NZCity NewsLinks -

All Links

16 May 2025

Search

Tech Life
Artificial intelligence is being used to unlock the mysteries of dolphin communication.

Alibaba debuts open-source Wan2.1-VACE model for AI video editing
Alibaba launches Wan2.1-VACE, an open-source AI model combining video generation and editing, streamlining content creation for various media platforms.

Boomi & AWS join forces to boost generative AI governance
Boomi and AWS form a multi-year partnership to help enterprises manage generative AI agents and speed SAP migrations using integrated platforms and tools.

Pay equity issue will not go away, E tu union says
The government's controversial Equal Pay Amendment Act makes it harder for women-dominated workforces to achieve pay equity.

I’m a Chromebook power user. I swear by these 9 productivity tips
Chromebooks work exceptionally well straight out of the box. With an easy setup process and an operating system that just works, they’re perfect for less techy folk. But Chromebooks are also great for more experienced users like myself. In fact, I personally made the switch from a Windows PC to a Chromebook and haven’t looked back. While ChromeOS may not be as customizable as Linux or even Windows, it offers plenty of power if you know what to do. After tweaking some of the more basic settings, here are the next steps you should take if you want to level up your Chromebook skills and do more with less. Learn all the useful keyboard shortcuts Dave Parrack / Foundry Honestly, if there’s only one thing you do to enhance your productivity, let it be this: memorize as many keyboard shortcuts as you can and train yourself to use them every day. Keyboard shortcuts offer the most bang for your buck, and that’s true whether you’re on a Chromebook or otherwise. It’s extremely inefficient to move your hand from keyboard to mouse, then move the cursor to where it needs to go, to press buttons and navigate menus. Why bother when you can often do it all with a single keystroke? And that inefficiency really adds up over the course of a day. You can view a list of all possible keyboard shortcuts in ChromeOS by using the Ctrl + Search + S keyboard shortcut. Alternatively, use your mouse to navigate to Settings > Device > Keyboard and inputs > View keyboard shortcuts. (See how much faster it is to just use the keyboard shortcut?!) What’s nice is that you can even customize some of these keystroke combinations, which is useful for frequently used actions. Pin oft-used apps to your shelf Dave Parrack / Foundry While pinning apps to your Chromebook shelf is a basic feature, a lot of regular users seem to skip this step for some reason. If you find yourself launching the same apps over and over—maybe even on a daily basis—then pinning them to the shelf means they’re instantly available without needing to open the launcher and locate the app every time. To pin an app to your Chromebook shelf, open the launcher in the bottom-left of your screen. Find the app you want to pin to your shelf, then right-click on it. Select Pin to shelf to instantly pin it. You can later unpin an app by right-clicking on it in the shelf and selecting Unpin. Use split screen for multitasking windows Dave Parrack / Foundry I don’t blame anyone for using multiple monitors for productivity. Extra screen real estate is a godsend, and it can be hard to be efficient when you’re constantly flipping back and forth between apps. But you don’t need multiple monitors to multitask, especially if you have a larger display with a 1080p or even 4K resolution. Before you shell out for a portable monitor or two, try using ChromeOS’s built-in split screen feature for stacking two windows side by side. To split the screen, you have a few methods you can use: Hover over the Maximize/Restore button in any window to open the window layout menu, where you’ll see options for Split, Partial, Full, and Float. Choose Split to create two equally sized windows. Drag the title bar of any window to either side of the screen, then release the window to snap it to that side and fill that half of the screen. Then select another window to fill the opposide side. Use the Alt + [ keyboard shortcut to snap a window to the left side of the screen. Use Alt + ] to snap to the right side. Organize windows across multiple “desks” Dave Parrack / Foundry You know the saying “out of sight, out of mind”? One way to boost productivity is to keep those distracting apps and windows out of sight, only turning to them when you actually need them. In ChromeOS, you can do this using virtual desktops called “desks,” with each desk housing its own set of windows that don’t appear on other desks. To create an addition desk, tap the Show Windows key on your keyboard. Then, at the top right, click the Add new desk button. You can have up to a total of 8 desks. You can also use the Show Windows key to switch between desks, rename desks, show or hide desks, move tabs or windows between desks, and even combine desks together. You might also want to learn the Shift + Search + 1 through 8 keyboard shortcuts to instantly switch between your various desks, or the Search + [ and Search + ] shortcuts to switch to left or right desks, respectively. Use the search function to find files Dave Parrack / Foundry ChromeOS has a surprisingly capable search feature that makes it easy to find any file, app, shortcut, and more. It’s a shame more people don’t use it. If you’ve ever used the Spotlight search feature on macOS, then you kind of know what I’m talking about. To access the search tool, open the launcher by clicking the Launcher button at the bottom left on the shelf (or tapping the Search key on your keyboard). You’ll see a search bar, which you can click to focus and start typing whatever you want to look for. As you type, ChromeOS will make suggestions while showing matching results sorted into categories (e.g., websites, files, apps, etc.), with the best matches at the top. Click the result that best fits what you were looking for, and you’ll be whisked straight to it. Connect an external keyboard and mouse Dave Parrack / Foundry If you want a fuller desktop-style experience than your Chromebook can offer, consider connecting an external keyboard and mouse. You can do so either via USB or Bluetooth depending on your specific gear and the port availability on your specific Chromebook. Connecting an external keyboard and/or mouse via USB is as simple as plugging them in. Connecting via Bluetooth requires you to enable Bluetooth from the menu in the bottom right, then pairing your devices by following the on-screen instructions. Explore the Crosh terminal Dave Parrack / Foundry Crosh is ChromeOS’s developer shell—a command-line interface that can be used to perform all kinds of tasks. Think Command Prompt in Windows or Terminal in macOS. And while Crosh isn’t something the average user would ever need (or want) to explore, ChromeOS power users should take advantage if they want to do advanced things. To access Crosh, you can use the Ctrl + Alt + T keyboard shortcut. Once open, type help for a list of commands you can use in Crosh. Only use Crosh if you feel the need to delve deeper into ChromeOS, as the majority of users don’t need to do so. Commands that you may want to use include memory_test to see information about your Chromebook’s memory, battery_test [seconds] to check battery health with a battery discharge test, and ping [domain] to run a ping test. Enable the Linux subsystem for more apps Dave Parrack / Foundry If you’ve done everything you can to maximize ChromeOS productivity but still feel limited, and if you’re a techy power user with a tinkerer’s mind, then you might want to enable Linux on your Chromebook. Enabling Linux on ChromeOS (sometimes called Crostini) is an easy way to expand the power of your Chromebook. You basically get a Linux container than runs within ChromeOS, allowing you to run full-blown Linux apps that behave as if they were native ChromeOS apps, all while benefiting from ChromeOS’s usability and battery management. To get started, go to Settings > About ChromeOS. Under the Developers subcategory, navigate to Linux development environment, click on Set up, then follow the on-screen instructions. After setup is complete, you’ll have access to a Linux environment where you can run Linux commands and install Linux apps. Note that since Linux runs in its own environment, you have to manually mark certain files and folders if you want them to be accessible to Linux apps. It’s easy to do, though. Just right-click any file or folder and select Share with Linux. Boom! Maybe consider experimental features Dave Parrack / Foundry In ChromeOS, a “flag” is an experimental setting that hasn’t yet made it into the operating system’s stable release. By tweaking flags, you can essentially test out features that are still in the works. But do so at your own risk because experimental features may cause hardware, software, or security issues, according to Google. To access ChromeOS’s experimental features, open Chrome and type chrome://flags in the address bar. You’ll be taken to a special flags page with all the available flags on your version of ChromeOS, along with a search bar for quickly finding the ones you need. Some flags that can improve your Chromebook performance and productivity include #enable-zero-copy (which allows data to be transferred without extra copies) and #smooth-scrolling (which makes page scrolling smoother). You can also use flags to tweak the look and feel of the Chrome browser itself. Alternatively, you can gain access to even more experimental features by switching to the Beta or Dev releases. The Beta channel is low risk and updated every 4 weeks while the Dev channel is buggier and updated once or twice every week. But I don’t recommend doing this if you’re on a work machine and need long-term stability. Further reading: The best Chromebooks you can buy this year

Alibaba releases VACE, an open-source AI video editor
Alibaba launches Wan2.1-VACE, an open-source AI model combining video generation and editing, streamlining content creation for various media platforms.

HPE unveils new private cloud & storage services for AI era
HPE expands its private cloud portfolio, cutting VM licence costs by up to 90% and boosting data security and energy efficiency for hybrid IT clients.

Alienware AW3425DW review: This OLED is aggressive on pricing and image quality
At a glanceExpert's Rating Pros Small, compact stand Excellent SDR contrast and color gamut Good HDR performance Crisp 240Hz refresh rate with broad adaptive sync support Cons Small, unimpressive RGB-LED lighting elements Lacks USB-C video input with Power Delivery Slim on features: speakers, a KVM switch, 3.5mm audio-out, and HDR brightness adjustment are absent Our Verdict The Alienware AW3425DW ditches features to deliver top-notch SDR and HDR image quality at an aggressive price. Price When Reviewed This value will show the geolocated pricing text for product undefined Best Pricing Today Best Prices Today: Alienware AW3425DW Retailer Price $799.99 View Deal $799.99 View Deal Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket OLED monitors are incredibly prolific, so much so that it’s easy to forget they weren’t really a thing just five years ago. The Alienware AW3423WF was arguably the monitor that changed that, but it’s now several years old. So, Dell has discontinued the AW3423DWF in favor of a successor: the Alienware AW3425DW. Like its predecessor, the AW3425DW is a 34-inch ultrawide with 3440×1440 resolution, but it now has support for refresh rates up to 240Hz. While not necessarily the most impressive OLED monitor on the market, the AW3425DW’s design and pricing make it a sensible choice. Read on to learn more, then see our roundup of the best ultrawide monitors for comparison. Alienware AW3425DW specs and features The Alienware AW3425DW’s basic specifications don’t look much different from its predecessor. This is still a 34-inch ultrawide monitor with a 21:9 aspect ratio and a display resolution of 3440×1440. It still has a Samsung QD-OLED panel, too, although the refresh rate has increased to 240Hz. Display size: 34.2-inch 21:9 aspect ratio Native resolution: 3440×1440 Panel type: Samsung QD-OLED 10-bit Refresh rate: 240Hz Adaptive sync: Yes, VESA Adaptive Sync, Nvidia G-Sync Compatible, AMD FreeSync Premium Pro HDR: HDR 10 Ports: 1x DisplayPort 1.4, 2x HDMI 2.1, 1x USB 5Gbps Type-B, 1x USB 5Gbps Type-A, 1x USB-C 5Gbps with 15 watts charging Additional features: AlienFX Audio: None Warranty: 3-year warranty Price: $799.99 MSRP The monitor unfortunately lacks a USB-C input, which is disappointing for a premium monitor sold in 2025. On the plus side, however, the monitor provides official compatibility with VESA Adaptive Sync, Nvidia G-Sync, and AMD FreeSync Premium Pro, so you should enjoy smooth pacing no matter what video card you use. Pricing might be the most appealing specification as the monitor retails with an MSRP of just $799.99. Older QD-OLED ultrawide monitors currently sell around $700 or slightly below, so you’re only paying a roughly $100 premium for a newer QD-OLED panel with a higher refresh rate. Alienware AW3425DW design The Alienware AW3425DW’s design doesn’t follow the same script as its predecessor. Like other recent Alienware monitors, it ditches the older model’s retro-futuristic vibe for a curved, organic look. It’s also available in just one color: dark blue. To be honest, I don’t much like the look of it. I think it’s a clear downgrade from Alienware’s earlier models, which seemed more premium. The AW3425DW also reduces the RGB-LED lighting elements found on earlier models. Only the Alienware logo and the power button provide RGB-LED lighting, and both are rather small. Matthew Smith / Foundry It’s not all bad news, though. While the design isn’t remarkable, it’s inoffensive, and the monitor feels solid in-hand. I also like the monitor’s subtle curve. Personally, I prefer flat-screen ultrawides (in the 34-inch size, at least). The AW3425DW isn’t flat, but the curve is often unnoticeable in day-to-day use. I also like the small and compact stand, which minimizes the monitor’s impact on your desk. It’s an upgrade over the large, wing-shaped stand that shipped with the AW3423DWF. Like its predecessor, and most competitors, the AW3425DW’s stand adjusts for height, tilt, and swivel. It can also “slant” up to five degrees for fine-tuning the angle at which the panel sits relative to your desk. A 100x100mm VESA mount is available for connecting a third-party monitor stand or arm. I like the AW3425DW’s subtle curve — it’s often unnoticeable in day-to-day use. Alienware AW3425DW connectivity The Alienware AW3425DW’s video connectivity includes two HDMI 2.1 ports and a single DisplayPort 1.4, all of which can handle the monitor’s full refresh rate and resolution. What you won’t find, however, is a USB-C port with DisplayPort and USB Power Delivery. Many competitive monitors now offer USB-C with Power Delivery, so the lack of USB-C is notable. The lack of USB-C also means the monitor doesn’t have a KVM switch. The monitor’s downstream USB connectivity doesn’t impress, either. It has just one USB-A downstream port and one USB-C downstream port. The USB-C port offers 15 watts of Power Delivery, and both ports provide 5Gbps of data. Because the AW3425DW doesn’t have USB-C upstream, owners instead need to connect their PC to the monitor over a USB-B upstream connection (a USB-A to USB-B cable is included in the box). You won’t find a 3.5mm audio-out jack for audio passthrough, either. This is unusual for a gaming monitor in 2025, and it’s bad news if you use headphones with a 3.5mm connector. In short, the AW3425DW’s connectivity is as basic as it gets for an OLED monitor in 2025. This is exactly the opposite of what I would have expected, as most of Alienware’s competitors are going all-in on USB-C. However, USB-C carries a premium, and competitors with it are often more expensive. The MSI MPG 341CQPX is very similar to the AW3425DW but offers USB-C with 98 watts of Power Delivery, and it retails at $899.99. Alienware AW3425DW menus and features Owners can control the Alienware AW3425DW’s options with a joystick centered behind the monitor’s lower bezel. This is a typical arrangement for a 34-inch monitor, and the AW3425DW’s joystick feels responsive. The monitor’s features can also be changed through Alienware’s Command Center software. It’s an attractive utility that provides quick access to many monitor settings including brightness, contrast, and input, to name a few. It doesn’t offer adjustment for gamma or color temperature, however. The AW3425DW’s range of image quality options is decent, though there’s still room for improvement. Alienware provides a Creator image mode preset, which has sub-modes for sRGB and DCI-P3 color gamut, as well as gamma calibration which targets precise values. However, this mode doesn’t allow for color saturation, temperature, gain, and offset adjustments. These instead are found in different modes; all game modes, as well as the custom color mode, provide significant color calibration. There’s enough here for most users to calibrate the monitor’s image quality as desired, but it’s odd that Alienware doesn’t provide an image mode that allows adjustment for all the above simultaneously. Matthew Smith / Foundry Moving beyond image quality, the AW3425DW offers a good range of gaming-centric features. It has a dark stabilizer, which can increase brightness in dark scenes to make enemies easier to see, plus an on-screen crosshair, timer, and FPS monitor. Gamers can also customize and select from three Alienvision presets, which apply some of these features to a limited portion of the display (sort of like looking down the scope of a gun in an FPS game). One feature you won’t find is a pair of built-in speakers. This is common among gaming monitors, as built-in speakers rarely perform well enough to do games justice. Still, the lack of built-in speakers means you’ll have to use headphones or desktop speakers if you want to hear anything at all. Much as with connectivity, the AW3425DW’s feature set feels built to a budget. It covers the basics but doesn’t provide any significant features not available from competitors. Alienware AW3425DW image quality The Alienware AW3425DW has a Samsung QD-OLED panel with a refresh rate of 240Hz. Monitors with QD-OLED panels tend to look great in SDR (as well as HDR), but there’s often not much difference between monitors from different manufacturers. The AW3425DW doesn’t change that trend, though it does score a few small victories. Matthew Smith / Foundry First up is brightness. As expected, all the OLED monitors performed more or less the same. The Alienware AW3425DW’s maximum sustained SDR brightness of 258 nits is a little higher than some QD-OLED alternatives, but in the real world, these results will look rather similar. It should also be noted that the LG Ultragear OLED 45GX950A-B scored the highest of the monitors used for comparison, and it uses an LG WOLED panel. So, if you do want the best SDR brightness, you might want to look at that monitor, although it is quite a bit larger than the 34-inch alternatives. Even so, the Alienware AW3425DW’s SDR brightness is more than adequate for use in a typical home office or a gaming den. However, if you’re trying to use it in a brightly lit room or room with large windows that don’t have shades or blinds, it might not be bright enough. Also, the AW3425DW has a rather glossy finish over the display panel, which can make glare more obvious. Matthew Smith / Foundry Next up is contrast. There’s not much to say here because all OLED monitors perform exceptionally well. OLED provides an effectively infinite contrast ratio due to its ability to reach a minimum brightness of zero nits. This allows for an extremely immersive and deep image. This is a perk for the AW3425DW, but it’s also not a competitive advantage, as all OLED monitors offer the same level of performance. Matthew Smith / Foundry Next up is color gamut. QD-OLED monitors offer some of the widest color gamuts of any display that you can put on your desk. The Alienware AW3425DW hits 100 percent of sRGB, 98 percent of DCI-P3, and 95 percent of Adobe RGB. As the graph shows, all the QD-OLED monitors have basically the same level of performance, give or take a percentage here and there. The LG Ultragear OLED 45GX950A-B, which again uses an LG WOLED display, is the only monitor at a notable disadvantage because it only displays up to 95 percent DCI-P3 and 89 percent of Adobe RGB. These results are more applicable to content creators than they are to gamers. All of these monitors have a color gamut that’s more than wide enough to make games look vibrant, but if you want a very wide color gamut to ensure that you’re seeing as many colors as possible when editing a video or a photo, the Alienware AW3425DW is a good choice. Matthew Smith / Foundry The Alienware AW3425DW excels in color accuracy, delivering an average color error that significantly outperforms its competitors. While any average color error below 2 generally produces realistic imagery (and none of these monitors struggle with accuracy), the Alienware has a clear advantage for content creation tasks like video and photo editing. Gamma and color temperature testing revealed both strengths and weaknesses. The AW3425DW ships with an ideal gamma curve of 2.2, which is what most PC applications target. This ensures images don’t appear artificially dark or bright, and it’s a welcome improvement over QD-OLED competitors that tend toward a gamma curve of 2.3, which displays content slightly darker than intended. Color temperature, however, misses the mark. At 50 percent brightness, I measured a color temperature of 6100K, which is warmer than the standard 6500K target. While I personally don’t mind a warmer tone, this deviation is noticeable. The AW3425DW’s sharpness is merely adequate. Like all 34-inch QD-OLED ultrawides currently available, the AW3425DW offers 3440×1440 resolution (approximately 110 pixels per inch). This feels increasingly dated as the market shifts toward new 27-inch and 32-inch 4K QD-OLED displays. For those willing to go larger, options like LG’s UltraGear 45GX950A-B deliver 5120×2160 resolution, which works out to about 125 pixels per inch. Overall, the AW3425DW’s SDR image quality is excellent. Its great out-of-box color accuracy and spot-on gamma curve deliver a slightly more refined and realistic image than alternatives like the Gigabyte MO34WQC. QD-OLED monitors tend to look far more similar than different, but a win is a win, and my testing shows the Alienware has a slight edge in SDR image quality. Alienware AW3425DW HDR image quality Things get more interesting in HDR. The Alienware AW3425DW supports HDR and has VESA DisplayHDR True Black 400 certification. Testing results show the AW3425DW is an exceptional HDR performer that outshines many past WOLED and older QD-OLED monitors. It reached a peak brightness of 978 nits in a 10 percent window, which is the second highest in this competitive set, just behind the MSI MPG 341CQPX. The Alienware also performed well in a 50 percent window, again coming in just slightly behind the MSI. The AW3425DW offers a significant advantage over older QD-OLED displays in HDR content. I measured peak brightness of just 400 to 500 nits from the Gigabyte MO34WQC and the veteran Alienware AW3423DWF. If you’re looking for a reason to upgrade from the older Alienware QD-OLED, HDR performance is it. Matthew Smith / Foundry Beyond the test results, HDR content looks fantastic on the AW3425DW. In the “Into the Storm” scene from Mad Max: Fury Road, lightning bolts streak through the dust storm with eye-searing brightness. Viewing the gargantuan scene from Interstellar, I could see excellent detail in the accretion disk around the black hole—an area that often appears blown out and featureless in SDR or on less capable HDR displays. While the AW3425DW is solid in HDR, I was disappointed to see that it wouldn’t let me adjust brightness while in HDR. Some QD-OLED monitors now offer optional HDR adjustment. It’s a handy feature, as HDR content can at times feel overly bright on a computer monitor. The AW3425DW is a good monitor for HDR content. Only Mini-LED monitors, which can reach higher brightness levels when large portions of the display are lit, will outperform it. However, Mini-LED hasn’t gained much traction in the market, so trying to find a Mini-LED alternative may not be worth the effort. Alienware AW3425DW motion performance The Alienware AW3425DW has a maximum refresh rate of 240Hz, meaning the image can update up to 240 times each second. It also has a minimum pixel response time of 0.03 milliseconds, which is typical for a QD-OLED monitor. For comparison, IPS LCD monitors typically have a response time between 1 and 8 milliseconds. These specifications conspire to provide excellent motion clarity. Fast-moving objects are rendered with good detail and quick camera pans keep most of a game’s scenery intact. Viewing fast-scrolling test images from League of Legends, I found character silhouettes and terrain looked crisp. Character names and moving UI elements (like HP bars) could be a little hard to make out but were generally legible. This is great performance and, if you happen to be upgrading from a 60Hz or 144Hz IPS LCD, it’s going to knock your socks off. However, virtually all of Alienware’s direct competitors offer a 34-inch 240Hz QD-OLED ultrawide, and they all have similar motion clarity. 240Hz is table stakes for a gaming monitor in 2025. Alienware also provides official support for VESA Adaptive Sync, AMD FreeSync Premium Pro, and Nvidia G-Sync Compatible. Most competitive monitors only list official support for one or two of these standards. The Gigabyte MO34WQC2 lists AMD FreeSync Premium Pro, for example, while the Corsair Xeneon 34WQHD240-C lists Nvidia G-Sync. Should you buy the Alienware AW3425DW? Much like new Alienware’s 27-inch 4K QD-OLED, the Alienware AW3425DW takes the brand in an unexpected direction. The AW3425DW doesn’t try to beat its competitors on design or features. Instead, it’s all about delivering the best image quality possible at an affordable price. If this was Alienware’s mission, I must admit it was successful. The monitor’s retail MSRP of $799.99 is lower than the MSRPs of similar monitors and still competitive with the best sale prices I’ve seen on competitors. Yet despite its pricing, the AW3425DW delivered great results in both SDR and HDR. On the other hand, the Alienware AW3425DW is slim on features. There’s no USB-C video input with Power Delivery, no speakers, and no KVM switch. RGB-LED lighting is technically included, but it’s so subtle it’s basically non-existent. The monitor also lacks an HDR brightness adjustment. If it were my money, I’d spend a little bit more on the MSI MPG 341CQPX, which offers nearly identical image quality and does have USB-C with 98 watts power delivery, a KVM switch, and other features not found on the Alienware. But if you just want QD-OLED image quality and a 240Hz refresh rate at an attractive price, the Alienware makes a lot of sense.