An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: After ditching the traditional Dell XPS laptop look in favor of the polarizing design of the XPS 13 Plus released in 2022, Dell is killing the XPS branding that has become a mainstay for people seeking a sleek, respectable, well-priced PC. This means that there won't be any more Dell XPS clamshell ultralight laptops, 2-in-1 laptops, or desktops. Dell is also killing its Latitude, Inspiron, and Precision branding, it announced today. Moving forward, Dell computers will have either just Dell branding, which Dell's announcement today described as "designed for play, school, and work," Dell Pro branding "for professional-grade productivity," or be Dell Pro Max products, which are "designed for maximum performance." Dell will release Dell and Dell Pro-branded displays, accessories, and "services," it said. The Pro Max line will feature laptops and desktop workstations with professional-grade GPU capabilities as well as a new thermal design. Dell claims its mid-tier Pro line emphasizes durability, "withstanding three times as many hinge cycles, drops, and bumps from regular use as competitor devices." The statement is based on "internal analysis of multiple durability tests performed" on the Dell Pro 14 Plus (released today) and HP EliteBook 640 G11 laptops conducted in November. Also based on internal testing conducted in November, Dell claims its Pro PCs boost "airflow by 20 percent, making these Dell's quietest commercial laptops ever." Within each line are base models, Plus models, and Premium models. In a blog post, Kevin Terwilliger, VP and GM of commercial, consumer, and gaming PCs at Dell, explained that Plus models offer "the most scalable performance" and Premium models offer "the ultimate in mobility and design." By those naming conventions, old-time Dell users could roughly equate XPS laptops with new Dell Premium products. [...] Dell will maintain its Alienware line of gaming PCs and peripherals (Dell acquired Alienware in 2006). The changes were made to create more "unified branding" that will make it "easier and faster to find the right PCs, accessories, and services," said Dell in a press release. It also serves to push the company's "AI PCs" onto consumers. Dell notes that it will maintain its Alienware line of gaming PCs and peripherals "that's been service PC gamers for nearly 30 years."

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Computer scientists are using hypothetical devices called "oracles" to advance the field of computational complexity theory, exploring fundamental questions about problem-solving difficulty. These theoretical tools, which instantly provide correct yes-or-no answers to specific questions, help researchers understand relationships between different classes of computational problems. Oracles have proved particularly valuable in studying quantum computing, leading to breakthroughs like Peter Shor's 1994 quantum algorithm for factoring large numbers. The technique has also helped researchers rule out certain approaches to solving the longstanding P versus NP problem, a central question in computer science.

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Communities across the U.S. experienced unprecedented warmth in 2024, with numerous cities breaking temperature records set just a year earlier. Phoenix recorded an average temperature of 90.5F and endured 70 days with highs at or above 110F, surpassing its previous record of 55 days. Major metropolitan areas including Chicago, Nashville, Washington, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, and Burlington, Vermont, all registered their warmest year. Even northern Maine cities like Caribou and Houlton saw record-breaking temperatures, reflecting broader global warming trends that made 2024 the hottest year on record worldwide.

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Intel, which has been fending off mounting competition in notebook processors, says a new range of chips will help enable the longest battery life available in laptops. From a report: New computers based on the latest version of its Core Ultra processors will go on sale starting this month, the company said Monday at CES, an annual consumer electronics show. Intel was for decades the world's largest chipmaker thanks to its dominance of the computer processor market. Production technology stumbles and slow product introductions have opened the door to both long-time rivals and firms just entering the space. The company's board last month ousted its chief executive officer, citing the need to improve its offerings. The new chips, intended for corporate PCs and high-end consumer devices, are aimed at boosting performance in two areas the company considers key selling points: battery life and the ability to run artificial intelligence functions. According to Intel, an HP laptop that uses one of the new processors can run Microsoft's Teams software for as long as 10.5 hours on a single charge. It can go 20.3 hours between charges when the user is running Microsoft's cloud-based 365 suite, Intel added. By comparison, Intel says a Dell device using a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor can last as long as 9.2 hours and 18.5 hours, respectively, under those conditions.

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Microsoft's Bing search engine has deployed a controversial interface change that mimics Google's appearance when users search for "Google" or "Google.com" while logged out, blog WindowsLatest reports. The new design adjusts the page layout to conceal Bing's search bar and navigation, displaying instead a Google-like interface with a central search box that redirects queries to Bing's results.

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