Intel has launched its latest range of processors, code-named “Skylake”, targeting everything from high-powered gaming rigs to computers the size of a USB stick and smartphones.
The “sixth generation” Core family promises improved performance, battery life and graphics-power, thanks to a new micro-architecture.The chips have also been optimised to handle 4K videos better. Microsoft is offering its latest operating system – Windows 10 – as a free upgrade to consumers and suggests its software should not be more taxing on processors than Windows 7 or Windows 8.
Even so, Intel noted that there are more than 500 million computers in use that are four years old or older. Intel’s next challenge is to try to ensure that production of the chips goes smoothly. Intel says the first of the new PCs should be on sale late this year.

GOOGLE’S NEW LOGO
Google announced a new logo last week, and surprisingly it looks like more than the usual empty design exercise.
The logo itself does represent the most striking change in many years for Google, most of all in its plainness and the custom font’s lack of serifs, the little lines at the end of character strokes.
One variant of the new logo takes only 305 bytes of data, compared with about 14,000 for the previous version, which had required a clumsy text-based approximation to be used on low-bandwidth connections.
In a larger sense, the new logo is actually the first truly digital representation of the company: It’s no longer static but virtually alive to the services available behind it. That should set the stage for more seamless combinations of services in the future.

THE NEW SONY SMARTPHONE WITH 4K SCREEN
Sony has unveiled the first smartphone to feature a 4K-resolution screen.
It means the Xperia Z5 Premium can both capture video in “ultra-high definition” quality and then play it back on its 5.5in (14cm) display without downgrading the footage.
All the firm’s Z5 handsets also feature a new camera module – the first time the part has been completely overhauled since 2013’s original Z1 handset.
Sony said the 23 megapixel sensor involved was being kept as an “exclusive” to its own devices for the time being.

TOSHIBA UNVEILS THE WORLD’S FIRST 12.5-INCH 4K CONVERTIBLE LAPTOP

At IFA in Berlin, Toshiba has unveiled the Satellite Radius 12, the first 12.5-inch convertible laptop with a 4K screen. You may ask, and reasonably so, why anyone would need 4K on a screen so small — and the answer is that you probably don’t, just the way you don’t need a 4K display on a phone. But it can be done, and so it shall be done.
The Satellite Radius 12 comes in either a carbon gray or satin gold metal finish with an LED backlit keyboard. It weighs 2.8 pounds, and the hinge rotates all 360 degrees to switch between five separate viewing modes — similar to a Lenovo Yoga. Before the announcement, we had a chance to take a quick look at a Satellite Radius 12 in a pre-briefing with Intel, and can confirm it feels like a solid machine with a beautiful finish, and the hinge feels smooth and sturdy.
The Satellite Radius 12 runs Windows 10, features sixth-generation Intel Core processors (Skylake) up to a Core i7, and has an optional 3,840-by-2,160-pixel IPS touch screen display (standard is 1080p). RAM maxes out at just 8GB.
Samsung’s Sleep-Sense can track your sleep; change the room temperature and more…
SAMSUNG is making a play for your bedroom, revealing a small device that lies beneath your mattress to not only monitor your sleep, but control your air conditioner, television and audio system to ensure better sleep, less jet lag, and a faster metabolism.
It can even turn off your TV when it senses you’ve fallen asleep in front of it.
The device will also track how long it took you to fall asleep, sleep efficiency, the number of times you woke, and if you got out of bed.
On a night, for example, the Sleep-Sense could send a message to a connected air conditioning unit to lower the temperature for optimal rest.
It could also turn on your coffee machine when it senses you’ve woken up in the morning. Look out for the sleep-sense in a store new you…Soon!