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Everything posted by Revo

  1. After allegedly gaining access to Microsoft's Azure DevOps source code repositories over the weekend, the South American-based data extortion hacking group Lapsus$ has now made some of the company's internal files available online. In a recent post on Telegram, the group shared a screenshot of Microsoft's Azure DevOps account to show that they had hacked one of the company's servers which contained the source code for Bing, Cortana and a number of other internal projects. Now though, Lapsus$ has made the source code for over 250 Microsoft projects available online in a 9GB torrent. According to the group, the torrent itself contains 90 percent of the source code for Bing and 45 percent of the source code for both Bing Maps and Cortana. While Lapsus$ says that they only leaked some of Microsoft's source code, security researchers that spoke with BleepingComputer say that the uncompressed archive actually contains 37GB of projects. After examining the contents of the torrent more closely, the security researchers are confident that the leaked files are legitimate internal source code from the company. Paying for access In addition to internal source code, some of the leaked projects contain emails and other documentation that was used internally by Microsoft engineers working on mobile apps. The projects themselves all appear to be related to web-based infrastructure, websites or mobile apps and at this time, it seems that Lapsus$ did not steal any source code for Microsoft's desktop software such as Windows 11, Windows Server and Microsoft Office. Microsoft may be the latest victim but over the past few months, the Lapsus$ group has made a name for itself by successfully attacking Nvidia, Samsung, Vodafone, Ubisoft and Mercado Libre. While it's still unknown as to how the group has managed to target the source code repositories of so many big companies in such a short time, some security researchers believe Lapsus$ is paying corporate insiders for access. In fact, in a previous post on its fast-growing Telegram channel, the group said that it actively recruits employees and insiders at telecoms, large software and gaming companies, call centers and dedicated server hosting providers. Besides recruitment, Lapsus$ also uses its Telegram channel to announce new leaks and attacks as well as for self-promotion. The group has already amassed close to 40k subscribers on the platform which it even uses to chat with its fans. Now that the Lapsus$ group has gained a great deal of notoriety online, expect law enforcement agencies and even large companies like Microsoft to begin taking action to disrupt its activities before it strikes again.
  2. Washington D.C - With the benefit of hindsight, it’s now clear that Algeria’s halting of the Maghreb-Europe Gas Pipeline contract, the natural gas pipeline that linked it to Spain and Portugal via Morocco, was a strategic blunder. As it sought to gas-starve Morocco, the Algerian regime ended up fatally murdering all its ambitions to prevent Rabat from making a major breakthrough in its decades-long efforts to get Spain to support its territorial integrity and sovereignty. In this sense, Algeria’s cancellation of the Maghreb-Europe pipeline was an unprecedented and valuable gift to Morocco. For one thing, the move has reduced Spain's dependence on Algerian natural gas, given that the gas passing through Morocco accounted for 23 percent of the gas imported from Algeria by Madrid. The decision has also shown Spanish officials that Algeria is no longer a trustworthy and reliable country in terms of meeting the Spanish market gas needs. Algeria’s miscalculated gamble Algeria’s natural gas accounted for 60 percent of Spain's consumption at the turn of the century and ranged between 50 and 60 percent between 2014 and 2018. But due to the short-sightedness of Algeria's generals, Spain's imports of Algerian gas nosedived in recent months, falling from 45 percent in previous months to 23 percent last month. The US supplied 34.6 percent of Spain’s gas needs between January and February this year, supplanting Algeria as the European country’s first gas supplier. In September of last year, the US share in Spain’s gas imports was as low as 16 percent. With the surge of US LNG exports to Spain in recent months, it has compensated for the more than 23 percent of Spain’s gas imports through the now-closed Maghreb-Europe Gas Pipeline. The agility with which Spain has adapted to the considerable decrease in Algerian gas exports to the Spanish market further implies that Madrid has been proactively dealing with this issue for several years now. Spain has pulled through thanks to its world-class liquefied natural gas infrastructure and its long-standing strategy to increase liquefied gas in its import share. Over the years, Spain has built state-of-the-art infrastructure for the storage and conversion of liquefied gas. Spain is currently the most advanced European country in terms of infrastructure in natural gas storage, boasting six LNG terminals, while a country like Germany has none. Spain alone hosts the third of Europe’s LNG storage capacity. Such a proactive approach and foresight was instrumental in helping Madrid overcome the devastating effects that the Algerian regime’s reckless decision to terminate the Europe-Maghreb pipeline would have had on the Spanish economy. Algiers’s decision to stop the gas pipeline was intended to punish and harm Morocco's economy. But little did the Algerian regime suspect that this miscalculated gamble could harm its own strategic interests, especially its relationship with Spain. As of this year, LNG has supplanted natural gas in Spain’s gas market, representing 70 percent of its total imports. Just a year ago, LNG represented less than 50 percent of Spain’s gas imports. Read also: Europe Maghreb Pipeline: Spain Caught Between Algeria-Morocco Tensions Given its advanced infrastructure in terms of natural gas storage, Madrid will gradually be able to reduce Algeria's impact on its economy and weaken the gas card that the Algerian regime has been playing for five decades to pressure Spain and dissuade it from supporting the Moroccanness of Western Sahara. Algeria was painfully reminded of this sober reality when, on Friday last week, Spain announced a historic shift regarding its position on Western Sahara. In affirming, for the first time, its clear and straightforward support for Morocco’s Autonomy Plan, Madrid put an end to the sitting-on-the-fence or equidistance policy with which it had approached the Sahara question for much of the past five decades to preserve its interests. But more than the shattering of Madrid’s long-standing equidistance policy, Spain’s newfound support for Morocco’s Western Sahara stance means Algeria has lost the gas leverage it used to have on the Spanish political elite. The timing of Wendy Sherman, US Deputy Secretary of State to Spain, Morocco, and Algeria earlier this month, and just less than weeks before Spain announced its endorsement of Morocco’s Autonomy Plan suggest that there was coordination between Rabat, Madrid, and Washington. As some reports have indicated, this curious coincidence suggests that Spain may have received guarantees from the US administration that it will intensify its gas supplies to the Spanish economy and eventually help the European country wean itself off Algeria’s gas. Spain knows that apart from the gas deal its partnership with Algeria is almost non-existent. Furthermore, Spain is fully aware that the bilateral trade balance has always been in Algeria's favor. By comparison, the European country has dense and multiple interests in and with Morocco, be it in terms of economic and commercial cooperation or the security and shared destiny by virtue of geographical proximity. On the economic front, for instance, more than 1,000 Spanish companies are currently operating in Morocco. As well, Spain has become Morocco's first economic partner with a favorable trade surplus that impacts its economy positively. Algeria cannot retaliate Contrary to what is being claimed in some Spanish media and political circles, Algeria will not be able to take any punitive decision against Spain. And anyone who thinks Algeria can still halt gas flowing to Spain has, to put it rather politely, a wrong and misguided reading of the situation. Unlike oil-related contracts that are often short-term deals, gas contracts are long-term agreements that extend for multiple years if not decades. Hence, Algeria is bound to honor the deal it signed with Spain in 2018 on the Medgaz pipeline connecting the Algerian city of Beni Saf to the Spanish city of Almeria. The agreement is valid until 2030, meaning Algeria will not -- or cannot, more precisely -- halt its gas exports to Spain. Even more critical, Algeria will not be able to review the deal’s financial terms and mold them with the current rise in gas prices. But should the Algerian regime somehow muster the temerity of terminating its gas deal with Spain in retaliation for the country’s pro-Moroccan stance on Western Sahara, it would be in blatant violation of the regulations that govern such contracts between states. In such a highly unlikely scenario, Algiers would also be under pressure from the European Union and the United States, which has been working painstakingly for months to reduce the EU's dependence on Russian gas. The Medgaz pipeline is 51 % owned by Algeria's Sonatrach, while the Spanish company Naturgy and the American company Blackrock share the remaining 49 %. Thus, if Algeria takes any retaliatory step against Spain, it would put itself in direct confrontation with the US. In short, with its regime’s lack of strategic vision coupled with the blind hatred of Morocco, Algeria handed Spain to Morocco on a silver platter. In seeking to “punish” Rabat, Algiers ended up unwittingly fulfilling Morocco’s long-running goal of securing Madrid’s unequivocal embrace of the Moroccan position on Western Sahara. More important than US’ recognition Spain's declaration of support for Morocco’s Autonomy Plan is psychologically and symbolically more meaningful than the United States’ recognition of the Moroccanness of Western Sahara, which has become US official policy. With Spain having substantial political and cultural influence in Latin American countries, its newly-adopted position on the Sahara will undoubtedly affect that of many other countries in Latin America. So, the Spanish move might prove to be additional good news for Morocco given the country's recent investments in buttressing its diplomatic outreach in Latin America. But an even more pertinent reason is Spain’s historical association with, and responsibility in, the Western Sahara dispute. As the former colonial power of Morocco’s southern provinces, Spain’s epochal change of its long-held position of “positive neutrality” on the dispute is undoubtedly more shocking to, and unbearable for, the Algerian regime than the US’ endorsement of Morocco. Since the end of 1960s, Madrid and Algeria have stood against Morocco’s territorial integrity and regularly colluded to thwart the country’s efforts to reunite with its southern provinces. As such, Algeria’s furious response to Spain’s endorsement of Morocco’s Autonomy Plan speaks of the unparalleled pain and agony of losing leverage over, and the support of, a long-time accomplice. For Morocco, meanwhile, Madrid’s historic change of heart is a potent vindication of the increasing preeminence of the Moroccan Autonomy Plan as the best way out of the decades-long diplomatic gridlock in Western Sahara. And so, that Morocco was eventually able to dismantle the Algiers-Madrid pact, which had long worked in secret to oppose Morocco’s interests, is a testament to the growing effectiveness of Moroccan diplomacy.
  3. Music Title Naps - Sun Valley (Clip Officiel) Signer: Naps Release Date: 18 Mar. 2022 Official YouTube Link Information About the Signer: - Your Opinion About the Track (Music Video): -
  4. Video title : Reasons to NEVER Mess with Swans Again! 😅🤣 | Best Funny Nature Fails | AFV 2022 Content creator ( Youtuber ) :America's Funniest Home Videos Official YT video :
  5. happy mother's day ❤️❤️
  6. Rabat - With Algeria claiming that Polisario’s attacks against Morocco’s army are ongoing and yielding results in Mahbes, a buffer zone and a UN-restricted area in Morocco’s southern provinces, Morocco World News (MWN) visited the town and found an atmosphere of calm and stability in the region. While undermining Morocco’s territorial integrity has long been among the top priorities of successive Algerian governments, the Algerian political etsbalihsment’s obsession with Morocco appears to have exponentially grown in recent years. Algeria’s news agency, APS, has in recent months been dedicating almost the whole “International” section of its website to reporting on supposed attacks against Morocco’s military in Mahbes, 50 kilometers from Tindouf. Just yesterday, APS claimed another “war achievement,” stressing that Polisario has intensified attacks targeting Morocco’s military forces in the town of Mahbes. APS quoted Polisario officials as saying that “the units of Polisario army bombed the zones of the Moroccan forces in the Lakaad region in the Mahbes town.” Mahbes is the closest town to the Algerian border in north-eastern Western Sahara. Earlier today, MWN streamed from the town. And contrary to the stories shared by both APS and the Polisario leadership, there are no signs of “war” or “military attacks” as calm and stability prevail in the region. In fact, MWN’s eight-minute live stream captured people flying the Moroccan flag and going about their everyday activities in a peaceful and undisturbed atmosphere. As the main sponsor of Polisario’s statehood sepratist goals, Algeria shelters, finances, and arms Polisario. In addition, the Algerian regime has repeatedly signaled its readiness to sabotage UN-led mediation efforts unless they result in the creation of a state in Morocco’s southern provinces. In what many analysts have described as the ultimate expression of Algeria and Polisario’s frustration with the UN-led political process, both Algeria and the Polisario leadership recently rejected the latest UN resolution on Western Sahara. Meanwhile, the separatist Polisario Front has a well-documented history of intermittent military provocations in the buffer zone. In November 2020, the separatist group blocked the movement of people and goods for several weeks across the Moroccan-Mauritanian border in Guerguerat, which is surrounded by a UN-mandated buffer zone. Infuriated by Morocco’s deployment of a contingent to foil its military maneuvers and establish a security corridor in Guerguerat, Polisario launched many failed attacks on the Moroccan defense wall in Mahbes. Since then, the Polisario and Algerian establishment media have brought their infowar to a new level by fabricating news of a “raging war” in many towns in Morocco’s southern provinces.
  7. Music Title: LFERDA - BACHMA (Prod @Ali Moriva ) [Hors album] Signer: LFERDA Release Date: 19 Mar. 2022 Official YouTube Link Information About the Signer: - Your Opinion About the Track (Music Video): -
  8. Because of the geographical and socio-cultural relationship between the two nations, Moroccan-Spanish connections date back to ancient times. Throughout the centuries, these two countries have experienced numerous forms of cultural interaction, including wars, trade, and immigration, all of which have shaped the historical and political relations between them. Today, these relations are governed by the remnants of the past, as well as a complex web of converging and diverging interests. The starting point Morocco and Spain have a long history of brutal battles and conflicts that dates back to 146 BC when the Romans toppled the Carthaginian civilization and seized the stable kingdom of Numidia in northern Morocco. After the “Islamic Conquest” of North Africa (from 647 AD to 709 AD), the Almoravid and Almohad dynasties conquered the Iberian peninsula and established the Andalusian nation, joining together what is now Spain and Portugal with much of the Maghreb. The nation of Al Andalus started to decline in the 15th century, allowing Christian Castilian kingdoms to expel Arabs, Muslims, and Jews from Spain at the end of the century. The Muslim expulsion from Spain led to the Mediterranean Sea becoming a hotbed of piracy targeting Spanish ships until the beginning of the 19th century when maritime agreements with Western nations and the decline of the Ottoman Empire ended the era of the Barbary pirates. Then, during the contemporary age of colonialism, the Spanish Europeans resumed their colonization of Morocco. This partition of Morocco by France and Spain served to divide what was once a significant powerful state on Europe’s borders. Despite Spain's occupation of portions of Morocco's northern areas, diplomatic and legal connections developed during the 18th century, resulting in the signing of two accords, the most important of which defined a fishing center and expanded the limits of Ceuta, Melilla, Ankur, and Bades in 1767 and 1799, respectively. Because of this 1799 Treaty and Spain's occupation of the geographical islands located in the mouth of the Mulwaya River in 1848, Morocco and Spain fought each other in the Tetouan War between 1859 and 1860. The Tetouan War ended with Morocco's defeat against Spain due to a number of factors, including the Moroccan military's weakness and Britain's intervention as a mediator to bring the war to a halt in favor of Spain. As well as the occupation of Tetouan by Spain, the British-moderated end of the war forced Morocco into signing an armistice treaty with conditions that were considered among the most severe imposed on Morocco during the 19th century. Until independence, Morocco would be partitioned by Spain in its north and south, divided by the French protectorate. This partition of Morocco by France and Spain served to divide what once was a powerful kingdom on Europe’s doorsteps. Post-independence, Morocco and Spain signed a number of bilateral commercial agreements, the most notable being the 1993 deal, which had immediate implications on the ground as Spain became Morocco's second-largest economic investor after France. But before these commercial deals came the Green March in 1975. Organized at the behest of and under the guidance of Morocco's late King Hassan II, the historic march marked the end of 75 years of Spanish colonization and occupation of Morocco’s southern provinces, ending the colonial partition of the western parts of the historic Moroccan state. Recent developments Moroccan-Spanish relations have improved dramatically in recent years. Under consecutive governments led by the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party, the vastly improved Spanish-Moroccan relations translated into positive economic and cultural partnerships. Marking this momentous shift in bilateral relations were the multiplication of reciprocal diplomatic visits and Spain's acceptance of many Moroccan immigrants. However, a number of storms continued to hang over bilateral ties between the two nations, with diplomatic disagreements over the Sahara and the Spanish enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla remaining the two major stumbling blocks to real progress in the bilateral relationship. In April 2021, tensions between Morocco and Spain heightened after the Spanish government allowed Polisario leader Brahim Ghali to enter Spanish territory under the false identity of Mohamed Ben Battouche in order to evade prosecution. Morocco described Spain’s hosting of Ghali as a “betrayal” and an intolerable “breach of trust,” prompting a spiral of escalations in tensions between the two neighbors. Timeline of important recent events June 2002 The "Leila Island" conflict erupted in 2002 after 12 auxiliary forces reached the disputed uninhabited island and flew the national flag, prompting Spain to send two submarines, a helicopter, and 75 soldiers to retaliate. Colin Powell, the former US Secretary of State, intervened to help calm brewing tensions. November 2007 The former King of Spain Juan Carlos' visit to Ceuta enraged Rabat, prompting it to reassert its claim to sovereignty over the two towns located on the African continent. The Spanish government has avoided discussing the fate of the two enclaves since then, in order to prevent sparking a renewed crisis. January 2011 After the European Parliament's decision in 2011 not to renew the EU-Morocco marine fishing agreement, Spain requested financial compensation, prompting a renegotiation of the agreement by the maritime merchants' lobby, which is seen as benefiting Morocco and increasing the Spanish fishing sector's woes. With the marine fisheries agreement, more than a hundred Spanish fishing vessels, mostly from Andalusia and the Canary Islands, were allowed to fish in Moroccan waters. December 2020 A fresh crisis erupted over the colonial enclaves in Ceuta and Melilla 13 years after the previous crisis, following a statement by the former Moroccan Prime Minister Saad Eddine El Othmani on Saudi television channel, Al-Sharq. “Ceuta and Melilla are among the points on which it is necessary to open discussion,” El Othmani stated. “This file has been suspended for five to six centuries, but it will be reopened one day.” After this statement, the Moroccan ambassador to Madrid, Karima Benyaich, was summoned by the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs for clarification. May 2021 After entering Spain under a false name to be treated for COVID-related complications, the separatist leader Ibrahim Ghali sparked a fresh conflict between Morocco and Spain. Morocco did not receive prior notification of Spain’s decision to allow Ghali into the country. Moroccan intelligence however uncovered the move, creating a severe diplomatic rift between the two countries. Spain attempted to defend its actions by citing humanitarian concerns, yet Moroccan officials highlighted that the Spanish government could have simply notified Rabat regarding its decision to host the separatist leader. Following Ghali’s hospitalization in Spain, tensions between Madrid and Rabat escalated, with Morocco appearing to relax its border controls with the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, allowing thousands of migrants to cross into Spain’s enclave in northern Morocco. The start of a new era? Moroccan-Spanish relations have taken a big turn following a shift in Madrid's stance on the Sahara dossier, with the Spanish government officially stating this week its support for Morocco’s peace plan for the first time, thereby putting an end to a major diplomatic spat between the two nations. On March 18, 2022, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced Spain's official support for Morocco's Autonomy Plan, calling it “the most serious and credible framework” for resolving the Western Sahara conflict. As a result of this major diplomatic step, Morocco and Spain have likely entered a new phase of bilateral ties. Speaking at a press conference on March 18, Spain’s Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said “Today, we begin a new phase of relations with Morocco and close definitively a crisis with a strategic partner.” Due to Morocco's patience and resilient diplomacy, it appears to have succeeded in finally putting an end to the artificial conflict with Spain about the Sahara. While Spain’s endorsement of Morocco’s Autonomy Plan is only the first step in a long road to the final, lasting resolution of the Sahara question, it speaks volumes about the effectiveness of Moroccan diplomacy in supporting the country’s territorial integrity.
  9. Music Title: GAMBINO - MARSEILLE À PANAME (CLIP OFFICIEL) Signer: GAMBINO Release Date: 18 Mar. 2022 Official YouTube Link Information About the Signer: - Your Opinion About the Track (Music Video): -
  10. my vote goes to DH2 , i liked the rhythm
  11. Alienware may make some of the best gaming laptops, but its peripherals haven't quite made the same invasion into the realms of best gaming mice and keyboards. But the company is attempting to rectify that this year with a trio of new Tri-Mode peripherals announced at CES that match the company's "Legend 2.0" design. We're still waiting to try out the new headsets, but we've been testing the company's Tri-Mode Wireless Gaming Mouse (AW720M) for the past few weeks and, for the most part, have come away impressed. It's comfortable, attractive and versatile thanks to its ambidextrous design (complete with buttons on both sides) and wired, RF and Bluetooth connectivity (hence Tri-Mode). It also has a nifty USC-C charging cable with a magnetic tip, so you can leave it in the mouse for easy charging whenever you need to juice up your cursor controller. The company also claims you should get up to 140 hours of gaming with the USB-C RF dongle, or up to 420 hours over Bluetooth, which is far longer than many other wireless gaming mice. But at $149, the AW720M is also a very expensive mouse, which may limit its appeal to Alienware fans and lefties looking for the best wireless mouse for long gaming sessions. At 4.93 inches long and 89 grams, clearly the AW720M isn't targeting the ultralight mouse market. But at the same time, it doesn't feel big or bulky. Its closest analog in terms of ambidextrous design, button layout, and general size might be Razer's Viper Ultimate. That mouse is a little lighter, at 74g. But the Razer mouse has a rated battery life of 'just' 70 hours, half the claim of the Alienware. Note also that, while our review unit came in white, the company will also offer a black model starting in April. The white model may fit in better with your Alienware laptop, but if you're the type to keep peripherals for several years (which you should if you're spending this much on a mouse), the darker variant will likely do a much better job of hiding your finger funk. Somewhat surprisingly for an Alienware device, the RGB here is constrained inside the alien head on the back of the mouse. And personally, that's more than enough mouse lighting for my taste. The rubberized ratcheting scroll wheel feels a little stiff to me, but not overly so. I do somewhat miss the dual-mode (ratcheting and free-spinning) wheel of my Logitech MX Master, but that's more for productivity purposes than gaming. The pair of buttons mounted on either side of the mouse feel pleasingly clicky, and I personally didn't have any major issues hitting the side buttons by mistake during the heat of gaming. But resting my thumb along the left side and my ring finger on the right, I can see my digits are always quite close to those buttons. So those with large hands may have issues with accidental button presses. Also, while each side of the mouse is textured to add some extra grip, the whole mouse shell is made of the same smooth plastic. Particularly at this price (or frankly, even a third less), I would expect rubber side grips, which the Razer Viper Ultimate has, as do many gaming mice priced at $100 and up. The mouse features a fairly standard USB-C port up front for charging, and you can use a standard cable to charge it. But what Alienware includes in the box for charging and connectivity is surprisingly complex, although it mostly works well. The included 6.5-foot USB-A-to-USB-C charging cable is both pleasingly long and braided. And for wireless connectivity, you get a small 2.4 GHz dongle that uses USB-C. Since many systems–and particularly many of the best gaming prebuilt desktops, have just one USB-C port, that could be a problem for some. But Alienware includes a small box that houses an even smaller dual-USB-C dongle, with two USB-C ports on one side and one five-pin magnetic port on the other end. The idea here is that you can connect your wired USB-C charging cable to one of the two ports and the USB-C wireless dongle to the other. And a tiny USB-C magnetic plug can be inserted into the charging port of the mouse. The end result is that you use one USB-A port to plug in the charging cable, but that connects both the USB-C RF dongle and a magnetic connection for charging. Move the front of the mouse anywhere close to the dongle and the magnets will snap together, charging the mouse and letting you game at the same time. The company claims just 5 minutes of charging will give you 20 hours of gaming. There's also a small metal clip tool in the plastic box that's there to help you remove the tiny magnetic USB-C connector from the charging port of the mouse. But don't worry about losing that, because I had no issues removing the charging tip from the front of the mouse using my short fingernails. All of this sounds a bit fiddly to describe, but in practice it works quite well. We wouldn't recommend gaming for long periods with the dongle and cable plugged into the mouse. But given Alienware's fast charging claims, you shouldn't have to. Plug it in for a few minutes when the battery dies and you should be good for a gaming session or three. And then just leave the mouse plugged into the magnetic cable at any point when you aren't using it and you shouldn't have to worry about charging again for weeks. The bottom of the mouse has a switch to select 2.4 GHz or Bluetooth wireless (holding the switch in the lowest position for three seconds puts the mouse in pairing mode). And a switch on the right turns the mouse on and off. It will function in wired mode while switched off, but if the magnetic connection becomes detached (which it did a couple of times for us during testing), you are suddenly left with a dead cursor controller, at least until you turn the mouse on. A textured button below the sensor (which Alienware doesn't disclose, save to say that it's 26,000 DPI) switches between five different sensitivity presets (800-3,200 DPI by default). And a tiny RGB LED above the sensor lets you know which you're on. I'm personally not one to switch up my sensitivity a lot during gaming, but this kind of control is a whole lot easier to access when it's on top of the mouse rather than the bottom. Gaming Performance of Alienware Tri-Mode Wireless Gaming Mouse (AW720M) Likely due to its similar shape to many other mice, the Alienware AW720M immediately felt familiar and comfortable in my hand. And after a few hours of playing various FPS and strategy titles, I didn't notice any serious pain points in the design, although nothing truly stood out in a positive way either. I died just as often in Elden Ring as I always do with the AW720M. I still can't get past the 100 days/low po[CENSORED]tion challenge in the Desolated Wasteland map of They Are Billions with the AW720M. And while enjoyable in short bursts, I still haven't been able to dig into Doom Eternal the same way I did Id's previous demonic FPS using the AW720M. None of this is the mouse's fault. In fact, the fact that nothing really changed in my gameplay is, if anything, a testament to the mouse's competent design–and my not-so-competent gaming skills. I like a mouse that feels familiar and gets out of the way to let you game. But for $150, lots of people will expect more than that. As noted earlier, the textured plastic sides are better than smooth sides for a bit of added grip, but rubber would go a lot further for maintaining a good grip–especially during long gaming sessions in the warmer months. The side buttons are a bit small, but they were fairly easy to press with the edge or tip of my thumb. And even when I shifted between palm and claw grips, I didn't find myself accidentally hitting the pair of side buttons on the right edge of the mouse–-which can often be a downside of ambidextrous designs. That said, my fingers are fairly short and not that large. Those with large hands may have a very different experience with the side buttons, because there isn't a whole lot of room below them for your thumb and fingers. In terms of battery life, I didn't use the mouse long enough to validate or disprove Alienware's claim of 140 hours of 2.4 GHz gaming time. Between gaming and testing the magnetic charging connection, the battery life indicator in Alienware's Control Center app never dipped below 75% in my time with the mouse. So long as you keep the cable and dongle somewhere near your mouse and leave the magnetic charging tip in the mouse, charging becomes so simple that you'll probably charge it more often than you need to. But so long as you give the mouse a full charge every couple of weeks or so (depending of course on how often and long you game), you should be fine. You don't strictly need to install the software to use the AW720M in any of of its three modes (wired, wireless RF or wireless Bluetooth). But if you want to do anything more complex than shift between the preset DPI settings (which you can juggle via a button on the bottom of the mouse) you'll need Alienware's software–of which cursor controls are just a small part. If you own an Alienware PC, you'll be familiar with the company's Command Center app, which is used for lighting controls, various settings, and can also be used as a game launcher. It's also the software you'll need to use to change anything but the basic settings of the Tri-Mode mouse. The software is generally intuitive and pretty. And for the mouse specifically, it lets you change the visuals on the RGB alien head, remap buttons, create and apply macros, update firmware, adjust the DPI presets (in 100 DPI increments), and choose between a 1 mm or 2 mm lift-off distance. Overall, my only real complaint about the software is that it's a nearly 900MB download, and much of that software bloat has little or nothing to do with mouse controls. It's good for Alienware PC users since you'll already be running the software. But for everyone else, the software just feels unnecessarily bulky. Bottom Line Alienware's Tri-Mode AW720M is a comfortable, competent gaming mouse, with long battery life and a nifty magnetic charging cable/USB-C dongle combo. But for most people, that's probably not enough to make this mouse stand out, especially considering its $149 price. For that much (and often less), you can get things like high 8,000 Hz polling rates (if you go the wired route), grippy rubber sides, more buttons, customizable weights, a lighter weight, or a number of other variably desirable features that this mouse either lacks or doesn't excel at. That's not to say the AW720M is a bad mouse. I enjoyed using it and had no major complaints about its design or comfort. But without a major price drop, it will probably mostly appeal to Alienware PC owners and/or left-handers who like the promised long battery life and otherwise generally solid feature set and are willing to spend a lot for those features.
  12. Google’s Equiano subsea cable which will run from Portugal to the West Coast of Africa has finally arrived to the continent after first being introduced back in 2019. The company’s latest subsea cable will connect Europe to Togo, Nigeria, Namibia, South Africa and St. Helena to provide Africa with faster and more reliable internet. People around the world depend on Gmail, Google Drive, Google Docs, Google Maps and other Google products to stay connected with friends and family, find directions, reach new customers and more. Over the next five years, 300m people will come online in Africa and the Equiano cable is part of the search giant’s ongoing commitment to improve connectivity and bring the benefits of technology to more Africans. In its original blog post announcing Equiano, Google Cloud explained that it is the “first subsea cable to incorporate optical switching at the fiber-pair level” as opposed to the traditional approach of wavelength-level switching. Not only does this greatly simplify the allocation of cable capacity but it also gives the company the flexibility to add and relocate it in different locations as needed. One of the reasons the company was able to build and deploy its latest subsea cable so quickly is due to the fact that Equiano is fully funded by Google. Boosting Togo’s digital economy Although the Equiano subsea cable has now made it along the west coast of Africa to reach Togo, it still has a bit to go to make it all the way to Cape Town, South Africa at the bottom of the continent. Still though, the arrival of Equiano in Togo is a key step in the country’s continued development. According to a recent economic impact assessment conducted by Africa Practice and Genesis Analytics, Equiano is expected to result in faster internet speeds, improved user experience and lower internet prices in Togo. In fact, internet speeds in the country are expected to more than double from 10 Mbps in 2021 to reach 21 Mbps in 2025 while retail internet prices are forecast to decline by 14 percent over the same period. More connectivity and faster internet will also create jobs and the economic assessment predicts that Equiano should indirectly create 37k new jobs in Togo due to the growth of its digital economy. In addition to improving the resilience of Google’s network, the company’s other partners will be able to use and benefit from Equiano’s capacity. The search giant is partnering with multiple telecoms in Togo including Société d’infrastructures numériques (SIN) and CSquared to ensure that the cable can reach more businesses and end users across the country and the continent more broadly. Equiano is expected to be ready for service later this year and the new subsea cable will carry approximately 20 times more network capacity than the last cable Google built to serve the region.
  13. Rabat - A delegation which is currently visiting various historical sites in the southern provinces has paid a visit to the Laghchiwat archaeological site in Es-Smara province. The site contains numerous rock carvings, many of which date back to the earliest known humans. It is part of an extensive archaeological heritage that can be found in Morocco’s southern provinces, where there are many more similar sites with similar carvings. The site has been attracting scientists and archaeologists for years, as they have been attempting to unearth the monuments that are hidden in the region. The site is monitored by authorities in efforts to conserve it and protect it from unwanted interference with the monument. It has been listed among the country’s most important historical sites by the Miran Association for the Protection of Heritage in Es-Smara. This text in the Hassaniya language includes the Shahada (There is no god but Allah), meaning that the text depicted is at most as old as when Arab Muslims entered the region around 1000 CE. Other findings at the cave date back to early humanity. The sites carved marble rocks carry a blue-ish gray hue and are considered unique among similar sites. Some of the carvings depict wild animals, and historians have concluded that the Sahara once was full of such animals and had a vivid plant life. The site is also notable as it contains traces of various primitive stone tools that early humans used to hunt and perform other duties. Some of the trees on the site are indicators of the region’s once vastly different landscape. Archaeologists also found carvings over the past few years that indicate the presence of wildlife. The rock carving sites in the Sahara have been important in showing us how early humans lived. The Miran Association is expected to sign a partnership agreement with the "Interaction" Association in Murcia to protect the heritage and identify more historical sites in the region.
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