Best Laptops for College Students 2016

With summer in full swing but fall just around the corner, now is a better time than ever to start your search for the best laptop for college in 2016.

But which style of college laptop is right for your degree and what your classes will demand? Your laptop is an essential part of school work, and will be used in a variety of ways including writing papers, taking online exams, collaborating with other students, reviewing the class syllabus and enrolling in courses. So whether you’re a student that just needs something basic to get you through the day or a parent that requires something a little more powerful, there’s no need to look further than our guide on the best college laptops in the business.

Top Laptop Overall

The best laptop is now even better. Dell has given the XPS 13 ($799 to start, $1,399 with touch) a brighter screen, longer battery life, a new USB-C port with Thunderbolt 3 and your choice of Intel's latest 6th-generation Core Series CPUs. Dell also kept all the features we liked on the previous model, including the sexy aluminum and carbon-fiber body, optional quad-HD infinity display, and comfy backlit keyboard. While the location of the webcam still feels out of place, this latest XPS 13 continues to reign supreme.

When you open the lid, you're treated to Dell's infinity display (pictured above), which features an almost nonexistent bezel that seems to just disappear into the background. It's intimate and engaging, and when you watch movies, it's feels like the video player is just hovering in midair.

The Infinity display isn't just for looks either, as the smaller lid means the XPS 13 also has a small footprint. Measuring 12 x 7.9 x 0.33-0.6-inches and weighing 2.7 pounds (2.9 pounds for the touch-screen version) this notebook is even smaller than some of the tiniest 13-inch systems, including the MacBook Air 13 (12.8 x 8.9 x 0.11-0.68-inches, 2.96 pounds) and the Lenovo Yoga 900 (12.75 x 8.86 x 0.59 inches, 2.8 pounds).

January 2016 Xbox Live Games Available With Gold

For the Xbox One, the biggest title for free download in January is Killer Instinct: Season One Ultra Edition. The latest report from Gamespot indicates that the Xbox One may soon be supporting backwards compatibility for multi-disc Xbox 360 games such as the Director's Cut edition of Deus Ex: Human Revolution by Square Enix. Killer Instinct will be available for download starting on January 1st and last all month long.

Carrying the torch the thematic violence, indie beat-'em-up Zheros joins the fray on January 16 on Xbox One. While some time remains for Xbox Live Gold subscribers to get in on the freebies, we're now given an early look at what the new year will bring.

Those of us getting a shiny new Xbox One on Friday can already add another four games to their collection. Once the game's promotional period expires the game will cease to be free and return to its former price.

Microsoft Corporation is a public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through... The Deus Ex official twitter account announced today that Human Revolution was ready to roll as a backward compatible game. Both games' availability beyond the Xbox One ought to help Microsoft's promises of stronger PC gaming support actually come to pass.

As always, these games are only playable if you maintain an active Xbox Live Gold membership.

From December 16-31, Xbox 360 users can enjoy two games.

However, since Director's Cut of the game was a multi-disc title, it isn't available to play on Xbox One as of yet because of the system's limitation.

Do We Need PS3 and Xbox 360 in 2016?

It’s been two years since the PS4 and Xbox One launched, but the last-gen consoles are still around. With the start of the New Year, would you think it’s time for the Xbox 360 and PS3 to hang up their gloves? These two have been sparring for close to a decade now. Does it even matter who won the last-gen anyway? A lot of us who have now moved onto their superior siblings could care less, but the older consoles definitely do pack a punch today.

The thing with old technology, that one time was state-of-the-art, is that it becomes time-tested over the years. Lot of kinks are eventually fixed and the tech becomes all the more reliable and durable. You know the regular slim PS3 may just work better out of the box than the PS4 units that were released on launch. They had the Blue Light of Death, which meant your PS4 was defective and needed to go back to Sony. Xbox One had issues with its optical drive, so if you were one of the unlucky gamers, you would have gotten upset and then just went back to your last-gen console.

Those old machines have way more games than the PS4 and Xbox One can dream of having. Now, when we talk of the Xbox One, the backwards compatibility feature has allowed over 100 selected Xbox 360 titles to be playable at no cost. However, that’s just a fraction of the entire catalog. There are more titles on the Xbox 360 that are not backwards compatible, thus you would need the actual console to play the games. The Xbox 360 faced many growing pains, such as the "red ring of death," but withstood the trials and tribulations. It's still a robust and durable console today.

The PS3 is also a fantastic machine even today. It “only does everything” as the marketing taglines used to say “back in the day.” In truth, the PS3 plays games, DVDs, Blu-rays, CDs steams content from your PC and even stores music, videos, and photos. It’s a reliable piece of hardware now and we prefer the slim models over the later super-slim versions. There are so many awesome games on the PS3 going all the way back to 2006. One can still play "Heavenly Sword," which was one of the PS3’s earliest titles. "Grand Theft Auto 4," do you remember that? The title is still available only on the PS3 and Xbox 360. GTA V was also released on it first, along with the Xbox 360. The cherry on top with the PS3 is that you don't need a PlayStation Plus subscription to play online multiplayer, which is required on the PS4.

One can argue that the entire "Uncharted" series has been remastered on the PS4, as part of “The Nathan Drake Collection,” but why would you bother if you own a PS3 and still have the original games? To be honest, we wouldn’t because there’s something romantic about playing video games on the hardware it was first released on. It’s not fun playing the original Sonic games on any console other than the Genesis for example, no matter how many graphical upgrades they get.

 When all is said and done, there will be a time to bid farewell to the PS3 and Xbox 360. It could be 2016 or beyond, but it’s inevitable. Sony and Microsoft can only support the respective console for so long, since the PS4 and Xbox One’s penetration rate is rising higher each year. It will feel a bit weird to live in a world where the PS3 and Xbox 360 don’t matter.

Xbox One VR Rumors Intensify as E3 2016 Site Adds Dedicated Category

The rumors surrounding the so-called Xbox One Scorpio, which will allegedly feature 4X power (in terms of teraflops) and integrated support for the Oculus Rift with a launch set for next year, are intensifying every day. A few hours ago, Ars Technica posted an exclusive story where they revealed that a developer confirmed to be developing a VR game for Xbox One.

This would be a “well-known European studio set in the universe of a long-running, established franchise”. To lend more credence to this rumor we now discovered, thanks to the scouts at Neogaf, that the official E3 website added a dedicated Virtual Reality category for Xbox One.

As of now, only four companies have been included in this list: Rebellion, Maximum Games, Readily Information Company and 3D Rudder. Of particular interest is Rebellion, since the VR Battlezone remake is one of their main upcoming titles; it’s officially announced for the Oculus Rift on PC and PlayStation VR, but if the Rift is truly coming to Xbox One Scorpio then Battlezone could be one of its launch titles. After all, the Oculus Rift comes bundled with an Xbox One controller…

We’ll keep you updated on any and all developments surrounding the Xbox One VR rumor. Stay tuned – E3 2016 is coming.

PS4 Gets "Unprecedented Rush" Of Games In 2016

These games will be available to all the PS+ subscribers starting January 5th. Teamed with what we know or think we know about what's coming in 2016 on the PS4, the addition of very good VR games will only make the lineup for 2016 stronger.

First up for PlayStation 3 owners is Dragon Age: Origins, BioWare's classic medieval RPG. First-person shooters on the PS3 were dime a dozen, and this one will definitely grow on you. One of those games is "Dragon Age: Origins", a game from the "Dragon Age" series.



It's that time of the month again where Sony announces their upcoming PlayStation Plus offerings. Lastly, "Nihilumbra" is a platform game that features five different worlds for gamers to explore.

In January, Playstation 4 users will also be able to get their hands on Hardware: Rivals, bringing a touch of vehicular chaos to compliment Grim Fandango's nuanced adventure gameplay.

There's also, like Yoshida mentioned, the launch of PlayStation VR for fans to look forward to, along with a slew of new games like Guerrilla Games' RIGS, Sega's Rez Infinite, and Bandai Namco's Ace Combat 7, just to name a few. It also contains several maps, game modes and other special matches.

The full list of PlayStation Plus titles for January has been revealed on the official PlayStation Blog. Rumors say that it will be sleeker and thinner than the PlayStation 4 and the disc drives will be removed. PlayStation Plus members, can buy it for $29.39.

Holiday Gift Guide 2015-2016: Top 10 Best PS4 Bundles

When it comes to gaming, consoles can be a great solution to all your gaming needs as they’re significantly cheaper than gaming PC’s yet still get all the major titles one might want. If you’re looking at the PlayStation 4 then there are tons of different bundles out there with great prices on the PS4 itself which normally just comes with the one DualShock 4 controller, but if you pick up the bundle you get anything from an included game to an extra controller in case you want to play with someone else. With the holidays coming up, the PS4 can make a great gift and there are so many bundle choices to choose from. Here are the top 10 best PS4 bundles available.

PS4 500GB The Last of Us Remastered W/DualShock 4 Bundle

If you don’t necessarily care about the included games and would rather get a jump start on a second controller so you have someone to enjoy the games with, the simple yet still great DualShock 4 bundle is wonderful option. This bundle comes with the console itself which houses 500GB of internal storage space, along with the included DualShock 4 and an additional DualShock 4 controller so you can have a player 2. The console also comes with 2 USB ports on the front for plugging in the controllers to charge, or for keeping the controllers wired to continue using them when the batteries are already dead. The best thing about this particular bundle though is that it also comes with a copy of The Last of Us Remastered in addition to the second controller, so you can experience one of the best games to grace the PlayStation platform while also playing alongside someone else.

Airbus Group confirmed production plans for electric aircraft E-Fan 2.0 from late 2017 or early 2018.

The company will invest €20 million in the overall design and development of the E-Fan 2.0 aircraft, while the rest will comes from partners and government support.

The aircraft will be manufactured by subsidiary Voltair in a new plant, for which construction is scheduled to begin in 2016 in Pau in the southwest of France.

Initial production volume will be small, and should grow to some 80 units annually by 2025.

“Voltair will also be in charge of selling and providing services like maintenance for the E-Fan aircraft. Airbus Group will invest € 20 million in the overall design and development of the E-Fan 2.0 aircraft, in addition to contributions from Airbus Group’s partners. The consortium is supported by La Nouvelle France Industrielle. The Aquitaine region is also supporting the project through a regional subsidy and the FEDER (Le Fonds Européen de Développement Regional) investment for a total of € 2.25 million. Pau, which is already a regional centre for the aeronautics industry in France, was chosen as it is located close to design partner Daher and offers direct access to the runway, a medium size airport and good meteorological conditions. The purchase of the site from the current owner is due to be signed by mid-year 2015 with construction works for the FAL scheduled to start in the middle of 2016. The targeted goal for entry-into-service of the first E-Fan 2.0 is around the end of 2017 or beginning of 2018. E-Fan 2.0 is a key project in the industrial plans launched by the French government in 2013.”

“Airbus Group will bring its electric technical demonstrator aircraft, E-Fan, into serial production with the E-Fan 2.0, a two-seater version dedicated to initial pilot training. Airbus Group’s E-Fan project started in 2012 with an intensive development phase of more than 12 months. The demonstrator aircraft was first presented at the Paris Air Show in 2013. Since its first flight on 11 March 2014, the E-Fan has performed more than 78 test flights with more than 38 flight hours in total.”

What is the best building in the world?

A High Performance Building

Firstly, let’s define what a high performance building is, according to the High Performance Building Council definition “high performance building” is a building that integrates and optimizes all major high-performance building attributes; including energy efficiency, durability, life-cycle performance, and occupant productivity.

My simple definition of a high performance building is;

 Based on the above image which explains what is a HIGH PERFORMANCE BUILDING (HPB) There are no cars that posses all the criteria of a High performance building. One will immediately think that a HPB will be extremely expensive, well with the research that I conducted; proves that HPB is a feasible structure especially over the Life cycle of a building. For instance, a HPB consumes very little energy and natural resources including water. Furthermore, the building is designed to run fully on renewable energy (wind & or solar) and the excess energy produced are sold to a local electricity company.

So who designs a High Performance building? Certified professionals in the fields of building science, sustainable design and building performance. Currently major Architectural, Engineering and Construction firms focus on HPB designs to achieve LEED, or Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design. (For more information go to http://www.usgbc.org/leed) These professionals are highly trained in doing complex building simulations based on climate adaptations, building performance analysis, integration of structural systems and material selection (just to name a few). This highly technical feat is accomplished by utilizing both top-notch B.I.M (building information modeling) intelligent model with simulation tools and site investigations.

Will driverless cars be the death of the insurance industry?

Driverless cars are coming and they will reduce the risk of accidents - so what does that mean for the future of the motor insurance industry?


Driverless cars could be on our roads within the decade. Some of the technology is already out there, from automatic brakes to cruise control to warnings when a car drifts out of its lane.
But if the idea of travelling at 70mph in a vehicle controlled by a computer, rather than a person, scares you, it shouldn’t. An estimated 90pc of road accidents are the result of driver error. Eliminate the driver, and you eliminate the error - or so the theory goes.

But that begs the question: if the risks of driving are removed, will there be any need for motor insurance?
The development of this new technology has certainly given the industry pause for thought. This week Britain’s largest motor insurer, Direct Line, described driverless cars as an emerging risk which could have “a major impact on the size and nature of the insurance market and the role of insurers”.

Toyota’s 2017 Highlander heads to New York with updated styling, powertrains

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The Toyota Highlander is one of those crossovers that makes one wonder why its owner didn’t just buy a minivan. Sure, it’s got a tall ride height and styling that makes it look vaguely like a truck, but that styling isn’t very interesting, and there’s nothing on the spec sheet that hints at the Highlander being fun to drive.

At least Toyota is diligent about updates. Debuting at the 2016 New York Auto Show, the 2017 Toyota Highlander gets a refresh that includes revised styling and some mechanical changes. The updates will likely keep the Highlander selling in droves, but probably won’t make it any less boring.

The biggest news is the addition of an eight-speed automatic transmission and a 3.5-liter direct-injected V6 that Toyota says is new. The company wouldn’t release specifications for this powertrain, but says it will be shared with the 2017 Sienna minivan. The 3.5-liter V6 in the current Highlander makes 270 horsepower and 248 pound-feet of torque, and is mated to a six-speed automatic.