Ga[M]er

Rashid Khan's stats speak for itself. On Saturday, the Gujarat Titans leg-spinner became only the fourth overseas player to take 100 wickets in the Indian Premier League (IPL) after Dwayne Bravo (179 wickets, 158 matches), Lasith Malinga (170 wickets, 122 matches) and Sunil Narine (149 wickets, 142 matches). The Afghanistan cricketer is the joint-third fastest (83 matches) to reach 100 wickets in the IPL along with Amit Mishra and Ashish Nehra. Khan, who took 2/22 in four overs against Kolkata Knight Riders on Saturday to become the 16th bowler to tally 100 wickets in the IPL, played for Sunrisers Hyderabad from 2017 to 2021. He became a superstar playing for the franchise. In five seasons with them, Khan was one of the most consistent spinners in the T20 franchise league with 93 wickets in 76 matches. However, he left SRH after the 2021 IPL and was picked by Gujarat Titans for INR 15 crore from the 2022 player draft. But, SRH batting coach Brian Lara feels his team is doing well without the talented Khan. "I have a great respect for Rashid Khan but I believe we have the right combination. Rashid Khan was someone who opposition teams decided to defend against, he was not much of a wicket-taker," Lara said Star Sports after SRH's win over Royal Challengers Bangalore on Saturday. Listen to the latest songs, only on JioSaavn.com "Yes (economy of) 5.5-6 runs per over is great but I think when you have a guy like Washington Sundar spinning the ball into the left-handers in the first six overs, He is an asset. Suchith has come in as his replacement due to injury and he is an asset as well. "We have gone in with four fast bowlers every single game so far. Of course, the pitches may change, they may have less grass later on. We have Shreyas Gopal as well, though he hasn't had a game so far. He is also someone who has a hat-trick in the IPL. I still think we have a lot in the reserves to show the IPL and I am not too worried. All respect to Rashid Khan, if he was a member of this team, I think we might have been 7 out of 7, I don't know," Lara added. https://sports.ndtv.com/ipl-2022/not-much-of-a-wicket-taker-srh-batting-coach-brian-lara-makes-big-statement-on-rashid-khan-2916926

Each journey of bereavement is different, and few young, widowed mothers might pack their life into a Land Rover Defender and set off with a young daughter to drive through Africa for a year. Six years after her husband was fatally stabbed on their north London doorstep by a stranger in the grip of psychosis 11 days after she gave birth to their daughter, Fleur, Nadja Ensink-Teich sets off for Cape Town next week to do just that. Dr Jeroen Ensink, 41, a public health academic and internationally-renowned water engineer committed to improving access to water and sanitation in deprived areas, had popped out to post cards announcing the happy news of Fleur’s birth to family and friends when he was brutally killed days after Christmas in 2015. His killer was convicted of manslaughter. In that moment, the couple’s dreams of an adventure together in Asia and Africa continuing his development projects for the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) died with him. But, around the sixth anniversary of his death, and now living back in the Netherlands, where they were both from, Ensink-Teich, 43, spotted a sales advertisement for a fully equipped overlander Land Rover in Cape Town. “And, sometimes something pops up and you know you’ve got to go for it. So, I bought it,” she said. From Tuesday, she and Fleur, six, will set off on an odyssey, overlanding for a year through south and east Africa, visiting projects and people Jeroen worked with in Tanzania, Mozambique, Malawi and South Africa and also travelling through Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia. She aims to highlight the LSHTM Jeroen Ensink Memorial Fund, a scholarship set up in his name, and posting on her Instagram account Journey of a Widowed Mom The journey is also to bring Fleur closer to the essence of a father she, tragically, will never know, as well as to serve as another milestone on Ensink-Teich’s own journey of bereavement. In doing it, she is honouring a pledge she made to herself at that darkest time after his death, to live the fullest life possible for her and her daughter, “because I know life can stop, and at any second”. It’s not the first adventure for mother and daughter. Three years ago, after the exhausting process of Jeroen’s inquest where she found herself battling lawyers for the Metropolitan police over the circumstances leading up to the stabbing, they spent months travelling south-east Asia. During that time she found surprising inner strength, confronting her grief, but also overcoming challenges such as relying on the kindness of strangers when she fell seriously ill, alone and incapacitated in Cambodia, but which helped her regain trust in humanity. She spent Covid lockdowns at home in Holland writing a book, to be published by HarperCollins in September, about her personal experience. It is called ‘Dag lieverd, tot zo’ – which translated means “Bye love, see you soon” – her last words to her husband as he left their Islington flat. It was “a super-emotional journey, to go through everything. I cried a lot”, she said. “I hope people can relate to it, so they too can see there is a life worth living.” Lockdown was “terrifying”, she said. “The support network I had after Jeroen died, which is crucial in the healing process, just melted away. You can’t see anyone, you can’t hug anyone.” But lockdown also persuaded her, after online tutoring, that Fleur, who is fluent in three languages, would not be missing out. “I was stopping myself with all these excuses that I shouldn’t and couldn’t do this. And it came back to: ‘I’m going to stop thinking of obstacles, and think of opportunities’. Lockdown has shown just what is possible.” The Land Rover, nicknamed “Randy”, is equipped with tents, a kitchenette, solar panels, a water tank – everything needed to be self-sufficient. She and Fleur will travel with a female family friend, also bereaved, who has previously worked in Africa, “because I think this trip is really too big to do on my own”. She has rented out her home, and intends to continue working, as an online bereavement counsellor for widowed mothers from on the road. “All I need is an internet connection.” When he died, Jeroen was running a project in Malawi, and they had plans to live there, or in Nepal, for a couple of years. This is her recreating that in her own way. “A year is ambitious, but that is the plan,” she said. “It is my way to stay connected with Jeroen, with his projects, with his mission,” she said. Former colleagues and students he taught while working in Africa have already reached out to support her through the journey. She will meet so many who knew him, which is important for both her and Fleur. “And that is a way of keeping him alive. Because people only die when you stop talking about them,” she said. https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2022/apr/24/a-life-worth-living-bereaved-mother-and-daughter-set-off-on-year-long-drive-across-africa

The Chinese capital Beijing has kicked off mass testing for millions of residents after a spike in Covid cases. The Chaoyang district reported 26 cases over the weekend - the highest number so far in Beijing's latest surge. Long queues outside supermarkets and shops were seen despite government assurances there is sufficient food. It comes amid fears that Beijing could face a similar situation to Shanghai, which has seen some 25 million people shut in their homes for weeks. 'All the meat was snatched up' All 3.5 million residents in Chaoyang, Beijing's most populous district, will undergo three rounds of mass testing, according to a notice by the city's disease prevention team. The news prompted residents to rush to stock up essential supplies, with images circulating on local media showing supermarket shelves emptied of goods and snaking queues at check-out counters. Beijing's major supermarkets also extended their opening hours to accommodate the spike in demand. "Never thought I would go to the market early in the morning….when I got there, all the eggs and prawns were gone and all the meat was snatched up," said one Weibo user in Shanghai, before adding they managed to get some vegetables. Another Weibo user in Shanghai said: "Seeing people in Beijing rush to buy food is both funny and distressing… it's like looking at what my own life was like just last month." State-media news outlet The Global Times said that Beijing's fresh food companies have been ordered to increase the supply of groceries like meat, poultry eggs and vegetables. They also quoted health experts as saying that the results of the mass testing would indicate whether there is a need to escalate measures further, such as locking down several areas. Separately, Pang Xinghuo, deputy director of the Beijing Center for Disease Prevention and Control, told state-media outlet China Daily that the number of cases in Beijing is expected to increase in the following days. Censors try to block viral Shanghai lockdown video Shanghai escalates Covid lockdown restrictions The latest outbreak in Shanghai, first detected in late March, has seen more than 400,000 cases recorded so far and 138 deaths. Some of the measures Chinese authorities have enforced include placing electronic door alarms to prevent those infected from leaving and forcibly evacuating people from their homes to carry out disinfection procedures. Some in locked-down areas of Shanghai say they have been struggling to access food supplies, and forced to wait for government drop-offs of vegetables, meat and eggs. Green barricades have also been erected overnight in parts of Shanghai without prior warning, effectively preventing residents from leaving their homes. In contrast to many other countries, China is pursuing a zero-Covid strategy with the aim of eradicating the virus from the country completely. While officials managed to keep infection levels relatively low at the beginning of the pandemic, later lockdowns have struggled to contain recent, more transmissible variants of the virus. How are other parts of China being affected? Outside Shanghai and Beijing, more than 20 cities, home to more than 30 million people, are under lockdown In some cities, such as Sanya in the south, people can only enter or leave with a negative Covid test less than 48 hours old, along with a green code on China's covid app Jiangsu province, where more than 80 million people live, closed 129 highway toll stations and 59 service centres for a period earlier this month The Ministry of Transport says 11 highway toll stations and 27 service centres remain closed across the country (down from 677 stations and 337 centres on 10 April) https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-61212757

Come back with a good activity! Contra!

Losing your luggage on a trip can be daunting and things get worse when the airline you were travelling with refuses to acknowledge your request. However, things won’t be as hard if you attach an AirTag to your luggage so that you can locate it even if the airline employees refuse to help you. The AirTag has proved to be an extremely useful tool of late, as it has helped several people with locating their lost goods and even pets. This time, AirTag helped in locating the bags of a man who was on his wedding trip. He even prepared a powerpoint presentation using the information from the AirTag to ask the airline for his bags As per CNN, Elliot Sharod and his wife Helen, were flying to UK from South Africa, where they got married on April 17. They had booked flights with stopovers in Abu Dhabi and Frankfurt but due to the raging pandemic, they rescheduled their flight and headed straight to the UK. However, upon reaching the UK, they realised that their luggage has not arrived. Interestingly, Sharod had placed an AirTag inside each bag to locate them easily. Using the Find My App, they discovered that their bags had reached Frankfurt but they were not put on a London-bound plane. The couple were travelling in Are Lingus airline. The airline informed them that the bags would be delivered to their home address. However, only two of the three bags arrived. Sharod reached out to the airline multiple times informing them about the missing bag on various platforms but go no response from the airline. He even shared his ordeal on Twitter but nothing helped. Soon he posted videos and shared a PowerPoint with screenshots from the Find My app showing the exact location of his bag. Sharod told CNN that the bag had not moved since April 21. The airline was unable to find the bag, so then he complained to the police. He said that the bag contained his wife’s wedding dress."Helen's gutted," he said. "It's her bag, her clothes, and she has that very uneasy feeling about where her property is.” Thanks to AirTag, he was able to track his luggage and was reunited with it in Spain. https://www.indiatoday.in/technology/news/story/man-tracks-his-lost-luggage-using-airtag-prepares-powerpoint-presentation-to-ask-airline-for-his-bags-1941041-2022-04-23

With resolution 1,000 times greater than a light microscope, electron microscopes are exceptionally good at imaging materials and detailing their properties. But like all technologies, they have some limitations. To overcome these limitations, scientists have traditionally focused on upgrading hardware, which is costly. But researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory are showing that advanced software developments can push their performance further. Argonne researchers have recently uncovered a way to improve the resolution and sensitivity of an electron microscope by using an artificial intelligence (AI) framework in a unique way. Their approach, published in npj Computational Materials, enables scientists to get even more detailed information about materials and the microscope itself, which can further expand its uses. "Our method is helping improve the resolution of existing instruments so people don't need to upgrade to new expensive hardware so often," said Argonne assistant scientist and lead author Tao Zhou. Challenges with electron microscopy today Electrons act like waves when they travel, and electron microscopes exploit this knowledge to create images. Images are formed when a material is exposed to a beam of electron waves. Passing through, these waves interact with the material, and this interaction is captured by a detector and measured. These measurements are used to construct a magnified image. Along with creating magnified images, electron microscopes also capture information about material properties, such as magnetization and electrostatic potential, which is the energy needed to move a charge against an electric field. This information is stored in a property of the electron wave known as phase. Phase describes the location or timing of a point within a wave cycle, such as the point where a wave reaches its peak. When measurements are taken, information about the phase is seemingly lost. As a result, scientists cannot access information about magnetization or electrostatic potential from the images they acquire. "Knowing these characteristics is critical to controlling and engineering desired properties in materials for batteries, electronics and other devices. That's why retrieving phase information is important," said Argonne material scientist and group leader Charudatta Phatak, a co-author of the paper. Using an AI framework to retrieve phase information Retrieving phase information is a decades-old problem. It originated in X-ray imaging and is now shared by other fields, including electron microscopy. To resolve this problem, Phatak, Zhou and Argonne computational scientist and group leader Mathew Cherukara propose leveraging tools built to train deep neural networks, a form of AI. Neural networks are essentially a series of algorithms designed to mimic the human brain and nervous system. When given a series of inputs and output, these algorithms seek to map out the relationship between the two. But to do this accurately, neural networks have to be trained. That's where training algorithms come into play. "Tech companies like Google and Facebook have developed packages of software that are designed to train neural networks. What we've essentially done is taken those and applied them to the scientific challenge of phase retrieval," said Cherukara. Using these training algorithms, the research team demonstrated a way to recover phase information. But what makes their approach unique is that it also enables scientists to retrieve essential information about their electron microscope. "Normally when you're trying to retrieve the phase, you presume you know your microscope parameters perfectly. However, that knowledge might not be accurate," Zhou pointed out. "With our method, you don't have to rely on this assumption. Instead, you actually get the conditions of your microscope—that's something other phase retrieval methods can't do." Their method also improves the resolution and sensitivity of existing equipment. This means that researchers will be able to recover tiny shifts in phase, and in turn, get information about small changes in magnetization and electrostatic potential, all without requiring costly hardware upgrades. "Just doing a software upgrade we were able to improve the spatial resolution, accuracy and sensitivity of our microscopy," said Zhou. "The fact that we didn't need to add any new equipment to leverage these benefits is a huge advantage from an experimentalist's point of view." The paper, titled "Differential programming enabled functional imaging with Lorentz transmission electron microscopy," was published Sept. 6. https://techxplore.com/news/2021-12-artificial-intelligence-magnifies-electron-microscopes.html

A few months ago, we showed you MSI's brand new MEG Power Supplies which are amongst the first to feature the PCIe Gen 5.0 standard. Now we have more details confirming that these PSUs are not just fully PCIe Gen 5.0 compliant but are also based on the brand new ATX 3.0 standard. MSI MEG Ai1300 & Ai100P PCIe 5 Power Supplies Detailed: Full ATX 3.0 & PCIe Gen 5.0 Standard In 80 PLUS Platinum Designs The MSI MEG Power Supplies will be the top offerings from the manufacturer and initially include two variants, the MEG Ai1300P PCIe5 and the MEG Ai1000P PCIe5. There are several features that these PSUs rock beside the ATX 3.0 and PCIe Gen 5.0 standard. First and foremost, we have to talk about the rated power output. The MSI MEG Ai1300P offers 1300W of power while the MEG Ai1000P is a 1000W unit. The MEG Ai1300P offers 1300W of sustained power through its +12V rails at 108.33A. Its voltage is rated between 200-240V (50~60Hz). Now the most interesting part about both of these PSUs is the G.I. (Gaming Intelligence). The new G.I. is based on an MPU, a smart processor, that controls the whole AI-assisted process of the PSU. Some of the main features that the G.I. engine provides through the MSI Center application include: Real-Time Power Status Monitor: Through the MSI Center, this power supply helps monitor the real-time status of the percentage of power supplied to GPU and CPU and the total system wattage used. Multi/Single Rail Switch: It can switch between single and multi-rail according to the needs of users while taking into account high current output and safety protection. Intelligent Fan Mode: Automatically detect the power loading and internal temperature to adjust the fan speed. When the load is below 55% or the temperatures are below 70 degrees, the fan will automatically stop to reduce noise The other most important thing to note here is that both of these are fully PCIe Gen 5 & ATX 3.0 compliant which means they come with both a proper PCIe Gen 5 connector on the PSU unit and also come with necessary PCIe Gen 5 cables. MSI bundles the MEG Ai1300P & Ai1000P PCIe5 PSU series with a 16-pin to 16-pin connector cable (up to 600W) and a separate 16-pin to 2x 8-pin plug adapter. The first one is designed for 600W power to a graphics card while the second can deliver up to 300W of power to a graphics card. The rest of the cables that come with the box include: A single 16-pin power connector that can supply up to 600 Watts of power to the card. You can see that the connector rated for 600W power delivery is PCIe Gen 5.0 compatible & not designed for legacy PCIe Gen 2 or Gen 3 cards. With the Power Supplies and their cables out of the way, next up, we have to talk about the PCIe Gen 5 and the associated power excursions. The new ATX 3.0 standard is designed to sustain the PC load of up to 200% for 100uS and 300% sustained power for up to 100uS for a graphics card running on the PCIe Gen 5.0 connector. We have been told that a system with a 600W GPU, 300W CPU, and 300W for the rest of the equipment will have a peak power excursion of up to 2400 Watts (200% of its rated wattage) while a 600W GPU will require at least a 1200W ATX 3.0 standard power supply. The goldilocks zone seems to be the 1000-1200W range for the next-gen high-end graphics cards so if you're planning to build a new gaming PC with either an RTX 4090 or an RX 7900 XT, you better make sure to get a PSU within the respective wattage range on the ATX 3.0 standard. Companies like ASUS have announced that their new ROG THOR Platinum II series are PCIe Gen 5.0 compliant but they haven't stated any ATX 3.0 compliancy yet and don't feature any Gen 5 connectors too so the claim is very fishy. Getting a high-end and expensive PSU such as the THOR II series might not be a suitable choice unless ASUS can confirm its full ATX 3.0 conformity. This truly puts MSI's PSU lineup as one of the earliest to fully support the new PCIe Gen 5 interface. Currently, there's no word on pricing or availability but more details are expected to be announced by the second quarter of 2022. Plus there might also be an even powerful MEG PSU on the horizon, stay tuned for information on that soon! https://wccftech.com/msi-meg-ai1300p-pcie5-ai1000p-pcie5-power-supplies-are-fully-atx-3-0-pcie-gen-5-0-ready-80-plus-platinum-with-brand-new-g-i-engine/

Name of the Game : Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout Price : 3.27$ https://store.steampowered.com/app/1097150/Fall_Guys_Ultimate_Knockout/ Offer ends up after 23:51 hours: XApril Requirements: MINIMUM: Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system OS: Windows 10 64bit only Processor: Intel Core i5 or AMD equivalent Memory: 8 GB RAM Graphics: NVIDIA GTX 660 or AMD Radeon HD 7950 Network: Broadband Internet connection Storage: 2 GB available space Additional Notes: Gamepad Recommended RECOMMENDED: Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system

Zen Studios has announced a new addition into the Zen Pinball Party family - the classic 1998 table The Champion Pub is officially joining the Williams Pinball collection. In particular, the Apple Arcade title will let players fight brawlers with the eager eyes of a packed house watching. All you have to do is knock out five in a row to become the ultimate Pub Champion. In Zen Pinball Party, players can expect lots of dynamic tables from a wide variety of IPs to please all kinds of fans. Franchises include DreamWorks Animation’s Trolls, Kung Fu Panda and How to Train Your Dragon. It also includes Hasbro’s MY LITTLE PONY and Snoopy from Peanuts. The game features classic pinball physics as well as exciting modes that let players duke it out with their online buddies in multiplayer battles. Players can also put their skills to the test against other users' scores across the globe, and enjoy seasonal events to score big in-game prizes on a regular basis. If you're eager to give the game a go, Zen Pinball Party is now available to download on Apple Arcade. In case you're not familiar with it, Apple Arcade is a monthly subscription service that costs $4.99 a month or your local equivalent, with a free trial for the first month. You can also join the community of followers over on the official Facebook page to stay updated on all the latest developments, or have a look at the embedded trailer above to get a feel of the game. You can visit the official website as well for more info. Are you on the hunt for more similar titles that will put your skills to the test on your mobile device? Why not take a gander at our list of the top 25 best digital board games for Android phones and tablets? https://www.pocketgamer.com/zen-pinball-party/adds-the-champion-pub-to-the-roster-of-famous-ips/

There’s a Doom-style retro FPS game coming soon called Brutal John, and it’s basically a new Duke Nukem game where the fight is against the evils of cryptocurrency. Even better, you can play this boomer shooter indie game right now. There are a lot of great upcoming games in the FPS genre, including fantastic-looking indie retro-style shooters like Selaco. Brutal John is a new FPS from three-person developer OldSchool Laws Interactive, and while it doesn’t have a release date yet you can try it out right now – as there’s a demo out on Steam. Having played the demo, it’s clearly in the Doom-style camp but also doesn’t take itself too seriously, with a hero straight out of the Duke Nukem or Serious Sam playbook and a plot all about eliminating crypto mining. Given FPS fans haven’t had a retro Duke Nukem-like FPS since Ion Fury, Brutal John might fill that void nicely. There’s even a character based on the Swole Doge meme. You can check out Brutal John in action below. See if you can spot the subtle Duke Nukem Forever references. Or, indeed, give the Steam demo a try. In other FPS news, one developer found the only platform Doom hadn’t been ported to and subsequently ported Doom to it. What a hero. In other FPS news, one developer found the only platform Doom hadn’t been ported to and subsequently ported Doom to it. What a hero. https://www.pcgamesn.com/brutal-john/demo-crypto-mining

Arnold Schwarzenegger has the answer to tackling the climate emergency. Don’t hype the economic damage, he says, just say we need to “terminate pollution”. It may seem odd to pick the former bodybuilder and actor turned Republican politician as someone with the answer to the most important issue of the 21st century. But Schwarzenegger’s focus on pollution as California’s governor, and that of his successor, the Democrat Jerry Brown, means that since 2008, by wide agreement, the Golden State has enjoyed the longest economic expansion in its history, while also cutting emissions. The contrast with other parts of the world – including much of the US, where climate change is discussed in the gloomiest terms, and usually as a massive cost to businesses and households – is stark. When it comes to debating climate change, the key argument is not “the economy, stupid”, or the decline in biodiversity. The answer is to focus on pollution and its impact on everyone’s health. To illustrate the point, Ipsos Mori found in a poll of public attitudes, timed to coincide with Earth Day last Friday, that concerns about climate change were beaten into eighth place by “not having enough money”, fears of terrorism and the threat of crime. Top of the list, in a poll covering 31 countries and 23,577 adults aged 16 to 74, was the subject “your health and your family’s health”. This suggests that if climate action can be linked to wellbeing, the campaign to reduce emissions is on to a winner. That’s not to say that economics cannot play a role in convincing households that the way we make and sell goods and services needs to change. One important reform would be to the way the state and economists report on the “success” of economic policies, and especially economic growth. The Treasury, the Bank of England and the Office for Budget Responsibility all measure economic success based on growth in the Office for National Statistics’ measure of national income – gross domestic product (GDP). There has always been a problem with a gross measure of national income because it fails to distinguish between useless, and in many cases destructive, activity, and the manufacture and sale of things that benefit society. Critics argue that GDP fails to account for the degradation of the environment caused by economic activity. This month, MPs on the environmental audit committee said greenhouse gas emissions should be published alongside quarterly economic growth figures to help measure the UK’s progress towards net zero goals. In letters to the chancellor, Rishi Sunak, and the UK’s national statistician, Sir Ian Diamond, the committee warned that the narrow scope of GDP means it “fails to acknowledge other indicators such as environmental statistics and social capital”. This demand signals an advance on previous efforts to create a dashboard of measures that includes biodiversity loss and the degradation of the landscape. Such dashboards can create a blizzard of seemingly contradictory figures, encouraging the Bank, Treasury and OBR to continue focusing on GDP, if only because it remains the most po[CENSORED]r shorthand for economic success – if not economic health. More radical is the proposal from the Cambridge economist Sir Partha Dasgupta, who recently reviewed the issue of climate change and policymaking for the Treasury. He said in a report last year that GDP encouraged the pursuit of “unsustainable economic growth and development” by not taking into account the impact on natural assets. Dasgupta has been in talks with the ONS since his report was published to change the way GDP is calculated. Instead of a dashboard, he wants a single “net” measure that takes into account the emissions created to generate growth. Emissions are relatively easy to calculate and there is a vast amount of literature showing how to do it. Net domestic product, or NDP, would then become the basic measure of economic success, because only when the “depreciation of assets” is taken into account can we judge whether we have made progress. On 12 May, when the ONS publishes the latest GDP figures, it will reveal plans “for projects feeding into the creation of a measure of inclusive income”. But when the planet is frying and pollution is increasing, the timetable is likely to be far too slow. Years could pass before there is any tangible reform. The ONS – like the Bank, OBR and Treasury – is a natural follower, not a leader. As if trapped in an episode of Yes, Minister, each asks the other to go first. Maybe they would be under more pressure to junk GDP in favour of NDP if more people accepted Schwarzenegger’s message that emissions create pollution – and pollution is bad for their health. … we have a small favour to ask. Millions are turning to the Guardian for open, independent, quality news every day, and readers in 180 countries around the world now support us financially. We believe everyone deserves access to information that’s grounded in science and truth, and analysis rooted in authority and integrity. That’s why we made a different choice: to keep our reporting open for all readers, regardless of where they live or what they can afford to pay. This means more people can be better informed, united, and inspired to take meaningful action. In these perilous times, a truth-seeking global news organisation like the Guardian is essential. We have no shareholders or billionaire owner, meaning our journalism is free from commercial and political influence – this makes us different. When it’s never been more important, our independence allows us to fearlessly investigate, challenge and expose those in power. https://www.theguardian.com/business/2022/apr/23/key-to-winning-climate-debate-isnt-economics-its-health

With sleek black backs and bright white bellies and eye patches, killer whales, or orcas, are easily distinguishable from other aquatic animals. One of the ocean’s largest predators, male orcas can grow to 9.5 m (32 ft) in length, while females are slightly smaller at 8 m (23 ft). They live primarily where the water is cold but can live anywhere from the polar regions right up to the equator. This massive range makes orcas the most widespread of all sea creatures. True to their name, killer whales are effective hunters. They prey on seals, sea lions, fish, sea birds, turtles, octopuses, and squid. Orcas will even attack other whales, including the enormous blue whale which can measure over three times their size. They have also been known to breach the surface to grab sea lions and seals, even partially jumping onto ice floes to reach their target. Killer whales hunt in pods, or groups, in a way similar to wolves. They circle their prey and force them into smaller areas before attacking. Once cornered, the orcas take turns biting and ramming their prey. Sending sound waves that travel underwater, killer whales use echolocation as a means for hunting. The reverberating sound provides information about an object’s location, size, and shape. Echolocation is also used as a form of communication. Each pod has a distinctive sound it uses to communicate among its members. There are thought to be three types of pods: transient, resident, and offshore. Transient pods are constantly on the move following food sources. Resident pods generally stay in one area close to shore, while offshore orcas prefer the open waters. Currently, scientists are not clear as to why there are contrasting pod behaviors. Some believe it is because there are actually several species of orca, but more research must be conducted in order to test that theory. In resident pods, killer whales of both genders will live with their mothers for their entire lives, forming matrilines. In this way, resident pods consist of very tight, stable bonds and can comprise of 10-50 whales. Offshore pods are also large, made up of 30-60 whales. Transient pods, on the other hand, tend to be smaller (around 2-5 whales), as offspring will generally leave the group when a sibling is born. When females reach 6-10 years old, they are ready to bear young. Males need to be older to breed, roughly around 10-13 years of age. Mating can take place at any time of year and only occurs between members of different pods to avoid interbreeding. After 17 months of gestation, calves are born in the water tail first. Female orcas can give birth every 3-10 years. Newborns are very carefully protected within the pod. Often younger females will help new mothers protect their calves. Killer whales are also known to shelter injured or ill members of their pod from danger. Conservation Status At present killer whales are not endangered. They have not been widely hunted by humans but are susceptible to some of the same threats as other marine mammals, including pollution, overfishing of their prey, and habitat infringement. They live an average of 30 to 50 years in the wild. What You Can Do to Help You can help orcas by spreading awareness about their special abilities to hunt, communicate, and live cooperatively. Write to your legislator about preserving their ocean habitat and keeping it free from pollution. https://animalfactguide.com/animal-facts/killer-whale/

At some point, if they aren't already, packages might come to your door not in a rumbling, gas-powered delivery van, but perhaps in a fully electric vehicle like BrightDrop's Zevo 600 (previously called the EV600—the reasons for the name change are obscure). You might not care how your quick-ship junk gets to your door, so long as you get it on time, but fleet managers are going to be keenly interested in the specifics of that "how," particularly via the emerging class of EV delivery vehicles. That's because things like maintenance costs, efficiency, and purchase price are all of the utmost importance—as is downtime, which for an EV will be regularly scheduled so it can recharge. BrightDrop's Stephen Marlin achieved the GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS® title for greatest distance traveled by an electric van on a single charge, in a BrightDrop Zevo 600, with a journey from New York City to Washington, D.C. We don't have all the data points for you yet. EV delivery vans like the Zevo 600 and Rivian's Amazon van are fairly new, and for some reasons GM (BrightDrop is a subsidiary) is being coy about crucial information like storage capacity of its Ultium batteries—which are similar to what the Hummer EV uses. But we have one number we can share with you: "nearly 260 miles." Which represents about how far the Zevo 600 went recently, snagging a distance record certified by Guinness—for whatever that's worth. For a big, boxy vehicle of substantial size, that's a big accomplishment. But it's also a bit of an esoteric record for now, as it has few competitors. Still, 258 miles—the actual distance the Zevo 600 travelled on its journey from New York City to Washington D.C., a BrightDrop representative told MotorTrend—is enough juice for a fair number of urban and suburban daily routes, we'd imagine. It could likely even travel farther on such localized routes, given the energy it could recoup through braking that it likely wasn't getting on its highway drive from New York to D.C. BrightDrop has a deal with FedEx, aiming to provide 2,500 of the EV vans to the delivery giant, hence the FedEx livery on the record-setting van. BrightDrops claims a total of 25,000 reservations, and the Zevo 600 is currently being produced. The van can haul 2,200 lbs of stuff in a 600 cubic-foot cargo area. A smaller van, the Zevo 400, is coming late next year. https://www.motortrend.com/news/brightdrop-zevo-600-distance-record-guinness/

When they flourished, Andrew Symonds and Michael Clarke formed a formidable pair for the Australian cricket team. Together they won many series as Clarke went on to become the Australia captain. At the same time, Symonds was at the sunset of his career and somehow his equation with Clarke took the wrong turn. It reached a point when then interim captain Clarke sent Symonds back from a one-day series for skipping a team meeting and instead going to fishing. While Symonds, a hard-hitting allrounder, criticised Clarke's leadership style in 2015, the ex-Australia captain alleged that the former had once turned up drunk to play an ODI in 2008. The bickering between the two was that intense. "Andrew Symonds went on TV to criticise my leadership. I'm sorry, but he is not a person to judge anyone on leadership," Clarke wrote in his 2015 Ashes Diary. "This is a guy who turned up drunk to play for his country. It's pretty rich for him to be throwing rocks." Now, speaking on The Brett Lee Podcast, Symonds said that their friendship went sour after he got a good salary in the Indian Premier League. In the inaugural 2008 IPL, Symonds became the costliest overseas player as he was picked by Deccan Chargers for a sum of INR 5.4 crore. "We became close. When he (Clarke) came into the side I used to bat with him a lot. So, when he came into the side I really looked after him. That built a bond," Symonds told Lee on the 49th minute of the hour-long podcast. "Matthew Hayden said to me — when the IPL started, I got a pretty penny to go and play in the IPL — he identified it as there was a bit of jealousy that potentially came into the relationship (with Clarke) there. Listen to the latest songs, only on JioSaavn.com "I guess Money does funny things. It's a good thing but it can be a poison and I reckon it may have poisoned our relationship. I've got enough respect for him to probably not go into detail about what was said. "My friendship with him is no longer and I'm comfortable with that, but I'm not gonna sit here and start slinging mud." https://sports.ndtv.com/cricket/andrew-symonds-reveals-how-ipl-money-poisoned-his-relationship-with-michael-clarke-2915303

Since birth requires an overnight stay, and our daughter arrived at 9.20am, we had a minimum of 36 hours in hospital, getting to know her and giving staff the chance to do all the tests they do to make sure your child is a fully operational baby. We also spent five days in the hospital with my son, there are several workplaces we’ve spent less time in than Homerton hospital. We were there so long that time we ended up signing retirement cards for some of the nurses, and were probably only a few hours away from having Amazon packages delivered to the ward. It’s weird being in somebody’s workplace in any context, let alone dressing, undressing, and brushing your teeth there. Sleepless nights spent pacing and cuddling already have a surreal tinge, and more so when only a thin curtain separates you from the daily labours of an entire workforce, with all the soft footsteps and beeping and shift changes those entail. You’re also in a strange state of communion with a dozen other couples and their newborns, each believing your own curtain to be a magic noise-cancelling device, and each oblivious to the fact your every bicker and fart is audible to the whole group. This nearness was mostly pleasant; an odd auditory community bound by tiredness, parental love, and an urgent, passionate need to keep their curtains closed at all times so that no one could see the absolute mess we’d made of our cubicles. And sometimes it felt too intimate by half, as we heard the soft, quiet potentiality of bad news two curtains down – muffled petitions in sing-song sadness, delivered by people more tired than any of us, uttering dreadful words like, ‘Should we be worried?’ Mostly, it was a masterclass in watching healthcare workers at their godlike best. Nurses and midwives walking around with babies on their shoulders, like stockbrokers nonchalantly cradling phones in the crook of their necks in 80s movies. It’s calming to spend eight minutes attempting the perfect, safe-arm posture necessary to pick up your cooing infant, only to see a midwife pick one up, single-handed, as if it’s an avocado she’s checking for ripeness. I’m not even that calm at my job, which this week is sitting on my arse and describing their job. The rest of our stay is a blur. Little sleep, many cuddles, the rediscovery of all the miraculous fluids that flow in and out of a newborn child. Bad sandwiches, worse magazines, the deep, para-social exhilaration of hearing the couple two curtains down getting better news. Our daughter’s tests were exhausted by the following lunchtime, and she was judged safe to leave after her hearing test was conducted. This was done by fitting her with an earphone and playing a sequence of noises down her auditory canal, which had the added, pleasing effect of looking like the attending nurse was playing her a mixtape she just had to hear before she left. And then we were ejected, blinking, into the world, and in 20 minutes she was in her big brother’s delighted arms. ‘MY LITTLE SISTER,’ he cried, repeatedly, having clearly been well drilled by his grandparents in our absence. Soon there was shouting and laughing and crying in place of the beeping hush we’d become used to. We sat and blinked as exhaustion took hold. Where’s a decent magic curtain when you need one? Did Ye Hear Mammy Died? by Séamas O’Reilly is out now (Little, Brown, £16.99). Buy a copy from guardianbookshop at £14.78 Follow Séamas on Twitter @shockproofbeats … we have a small favour to ask. Millions are turning to the Guardian for open, independent, quality news every day, and readers in 180 countries around the world now support us financially. We believe everyone deserves access to information that’s grounded in science and truth, and analysis rooted in authority and integrity. That’s why we made a different choice: to keep our reporting open for all readers, regardless of where they live or what they can afford to pay. This means more people can be better informed, united, and inspired to take meaningful action. In these perilous times, a truth-seeking global news organisation like the Guardian is essential. We have no shareholders or billionaire owner, meaning our journalism is free from commercial and political influence – this makes us different. When it’s never been more important, our independence allows us to fearlessly investigate, challenge and expose those in power. https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2022/apr/24/newborn-daughter-birth-seamas-oreilly

Politicians have condemned a suggestion made in a newspaper that Labour's Angela Rayner tries to distract Boris Johnson in the Commons by crossing and uncrossing her legs. The Mail on Sunday claimed some unnamed Conservative MPs said she tried to put the PM "off his stride". Ms Rayner dismissed this as a "perverted smear" that showed women in politics faced misogyny every day. A raft of politicians, including women Tory MPs, spoke out in support of her. Conservative Caroline Nokes said too many female MPs of all parties had been "on receiving end of vile articles", while former minister Andrea Leadsom tweeted: "Really sorry Angela. Totally unacceptable comments and reporting." Both Mr Johnson and Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer also criticised the comments, with the PM tweeting: "As much as I disagree with Angela Rayner on almost every political issue, I respect her as a parliamentarian and deplore the misogyny directed at her anonymously today." Sir Keir added: "The sexism and misogyny peddled by the Tories is a disgraceful new low from a party mired in scandal and chaos." The Mail on Sunday is not commenting. Women MPs say abuse forcing them from politics Man jailed for sending abuse to Angela Rayner Commons hosts women MPs from 86 countries The article - which has now been changed to headline on deputy Labour leader Ms Rayner's response on Twitter - quoted unnamed Conservative MPs claiming she would cross and uncross her legs when opposite the PM at the dispatch box in the Commons to distract him. A host of MPs have since come out to not only condemn the suggestion made but also the tone of the newspaper's reporting. And Ms Nokes - who chairs the women and equalities committee - confirmed on Twitter that she had contacted the Commons Speaker, Sir Lindsay Hoyle, to ask if the political editor who wrote the piece should have a press pass for Parliament. The newspaper article said: "Tory MPs have mischievously suggested that Ms Rayner likes to distract the PM when he is in the dispatch box by deploying a fully-clothed Parliamentary equivalent of Sharon Stone's infamous scene in the 1992 film Basic Instinct." The paper added: "It is also suggested she employs the tactic when sitting next to Sir Keir when he faces Mr Johnson at PMQs". The piece quotes one MP as saying: "She knows she can't compete with Boris's Oxford Union debating training, but she has other skills which he lacks. "She has admitted as much when enjoying drinks with us on the [Commons] terrace." The article also described the Labour MP's background as "a grandmother who left school at 16 while pregnant and with no qualifications before becoming a care worker". Ms Rayner condemned the article in a thread on Twitter as "gutter journalism", and accused the sources of "spreading desperate, perverted smears in their doomed attempts to save [Mr Johnson's] skin" amid the partygate scandal. She added: "I won't be letting their vile lies deter me. Their attempts to harass and intimidate me will fail. "I hope this experience doesn't put off a single person like me, with a background like mine from aspiring to participate in public life. That would break my heart." 'More women in politics' The report led to a huge backlash on social media and support for the Labour deputy leader. Scotland's First Minister and SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon tweeted: "Solidarity from across the political divide to Angela Rayner on this. "It's a reminder of the deep misogyny women face every day." Liberal Democrat MP Munira Wilson described it as a "disgraceful story", saying: "I can't even believe it made it into print." Labour's shadow leader of the Commons, Thangam Debbonaire, added: "This all shows we need more women in politics and that when we work together, we are mighty and fearsome and some pathetic men feel threatened by it." https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-61208037

While Motorola might not have the same clout in the smartphone space as Apple and Samsung, the company holds an outsized influence on the US market. By the numbers, Motorola is the third most po[CENSORED]r smartphone maker overall, the second largest maker of prepaid phones and the biggest seller of unlocked handsets. The problem is that, as part of the company’s attempt to gobble up more of the market following the demise of LG Mobile, Motorola has been churning out too many phones too quickly while offering little in the way of long-term support. And even though the Moto G family of phones has earned a reputation for providing great value in recent years, that legacy is starting to deteriorate as things like camera quality and support for basic features like NFC have stagnated. In short, Motorola needs to slow down and shape up. Just look at the dizzying number of Moto G handsets that have been released in the last two years. At CES 2021, Motorola launched four new phones including the second-gen Moto G Stylus, the revived Moto G Play, the Moto G Power and the Moto One 5G Ace – the latter of which is merely a rebranded version of the Moto G 5G from 2020. Then in the summer, Motorola released another Moto G Stylus (this time with 5G) followed by the Moto G Pure last fall. More recently in February, Moto decided to update the G family with yet another version of Moto G Stylus, and just this week Motorola returned to announce two more additions in the Moto G Stylus 5G and the Moto G 5G. And this isn’t counting stuff like the Moto G Power 2022, which was actually released in November 2021. At this point, if you’re confused by the vomit of new Moto G phones, just rest assured you’re not the only one. It’s like some twisted smartphone version of Cap'n Crunch’s Oops! All Berries, except that instead of tasty fruit-flavored treats, it's an endless string of non-descript plastic handsets. Meanwhile, some of Motorola’s most interesting phones like the 2020 Razr have been languishing waiting for an update, only getting a half-hearted refresh that added a slightly faster chip and support for 5G. Quite often, it feels like Moto has been releasing budget phones without 5G, just so the company can push out a “new” model six months later. Even then, it’s typically just sub-6GHz 5G, which only serves to increase customer confusion regarding current cellular standards. And while Moto has been idling, Samsung has dominated the foldable phone market with devices like the Galaxy Z Flip 3, which is not only cheaper than the Razr, it has a better screen and cameras too. Another big issue with Motorola’s recent phones is paltry software support. Last year, Samsung announced that it would provide four years of security updates for a wide range of Galaxy devices, including older phones and tablets such as the S10 and Tab S6. Then, just a couple of months ago, Samsung bolstered its software support again by giving four generations of Android upgrades to all of its 2021 and 2022 flagship phones. And over in Pixel land, Google also stepped up its efforts by promising five years of security updates for the Pixel 6 (though you’ll still only get three years of OS upgrades). And all of this still pales in comparison to iPhones, with Apple providing at least five years of OS and security updates for its handsets. Then we come to Motorola, which even on its most recent flagship – the 2022 Edge+ – is only offering two major OS updates and three years of bi-monthly security patches. And if you move down to its more affordable handsets, things get even worse. The newly announced Moto G Stylus 5G and Moto G 5G, for instance, will only get a single OS upgrade. This isn’t a one-off situation either, because during a briefing about those phones, a Motorola representative confirmed that the general policy for the entire G family typically only covers one major Android OS update. Even worse is that, during the same briefing, a Motorola exec seemed to be making an excuse for the poor update policy by recounting a conversation they had with a car service driver. The driver owned a Moto G device and lamented that their device seemed like it was constantly prompting them to install some sort of update. Now I can certainly empathize, sometimes it feels like everything you own constantly needs to be patched. But that’s not a good reason to drop support for a gadget after a year or two. If an owner doesn’t want to install an update for whatever reason, that’s their choice, but they should at least have the option. Perhaps my biggest concern about Motorola’s direction is a general lack of innovation and support for basic features. Take for example the Moto G Stylus, which doesn’t have NFC. I mean come on, it’s 2022. Basically every place supports some sort of contactless payment nowadays, which requires NFC. But if you buy a budget Moto phone, too bad. And it’s not just the Moto G Stylus, because the Moto G 5G announced this week doesn’t have NFC either. The company also routinely fails to equip its handsets with substantial water resistance, often doing just enough to protect against splashes but falling far short of the IP67 or IP68 ratings you get on competing devices. Additionally, when I reviewed the Moto Edge+ back in March, I was kind of appalled with its cameras. This is a $1,000 phone that produces low-light photos that look like they come from a $500 phone at best. I even noted in my review that it seems like Motorola is going backwards, delivering a device with a lower-resolution main camera than its predecessor, while lacking a dedicated telephoto lens. Motorola tells me that it puts macro cams in its phones instead because of demand from customers who like taking close-ups. And that may be true. But I also know that it costs more to put telephoto cameras on phones, and I have a sneaking suspicion that may be the bigger driving force. While Apple, Google and Samsung are making large strides when it comes to low-light performance and computational photography, what I’ve seen from Moto’s latest pseudo-flagship is second-tier at best. The sad thing is that it doesn’t have to be like this. There are a number of things I still appreciate about Moto devices. They have near stock builds of Android and Moto Action gestures like double chopping to turn on a phone’s flashlight are often quite handy. But those small perks are easily overshadowed by the concerning trend of too many rehashes while returning too little value. However, it’s not too late to reverse all this. Sure, it will take some strong leadership and willpower for the company to forgo short-term sales in order to focus on long-term growth and development. Improving mobile photography isn’t easy. Just ask OnePlus’ Pete Lau, who has been very vocal about his desire to bring the photography on the company’s phones up to speed. But unless Motorola wants to become the next HTC, it needs to reduce the churn and concentrate on releasing a smaller number of higher-quality devices with the software support its customers deserve. https://www.engadget.com/motorolas-endless-rehashes-will-only-make-it-less-relevant-153037005.html

When we picture ourselves drawing, we imagine using a pen and paper to bring our visions to life. For Dalhousie's Mayra Donaji Barrera Machuca, analyzing drawings goes far beyond typical pen-and-paper sketches. An assistant professor in the Faculty of Computer Science, Dr. Barrera Machuca's research focuses on how users utilize immersive three-dimensional (3D) sketching in virtual reality (VR). "My research has a focus on helping people to sketch more accurately when working inside a 3D virtual environment," Dr. Barrera Machuca explains. "When you're sketching there are two types of tasks, creating straight precise lines and creating shapes like cubes. I focus on the shapes because I find it fascinating that most people can draw 2D [two-dimensional] cubes but struggle with 3D." In 2015, Dr. Barrera Machuca attended Simon Fraser University for her Ph.D. studies and worked with supervisor, Wolfgang Stuerzlinger, on her dissertation. This research earned her the 2021 Visualization and Graphics Technical Committee's (VGTC) Virtual Reality Best Dissertation Award. She received the award on March 13 at the IEEE VR Conference. This award is presented each year to the author of the most outstanding Ph.D. dissertation in the broad areas of virtual and augmented reality. The road to research Before joining Dalhousie, Dr. Barrera Machuca earned a Bachelor of Arts in Animation and Digital Art from Tecnológico de Monterrey in Mexico City. It wasn't until she moved to Canada that she realized the impact computer science has on all disciplines and the potential from an animation and digital-art perspective. Her unexpected journey led her to Dalhousie and the Faculty of Computer Science as an assistant professor in 2021. While working on her dissertation, "Towards More Accurate Immersive 3D Sketching," Dr. Barrera Machuca had two goals which resulted in four different projects. The first goal was to learn more about the reasonings behind reduced accuracy of 3D sketches compared to 2D ones. The second was to develop new user interfaces that help beginner users draw more accurately while using VR. "I have many different projects that involve VR sketching," she says. "The first part of my research was studying how people sketch and to understand what people do before sketching. The second part was analyzing the hand positioning in space, the third was planning how you're going to move your hand, and the final was reviewing the set of visual guides." Ultimately, her research projects have resulted in a better understanding of how people think and react while inside a 3D virtual environment, making VR technology more accessible and easier to use. For the general public, this means using VR applications will be less frustrating and time consuming as the user interface (UI) will adapt to our abilities. This will allow both people and businesses to do more, whether that's experiencing VR applications through videos games, educating and learning course materials, using social media platforms, or even executing work tasks. "One day, I hope my work has an impact outside academia and helps companies working in the VR space to design better user interfaces," she says. https://techxplore.com/news/2022-04-virtualreality-tools-natural.html

Name of the Game : NBA 2K22 Price : 24.74$ https://store.steampowered.com/app/1644960/NBA_2K22/ Offer ends up after Xhours: 5 May Requirements: MINIMUM: OS: Windows 7 64-bit, Windows 8.1 64-bit or Windows 10 64-bit Processor: Intel® Core™ i3-2100 @ 3.10 GHz/ AMD FX-4100 @ 3.60 GHz or better Memory: 4 GB RAM Graphics: NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 450 1GB/ ATI® Radeon™ HD 7770 1 GB or better DirectX: Version 11 Network: Broadband Internet connection Storage: 110 GB available space Sound Card: Directx 9.0x Additional Notes: Dual-analog Gamepad recommended. Initial installation requires one-time internet connection for Steam authentication; software installations required (included with the game) include DirectX and Visual C++ Redistributable 2012. In order to play NBA 2K22 on PC, you need a processor capable of supporting SSE 4.2 and AVX. RECOMMENDED: OS: Windows 7 64-bit, Windows 8.1 64-bit or Windows 10 64-bit Processor: Intel® Core™ i5-4430 @ 3 GHz/ AMD FX-8370 @ 3.4 GHz or better Memory: 8 GB RAM Graphics: NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 770 2GB/ ATI® Radeon™ R9 270 2GB or better DirectX: Version 11 Network: Broadband Internet connection Storage: 110 GB available space Sound Card: Directx 9.0c Additional Notes: Dual-analog Gamepad recommended. Initial installation requires one-time internet connection for Steam authentication; software installations required (included with the game) include DirectX and Visual C++ Redistributable 2012. In order to play NBA 2K22 on PC, you need a processor capable of supporting SSE 4.2 and AVX.

In a few days, MSI will be rolling out the latest AGESA 1.2.0.7 BIOS Firmware for its motherboards that will also allow overclocking support on the new AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D 3D V-Cache CPU. The latest BIOS comes with a range of features and today, we also have a first look at the overclock figures. MSI Gets Ready To Roll Out AGESA 1.2.0.7 BIOS Firmware, Also Showcases AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D Performance With 4.86 GHz 'BCLK' Overclocking This isn't the first time that we are hearing that the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D can overclock. We've already seen the chip breaking past the 5 GHz on the MSI MEG X570 GODLIKE motherboard and posting up to 12% performance gains with the overclock applied. Now we can confirm that MSI's MEG X570 GODLIKE motherboard & other options with external clock generators have the ability to allow overclocking on the 3D V-Cache chip and MSI will be releasing a new BIOS that will let users do just that. The new MSI BIOS is also a special one since it is based on the upcoming AMD AGESA 1.2.0.7 BIOS firmware. From the changelog provided, the AGES 1.2.0.7 offers: Fix the fTPM issue that causes game stuttering. 300 series chipsets support the latest Ryzen CPU/APU such as Ryzen 7 5800X3D The AMD AGESA 1.2.0.7 BIOS will first be rolling out to MSI 500 and 400 series AM4 motherboards in the upcoming days while a 300 series roll-out is planned for next month. This will allow the 300 series motherboards to support the latest Ryzen 5000 CPU and APU lineup including the Ryzen 7 5800X3D. Following is a screenshot from the Ryzen SMU checker comparing the AGESA 1.2.0.7 to the AGESA 1.2.0.6 (Patch C) firmware: One cool feature about the upcoming BIOS, more specifically for the MSI MEG X570 GODLIKE, is that it will offer a new 'CPU Base Clock (MHz)' tuning option within it. This will be available on the AGESA 1.2.0.7 based 1H1 BIOS and users can adjust the base clock of their chip for overclocking. Following are the MSI boards that will offer BCLK overclocking for AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D CPU: As expected, the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D offered a 5% gain in multi-threaded and 7% gain in single-threaded tests. This should even out the performance disparity that the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D had against the Ryzen 7 5800X due to its lower clocks. As an important note, CPU BCLK overclocking on AMD Ryzen CPU platforms will affect the stability of PCIe, SATA & M.2 devices. So the maximum BCLK overclock that you can get out of your chip is very much dependent on your CPU, Graphics Card, and SATA/M.2 SSD. Newer graphics cards such as the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 20/30 series are very sensitive to BCLK overclocking and may become a bit unstable when you overclock your Ryzen 7 5800X3D CPU. https://wccftech.com/msi-agesa-1-2-0-7-bios-rolling-out-soon-offers-amd-ryzen-7-5800x3d-bclk-overclock-support/

With its roguelike elements and unique gameplay mechanics, EndCycle VS offers something fresh for mobile gamers in that it's not something you can "auto" your way through. The pixel-art roguelike PvP game lets you "silence the noise" across a grid-based battlefield using lots and lots of combo attacks to eliminate your foes, but is that concept enough for you to give this game a go? Table of contents: EndCycle VS story and graphics EndCycle VS gameplay EndCycle VS verdict ENDCYCLE VS STORY AND GRAPHICS While the game's narrative is supposedly all about saving the world from ancient gods, I honestly didn't get the story when I started playing. It would've been nice if there were a primer of some sort to ease players into the lore. As a narrative-driven gamer, I've always valued the story of a game first before the actual gameplay. Of course, as you're thrust right into battle during the tutorial, there isn't much time to figure out what's going on - only that you're supposed to fight the Noise (which gives me Chaos Walking vibes) to protect the people. There's the Crimson Force and Azure Shield, and both have their own opposing motivations. I did appreciate how you can play through different sides in the campaign, walking you through where each side stands in this so-called war. Despite not immediately knowing what was happening, I found the visuals of the game very, very cool, and the background music even cooler. While there are lots of different characters you can unlock as you progress through the game, you initially start off as Rozu, but each character - and foe - boasts fluid animations and lovely character designs both in pixel form and in art form. I love how unique each character looks too - it really breaks away from the too-many anime-themed gacha characters in the market these days. ENDCYCLE VS GAMEPLAY Because this is mainly a VS game, the main highlight is the combat. You swipe your character through a grid to either dodge attacks or go on the offensive yourself, using sets of moves or VOCs that are represented by pixelated icons. I personally have an issue with this kind of moveset, as it's a little confusing to get the hang of all these little icons - you're never really too sure what you're doing until you give the icons a go and try your hardest to memorise what they're for. Some quality-of-life improvements will likely benefit the title here, especially since the battles are so fast-paced that one wrong move might just spell your doom. The colours of the tiles you're on also contribute to your chances of victory - and while it's a nice added layer of strategy, it also adds to the hectic nature of each fight. Add that to the Crush gauge, cooldown timers, and the fact that you'll have to start over upon defeat, and the pressure is really on as you enter every new fight. Indies' Lies review - "Hours of roguelike fun without scaling a paywall" Thankfully, there are plenty of modes for you to give your VOCs a test run just to get used to their effects on the battlefield. You can play through the story campaign (which you can only fully unlock by buying the full version of the game), or fight a continuous onslaught of enemies to see how long you can last. You can also duke it out with others online - just be sure you actually know what you're doing once you're out there since the lack of info on the VOCs can make things very spammy in the heat of battle. WHAT'S THE APPEAL? EndCycle VS feels like it could be a really great game, but there are some areas that still feel a little unpolished, to be honest. I encountered a bunch of glitches, for example, in the menus every so often, and some of the lines of dialogue during cut scenes are barely visible in some instances. There's a great deal of potential in the game, but these issues should probably be addressed first before it's officially launched (especially since it's designed to be a premium game, I feel, because the ads are incredibly intrusive). I did have a lot of fun playing the game - don't get me wrong. The highly tactical aspect of customising your deck is an absolute joy, and while I'm no modder, it's nice to see that there's an option for that for the more mod-inclined players out there. It also seems like the devs are actively listening to their eager community of fans, which is always a huge plus. I really did feel the nine years of hard work and patience in this mobile labour of love. Top 25 best roguelikes and roguelites for Android phones and tablets In the end, I think EndCycle VS will benefit from a few more QOL improvements to make sure its deep gameplay mechanics aren't overshadowed by tiny frustrations from players who might end up dropping the game early on because of inconveniences. And while I wasn't the biggest fan of the way VOCs were executed, I did still have a blast during combat because of the totally awesome music - could there be a Spotify playlist for the OST, maybe? https://www.pocketgamer.com/endcycle-vs/a-true-labour-of-love-just-needs-a-little-polish/

Alienware is launching a refreshed version of its Aurora Ryzen Edition R14 gaming PC as well as two new gaming laptops featuring the latest and best gaming CPUs from AMD. If you pick up the revamped Alienware Aurora Ryzen Edition R14 gaming PC you’ll now be able to configure it with the “world’s fastest gaming CPU“, the Ryzen 7 5800X3D. The company has also made improvements to the system’s water cooling, claiming that its new “advanced liquid cooler” option can provide a 42% improvement in “thermal resistance” compared to the standard cooler However, it’s unclear how this translates into operating temperatures while idle or under load. Seeking to conquer the realm of portable gaming PCs, Alienware is also releasing its most-powerful 15-inch laptop yet with the Alienware m15 R7. Packing up to an AMD Ryzen 9 6900HX and Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 Ti, it will undoubtedly make for a strong contendor for the title of best gaming laptop. A larger 17-inch version, the Alienware m17 R7 is scheduled to arrive later this year. Meanwhile, the new Dell G15 helps round off Alienware’s offerings with a more budget-friendly option. That said, you can still kit this unsuspeciting device with up to an AMD Ryzen 9 6900HX and Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 Ti. You can feast your eyes on all of Alienware’s new systems in the gallery below: The Alienware Aurora Ryzen R14 starts at $2,949 USD, but you’ll find the Alienware m15 R7 for no less than $1,500 USD. Finally, you can pick up the Dell G15 for $900 USD. https://www.pcgamesn.com/alienware/unveils-new-ryzen-gaming-pc-and-gaming-laptops