Soft Technology

Sometimes the Mini-ITX form factor is forgotten about, especially in the shadows of its bigger brothers. But while some might associate Mini-ITX with low-powered computers for office workers', these days that's anything but true. Case and point is this build from TheOriginalQ on Reddit's Build a PC subreddit.  TheOriginalQ  says that he wanted to move away from gaming laptops, and back to the power of a PC, but at the same time keep a small form factor too.  Thanks to the GIGABYTE GA-Z170N-Gaming 5 Mini-ITX board he was able to do that. The Z170N Gaming 5 Mini-ITX board supports Intel's® latest 6th Gen. Core™ processor, DDR 4, and USB 3.1. Combined with a Mini-ITX sized video card (which there are plenty of from Nvidia and AMD), this small form factor PC can push through any game you can throw at it. Check out these photos, courtesy of TheOriginalQ:  But as TheOriginalQ mentions in his post, building a PC with such a small form factor is not without i...

This year there have been some exciting advances this year in the world of connectivity, particularly the introduction of Thunderbolt™ 3 from Intel®. Thunderbolt™ 3, which uses the reversible USB Type-C connector, brings users a world of revolutionary new features including more bandwidth and support for 4K displays.  Thunderbolt™ 3 is designed for devices where high-bandwidth is of the utmost importance. Thunderbolt™ 3 is able to push up to 40 Gb/s through the wire, which is twice more than the previous generation. For display connectivity Thunderbolt™ 3 offers DisplayPort 1.2, which is able to drive a 4K resolution display at 60 FPS, power delivery for connected devices at up to 36W, as well as the ability to daisy-chain up to 6 devices per port.  Thunderbolt™ 3 makes USB Type-C the one port to rule them all. The days of requiring a plethora of different cables to power all of your devices are over. Now your external storage devices, monitor, and tablets/smart...

This Monday morning GIGABYTE tech specialists Sam and Janus hosted a livestream tutorial showing users how they can build their own PC. Many users had questions which Sam and Janus answered on the air. If you missed the livestream you can watch it on YouTube down below: Don't forget about tomorrow's (Tuesday) livestream where we'll take the system that we built and show you guys how to over how to do some basic overclocking. Many people have questions about overclocking, and we are going to show you guys how simple, easy and fun it can be. We're going to use the same hardware we used for the PC build. Here is the link to follow the live OC on Tuesday at 9am (UTC+8)  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cs6tTrI7cVk We'll also announce the winners from today's Facebook raffle and give you guys another chance to win some great prizes!

Have you ever wanted to find out how build a PC and learn the basics of overclocking? GIGABYTE technical specialists are hosting two livestreams to teach new users about PC building and overclocking. These first livestream, on November 23, will cover the basics of PC building while the November 24 livestream will focus on Overclocking. The livestreams are interactive so new users can ask any questions they might have. To watch the livestreams follow this link to our GIGABYTE Motherboards and BRIX YouTube channel  or check out the embedded streams below. 

Thunderbolt 3 is one of the most exciting developments in I/O technology to date. By pushing 40 Gb/s  through the wire,  Thunderbolt™ 3 provides an unprecedented amount of bandwidth to the end user. But that's not all. With Thunderbolt™ 3 you also get industry-leading features such as DisplayPort 1.2, which is able to drive a 4K resolution display at 60 FPS, power delivery for connected devices at up to 36W, as well as the ability to daisy-chain up to 6 devices per USB Type-C port. Here at GIGABYTE, we recently released the Z170X-UD5 TH which brings Thunderbolt™ 3 connectivity to the Z170X Ultra Durable 5 motherboard. We sent a sample to TweakTown's Steven Bassiri and he was more than impressed with the board! Here's what Steven liked about the board: Thunderbolt 3 with Dual Type-C Ports: The Z170X-UD5 TH released a few weeks ago as the first Thunderbolt 3 certified motherboard. The controller that provides Thunderbolt 3 is also the same one that provides USB 3.1 and is ...

Google Streeview, as explained here The Cardboard app itself ( Android , iPhone ) which includes the following . . .  Earth: Fly where your fancy takes you on Google Earth Tour Guide: Visit Versailles with a local guide My Videos: Watch your videos on a massive screen Exhibit: Examine cultural artifacts from every angle Photo Sphere: Look around the photo spheres you've captured Watch YouTube videos in 360, here are some videos to try out The New York Times VR stories located here Titans of Space Guide to the Planets ( Android ) Orbulous, which the makers describe as “just looking at things.” What things? Greenbot reports “You’ll see vivid, 360-degree photos from around the world, whether it’s mingling amidst tourists on aging architecture, looking out over a city surrounded by sparkling blue water, or even taking in the sights within a museum. A small bit of background noise adds to the immersion.” ( Android ) Polar Sea 360° is a 10 part television series and interactive journe...

Next week's OC TV episode is sure to be a special one. GIGABYTE's very own Dino 'Dinos22' Strkljevic, our Australian Marketing Manager, will be on the show for an in-depth discussion on our overclocking-focused Z170X-SOC motherboard. We build the Z170X-SOC motherboard with overclockers in mind, and there's no better venue to discuss in than on OC TV. You can watch the episode on November 15th at 9PM EST on Twitch . Watch live video from OverClockingTV on www.twitch.tv

If you've been curious about the Google Expeditions Pioneer program but your school hasn't been chosen for a visit, you can check out a little known feature right now that is very much like Expeditions! All you need is Google Cardboard  (literally a viewmaster made of cardboard), which you can buy here or lots of other places, and an app on your smartphone called Google Streetview, Android / iOS . Next, open the Streetview App on your phone and tap the Explore area: Want to make sure your Cardboard viewer works optimally with your smartphone? Tap this settings button from within any panorama . . . Then click "Setup." Hope you enjoyed this, if you did, please share it or let me know in the comments!

If you're having trouble getting students to be on time to classes, you could adopt this junior high school's tardy policy or you could build positive relationships with students and offer something of value that students didn't want to miss. Really, it will work either way, it's just the second tactic is so much more effective for learning, well, and kids don't end up hating school. Posted in the front office of a nearby junior high school

Students with learning disabilities give their teachers some heartfelt advice. (Via Brain Highways) Posted by Upworthy on Wednesday, November 4, 2015

I love this feelings wheel I saw posted by my colleague Amy Causey . It's attributed to Kaitlin Robb and the post said it was meant to be used by teachers to help students express themselves more clearly. I can certainly see how it could be used in any classroom! If someone makes a clearer copy of this, I hope you allow me to repost it here. If I were still teaching teens, I would print this then have them cut it out and put it inside the cover of their composition book for daily writing, then I would refer to it when I asked them to write anything that might relate.

I saw this post on Facebook shared by a friend via a private Instagram account. I don't know the person who originally created it. I re-typed it using Canva and added the tiny pencil, which I remembered students using literally to this size. If you are the original creator of this, please let me know so I can link to your resources.

There is something magical about rolling up your sleeves and getting stuck into a custom PC build of your own. Every person has an interesting take on how to do it best and the greatest part is that there is no right or wrong way. That is what I personally love the most when I’ve done my own builds. I’ve shared them on social media and seen the praise and criticism. Nothing wrong with either. I want to share a really interesting build for you today done by Hans Peder Sahl. I have to say, this video that I’ve come across is one of the finest looking works of custom PCs I have seen. If this doesn’t fire you up to try do something with your next PC build, I don’t know what will.

Every Overclocker has their favorite chipset that allows them to perform their best. This is why GIGABYTE is allowing overclockers to use whatever chipset they please in its next overclocking competition, Target OC: Open Target. In this competition Overclockers will be tasked with hitting challenging targets in XTU and Geekbench 3 from November 8 until December 27. New targets will be revealed weekly, and users will be able to compete in both Extreme and Ambient categories. Overclockers are free to use any GIGABYTE motherboard and there are no restrictions on chipset. We're giving away some big prizes for this contest that you don't want to miss out on. Contestants will have a chance to win awesome GIGABYTE prizes like  GIGABYTE Z170X-Gaming 3 and GIGABYTE Z170X-SOC FORCE motherboards as well as USD $250 for those that achieve a global first place. At the end of the contest there will be a lucky draw for USD $500 and a GIGABYTE Z170X-Gaming G1  motherboard. The contest kicks...

Teachers who understand learning intentionally plan for student engagement. They realize it's not something that happens without work, but neither is learning.