDR effect that can make subjects look unrealistic—and sometimes even cartoonish—as much as I do with the iPhone. This is especially useful for users who edit their photos after taking them (something very few typical users do).

The focusing on the Pixel 4 is impressive. It grabbed onto the pizza cutter through this window reflection. (Stan Horaczek/)

Google made a few welcome improvements to its overall HDR experience as well. When you tap the screen to focus on an object in the image, two sliders now pop up for adjusting the brightness of the scene. One slider affects the overall exposure (how bright or dark everything looks) in the scene, while the other simply affects the shadows. That second slider is extremely useful. It allows you to do things like taking silhouette photos in which the subject is virtually blacked out while the background (usually the bright sky) stays properly exposed.

The first shot in this series was the default with no adjustments. In the second shot, I raised the overall brightness, which drew out detail from the leaves, but blew out the sky. In the third shot, I used the shadows slider to raise the shadow levels to bring up the leaves a bit while the sky remained mostly unchanged. (Stan Horaczek/)

You can also achieve the opposite effect in which you can brighten up a dark foreground subject without blowing out a bright sky in the background. In a situation like the one pictured below, you’d typically lose some of those nice yellow leaf details to shadow unless you brightened the whole image and blew out the sky. Adjusting the shadow slider allows you to bring up the exposure on the leaves while leaving the sky alone.

That slider is one of my favorite additions to the Pixel 4 camera, and it’s a trend I’d love to see continue as we go forward into the future of HDR all the time on everything.

When the shooting conditions get tricky, however, the Pixel 4 has some real quirks.

The flickr effect

Most artificial lighting flickers, but your brain does a good job of making the glow seem continuous. The pulsing effect, however, is more difficult for digital cameras to negate, and the Pixel 4 seems to have more trouble in this arena than its competition.

In the video above, you’ll notice some dark bands going across the image. This kind of thing isn’t out-of-the-ordinary with artificial light sources, which have a generally imperceptible flicker to coincide with the 60 Hz electrical current flowing through them. Dedicated digital cameras, however, typically have “flicker detection” to help combat it, and even the iPhone 11 Pro does a better job of mitigating the effect.

The effect isn't always so pronounced. In this image, you can clearly see dark bands running across the map in the center of the image that's illuminated by the artificial light overhead. Light coming in through the window and door pushed the shutter speed to 1/217th of a second, which is too fast to negate the banding effect. (Stan Horaczek/)

With the Pixel 4, I noticed it in a variety of locations and artificial light sources. It’s subtle, most of the time, but if you have a bright light source in the frame of the picture or video, it can push the shutter speed faster than 1/60th of a second, which is when the bands start to creep in.

When I switched to a manual camera mode in the Lightroom app and used a slower shutter speed, it disappeared. In scenes like this, the iPhone seems to use its HDR+ tech to keep at least one frame in the mix with a shutter speed slow enough to stop this from happening. Once I figured out the circumstances that brought it on, I shot the example below, which shows it very clearly.

The image on the right came from the iPhone 11 Pro Max, while the image on the left—which very clearly displays the banding problem—comes from the Pixel 4. Looking at the metadata, the iPhone claims a shutter speed of 1/60th of a second, where as the Pixel's shutter speed was faster than 1/250th of a second, which explains why it's so visible in the Pixel photo, but not the iPhone frame. Presumably, this is the kind of thing Google can fix down the road by adjusting the way in which the HDR capture process works. (Stan Horaczek/)

The flaw isn’t a deal breaker since it only appears in specific circumstances, but it’s very annoying when it does.

White balancing act

Shot on a cloudy day in the shadows with lots of yellow in the frame, I'd fully expect this picture to come out too blue. The Pixel did a solid job, however. (Stan Horaczek/)

Another area where our brains and eyes routinely outperform cameras: color balance. If you’re in a room with both artificial light and a window, the illumination may look fairly consistent to your eye, but render as orange and blue, respectively, to a camera.

Smartphones often try to split the difference when it comes to white balance unless you mess with it on your own. The Pixel 4, however, analyzes the scene in front of it and uses AI to try and recognize important objects in the frame. So, if it notices a face, it will try and get the white balance right on the person. That’s a good tactic.

Under artificial light, the color balance changes frequently when the camera moves subtly. (Stan Horaczek/)

Generally, I think the Pixel 4 does an excellent job when it comes to white balance, except when it gets it very wrong. Move around the iPhone 11 Pro camera, and the scene’s overall color cast tends to stay mostly consistent. Do the same with the Pixel 4, and its overall white balance can shift drastically, even when you only slightly move the camera. Above, the grid-style screenshot show a series of photos I took in succession under unchanging conditions. I moved the phone subtly as I shot, and you can see the really profound color shift. Again, this primarily happens when shooting under artificial light.

As long as you pay attention and notice the change before snapping the shot, it’s totally fine and the Pixel does a great job. It’s also easy to correct later on if you’re willing to open an editing app. But, on a few occasions, I ended up with a weirdly yellow photo I didn’t expect.

Telephoto lens

Portrait mode and a backlit beard make for quite the scene. (Stan Horaczek/)

The new telephoto lens is roughly twice the focal length of the Pixel’s standard camera, which effectively gives you a 2x optical zoom. It has an f/2.4 aperture, compared to the improved f/2.0 (lower numbers let in more light) portrait lens on the iPhone 11 Plus. It’s only a fraction of a stop, however, so it’s unlikely to make a huge impact, but it’s a reminder that Apple has been doing telephoto lenses for some time now and is already refining while Google is just getting started.

You get more accurate colors and more details out of the Pixel 4 (left) then you do out of the iPhone 11 Pro (right) when zoomed in to 8x. The iPhone actually allows you to go a little more to 10x if you don't mind the lower-quality image. (Stan Horaczek/)

Like we said earlier, the telephoto lens counts zooming as one of its primary functions. The phone gives you the option to zoom up to 8x by combining digital and optical technology. Google claims pinching to get closer now actually gives you better image quality than simply taking a wider photo and cropping in, which has historically provided better results. I found this statement accurate. “Zooming” has come a long way on smartphone cameras, but you shouldn’t expect magic. You’ll still end up with ugly choppy “artifacts” in the images that look like you’ve saved and re-saved the photo too many times as a JPEG.

When you peep at the images on a smaller screen, like Instagram, however, they look impressive, and that’s ultimately probably the most important display condition for a smartphone camera in 2019.

If you zoom a lot, the Pixel beats the iPhone on the regular. It’s even slightly easier to hold steady due to the improved images stabilization system when you’re zoomed all the way to 8x.

Portrait mode

The Pixel 4's portrait mode really shines when you shy away from the standard up-close headshot. (Stan Horaczek/)

The other big draw of the telephoto lens comes in the form of improved portrait mode. Even with the single lens on the Pixel 3, Google already did a very impressive job faking the background blur that comes from shallow depth of field photography. Predictably, adding a second lens to let it better calculate depth in a scene improves its performance.

If you really want to notice the jump, try shooting a larger object or a person from farther back than the simple head-and-torso shot for which portrait mode was originally developed. Using portrait mode for larger objects is a new skill for the Pixel 4 and it does a good job of mitigating the inherent limitations of the tech. Any weirdness or artifacts like oddly-sharp areas or rogue blobs of blur typically tend to show up around the edges of objects or in fine details like hair or fur. The closer you get to your subject, the harder you’re making the camera work and the more likely you are to notice something weird or out of place.

The iPhone 11 Pro (left) does a better job with the tricky edges in the subject's hair, but the Pixel 4 (right), produces a more natural image because it's not adding any simulated lighting effects like Apple does. (Stan Horaczek/)

Overall, the Pixel 4’s portrait mode looks more natural than the iPhone 11 Pro, but it struggles more with edges and stray hairs. In headshots, the areas around the hair typically give away the Pixel 4’s tricks right away. (The iPhone 11 Pro gets around those edge issues by adding a “dreamy” blur across most of the image.) The Pixel’s overall colors and contrast are generally better because they don’t try to emulate different types of lighting like the iPhone does. But, when you get a truly ugly edge around a subject’s face or hair with the Pixel 4, it can quickly ruin the effect.

Here are some portrait mode shots (and a dedicated camera picture) edited with Lightroom. The iPhone 11 Pro (left) raised the blacks on the sweatshirt as part of its simulated lighting mode. The Pixel 4 (center) had some trouble with the whispy edges of the hair. The dedicated camera (right) was a Sony A7R with a 50mm lens and preserves the highlights in the hair better and blows the fake bokeh effect out of the water. (Stan Horaczek/)

If you’re only posting your portrait mode shot on Instagram, those rough edges may not really play for your followers. Viewing them on a laptop screen or larger, however, makes them obvious.

The 100 percent crop (screen captured from Lightroom) shows how differently the iPhone 11 Pro (left) and the Pixel 4 (right) handle tricky, but attractive lighting conditions. This kind of light is amazing with a dedicated camera. (Stan Horaczek/)

The Pixel 4 does give you almost immediate access to both the fake blur images and the regular photo in your library. Portrait mode takes a few seconds to process, so you can’t see those immediately. Considering the amount of processing it’s doing, that’s understandable—and also the case with the iPhone—but if you’re trying to nail exactly the right expression, you can’t really check your results in real time.

Night Sight

Night Sight brightened up this extremely dark scene and kept the colors—the greens bushes in particular—from looking cartoonish and oversaturated. (Stan Horaczek/)

When Google debuted its impressive low-light shooting mode, Night Sight, in the Pixel 3, it was incredibly impressive. Google has clearly continued to refine its performance and, even with the iPhone 11 Pro adding its own version of the tech, the Pixel 4 still maintains a considerable advantage.

You’ll still have to swipe over to the Night Sight mode in order to enable it, as opposed to the iPhone, which springs it on you automatically when it thinks the conditions are right. I like having more control over what I’m doing, so I prefer the Pixel’s approach, especially since these night modes require long exposures that can result in blurry photos if you—or the objects in the scene—can’t hold still.

Compared to the iPhone’s Night Mode, the Night Sight’s colors are more accurate and the scenes just look more natural. Ultimately, this one will come down to personal preference, but I prefer the Pixel 4’s results over the iPhone 11 Pro’s.

During the camera presentation, Google flat-out said that it hopes you’ll only use the camera “flash” as a flashlight. I abided by this rule. The flash is not good, just like every smartphone camera flash photo that came before it. It’s useful if you really need it—especially if you don’t mind converting images to black and white after the fact—but you can ultimately just leave it turned off forever.

As an addition to Night Sight, Google also added functionality that makes it easier to shoot night sky photos that show off stars and the Milky Way—if you know what you’re doing. I didn’t test this feature because I didn’t have access to truly dark sky, and the weather hasn’t really cooperated. If you’re planning to use this feature, you should plan to use a tripod—or at least balance the phone on a stable object—since it still requires long exposures. Ultimately, I love that the company added this feature and I look forward to seeing what people create with it, but it’s a specialized thing that I imagine most users won’t try more than a few times.

The case of the missing super-wide-angle lens

The regular wide-angle lens is good for walking around shots like this one, but there were instances when I really missed the super-wide that the iPhone 11 now offers. If I were to finish this photo, I'd straighten it and probably make it black and white. But, since it's a sample image, this is the unedited version. (Stan Horaczek/)

When the Pixel 3 shipped without a telephoto lens, I didn’t really miss it. I do, however, have to wonder why Google would ship the Pixel 4 without the super-wide lens found on the iPhone 11 Pro and other high-end smartphones.

The super-wide is easy to abuse if the unique perspective blinds you to the inherent distortion and overall just kinda wacky perspective it offers. But, there are times when it comes in really handy. If you’re trying to shoot a massive landscape without creating a panorama, or you’re just taking a photo in really tight quarters, the extra width makes a tangible difference.

Ultimately, I advocate that people do the vast majority of their shooting with the standard wide-angle camera no matter which phone they choose, because the overall performance and image quality are typically far better than the other lenses. But, I like options, and a super-wide lens lets you achieve a perspective you physically can’t get by simply backing up.

So, what's the best smartphone camera?

If you're curious what the Pixel 4's actual bokeh looks like, check out the blobs of blur on the right side of this photo. (Stan Horaczek/)

The Pixel 4 has left us in a tough situation. The image quality, color reproduction, and detail are really excellent—most of the time. The quirks that pop up, however, really do have a tangible effect on the overall usability of the camera as a whole. If you’re the type of shooter who is careful to pay attention to your scene and edits your photos after you shoot, then the Pixel is the best option for the most part. The more neutral colors and contrast take edits better than those on iPhone files, which come straight out of the camera looking more processed.

Ultimately, though, we’re in a time when smartphone camera quality has largely leveled off. I haven’t mentioned the Samsung cameras in this review for the most part, because I find their files overly processed with too much sharpening and aggressive contrast and saturation levels. But, a large contingent of people like that. At this point, there isn’t enough difference between overall performance and image quality on the Pixel 4 to jump ship from your preferred platform—only to eek out a slight edge on images that come straight out of the camera.

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marilynngmesalo · 6 years

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ASUS ZenBook Pro 15 review: Novel laptop turns industry on its head with a touchscreen-display trackpad

ASUS ZenBook Pro 15 review: Novel laptop turns industry on its head with a touchscreen-display trackpad https://ift.tt/2QAZQxR ASUS ZenBook Pro 15 review: Novel laptop turns industry on its head with a touchscreen-display trackpad

Laptops nowadays rarely offer anything unique. With it being such an established industry, a company’s latest model will feature small improvements in terms of performance, design, weight and usability but often won’t be that distinguishable from its predecessor or even a competitor’s model.

So I was quite surprised when I first saw the ASUS ZenBook Pro 15 UX580GE at a press event as it truly did offer something novel: Its trackpad has a built-in 5.5-inch screen with a full HD display.

Called ScreenPad, the trackpad acts as its own little computer with its own Windows-esque desktop screen. You can still use the trackpad to navigate the main display but can also launch apps, specifically designed to run inside the ScreenPad itself. For example, you use a calculator, access your calendar, watch online videos or control your music. Other ScreenPad apps, include a virtual numkey pad (as the keyboard doesn’t have one), Adobe Reader Sign (to digitally sign documents on the trackpad), Microsoft Office and a launcher that lets you create shortcuts to launch any program on your machine.

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While it may seem gimmicky, when I got the ZenBook Pro 15 to try out myself, I actually found it quite useful, as it allowed me to run these apps without having to clutter up the main display.

When you’re inside an app, it takes up the whole trackpad so you can’t access your main screen until you minimize the app and go back to the ScreenPad’s desktop screen. It can be a little annoying, though the laptop’s monitor is also a touchscreen display so I could still access the Windows desktop. A better solution I found was to just plug in a mouse as that allowed me to use both ScreenPad apps and access the main screen at the same time.

Another drawback is that there’s not a lot of ScreenPad apps to choose from at the moment but presumably, if the feature takes off, that will change over time.

But what’s great is that you can also set the ScreenPad up as an extended display. This means, you can literally drag down anything appearing from the main display into it. While it obviously won’t have the same real estate as plugging in a second monitor to your computer, you can move a program into it to access it there and it will conform to fit the size of the Screenpad’s display.

When using the ScreenPad an extended display, you can switch between touch mode (which is better for accessing programs in the touchscreen window) and cursor mode (which is better for accessing the desktop). But to avoid having to switch back and forth, once again, just plug in a mouse.

You can also turn the ScreenPad feature off completely and it becomes a regular trackpad.

ASUS ZenBook Pro 15.

In look, the ZenBook Pro 15 is rather a standard laptop. It’s 36.5 cm x 24.1 cm x 1.89 cm and weighs 1.88 kg so it’s reasonably thin and portable for a laptop its size.

It’s also a powerful device.

The ZenBook Pro 15 runs on an Intel Core i9-8950HK 2.9GHz hexa-core processor with 12MB cache and 16 GB of RAM, which is about as good as you can get on a notebook computer. Load times were quick and I experienced very little lag with anything.

The laptop uses a NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti graphics card with 4 GB of video memory and mine featured a 15.6-inch LED-backlit a 4K UHD (3,840×2,160) touchscreen display. It offered a bright image with sharp, realistic colours. Videos and games reacted smoothly and the built-in stereo audio provided good sound.

It’s a sturdy device with a responsive keyboard and unlike a lot of other high-end laptops, it didn’t get particularly hot after prolonged use.

The ZenBook Pro 15 comes with a 71Wh 8-cell lithium-polymer battery with a charge of up to 9.5 hours, has a solid state drive of either 500 GB of storage and runs on Windows 10 Pro.

It’s an expensive machine, though. On Amazon.ca, it is listed at $2,932.39. A not-as-powerful Core i7 model is available at Best Buy in the U.S. for US$1,749.99 but then you’d have to deal with customs.

ASUS ZenBook Pro 15.

Specs for model tested

Processor Intel® Core™ i9-8950HK processor 2.9 GHz hexa-core with 12 MB cache Graphics NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Video memory: 4 GB GDDR5 VRAM Display 15.6-inch LED-backlit 4K UHD (3,840 x 2,160) 16:9 touchscreen, colour calibration: Delta E < 2, 100% Adobe RGB colour gamut 7.3mm-thin bezel with 83% screen-to-body ratio 178-degree wide-view technology Memory 16 GB 2400MHz DDR4 onboard Storage 512 GB SSD Interfaces 2 x Type-C USB 3.1 Gen 2 (Thunderbolt 3) 2 x Type-A USB 3.1 Gen 2 1 x HDMI 1 x Combo audio jack 1 x MicroSD card slot Audio jack MicroSD card slot USB 3.1 Gen 2 DC-jack HDMI Thunderbolt 3 USB-C Keyboard and ScreenPad Keyboard Full-size backlit, with 1.5mm key travel Fingerprint sensor supporting Windows Hello ScreenPad 5.5-inch FHD (1,920 x 1,080) Super IPS+ display 178-degree wide-view technology Glass-covered for fingerprint and smudge resistance Precision touchpad (PTP) technology supports up to four-finger smart gestures Keyboard ScreenPad Fingerprint sensor Audio ASUS SonicMaster stereo audio system with surround-sound; smart amplifier for maximum audio performance Array microphone with Cortana voice-recognition support 3.5 mm headphone jack Camera VGA webcam Wi-Fi Dual-band 802.11ac gigabit-class Wi-Fi Bluetooth Bluetooth 5.0

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newssplashy · 6 years

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Internet customers say these are the best cheap mechanical keyboards

The average person types somewhere between 38 and 40 words per minute, which translates to about 10,000 keystrokes per hour.

With that in mind, you can only image just how many millions of clicks your computer keyboard endures over the course of a year. If yours isn't equipped to handle all that wear, you naturally end up with a dead key or two, loose key caps, and wonky buttons you have to hold down for far too long before they actually activate.

Which is why you really need to invest in a mechanical keyboard, and by invest, we don't mean spend an arm and a leg. Order one of the best cheap mechanical keyboards and stretch your dollar as far as it will go. Not only do mechanical keys tend to be more structurally sound than their rubber dome counterparts, they are also easier to type on and even more pleasing to use. Remember the clackaty clack typing noise of yesteryear? The one you hear in all the 80s office movies? Well mechanical keys give you that sound along with real time tactile feedback that makes working on a computer oh-so satisfying. The reason that today's plastic keyboards are so popular is because they're cheap and flexible to manufacture, so companies can create super-thin, foldable, and even roll-up keyboards that don't cost much money at all. They also tend not to last as long though and aren't as comfortable to type on, especially for long durations. Anyhow, you didn't come here for Keyboarding 101. You want to know the best affordable ones to buy, and we'll key you in based on what internet customers have had to say about them. So whether you're a gamer, a writer, a late-night browser, or looking to start your own ASMR podcast, here are the best cheap mechanical keyboards, in no particular order:

GoFreeTech Mechanical Keyboard — $44.99

Image: GoFreetech

Starting off the list is this colorful 104-key mechanical gaming keyboard with removable keycaps. It's specially designed to enhance durability while providing tactile feedback. There is medium resistance, precise actuation, and an audible click sound when you tap the keys. If you type or game so intensely that you start to sweat, no biggie. This ultra-affordable option (it's less than $50) is sweat and water resistant. Verified Amazon Purchaser Reginald G. Wilson writes:

"I bought this keyboard about a month ago. I've been using it quite a bit. I'm not having any issues with it. The mechanical key action is exactly what they claimed it to be. Clicky and tactile. You probably wouldn't want to use this in an office cubicle environment (unless you wanted to annoy your cubicle mates), but it's fine for use at home or in your private office."

This Gofreetech keyboard has an excellent 4.7 star rating, so if you're really on a budget it's not a bad choice at all.

Image: Gofreetech

GoFreeTech Mechanical Keyboard - $44.99 See Details

Rii RK902 87 — $19.99

Image: Rii

An even cheaper option is the RK902 by Rii. This mechanical keyboard is constructed with five customizable gaming lighting effects. You can also adjust the brightness of the keys as well as the effect speed. Verified Amazon purchaser Melanie Williams writes:

"I love that this keyboard lights up. It makes gaming at night much easier if the lights are off and you cant see the keys. The clicking noise the the keys make enhance the experience and gives it a more retro feel. This is the ideal gaming keyboard I will always recommend this to anyone."

The RK902 has a good 4.2 out of 5 star rating. The few reviewers who didn't like it weren't too thrilled with it's quality

Image: Rii

Rii RK902 87 - $19.99 See Details

WASD CODE 104-Key — $155

Image: WASD

Gamers tend to be attracted to mechanical keyboards that have features like programmable macro buttons (rapid-fire keys) and LED backlighting. WASD created a custom mechanical keyboard that offers just that in a relatively simple design. Oh, and don't let the price put you off, some very popular mechanical keyboards can cost well over $200 bucks, so this one's still a steal. The WASD 104-key keyboard features ultra-rare Cherry MX Clear mechanical key switches. If you're wondering who or what Cherry MX is, it's pretty much just a way for Cherry Corporation, a company that has has manufactured keyboards since the 1960s, to distinguish between its different switch types. What makes the MX switches particularly ideal is they combine solid actuation force with quiet, non-click activation. So you get a medium stiff, tactile feedback experience. Top positive reviewer, Bigtallbill gave the WASD Keyboard 4 stars and rated it "PRETTY GOOD." here is an excerpt from their review:

"As a developer, i spend a lot of time typing, and i'm a bit ashamed to say i dismissed mechanical keyboards for the longest time. This is my first, and i have to say i'm very pleased with it after a month or so of use."

The top critical reviewer Brandon Fisher gave it 3-stars on the other hand:

"Overall the keyboard feels nice when you type on it, even for extended periods of time. I have no problem with the functionality of the keyboard itself. I like the configuration you can do through the dip switches on the back, such as allowing you to use the scroll lock key to disable the windows key. The adjustable brightness for the LED is also nice feature...What's not so great about this keyboard is after just a couple years of use the key caps start to lose the, what I'm assuming is, paint."

Image: WASD

WASD CODE 104-Key - $155 See Details

Nixeus Moda v2 — $56

Image: Nixeus

It may not be as cheap as standard membrane keyboards, but it certainly isn't as expensive as most of other mechanical keyboards either. The Nixeus Moda V2 features Kailh key switches, which is on par with most other companies that set out to create really affordable keyboards. Since Kailhs are made in China, they're much cheaper. Cherry, on the other hand, are more of a novelty and are manufactured in Germany. In any case, The Nixeus Moda is pretty much a no frills keyboard. There aren't any macro keys for gaming and it's not backlit with LEDs. But if you're one of the people who doesn't like a backlit keyboard anyway, or don't really care at all, this one is sorta tailored for you. Most importantly, it produces a soft tactile bump feedback to your fingertips as you type. Reinforced with a steel plate, this mechanical keyboard prides itself on its longevity, promising long-time durability up to 50 million keystrokes. It also has a three-year warranty. More than 50% of Amazon purchasers think it's a 5-star choice, with reviewer Connie writing:

"First of all, I really like the sound the keys make. They can be a little loud, and would not be a good choice to use during the middle of the night, but I find the sounds to be somewhat pleasing and a little relaxing. I also really like the layout of the keyboard. It is nice and compact, which is handy since I do not have a lot of space on my desk. I never use the number pad anyway. The board that the keyboard uses is heavy and durable, but slides a little, though not unless you apply a considerable amount of pressure to the keyboard. I have heard that kailh switches are lower in quality compared to cherry mx, and that is something that I can not say myself, since I have never used mx browns before. It is true that the sounds and clicks do not feel consistent (some keys even sound a little springy) but for this kind of price I do not really mind. I am not a professional gamer nor typist so this keyboard suits my needs. What I can say though is that this keyboard does not affect me playing casual games in any sort of way. If anything, I think that I even improved using this keyboard. The only downside that I have encountered so far is that my Q key is starting to fade a little bit. Other than that, I have no complaints."

Image: Nixeus

Nixeus Moda v2 - $56 See Details

Logitech G413 Carbon — $64.99

Image: logitech

This option uses mechanical switches by Romer-G, which are built for professional performance, quick response, and durability. The red key lighting is precise and clean through the keycap, so you can always see what you're typing. PC Mag rates the Logitech G413 Carbon EXCELLENT, praising the company for its sturdy construction and programmable function keys. On the flip side, there's no wrist rest like some of the others on this list and you can't customize the keyboard backlighting, so you're pretty much just stuck with the red. Best Buy customers didn't seem to mind though, as 93% of customers would recommend this product to a friend. Verified purchaser DirkDigital writes:

"Very responsive mechanical keyboard. No fancy RGB lighting display but why pay an extra $50 for it when you can have a quality built keyboard with great backlit keys."

Image: Logitech

Logitech G413 Carbon - $64.99 See Details

Steel Series Apex M750 — $123.31

Image: Steel series

This one is still a bit cheaper than other full size mechanical keyboards with full RGB lighting. But the most important part is the mechanical switches. The Steal Series Apex M750 uses its maker's own mechanical linear switches, which are similar to Cherry's MX Red. There won't be any tactile feedback but what you do get is a buttery smooth keystroke. This Amazon Choice keyboard has exposed keycaps so you can see the lighting illuminating out from below the key. You can program how the key colors act and react using the company's engine software on your computer, which lets you turn the backlighting into an audio visual that plays out on the keyboard itself. Nearly 70% of Amazon reviewers believe it's a 5-star choice. Reviewer TheDeepShell says:

"Absolutely LOVE this keyboard. I used to have one of the non-lit models from steel series before I bought this and, obviously it was also a great keyboard, but I found myself wishing I had bought the backlit version. After all, late night Civilization 5 isn't going to play itself. So, I sprung for this keyboard.

Yep, it meets my expectations. I also found the keys, despite being cherry mx reds to be a bit more clicky than the other keyboard (don't remember the name, but it's steel series' full sized non backlit keyboard). This is something I loved - mx red feel and responsiveness with even a nice little feeling of solidity on downstrokes. It's not loud, but it just feels nice."

Image: steel series

Steel Series Apex M750 - $123.31 See Details

Corsair Platinum K95 — $171.99

Image: Corsair

If you're looking for a 5-star choice that everyone loves, go for the Corsair Platinum K95. Not only does it have a perfect customer score on Best Buy, but it's a PC Mag Editor's Choice. This keyboard's customizable LED backlighting is all anyone can talk about, delivering a multicolor light show that makes it fun and easy to work in the dark. The Cherry key switches give it the ultimate competitive advantage over the competition, and it has 8 MB of on-board storage so you can easily access your saved files on the go. It has a removable wrist rest that's reversible so you can choose between a more textured pad and or a smoother option. You have one row of macro keys for gaming, three brightness controls, a volume dial, and multimedia function keys for you to use. Verified Best Buy purchaser Ripperoni writes:

"This is by far the best Keyboard I have owned. It comes with 6 buttons on the side you can program to anything, I actually still have 5 of those buttons with nothing programmed. It also came with the Performace Key Caps as well! The RGB on the K95 Platinum is awesome as well, the light strip on top makes this my favorite RGB. If you are looking at getting this, I promise you won't regret it."

Image: Corsair

Corsair Platinum K95 - $171.99 See Details

Logitech G610 — $76

Image: Logitech

Logitech built the G610 with industry superior Cherry MX switches. This keyboard is illuminated with white LEDs underneath the keys, a step away from the colorful rainbow of some of the others on this list. The G610 has a standard key layout with additional media controls and a lighting brightness toggle. Its footprint is relatively small because it doesn't have any macro keys. We think it looks understated and pretty basic, but sometimes that's what you want if you'll be doing a lot of typing in the office. On the performance front, the low-noise switches thanks to Cherry MX have a tactile bump for feedback with every keypress. It's a good 4-star option if you believe Amazon reviewers. Verified Amazon purchaser LeeIB writes:

"Coming from MX Cherry blues, I was skeptical, but DANG this thing writes beautifully. I still do some late night browsing, typing, and occasional gaming because how my work schedule is. Sound is perfect."

Image: Logitech

Logitech G610 - $76 See Details

Havit HV-KB390L — $59.99

Image: Havit HV-KB390L

This is probably one of the best mechanical keyboards you can buy for under $60. Underneath the thin plastic keycaps, you have slimmed down Kailh switch. This low profile keyboard by Havit is small and portable, with light blue LED backlighting. When it comes to typing, it doesn't require much force. Since it's small your fingers don't have to travel that far, so you'll probably be able to type faster. It has the mechanical actuation you need and a 4.4 star rating on Amazon. Amazon reviewer Chad Glendenin writes:

"I'm using this keyboard with a Mac laptop, and it's excellent. The low-profile keys make it feel somewhat like using a Mac keyboard, unlike the Cherry MX-style mechanical PC keyboards, which have keys that feel tall, wobbly, and narrow at the top in comparison. Unlike other backlit keyboards I've tried, this one remembers my last settings even after the system it's attached to has gone to sleep and cut power. It has an easily readable font, rather than a gamer font, so it looks a little more professional, and the keys have a nice, mechanical feel to them, but they are not obnoxiously loud, so it's better suited to a shared space. So far, I've noticed noticed two minor downsides: one is that receptor for the USB input is finicky. At first, I thought the keyboard was broken, but I just hadn't gotten the cable fully engaged. The other issue is that the coating on the keys seems a little cheap. I've been using this keyboard for less than a week, and the part of the spacebar where my thumb hits it is already starting to look a little bit shiny. Usually it takes a couple months for a keyboard to start showing that. If you're on a Mac, install an app called Karabiner to remap the keys. Also, the PauseBreak and ScrollLock keys by default are the brightness up/down keys on a Mac."

Image: Hait

Havit HV-KB390L - $59.99 See Details

HyperX Alloy — $79.99

Image: HyperX

You can take your digital adventures to the next level with this HyperX keyboard. The keyboard is all black with white lettering, and its backlit keys can take 50 million keystrokes per switch without experiencing a loss in performance. The top plate is a metal alloy so you won't have to worry about durability, and there's an added bonus: There's a built-in slot at the top so you can charge your smartphone. It is marketed as a gaming keyboard and it comes with red textured key options on some of the keys. But the features you really care about (or should anyway) are beneath the key caps. You'll find genuine Cherry blue switches that are very click-y and tactile so you can really feel when you actuate each key. Verified Bestbuy purchaser Zoro writes:

"The design, the colors, the speed this keyboard brings with it are amazing. Love it!"

All 100% of Best Buy customers would recommend this to a friend.

Image: HyperX

HyperX Alloy - $79.99 See Details

Das Keyboard x40 — $99.99

Image: Das

The first thing you'll notice about this Das keyboard is probably the aggressive styling of its aluminum face. If you aren't a fan of having a very graphic keyboard, maybe consider some others on the list. The Das Keyboard X40 Pro has adjustable red backlighting that's supposed to help reduce eyestrain. It has five programmable macro keys for fast gaming and Alpha-Zulu switches that allow for lightning-fast precision when your gaming stakes are high. PCmag rates it EXCELLENT. The editor writes:

"Sturdy construction. Includes USB, audio pass-through connections. Utilizes full n-key rollover. Removable top plate allows for unique visual customization."

Amazon customers weren't as impressed though, giving it an overall 3.5-star rating.

Image: Das

Das Keyboard x40 - $99.99 See Details

Razer Ornata Chroma — $89

Image: razer

Internet buyers love this mechanical keyboard by Razer. The keys are a mid-height size and underneath the keys is a nice white backplate that lets the LED lights add an extra pop to the chassis. What really sets it apart is the magnetic, leather-ish wrist rest that attaches straight to the front of the keyboard. If you spend a lot of time typing or gaming it'll really come in handy. The Ornata is a "mecha membrane" keyboard, which is fancy talk for a hybrid between mechanical and standard keyboards. One of its biggest selling points though are the RGB lights inside. Use the software to create your own lighting effects or settle for included presets. You can highlight certain keys if you want or combine multiple effects. The Razer Ornata has 4.4 stars on Amazon, and top contributor Miss M writes:

"I didn't purchase this keyboard for gaming, just straight typing. I work in transcription and have many of the same problems gamers do. I type faster when the keyboard gives me the right tactile feedback, it can't be too loud, the key spacing needs to be on-point, and even ghosting is a problem. The Ornata is one of the best keyboards I've ever used and has noticeably increased my productivity."

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Razer Ornata Chroma - $89 See Details

Aukey Mechanical Keyboard — $64.99

Image: Aukey

You can also enjoy an immersive, colorful typing experience with this 4.6-star option from Aukey. Like some of the others, it has RGB backlit keys so you can chose between nine preset lighting effects, and seven different color options for each key. It has tactile switches by Outemu, which are pretty much just Cherry knockoffs according to Redditers. You get the feedback and audible click sound, and it has a waterproof design so accidental spills don't equal Game Over. Amazon reviewer TheBeardedArtist writes:

"First off let me say how surprised I was at the sturdiness of this keyboard. I was thinking it would feel much cheaper than it does at this price point, but I'm happy to say I was wrong. Getting used to the keys takes a few minutes since they are so precise and any screw-ups in typing show, where my old keyboard was spongy and allowed for some operator error. I like the precision, it will certainly be nice for gaming."

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Aukey Mechanical Keyboard - $64.99 Pls Comment Below This Post First Appeared On Newssplashy- Latest Nigerian News Today

source https://www.newssplashy.com/2018/06/internet-customers-say-these-are-best.html

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newssplashy · 6 years

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The average person types somewhere between 38 and 40 words per minute, which translates to about 10,000 keystrokes per hour.

GoFreeTech Mechanical Keyboard — $44.99

Image: GoFreetech

This Gofreetech keyboard has an excellent 4.7 star rating, so if you're really on a budget it's not a bad choice at all.

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GoFreeTech Mechanical Keyboard - $44.99 See Details

Rii RK902 87 — $19.99

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The RK902 has a good 4.2 out of 5 star rating. The few reviewers who didn't like it weren't too thrilled with it's quality

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Rii RK902 87 - $19.99 See Details

WASD CODE 104-Key — $155

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The top critical reviewer Brandon Fisher gave it 3-stars on the other hand:

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WASD CODE 104-Key - $155 See Details

Nixeus Moda v2 — $56

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Nixeus Moda v2 - $56 See Details

Logitech G413 Carbon — $64.99

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"Very responsive mechanical keyboard. No fancy RGB lighting display but why pay an extra $50 for it when you can have a quality built keyboard with great backlit keys."

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Logitech G413 Carbon - $64.99 See Details

Steel Series Apex M750 — $123.31

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Steel Series Apex M750 - $123.31 See Details

Corsair Platinum K95 — $171.99

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Corsair Platinum K95 - $171.99 See Details

Logitech G610 — $76

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Logitech G610 - $76 See Details

Havit HV-KB390L — $59.99

Image: Havit HV-KB390L

Image: Hait

Havit HV-KB390L - $59.99 See Details

HyperX Alloy — $79.99

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"The design, the colors, the speed this keyboard brings with it are amazing. Love it!"

All 100% of Best Buy customers would recommend this to a friend.

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HyperX Alloy - $79.99 See Details

Das Keyboard x40 — $99.99

Image: Das

"Sturdy construction. Includes USB, audio pass-through connections. Utilizes full n-key rollover. Removable top plate allows for unique visual customization."

Amazon customers weren't as impressed though, giving it an overall 3.5-star rating.

Image: Das

Das Keyboard x40 - $99.99 See Details

Razer Ornata Chroma — $89

Image: razer

Image: Razer

Razer Ornata Chroma - $89 See Details

Aukey Mechanical Keyboard — $64.99

Image: Aukey

Image: aukey

Aukey Mechanical Keyboard - $64.99 Pls Comment Below This Post First Appeared On Newssplashy- Latest Nigerian News Today

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