Don't be "tech basic": What you need to know about electronics and temperature control

Device temperature control may not be something you've spent much time thinking about, but it's one of the key considerations that the engineers who design your electronics must take into account. In the video above, Lenovo Senior Competitive Analyst and "Explainer of Things" Kevin Beck details the process of optimizing thermal performance and why it matters — and he does so while sampling a series of increasingly spicy hot sauces.

As Beck progresses from mild to mouth-scorching hot sauces, you may notice that he's not exactly functioning at peak eloquence. (In fact, he's pretty much choking his way through the final sentences, peppering the interview with some... let's call it "colorful" language.) In a way, the same thing happens to your electronic devices: When they get too hot, performance suffers. This is why you may have noticed your old PC getting glitchy when you've got 16 browser tabs open or when you're six hours into an intense binge-watching session. It’s essentially your device’s way of saying, “$*#@, that’s hot!”  Read more...