Spin the virtual globe
If you haven’t taken a spin around Google Earth for a while, today would be a good time to revisit the now 12-year-old app. Really, it’s been 12 years, and in that time, other Google-Earth-like apps, including Google’s own Maps app, have left the mothership and become our go-to navigation guides, so Google has now relaunched Google Earth as a more exploration-focused app rather than a tool for getting from A to B.
Chief among the changes is the new Voyager mode, which not only takes you to new and interesting places but adds a lot of context, including videos and other information sources. And of course, Google Earth is infused with remarkable 3D renderings of most of the planet’s locales. Hey, that place looks sort of familiar. Check out the new Google Earth here, and you’ll need to be using either the Chrome browser or an Android phone for now.
AMD gets its (affordable) game on
Want to get some high-def gaming action going but can’t afford a pricy high-end video cards? We feel your pain. Good news, though: AMD is backing up its affordable line of new CPUs with some new GPUs in the form of a the RX500 line of video cards. We dropped the new RX570 into our favorite gaming PC to see what it could do, and it can do quite a lot.
With 4gb of RAM, a hotter clock speed and other improvements, the 570 easily outpaced the RX 480 from last year, yet still comes in under $200. Couple the new video cards with AMD’s new Series 5 or 7 Ryzen chips, and you’ve got the basic ingredients for a high-powered gaming rig for a lot less than you might expect. Check out our review here.
Current troubles, future hopes
Seems like every big tech company has a developer conference these days, and Facebook is no different. Facebook F8 is upon us, and high-profile CEO Mark Zuckerberg is kicking this off today. While we’re sure Zuckerberg and team would like to focus on the future of Facebook, recent events are at the fore, including a shocking murder broadcast live on Facebook and the ongoing issue of policing “fake news” on the social network.
Other topics will likely include updates to the Oculus Rift VR system, and perhaps some changes for Instagram, both of which are owned and operated by Facebook. We’ll have full wrap-ups of F8 today and tomorrow right here.
