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Intel has become the first hardware maker out of the gate with a consumer-level solid state drive based on 64-layer TLC 3D NAND. In layman’s terms, the technology allows for more storage space to be squeezed into fewer chips. The Intel SSD 545s, initially offered in a 512GB capacity, boasts maximum sequential read and write speeds of up to 550MB/sec and 500MB/sec, respectively, with 4KB random read speeds of up to 75,000 IOPS and 4K random write speeds of up to 90,000 IOPS. The SSD 545s is packaged in a standard 2.5-inch, SATA-style chassis although we’re told that an M.2 NVMe version is set to arrive later this year. It is one of the first SSDs to use the SM2259 controller from Silicon Motion, features AES 256-bit encryption and comes with a five-year warranty alongside a life expectancy of 1.6 million hours. AnandTech got its hands on an early production unit and found the 545s to be a much better all-around performer compared to Intel’s own 540s. The publication notes that in some tests, the 545s appears to be the first serious challenger to Samsung’s 850 EVO in terms of performance and power efficiency. Intel’s latest is available as of writing over on Newegg for $179.99. With any luck, that price point will come down a bit in the coming weeks as availability of the drive broadens.

Today we're going to take a quick look at how current generation GPUs, along with a few older ones, perform when put to the task of Ethereum mining. Cryptocurrency mining is big news at the moment and it seems just about everyone wants in on the action. We are often asked what the best GPUs to mine with are, and since we didn’t have an exact answer we decided to find out. First, I should note that performance can vary significantly depending on the display driver used, the software client used, and the configuration of the graphics card, so please take this as a rough performance guide. Initially I started testing with the go-ethereum client but started to find mixed results with certain GPUs, I wasn’t sure why that was and couldn’t solve a few issues, so I scrapped the results and moved on. Parity is another po[CENSORED]r client, but instead I decided to use Claymore’s Dual Ethereum miner version 9.6 for a few reasons. Number one was it worked really well with the current generation AMD and Nvidia GPUs. Second, I worked out a way to benchmark using different DAG (directed acyclic graph) file sizes. Chances are the other clients can do this as well, I just didn’t work out how. I felt it important to test various DAG file sizes to show future performance as well. As the DAG file size increases, so too does the difficulty. A new DAG is generated for each epoch around every 30,000 blocks and right now it is estimated that this will happen every 4 days or so. For example, at the start of the month Ethereum was at DAG epoch #126 and now we're already over #130 and next month we should hit #140, but don’t hold me to that. Something miners started to notice was as the DAG increased in size AMD Radeon 400/500 series cards took a performance hit, whereas the GeForce 10 series and older AMD Radeon 200/300 series cards didn’t. So this may be bad news for those that snapped up Radeon RX 470/480 and Radeon RX 570/580 graphics cards. As of writing, it isn’t clear if this is simply a driver issue or a weakness of the Polaris 10 architecture. Anyway let’s take a look at the results… Benchmarks So if you're looking at snapping up a few GPUs to mine Ethereum you're probably not that interested in performance right at this very moment. So I’ve skipped epoch 130 and started testing at 140. Here the RX 580 still looks good in relation to the GTX 1060 series. In fact, the RX 470 and 570 are offering a similar level of performance, as are the older R9 380 series. The R9 390 and 390X look great. They aren’t much slower than the Titan XP and 1080 Ti. The GTX 1080 tanks though and surprisingly the GTX 1070 is faster here, apparently this is down to an issue GDDR5X has when it comes to mining, despite offering more memory bandwidth it’s actually slower for mining, go figure. As we move to epoch 150 the RX 580 can be seen falling behind the GTX 1080 as the hash rate decreases by 9%. The same kind of decline can be seen for all RX 400 and 500 series GPUs. Meanwhile the R9 390 series barely sees a change while the GeForce 10 series sees no change at all. At epoch 160 the RX 500 and 400 series continues to fall away and now we are seeing a pretty big decline for the Fury series as well. The GTX 1060 is not slightly faster than the RX 580. Now at epoch 170 the GTX 1060 is a good bit faster than the RX 580, while the R9 Nano, Fury, and Fury X all provide much the same performance. Moving to epoch 180 will see the death of 3GB graphics cards. The GTX 1060 3GB, for example, no longer has sufficient memory to mine Ethereum. And finally epoch 190 way off in the future and here we see that the GeForce 10 series still retains its original performance while the RX 500 and RX 400 series falls away massively. The older R9 390 series remains strong however and still isn’t much slower than the Titan X and 1080 Ti. Here is a look at how the hash rates compare between epoch 140 and 190. As you can see the R9 390 series performance remains much the same while all GeForce 10 cards remain exactly the same, with the exception of the 3GB 1060 which runs out of memory. The once mighty RX 580 sees a massive 35% reduction in performance which is awful news for those that invested in the RX 400 or 500 series for the long haul. Wrapping Things Up My brief look into Ethereum mining performance was interesting, but I have to say this whole mining craze just doesn’t get me excited. But that doesn’t matter, the idea was to give you an idea how GPUs compare and how they should compare well into the future as well. The GTX 1080's performance is a tad confusing, everyone points to the GDDR5X memory as the issue, no one seems to know why. As a guess I would say there is some kind of latency issue that impacts mining performance. As for the RX 500 and 400 series GPUs, memory capacity clearly isn’t the issue as the 8GB cards still suffer. I believe the issue is memory bandwidth, at least when comparing the RX 580 to the R9 390, for example. That said this doesn’t explain why Nvidia's GTX 1050 Ti sees no performance degradation, so perhaps it is a driver issue. Compared to the R9 390 series which features a massive 512-bit wide memory bus for a bandwidth of 384 GB/s, the RX 580 uses a 256-bit wide bus for 256 GB/s. So that could certainly explain the issue, at least when comparing those two GPUs. The Fiji based GPUs such as the Nano and Fury aren’t that cost effective and as the file size increases due to their limited VRAM buffer capacity they do fall well behind the R9 390 series. When it all boils down to it the GTX 1070 looks to be king as it offers solid performance and a very high level of efficiency. The R9 390 and 390X are faster, but will consume much more power. Remember these are just out of the box numbers. Using a custom BIOS designed to maximize mining performance will lead to better results, so keep that in mind. What you've seen here should serve as an accurate baseline however.

Economists give the problems caused by climate change an appropriately dismal name: the damage function. To project just how much damage each U.S. county will incur by century's end, researchers ran 29,000 simulations of the U.S. economy, with results informed by weather-driven damages they detected in six domains–agriculture, crime, health, energy demand, labor, and coastal communities—between 1981 and 2010. Heat, for example, may increase crime or cause corn yields to fall, but it also could lower fatalities driven by exposure to the cold. The resulting prediction, though quite fallible in its inability to predict how humans will adapt to warming, foresees a country where, if fossil fuels continue to pour carbon into the atmosphere, the United States will divide further into a country of haves and have nots. Not surprisingly, Atlantic coastal communities are projected to take a toll from rising seas and strengthening hurricanes, but also much of the South and Midwest will be hurt by a decline in farming caused by rising temperatures, along with increasing energy demands to keep up with the heat. Meanwhile, states in the north and northwest could see their fortunes mildly boosted by warming, with farming yields rising thanks to shorter winters and less need to ward off harsh cold in homes. That’s not enough to counteract an overall negative trend for the country, which, if the planet warmed by 6°C from preindustrial levels, could suffer damage worth 6% of its gross domestic product, the team reports today in Science. The results, shown in the above map (red means total economic damage and blue is total economic benefit; projections are for 2080-2100), could guide states and the federal government toward the communities most in need of help adapting to the changed climate—should lawmakers choose to act.

Hello, dear member Community , I will try to help you solve this problem and customize your settings games. CS:GO has a variety of settings you can optimize to your advantage. But if you’re new to the game, these can seem overwhelming. Luckily for you, I have professional experience and will teach you how to set up the game for the maximum competitive advantage. While this guide will disable some annoying things and help out your FPS, it’s obvious that you have do your part as player to adapt to these changes and play around with them to see what works best for you. Much of this configuration is personal preference, but there are tweaks you can make to in-game graphics, Nvidia settings, key bindings, and more to help outplay the competition. Let’s begin. DETERMINE SCREEN RESOLUTION I have played on every resolution setting and my personal favorite is 1680×1050. This makes the game slightly stretched to see models better and bigger without sacrificing the field of view. A majority of players play on 24in. monitors and these settings will have no problem, however, I’ve played on smaller monitors and these settings don’t work too well for that. If you’re playing CS:GO on a 17in. laptop you will probably be better off with 4:3 / 800×600 just so you can see the models. However, there is no “one true resolution” and that is why you have to play around with them and find what works best for you. I have noticed that many professional players are using a 4:3 / 800×600 resolution but keep in mind that a majority of them are players from the 1.6 era like myself and are used to it. This setting allows players to hit very high FPS rates but it actually cuts down your field of view down to 74 degrees while a 16:9 configuration will have 90 degrees. I’ve played on 4:3 for a while but I began to have tunnel vision and started to see obvious models on edges which were cut out by my small field of view. This can bother some players but it’s an excellent way to increase FPS. OPTIMIZE LAUNCH OPTIONS Not too many players know they can customize CS:GO launch options unless they are a hardcore gamer. If you haven’t done so already, changing these options will turn you into a CS:GO power user and by default also make you a better gamer. There are countless launch options to choose from but I’ll show you a screenshot of mine as well as provide you with a po[CENSORED]r option: My settings are based on a lot of trial and error but if you want to go with something easy, here are some po[CENSORED]r settings: -novid -high -threads 4 -nojoy +cl_forcepreload 1 -nod3d9ex Here is what these settings do: “-novid” Skips Valve animation at launch “-high” Prioritizes CS:GO for CPU “-threads 4” Dictates threads used by CPU (use 2 if you use a dual-core CPU) “-nod3d9ex” Makes ALT+TAB faster “-nojoy” Removes joystick support “+cl_forcepreload 1” Increases FPS by preloading maps Wow! That was a lot of things to go over and they may seem a little confusing. Don’t worry though, you only have to make these settings once and then spend your time playing CS:GO. LOWER VIDEO SETTINGS I’ll make this section as brief as possible: the lower the video settings are, the more FPS CS:GO will have. I know this may seem counter-intuitive if your PC’s hardware can max everything out, but you should keep in mind that this game is all about gameplay, not graphics! Take a look at the screenshot of how I adjust my in-game settings: This is what these settings control: Global Shadow Quality: There really isn’t much to this setting, however, there is a catch. Shadow quality in this game is like the second most FPS-consuming setting. If you want everything to look pretty, go high and play on low fps. You’ll also have the added perk of seeing shadows from players much further. Model / Texture Detail: This is the amount of detail every model in the game should have. It doesn’t consume much FPS from gaming rigs, but there isn’t a big difference between high and low. Effect Detail: This controls how beautiful the game looks. This setting won’t change much in maps like “Dust II” which has no visual effects except for a few clouds and a burning car. However, I change this quite often depending on a map. On small compact maps I have it set to low and on bigger maps I have it on high or medium. This is because this setting also detects how far from a player’s view it should start drawing models. So if you have it set to low on big maps that have distances, it will increase the chances of models appearing suddenly (popping-out). Shader Detail: This is just useless and there is no other way of saying it. Basically, this controls the look of tiles on the floor or reflections on the glass. On maps with windows (Nuke, Office. etc), you know the struggle of looking through reflections so you should always have this setting on low. Multicore Rendering: This allows CS:GO to utilize more than one core from the CPU. More cores means more FPS so you’ll want this on. Multisampling Anti-Aliasing Mode: This is the setting that eats all your FPS away. CS:GO doesn’t look that bad with it being off once you get used to it. All it really does is just smooths the edges and makes textures look better and more realistic. If you have a good machine you can put it on 2X. Texture Filtering Mode: This tells the system the difference between a texture when looking at it from far away or up close. Bilinear and trilinear has no significant difference in FPS. What it does do, however, is fix the boundaries of mipmaps (pixels) Anisotropic consumes a little more amount of FPS because it uses square mipmaps. FXAA Anti-Aliasing: This also eats up quite a bit of FPS and should be turned off. What it does is essentially simple but it’s also a big amount of work because it has to find all the edges and smooth, every single one of them. This obviously makes game look better, but it’s also something you can play without. Vertical Sync Players generally tell others to turn off Vertical Synchronization (VSync) to decrease the in-game lag but they are actually missing out an important feature of the game. Monitors have different refresh rates and these rates determine the number of times a screen refreshes itself in a second. What VSync does is prevent the video card to do anything to the current frame on screen until and unless the monitor completes its refresh cycle. During this small time, the video card either rapidly copies the off-screen graphics into display (Double Buffering) or simply switch between them or do both (Triple Buffering). Enabling it may cause input lag due to the time left in the refresh cycle to wind up. Disabling it may cause screen tearing in which two or more frames are drawn together at a moment. Motion Blur Do yourself a favor and just leave this off. Trust me! CONFIGURE GRAPHICS CARD Last but not least on this list on how to optimize CS:GO is the graphics card. Not all graphics cards are the same so you’ll have to experiment a bit with this one. And depending on your GPU manufacturer, these settings may or may not be the same across the board. Generally, you won’t want to change too many of these settings if you don’t know what they do. However, if you’re an experienced PC gamer, take a look at my Nvidia control panel for some ideas: THE CHOICE IS YOURS CS:GO (and every other PC video game) is all about having fun. I encourage you to take some of my suggestions and see for yourself how you like them. Ultimately, the choice is yours and it’s up to you to determine what helps you be a better player. I hope this brief guide will dramatically help you improve your FPS and your gameplay experience. If you would like to see more about CS:GO (config builds, mouse sensitivity & DPI, keybindings, HUD customization, crosshairs, etc.), just let me know in the comments below. If you have any questions about CS:GO, you can also contact me on PM.

Although solid state drives have steadily increased in capacity, so too have the size of game installs. Today's triple-A titles commonly occupy upwards of 20GB with many approaching or exceeding 60GB, especially after accounting for downloadable content. Ironically, it's often these large releases that benefit the most from the improved load times of a flash drive, which is likely to be filled faster than you'd expect if it's on the smaller side of SSDs -- even a 250GB model would be stuffed with four GTA V-sized titles. Fortunately, Steam recently made it easier than ever to move games from one location to another, no longer requiring you to open a Windows command prompt or download third-party tools, though we'll outline those methods, too, given that they still work. Backing up your games... This isn't mandatory but is nonetheless a worthwhile precaution. The most convenient way is simply copying your Steam or SteamApps folder (which is where your games are) to a backup directory via Windows Explorer. However, the Steam client also provides an integrated backup and recovery process that will let you select installed titles and store them as backup files. The tool splits the game data into CSM/CSD files that are sized suitably for fitting on CDs and DVDs, though you can also create one large save. Getting there: Go to your Steam library > Right click on a game > Backup game files... > Select the installed games to backup and follow the prompts from there. To restore these files as installed Steam games, head to Steam > Backup and restore games... > Restore a previous backup > point it to your backup files > continue with the prompts. Moving a single game between drives Go to Steam > Settings > Downloads > Steam Library Folders Make a new Steam library folder on the new drive (you can right click on one of these folders to set it as your default installation path, although the next time you install a game, Steam will ask where you want it to go). Move an already installed game to the new drive: Right click on the game in your Steam library > Properties > Local Files tab > Move install folder... > Choose the directory > Move folder I want to move a game back off my SSD The easiest way would be repeating the last step above by using Steam's integrated feature for moving installation folders, though this method works too: Using Windows Explorer, move the game folder from your SSD back to the original steamapps\common directory or some other library folder that Steam recognizes. From Steam, right click on the game in your library and delete its local contents, which shouldn't actually delete anything because you just moved all the game files. Install the game again but point the installer to wherever you moved the files in step one, which should prompt Steam to verify the data and not download anything. Moving your entire Steam install Close Steam and head to your Steam folder or library via Windows (probably C:\Program Files\Steam (x86)). Copy and paste your Steam folder to the new location (rename the old folder and leave it in the original directory as a backup -- or delete it if desired). You can run Steam.exe from the new location or download and run the Steam installer and point it to your new location (this can help clean up shortcuts etc.). Using mklink via Windows instead (the old way) Around the time SSDs were taking off (nearly a decade ago!), Steam didn't provide a built-in method for moving games between drives -- this feature was only added in early 2017. Instead, gamers relied on the Windows command mklink, which links one directory to another so that when software interacts with location A, it's redirected to location B. In other words, Steam will think the game is in its original directory, but it will instead run from the new drive. This approach still works but is largely considered obsolete because of the features now built into Steam: Create the folder where you'd like your game to be (example: D:\Games\Steam) Head to SteamApps (C:\Program Files\Steam\steamapps\common) and cut/paste the game you'd like to move to the new drive (you don't want to leave a copy of the game in your old directory) When the file transfer finishes, open the Windows command prompt and enter mklink /d "LINK" "TARGET" -- (example: mklink /d "d:\games\steam\steamapps\common\fullmojorampage" "e:\games\steam\steamapps\common\fullmojorampage") Undoing that link is as simple as deleting the link in C:\Steam\steamapps\common. Tip: You should be able to see the link you made by entering the dir command. Something isn't right with my Steam install! Copy and paste your SteamApps folder to a backup location Uninstall Steam Reinstall Steam and copy your SteamApps folder back into the Steam installation directory If a game has become corrupt, you can also have Steam automatically seek and swap damaged files by verifying the integrity of your local data: Right click on the broken game in your Steam library > Properties > Local Files > Verify integrity of game files... If it's been a while since you've done this, note that it doesn't completely freeze the Steam client anymore so you can continue chatting etc. Related tools for moving/backing up games Download Steam Mover -- Before Valve's client could handle it, this was the go-to utility for moving Steam games to a new drive. It offers an easy interface to relocate your games and create a link in Windows (like the manual mklink approach outlined above). Version 0.1 of Steam Mover was released in April 2010 and although it's never received an update, it has accumulated hundreds of thousands of downloads in that time and it's rare to find a complaint. Download SteamTool Library Manager -- Functionally identical to Steam Mover -- both by interface design and in methodology, relying on NTFS junctions to create a link between the new and old locations (note that this also means it only works on NTFS partitions). Download Gamesave Manager -- GSM can automatically detect the save data for 4,764 games and makes it easy to backup, restore and transfer game saves. However, the utility also provides other features including the ability to move Steam games (it too uses symbolic links or NTFS junctions).

Microsoft is going for whatever gaming-related budget is left in your bank account after Valve’s still ongoing Steam Summer Sale. Today the company announced that its own Ultimate Game Sale is going live on June 30, featuring a collection of deals on more than 300 Xbox and Windows 10 games, as well as gaming hardware and accessories. “This year, Ultimate Game Sale is four days longer than previous years, running from June 30 to July 10,” Microsoft’s Mike Nelson said in an announcement. “With savings up to 65% on Xbox games, and Xbox Live Gold members saving up to an additional 10% on the deals, now’s the best time to pick up the games you’ve always wanted to play.” The complete list of games is still under wraps but some confirmed Xbox titles include Injustice 2, Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Wildlands, Prey, Rocket League, and Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare. Over on the PC side of things you’ll find deals on games such as Gears of War 4, Halo Wars 2, Resident Evil 7, Fallout Shelter, and Dead Rising 4. Discounts for Xbox game drives, headsets, and gaming mice and keyboards are also expected to be on offer. In addition to the Ultimate Game Sale, Microsoft is also holding the Ultimate Game Face Sweepstakes, in which you are asked to share a picture of your best “game face” and share it on Instagram or Twitter with the hashtag #UltimateGameFace and #PCSweepstakes2017 or #XboxSweepstakes2017 depending on what prize you want. The Ultimate PC Gaming Prize Pack includes a range of Alienware hardware including the Aurora R6 Gaming Desktop, a 25-inch gaming monitor, Pro Gaming keyboard and Elite gaming mouse. The Ultimate Xbox Gaming Prize Pack includes a Samsung 55" Class Q7F QLED 4K TV, Custom designed Xbox One S and Xbox Elite Controller, and a 4TB Seagate Game Drive for Xbox. Both packs also include a $1,000 Xbox or Windows Store gift card, a HyperX Cloud II Headset, YETI Hopper Two 20 Cooler, and an Oakley Kitchen Sink Backpack.

With Intel finally facing a challenge from AMD in the high-end processor market, the discovery of a major Hyper-Threading flaw in both Kaby Lake and Skylake CPUs would be a most unwelcome problem for Chipzilla. Unfortunately, that’s the scenario it’s now facing. The issue, which can destabilize chips and lead to unpredictable system behavior, data corruption, and data loss, was described on the Debian mailing list following earlier work by OCaml toolchain developers. It affects Skylake and Kaby Lake Intel Core processors (in desktop, high-end desktop, embedded and mobile platforms), Xeon v5 and v6 server processors, and some Pentium models. And while Debian is a Linux distro, the problem can appear on any operating system. This is how Intel’s errata documentation describes the flaw. Under complex micro-architectural conditions, short loops of less than 64 instructions that use AH, BH, CH or DH registers as well as their corresponding wider register (eg RAX, EAX or AX for AH) may cause unpredictable system behavior. This can only happen when both logical processors on the same physical processor are active. It's worth noting that the exact replication conditions, which aren't clear, are unlikely to be encountered by most users, but debian.org still recommends disabling hyper-threading until a microcode update is applied. Intel has reportedly issued some fixes, but they need to be integrated into motherboard BIOS/UEFI updates. The Debian notes says that “You want your system vendor to provide a BIOS/UEFI update that fixes Intel processor errata KBL095, KBW095 or the similar one for my Kaby Lake processor.” It recommends Skylake users contact their system vendor for an update that fixes "Intel erratum SKW144, SKL150, SKX150, SKZ7, or the similar one for my Skylake processor". Back in May, Intel responded to i7-7700K high-temperature issues by telling owners they shouldn’t overclock the chips. It’s a problem TechSpot's features editor Steve Walton touched on this in a video for Hardware Unboxed back in February. (VIDEO):

As more of our applications and data move to the cloud, data centers need to scale their hardware in response. For years however, the only real option has been Intel's Xeon line of processors. OEM manufacturers have been looking for more competition in a field where Intel has a 98% market share. AMD's answer is their new Epyc line of server chips and they are promising massive levels of performance. The processors will range from the 8-core Epyc 7251, all the way up to the 32-core / 64-thread Epyc 7601. The entire lineup will feature 8-channel DDR4 RAM running at up to 2666MHz as well as 128 PCIe lanes. Some are comparing these new chips to 4 standard Ryzen processors soldered together on one die. Each processor can support up to 2TB of RAM, or 4TB in a dual socketed systems. Having the same footprint, memory capacity, and PCIe bandwidth across the entire product range is a key differentiator AMD is hoping to take advantage of. Compared to Intel's lineup where choosing a lower tier processor means sacrificing some features, the only choice with Epyc is how many cores you need or can afford. To aid energy conscious data centers, Epyc will also allow for two operating modes: constant performance and constant power usage. This can dynamically adjust power and clock frequency to match user-defined parameters. Third-party benchmarks will come in time, but AMD's internal numbers look impressive right out of the gate. The $4000 Epyc 7601 handily beats Intel's $4000 Xeon E5-2699A v4 offering 75% higher floating point performance and 47% higher integer processing. Even Intel's top-of-the-line chip only has 24 cores. AMD is bringing the heat in the midrange, too. At the $800 level, AMD is claiming their Epyc 7301 has 70% higher integer performance than Intel's E5-7630. While all of this sounds great, Intel still holds the lion's share of the market. It will take a phenomenal launch for AMD to make any sort of dent. As the new chips begin to roll out in the next 6 or so months, Epyc's success will be made or broken by OEMs and whether or not end users see added value in switching to AMD's nascent platform.

In the heart of a huge, warped galaxy about 750 million light-years from Earth, a dance is unfolding. And the dancers—two of the largest black holes on record—may be orbiting each other in the closest such pas de deux ever reported, according to a new study. The black holes are separated by just 24 light-years in Galaxy 0402+379, and together contain 15 billion times the mass of our sun. Using four sets of measurements taken by a widespread network of radio telescopes between 2003 and 2015, along with data gathered at optical wavelengths, astronomers discovered that the black holes appear to be circling each other on a 30,000-year cycle, they report today in The Astrophysical Journal. Besides identifying the closest orbiting black holes yet reported, the new study is notable for another reason, the astronomers write: The apparent speed at which these black holes are slowly moving away from one another, as measured from Earth, may be the smallest motion ever discerned. Their apparent separation of just 1 microarcsecond per year (an angle about one-billionth the size of the smallest object visible to the naked eye) is equivalent to the motion earthbound astronomers would measure for a snail creeping across the surface of a planet located 4 light-years from Earth.

Există foarte multe soluții de imortalizare a ecranului în ultimul Windows, dar odată cu noua versiune, este mult mai simplu să faci o captură de ecran în Windows 10. În funcție de domeniul de activitate în care activezi, s-ar putea să te lovești mai mult sau mai puțin de nevoia realizării unei capturi de ecran. Mai ales în cazul în care vrei să faci un tutorial sau în momentele în care îți dorești să imortalizezi o secțiune dintr-o pagină de internet, cel mai bine ar fi să faci un screenshot. În versiunile anterioare de Windows, soluția implica apăsarea tastei PrtScr, urmată de un paste (lipire) în Paint sau alt editor foto. După aceea, rămânea să salvezi rezultatul în formatul dorit. Windows 10 este prima versiune a sistemului de operare creat de Microsoft care incorporează un modul de captură de ecran un pic mai bine pus la punct. În continuare nu ai la fel de multe opțiuni ca posesorii de Mac, dar este un pas în direcția potrivită. Practic, încă de la prima variantă de Windows 10, dacă apăsai pe Windows + PrtScr, aveai o captură de ecran salvată în My Pictures, directorul ScreenShots. Cel mai probabil, Snipping Tool nu va dispărea niciodată din versiunile viitoare de Windows. Din acest motiv, am detaliat într-un articol dedicat modul elaborat în care îți face viața mai ușoară. Pentru situațiile mai simple în care vrei să faci o captură de ecran în Windows 10 doar a unei zone, ai nevoie de Creators Update. Prin intermediul actualizării de Windows lansate în urmă cu aproximativ o săptămână, a fost introdus suportul pentru o nouă combinație de taste. Folosind Windows + Shift + S, întregul conținut de pe desktop este acoperit cu o suprafață traslucentă, iar cursorul își va schimba forma din săgeată în cruce. În acel moment, rămâne să faci click stânga oriunde pe ecran și să definești un dreptunghi în jurul zonei pe care o vrei imortalizată. Când ai luat mâna de pe click, captura va fi fost realizată și salvată în Screenshots din directorul Pictures.

Google Drive is a relatively simple, but convenient way to backup and share files between computers. Have a project you are working on at work? Throw it in Drive and finish it when you get home. It is nothing new, but it is effective, and many people use it. However, Google wants to offer more with Drive. The folks in Mountain View are looking to turn Drive from a virtual thumb drive into a more functional backup utility. To that end, they’re developing a new app called Backup and Sync. The new app is meant to replace the current Google Drive and Google Photos Backup apps. The app is not vastly different, primarily merging the two, so it will still function properly with current Drive accounts and will “respect any current Drive for Mac/PC settings in the Admin console.” However, it does appear to add auto-sync functionality. "Backup and Sync is the latest version of Google Drive for Mac/PC, which is now integrated with the Google Photos desktop uploader." Google will incrementally roll out the service starting on June 28 beginning with standard users and moving on to enterprise clients later. Enterprise users will migrate to the new Drive File Stream platform, which has an early adopter program for those G Suite Enterprise, Business and Education customers anxious to test the waters ahead of the full release. The screenshot above shows that you can mark files on your computer that 'Backup and Sync' will monitor and update to the cloud seamlessly. Free customers receive 15 GB, which is okay for most day-to-day backups of a few folders, but those that work with larger files or are interested in backing up their entire hard drive, the free account will not be adequate. Google does have paid accounts that are affordable and similar to other services. Drive’s 100 GB plan is only $19.99 per year. If that is not enough, Google also has a 1TB plan that is $99 per year, just like Dropbox. That should be sufficient for all but the most demanding customers, but as we've seen in the past, as physical storage solutions continue to decrease in price, cloud storage expands and becomes more affordable as well.

There was a time when the limited space of a small form factor PC meant having make compromises, especially when it came to GPUs. But thanks to Zotac you can now get enough power for 4K gaming inside smaller builds, with its GTX 1080 Ti Mini. The new card measures just 8.3 inches in length, a full 2.2 inches shorter than the reference model. And while it does still require two expansion slots, Zotac says the Mini’s compact form factor will fit 99 percent of systems on the market. It may be a bit slower than some full-sized 1080 Ti cards - a base clock of 1506MHz and a boost clock of 1620 MHz – but Zotac’s card still retains the 11 GB of GDDR5 found in the standard versions, and you can always overclock it to squeeze out some extra power. The concern with using such a beefy card in a cramped SFF PC is that it may overheat. It’s a problem Zotac tackles with its custom dual fan cooling system, called IceStorm. The GPU consists of two fans; one 90mm with wide and flat blades, the other 100mm with wide and curved blades. Beneath these sit a block of wide-stack aluminum fins and five 6mm copper heat pipes. The GTX 1080 Ti Mini draws power via two 8-pin PCIe connectors for its 250W rating (a 600W PSU is recommended). And despite its small size, you still get plenty of connectivity options, including three DisplayPort 1.4, one HDMI 2.0b, and one DL-DVI-D port. Zotac didn’t say how much the card will be or when it’ll be available, but Amazon has a listing for $562.49, with a stock arrival date of June 20 -23.

How many parks are near the new home you’re thinking of buying? What’s the best dinner-wine pairing at a restaurant? These everyday questions require relational reasoning, an important component of higher thought that has been difficult for artificial intelligence (AI) to master. Now, researchers at Google’s DeepMind have developed a simple algorithm to handle such reasoning—and it has already beaten humans at a complex image comprehension test. Humans are generally pretty good at relational reasoning, a kind of thinking that uses logic to connect and compare places, sequences, and other entities. But the two main types of AI—statistical and symbolic—have been slow to develop similar capacities. Statistical AI, or machine learning, is great at pattern recognition, but not at using logic. And symbolic AI can reason about relationships using predetermined rules, but it’s not great at learning on the fly. The new study proposes a way to bridge the gap: an artificial neural network for relational reasoning. Similar to the way neurons are connected in the brain, neural nets stitch together tiny programs that collaboratively find patterns in data. They can have specialized architectures for processing images, parsing language, or even learning games. In this case, the new “relation network” is wired to compare every pair of objects in a scenario individually. “We’re explicitly forcing the network to discover the relationships that exist between the objects,” says Timothy Lillicrap, a computer scientist at DeepMind in London who co-authored the paper. He and his team challenged their relation network with several tasks. The first was to answer questions about relationships between objects in a single image, such as cubes, balls, and cylinders. For example: “There is an object in front of the blue thing; does it have the same shape as the tiny cyan thing that is to the right of the gray metal ball?” For this task, the relation network was combined with two other types of neural nets: one for recognizing objects in the image, and one for interpreting the question. Over many images and questions, other machine-learning algorithms were right 42% to 77% of the time. Humans scored a respectable 92%. The new relation network combo was correct 96% of the time, a superhuman score, the researchers report in a paper posted last week on the preprint server arXiv. The DeepMind team also tried its neural net on a language-based task, in which it received sets of statements such as, “Sandra picked up the football” and “Sandra went to the office.” These were followed by questions like: “Where is the football?” (the office). It performed about as well as its competing AI algorithms on most types of questions, but it really shined on so-called inference questions: “Lily is a Swan. Lily is white. Greg is a swan. What color is Greg?” (white). On those questions, the relation network scored 98%, whereas its competitors each scored about 45%. Finally, the algorithm analyzed animations in which 10 balls bounced around, some connected by invisible springs or rods. Using the patterns of motion alone, it was able to identify more than 90% of the connections. It then used the same training to identify human forms represented by nothing more than moving dots. “One of the strengths of their approach is that it’s conceptually quite simple,” says Kate Saenko, a computer scientist at Boston University who was not involved in the new work but has also just co-developed an algorithm that can answer complex questions about images. That simplicity—Lillicrap says most of the advance is captured in a single equation—allows it to be combined with other networks, as it was in the object comparison task. The paper calls it “a simple plug-and-play module” that allows other parts of the system to focus on what they’re good at. “I was pretty impressed by the results,” says Justin Johnson, a computer scientist at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California, who co-developed the object comparison task­—and also co-developed an algorithm that does well on it. Saenko adds that a relation network could one day help study social networks, analyze surveillance footage, or guide autonomous cars through traffic. To approach humanlike flexibility, though, it will have to learn to answer more challenging questions, Johnson says. Doing so might require comparing not just pairs of things, but triplets, pairs of pairs, or only some pairs in a larger set (for efficiency). “I’m interested in moving toward models that come up with their own strategy,” he says. “DeepMind is modeling a particular type of reasoning and not really going after more general relational reasoning. But it is still a superimportant step in the right direction.”

We've got an official word from AMD that these price cuts are not coming from them and are not directly tied to the upcoming launch of Ryzen Threadripper CPUs. AMD tells us the price reduction must be coming from partners/retailers adjusting their margins. With that said, the savings are real, so it's a consumer win either way. The original story follows below: The Ryzen 7 series of processors, which we tested and reviewed back in March, have received their first price reduction since release. The 1700, 1700X, and 1800X debuted at $330, $400, and $500. Now you can get your hands on the CPUs at Amazon and Newegg for about $300, $350 and $460, respectively. Ryzen 7s are solid 8-core/16-thread CPUs featuring AMD’s XFR auto-boosting technology. The 1700 65W processor is rated at 3.0 GHz and boosts to 3.7 GHZ. The 1700X and 1800X both run a bit hotter with a 95W TDP rating and can self-overclock from 3.4 and 3.6 GHz to 3.8 and 4.0 GHz. Keep in mind that XFR boost only works if you have sufficient cooling. It is yet unclear whether these are permanent drops or just promotional ones before AMD’s upcoming flagship Threadripper CPU, rumored to be called Ryzen 9 1998X, hits the streets. However considering both Newegg and Amazon are pricing the processors the same, this looks to come straight from AMD. If you have been eyeing a new Ryzen 7, now might be a good time to pick one up. The Wraith Spire cooler is included with the Ryzen 7 1700.

Add-in sound cards are a dying breed, especially in this day and age of advanced motherboards loaded with bells and whistles. Onboard audio isn’t a new thing, mind you, but manufacturers have greatly improved the quality of integrated audio to the point where many no longer fool with a third-party solution. That said, there are still a handful of companies that cater to audiophiles. Perhaps the most well-known is Creative Technology Limited who at E2 2017 added a new member to its Sound BlasterX Pro-Gaming Series of PCIe audio cards. At the heart of the Sound BlasterX AE-5 is a quad-core Sound Core3D audio DSP and a 122dB ESS Sabre-Class DAC, the latter of which offers 32-bit/384kHz lossless playback and “true audio fidelity” for high-definition audio in music, movies and games. The card also features what Creative calls the world’s best gaming headphone amplifier for PCs, a custom-designed discrete headphone amp with a SNR of 116dB. Those concerned with visuals should note that the Sound BlasterX AE-5 is the first sound card to feature a built-in RGB controller powered by the Aurora Reactive Lighting System. RGB lighting has infiltrated virtually every other PC accessory and hardware type so it’s not all that surprising to now see them on sound cards. The Sound BlasterX AE-5 goes on sale next month priced at $149.99. There’s also a Pure Edition in the works with four LED strips that’ll command $179.99 come August.

A panel led by Australia’s chief scientist has called for the government to set a clean energy target to reduce emissions from electric power plants that would help the country meet its commitments under the Paris climate agreement. Though any goal is seen as a welcome step toward resolving the nation's long-standing emissions policy paralysis, many worry the panel has set the bar too low. The recommendation comes from a five-member panel led by Alan Finkel, a neuroscientist and former chancellor of Monash University in Melbourne, Australia. Under the proposed scheme, power plants would receive certificates for producing clean electricity in proportion to how far their carbon emissions fall below a specified threshold. Technologies such as solar and wind would benefit most, but plants using gas and coal—paired with carbon capture and storage—could also earn certificates. Electricity retailers would then have to purchase enough certificates to demonstrate that a certain percentage of their electricity comes from low-emissions sources. The report recommends that the clean energy target be set so that electricity sector emissions are reduced by 28% below 2005 levels by 2030 and cut further, to an unspecified level, by 2070. The report does not set a threshold for emissions generated during production or the percentage of clean energy to be supplied to consumers; presumably these will be set by the government. The plan, part of a report on the future security of the national electricity market, has gotten mixed reviews from environmentalists. "While the Finkel review is a step forward, much more needs to be done to reduce the emissions of Australia’s biggest polluter—the electricity sector," reads a statement issued by Amanda McKenzie, CEO of the Climate Council in Sydney, Australia, an organization that seeks to educate the public on climate change. Ian Lowe, an energy policy specialist at Griffith University in Nathan, Australia, near Brisbane, backs the need to set a clean energy target but is disappointed by the timetable for a transition to clean energy. "Basically, these recommendations would allow dirty old coal-fired power stations to continue operating for decades," he says. Others note that Australia has pledged to reduce all emissions by 28% below 2005 levels by 2030. To meet that target, "the electricity sector can and needs to deliver much greater percentage reductions," says Frank Jotzo, an energy economist at Australian National University (ANU) in Canberra. Matthew Stocks, a renewable energy specialist at ANU, hopes the new report will “take the politics out of energy policy” by setting a clear policy that will spur investment in energy infrastructure. The review panel was set up after 900,000 households lost power during a blackout in southern Australia last September. In addition to the strategy for emissions reductions, the report has recommendations for increasing energy security and reliability and reducing prices for consumers. All of the recommendations require action by Parliament to implement. The two major parties appear to disagree over how ambitious the clean energy target should be, Stocks notes. But he’s cautiously optimistic: "We could be closer to a compromise than at any time I’ve seen before."

Salut, deci eu te pot ajuta in orice fel cu sv, ti-am lasat un mesaj in Skype.

Effortlessly boost performance and efficiency. Experience Radeon Software with industry-leading user satisfaction, rigorously-tested stability, comprehensive certification, and more. Create, capture, and share your remarkable moments. Effortlessly boost performance and efficiency. Experience Radeon Software with industry-leading user satisfaction, rigorously-tested stability, comprehensive certification, and more. Radeon Software Crimson ReLive Edition 17.4.4 Highlights: Support For Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War III Up to 7% performance improvement measured on Radeon RX 580 8GB graphics when compared to Radeon Software Crimson ReLive edition 17.4.3.(RS-131) Fixed Issues Some displays may experience corruption when using HDMI scaling. Battlefield1 may experience stuttering in Multi GPU mode with 4K display resolutions when using DirectX11. HDR colors may appear incorrect in Mass Effect: Andromeda on the latest Windows10 Creators Edition update. Some incorrect or unavailable feature descriptions may appear in Radeon Settings under the more/less help section. Radeon RX 550 series graphics products may experience a hard hang when the user's system has not been rebooted for long periods of time. Reboot prompt may be missing after Radeon Software installation on AMD XConnect technology system configurations. Known Issues HDTV displays may intermittently lose signal on some Radeon RX 480 series graphics products when connected over HDMI. Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare may experience a game hang when performing a task switch. Radeon WattMan may fail to apply settings on some Radeon R9 390 series graphics products. Radeon Settings may crash on switching Windows user after toggling AMD CrossFire technology mode. A small amount of apps may still experience issues with Borderless Fullscreen mode and AMD FreeSync technology if other applications or game launchers are running on the primary screen in the background. Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and World of Warcraft may experience flickering or performance issues the first time the game is launched on a system boot with AMD FreeSync technology enabled. Workarounds include exiting and restarting the application or task switching (alt+tab) in and out of the game to fix the issue. Known Issues for Radeon ReLive The XBOX DVR application may cause conflicts with Radeon ReLive, users are suggested to disable XBOX DVR if Radeon ReLive is experiencing issues. Radeon ReLive may fail to install on AMD APU Family products or experience a system hang or failure to record when using the recording feature on AMD APU Family products. Radeon ReLive may intermittently fail to work after performing task switches of applications in multi display system configurations. A work around is to disable and then enable the feature in Radeon Software. Radeon ReLive may exhibit corruption in recordings when capturing Microsoft Office applications. Radeon ReLive may experience recording or streaming issues when task switching using ALT+TAB. Package Contents The Radeon Software Crimson ReLive Edition 17.4.4 installation package contains the following: Radeon Software Crimson ReLive Edition 17.4.4 Driver Version 17.10.1731. (Windows Driver Store Version 22.19.162.4) Radeon Product Compatibility Radeon Software Crimson ReLive Edition is compatible with the following AMD Radeon products. Note that AMD Radeon R9 Fury, Radeon Pro Duo, and Radeon RX 400 Series graphics are only supported by Radeon Software Crimson ReLive Edition on Windows 7/8.1/10 64-bit. Radeon Desktop Product Family Compatibility AMD Radeon RX 400 Series Graphics AMD Radeon R7 300 Series Graphics AMD Radeon Pro Duo AMD Radeon R7 200 Series Graphics AMD Radeon R9 Fury Series Graphics AMD Radeon R5 300 Series Graphics AMD Radeon R9 Nano Series Graphics AMD Radeon R5 200 Series Graphics AMD Radeon R9 300 Series Graphics AMD Radeon HD 8500 - HD 8900 Series Graphics AMD Radeon R9 200 Series Graphics AMD Radeon HD 7700 - HD 7900 Series Graphics Mobility Radeon Family Compatibility AMD Radeon R9 M300 Series Graphics AMD Radeon R7 M200 Series Graphics AMD Radeon R7 M300 Series Graphics AMD Radeon R5 M200 Series Graphics AMD Radeon R5 M300 Series Graphics AMD Radeon HD 8500M - HD 8900M Series Graphics AMD Radeon R9 M200 Series Graphics AMD Radeon HD 7700M - HD 7900M Series Graphics AMD APU Product Family Compatibility AMD APU products codenamed "Kaveri", "Godavari" and "Carrizo" are only supported by AMD Radeon Software Crimson Edition on Windows 7 (32 & 64-bit), Windows 8.1 (64-bit) and Windows 10 (64-bit). AMD’s 7th Generation APU products Radeon Graphics are only supported by AMD Radeon Software Crimson Edition on Windows 7 (32 & 64-bit) and Windows 10 (64-bit). AMD APU Product Family Compatibility AMD A-Series APUs with Radeon R4, R5, R6, or R7 Graphics AMD A-Series APUs with Radeon R3, R4, R5, R6, R7, or R8 Graphics AMD Pro A-Series APUs with Radeon R5 or R7 Graphics AMD Pro A-Series APUs with Radeon R5, R6, or R7 Graphics AMD Athlon Series APUs with Radeon R3 Graphics AMD FX-Series APUs with Radeon R7 Graphics AMD Sempron Series APUs with Radeon R3 Graphics AMD E-Series APUs with Radeon R2 Graphics AMD Radeon HD 8180 - HD 8400 Series Graphics Compatible Operating Systems: Radeon Software Crimson ReLive Edition is designed to support the following Microsoft Windows platforms. Operating System support may vary depending on your specific AMD Radeon product. Windows 10 (32 & 64-bit version) Windows 8.1 (32 & 64-bit version) Windows 7 (32 & 64-bit version with SP1 or higher) Disclaimer: Compatible with desktop discrete AMD Radeon GCN and Radeon RX 400 Series enabled products with at least 2GB of VRAM, AMD VCE Support and Windows 7/8.1/10 64 bit operating systems. Radeon ReLive is currently considered "as-is" beta level support for 32 bit operating systems. Compatible with AMD Radeon GCN and Radeon RX 400 series enabled products in specified AMD supported titles and applications with Windows 7/8.1/10. Power saving and temperature reduction results may vary based on system configurations. Compatible with desktop discrete GPU AMD RadeonR9 Fury series, R9 390 series, R9 380 series, R9 290 series, R9 285, R9 260 series, R7 360, and R7 260 products with Windows 7/8.1/10. Compatible with AMD Radeon GCN and Radeon RX 400 Series enabled products with Windows 7/8.1/10. Compatible with AMD Radeon GCN and Radeon RX 400 Series enabled products with Windows7/8.1/10. Compatible with AMD Radeon R9 285, 290, 290X, 380, 390, 390X, R7 260, 260X, 360, R9 Fury series, and Radeon RX 400 series products with Windows 7/8.1/10. Requires an AMD FreeSync technology certified capable display and AMD graphics product. Compatible with AMD Radeon R9 285, 290, 290X, 380, 390, 390X, R7 260, 260X, 360, R9 Fury series, and Radeon RX 400 series products with Windows 7/8.1/10. Feature is not available worldwide and may not be available in your country or area. Compatible with desktop AMD Radeon R9 Fury series, R9 380, R9 390 series, and Radeon RX 400 series products with Windows 7/8.1/10. Requires an HDR capable display and game content. Requires supported Chrome web browser versions with Hardware Acceleration enabled. Compatible with AMD Radeon GCN and Radeon RX 400 series enabled products on Windows 7/8.1/10. Compatible with AMD Bristol, Carrizo and Stoney AMD Family APUs with Windows 7/8.1/10 and supported Skype application. Package Contents The Radeon Software Crimson ReLive Edition 17.1.2 installation package contains the following: Radeon Software Crimson ReLive Edition 17.1.2 Driver Version 16.50.2711 (Windows Driver Store Version 21.19.413.0) Note: This driver is not intended for use on AMD Radeon products running in Apple Boot Camp platforms. Users of these platforms should contact their system manufacturer for driver support. When installing Radeon Software Crimson ReLive Edition 17.1.1 for the Windows operating system, the user must be logged on as Administrator, or have Administrator rights to complete the installation of Radeon Software Crimson ReLive Edition 17.1.1. Radeon Software Crimson ReLive Edition 17.1.1 requires Windows 7 Service Pack 1 to be installed. Note 2: AMD terminated support for Windows 8 32-bit. We have links version 17.1.2, which was the last version for Windows 8 32-bit. Previous versions: AMD Radeon Crimson Edition Graphics Driver 17.4.1 Hotfix AMD Radeon Crimson Edition Graphics Driver 17.3.2 Hotfix AMD Radeon Crimson Edition Graphics Driver 17.1.2 Hotfix AMD Radeon Crimson Edition Graphics Driver 17.1.1 Hotfix AMD Radeon Software Crimson Edition 16.12.2 Hotfix Update AMD Radeon Crimson Edition Graphics Driver 16.12.1 AMD Radeon Crimson Edition Graphics Driver 16.4.2 2016-04-29 AMD Radeon Crimson Edition Graphics Driver 2016-03-29 AMD Radeon Crimson Edition Graphics Driver 16.3.2 for Windows 10 32-bit AMD Radeon Crimson Edition Graphics Driver 16.3.2 for Windows 10 64-bit AMD Radeon Crimson Edition Graphics Driver 16.3.2 for Windows 8 32-bit AMD Radeon Crimson Edition Graphics Driver 16.3.2 for Windows 8 64-bit AMD Radeon Crimson Edition Graphics Driver 16.3.2 for Windows 7 32-bit AMD Radeon Crimson Edition Graphics Driver 16.3.2 for Windows 7 64-bit AMD Radeon Crimson Edition Graphics Driver 15.12 for Windows 10 32-bit AMD Radeon Crimson Edition Graphics Driver 15.12 for Windows 10 64-bit AMD Radeon Crimson Edition Graphics Driver 15.12 for Windows 8 32-bit AMD Radeon Crimson Edition Graphics Driver 15.12 for Windows 8 64-bit AMD Radeon Crimson Edition Graphics Driver 15.12 for Windows 7 32-bit AMD Radeon Crimson Edition Graphics Driver 15.12 for Windows 7 64-bit

Acer just announced the Predator Triton 700 at the Next@Acer press event in New York today. While many laptops meant for gaming tend to be bulky, the Predator Triton 700 is thin, measuring only 18.9 mm. It is only slightly thicker than the Razer Blade (18 mm) with which Acer seems to be looking to compete. According to Associate Marketing Manager Steven Funcke, in benchmark testing, the Triton 700 beat the Razer Blade with a 3DMark score of 17,000 to 11,139. In fact, for notebooks under 20 mm, no other laptop could come close, with second place only scoring 12,423. The Predator even outperformed thicker systems with the Schenker XMG P507 PRO (29 mm) coming closest with a score of 16,383. The design team was able to achieve this high, yet “conservative” benchmark by cramming Nvidia’s latest GTX 10-series graphics cards into the chassis, backed by up to 32GB of DDR4 RAM and driven by a seventh generation Intel Kaby Lake Processor. It also has dual PCIe solid state drives. The company did not reveal precisely what configuration the Nvidia graphics would entail, but for comparison, the Predator 21X uses dual GTX 1080 SLI cards. Acer CEO Jason Chen also seemed excited to point out that the Triton uses overclocked components. Of course, the biggest problem with all this power is heat. Funcke explained that Acer has also improved its AeroBlade fan technology. The Triton's dual AeroBlade 3D fans now push 35 percent more air through the system. This improvement is a 10 percent increase over the AeroBlades in the 21X. The Predator Triton 700 has a 1080p display and an LED-illuminated mechanical keyboard. However, one of the more interesting aspects of the Triton’s design is the layout of the keyboard and trackpad. Acer has switched the positions of the components so that the trackpad is above the keyboard. This redesign seems risky in that many people rest their hand while using the trackpad and in this case, the keyboard is in the way. However, since the notebook is intended for gaming, most users will probably be using a gaming mouse like the Razer Lancehead instead of the trackpad, so it will likely not pose a problem. The trackpad is also integrated into a Corning Gorilla Glass panel that shows off the internals nicely. It is an artistic touch used in the Predator 21X and made unique with the addition of the touchpad. Acer was not forthcoming with pricing. However, we should expect a price point between $3,000-4,000 based on competitive pricing models. The Predator Triton 700 should ship sometime this summer near the "back-to-school cycle."

Forget drones. Think bat-bots. Engineers have created a new autonomous flying machine that looks and maneuvers just like a bat. Weighing only 93 grams, the robot’s agility comes from its complex wings made of lightweight silicone-based membranes stretched over carbon-fiber bones, the researchers report today in Science Robotics. In addition to nine joints in each wing, it sports adjustable legs, which help it steer by deforming the membrane of its tail. Complex algorithms coordinate these components, letting the bot make batlike moves including banking turns and dives. But don’t bring out the bat-signal just yet. Remaining challenges include improving battery life and developing stronger electronic components so the device can survive minor crashes. Ultimately, though, the engineers hope this highly maneuverable alternative to quadrotor drones could serve as a helpful new sidekick—lending a wing in anything from dodging through beams as a construction surveyor to aiding in disaster relief by scouting dangerous sites. The next lesson researchers hope to teach the bat-bot? Perching upside-down.

Just delete the csgo.exe and the cfg folder in your csgo folder [steamapps\common\Counter-Strike Global Offensive\csgo\cfg] (don't forget to copy a backup). Then verify integrity of game cache. The files will be replaced and the game will (hopefully) start without crashes! Hope it works for you guys too!

Google has now opened up their WebVR portal to Google Cardboard users, allowing anyone with a phone and a couple dollars the opportunity to try out VR for themselves. Since February, Google Daydream users have been able to try out different VR apps and experiences through a web browser, without having to download anything. Now, any of the estimated 10 million Google Cardboard owners can try out the latest in VR experiences by simply browsing to an appropriate link. Additionally, Oculus Rift and HTC Vive support is said to be coming soon. Making fresh VR experiences readily available for both consumers and developers will encourage more creative experiences in VR. Challenge your friend (or the wall) to a ping-pong duel in VR, or cooperate with your friend in the real world to spot the bot.

Most high-end graphics cards come with decent air coolers but that’s certainly not a given. In addition to being overly loud, some can become overwhelmed under intense, extended loads which can lead to throttling, instability and even shortened lifespans. Liquid-based coolers are typically more efficient and generate less noise but unfortunately, they aren’t all that uncommon (or affordable). The good news, however, is that you may be able to use an all-in-one (AIO) CPU watercooling kit to chill that hot GPU thanks to NZXT’s newest product. The NZXT Kraken G12 is a specialty bracket for graphics cards that allows you to mount a CPU AIO cooler onto the GPU. NZXT says the assembly, which is compatible with over 40 different GPUs – both AMD and Nvidia reference and non-reference designs – and more than 30 different liquid coolers, can afford up to a 40 percent increase in cooling capacity. The bracket also comes with a 92mm fan attached for active VRM cooling. NZXT lists the Kraken G12 on its website for $29.99 in your choice of white or black color schemes with an “earliest” estimated shipping date of April 24. If you’re looking to boost the cooling performance of your GPU, this may certainly be worth a look (just be sure to check out the list of compatible graphics cards and coolers before purchasing).

In this artist’s rendition of life in the middle Triassic, carnivorous Teleocrater rhadinus, newly identified as a very early ancestor of dinosaurs and pterosaurs, feasts on mammallike reptile Cynognathus. How did the dinosaur become the dinosaur? Somewhere along the line, the ancestor of dinosaurs diverged from the ancestor of crocodiles, a momentous split in the evolution of vertebrates that ultimately set the stage for the age of dinos. But the details of that split remain mysterious, thanks to a dearth of fossils of early dinosaur relatives. Enter the newly identified 247-million- to 242-million-year-old Teleocrater rhadinus, a close relative of dinosaurs that also happened to walk on all fours and share some key features with the ancestors of crocodiles. These shared features, the authors say, suggest that it’s time to rethink what we thought we knew about dinosaurs’ earliest ancestors. “We’ve been waiting a long time to find fossils like this that fit in this part of the family tree,” says Randall Irmis, a paleontologist at the Natural History Museum of Utah in Salt Lake City, who was not involved in the work. “This has pretty big implications for how we understand the early evolution of dinosaurs.” Some 251 million years ago, at the end of the Permian period, a mass extinction wiped out most of life on Earth. In its wake arose a group of egg-laying reptile precursors called archosaurs, the common ancestors of dinosaurs, flying reptiles known as pterosaurs, and crocodiles. At some point during the next period, the Triassic, pterosaurs and dinosaurs split off from the crocodile lineage. Those two different lineages, avian versus crocodilian, have long been identified by their types of ankle joints. Dinosaurs and pterosaurs all have a version of a hinged, birdlike ankle, rather than the crocodilelike ankle with ball-and-socket joint. But exactly what early dinosaurs and their closest relatives looked like has been something of a mystery, because few fossils exist from the dawn of the dinosaurs. And many of the fossils that do exist, collected perhaps decades to a century ago, languish unidentified in museum drawers. Indeed, Teleocrater isn’t a completely new discovery. A specimen was first unearthed in what is now Tanzania in the 1930s and sat in London’s Natural History Museum until 1956, when Ph.D. candidate Alan Charig (later a paleontologist at the museum) dubbed it T. rhadinus (referring to the shape of the animal’s hip and its slender body). Charig, who died in 1997 but is included as an author on the new paper, speculated that it was some sort of early dinosaur relative. But the fossil was in pieces, just bits of vertebrae and pelvis and limb, and difficult to place on the family tree. Then in 2015, Sterling Nesbitt, a paleontologist at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg, and a team of researchers headed back to southern Tanzania to take another look at the middle Triassic rocks where Teleocrater was first discovered. This time, the rocks—estimated to be about 247 million to 242 million years old—yielded several individuals of the same species. With that new bounty, the researchers were able to catalog many more of the creature’s features—enough to place it on the vertebrate family tree. Teleocrater, Nesbitt and his co-authors report online today in Nature, belongs at the very base of the avian lineage that later gave rise to dinosaurs. It has a characteristic muscle scar on the upper leg bone that is found only in the avian lineage of birds and dinosaurs and is missing in crocodiles and their relatives. But Teleocrater also had a crocodilelike ankle, with a ball-and-socket joint. That suggests that the crocodile ankle came first, and the bird ankle evolved later. That’s key, because the ankle joint has been used for decades as an indicator of avian versus crocodilian lineage, so Teleocrater must be close to the split between them. And in several respects, Nesbitt says, “Teleocrater looks more like the relatives of the crocodiles than the relatives of dinosaurs.” The carnivorous animal, which was roughly the size of a small lion, walked on all fours, its forelimbs and hindlimbs are similar in proportion, and the limbs themselves are pretty short relative to the length of the body. Seemingly small details like these can produce ripples throughout paleontology collections, because they can help researchers properly classify fossils that had seemed to be walking contradictions. “These fossils exist in museums around the world, but until you find a keystone—something that helps you understand the full anatomy [of a species]—you won’t understand where these animals go on the tree of life,” Nesbitt says. After identifying Teleocrater as an ancestor along the avian lineage, the authors could group it with several other difficult-to-place animals, including Dongusuchus and Spondylosoma, naming a new group of long-necked, carnivorous quadrupeds dubbed Aphanosauria (hidden or obscure lizards, in Greek). Aphanosaurs, they suggest, are the earliest group in the avian stem lineage to diverge from the crocodile lineage. And that suggests that these bird and dinosaur ancestors were far more diverse and widely distributed across the globe during the middle Triassic than once thought. The find may also alter what paleontologists hunt for in the field, as well as how they understand existing collections, says Max Langer, a paleontologist at the University of São Paulo in Rio Claro, Brazil. “Now that we know the diagnostic features of this group of archosaurs, everybody working on middle Triassic rocks will be looking for something similar.”