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Geekom IT15 torture test
Gaming Gear

Mini PC ‘violently’ smashed with a sledgehammer, dragged behind a motorbike, and spun in a washing machine – Geekom PC still works after the company’s extreme torture testing

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Mini PC specialist Geekom has shared a video which shows its latest IT15 model being subjected to unnatural levels of violence. We are accustomed to seeing devices, particularly portable ones, being dropped, crushed, and splashed as part of standard endurance testing. However, this cute little machine, packing up to an Intel Core Ultra 9 Processor 285H processor, endures torture like being spun in a washing machine, being hit by a sledgehammer, extremes of heat and cold, and the indignity of being dragged along the road by a motorbike. The PC survives intact, but with a few grazes, and we see it boot up at the end of the video.

⚠️ Warning: The following content is extremely satisfying.Get your GEEKOM IT15🔗 https://t.co/rJjwsLAbnMGet 10% off with CODE: IT15F—-#GEEKOM #MiniPC #tech #computer #Ultra #TechSolutions #extremechallenge #ExtremeGaming #test #hardware #pcbuild pic.twitter.com/3FXj2m70fdJune 20, 2025

Expand the tweet above to see the video. At the start of the video, the Geekom IT15 is inexplicably carried in a reinforced aluminum flight case, lulling it into a false sense of security, perhaps. Then the horror begins.

A 1.8-ton car runs over the little 0.46-liter NUC-style device at least twice. It is then hung up by a thread and walloped with a baseball bat. Geekom’s digital assassins were intent on whacking the IT15 some more, so they also sledgehammered it as it sat beneath two concrete blocks.


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Image 1 of 4

(Image credit: Geekom)(Image credit: Geekom)(Image credit: Geekom)(Image credit: Geekom)

The punishment continued as the IT15 torturers decided to drag the little machine along a tarmac road, pulled by a motorbike at high speed. Just when you think it might end, seeing the device being carried carefully on top of a stack of books, it gets “dropped from height” down concrete steps. Someone in the Geekom team seemed to have then remembered that tests of devices enduring cold and heat were typical ruggedness assessment fare, so we saw the device chilled by sub-zero gases and then subjected to a blowtorch.

After such rough treatment, the IT15 might be due a clean, right? But throwing a mini PC in a washing machine for a “violent spin” probably isn’t advisable – so they did just that. It was a dry wash program, and not for too long, though.

At last, the pummelling of the Geekom IT15 does actually come to an end, and we get a close-up of all its battle scars. Your local used mobile phone emporium might refer to this as ‘Condition A minus.’ After taking it from the washer and plugging it into power and a monitor, the IT15 appears to have weathered all the abuse without affecting its computing ability. The probably inadvisable penultimate caption of the video proudly declares, “It just won’t break,” which some will see as a challenge.

Video shows “serious testing”

We reached out to Geekom regarding its extreme testing of the IT15 to ensure it was genuine. Our contact insisted that the video showed “serious testing,” and that a lot of the product’s rugged nature is due to the ABS shell, which is “cushioned and, together with the sturdy internal metal frame, is particularly robust.” Actually, the firm’s official product pages include some durability claims, such as the device being able to “withstand 200kg of force without deformation,” and the all-metal frame and base adding to its strength.

Image 1 of 4

(Image credit: Geekom)(Image credit: Geekom)(Image credit: Geekom)(Image credit: Geekom)

Beyond being tough, other notable specs of the IT15 include the device’s compact size, and its decent expandability options (an extra M.2 2242 SSD slot, and room for a 2.5-inch SATA drive), plus it offers a broad selection of modern ports for its size.

Geekom’s recently launched IT15 is currently available direct, or from its Amazon store. We note that there’s a $200 coupon available on Amazon US at the time of writing, which brings the top Intel Core Ultra9 285H, 32GB RAM, plus 2TB SSD storage configuration down to $999.

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Gaggia Classic coffee maker on kitchen counter
Gaming Gear

I’ve tested 13 coffee makers over the last year, but this Gaggia machine is still my all-time favorite

by admin



I’ve tested a new coffee maker every month for the past year here at TechRadar, and there have been some real gems.

The Jura J10, for instance, is a fully automatic powerhouse for creating hot and cold beverages at the touch of a button, while the manual Smeg Mini Pro is frankly gorgeous, and excellent for consistency.

However, no matter how many other machines I try, there’s still just one sitting on my kitchen counter at the end of the day: the Gaggia Classic Pro.


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It’s a very popular little manual espresso machine, and for good reason. It’s a lot of fun to use, it’s a tinkerer’s dream – and at around $500 / £400 / AU$800 it’s moderately priced, too.

  • Gaggia RI9380 Classic Pro at Amazon for $454.27

There’s a lot to like about this machine. In our Gaggia Classic Pro review, we stated that it’s a “good-looking, well-built appliance” and that “it proved super-easy to brew intense, smooth espressos with very little experimentation required.”

However, when new, Lady Gaggia (as we call her at home) isn’t without her quirks.

For example, there’s not masses of space between the portafilter and the drip tray, which means you can only fit small cups underneath (I usually use a shot glass with measures printed on the side). Plus, the tray is so narrow you can forget about putting a scale underneath to weigh the coffee as it drips out.

There’s no PID controller to keep the temperature stable like you get in some premium coffee machines, either, and the Gaggia’s small boiler means you might run out of steam (quite literally) before you’ve finished preparing your milk.

The upside is that there’s a great community of hobbyists tinkering with this hugely popular little machine, sharing advice, and even selling kits that let you modify it to your heart’s content – like the example in the Reddit post below.

Guys I finally made the upgrade to a PID from Barista Gadgets. from r/gaggiaclassic

For example, US-based Barista Gadgets and UK site Shades of Coffee sell longer drip trays that can accommodate a scale, and shallower trays so you can use a larger cup. There are also devices that continually add a small amount of water to the boiler, so you can keep steaming milk for longer without it running dry.

Shades of Coffee makes and sells heads for the machine’s steam arm too, plus colored lighting kits to illuminate the water tank so you can see the level more easily (and that make it look like a gaming PC). And if your Gaggia still doesn’t look cool enough, you can even pick up a wooden knob to replace the plastic one that controls the steam pressure.

Feeling really geeky? Take a look at Gaggiuino, which is an open source project that aims to make your machine as consistent as possible, letting you control the pressure, temperature, and flow of each shot.

Want to learn more? Take a look at the Gaggia Classic subreddit, where you’ll find a whole community of friendly coffee-lovers sharing their tips for mods, maintenance and repairs, and generally having fun. If you’re looking for a new hobby, this is the best coffee maker for you.

Today’s best Gaggia Classic deals

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Dogecoin price
NFT Gaming

When Will The Dogecoin Price Hit $1 In 2025? Machine Learning Algorithm Answers

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Trusted Editorial content, reviewed by leading industry experts and seasoned editors. Ad Disclosure

Despite a rollercoaster few years that have seen the Bitcoin price hit multiple new all-time highs, other high-cap cryptocurrencies like Dogecoin have failed to do the same. In fact, the highest the Dogecoin price has gotten in the last three years is $0.5, which is still a ways away from the $0.74 figure that was hit back in 2021. Calls for $1 for the meme coin have also died down as it continues to decline and struggle along with the rest of the altcoin market.

Can Dogecoin Price Reach $1?

When it comes to the Dogecoin price, expectations continue to falter, especially as the price remains low with resistance mounting at $0.2. To reach the $1 mark, the price would have to rally by 500% from its current level, and with trading volumes and interest so low, the possibility of this happening grows dimmer by the day.

In the same vein, the algorithm at CoinCodex has also followed the bearish school of thought, with a drawn-out timeframe for when it expects the Dogecoin price to hit $1. According to the algorithm, the Dogecoin price will not be hitting the $1 level in the year 2025, or anytime soon after that.

The predictions show that the highest level the Dogecoin price could reach this year is $0.289. As the year moves forward, it expects the price to trend lower, not seeing more than a 54% price increase after the month of September.

Nevertheless, it does expect the price to be higher than where it is now, with an average 25% increase from the current level. It also signals the current level as a buy point with the possibility of making around a 35% increase in the month of June.

Source: CoinCodex

DOGE Won’t Hit $1 Until After 2030

The longer-term predictions for the Dogecoin price show more recovery for the price. But reaching the $1 level is not something that the algorithm believes will happen in the next half a decade. In fact, from 2025 through to 2030, it predicts that the Dogecoin price will not rise to its current all-time high of $0.74.

For those waiting for the Dogecoin price to hit $1, it shows that the price will hit this level sometime after 2030, putting it above $1 in 2040. This could mean that the meme coin would take almost a decade to reach the coveted $1 target.

However, in the short term, the algorithm does see some positive prospects for the Dogecoin price. It predicts that DOGE will rise to $0.236 in the next month, which would be a 17.67% increase from the current level.

DOGE bears push below $0.18 support | Source: DOGEUSDT on TradingView.com

Featured image from Dall.E, chart from TradingView.com

Editorial Process for bitcoinist is centered on delivering thoroughly researched, accurate, and unbiased content. We uphold strict sourcing standards, and each page undergoes diligent review by our team of top technology experts and seasoned editors. This process ensures the integrity, relevance, and value of our content for our readers.



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UAE Launches Machine Economy Sandbox with peaq and Pulsar
Crypto Trends

UAE Launches Machine Economy Sandbox with peaq and Pulsar

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Layer-1 blockchain peaq and the Pulsar Group have launched a dedicated sandbox in the United Arab Emirates aimed at exploring the integration of robotics and AI within a decentralized economy.

The organizations have created a Machine Economy Free Zone in Dubai, combining regulation, infrastructure and investment to advance decentralized, machine economy-specific use cases. 

The initiative is designed to provide developers, businesses and government stakeholders with a controlled environment to test and develop machine economy applications, including decentralized physical infrastructure (DePIN) networks. 

Max Thake, the co-founder of peaq, told Cointelegraph that the free zone is a “human-centric economy where autonomous robots, machines and devices create value, earn and trade.” 

It’s intended to attract builders in the DePIN and machine economy industries, making it more comprehensive than other economic free zones, which tend to be more general, said Thake.

The free zone initiative is being carried out in partnership with Pulsar Group, an Abu Dhabi-based advisory firm in the tech and digital economy industries. 

When asked which DePINs were building on peaq that could be deployed in the UAE, Thake provided several examples of projects working with Emirati enterprises. 

These include community-powered air quality monitoring through wearable devices, hyperlocal weather forecasting, a virtual power plant made up of community-owned devices that support grid flexibility, and the use of smartphones to measure local noise pollution.

Once a niche blockchain use case, DePINs are gaining mainstream attention. The market could reach $3.5 trillion by 2028, driven by advances in blockchain technology and artificial intelligence, according to the World Economic Forum.

DePIN market activity. Source: Depinscan.io 

Related: VC Roundup: Investors continue to back DePIN, Web3 gaming, layer-1 RWAs

The rise of RWA tokenization in the UAE

The UAE sandbox enables comprehensive development and testing of machine tokenization applications, which Thake described as systems that reward tokenholders with a share of the revenue generated by specific machine activities.

“Let’s take an autonomous robo-cafe, for example. The cafe sells coffee, processing transactions digitally, and can report this data onchain for transparency. Tokenizing it could mean rewarding tokenholders for each cup the robot sells.”

Tokenization also supports the free zone’s Universal Basic Ownership (UBO) system, which directs wealth generated by robots and autonomous agents to individuals displaced from those jobs.

“The concept is still in its early stages, but the Machine Economy Free Zone in the UAE is the ideal testbed,” said Thake.

The UAE has become a key hub for tokenization, with Dubai’s Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA) updating its framework for bringing real-world assets (RWAs) onchain. 

As a result, tokenized asset activity has grown rapidly in areas like Dubai, where blockchain-based real estate transactions have reached billions of dollars.

This came as the Dubai Land Department, the Dubai Future Foundation, and the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates launched the region’s first licensed tokenized real estate project.

Related: The machine economy has arrived and bots have wallets



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iPadOS 26 finally made the iPad a true multitasking machine
Product Reviews

iPadOS 26 finally made the iPad a true multitasking machine

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I genuinely never expected to say this: it appears Apple finally figured out multitasking on the iPad. With iPadOS 26, the company hasn’t completely taken off the guardrails for how you can use and place apps on your tablet, but it came awfully close. With a couple of clever iPad-specific tricks, and better support for a mouse or trackpad, the whole system just makes sense in a way it never has before. I’ve been running the very first developer beta for less than a day on an 11-inch iPad Air, and I can already sense a change in how I use my tablet.

The new multitasking system is mostly pretty easy to understand. You unlock the iPad and you’re dropped onto the homescreen full of app icons, same as always. When you open an app, it opens full-screen by default; at WWDC, Apple executives were careful to note that if you don’t want to encounter the new multitasking system, you never have to, and I think that’s true. (You can even turn the whole windowing system off in settings, if you want to.) But as soon as you tap and drag the little icon in the bottom right corner of the window, the app starts to shrink. You can make the app any size you want — any size the developer supports, at least, which does vary pretty widely — and put it anywhere on the screen. If you grab the top bar of an app and sort of toss it off to one side, it’ll automatically fill half the screen. Tap the new stoplight menu, and you can either close the app or make it full screen again.

Once you’ve resized an app, that is now the size and placement of that app. If you close and re-open it, it’ll open in the same size and place until you move it or resize it again. I’ve come to think of this space on my iPad as kind of an “app screen,” next to my homescreen, organized and laid out however I like. And unlike Stage Manager, everything is always how I left it. You can put as many apps on this screen as you want – I’ve had a dozen on there at a time, which is way more than makes any logical sense and certainly more than you can see at once.

Exposé is the best way to see everything you have open, all at once. Image: David Pierce / The Verge

At least in this early beta, there are a couple of quirks to the system. For one thing, I absolutely cannot figure out what the yellow “minimize” button does. You tap it, and the app closes, just like an app normally closes, and re-opens in place just like an app you’ve closed. I suspect this is a new app state developers will have to take advantage of, particularly as the iPad’s new background processing comes to fruition, but so far it doesn’t seem to do anything new.

You can only have one app active at a time, but you can scroll up and down in an app in the background — if you’re using a mouse or trackpad. If you’re touching the screen, you have to tap the app to bring it to the foreground before you can do anything with it at all. I’ve been using the CMD-Tab app switcher much more to quickly jump between things on the app screen, but it doesn’t always show every app I have open. The only way to get to everything is through the Exposé feature, which works well but is just a slightly slower way to move around.

By and large, though, it all just works. You can combine multitasking with Stage Manager, to turn your one organized app screen into a handful of them. You can run a bunch of windows on your iPad and a bunch more on an external monitor, or at least you can in theory — there’s a bug in the first beta that makes the whole system crash every time I open a second app on an external display. (I’m not super concerned about the functionality in the long run, but as always, install beta software at your own peril.)

The menu bar goes a long way toward making the iPad more Mac-ish. Image: David Pierce / The Verge

There are a few other Mac-style things about iPadOS 26 that help make multitasking work. First is that stoplight menu, which shows up at the top left corner of every app and makes it easier to close or maximize windows. There’s also the new pointer, which appears when you connect a Magic Keyboard or other mouse or trackpad. I think I underestimated how much better it would feel to have a small, more exact arrow pointer rather than the old circle. And there’s the new menu bar, which appears at the top of the screen and offers all the settings and options for whatever app you’re currently using.

In just a few hours with iPadOS 26, I’ve noticed a couple of big changes to how I use my tablet. I’m spending much less time on the homescreen, which almost doesn’t need to exist anymore — I’m launching apps with Spotlight, resizing them on my app screen, and getting back to them with CMD-Tab or Exposé. I’ve been using the dock more, too, as a quick way to get to the apps I use most when they’re not already front and center. It’s all a lot like the way I use my Mac, and it’s amazing how quickly that muscle memory kicked in.

Can I interest you in a completely unusable number of apps on your screen at once? Yes! Image: David Pierce / The Verge

Whenever I’ve tried to use multiple apps on the iPad, I’ve always felt like I was fighting the system. It would let you look at multiple things at a time, but it wanted you to see everything full screen. Now, and especially once developers update for even more fluid window sizes, multitasking feels like a first-class tablet citizen. It feels like a Mac in the sense that it feels like everything is happening in the same place, on the same screen, rather than constantly bouncing you between different full-screen experiences. Is it busier and occasionally more chaotic than the traditionally focused iPad vibe? You betcha! But I love it so far.

Ultimately, the answer to “can your iPad replace your laptop” still depends largely on your use case, and even more on the state of iPad apps. Until the iPad can run truly desktop-class browsers, I’m reluctant to say it can be your primary device. But now, maybe for the first time ever, the operating system itself doesn’t feel like it’s the problem. This is the most flexible version of Apple’s most flexible device. It can be a quiet, simple, single-tasking tablet or it can be a mess of windows put together just about any way you’d like. I’ve been waiting years for Apple to truly unleash the iPad, and I think it may have just done so.





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Acer Chromebook Plus 514 open on desk with pink background
Product Reviews

Acer Chromebook Plus 514 review: a fast machine with a great display and a sleek design

by admin



Why you can trust TechRadar


We spend hours testing every product or service we review, so you can be sure you’re buying the best. Find out more about how we test.

Acer Chromebook Plus 514: Two-minute review

The Acer Chromebook Plus 514 has some strong specs that make it suitable for all kinds of workloads. For a 14-inch device, it has a rather slender and light frame. The lid material also looks premium and is outlined with a gloss rim that adds a touch of elegance.

The keyboard looks cheaper by comparison but, still, it feels built to a sufficiently high standard. The touchpad is better on this front, with its smooth finish and solid construction.

The Chromebook Plus 514 has two USB-A and two USB-C ports, which helps to make it a practical machine to live with. It also has an HDMI port and a 3.5mm audio jack, both of which are also welcome additions – but it’s a slight shame there’s no SD card slot of any kind.


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In action, the Chromebook Plus 514 is quite impressive, even compared to some of the best Chromebooks. It handled most tasks I threw at it with admirable composure. Multitasking is also possible, as it can switch between apps with speed and takes multiple browser tabs in its stride. However, fan noise is certainly noticeable when workloads become demanding, but thankfully I didn’t find it disruptive; the same goes for the mild heat it produces.

It also has some impressive gaming performance, allowing me to play mobile games with high settings and frame rates. It also streams 4K content without stuttering or buffering.

(Image credit: Future)

Such content is even more of a joy to experience thanks to the excellent WUXGA display in my unit, which is very clear and sharp with plenty of contrast. Colors are also rendered vibrantly, although perhaps not quite to the degree of some of the best Chromebook displays.

Typing on the Chromebook Plus 514 is pleasant enough, with the well-spaced keys and relatively long travel helping with feedback, although the lack of dampening can make it feel a little unrefined at times. The touchpad, although large, didn’t get in the way when hammering away at the keys, and it’s also easy to use thanks to its large size and smooth texture.

The battery life of the Chromebook Plus 514 is reasonable, lasting about eight and a half hours according to our tests. This is better than some of its competitors, but there are others that can beat it on this front.

With a starting price of $399 / £399 (about AU$560), the Chromebook Plus 514 sits in the middle of the Chromebook Plus market, but when you consider its performance for a Chromebook and sharp display, it’s certainly a device worth considering for work and play.

Acer Chromebook Plus 514 review: Price and availability

  • $399 / £399 (about AU$560)
  • Available now with multiple configurations
  • Middle of the Chromebook Plus market

The Chromebook Plus 514 starts from $399 / £399 (about AU$560) and is available in two colorways: Iron and Silver. Various configurations are possible, including a choice between Intel or AMD hardware and Full HD or WUXGA displays.

This is a mid-range price for a Chromebook Plus. It’s cheaper than the HP Chromebook Plus 15.6-inch, for instance, which boasts a similar performance but does of course have a larger display, although it doesn’t have quite as high a resolution.

If you’re looking for a more budget-friendly – but still very capable – Chromebook Plus, then the Acer Chromebook Plus 515 is a great choice, and is our pick as the best student Chromebook. However, this doesn’t have an especially impressive battery life.

Acer Chromebook Plus 514 review: Specs

My review unit of the Acer Chromebook Plus 514 was specified with an Intel Core 3 CPU, WUXGA display, and 128GB of storage:

Swipe to scroll horizontally

Price

$399 / £399 (about AU$560)

CPU

Intel Core 3 100U (8 threads, 4.7GHz)

Graphics

Integrated, Intel UHD Graphics

RAM

8GB LPDDR5

Screen

14-inch WUXGA (1920 x 1200) IPS, 16:10

Storage

128GB UFS

Ports

2x USB-A, 2x USB-C, 1x HDMI, 1x 3.5mm audio

Wireless

Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth

Camera

HD 1080p

Weight

3.15lbs (1.43kg)

Dimensions

12.9 x 8.9 x 0.8 inches (32.7 x 22.5 x 2cm)

Acer Chromebook Plus 514 review: Design

(Image credit: Future)

  • Premium from the outside
  • Strong yet smooth hinge
  • Good port selection

The Chromebook Plus 514 has a slender, dynamic figure considering its 14-inch size. It’s also surprisingly light and thin, although the lid is a little thicker than I’ve seen on other Chromebooks. All its sides are pleasingly neat, although there are a few juts and ridges that spoil its clean lines.

The finish of the lid looks and feels premium, with its metallic edges doing a subtle but noticeable job of enhancing its quality. It’s easy to open thanks to the smooth hinge mechanism, which also provides plenty of stability at any angle – even when it’s opened to its full 180 degrees, which is impressive for a Chromebook this size. However, this isn’t a convertible device, so it won’t be able to rival the usability of the best tablets.

The keyboard looks and feels less impressive, with the faux-metallic keycaps appearing quite cheap, and the lack of backlighting on my model was also something I lamented (although this can be optioned on certain models). However, the keys feel well made and their selection is reasonable, with their various shortcut functions clearly labeled. The touchpad is large and smooth, and seems to be engineered to an even higher standard than the keys.

The Chromebook Plus 514 also features the Quick Insert key, which can be used to summon a search box, with useful suggestions provided based on your recent files and web pages, among other items.

Underneath you’ll find vents and two large rubber bars in place of four individual feet. The back one is thicker than the front, which means the whole unit sits with a slight forward tilt, but this is barely noticeable in use.

I was pleased with the port selection for the most part. There’s no SD card slot, which is a little disappointing, but it has an HDMI port, a 3.5mm audio jack, and two USB-A and two USB-C ports, which lends the Chromebook Plus 514 versatile connectivity.

Acer Chromebook Plus 514 review: Performance

(Image credit: Future)

  • Handles productivity, video, and light gaming
  • Sharp and bright display
  • Noisy at times

Benchmarks

These are the results of our benchmarking tests for the Acer Chromebook Plus 514:

TechRadar Battery Life Test: 8 hours and 30 minutes
Jetstream2 Benchmark: 275.980
Kraken Benchmark: 438.7ms
Speedometer 3.0: 16.5 (±1.3)

I found the performance of the Chromebook Plus 514 quite impressive. Apps are quick to launch and switch between, and it handles multiple browser tabs without issue. This is thanks to its 8GB of RAM, which allows for seamless multitasking for the most part. Light productivity tasks, such as spreadsheet editing, are also dispatched without issue.

The Chromebook Plus 514 streams ultra-high-definition content with aplomb, too, and it even has capable gaming performance. I managed to play Asphalt Legends Unite on high graphics settings with next to no slowdown, which was impressive.

However, the downside of all this power is that the Chromebook Plus 514 can get quite loud as the fans kick in. It’s not as loud as other devices I’ve tried though, and the pitch at which they whir isn’t grating. The chassis can also get quite warm at the rear, but again not to a bothersome degree.

On the other hand, the display is hard to fault in any regard. The WUGXA resolution is very clean and sharp, capable of surprisingly high brightness levels for a Chromebook. Contrast is also strong and colors are vivid, although perhaps not quite to the extent of some displays.

(Image credit: Future)

However, plenty of viewing angles are possible and it does a respectable job of eliminating glare in unfavorable lighting conditions. In essence, it rivals the displays of not only the best Chromebooks, but also some of the best laptops.

Typing on the Chromebook Plus 514 is a mostly pleasant experience, thanks to the generous spacing of the keys. Their travel is quite deep, which helps with tactility; however, they lack dampening, which can make them feel a little harsh when you’re thumping away rapidly.

Thankfully, despite its large size, the trackpad didn’t get in my way while typing. It’s also precise and responsive, as well as offering smooth gliding. Its large surface area helps to make navigation that little bit easier, too.

Unfortunately, the speakers on the Chromebook Plus 514 aren’t particularly impressive, producing a tinny sound owing to the lack of bass response. Small amounts of distortion can also be heard at times, but the overall audio quality is clear enough to be usable, if not enjoyable.

  • Performance score: 4.5 / 5

Acer Chromebook Plus 514 review: Battery life

(Image credit: Future)

The battery life of the Chromebook Plus 514 is reasonable. During our test, which involved running a movie on a continuous loop, it managed to last about eight and a half hours, which is about average compared to other Chromebooks we’ve tried.

It’s a markedly better performance than the Acer Chromebook Plus 515, which we rate as the best student Chromebook, as that device only managed a paltry five hours. However, it’s worse than the Acer Chromebook Spin 314 (2023), which managed to exceed over ten hours.

Should I buy the Acer Chromebook Plus 514?

Swipe to scroll horizontally

Attributes

Notes

Rating

Price

The Chromebook Plus 514 has a reasonable starting price, placing it somewhere in the middle of the Chromebook Plus market.

3.5 / 5

Design

The Chromebook Plus 514 looks good from the outside, although the keyboard is a little drab. Overall build quality is good, though, and the port selection is useful.

4 / 5

Performance

For a Chromebook, it’s fast no matter the task, and it can handle multiple workloads quite well, although it can get a little noisy in such cases.

4.5 / 5

Battery life

Battery life is fairly average relative to other Chromebooks, outlasting the weakest among them but falling short of the strongest.

3.5 / 5

Total Score

The Chromebook Plus 514 is fast at all kinds of tasks and has a fantastic WUXGA display. Starting prices are reasonable as well, all of which makes it worth your consideration.

4 / 5

Buy it if…

Don’t buy it if…

Acer Chromebook Plus 514 review: Also consider

Swipe to scroll horizontallyHeader Cell – Column 0

Acer Chromebook Plus 514

HP Chromebook Plus 15.6-inch

Acer Chromebook Plus 515

Price

$399 / £399 (about AU$560)

$549.99 / £449.99 / AU$749

$399.99 / £399.99 (around AU$633)

CPU

Intel Core 3 100U (8 threads, 4.7GHz)

Intel Core i3-N305 (8 threads, 3.80GHz)

Intel Core i3-1215U

Graphics

Integrated, Intel UHD Graphics

Integrated, Intel UHD Graphics

Intel UHD Graphics

RAM

8GB LPDDR5

8GB LPDDR5

8GB

Screen

14-inch WUXGA (1920 x 1200) IPS, 16:10

15.6-inch FHD (1920 x 1080), 144Hz, 16:9, non-touch screen

15.6-inch FHD (1920×1080) IPS, 16:9

Storage

128GB UFS

128GB UFS

128GB

Ports

2x USB-A, 2x USB-C, 1x HDMI, 1x 3.5mm audio

1x USB-A, 2x USB-C, 1x microSD, 1x 3.5mm audio

1x Type-A USB port, 2x Type-C ports, 1x HDMI port, and 1x headset jack

Wireless

Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth

MediaTek Wi-Fi 6 MT7921 (2×2), Bluetooth 5.3

Intel Wireless Wi-Fi 6E AX211, Bluetooth 5.1

Camera

HD 1080p

1080p FHD camera with privacy shutter

1080p HD video at 60 fps

Weight

3.15lbs (1.43kg)

3.81lbs (1.73kg)

3.7lbs (1.68 kg)

Dimensions

12.9 x 8.9 x 0.8 inches (32.7 x 22.5 x 2cm)

14.28 x 9.5 x 0.78 inches (36.26 x 24.15 x 1.98cm)

14.2 x 9.39 x 0.79 inches (360.6 x 238.5 x 19.99 mm; W x D x H)

How I tested the Acer Chromebook Plus 514

  • Tested for two days
  • Used for work and entertainment
  • Chromebook reviewing experience

I tested the Chromebook Plus 514 for two days, during which time I used it for working and for entertainment.

I streamed 4K content on YouTube and played games such as Asphalt Legends Unite. I also connected it to various peripherals via Bluetooth and its ports.

I have plentiful experience with Chromebooks and other mobile devices, and have reviewed a number of them as well.

Acer Chromebook Plus 514: Price Comparison



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Nord Quantique quantum computing
Gaming Gear

Quantum startup claims its 20-square-meter machine will crush HPC giants and rewrite the future of data centers forever

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  • Nord Quantique promises quantum power without the bulk or energy drain
  • Traditional HPC may fall if Nord’s speed and energy claims prove real
  • Cracking RSA-830 in an hour could transform cybersecurity forever

A quantum computing startup has announced plans to develop a utility-scale quantum computer with more than 1,000 logical qubits by 2031.

Nord Quantique has set an ambitious target which, if achieved, could signal a seismic shift in high-performance computing (HPC).

The company claims its machines are smaller and would offer far greater efficiency in both speed and energy consumption, thereby making traditional HPC systems obsolete.


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Advancing error correction through multimode encoding

Nord Quantique uses “multimode encoding” via a technique known as the Tesseract code, and this allows each physical cavity in the system to represent more than one quantum mode, effectively increasing redundancy and resilience without adding complexity or size.

“Multimode encoding allows us to build quantum computers with excellent error correction capabilities, but without the impediment of all those physical qubits,” explained Julien Camirand Lemyre, CEO of Nord Quantique.

“Beyond their smaller and more practical size, our machines will also consume a fraction of the energy, which makes them appealing for instance to HPC centers where energy costs are top of mind.”

Nord’s machines would occupy a mere 20 square meters, making them highly suitable for data center integration.

Compared to 1,000–20,000 m² needed by competing platforms, this portability further strengthens its case.

“These smaller systems are also simpler to develop to utility-scale due to their size and lower requirements for cryogenics and control electronics,” the company added.

The implication here is significant: better error correction without scaling physical infrastructure, a central bottleneck in the quantum race.

In a technical demonstration, Nord’s system exhibited excellent stability over 32 error correction cycles with no measurable decay in quantum information.

“Their approach of encoding logical qubits in multimode Tesseract states is a very effective method of addressing error correction and I am impressed with these results,” said Yvonne Gao, Assistant Professor at the National University of Singapore.

“They are an important step forward on the industry’s journey toward utility-scale quantum computing.”

Such endorsements lend credibility, but independent validation and repeatability remain critical for long-term trust.

Nord Quantique claims its system could solve RSA-830, a representative cryptographic challenge, in just one hour using 120 kWh of energy at 1 MHz speed, slashing the energy need by 99%.

In contrast, traditional HPC systems would require approximately 280,000 kWh over nine days. Other quantum modalities, such as superconducting, photonic, cold atoms, and ion traps, fall short in either speed or efficiency.

For instance, cold atoms might consume only 20 kW, but solving the same problem would take six months.

That said, there remains a need for caution. Post-selection – used in Nord’s error correction demonstrations, required discarding 12.6% of data per round. While this helped show stability, it introduces questions about real-world consistency.

In quantum computing, the leap from laboratory breakthrough to practical deployment can be vast; thus, the claims on energy reduction and system miniaturization, though striking, need independent real-world verification.

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Is Using a Stair Machine the Same as Climbing Stairs?
Product Reviews

Is Using a Stair Machine the Same as Climbing Stairs?

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Since the change in kinetic energy is still zero, this means that the positive change in gravitational potential energy is equal to the negative of the change in internal energy. Let’s say you have a mass of 75 kilograms (165 pounds). That means moving up 1 meter would reduce your internal energy by 735 joules. That’s called working out.

Climbing Stairs vs. a Stair Climber

Now we can go back to the original question: What does the work-energy principle say about stairs versus a stair-climbing machine? Well, we already did the physics of stair climbing. It’s the same calculation if you get on top of a 1 meter table or climb 100 stories—it’s just a different value for the height. But suppose you stay in the same place while the stairs move under you. If someone is measuring your forward motion, they’d say your speed is zero. Your height also doesn’t change, so now the work-energy equation looks like this:

This says the change in internal energy is also zero, which means you don’t burn any calories. I mean, that can’t be right … right? Then how do we fix this? I’m going to use a nice example based on this video from Steve Mould. It goes like this: Imagine you are climbing up a downward-moving escalator. Again, an observer on the ground would see you as stationary. However, we could also measure your speed from the reference frame of the escalator, and you would be moving up.

In fact, if the escalator had walls and a ceiling, you wouldn’t be able tell that you were staying in place. You wouldn’t even know the stairs are moving. Since the stairs are moving at a constant velocity (zero acceleration), this would be an inertial reference frame. In physics, any inertial reference frame is as valid as any other reference frame—the basic laws of physics remain the same. So, from the perspective of the escalator frame you are moving up and doing work. It’s the same as if you were walking up a stationary frame.

But Actually, the Stair Climber Is Harder

I said that the stair climber and climbing stairs were the same—but they are not. In fact, climbing up 100 stories is easier than the equivalent distance on a stair climber. Does that seem crazy? It is a little crazy. The reason they’re different is because the gravitational field (g) is never really constant.

Remember, we defined the gravitational potential energy as U = m x g x y? That’s not really wrong, but it is a little misleading. Actually, the gravitational potential energy for the Earth-person system would be defined as the following:



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Switch 2 Is Shaping Up To Be A Much Better Port Machine
Game Reviews

Switch 2 Is Shaping Up To Be A Much Better Port Machine

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I hope all of you are ready for a lot of PS4, PS5, and Xbox ports arriving on Switch 2 over the next few months, because that seems to be our future. For folks who primarily play on Switch and soon Switch 2, it will be a chance to play a lot of great games that were too much for the OG console to handle, or which arrived via less-than-stellar ports. For everyone else, well, that new Donkey Kong game looks cool…

Nintendo Switch 2 Could Launch With Almost No Reviews

The $450 Nintendo Switch 2 is nearly here, though some people already have their hands on the console ahead of its June 5 launch. Its launch lineup isn’t horrible, but it’s nothing too impressive either. It mainly features a handful of new, exclusive games, like Mario Kart World, and some upgraded versions of OG Switch games. But the majority of the Switch 2’s launch lineup is ports like Cyberpunk 2077. And that’s because, unlike the old Switch, Nintendo’s new machine is actually going to be able to run these games without compromising visuals and features.

Looking at the launch lineup for June 5, of the 25 or so games arriving on day one, about 10 of them are ports of old games that didn’t arrive on the original Switch. Stuff like the previously mentioned Cyberpunk 2077, Street Fighter 6, Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess, and Split Fiction. Then there are some Switch 2 ports that are replacing or upgrading older Switch ports, including Civilization 7, Fortnite, Hogwarts Legacy, and Hitman: World of Assassination, which was only available as a cloud-powered streaming game on the old machine. There are also ports that are coming after launch, like Star Wars Outlaws in September.

It’s not surprising that a big chunk of games announced for Switch 2 so far are ports of older titles. The original Switch got plenty of ports during its run, but most AAA games were chopped up and squished onto the aging hardware, resulting in some really ugly conversions.

Sure, some of these games, like Doom (2016), ran mostly fine and looked okay on Nintendo’s hybrid console, but there was always this feeling when playing these ports that the Switch hardware was being pushed to its limits. And then, when the PS5 and Xbox Series X arrived on the scene in 2020, games started targeting the more powerful hardware, and Switch ports became harder to pull off. As a result, we got some truly gnarly versions of great-looking games. Remember Mortal Kombat 1 on Switch? Yikes.

In the last few years, fewer and fewer big games have been making the leap to Switch, primarily because the hardware is so old and outdated that they would be impossible to pull it off, or you’d have to compromise the visuals and performance so much that it wouldn’t be worth it.

So the Switch 2 is a big deal for a lot of publishers who have been unable to bring some of their recent games to Nintendo’s audience, which is often cited as a group of people hungry for new content. And for players, it means they’ll receive some fantastic-looking ports.

As recently pointed out by Digital Foundry, Cyberpunk 2077 on Switch 2 looks as good (and sometimes better) than the open-world game running on an Xbox Series S or PS4. That’s thanks in large part to DLSS, but also the guts of the Switch 2 are just significantly better than those of the Switch. There is more power inside this new console, and that’s going to be good news for devs, publishers, and players.

All of this does mean that the Switch 2 will likely end up being something of a port machine as publishers race to get their big games running on the new console. That might be annoying for people who buy Nintendo consoles for exclusives and unique experiences, but with Mario Kart World, Metroid Prime 4, and Donkey Kong Bananza on the way, we can feel pretty confident that we’ll get plenty of those games, too. They’ll just be the outliers among a ton of nice-looking PS5 and Xbox ports.

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Ninja Luxe Cafe Premier Espresso Machine Review: Beginner’s Luck
Product Reviews

Ninja Luxe Cafe Premier Espresso Machine Review: Beginner’s Luck

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I really, really appreciate Ninja’s take on the Luxe’s milk steaming system. Some automatic espresso machines incorporate a container of milk that has to be brought back and forth from the refrigerator, like the ones from this list. The Luxe, however, keeps it classic with a pitcher that you simply add milk to and a wand that begins steaming at the press of a button, another reason why it’s great for those who want barista-quality coffee drinks without all the guesswork.

You can manually steam milk if you so choose, or you can steam milk to four programmed settings, and this includes a cold foam. There’s also a setting for a plant-based option, and the Luxe adjusts automatically to this. I had little to no issues with this milk frother and enjoyed the opportunity to practice some latte art, even if the pitcher’s spout isn’t ideal for it.

Quirks and Quality

The Luxe has a removable hopper and rapid heat-up time, which are fantastic. To the left of the machine is where much of your coffee’s assembly happens. Before you grind your coffee, you’ll place a funnel on the portafilter to keep it in place. Unfortunately, after a couple months of use, the funnel’s plastic corners are chipping.

When not in use, there’s a designated spot for the funnel on the left side of the machine alongside the pressure-click tamper. I really like this tamper, as tamping is something I often overthink (Am I creating enough pressure? Do I have an even surface?), and the Luxe’s is designed for you to apply the ideal amount of pressure.

The water reservoir doesn’t come with a filter, unfortunately. As for the drip tray, it’s easy to remove and clean. An orange notch pops up when the tray needs to be emptied. On average, I empty the drip tray every four to five drinks. A handful of times the machine has leaked, even with the drip tray being empty.

A shelf allows the Luxe to accommodate your 2-ounce espresso shots but can be removed to allow room for a travel mug as large as 18 ounces. One common gripe about the Luxe is that despite the portafilter having two spouts, there is not enough room to accommodate two espresso cups on the shelf or drip tray, which is strange. However, one of the biggest misses on this machine is that there’s no hot water spout, something I particularly enjoyed with a machine like the De’Longhi Magnifica Start.

My beef with many Ninja kitchen appliances is that sometimes they try to do too much, like the cooler with an added “frost vault.” The Ninja Luxe Cafe feels different, however, considering how intentional it was in competing with other new-age espresso machines. Pulling espresso is solid and, while occasionally inconsistent, delivers an overall smooth and robust shot. The drip coffee was good, not great, and the cold brew can be bitter since it uses the room-temperature water from the filter.

Like many Ninja products, the machine sits in a weird space. A coffee purist may choose a straightforward machine without all the assists of the Luxe, while a true beginner may not feel comfortable investing in the Luxe’s “all-in-one” style. Nevertheless, it’s an overall quality piece of equipment at a fair price that makes me view the Ninja brand with respect when it comes to its coffee game.



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