Western Digital officially closes SanDisk acquisition

Western Digital has now officially purchased flash memory manufacturer SanDisk after regulator approval was passed earlier this week. The agreement between the two storage companies was originally announced last October in a deal worth nearly $19 billion. However, Chinese company Unisplendour, which was planning to buy a 15 percent stake in Western Digital as part of the merger, backed out in February this year, lowering the value of the deal to around $16 billion. At the time, Western Digital reaffirmed its confidence in the purchase, and this week said it was looking forward to creating "the leading storage solutions company."
Western Digital's chief executive Steve Milligan described the deal today as a "transformational...

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Google releases keyboard for the iPhone with built-in search features

Google has today announced a new keyboard for iOS devices that directly integrates search functions. Called Gboard, the keyboard features a button on the upper left that lets you perform web searches, look for images or GIFs, or even search for emoji without ever leaving the keyboard. Results from web searches can be instantly pasted into a text box. The Verge's Casey Newton exclusively reported that Google was working on such a keyboard for the iPhone back in March.
In addition to the search functionality, Gboard also offers word tracing. Overall, it appears to be a blend of Google's best features from its keyboard and Google Now On Tap service on Android, but brought to the iPhone. You can download the new keyboard from the App Store...

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Nvidia's 'Founders Edition' graphics cards have been unraveled

Kyle Bennett of HardOCP has gotten to the bottom of one of this week's tech mysteries: what exactly is an Nvidia Founders Edition graphics card? When it announced its awesome new GeForce GTX 1080 and 1070 cards, Nvidia noted that each would be offered in a Founders Edition, costing $100 and $70 more than their typical retail prices — but it didn't explain what would be different about those variants of its new Pascal GPUs. Wherefore art thou more expensive, Pascal?
As it turns out, the Founders Edition (apostrophe frustratingly absent!) is Nvidia's new designation for the reference cards that it's been building for every new generation of chips. Think of it as equivalent to Google's Nexus line of Android smartphones. Typically, Nvidia...

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Taylor Swift and Apple are back at it again with the '00s rock

After flailing on a treadmill to the sounds of Drake & Future's "Jumpman" and getting ready to Jimmy Eat World's "The Middle," American princess Taylor Swift is back with another ad for Apple Music. The premise here? Given the chance to enjoy "a quiet night at home," Swift dips into the streaming service's "Friday Night Rocks!" playlist and headbangs around her living room to the sound of The Darkness' "I Believe in a Thing Called Love." She prowls around on her coffee table without knocking over any of her carefully arranged books; she strings together an impressive series of moves, despite being kitted out in a blazer and what look like leopard-print booties. (What kind of "quiet night at home" outfit is that?)
I know I'm supposed to...

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