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New monitors are rarely too exciting except for the die hard enthusiasts. A few extra inches here, an improved contrast ratio there – the numbers go up, but it’s rarely enough to get you hot under the collar.

Things are a little different with the MSI Optix MPG341CQR. Yup, the name’s a bit of a mouthful, and it’s got the usual exhaustive (and exhausting) array of specs to run through, but it also has something a bit new: AI features that actually seem like they might be useful.

MSI announced the new monitor at CES earlier this year, but revealed more about how all the artificial intelligence stuff works at Computex, and it was all enough for us to give it one of our five Best of Computex Awards. Here’s why.

Price and availability

When it launches the MPG341CQR will set you back £869/$899. Either way, that should be some time in Q3 – July to September – but a specific release date has yet to be confirmed.

Obviously that’s not cheap – even by the standards of the rest of our best gaming monitor chart – but there’s enough packed in here that it must just justify that big ticket price point for you.

Looking smart

Most of the time when you talk about a monitor the focus is firmly on the display’s specs, but here the more interesting stuff is arguably elsewhere. Yes, the display’s great – we’ll get to that – but around it you’ll find other goodies.

Most of that is driven by the camera placed underneath the screen itself. This little webcam isn’t just there to use for streaming and the like – instead it drives the artificial intelligence features baked in here.

First up, there’s facial recognition software – like you might have on your phone – which is intended to recognise who’s using the monitor at any given time. No, it won’t lock it if someone else sits down, but instead it will recognise saved users and load up specific profiles and settings for them – ideal if your monitor is used by a few people with different tastes.

Even if this is purely for your own use, the AI stuff has its place. That’s because in addition to looking out for people, it’s also keeping an eye on light levels in the room, and will adjust brightness accordingly, saving you from excessive light when you’re gaming in the dark, or helping it match the glare if you’re playing during a sunny day.

There’s another helping hand here from MSI’s Night Vision mode, an optional software trick that will brighten up the darkest parts of the display – and only those parts – to help illuminate particularly dark scenes in games or films so that you don’t lose the detail into the shadows. In the demo I saw (admittedly, on one of MSI’s other new monitor launches) the effect looked slightly aggressive for my taste, but it did do a great job of brightening dark spots without whiting out other areas.

Finally, there’ll be support for Amazon Alexa, essentially letting you turn your desktop PC into a smart home hub, and it’s integrated with SteelSeries GameSense, which will let you link the RGB lighting to all sorts of in-game alerts.

I didn’t get to test the AI features out fully on the show floor, but if they match their promise they could be a minor game changer for some, a convenience for others, and at the very least they’re just something a little different.

Premium screenium

If the AI smarts haven’t drawn you in, the good news is that this is still an almightily impressive display in its own right. The 34-inch VA panel has an ultrawide QHD resolution (3440 x 1440) in a 21:9 aspect ratio, with a curvature of 1800R.

It’s anti-glare – another point for how it handles light – and packs in a 144Hz refresh rate and 1ms response time, so the thing is fast. A 3,000:1 contrast ratio, 400 nits max brightness (DisplayHDR 400), 84% DCI-P3 and 105% sRGB colour gamut coverage round out the core specs. In person it looks just as good as those numbers suggest, though the Computex lighting is hardly an ideal testing environment – we’ll test it more thoroughly when we have it in the office for a proper review.

The ports are frankly exhaustive – it would almost be quicker to list what isn’t here. There’s two each of HDMI 2.0 and USB-A 3.2, along with one port each for DisplayPort 1.4, USB-C, USB-B, a Combo Jack, mic in, headphones out, and a Kensington lock slot.

Not enough? There’s also an included webcam mount, so you can attach your camera of choice for streaming, along with an integrated mouse bungee – attachable to either side of the display, to suit your preference.

Finally, (phew) there’s the RGB lighting. Five strips run along the underside of the screen, while a separate array arcs down one side of the rear of the device. As already mentioned, you can run the lighting on its own or link it up to various alerts and triggers with SteelSeries GameSense.

Early verdict

Monitors are tricky to test at a tradeshow – it’s about as far away from controlled lighting conditions as you can get – but so far I’m impressed by the Optix MPG341CQR. It’s not cheap, but top specs and interesting AI integration could be enough to make this a very compelling high-end offering.

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When Google officially announced the Android Q beta program at Google IO 2019 in early May, it revealed 21 handsets that were part of the beta program. 

One of those handsets was Huawei’s Mate 20 Pro, however, when the US Government put Huawei on the entity list, Huawei’s products disappeared from the Android Enterprise program and the list of devices eligible for Android Q beta.

However, the Huawei Mate 20 Pro has reappeared on the Android Q beta program, as spotted by Android Police.

We don’t know if there has been any progress on talks between Huawei and Google but this is surely good news for Mate 20 Pro owners that registered to be a part of the Android Q beta program.

Re-instating the beta suggests that Mate 20 Pro will receive updates that Google posts to the Android Q beta program.

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Often praised as a steadfast holdout amongst smartphone manufacturers for its refusal to cave to handset trends that negatively impact the end user (i.e. removing the 3.5mm headphone jack), it now seems Samsung is planning to do just that, if a new report from Android Police is to be believed.

Citing a “source familiar with the company’s plans”, the site is reporting that Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy Note 10 may finally (and regrettably) ditch the headphone jack that it’s held onto for so long.

Additionally, the report states that Samsung may also drop all physical buttons from the Galaxy Note 10, including volume and power keys, opting instead to use “capacitive or pressure-sensitive areas” which may or may not be “highlighted by some kind of raised ‘bump’ and/or texture along the edge.”

But why?

Along with LG, Samsung is one of the few Android phone manufacturers to reject the headphone jack removal trend that was spearheaded by Apple with 2016’s iPhone 7. Brands such as Huawei, OnePlus, Google and Motorola have all dropped the 3.5mm socket from their current flagship devices. 

Of course, there are numerous reasons why Samsung might want to remove the headphone jack it’s long fought for: it could provide additional room for an even larger battery in the Note 10, and may also allow for a thinner form factor. 

That said, the latter reason seems unlikely, given the device will always need a place to hold its signature S Pen, which is far larger than the 3.5mm area taken by the headphone port. 

While rumors of Samsung ditching the headphone jack and buttons from its phones are hardly rock-solid, it’s not the first time either has cropped up – South Korean technology site ET News reported on Samsung’s supposed desire to remove the 3.5mm port back in October, and we reported on the possible removal of all physical buttons back in March.

At present, there’s no word on whether Samsung is planning to do the same with next year’s Samsung Galaxy S11.

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The fact that free HD TV channels are broadcast over-the-air is one of the industry’s best-kept secrets – which is weird considering that 20 years ago, rabbit-ear antennas could be found in every home in America. Unfortunately, when everything went digital a decade ago, folks totally forgot about over-the-air broadcasts. 

We’re trying to change that, and if you’re here, so are you. Enter an indoor TV antenna, which will enable you to get free TV into your home without the added cost. 

How do you get one? Well, you buy it obviously, and for both better and worse, there are dozens of options that can make the process harder than it needs to be. You’ve got a lot of different types of antennas to pick from – those that sit (or stick) near your TV, those meant for an attic, and others that can be mounted to the side of your building.

With that in mind, knowing the right one to buy can be challenging, but we’re here to help you decide. We’ve done the research to find the best indoor TV antennas to suit every budget.

Best indoor TV antenna: how we tested

For this piece, we tested indoor antennas that remain near your TV, both standard antennas that connect solely via coaxial cable, and amplified ones that add a USB connection for a powered-up range boost. 

We tested several current indoor TV antennas from the top makers in the business, watching to see how many channels each antenna could find, how easy it was to set up, how crisp the signal looked, the style and size of the device, and the price and overall value.

Our testing environment was a two-story house just outside of Chicago, less than 15 miles from downtown. Each antenna was tested on two televisions: one on the first floor, and another upstairs on the second floor.

Even if modern antennas are more reliable than the old versions, they can still be fickle: your distance from broadcast towers is important, but so too is where you place the antenna, where you are in your home, and what’s around it. Your experience may vary to ours, as a result, and you may need to experiment with location to yield the most channels to watch.

These are the best indoor TV antennas that we’ve tested so far, and we’ll be adding more to the list once we try more models. 

1. AmazonBasics Ultra-Thin Antenna (50-Mile Range)

Range: 50 miles | Amplified: Yes | Dimensions: 11.6 x 10.5 inches | Cable length: 16ft

Amazon hardware is usually cheaper than the competition and lacking some flash, but when it comes to an indoor TV antenna, most people don’t need anything fancy. 

The AmazonBasics Ultra-Thin Antenna is boosted via USB cable or power adapter to provide a strong 50-mile range, and it works just as well as any other flat antenna we tried. We pulled in more than 50 channels in crisp 1080p HD with supported content.

It’s no-frills from start to finish: it comes in a plain brown box and is a simple sheet of plastic with white on one side and black on the other. It comes with pins and Velcro dots for affixing it to a wall (if you want t), and it only takes a couple of minutes to get it set up and plugged into your TV.

At $25 for this 50-mile range version, it’s easily the best value of the antennas we’ve tested. There are cheaper 35-mile and 25-mile versions that aren’t amplified, so you might save a few bucks if you live close to a downtown area. But even at $25, this is a steal.

2. TERK MTVGLS Indoor Plate Antenna

Range: 65 miles | Amplified: Yes | Dimensions: 12 x 11.3 x 1.2 inches | Cable length: 6ft

TERK’s MTVGLS model indoor antenna is flat like some of the others on this list, but it’s not paper-thin – instead, it’s just over an inch thick and runs about a foot in either direction. It comes with a little stand that can be screwed in on the bottom if you want to lay it flat, or on a side if you wish to stand it up, or you can opt to mount the antenna to a wall.

No matter how you choose to arrange it, TERK’s amplified plate antenna should satisfy: it proved to be the most consistently powerful antenna of the bunch of TV antennas we tested, yielding 58 channels with the ground-floor TV and 60 channels upstairs. The 1080p channels looked sharp, plus it’s capable of 4K signals once that becomes a reality.

Also, the 65-mile range of this omnidirectional antenna could come in handy if you’re further out from the towers. At a regular price of $80, though, you’ll pay for that extra power and range: it’s quite a bit pricier than some other nicely-capable devices on our best indoor TV antennas list.

3. Antop AT-127 Paper Thin Indoor Antenna

Range: 40 miles | Amplified: No | Dimensions: 13 x 9 inches | Cable length: 10ft

It’s obvious from a glance that the Antop AT-127 is different than the flat competition. It’s sturdier than Amazon’s antenna, but the faux wood grain – dark walnut on one side and light oak on the other – is also an intriguing touch. Antop has plenty of plain-looking antennas, but we can’t help but dig the look. It feels certifiably retro, like the casing of a decades-old TV.

The AT-127 isn’t amplified, so it just connects via a coaxial cable. Still, we found more than 50 channels in both locations, and everything looks crisp and clear in 1080p. Antop says it’s 4K ready, but we’ll have to test that whenever American networks begin broadcasting in Ultra HD resolution (probably not any time soon). You can mount this one to a wall or window, but Antop also provides a little black, plastic stand that you can slot the antenna into, in case you want to tuck it behind your TV.

4. Antop Flat-Panel Indoor/Outdoor Antenna AT-402

Range: 60 miles | Amplified: No | Dimensions: 4.53 x 5.12 x 23.82 inches | Cable length: 40ft

Antop’s AT-402 antenna isn’t like any other on our best indoor TV antennas list. It’s two feet tall and stands on its own with a removable stand, looking almost like a shrunken tower fan – and it can also be mounted outside. In fact, the “indoor” part of the description seems like an afterthought. Between the large size and 40-foot cable, it almost seems silly to set something this large next to your TV.

But it sure is powerful. The AT-402 doesn’t require an amplifier, yet it still offers a 60-mile range, making it an ideal option if you’re a fair distance from the city. In our testing, it pulled a few more channels on the ground floor than the paper-thin antennas we tried, comparable to the TERK antenna on that front (although the TERK antenna found a couple more upstairs). Also, the AT-402 and TERK antennas were the only ones to pull a clear CBS signal on the ground floor.

We’ve seen the AT-402 routinely sold for just under $70 recently, which makes it pricier than some other antennas on this list. But the extra range and seemingly stronger pull might make this a good option for anyone worried about signal issues, or anyone who hopes to snag a few extra fringe channels in the lineup.

5. Winegard FlatWave Amped FL5500A

Range: 50 miles | Amplified: Yes | Dimensions: 12 x 13 inches | Cable length: 18.5ft

Winegard’s amplified FlatWave FL5500A antenna checks all of the same boxes as the AmazonBasics model listed above. It offers a 50-mile range, is flat and nearly paper-thin with black and white sides, and delivers a strong 1080p signal. In our testing, it found just over 50 channels in both locations. We have no complaints about the device itself.

Really, our only issue that the FlatWave FL5500A costs more than double the price of the AmazonBasics 50-mile option, and truth be told, we couldn’t tell a difference between them in use. They are nearly identical across the board, but based on current pricing, you’ll save more than $25 with Amazon’s model. It’s great, but there’s no clear reason to pay extra that we could see.

6. Mohu Blade Indoor/Outdoor Bar Antenna

Range: 40 miles | Amplified: Yes | Dimensions: 18 x 5 x 0.7 inches | Cable length: 10ft

Mohu’s new Blade antenna is a one-of-a-kind – instead of a floppy sheet, it’s a thicker, rectangular plastic panel that you might not be compelled to hide. You could mount it on the wall below the TV like a soundbar, or there’s a little attachable kickstand if you’d rather put it on a TV stand. In any case, it’s stylish in a way that most antennas simply don’t strive to be. And if you want, you can mount it in an attic or even outside.

But that style comes with frustrations. We struggled mightily to attach a coaxial cable or 90-degree coaxial adapter to the back of the antenna, because its coaxial connector is wedged so tight to the backing. Ultimately, we used a screwdriver to remove the spongey support ring on the back to give our hands a bit more room, and then had to use pliers to tighten the adapter because it wouldn’t budge using our fingers. It was a real pain.

Once it was finally up and running, we searched multiple times and found fewer channels with the ground-floor TV – just 44 max, compared to 50+ with the others. None of the omissions were crucial, but it was still a difference. Upstairs, we had to play around with the location before hitting the same 50+ mark as the other antennas. The Blade is sleek and stylish, but the smaller size brings a couple of frustrations along with it.

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At its fourth annual TrailheaDX developer conference, Salesforce announced its new low-code platform called Salesforce Blockchain that enables organizations to share verified, distributed data sets across a trusted network of partners and third parties.

By bringing blockchain to its CRM platform, the company is enabling organizations to create blockchain networks, workflows and apps that have the potential to deliver entirely new customer experiences.

To deliver increased connectivity for their organization and customers, businesses need to be able to harness and share massive amounts of data with their network of partners and third parties, all without sacrificing trust. Blockchain technology is able to solve this “trust gap” through the use of a distributed ledger that saves, traces and authenticates data across every employee and partner in the network.

The combination of Salesforce’s CRM workflows with blockchain data will allow companies to create new business processes and models that span their entire organization to help accelerate the speed of business.

Salesforce Blockchain

Salesforce Blockchain is a low-code blockchain platform that extends the power of CRM to lower the barrier for creating trusted partner networks.

The company built its new blockchain offering on the open source technology of Hyperledger Sawtooth and it has been deeply customized for Salesforce Lightning. 

Businesses can utilize the platform to build and maintain blockchain networks, apps and smart contracts using the company’s powerful low-code capabilities. Customers will even be able to create and share a blockchain object using the same process as they already do for any CRM data object in Salesforce without the need for writing code.

Salesforce Blockchain is currently available to select design partners but the company expects it become generally available in 2020.

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Computex 2019 is clearly the biggest computing trade show of the year, focused almost exclusively on the latest in desktop PCs and the components that power them. However, it has increasingly become a show about laptops, too, and 2019 is the biggest year for them yet at the Taipei show.

We’ve sifted through a veritable ton of laptop news and hands-on reviews to bring you the absolute most exciting highlights from the show. You’ll find dual-screen wonders, incredible new redesigns and bold, fresh directions that will make 2019 a landmark year in mobile computing – all debuting at Computex 2019.

Check out all of TechRadar’s Computex 2019 coverage. We’re live in Taipei to bring you all the breaking computing news and launches, plus hands-on reviews of everything from fresh laptops and desktops to powerful new components and wild overclocking demonstrations.

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The 2019 NBA Finals lineup is set and the Golden State Warriors will take on the Toronto Raptors in a best-of-seven series to see which team will be this year’s NBA champion. If you’re looking for a Warriors vs Raptors live stream, then you’ve come to the right place. Keep reading and we’ll show you exactly how to watch the 2019 NBA Finals online wherever you happen to find yourself in the world.

For the first time in franchise history, the Toronto Raptors have advanced to the NBA Finals. The team may have lost two games to the Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference Finals but thanks to a run led by Kawhi Leonard, the Raptors managed to win Game 6 and earn themselves a spot in the Finals. The Golden State Warriors on the other hand, swept the Portland Trail Blazers 4-0 in the Western Conference Finals to advance to the final round.

The Warriors are back in the Finals for the fifth straight season and the team will be shooting for their third title in a row. If they can pull it off, they’ll be the first team to three-peat since the Los Angeles Lakers pulled off the feat back in 2002. Either way, the 2019 NBA Finals are set to be an exciting time for fans of both teams and lead to an historic outcome.

Whether you’re rooting for Golden State or Toronto, we’ll show you how to tune into all the action either on your TV or online. Get the info you need in this Warriors vs Raptors live stream guide.

How to watch the 2019 NBA Finals online from outside your country

Living in the US, UK or Australia and want to catch the Warriors vs Raptors? Scroll further down the page and we’ll explain how to watch a 2019 NBA Finals live stream, whether or not you have cable.

But if you can’t watch because you’re not in your home country and so your coverage is geo-blocked then we can suggest a clever alternative (and no, it doesn’t involve finding some dodgy feed on Reddit). Using a VPN – or Virtual Private Network – you can change the IP address to one in a different state or country which does have the stream so that you can watch the series from anywhere in the world. The process is very straightforward… 

Watch the NBA Finals on TV in the US

If you’ve already signed up for an NBA League Pass then we’re afraid that won’t help you get a live stream of the Warriors vs Raptors. The NBA’s own streaming service doesn’t show any NBA Finals games live online. The best it can do is to show the games on replay three hours after they air on TV. 

To watch on TV then, ABC is your only option as the network has secured the rights to broadcast the NBA Finals live.

We wish watching the NBA Finals was easier on TV but you can get around network exclusivity deals by opting for a streaming service that gives you access to every channel showing the playoffs and all of which coming with some kind of free trial.

• fuboTV $44.99 for the first month – fuboTV doesn’t include ESPN but you do get access to TNT, NBA TV and ABC in most markets. The service also includes Cloud DVR so you can record games to watch them later and if you forget to record a game, the company’s 3-day replay allows you to replay nearly any game, show or movie that aired in the last three days. FuboTV even offers a free 7-day trial so you can test out the service.
• Hulu with Live TV $44.99 per month – Hulu with Live TV gives you access to ESPN, TNT and ABC in most markets but the service doesn’t include NBA TV. The service supports a wide variety of streaming devices and even includes its own Hulu Originals in case you want a break from watching sports.
• Playstation Vue starting at $44.99 per month – Playstation Vue has four plans: Access, Core, Elite and Ultra but you’ll need to opt for the Core plan at $49.99 per month to watch sports. The service’s base plan gives you access to ESPN, TNT and ABC in most markets but you’ll need to check to see if the plan you choose has NBA TV. There is also a 5-day free trial available.
• DirecTV Now $50 per month – DirecTV Now gives you access to ESPN, TNT and ABC in most markets but only some plans offer NBA TV. You can stream on up to three screens simultaneously and with the DirecTV Now app you can watch live TV on the go. New customers can take advantage of a 7-day trial but you’ll have to purchase on of DirecTV Now’s packages first.
• Sling TV starting at $15 per month – Sling TV’s Sling Orange or Sling Blue packages each cost $15 or you can combine them for $25 per month. However, each package contains different channels so make sure the one you choose has the channels you want to watch. Sling TV gives you access to ESPN, TNT and ABC in limited markets with NBA TV available as an add-on.
• YouTube TV $49.99 per month – YouTube TV gives you access to ESPN, TNT, NBA TV and ABC in most markets. The service also offers NBA League Pass. With YouTube TV you get free unlimited DVR storage space to record games for later and you can stream the service on three devices simultaneously. A free 14-day trial is also available so you can test it out for yourself.

– Discover our pick of all the US’s best sports streaming sites

How to watch the Warriors vs Raptors in the UK 

Basketball fans in the UK will be able to tune into the NBA Finals on Sky Sports. The service will air the majority of the Warriors vs Raptors games at 2am BST.

If you’re not already a Sky Sports subscriber and don’t feel like paying for the service just to watch the NBA Finals, don’t worry as you can buy a daily, weekly or even monthly Sky Sports Pass on Now TV. This will allow you to watch the NBA Finals and all other sports shown on Sky.

When it comes to streaming basketball online our first choice is NBA.com.  With the NBA League Pass you you can watch hundreds of Live and On-Demand games on all of your favorite streaming devices including Apple TV, Chromecast, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Xbox, Playstation and even on mobile. It costs £39.99, and will give you access to all remaining NBA games live.

And if you find yourself outside the UK at any stage during the playoffs then don’t forget that you can always use a VPN to change your IP address back to the UK and watch any of these streaming services as if you were back at home.

How to get an NBA Finals live stream in Australia

If you’re up for a bit of morning NBA watching Down Under (the games are due to start at 11am AET), there are plenty of options on TV and online.

If you have Fox Sports, then you’ll want to turn to channel 508 for the ESPN channel.

If it’s a phone or laptop you’d sooner watch from, then there’s the ESPN Player instead. Or you can live stream NBA action via the Kayo Sports streaming service, which features no lock-in contracts and also includes access to over 50 sports, both live and on demand.

Kayo Sports Basic Package costs $25 per month and allows users to stream across two devices simultaneously. Alternatively, the service also offers a Kayo Sports Premium Package, which provides three concurrent streams for $35 per month.

The Foxtel Now and Kayo Sports apps means you can access this from your chosen device wherever you are (although you’ll need a VPN if you’re taking that abroad).