#they just can let tradition going amd make it feel at least a little bit beautiful with their singing

[nadia-cannot-think-straight]

BABE WAKE UP NEW CHŁOPI CLIP IS OUT ON YOUTUBE AND IT'S ONE OF MY FAVORITE SCENES IN THE WHOLE MOVIE YAHOOO

[fandom-puff]

Can I please get a Lucius Malfoy smut alphabet?? I’ve been dyyying for one 🥵

Why yes you can, anon ;)

Lucius Malfoy Smut Alphabet

Warnings: smut

Gif creds to owner

A = Aftercare (What they’re like after sex)

Lucius is very caring after sex. He’ll clean you up (by magic of course- unless you ask nicely, then he’ll use a damp cloth), get you water, hold you close to his chest as you both catch your breath. There is often a rather cocky remark, which always results in a light slap to his chest and the pair of you giggling like loons.

B = Body part (Their favourite body part of theirs and also their partner’s)

He loves his hair- it’s his pride and joy. You always grab onto it, and he often has to remind you to not mess up his posh pony tail when you have quickies, otherwise everyone will know what you’ve been up to

Regardless of your gender, he adores your back and your neck, often spending ages kissing and trailing his fingers up your spine to make you shiver. He’d definitely drip melted wax on your back just to watch you arch.

C = Cum (Anything to do with cum basically… I’m a disgusting person)

While our Lucius can be a kinky bastard, he’s rather traditional when it comes to coming- inside you is the best place for it. It shows you’re his, and he loves the feeling of you milking his cock dry

D = Dirty Secret (Pretty self explanatory, a dirty secret of theirs)

I feel like Lucius would absolutely LOVE picking out little outfits for you to dress up in, spoiling you with expensive lace and velvet and silk and jewels. He’ll tell you to change in the bathroom so he gets a surprise when you come out, and he loves watching you squirm and try to cover up, saying ‘now now, darling, don’t be shy. Come and give daddy a twirl’

Oh yeah he totally has a daddy kink as well sorry not sorry🤪🤪

E = Experience (How experienced are they? Do they know what they’re doing?)

Lucius DEFINITELY knows what he’s doing. He was rather popular with the girls when he was younger, and he was married to Narcissa for a considerable amount of time

F = Favourite Position (This goes without saying. Will probably include a visual)

His favourite is when you lay on your tummy and he takes you from behind, his chest against your back. It’s the perfect position for him to lean over you and whisper filth into your ear as he pounds you into the mattress.

G = Goofy (Are they more serious in the moment, or are they humorous, etc)

Serious all the way.

H = Hair (How well groomed are they, does the carpet match the drapes, etc.)

His pubic hair is a darker shade of blonde than his silvery blonde locks, and he keeps it well trimmed for both of your comfort

I = Intimacy (How are they during the moment, romantic aspect…)

When you’re not being particularly kinky, Lucius is excellent at making love. He holds your gaze in his, and just looks at you so intensely as he thrusts, slowly but still hard, kissing you and touching you all over. It’s very intense.

J = Jack Off (Masturbation headcanon)

He doesn’t do it often, occasionally in the shower if it’s been a while since you’ve last got it on. More often than not you’re more than happy to help out.

K = Kink (One or more of their kinks)

Daddy kink, Dominance kink, degradation, temperature play, sensory deprivation, spanking, bondage, occasional roleplay, exhibitionism...

L = Location (Favourite places to do the do)

I mean, you have free reign over Malfoy manor really. His bedroom is the best for intimacy. He absolutely adores a quickie in the library, pounding you hard against the bookshelves as you grip onto the edge of them for support...

M = Motivation (What turns them on, gets them going)

The bare minimum is needed to turn him on. A frustrating day at work... seeing you in his clothes, when you’re spooning and you wiggle your hips to get comfy...

N = NO (Something they wouldn’t do, turn offs)

Lucius would never do anything that would draw blood (scratches are okay, but he won’t use sharp knives). He saw too much torture under Voldemort, and knows crucio feels like a thousand knives. It just makes him cringe.

O = Oral (Preference in giving or receiving, skill, etc)

This man is a very cunning linguist, if ya know what I’m saying ;) he loves eating you out/sucking you off and often has to hold your hips down. Will coo and mock you if you get tok wriggly :)

The sight of Lucius Malfoy with a mouth covered in slick, or with a bead of come dribbling down his chin is GODLY

P = Pace (Are they fast and rough? Slow and sensual? etc.)

He has a rather steady pace as a default AMD it can go both ways depending on the mood.

Q = Quickie (Their opinions on quickies rather than proper sex, how often, etc.)

Loves ‘em. Library? Yep. Dining room? Yep. Office? Yep. In his study over his big posh desk? You bet.

R = Risk (Are they game to experiment, do they take risks, etc.)

Yes. He’s willing to try everything at least once, and encourages you to say if you have something you’d like to try

S = Stamina (How many rounds can they go for, how long do they last…)

He has stamina??? Can last a fair while before coming and is good to go only a little while later. Takes a bit longer to recover after you give him head though

T = Toy (Do they own toys? Do they use them? On a partner or themselves?)

Yep and he will use them on you. As well as little charms and spells that mimic his hand or a vibrator when you’re in public or trying to do everyday tasks. Likes watching you ride a dildo- ‘come on princess, show me what you can do, and I might just let you try it on me’

U = Unfair (how much they like to tease)

He is EVIL!!! I repeat, EVIL!!! Will leave you quivering all day long only to make you grind on his thigh and make you work for your orgasm, telling you what a messy little slut you are, getting his expensive trousers all wet...

V = Volume (How loud they are, what sounds they make)

He’s relatively controlled- to begin with. Small grunts and groans. He’ll whisper in your ear, or speak very lowly, so you can practically hear his deep voice rumbling from his chest...

When he’s close, he goes a little wild, panting, growling, groaning out, and he almost always shouts your name when he comes.

W = Wild Card (Get a random headcanon for the character of your choice)

He doesn’t really like to share.

Unless it’s with Severus Snape.

Do with that information what you will.

X = X-Ray (Let’s see what’s going on in those pants, picture or words)

Ohooooo, he’s about seven inches of thick, pale flesh, with a weeping red tip and a few pulsing veins... idk why but I hc him to be circumcised idk???

Y = Yearning (How high is their sex drive?)

As mentioned in M, it doesn’t take much to get him going...

Z = ZZZ (… how quickly they fall asleep afterwards)

He doesn’t pass out immediately after orgasm. He’ll stay up and chat with you and make sure you’re okay etc.

Tags: @a-hopeless-fan @lotsoffandomrecs @rai-strangebr @zodiyack @haphazardhufflepuff @dumbfuckinslytherin @severuslovebot @darkthought15 @rabeccablake @sambucky8 @eleven-times-lively @talksoprettyjjx @extra-trash77 @rangerelik @Dracosbbygorl @wonderwoman292 @manicclementinetreea @lilymurphy03 @fredweasleyisntdead @fredswh0re @rogertaylorismycar @meaganjm @fanficwriter5 @shadesofbarryallen @kiwi-sloan @bbeauttyybbx @inglourious-imagines @bonniesgoldengirl @trumpsgorillagrip @blisshemmings @little-bit-of-randomness @vsarzx @eunoia-kth @liliputbahn @thestunningspell @beiahadid @courtnytrash04 @ccosmic-illusion @purpleskymalfoy @marshxx @hogwartslut @thatslovelymoony @winchestergirl333 @sterwild

[crowstan]

Sanders Sides post except I haven't seen it before

Ok this post is inspired by an absolute flood of Patton and Logan in a skirt, on my Instagram, which was not anything related to any of the dnd or homestuck tags but whatever. That whole mess that happened yesterday inspired this, because as y'all know: I love analyzing things weirdly and what is blogging but analyzing your own thoughts in an odd way? Anyway, spoilers ahead because this is what I've unfortunately been leaked, which means I got this stuff via spoilers.

What is Sanders Sides? So, I actually have no idea and I want to go in bare bones because. I never get to go in with little info. All i know is that it's by Thomas Sanders (he apparently does have a tumblr, I did not look up what it was because, once again, trying to get the barest and best experience I can and I worry that may taint it in some way). All I know about Thomas is that he did vines that I really like and that he has his pronouns in all of his bio's, which so far makes him very ok in my books because I have not met one person who is in any way harmful to others who has their pronouns in their bio. Then again i don't see it often anyway but regardless. And that's literally all I know about him and Sanders Sides, so. Stuff that I have worked together with the unhealthy amount of spoilers I didn't willing get that made me want to make this. -They are all symbolic or are humanoid versions of like, different parts of someone? They're also color coded which my little color coding heart loves sm! There's morality, creativity, creativity #2: electric boogaloo, logic, anxiety, and deciet which may also be denial? not sure about the last bit. -Morality's (moralities?) name is Patton, and his color is light blue. He is the dad character and is bad with any "negative" feelings, which, mood. He is one of the sides i saw in a skirt and may be my favorite possibly, simply bc I Do Not Have Good Male Figures and he's a dad character. Name a better duo than good dad characters and my lack of any positive guys in my life that aren't my age. He's part of the "core four", whatever that means. Really likes animals? I mean that does make sense bc, morality, but also that's different for each person. overall conclusion: now my dad. (/j) -Next up: Anxiety. Name is Virgil (?), color is a shade of purple. Don't know what one bc purple is one of those colors i can't remember too well. Seems like how I imagine my anxiety but a little less focused on death. I would befriend him were in not for the fact I Cannot approach people unless I'm actually dying and even then I can't. Apparently was a "dark side" at some point but now isn't? Redemption ark ig, idk what a dark side is or if it would be equivalent enough with "evil" to have that be a redemption ark. Final conclusion: wait, is that me but cis and let loose in a hot topic? -Creativity #1. Name is Roman, color is red I think. A prince character, and I'm not sure what else to add. I think he is a theatre fan, amd also I would avoid him at all costs because as friendly as he is, we don't have the same vibes and i would panic. Definitely drinks his "respect women" juice, and it's actually "respect women" juice n not whatever the hecc it is that people who /say/ the drink "respect women" juice drinks. he'd go out of his way to make sure your drink doesn't get spiked. this man is hella good, 10/10, would trust but not talk to. -Creativity #2, apparently the brother of Roman? His name is Remus, color is green, and i say this with my full heart: I love him. he seems like the kind of person who barked at people in middle school bc he thought he was a werewolf. who drank an entire bottle of glue in kindergarten at had to go to the hospital and did it again. he's the kind of person who would offer you up a worm and tell you disturbing facts about animals and then go off and play his little games he made up with twisted scenarios. and you know what? that's amazing and i absolutely love that so much. I know nothing about him except he eats deodorant and is the embodiment of intrusive thoughts and "oh god /why/" scenarios you thought of for some reason. -Logic. Name is Logan, ah, really similar to what he represents but I mean, still a very good name. His color is dark blue, aka my favorite color besides dark grey. Really likes jam? I feel like this man has read the dictionary and has "different vocabularies" he uses for different events and people, which may be a self projection but. Def Ravenclaw vibes bc!! hear me out!! not stereotypes!! I feel this man, the literal *embodiment* of logic, would value learning and knowledge which is part of what makes a ravenclaw! so it is not self projection, it is *knowledge* (/hj). that's it, i would absolutely love to debate him sm but i feel like that would be similar to that time i talked about Quadrants with a friend for an hour and they had no idea what was going on at all.

-Last one, deceit/denial. I don't know if he's denial as i got that from a little comic that i thought was funny because it had a pun. His name is Janus (don't know how to pronounce it, been saying it like Jay-Nuhss), and his color is yellow. apparently part snake or something and!! I love snakes. Apparently was in a courtroom at one point, and we all know those are fae territory, so possibly a fae (hj). apparently has multiple arms!! which does not fit in with the snake bit, as snakes have zero arms, but regardless still cool! I know the least about him, and I'm definitely looking forward to watching him!! i love snakes sm.-

moving on from the sides slightly, apparently there's another one, who's color is orange! from someone who vaguely knows about colors but knows enough that each side more or less relates to their color, i have no idea what this side could be! best guess is it's just Thomas in a top hat. I never learned about orange because orange, yellow, some reds, and some blues are very stabby to my eyes and i will get a headache so I just. never learned it. why would i learn about a color i literally can't look at without my eyes hurting? I do know orange is a caution color, and in nature it cam be found on dangerous stuff as a "stay away!" color, and pared with black it doesn't kill my eyes and those are the Halloween colors. So maybe caution? Or some dangerous thing? It doesn't make sense, as those aren't really "sides" in the traditional sense, nor with anxiety being a sort of "caution" thing. Anyway, I would need more info on orange and, depending on how the orange color is, i may react more negatively. Like with blue Christmas lights.

-there are lots of puns!! i love puns!! i don't take the opportunity to make many, but i love them sm. just like snakes! and cats! in fact i actually know a lot about cat behavior

lmao that's literally all i have, I'll go watch the whole series and also talk about that later in smaller posts, each post being one or two episodes depending on how long it is

(ah jeez it got all messed up again, under maintenance!! sorry about that!! the tags got all mixed around too!!)

(update #2: still messed up but I'll need to not use my tablet to fix it, which i can't do rn! sorry y'all :(!! )

[angrylizardjacket]

take me to your heart

Summary: Lola's never had a proper Christmas, and after this one, she still hasn't, but Tommy's a surprisingly good gift giver. Set during the tour with Roxie, but well after she's departed.

A/N: Written on my phone, v Christmas. Warning: Lola n Nikki give each other dirty gifts but the fic is sfw. Tommy-centric. Also idk if he's genuinely greek orthodox, he might not be idk

[run to paradise]

----

"Sharise wants to do something for Christmas," Vince sighs, his heels resting on the table of the tour bus. Lola, at least, looks up from her magazine with a frown, though she seems to be the only one paying attention.

"She's in LA."

"We'll be in Phoenix by then, its not that long of a flight," Vince answers quickly, and Lola goes back to her magazine. "I don't know what to get her."

"A six-pack and edible panties," comes Nikki's answer, half distracted where he was trying to write lyrics. Vince's expression, however, wrinkles.

"Have you ever bought a present for a lady who wasn't Lola?" He snaps, crossing his arms, and though he can't see Lola's amused expression, he hears her snort of laughter.

"Yes," Nikki responds flatly, finally looking up, "but incase you haven't noticed," he gestured around to the bus, which was filled only with the band, as well as Doc and Lola, "none of them are still here."

"That's correlation, man, not causation -"

"You know what? Fuck your five dollar words, man, I was trying to help." Nikki snapped, picking up his notebook in a huff and heading to the back of the bus. Silence fills the air, Vince sulking a little, Tommy just looking between Lola and Vince. Mick, who was trying to nap, sighs deeply and shifts in his uncomfortable seat.

"Is that all you've ever gotten for Christmas?" Tommy asks and Lola's response is surprisingly honest.

"Zero expectationsl, zero disappointments; drink, eat, fuck, like any other day." She does give pause there, the magazine rustling as her grip tightens just a little, and when she lowers it, there's amusement in her eyes. "Also, grape is the best flavour."

"What?"

"For edible panties."

"You guys are absolutely no help." Vince declares. Mick just laughs at that.

Lola's never been too bothered by not having a proper Christmas, she and Nikki live a pretty secular life when they weren't dabbling in Satanism, and the others were usually too busy doing their own things around the holidays to notice the pair's lack of any sort of traditions. Usually they'll buy each other booze, or some sort of joke present, but its never been a particularly sentimental time for Lola, not that anyone had really noticed her apathy enough to care.

Until now.

The holidays have always been a sentimental time for Tommy, and though he'd strayed from his Greek Orthodox roots, he still took it as a chance to show his family how much they meant to him, and now he was feeling like a fool for leaving his band-family out for so long.

What the hell could he get them that they didn't already have?

Nikki was easy, as it turned out. One quick phonecall home, his father spends about twenty minutes rifling through the junk Tommy had left from hia teenage years, and a poster, heavily creased and golden with age, is waiting at their next hotel, express shipped. Nikki didn't want or need any fancy packaging, so Tommy bought a big, yellow envelope and put the poster inside, along with a lighter he'd bought at a gas station. It looked cheap, a bit rough around the edges, but he was pretty sure Nikki would appreciate it all the same.

Mick was a little more difficult, seeing as he was almost guaranteed to throw out any joke gifts, or amything he didn't want. It feels like a cop-out, to just give him booze - expensive booze, mind you - instead of something sentimental. As luck would have it, Tommy finds himself scoring blow in an alley beside a pawn shop, and once the deal's done, he spots an iridescent alien-head keychain. He tapes the charm to the bottle of booze, amd slaps a bow on it, and is satisfied.

He and Vince have been exchanging Christmas presents since high school, as long as they were in the same town. Mostly they're joke presents. Tommy's had this year's picked out for months; a Malibu Barbie he'd repainted himself with Vince's stage make-up. Vince he didn't need to worry about.

Lola was a different story. She lived her life in the shadow of the band's, her existence, her belongings, were a patchwork of their leftovers; her creature comforts were consumables, and while she always took whatever she could wherever she was, it was because she could, not because she wanted things. What can you get for the girl who seems to want nothing, and still gets everything?

"Lola doesn't want things, she wants experiences, opportunities," Vince is the one who Tommy finally goes to for advice, and was the only one who Tommy knew would be actually helpful. They're in Vince's dressing room now, Tommy polishing off a bottle of Jack while Vince touches up his own eyeliner. Tommy's frowning, still at a loss, and he lowers the bottle. Their eyes meet in the reflection of the mirror, and Vince visibly hesitates before speaking again.

"Have you ever heard her play piano?"

Christmas rolls around and they're stuck in a hotel in Arizona. They're finishing the tour in LA just days before New Years Eve; the end is so close they can all almost taste it.

Sharise invites them all to dinner, well, she invites Lola when she learns that Lola's never had a proper Christmas dinner and 'the rest of them can come too if they want'. Tommy feels like Santa, laden with gifts, as he gets to the private room they had booked at the nicest resturant in town that was still open. He'd spent the morning organising Lola's gift, and was glad to have a break to eat before he gave it to her, or more accurately, took her to it.

"We were meant to bring presents?" Lola looks immediately panicked when he steps inside with a rather full backpack. She starts patting down her pockets as if hoping to magically find a pile of gifts there. "I didn't- I mean like I didn't bring them- its just drinks- nice drinks -" she clarified, but Tommy grins brightly.

"It's chill, Lols, I just saw this stuff around and thought it would be nice, its not a big deal," with that he laughed a little self consciously, "and dude, I'm sorry but I don't even have a thing to give you."

Lola can't help but be a little put out by that, still strangely childish in ways that continue to baffle Tommy, but he hopes she'll appreciate his gift, even if he can't give it to her with the others.

They do exhange gifts; Tommy gives Sharise champagne, and she seems more amused by his gift to Vince than Vince is. Vince, for his part, gives Tommy an ornate fountain pen, which has Tommy confused at first, while Nikki roars with laughter, pulling out an incredibly cheap ballpoint with a bow on it.

"You guys are fucking assholes," Tommy scowls once he realises, though by now even Lola's snickering. The scar from where Roxie had stabbed him several months ago begins to ache, just a little.

Mick, like Lola, doesn't have any gifts either, but he passes her a lighter and gruffly tells her he found it on the bus, that it was her's and that this isn't a gift. He does, however, smile at the keychain Tommy gives him, and in a few days, Tommy will see it looped around the handle of one of his guitar cases.

To no ones surprise, Nikki puts a six-pack and a pair of cheap, grape flavoured, edible panties on the table, and slides it gracelessly across the table to Lola wearing a shiteating grin. Mirroring his smile, Lola reaches into the inner pocket of her jacket, and flicks him a little cardboard package. Its unmarked, nondescript, and absolutely no-one at that table trusted Lola to have put something appropriate in that box. Everyone waits with a sort of morbid curiosity as Nikki shakes the box, giving pause before opening it.

"It vibrates." Is all Lola says as he holds up the bright purple cockring, smile on his face giving away how genuinely amused he was with it.

"Presents are cancelled," Sharise declared with faux exasperation, but Tommy's already protesting, holding out his own gift to Nikki.

Sharise hands Lola a small present as Nikki unwraps his. For Lola, its new black lipstick and eyeliner, and for Nikki, its an old poster of his band, London, and a cheap lighter. Nikki's expression is unreadable, blinking slowly at the poster, the room's gone quiet enough that everyone can hear it crinkle in his hands as he looks up at Tommy's smile.

"It's the one I used to have on my wall, man; my folks kept all my old posters, I thought you might wanna burn the shit out of this one." He gestures to the lighter, nervousness bubbling in his stomach, unsure of how Nikki feels about it, his face still a little shocked.

Little by little, Nikki's lips turn to a smile, a bright, beaming, genuine grin. He practically launches himself across Mick to wrap Tommy in a hug, fierce and bright. Mick grumbles, but Nikki just crows about how weirdly cool it was.

"Yeah, i figured arson and petty revenge are like, two of your favourite things," Tommy babbles, hugging Nikki back, quietly pleased with himself. Its a strangely endearing moment, and when Tommy looks over at her, he catches Lola's adoring smile as she watches them, but its gone quickly.

Dinner is fun, between the bottles of rum they finish off between them and the lines of coke they have for dessert, which Sharise mostly abstains from, they don't really get out of line. Except for when Nikki sets the poster on fire with the candle in the middle of the table, and he ends up getting kicked out.

Whatever, he was mostly done anyways.

After dinner they all go their separate ways, but Tommy catches Lola before she gets too far. She's tipsy, grinning in the cold night air, happy to let Tommy lead her where he may. Lacing her finger with his, her free hand swings the six-pack Nikki had gotten her, while she hums a tune Tommy recognises but can't place.

They come to a stop outside of the Hall where the band were due to perform the following night, their equipment bus parked and quiet beside the building.

"Nothing's in there yet; we're bumping in tomorrow morning," Lola says, her hamd still in his. Tommy just grins, pulling a set of keys from his pocket, jangling them enticingly.

"So we've got the whole night."

Inside, in the middle of the stage, lit by a single warm, golden spotlight, sits a grand piano. The whole building is empty, save for the two of them, and Lola's grip on his hand tightens. All words leave her, eyes going wide and surprised.

Walking forward, she heads towards the piano, but she doesn't let go of his hand, gently tugging him along with her. His name leaves her lips, a disbelieving, reverential utterance. The lid is already lifted and she carresses the keys with her free hand.

"You didn't have to-" she turns to him, expression awed, but he gives her hand a squeeze.

"Merry Christmas, Lols."

Stepping up to him, her hand is gentle on his cheek, far more gentle, more tender than he was used to her being. Leaning in, they kiss softly, in sync, fitting together as they always had, as they were always meant to. Pulling away, Tommy's grin is fond as he kisses the tip of her nose. Untangling their fingers, he gestures wordlessly to the piano.

Lola sits, hesitates, listening to Tommy's retreating footsteps.

"Where are you going?" She asks quietly, fingers dancing across the keys as she plays a quick scale.

"Vince told me-"

"That snitch." Lola laughs softly, before adding, "'told you I don't like an audience, didn't he?" Tommy agrees, still paused halfway to the door. Lola is quiet for a moment, and she stops in her movements, but then she starts up again, and Tommy's heart is in his throat as he hears thw opwning bars of the song he'd been working on for almost a month amd a half now. The song's not yet finished, but he'd know the opening to Home Sweet Home anywhere.

"Can you stay?" Lola's voice is barely audible above the music. "If you want to, I'd like you to stay." And she doesn't know the lyrics, so she keeps playing what she's heard him play a hundred times over.

"I didn't know you knew this that well," Tommy finds himself smiling, walking back to the piano, to sit down beside Lola where she's shifted over to make room for him. She's smiling too, genuine, actually a little bashful, and she's still playing when she admits her thoughts.

"It's shaping up to be one of my favourites."

[magzoso-tech]

New Post has been published on https://magzoso.com/tech/macbook-pro-16-inch-review-the-ultimate-apple-laptop/

MacBook Pro 16-Inch Review: The Ultimate Apple Laptop

It’s built for power, and it shows.

December 18, 2019 9 min read

This story originally appeared on Engadget

Talk to any true Apple fan and they’ll tell you the last great MacBook Pro was the 15-inch model from mid-2015. It had a wide array of ports, a great keyboard and an SD card slot. There was no butterfly keyboard or Touch Bar to deal with. As the former Tumblr developer Marco Arment put it, “It’s designed for us, rather than asking us to adapt ourselves to it.”

Pros

Powerful Intel CPU and AMD GPU

Excellent new keyboard

Gorgeous 16-inch Retina Display

Best-in-class speakers and mic

Relatively low starting price

Cons

Still only four USB-C ports

No SD card reader

Upgrades can get expensive quickly

Summary

Apple’s 16-inch MacBook Pro is basically every creative’s dream machine, with a ton of power and a vastly improved keyboard. The larger screen makes it more useful than the 15-inch model it replaces, and it even has decent battery life for a workstation.

The 16-inch MacBook Pro is the closest Apple has come to recreating the glory of that machine. It’s incredibly powerful, and the company finally listened to complaints about its shallow butterfly keyboards and equipped this model with more-traditional scissor-switch keys. While it doesn’t address every pro-user issue — you’re still limited to four USB-C ports and there are no card slots — it’s hands down the best MacBook Pro available today for creatives.

Let’s get the obvious differences out of the way first: Its 16-inch screen is noticeably larger. Like many PC makers, Apple managed to fit a larger display into a similarly sized case by shaving down the bezels around the sides and top. The result is a gloriously immersive, 500-nit Retina Display that can finally compete with Dell’s Infinity Edge screens. It’s a legitimate step up from the previous model, and a reminder of the glory days of Apple’s 17-inch notebooks.

Look at those taller keys.

Image credit: Devindra Hardawar/Engadget

Then there’s the new Magic Keyboard — which feels more like a miracle keyboard. Mac users have been complaining about the flat Butterfly keyboards ever since they debuted. While Apple eventually fixed some sound and reliability issues, they never felt great to type on. It always felt like pretend typing on a pane of glass — it’s not satisfying and barely functional. The Magic Keyboard fixes that issue by going back to the scissor mechanism Apple has been using in its desktop keyboards for years. There’s a millimeter of key travel now, and they aren’t wobbly like they used to be on older MacBook Pros. In comparison, the Butterfly keyboards had a mere half millimeter of travel, and Dell’s XPS 15 offers a slightly deeper 1.3 millimeters.

I’ve almost forgotten what it was like to enjoy typing on a MacBook Pro, but this new keyboard brought me back to my early days of writing on a second-gen MacBook Air. There’s a responsiveness that makes the keyboard feel inviting, like it’s a world-class instrument waiting to be played. That millimeter of feedback practically makes the notebook feel like an extension of my body instead of a tool that annoys me every time I touch it. Even butterfly keyboard defenders will have a hard time denying that the Magic Keyboard simply feels better, and it can’t reach other MacBooks soon enough.

Apple even compromised a bit with the Touch Bar: The physical Escape key is back! And there’s a separate TouchID and power button, which makes it easier to find without looking. I’m still not completely sold on the Touch Bar’s usefulness, but at least it feels like less of a hindrance to my workflow.

The 16-inch MacBook Pro is a bit taller and wider than the 15-inch model by a few millimeters, and it’s marginally thicker at .64 inches instead of 0.61. It’s heftier too at 4.3 pounds instead of around four. It definitely weighed down my backpack more, and its slightly larger dimensions make it a bit of a chore to fit on cramped coffee shop tables. But I think the trade-offs are worth it for the sheer power Apple managed to stuff into this machine. It would have been nice to see more of a design refresh, but Apple’s unibody aluminum case looks as sleek as ever, so I can’t complain much.

Under the hood, you have Intel’s latest six- and eight-core i7 and i9 processors, the latter of which can reach boost speeds up to 5GHz. You can also choose between AMD’s Radeon Pro 5300M and 5500M GPUs with 4GB of VRAM. That more-powerful GPU can even be configured with eight gigabytes of VRAM for heavy-duty 3D-rendering work. Apple claims the 5,300M graphics are 2.1 times faster than the 15-inch MacBook Pro’s, and that makes sense since it’s powered by AMD’s new rDNA architecture.

Apple is breaking new ground for memory and storage in the MacBook Pro as well, with support for up to 64GB of DDR4 RAM and eight terabytes of fast SSD storage. Notably, Apple says this is the largest SSD ever in a notebook, and we haven’t found any evidence out there to prove otherwise. These are fantastic high-end specs for programmers and artists alike. It used to be that you had to settle with a small SSD in a modern laptop and carry around a portable drive for larger files. The 16-inch MacBook Pro gives you the sort of storage flexibility you’d expect from a desktop workstation.

Of course, you’ll pay dearly for maxing out those specs. Bumping up to 64GB of RAM is an additional $800 while the 8TB of storage is an eye-watering $2,200 extra. These aren’t upgrades meant for average users, but I’d bet huge VFX firms wouldn’t think twice about spending $5,899 for a decked-out MacBook Pro to speed up their workflows.

Our review unit, which featured an eight-core i9 CPU and AMD Radeon Pro 5500M graphics, tore through whatever I put in front of it. It’s clearly more than I needed for my typical workflow, which mostly involves juggling a ton of browsers, light image editing, Evernote, Slack and Spotify. When I gave it a serious job, like transcoding a 4K movie clip, it leaped into action. HandBrake handled a two-minute clip in just 52 seconds, whereas it took the new 15-inch Surface Laptop 3 a full minute longer. In the Geekbench 4 Compute benchmark, the new Radeon Pro GPU also scored twice as much as the last-gen AMD hardware. Simply put, this thing screams.

As I was benchmarking the 16-inch MacBook Pro, it never felt hot to the touch, and while the fans were noticeable when they spun it, they weren’t annoyingly loud. As part of the notebook’s revamped cooling setup, the fans can now push out 28 percent more air than before, and the heat sink covers 35 percent more internal space. All of those improvements and the slightly larger case mean the new MacBook Pro should be able to withstand heat better than any of Apple’s previous notebooks.

Apple also made a slew of other compelling upgrades to the 16-inch MacBook Pro. A new six-speaker setup makes music and movies sound great. It’s no replacement for dedicated speakers, but it’s impressive for something coming out of a very thin laptop. There’s also a three-microphone array that Apple is putting against standalone mics like the Blue Yeti. That’s definitely going a bit too far, but recordings I’ve made sound good… for a laptop mic at least. And there’s very little background hiss. It’s more useful for video chats and shouting at Siri, since pro users tend to be pretty religious about their preferred mics.

Unfortunately, you’re still stuck with four Thunderbolt 3 USB-C ports for connectivity. It’d be nice to see Apple bring back an SD card reader, but unlike the keyboard, that’s one area where the company is refusing to back down. At least USB-C dongles and accessories are cheaper and better these days, but I’ve talked to plenty of pro Apple users who still pine for the flexibility of that 2015 MacBook pro.

The new 100-watt-per-hour battery also lived up to Apple’s marketing hype. The company claims it’ll last up to 11 hours — during our battery test it survived for 11 hours and 20 minutes. Of course, we were just looping an HD video, so you can expect it to drain faster under heavy-duty workloads. Apple includes a new 96-watt USB-C power adapter in the box — the beefiest we’ve ever seen on a MacBook Pro. It’s only a bit larger than the 15-inch notebook’s adapter.

Surprisingly, Apple is keeping the 16-inch MacBook Pro at the same $2,399 starting price. That’s a pretty great deal for all the upgrades you get. Shell out $2,799 and you can step up to the Core i9 model with the best Radeon Pro graphics. That’s not too pricey for this category, though you can get that same processor and decent NVIDIA graphics on the XPS 15 for $2,350. It’s no surprise that a Windows PC is cheaper — what’s important is that Apple once again has a compelling high-end notebook to keep frustrated Mac users from jumping over to Windows.

The 16-inch MacBook Pro is the closest Apple has come to crafting the ultimate notebook. It’s exactly the upgrade Mac fans have been waiting for, even though it might not have all the ports they want. It’s so fast that I don’t think the Mac faithful will mind carrying around an SD card reader.

[satelitebox-blog]

MacBook Pro 16-inch review: The ultimate Apple laptop

Pros Powerful Intel CPU and AMD GPU Excellent new keyboard Gorgeous 16-inch Retina Display Best-in-class speakers and mic Relatively low starting price   Cons Still only four USB-C ports No SD card reader Upgrades can get expensive quickly Summary Apple’s 16-inch MacBook Pro is basically every creative’s dream machine, with a ton of power and a vastly improved keyboard. The larger screen makes it more useful than the 15-inch model it replaces, and it even has decent battery life for a workstation.   The 16-inch MacBook Pro is the closest Apple has come to recreating the glory of that machine. It's incredibly powerful, and the company finally listened to complaints about its shallow butterfly keyboards and equipped this model with more traditional scissor switch keys. While it doesn't address every pro-user issue -- you're still limited to four USB-C ports and there are no card slots -- it's hands down the best MacBook Pro available today for creatives.

Let's get the obvious differences out of the way first: its 16 inch screen is noticeably larger. Like many PC makers, Apple managed to fit a larger display into a similarly sized case by shaving down the bezels around the side and top. The result is a gloriously immersive, 500-nit Retina Display that can finally compete with Dell's Infinity Edge screens. It's a legitimate step up from the previous model, and a reminder of the glory days of Apple's 17-inch notebooks. And then there's the new Magic Keyboard -- which feels more like a miracle keyboard. Mac users have been complaining about the flat Butterfly keyboards ever since they debuted. And, while Apple eventually fixed some sound and reliability issues, they never felt great to type on. It always felt like pretend typing on a pane of glass -- it's not satisfying, and barely functional. The Magic Keyboard fixes that issue by going back to the scissor mechanism Apple has been using in its desktop keyboards for years. There's a millimeter of key travel now, and they aren't wobbly like they used to be on older MacBook Pros. In comparison, the Butterfly keyboards had a mere half-millimeter of travel, and Dell's XPS 15 offer a slightly deeper 1.3 millimeters.

I've almost forgotten what it was like to enjoy typing on a MacBook Pro, but this new keyboard brought me right back to my early days of writing on a second-gen MacBook Air. There's a responsiveness that makes the keyboard feel inviting, like it's a world-class instrument waiting to be played. That millimeter of feedback practically makes the notebook feel like an extension of my body, instead of a tool that annoys me every time I touch it. Even butterfly keyboard defenders will have a hard time denying that the Magic Keyboard simply feels better, and it can't reach other MacBooks soon enough. Apple even compromised a bit with the Touch Bar: the physical Escape key is back! And there's a separate TouchID and power button, which makes it easier to find without looking. I'm still not completely sold on the Touch Bar's usefulness, but at least it feels like less of a hindrance to my workflow.

The 16-inch MacBook Pro is a bit taller and wider than the 15-inch model by a few millimeters, and it's marginally thicker at .64-inches, instead of 0.61. It's heftier too at 4.3 pounds, instead of around 4. It definitely weighed down my backpack more, and it's slightly larger dimensions make it a bit of a chore to fit on cramped coffee shop tables. But I think the trade offs are worth it for the sheer power Apple managed to stuff into this machine. It would have been nice to see more of a design refresh, but Apple's unibody aluminum case looks as sleek as ever, so I can't really complain much. Under the hood, you've got Intel's latest six and eight core i7 and i9 processors, the latter of which can reach boost speeds up to 5GHz. You can also choose between AMD's Radeon Pro 5300M and 5500M GPUs with 4GB of VRAM. That more powerful GPU can even be configured with 8GB of VRAM for heavy-duty 3D rendering work. Apple claims the 5300M graphics are 2.1 times faster than the 15-inch MacBook Pro, and that makes sense since it's powered by AMD's new rDNA architecture.

Apple is breaking new ground for memory and storage in the MacBook Pro as well, with support for up to 64GB of DDR4 RAM and 8 terabytes of fast SSD storage. Notably, Apple says this is the largest SSD ever in a notebook, and we haven't found any evidence out there to prove otherwise. These are fantastic high-end specs for programmers and artists alike. It used to be that you had to settle with a small SSD in a modern laptop and carry around a portable drive for larger files. The 16-inch MacBook Pro gives you the sort of storage flexibility you'd expect from a desktop workstation. Of course, you'll pay dearly for maxing out those specs. Bumping up to 64GB of RAM is an additional $800, while the 8TB of storage is an eye-watering $2,200 extra. These aren't really upgrades meant for average users, but I'd bet huge VFX firms wouldn't think twice about spending $5,899 for a decked out MacBook Pro to speed up their workflows.

Our review unit, which featured an eight-core i9 CPU and AMD Radeon Pro 5500M graphics, tore through whatever I put in front of it. It's clearly more than I needed for my typical workflow, which mostly involves juggling a ton of browsers, light image editing, Evernote, Slack and Spotify. When I gave it a serious job, like transcoding a 4K movie clip, it leaped into action. Handbrake handled a two minute clip in just 52 seconds, whereas it took the new 15-inch Surface Laptop 3 a full minute longer. In the Geekbench 4 Compute benchmark, the new Radeon Pro GPU also scored twice as much as the last-gen AMD hardware. Simply put, this thing screams. As I was benchmarking the 16 inch MacBook Pro, it never felt hot to the touch, and while the fans were noticeable when they spun it, they weren't annoyingly loud. As part of the notebook's revamped cooling setup, the fans can now push out 28 percent more air than before, and the heatsink covers 35 percent more internal space. All of those improvements, and the slightly larger case, means the new MacBook Pro should be able to withstand heat better than any of Apple's previous notebooks. Apple also made a slew of other compelling upgrades to the 16-inch MacBook Pro. A new six speaker setup makes music and movies sound great. It's no replacement for dedicated speakers, but it's impressive for something coming out of a very thin laptop. There's also a 3-microphone array that Apple is putting against standalone mics like the Blue Yeti. That's definitely going a bit too far, but recordings I've made sound good... for a laptop mic at least. And there's very little background hiss. It's more useful for video chats and shouting at Siri, since pro users tend to be pretty religious about their preferred mics.

Unfortunately, you're still stuck with 4 Thunderbolt 3 USB-C ports for connectivity. It'd be nice to see Apple bring back an SD card reader, but unlike the keyboard, that's one area where the company is refusing to back down. At least USB-C dongles and accessories are cheaper and better these days, but I've talked to plenty of pro Apple users who still pine for the flexibility of that 2015 MacBook pro. The new 100 watt per hour battery also lived up to Apple's marketing hype. The company claims it'll last up to 11 hours -- during our battery test it survived for 11 hours and 20 minutes. Of course, we were just looping an HD video, you can certainly expect it to drain faster under heavy duty workloads. Apple includes a new 96-watt USB-C power adapter in the box -- the beefiest we've ever seen on a MacBook Pro. It's only a bit larger than the 15-inch notebook's adapter.

Surprisingly, Apple is keeping the 16-inch MacBook Pro at the same $2,399 starting price. That's a pretty great deal for all the upgrades you get. Shell out $2,799 and you can step up to the Core i9 model with the best Radeon Pro graphics. That's not too pricey for this category, though you can get that same processor and decent NVIDIA graphics on the XPS 15 for $2,350. It's no surprise that a Windows PC is cheaper -- what's important is that Apple once again has a compelling high-end notebook to keep frustrated Mac users from jumping over to Windows. The 16-inch MacBook Pro is the closest Apple has come to crafting the ultimate notebook. It's exactly the upgrade Mac fans have been waiting for, even though it might not have all the ports they want. It's so fast, I don't think the Mac faithful will mind carrying around an SD card reader. Read the full article

[mollymauksboyfriend]

Mixing Traditions 2

Part 1

The restaurant isn't too crowded, maybe a little more than half the tables are filled. In a corner booth sit two people- Leo and Garrus. Leo bounces his knee, his nerves kicking in full gear. Garrus places his hand on the human's knee and squeezes gently.

"You're okay, he has a soft spot for you."

Leo manages a shaky smile, "Thanks. You know how I am."

The turian nuzzles his smaller lover's head, "You're doing amazing."

An asari waitress nears the table, a man following behind. Leo bites his lip and waves at Zaeed. With a grumble, the older man slides in across from the two and asks for a beer in his gruff way. The asari nods and leaves.

He looks at the younger couple, "So what do you want?"

Garrus squeezes Leo's thigh again, "I... wish to ask for your ah, blessing. To marry Leo."

Silence.

"Are you fucking with me?"

Leo shakes his head, "To turian tradition he needs my parents permission, ah, their blessing and, well, you know. You're the closest thing to a parent I have. I've always seen you as a father figure. I guess because we're both Australian? We want to do both traditions and I had no one else, because Jane was the only other family figure I had and-"

"Leo."

The younger human stops.

"You see me as a father figure?"

He nods, "My dad was shit. He... wasn't a good person."

"God damn."

Zaeed leans back and runs his fingers through his thinning hair. The asari returns with his beer, as well as Garrus' beer and Leo's soda. Zaeed doesn't waste any time and downs half of it.

The turian speaks up again, "I love Leo. I want to spend the rest of our lives together. To my traditions, I need your approval."

With another swig of his beer, the older human groans, "Look. If you're both happy, go for it-" His volume drops to a mutter - "I did not fucking sign up for this."

Leo simply beams, "Really?"

"Of course. You're fucking happy, aren't you? Garrus is... a good turian."

Garrus laughs, "You don't need to force yourself to compliment me."

Zaeed lets out a strained breath, "Thank god."

The smaller human relaxes into the booth, a soft smile on his face. He absentmindedly rubs a finger along the blue paint on his cheeks. The two other males pick up a conversation on rigging up 'security' measures on the apartment.

One down, one to go.

The two young lovers had decided to visit Palaven to formally meet Garrus' father, Castis, and his sister, Solana. As the ship approached the planet, Leo starts to fidget with his enviro-suit. Tali had helped find one to fit the small human.

Garrus holds his hand, rubbing circles onto the back of the covered hand. 

"Can you hear me okay?" Leo's voice slightly echoed from the enviro-suit.

"Just fine."

"This feel really weird..."

Garrus chuckles, "Don't worry, you should be fine when we're indoors, so you can at least take off the helmet."

Over the comm, the captain alerts the passengers that they would be arriving in just a few minutes. Leo pulls his backpack over his shoulders as Garrus grabs their shared bag. While he's leaning forward, Leo bumps his forehead to Garrus'.

The world is different, Leo notices. He hadn't had the chance to see many planets during his time on the Normandy in detail, either confined to the ship, or rushing through with his life on the line. Palaven is the first world he's actually been able to see in depth.

With a bounce to his step, Leo walks out hand in hand with Garrus, his eyes wide and taking in everything he can. It's not like the Citadel in the aspect of diversity- most of the people here are turian or volus. Garrus leads him to a vehicle (what would be a taxi in his time) and gives the driver directions to his father's home.

Leo sits at the window, watching the sights whizz by. Castis lives out of the city of Cipritine a ways, the drive going through some if the natural scenery of the planet, as well as the city.

After the war, Palaven was rebuilt and many turian families moved back to their home planet, those including Garrus' family. It is their home after all. 

The vehicle stops at a house outside a small town. Garrus had explained to Leo prior that his father decided to move into his grandparent's old home, since the city home they had was near destroyed during the Reaper invasion. Otherwise, they would have been living in the city.

Leo steps out of the vehicle, thanking the driver softly. A turian stands outside the home and when they see Garrus come around to the human after paying the driver, they start to wave and run over.

They practically leap at Garrus, wrapping their arms around his neck.

"It's so good to see you again! I missed you so much!"

Garrus laughs and hugs back, "You too, Sol. I missed you too."

Solana drops from Garrus and turns to Leo. Despite her being Garrus' little sister by several years, she still towered over the tiny human male.

"You must be Leo! Come on inside, so we can get a look at you."

Garrus puts his hand on Leo's back and walks with him behind Solana, who rattles off about anything she can think of. Once inside, Leo fiddles with his helmet, trying to get it off. He huffs, annoyed at the small clasps he can't reach well.

With a chuckle, Garrus kneels down and reaches to help, "You got stuck in your own helmet? What would you do without me?"

Leo sticks his tongue out at Garrus, though he can't see it. Garrus gets the clasps quickly and gently pulls the helmet off of Leo. The human shakes his head, his firey hair mussed up and messy. The turian smiles and presses his beak to Leo's lips for a quick peck, before standing at his full height again and stiffens.

Castis stands at the doorway. Leo feels a cold shiver spread through his body.

"Um, hello!" The human waves nervously.

Castis stands still, looking down at the tiny human before him. Leo notices that he's taller than Garrus, and much more intimidating.

"Hey, dad. This is Leo," Garrus places his hands on the human's shoulders, "The one I talked about."

Castis makes no move, Leo gets increasingly more and more nervous. Garrus can feel the tiny human's trembles.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, sir," Leo stammers out.

Castis finally moves, striding forward and raising a hand. Leo flinches, and Garrus shoots a look at his father. The older turian clasps Leo on his shoulder and his mandibles move in what Leo has come to know as a smile.

"It's nice to finally meet you too, Leo."

In Garrus' hands, the human near deflates, letting out a trembling breath. He sends a shaky, but bright smile up to the older turian.

"I'm Castis Vakarian, if Garrus never told you. It's good to see you too, son."

Castis turns and leads them further into the house, Garrus keeping an arm around Leo, who is still a little shaken up. The two catch up, though it's obvious that Solana is much more talkative than their father. Speaking of her, the female turian pops up behind Garrus and Leo suddenly.

"Come on, dinners almost ready and you both must be tired. We got something for Leo that isn't dextro based like you asked, Gar Gar."

Leo glances up at Garrus, "Gar Gar?"

His mandibles spread, then slap tight against his mouth, "Shush."

Solana laughs, more boisterous than Garrus, but still as deep. Garrus swipes at his sister, who ducks and flicks her mandibles.

"Children, please," Castis says, exasperated.

Garrus sets the bag down, and Leo places both his backpack and his helmet next to it. Garrus leads him into a kitchen, the table already sat and Castis and Solana putting the food down.

"Here, Leo, this is for you," Solana says, putting down some food that Leo recognises.

"Thank you," Leo takes the seat, Garrus sitting down next to him.

Castis sits at the head of the table while Solana sits across from the two lovers. 

"So, what are you two doing on the Citadel?"

Garrus nudges Leo, the human sputters a little, "Ah, I'm an art teacher at the local highschool, and Garrus works on calibrations."

"Whoa, art? That's cool! What kind?"

Leo lights up at being able to talk about what he loves, "Just Art 1, so it's a bit of a mix of everything! It's what's required before going into a specific art like Drawing or Ceramics. I majored in Illustration, though."

"Oh wow! That's amazing!"

Leo blushes, his face red under the blue paint.

"So, are you going to tell us why he's wearing our paint?" Castis asks, looking towards Garrus.

Under the table, Garrus wrings his hands. Leo reaches and pulls one into his lap, rubbing soft circles into the thick skin.

Garrus clicks his mandibles, "Leo and I... wish to marry."

Silence spreads through the room. Garrus continues.

"We've dated for years, since the end of the Reaper War. We had been... pining for each other even longer."

"Have you already asked for his family's blessings?"

Garrus shifts, "In a way. He has no family, so I asked a father figure to him. He gave it to us."

Castis hums, a low rumbling noise, coming from deep in his chest. The human gently squeezes the turian's hand, worrying his lip between his teeth. Solana glances between the two male turians, her mandibles twitching.

The older turian stares Garrus down, the latter not backing down amd returning the stare. With a huff, Castis lowers his head, his mandibles forming a smile.

"You two do seem happy. I will not get in the way, Garrus. You deserve something good after all that's happened. You as well, Leo."

Garrus' shoulders drop and he releases the breath he was holding. Leo grins and bounces a little in his seat, clutching Garrus' hand in his much smaller hands. The turian gazes down lovingly at his human fiancé.

A cough brings them both back to the table. Leo's cheeks light up and he drops his gaze down to his and Garrus' hands.

"Did you not expect me to give you blessings?"

Garrus rubs the back of his head, a habit he's picked up from Leo, "In all honesty, I didn't know what to expect."

"Yeah, and I had only talked with you in video message. You're a lot more intimidating in person," Leo laughs nervously.

The rest of dinner passes peacefully- Solana telling embarrassing stories of Garrus, Leo laughing at those stories, Castis asking about their life. The small human felt at home and safe with the turian family

Laying in bed that night, Leo snuggles up to the warm turian. Garrus wraps an arm around the human, nuzzling his head. Leo wraps his arms around Garrus' middle and kisses his mandibles.

"I love you so much Garrus."

"I love you too Leo."

AO3

[ramialkarmi]

Microsoft is taking a second stab at one of its biggest failed experiments (MSFT)

Microsoft would probably like you to forget about Windows RT.

The company’s 2012 attempt at creating a “lite” version of its Windows operating system — the poorly-received Windows 8, to be specific — Windows RT only ran on simplified ARM processors, the same kind of internal chips that power smartphones and tablets.

As a result, the devices that ran Windows RT only worked with the mobile-friendly apps in Microsoft’s app store. There was a “desktop mode” that ran modified versions of some legacy apps (aka x86 apps) you’d download from the web, but it wasn’t the same as the “full” Windows experience people had come to expect, and need.

It didn’t go over well. Microsoft was very eager to have Windows latch onto the mobile boom it missed, but RT’s app support was weak, many of those apps were more limited than their “regular” counterparts, and the Windows RT branding led to confusion over exactly what the OS was meant to be. It fizzled out in two years.

But Microsoft is trying again. There’s Windows 10 S, for one, which the company unveiled earlier this month. Like Windows RT, it’s a modified OS only lets you download apps from the Windows app store — though Microsoft has made more of an effort to get traditional apps to work within those confines.

Windows 10 S devices still work with desktop processors, though (i.e., Intel and, to a lesser extent, AMD). The more apt connection to Windows RT is Microsoft’s renewed interest in putting Windows on a mobile, ARM-based chip.

The company announced in December that, with a few tricks, it could run full-blown Windows 10 on a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, much like the ones that power today’s high-end smartphones.

Microsoft and Qualcomm took the next step in the ongoing project at the Computex trade show on Wednesday. The pair said that Lenovo, HP, and Asus have signed on to make Windows 10 devices that’ll run on the Snapdragon 835, Qualcomm's highest-end mobile chip, which is also behind Samsung’s Galaxy S8 and most other recent flagship phones.

Exactly what those devices will look like, when they’ll be available, and how much they’ll cost is still a bit fuzzy.

Qualcomm did mention a few general guidelines, though:

It says it’s targeting 2-in-1 and “ultrathin” designs — or, “the segment of the PC market that’s actually growing,” as a Qualcomm spokesperson put it in an email.

It expects the partnerships noted above to lead to devices in the $600-800 range. That would put them in a spot above low-cost devices like Google's Chromebooks.

It says these new devices will begin to arrive sometime the “second half” of 2017. Qualcomm CEO Steve Mollenkopf had previously said the company was targeting the fourth quarter of the year.

It’s focusing on the US and “Western Europe” to start, since those markets have embraced unlimited LTE data plans that the mobile chip supports.

In any case, at least some big-name manufacturers now think there’ll be demand for this kind of PC.

It’s hard to say just how well these devices will work until we’re able to test them, but the benefits Qualcomm is touting aren’t wildly different than the proposed benefits of Windows RT all those years ago. The idea here is that using a mobile chip will allow the PCs to feel a little more like smartphones.

The company says it wants some of the devices to get 20 or more hours of battery life, for one. (As always, take company projections with a grain of salt.) It’s also pushing the idea that they’ll work more smoothly with LTE networks — and faster “gigabit LTE” in the handful of areas where that’s available — that’ll keep you online when there’s no WiFi.

Qualcomm says how you’ll get LTE on these devices may vary by carrier; some people would be able to integrate their data plan into the device, others would be able to buy chunks of data via a carrier or Microsoft’s online store. Qualcomm also says the devices will stay connected in standby mode — a few Windows PCs do this already, but it means that, like a smartphone, you could feasibly call on Cortana or sync data in the background when the PC’s screen is off. Expect the devices themselves to be fanless (i.e., quiet) and on the slimmer side, too.

In theory, getting full Windows on a Snapdragon chip would also make it easier for Microsoft to build a Windows phone that can double as a desktop, through something like the company’s “Continuum” feature. Nothing detailed here suggests that Microsoft is planning to go back down that route just yet, though.

The big question is still how well everything will perform. While the Snapdragon PCs can run apps from the Windows app store like normal, anything beyond that (like Chrome) will be emulated — i.e., not run natively.

That’s been a ticket for mediocrity in the past, though Microsoft is building this emulation tech into Windows. Still, it seems safe to expect Snapdragon PCs to be less powerful than those with a traditional Intel Core chip; whether Microsoft's workaround will be good enough over time remains to be seen.

Qualcomm, for its part, says it expects the devices to have “comparable performance” to machines with a lower-power Intel Core i5 or Core M chips. Those have improved as of late, but it furthers the idea that Snapdragon PCs will be meant for mainstream buyers more than power-hungry professionals.

The easy assumption here is that Microsoft’s longtime partnership with Intel is eroding. That may be premature: The vast majority of Windows PCs still use Intel chips, and the two are still tied together with future-facing projects like virtual reality. Plus, Microsoft said on Wednesday that various device makers plan to make LTE-capable Intel-based laptops as well.

Nevertheless, Microsoft’s next stab at a more mobile Windows seems like it has a better chance of being a competitor than the first.

SEE ALSO: Your next gaming laptop could be nearly as thin as a MacBook Air

Join the conversation about this story »

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