Samsung’s $430 Galaxy Chromebook 2 360 is aimed at students

Samsung’s Galaxy Chromebook 2 360 has arrived in the US market today as a 2-in-1 version of the Chromebook 2, with a price and features tailored for students. The key feature is a flip-around 2,560 x 1,600 WQXGA 12.4-inch touch display that can output 340 nits of brightness, making it decently viewable in bright sunlight. Depending on the position, that lets you use it in laptop, tent or flat tablet modes. 

It’s designed to be durable and shock resistant and is relatively lightweight at 1.28 kg (about 2.8 pounds), with a relatively slim 16.9mm profile and smallish bezels. Connection-wise, you get a pair of USB Type-C, one USB 3.2 type A, a microSD slot and a headphone/mic port. For any remote learning activities, it offers a decent 720P front-facing webcam. 

Samsung's Galaxy Chromebook 2 360 arrives in the US starting at $430
Samsung

The WiFi 6 feature should deliver fast connection speeds at school or in the dorm. If you want even better connectivity and have a mobile plan that allows for extra devices, you can add LTE connectivity. Samsung also offers some Galaxy-related features like Nearby Share and Phone Hub that lets you control your smartphone, even if it’s buried in a backpack.

Aside from that, the Chromebook 2 360 isn’t exactly a spec monster. It comes with 4GB of LPDDR4x RAM (8GB optional), up to 128GB of storage, an Intel Celeron N4500 CPU (with Intel UHD graphics) and a 45.5 Wh battery. Those specs are absolutely fine for Chrome OS and its ecosystem of Chrome and Android apps, however. The Samsung Galaxy Chromebook 2 360 goes on sale today starting at $430 for the 4GB/64GB WiFi 6 model. We don’t have pricing on the LTE model yet, but it’s an £80 (about $100) upgrade in the UK. 

Build your own quantum computer with Google’s latest ‘simulator’

World Quantum Day was apparently yesterday, and Google feted the occasion with the launch of The Qubit Game, as spotted by 9to5Google. Created in partnership with Doublespeak games, it’s a “playful journey to building a quantum computer, one qubit at a time,” Google said. It also hopes the game, and World Quantum Day, will help generate some interest in the field.

The game resolves around Qubits, the basic building block of a quantum computer. It’s pretty straightforward (you won’t need to learn any quantum entanglement math or physics) with the goal of increasing the number of Qubits while keeping them cool. The more Qubits you have, the more difficult it gets. Eventually, you’ll “discover new upgrades, complete big research projects and hopefully become a little more curious about how we’re building quantum computers,” wrote Google Quantum head of education Abe Asfaw.

The goal is to draw attention to quantum computing, because it seems there’s a dearth of people working in the field. To that end, Google is bringing the game to the classroom, hoping to encourage educators to talk about the subject and expand access to quantum computing research. 

“We need more students pursuing careers building or using quantum computers, and understanding what it would be like to be a quantum scientist or engineer,” wrote Asfaw. “For me, that’s what World Quantum Day is all about: showing everyone what quantum computing really is and how they can get involved.”

Reddit comments are finally searchable

After 17 years, Reddit is finally making its comments searchable, it announced. Users can now get search results from replies to posts, rather than just the original posts and topics within a community. “Previously [you] would have to look through each post in the r/London community, browsing the comments to find it,” the product and design staff wrote. “Now, [you] can easily see all the different recommendations on the best places for high tea that people have shared in comments.”

Reddit comments are finally searchable
Reddit

The ability to search comments was the top feature request from a survey conducted by Reddit last year. On top of that, during Reddit’s “limited initial testing,” around 26,000 people employed the feature to scan through more than five billion comments. 

Reddit also improved search relevance to help users find results. Previously, a result had to match a query nearly exactly, but it’s now less restrictive. “For example, let’s say someone searches for ‘dogecoin stonks 2021,’ and doesn’t find what they’re looking for because there isn’t an exact match; with our new treatment, they’re more likely to get related results.” In fact, Reddit said that it saw a 60 percent increase in results for queries that previously didn’t receive results. Search now also prioritizes newer content looks at a users search history to prioritize results. 

Finally, Reddit improved its search interface with a new, simpler design based on user feedback. It now prioritizes posts over other types of content and simplifies the results page so you can more easily find what you’re looking for. It’s also reducing the number of unexpected results based on intent “to make search safer,” it said. The new features are now available around the world on the desktop website, but there’s no word on when they’re coming to the apps.