Will Apple Silicon kill the Hackintosh? The odds against a self-built MacOS Arm computer

Apple finally made the news we've been expecting for a few years now official. The Macintosh is moving to Arm, or what Apple is calling "Apple Silicon." This is not the first, or even the second major processor architecture transition for the Mac. 

In fact, it's the third. In 1994, Apple moved from 68000-class processors to PowerPC. In 2005, Apple moved from the PowerPC to Intel x86. And now, in 2020, Apple is moving from Intel to Apple Silicon based on the Arm architecture. I discussed earlier the implications of this move to what I guess you could call "regular" Mac users. In this article, I want to discuss what this means to Mac users who use self-built Intel machines running MacOS, better known as Hackintosh users.

The Hackintosh community

Because so much of the Intel-based Mac architecture is based on off-the-shelf technology, a relatively substantial number of Mac users have decided to build their own machines throughout the years. Communities identified which motherboards, processors, network cards, and video cards were the most compatible, and then built custom drivers and boot loaders to make the whole thing possible.

While building a Hackintosh has never been as easy as firing up an Apple-produced machine, over the years Hackintoshes have become easier and easier to build due to better and better community-provided software tools.

Contrary to popular belief, Hackintoshing isn't just about saving money. While you can build an inexpensive Hackintosh to run MacOS, as I showed back in 2018 when I bought my then-new Mac mini, it's hard to achieve spec parity with a Hackintosh and save money.

As one of my favorite Hackintoshers Peter Paul Chato shows, what you can do is customize the machine with features not normally included in a Mac. Chato talks about adding a CD-ROM burner to his Hackintosh, which allowed him to burn CD-ROMs for an old, restored 1990s-vintage PowerPC Mac he was tinkering with.

Motivations for building Hackintoshes range from the need for flexibility and a custom system to the desire to tinker, to cost savings, and more. Back in 2017, when Apple pretty much abandoned Mac upgrades for extreme pro users, Hackintoshes were just about the only path forward for folks who needed more power.

Now, with more capable mainstream Macs as well as the terrifyingly expensive Mac Pro, users who need power have the option of buying from Apple. Some will still build Hacintoshes, but how long will that ability last?

Apple Silicon changes the game

Apple is farther along with Arm than many of us expected. At WWDC, all the MacOS features demonstrated were demonstrated on Apple Silicon rather than Macs running Intel. Apple is already shipping beta versions of MacOS that include Arm functionality, and the mainstream release of MacOS Big Sur in the fall will include Arm support as well as Intel.

Apple expects to ship its first Arm-based machines "by the end of the year" and expects the full transition to take two years. By that metric, we can expect the last Intel-based Mac to ship from Apple in 2022.

The thing about Apple Silicon is that it's very definitely not an off-the-shelf component. Apple has innovated with the iPhone and iPad in a large part because it controls the complete hardware stack. The company will be able to do the same with the Arm-based Macs.

That means it is highly unlikely (but not impossible, as I'll discuss below) that Hackintoshs will be viable once MacOS goes fully Apple Silicon. If off-the-shelf parts aren't available, the movement to build Hackintoshes from off-the-shelf parts will be seriously stymied.

So what does this mean for Hackintoshes? Let's take a look at two paths: what it means for Intel-based Hackintoshing, and under what wildly unlikely set of circumstances might there be a path forward for Arm-based Hackintoshing? Let's do Intel first.

The future of Intel-based Hackintoshes

Put simply, the future of Intel-based Hackintoshes will be the same as the future of Intel-based Macs. To get more clarity from my crystal ball, we'll need to look back into Macintosh history, back to 2005.

The last PowerPC-based Macs were the PowerMac G5s introduced in October of 2005 and sold until August 2006. 

The last version of MacOS (then called OS X) to support PowerPC (and only the G4 and G5) was 10.5 (otherwise known as Leopard). It was introduced with build 9A521 on October 26, 2007 and was revised eight times, until version 10.5.8 was discontinued on October 5, 2009. Leopard supported both PowerPC and Intel processors.

When Snow Leopard (10.6) was introduced on August 28, 2009, it only supported Intel processors.

As it pertains to transitioning processors, Apple released an OS version that still supported PowerPC a full year after the last PowerPC Mac was sold. It revised that code eight times over the next few years. The first supported release of an OS that no longer supported the old chips came out exactly four years after the last old chip Mac was introduced.

Let's apply that to what we know of the Apple Silicon transition. Apple expects to start the transition now and move all Macs to Arm by 2022. We can expect, then, that the last Intel Mac will come out sometime in 2022. If this transition tracks with the previous one, we can expect support for Intel to last about four years.

In other words, don't expect updates of MacOS for Intel Macs after 2026. 

Of course, it's possible to use machines after their OS stops being updated. Figure another few years before software developers have moved far enough off of the old architecture that key apps just stop working.

My guess is that Intel Macs will be reasonably viable machines until about 2028-2030, or, essentially, for the rest of this decade.

In other words, feel free to go ahead and build an Intel-based Hackintosh. But understand it will be obsolete by the end of the decade — and so, probably, will be the practice of Hackintoshing.

Unless…

The possibility of Arm-based Hackintoshes

Hackintoshes exist because it's reasonably practical to take off-the-shelf parts and turn them into a PC that runs MacOS. But there are quite a few Hackintoshes that weren't based on a PC build, but instead were repurposed laptops that had enough compatible hardware to make the conversion possible.

Microsoft has been flirting with a move (or at least a cohabitation) with Arm for years now. As far back as 2012, we were mocking Microsoft's attempts to move Windows to the very ill-fated Windows RT.

But there are modern Windows machines based on the Arm processor, such as the Microsoft Surface X. It runs traditional 32-bit x86 apps in emulation, so most Windows apps will run on the Arm processor. If Surface X and other Windows products like it prove to be a success, expect more Arm-based Windows machines to be introduced to the market.

So let's move our crystal ball forward to, say, 2028. By that time, there's an entire army of Arm-based Windows laptops, which are fast and support the great battery life that's an Arm trademark.

Problem #1 for Arm-based Hackintoshes will have been solved. There will be enough Arm-based machines to form a foundation for Hackintoshing.

Apple has a tendency to name its OS versions after California locations, so I'm going to call the imaginary 2028 release of MacOS Copperopolis (it's real, look it up). That brings us to Problem #2: Can Apple Silicon-based Copperopolis run on off-the-shelf Arm systems?

That… depends. Back in 2016, we were worried that the introduction of the proprietary T2 chip to new Macs would spell the end of Hackintoshing, but it has had virtually no effect.

If Copperopolis and other future Apple Silicon-based MacOS releases rely heavily on special chipset functions, then no. But if those future releases merely rely on performance-related custom silicon, then it's possible non-Apple Arm-based PCs could run MacOS — at least with the same level of discovery and tweaking that it took to get off-the-shelf Intel to run MacOS.

We won't know for a while. But I'm betting that since the upcoming Big Sur will support Arm, and the beta for Big Sur is actually available now, some members of the Hackintosh community are already testing MacOS on off-the-shelf Arm processors.

So keep coming back to ZDNet. If some intrepid Hackintoshers manage to get Big Sur running on an Arm PC, we'll let you know. 

As for the future of the Hackintosh, we have to turn to our Magic 8 Ball for an answer: "Reply hazy. Try again."

Do you Hackintosh? What are your predictions, hopes, and fears for the future of Hackintoshing? Let us know in the comments below. 

You can follow my day-to-day project updates on social media. Be sure to follow me on Twitter at @DavidGewirtz, on Facebook at Facebook.com/DavidGewirtz, on Instagram at Instagram.com/DavidGewirtz, and on YouTube at YouTube.com/DavidGewirtzTV.

Apple T2 situation worse than I thought!

Acer Teases Swift 5 Laptop With Intel 'Tiger Lake' CPU Xe Graphics Tech

(Credit: Acer)

Acer is previewing an update to an existing Windows laptop that's expected to debut with Intel's new "Tiger Lake" processors and Xe graphics technology. 

On Tuesday, Acer announced the company's refresh to the Swift 5, a 14-inch notebook that's designed to be thin and light. Expect it to launch in October, starting at $999. 

The Swift 5 is slated to arrive with Intel's "next gen" processor, the PC maker said, a likely nod to the Tiger Lake family of mobile CPUs. The same laptop will also feature, in some models, Intel's new Xe graphics architecture deployed in graphics silicon as part of the CPU. Xe is designed to compete, in coming integrated-graphics and dedicated-chip flavors, with GPU solutions from Nvidia GeForce family and AMD's Radeon group. 

(Credit: Acer)

However, the Xe architecture won't arrive as the basis of a discrete graphics chip inside this laptop. Instead, the technology backs the graphics silicon that is integrated into the next-generation processor, according to Acer. This Xe-based graphics will be the successor to the "Gen 11" Iris Plus and UHD Graphics solutions integrated into Intel's "Ice Lake" 10th Generation mobile processors. 

Last week, Intel gave a taste of what we can expect from a Tiger Lake setup like this one. On Twitter, the company demoed a prototype laptop with Tiger Lake and the integrated Xe architecture running the game Battlefield V at 1080p on high graphics settings. The clip shows the game, which was published in 2018, running fairly smoothly at 30 frames per second, despite the laptop having no dedicated GPU. 

Still, consumers who want a bigger graphical boost will be able to buy the Swift 5 with an optional Nvidia GeForce MX350 dedicated chip, which will presumably be a step up from the Xe silicon on the Swift 5's processor.

As for Tiger Lake, Intel is promising the chips will offer a "double-digit" performance gain, thanks to the company's 10-nanometer manufacturing technology. The Tiger Lake processors and its motherboards have also been designed to be smaller, enabling PC makers to create thinner and lighter laptops.

To improve the Swift 5, Acer has managed to minimize the bezels around the 14-inch screen even more. The product now has a 90 percent screen-to-body ratio, an increase from the 86.4 percent ratio of last year's Swift 5 model. The laptop also comes with a touch display that features Corning's antimicrobial coating to help keep germs at bay.

"Additionally, users have the option to further include an antimicrobial coating on the touchpad, keyboard, and all covers of the device," Acer noted in its initial release. 

(Credit: Acer)

Another change is to the product's hinge, which will slightly elevate the rear of the laptop when fully opened, "allowing for a more ergonomic typing experience," and better cooling, according to the company.  

The laptop still weighs in at 2.2 pounds and retains its metallic chassis. Buyers can outfit it with up to 1TB of SSD-based storage, and up to 16GB of RAM. Other key perks include Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.0, two built-in stereo speakers, and a USB Type-C/Thunderbolt 3 port.

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Computer makers unveil 50 AI servers with Nvidia’s A100 GPUs

Computer makers are unveiling a total of 50 servers with Nvidia's A100 graphics processing units (GPUs) to power AI, data science, and scientific computing applications. The first GPU based on the Nvidia Ampere architecture, the A100 is the company's largest leap in GPU performance to date, with features such as the ability for one GPU to be partitioned into seven separate GPUs as needed, Nvidia said. The company made the announcement ahead of the ISC High Performance online event, which is dedicated to high-performance computing.

Unveiled in May, the A100 GPU has 54 billion transistors (the on-off switches that are the building blocks of all things electronic) and can execute 5 petaflops of performance, or about 20 times more than the previous-generation chip Volta. This means central processing unit (CPU) servers that cost $20 million and take up 22 racks can be replaced by new servers that cost $3 million and take up just four GPU-based server racks, said Nvidia product marketing director Paresh Kharya in a press briefing.

The systems are coming from computer makers that include Asus, Atos, Cisco, Dell, Fujitsu, Gigabyte, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Inspur, Lenovo, One Stop Systems, Quanta/QCT, and Supermicro. Server availability varies, with 30 systems expected this summer and over 20 more by the end of the year, Kharya said.

Integrating Mellanox

Above: Nvidia's Mellanox interconnect technology.

Image Credit: Nvidia

The latest machines include new InfiniBand interconnect technology from Mellanox, which Nvidia paid $7 billion to acquire in 2019. Nvidia integrated Mellanox technology with the A100 to create Selene, which Nvidia bills as a top 10 supercomputer and the world's most energy-efficient computer. Selene was designed in less than a month and provides over 1 exaflop of AI processing. Kharya said supercomputers like Selene will help Nvidia further penetrate the world's top supercomputers.

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Last year, Nvidia's graphics processing units (GPUs) were part of 125 of the top 500 supercomputers in the world, according to ISC. If you count the supercomputers with Mellanox InfiniBand technology, that number is more than 300, and the list is expected to grow even larger in 2020.

"If you look at the top 500 list, the reason why Nvidia is so successful in supercomputing is because scientific computing has changed," Kharya said. "We've entered a new era, one that has expanded beyond traditional modeling and simulation workloads to include AI, data analytics, edge screening, and big data visualization."

Kharya said Mellanox interconnect chips power the world's leading weather forecast supercomputers. Weather and climate models are both compute- and data-intensive. Forecast quality depends on the model's complexity and level of resolution. And supercomputer performance depends on interconnect technology to move data quickly across different computers.

"It's exciting to have the best compute on one side and the best network on the other, and now we can start to combine those technologies together and start building amazing things," said Nvidia senior VP Gilad Shainer in a press briefing.

Above: Nvidia has set a new record with the RAPIDS benchmark.

Image Credit: Nvidia

Customers using Mellanox include the Spanish Meteorological Agency, the China Meteorological Administration, the Finnish Meteorological Institute, NASA, and the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute.

The Beijing Meteorological Service has selected 200 Gigabit HDR InfiniBand interconnect technology to accelerate its new supercomputing platform, which will be used to enhance weather forecasting, improve climate and environmental research, and serve the weather forecasting information needs of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.

Nvidia said it has been able to run the RAPIDS suite of open source data science software in just 14.5 minutes, breaking the previous record of performance by 19.5 times. (A rival central processing unit (CPU) system does the same task in 4.7 hours.) Nvidia owes its gains to its new Nvidia DGX A100 systems using the Nvidia A100 artificial intelligence GPU chip. The 16 Nvidia DGX A100 systems used in the benchmark test had a total of 128 Nvidia A100 GPUs with Mellanox interconnects. The company also unveiled the Nvidia Mellanox UFM Cyber-AI platform, which minimizes downtime in InfiniBand datacenters by harnessing AI-powered analytics to detect security threats and operational issues.

This extension of the UFM platform product portfolio — which has managed InfiniBand systems for nearly a decade — applies AI to learn a datacenter's operational cadence and network workload patterns. It draws on both real-time and historic telemetry and workload data. Against this baseline, it tracks the system's health and network modifications and detects performance problems.

The new platform provides alerts of abnormal system and application behavior and potential system failures and threats, as well as performing corrective actions. It also delivers security alerts in cases of attempted system hacking, such as cryptocurrency mining. The result is reduced datacenter downtime — which typically costs more than $300,000 an hour, according to the ITIC 2020 report.

Fighting the coronavirus

Above: Nvidia's GPUs are being enlisted in the coronavirus fight.

Image Credit: Nvidia

Kharya said Nvidia's scientific computing platform has been enlisted in the fight against COVID-19. In genomics, Oxford Nanopore Technologies was able to sequence the virus genome in just seven hours using Nvidia GPUs. For infection analysis and prediction, the Nvidia RAPIDS team has helped create the GPU-accelerated Plotly's Dash, a data visualization tool that enables clearer insights into real-time infection rate analysis.

Nvidia's tools can be used to predict the availability of hospital resources across the U.S. In structural biology, the U.S. National Institutes of Health and the University of Texas, Austin are using GPU-accelerated software CryoSPARC to reconstruct the first 3D structure of the virus protein using cryogenic electron microscopy.

In treatment, Nvidia worked with the National Institutes of Health and built AI to accurately classify COVID-19 infection based on lung scans so doctors can devise efficient treatment plans. In drug discovery, Oak Ridge National Laboratory ran the Scripps Research Institute's AutoDock on the GPU accelerated Summit Supercomputer to screen a billion potential drug combinations in just 12 hours.

In robotics, startup Kiwi is building robots to deliver medical supplies autonomously while in edge detection, Whiteboard Coordinator built an AI system to automatically measure elevated body temperatures, screening well over 2,000 health care workers per hour. In total, Nvidia accelerates more than 700 high-performance computing applications.

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Windsor student gets $80k scholarship to pursue computer science degree

A grade 12 student at Vincent Massey Secondary School with a passion for computer science now has an $80,000 leg up to pursue a career in the field. "I think a big part of it is I now get to be in a network of, like, other leaders and like-minded individuals," Schulich scholarship recipient Anish Aggarwal said.  The scholarship will allow him to pursue a computer science degree at the University of Waterloo. Aggarwal founded and runs "Code Reach", a program which introduces elementary school students to coding.  He said that what really solidified the fact he wanted to pursue a career in the computer science field was his experience in computer science club in Grade 9. "Being able to code something and actually see it come alive... it was fun for me," Aggarwal said.   That experience led him to attend a number of events outside of the classroom.  "What I'm passionate about [is] I like to go outside of the classroom a lot, so I will do different hack-a-thons, different competitions, extra-curricular math camps," he said. "My biggest thing, I think was, I went to MIT for the virtual reality hack-a-thon. So there were a bunch of these events that really had a big impact on me."  His mother, Seema Aggarwal, said she and the entire family are proud of his accomplishments. She said he's a very hard working person and passionate about what he does. "He gives 100 per cent... and [is] very competitive," Seema said. As far as his long-term goals, she said he wants to own a big company one day. "He wants to be, you know, [one of] the big wigs out there," she said. "I have my feelings he will be able to achieve that." 

Forget Apple’s Macbook Or Microsoft’s Surface This Is My Perfect Laptop

My living room is littered with technology. This is part of being a consumer technology journalist: you're constantly surrounded by things that need to be examined - and you're constantly examining those things. Like a forensic investigator whose lab is their dining table. 

Technology crams my bookshelf, peppers my dining table and fills my draws. From my borrowed Motorola Edge and HTC Vive Cosmos, to my Microsoft Surface Book 2 and my partner's MacBook Pro. These mostly loaned devices come and go from my house, but there's one device that I continually come back to, that has unintentionally become part of the furniture: my Chromebook Pixel. 

Or, more specifically, my Chromebook Pixel 2015. The five-year-old Chromebook has become the central gateway through which all living room internet activity - that requires a bit more dexterity than is offered by a smartphone - flows through. Firing off a lengthy email? Flip open the Chromebook. Doing some serious internet shopping? Flip open the Chromebook.

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There's good reason for this, too. After five years my Chromebook Pixel still boots up instantly. That's not hyperbole, I truly mean instantly. You open the lid and you're good to go. In the time it takes to get my Surface Book going, which is quick anyway, I'm already looking at colour options for window blinds on my Chromebook. 

It's not that the device still works, it's that it shows no signs of wear or age - this really is the Zlatan Ibrahimović of laptops. If Google were to repackage the 2015 Chromebook and sell it as a new 2020 invention, nothing would give away its age apart from the thick display bezels and hazy 720p camera.

The original selling points of the laptop - that it's fast, secure and long-lasting - are as true today as they were when Obama was still President and Twitter was still a fun place to be (RIP fun Twitter). 

I know you're wondering about battery depletion. And yes, it must be true that the lithium ion battery isn't as efficient as it was on day one, but I honestly have not noticed a significant drop in battery life in the same way I do with older smartphones.

My short, intermittent use (apart from press trips, general trips and holidays) of the laptop has probably slowed down the decline of the battery.  I'm still confident about taking my Chromebook out for a day to work remotely without bringing a charger along.

No stress security

This flies in the face of what we understand to be modern consumer technology usage: devices have a shelf life and need to be regularly replaced. As traditional laptops slow down under the weight of increasingly bulky OS updates, or groan under the mass of cumbersome and unused applications, the Chromebook stays agile because the OS is untaxing and its applications are lightweight. 

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For the uninitiated, Chrome OS - the system that powers a Chromebook - is a Linux-based operating system. It's designed to be fast and is essentially the same as the desktop Google Chrome browser. Almost everything goes through the Chrome browser, save for whatever Play Store apps you have installed that aren't browser extensions.   

This is why the device is so quick. It had good specifications when it was released (2.2GHz Intel Core i5-5200U processor and 8GB of RAM) but it was by no means future proofed. The OS is the reason for its longevity. 

It's this stripped down, pared back, approach that also makes Chromebooks safer to use. There are a few reasons for this, from instant and automatic updates to the device checking every time it boots to make sure the system files haven't been tampered with (known as Verified Boot). You can read Android Central's excellent breakdown of how safe Chromebook's are here, but this is an important point. 

"The Linux kernel [that Chrome is based on] is very good at separating individual processes from each other when they are being computed. Chrome leverages this and keeps each and every application and individual tab in the browser inside its own secure sandbox. That means they can't access any other app or the data from any other app directly and have to use the properly secured methods to share anything. 

"This has proven over time (iOS and Android were built on this model) to be one of the best ways to prevent malware from getting a foothold on an account or system and older operating systems like Windows and macOS are in the process of doing the same."

But...

….my Chromebook will no longer be supported with OS and security updates from next June (2021). This isn't uncommon, some Apple devices will be supported for up to eight years and Microsoft laptops will survive until the next Windows release. But those devices are notably slow by the end of their life cycle, whereas my Chromebook is not. 

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It could comfortably go on for a few more years with no noticeable slow down. With a battery replacement it could do many more. So this cut-off date that renders it useless is entirely artificial and arbitrary. It's planned obsolescence at its worst. 

This device also cost $999 when it launched in 2015. In my initial review five years ago I wondered who this was for, or how it could possibly justify such a high price-tag given how limited it is (my exact words were "best Chromebook, worst value"). Five years on and I've answered my own question. The Chromebook Pixel is, plainly, excellent value for money. I was wrong.

Although, the device has clearly improved from those early Chromebook days. Over the years Google has encouraged developers to make apps that work better on Chromebooks. The PlayStore is more organised for Chromebook optimised apps too. 

The Zoom app on Chrome OS is good, as is the Adobe Lightroom app. No you're not doing serious creative work or gaming on a Chromebook - you need a powerful laptop for that (or a hulking, loud desktop in my case) - but you can do virtually anything else and comfortably, too. 

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Years after my 2015 review, I realise now that it's hard to review a new type of device like the Chromebook Pixel. It made no sense at the time, and I'm not even sure Google fully understood how this device would be used or who it was for.

But as it found a space in my cramped living room and forged an initially niche reason to exist - and eventually promoted itself to Most Important Laptop - it all makes sense now. The speed, security and battery life, plus offering the dexterity of a full laptop that a phone or tablet doesn't, makes my Chromebook Pixel an all-rounder in a way nothing else does. 

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Qualcomm gives custom-built cellular-connected laptops to San Diego United for distance learning

In a bid to help close the digital divide, Qualcomm donated 900 custom-built, cellular-connected laptops to the San Diego Unified School District on Thursday to support continuing distance learning programs.

The computers run on the company's Snapdragon processors and include built-in cellular connectivity, giving students with limited access to Wi-Fi another avenue to learn remotely.

Qualcomm arranged to have the computers assembled by a contract manufacturer in Taiwan.

The laptops, along with three months of free cellular data from AT&T, totaled more than $400,000, said Susie Armstrong, vice president of engineering for Qualcomm.

"In a case like distance learning, there is a tremendous amount of well-intentioned hardware donations," said Armstrong. "But the key point is, how do you actually get those to have connectivity."

During the COVID-19 shutdowns, many coffee shops or libraries where students typically would go to link to Wi-Fi were shut down.

"I never want to donate a lump of hardware and software without data plans and some way to financially make sure that they get connected and stay connected," said Armstrong.

While the current donation covers three months of cellular data, Qualcomm and the school district are working to find additional funding sources so that data plans can be available to students for at least the full school year.

One possibility is to seek funding from E-Rate, the Federal Communications Commission's Universal Service program for schools and libraries.

San Diego Unified this week announced plans to return to school in person on Aug. 31 while following public health safety guidelines. That likely means that some students will choose not to come back to campuses at this time, said Superintendent Cindy Marten.

The district has about 9,000 students with asthma and another 1,000 who are considered medically fragile.

"It might not be a good idea for them to come to learn in person," she said. "So we want to make sure our online option is even more robust. These computers are part of that."

Qualcomm had some excess Snapdragon processors used for always-on, always-connected computers. The company has worked with the district for years though Thinkabit Lab and other STEM outreach programs.

When the district approached the company about helping with distance learning, it eventually led Qualcomm to build the white label laptops.

The computers include the latest Windows operating system software and education suite from Microsoft, long battery life and both Wi-Fi and cellular connections.

The computers are expected to be distributed later this summer after Qualcomm makes the official grant to the Board of Education. The company spent more than $260,000 assembling the machines and $141,000 for the cellular data plans.

"We are deeply committed to closing the connectivity gap," said Marten. "This partnership goes a long way at supporting our students and teachers."

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Review: Creating Professional Conferencing with Poly Studio X30 — No Computer Required

Until recently, most U.S. K–12 schools had not attempted long-term, full-scale remote learning. That lack of experience contributed to widespread implementation problems as educators attempted to discover the ins and outs of new digital collaboration tools. That pivot comes with a pretty steep learning curve.

But the Poly Studio X30 videoconferencing device was designed to not only flatten that learning curve but to squash it altogether. The X30 is a fully self-contained device that needs nothing more than a power plug and an internet connection to begin working.

When I first received the X30, I initially thought parts were missing. The 1.6-pound device looks like a television sound bar with a camera lens in the middle. It turns out that's all a user needs to begin hosting professional meetings or virtual classroom sessions. You don't even need to attach a computer; just use the power cable and either a wired or wireless internet connection.

I used a smartphone with the Zoom Rooms app for Android to control the X30, setting up a virtual classroom in minutes. The X30 has an HDMI port too, so it can be connected to almost any monitor or projector. Doing that would allow a teacher to see when each student joins the room and monitor whether everyone is paying attention.

Everything recorded by the X30 looks amazing. The camera is able to capture images in up to 4K resolution, and it has advanced features including a digital zoom and automatic tracking with people framing. Remote students should have no trouble hearing everything inside the classroom either, thanks to four high-quality MEMS microphones. Each microphone is tuned to perfectly capture human voices from anywhere within a moderately sized class or meeting room.

At one point there were four presenters in the room talking, and remote participants could see and hear everything. I even held up a textbook for those joining the meeting remotely, and they were easily able to read the pages on their screens.

While classroom instruction with the Poly Studio X30 might not top actually being there, it's easily the next best thing. It removes all the complexities of teleconferencing and lets educators focus on teaching and building a comfortable virtual classroom environment to encourage remote student participation.

MORE ON EDTECH: Learn how to protect users during videoconferencing.

  Poly Studio X30

SUPPORTED VIDEO STANDARDS: H.264 AVC, H.264 AVC high-profile, H.265 HEVCVIDEO OUTPUT: HDMIVIDEO RESOLUTIONS: SVGA (800x600) to UHD (3840x2160)AUDIO INPUT: Four MEMS microphonesDIMENSIONS: 17.34x2.46x2.42 inchesWEIGHT: 1.6 pounds

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