Darth Vader was the original trilogy character whose return in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story received the most publicity, but he was not the only familiar face featured in the final product. Director Gareth Edwards also found room for Grand Moff Tarkin and Princess Leia, who both fit naturally into the narrative given its place in the timeline. The process of including the duo was fairly extensive, as Industrial Light & Magic used state-of-the-art CGI to create the likenesses of Peter Cushing and Carrie Fisher circa 1977....

Google is today hosting a press event where the company is unveiling its latest generation of Google Home, Android and Chrome OS devices, including updates to its Pixel phones and a new Pixelbook convertible Chromebook. First up, the company today officially took the wraps off of the second generation of its Pixel phone, Pixel 2. It packs in a 5-inch display, front-facing speakers, Android Oreo, and massive bezels for $649, and has a a larger Pixel XL 2 variant with smaller bezels and an $849 price tag....

Glyph, perhaps better than any other external drive maker, has a knack for creating solidly-built SSDs that do a great job of passively dissipating heat. These factors are what made me a fan of the original Glyph Atom, and it’s what continues to make me a fan of the company’s latest external SSD offering: the Glyph Atom Pro SSD. Watch our hands-on video review for the details. First and foremost, let’s take a gander at the specs found on the Glyph Atom Pro SSD....

I first reviewed Leef’s USB to Lightning thumb drive last year when I compared a handful of similar products just hitting the market at the time. The products are essentially standard USB stick drives, but with the addition of a Lightning connector, you can now have the convenience of thumb drive storage on your iPhone or iPad. My favorite of the bunch was the Leef iBridge, and now the company has a new version that adds a microSD card slot…...

As someone who’s been involved in IT for the last 15 years, sitting while working comes with the territory. Since transitioning from IT to full-time blogging, it’s just been more of the same. Shooting video tends to get me out of my chair on most days, but I still find myself sitting for inordinate amounts of time. Having a good exercise routine is crucial, as many of my colleagues will attest to, but even with regular exercise, it can still be fatiguing to sit for most of the working day....

Sudden drops? The Kraken II rugged case comes to the rescue. Trident Case recently sent along their Kraken II case for review and I’ve been carrying my iPhone 4 in it for several weeks – and not just around office, mind you. I took it for a spin through a variety of environments, from public transport in an ugly, big city to cafes and restaurants, some countryside and finally to the beaches of Rovinj, a city on the North Adriatic sea where I’ve been blogging and soaking up sun rays since June....

The Rise of Skywalker has finally hit theatres and, despite the controversial last outing that was The Last Jedi, is currently excelling at the box office. While Disney’s foray into the sci-fi franchise has been mixed, fans have been flocking to see the final instalment of the Skywalker saga, which brings a story that has spanned over 40 years to an action-packed conclusion. Inevitably for a blockbuster of this size and magnitude, there were plenty of rumors about what would unfold in the weeks and months before it’s release....

In Chapter 1, we explored risk at a high-level. As security practitioners, however, we need a working definition supported by the tools necessary to measure, report, and mitigate unwanted risks to physical and electronic information assets. In this chapter, we step through a risk assessment of a medium-sized business’ customer invoicing database. Our goal is to determine the risk of a threat agent gaining direct access to sensitive customer data....

You know how it goes: you copy a link, or a piece of text, intending to paste it – then you get distracted and copy something else before you get the chance. You then have to find and copy the first item again. A clipboard manager solves this problem by saving a history of the items you copy, letting you paste in any one of them later. There are plenty of clipboard managers around (a quick search of the Mac App Store found 34 of them), and you might think that when you’ve seen one, you’ve seen ’em all....

A new trailer for Riverdale season 4 has been released, teasing further madness for the characters in their senior year. Created by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, Riverdale is loosely based on the world and characters of Archie Comics. Offering an angsty, Twin Peaks-lite take on the source material, the first season proved to be a surprising smash hit - garnering positive reviews and a hugely passionate fanbase. The show’s reception has lessened somewhat in its proceeding three seasons but was confidently renewed for a fourth season....

Thanks to Nest and other “smart home” accessory developers, wirelessly controlled appliances and security accessories are rapidly becoming mainstream. Garage and home doors have gone wireless, adding Bluetooth locks and remote controls, so it’s no surprise that the same features are beginning to appear in portable locks, as well. Since the ability to unlock doors without carrying old-fashioned keys is undeniably convenient, the only question is whether wireless locks are worthy of the premium prices they carry....

Since iOS 7, Apple has allowed third-party manufacturers to make game controller accessories for iPhones and iPads so users can play iOS games by mashing physical buttons and waggling real joysticks, rather than rely on the touchscreen for input. The Gamevice (~$99, price varies) is one such MFi accessory in an interesting form factor, almost like a GameBoy with buttons on either side of the screen. Apple is featuring the Gamevice in Apple Stores now, and the iPad Pro models are recommended on the company’s gift guide....

The new Nanoleaf Smarter Kit with HomeKit support comes with a Smart Hub and two Nanoleaf Smart Ivy Light Bulbs to get you started. Like other popular connected lighting systems including the Philips Hue, you can purchase more bulbs individually once you’ve bought the Smarter Kit with the hub that allows a wirelesses connection for control from your iPhone or iPad and support for connecting up to 50 bulbs (the standard limitation among these types of products)....

There are lots of third-party products to choose from when it comes to charging your Apple Watch, but not many of them include a built-in magnetic charging puck. For the last couple of weeks I’ve been testing out a unique offering from UGreen, the new 4400mAh portable power bank for Apple Watch, which also includes a built-in Lightning cable. My colleague Jeff reviewed UGreen’s previous model, which features the built-in magnetic charging puck for Apple Watch, but doesn’t have the built-in Lightning cable....

Long before the days of iPhone Photo Walks, the future sites of New York City’s Apple Stores were captured on film as part of a citywide project. Eighty years later, the photos offer unique insight into the history and neighborhood changes of your favorite stores. The New York City Municipal Archives maintains a vast collection of tax assessment photos taken between 1939 and 1941. The archive documents the majority of the buildings present at the time in all five boroughs of New York City....

Apple entered new territory with last year’s budget model $329 iPad — largely popular for reducing the barrier to entry for first time iPad owners. This time around, the thought of a budget iPad isn’t so crazy, as we’ve had a whole year to marinate on the idea. Like last year’s model, the 6th generation 2018 iPad can be a compelling device if it happens to fit your needs. The good news is that it’s pretty easy to determine where this new iPad may fit in, and whether you should buy it or not....

There are a lot of laptop stands on the market, but the majority of them aren’t very convenient to travel with, or use on the go. That’s why Satechi’s folding Aluminum Laptop Stand caught my eye. With a solid, simple build, colors to match all MacBook and MacBook Pros and more, this useful accessory is worth checking out. Satechi is a San Diego-based company that offers a variety of great Apple accessories with a focus on making sleek, affordable products....

Emtek, the company BlackBerry partnered with in 2016, announced today that it will officially shut down the consumer version of BlackBerry Messenger next month. A new messaging app for iOS users to take its place is on the way. In a blog post, Emtek announced that it will shut down the consumer version of BlackBerry Messenger on May 31st. The company says that while it tried make BBM a reality in 2019, users have simply moved on to other platforms:...

Here we will focus on how players can rank up through the Rocket League Tier system. Let’s get started with our Ranking Guide. Rocket League is a vehicle-based soccer game from Psyonix. The game features several flexible modes that revolve around playing soccer using rocket-modded-cards. The aim is to navigate the ball into the goal using a player’s vehicle. In Rocket League, players can play in any of the following modes:...

There was a time just a few years back when the 4-inch screen was considered Apple’s big phone. After five generations of 3.5-inch screens, Apple made the iPhone taller in 2012 with the 4-inch iPhone 5. The width remained the same in a “common sense” move that maintained easy one-hand use for most people, and the 16:9 aspect ratio framed video playback perfectly. Two years later, Apple upgraded the iPhone with two new models: 4....