Seagate One Touch SSD 

Seagate knows that consumer interest in portable SSDs is growing, and so its portfolio has also expanded. We have with us for review today the new Seagate One Touch SSD, which is relatively affordable and quite stylish. It's positioned as a tech lifestyle device, and targets people who don't necessarily need the best possible speed but are looking for something better than a typical portable hard drive.

For anyone who hasn't tried an SSD before, the differences compared to a hard drive will be stark and surprising. They're potentially multiple times faster than hard drives, but much lighter, smaller, easier to carry, and more reliable. Many people are happy to spend good money for these advantages.

Seagate One Touch SSD (1TB) design and features

Seagate is definitely focusing on design with this model. The company has gone for a credit-card shape, though despite claims that this device can be slipped into a wallet, it's much too thick for that. In fact, this drive is almost exactly the same size as the very popular Samsung SSD T5, though very different in design.

There's a distinctive textured fabric panel on the top, and a cloth tab with the Seagate logo on one side. The 1TB version of this SSD is available only in white and black, but if you choose the 500GB version, there are special editions with blue, green, red, or grey camouflage prints. Additional artist editions for both capacities are shown on Seagate's US website though these don't appear to be available here, and there's the possibility of more designs coming out in the future.

For a device that's positioned as modern and fashionable, we're quite surprised to see an old Micro-USB 3.0 port on the back, like most external hard drives still use. This isn't as convenient as a USB Type-C Port, which we'd expect on an SSD. Seagate also doesn't include a Type-C cable or adapter, so those with sleek Type-C-only laptops will need to buy an adapter of their own

Asus VivoBook S15 (S532F) WithScreenPad  

Asus took us quite by surprise when it introduced the quirky and unique ScreenPad on its flagship 2018 laptops, the ZenBook Pro 14 and ZenBook Pro 15. The company effectively replaced the standard trackpads on these laptops with fully interactive touchscreens. The idea was to retain all the functionality of a standard trackpad but also open up completely new ways to use a laptop. We had a lot of thoughts about the concept and execution of the ScreenPad idea – not all positive. While there was a lot of potential, it seemed as though Asus had failed to strike the right balance between usability and innovation.

We now have some new laptops with the second-gen ScreenPad, which Asus says has been refined and focused. The concept has also been democratised, and can now be found on mainstream VivoBook as well as premium ZenBook laptops. This could be a good thing, giving Asus a unique and attractive selling point in the crowded market – but it could also backfire, confusing users and making everything more difficult.

WINDOWS 7 SUPPORT ENDS JANUARY 14, CHROME TO OFFER WINDOWS 7 SUPPORT FOR 18 MONTHS MORE: WHAT TO DO NEXT

WINDOWS 7 SUPPORT ENDS JANUARY 14, CHROME TO OFFER WINDOWS 7 SUPPORT FOR 18 MONTHS MORE: WHAT TO DO NEXT !

Windows 7 users can update to Windows 10 by purchasing and installing the software online. Users who are owners of very old machines, should consider installing Windows 8 or Windows 8.1, as Windows 10 may not function properly on old devices.

Microsoft's decade-old operating system - Windows 7 - will reach ‘end of life' on January 14. This means that the company will stop the free technical support and producing ‘security patches' to fix software vulnerabilities. It is recommended that all users switch to Windows 10 or newer Windows versions before Windows 7 support ends. While Windows 7 won't see any support, Google claims that it will keep updating Chrome on Windows 7 devices with software and security patches for 18 more months. This means support for Chrome users on Windows 7 will go on till July next year.The tech giant is all set to end support for its Windows 7 software next week i.e. on January 14. While the software won't stop working, Microsoft won't be delivering any security patches, t hereby making it a breeding ground for hackers to tinker with. The ideal solution, as mentioned, is to update to the latest software. While the free program to update to Windows 10 ended on July 2016, users can  purchase the software and install it easily. 

So, what does the January 14 date mean exactly? On its site, Microsoft says "After January 14, 2020, if your PC is running Windows 7, it will no longer receive security updates. Therefore, it's important that you upgrade to a modern operating system such as Windows 10, which can provide the latest security updates to help keep you and your data safer. In addition, Microsoft customer service will no longer be available to provide Windows 7 technical support. Related services for Windows 7 will also be discontinued over time. For example, certain games such as Internet Backgammon and Internet Checkers as well as Electronic Program Guide for Windows Media Center are scheduled to be discontinued in January 2020."

CES 2020: THUNDERBOLT 4 ANNOUNCED BY INTEL

CES 2020: Thunderbolt 4 Announced by Intel, Will Offer Same Speed as Thunderbolt 3

Intel claims that Thunderbolt 4 will be four times faster than USB 3.1 which offers 10Gbps data transfer speeds. This means that Thunderbolt 4 will top out at 40Gbps speeds.

At CES 2020, Intel announced its Tiger Lake CPUs, and these new processors will come with Thunderbolt 4 support. The next-gen external connector from Intel is confirmed to come with the new 10nm CPUs this year, but the chip maker has avoided revealing too many details as of now. Intel claims that Thunderbolt 4 will be four times faster than USB 3.1 which offers 10 Gbps data transfer speeds. This means that Thunderbolt 4 will top out at 40 Gbps speeds, similar to that of the four-year-old Thunderbolt 3.While Thunderbolt 4 is supposedly not faster than Thunderbolt 3, updating the version number could mean few tweaks are well in store. Intel is remaining mystical on the details for now, but the company should shed some light once its launch nears. Intel spokeswoman Sarah Kane told CNET that the company plans to share more details on Thunderbolt 4 later. She claims, “It standardises PC platform requirements and adds the latest Thunderbolt innovations.”

             Thunderbolt ports are found on premium devices like Apple's MacBook laptops and Dell's XPS laptops, but haven't been adopted as widely as Intel would've hoped. USB continues to be strong competition with the USB 4 announced last year. USB 4 should arrive in products this year, and claims to offer 40Gbps data transfer speeds, similar to that of Thunderbolt 3.The upcoming 10nm Tiger Lake CPUs will feature integrated Xe graphics, improved AI integrations and native Thunderbolt 4 and Wi-Fi 6 for connectivity. The company says that manufacturers will start receiving Tiger Lake CPUs in summer 2020, so laptops with the new processors can be expected to launch sometime by the end of this year.