Revo

It has always struck me as strange that when we think of the cars whose appearance we like, especially if we’re deciding whether to buy one or not, it’s always the exterior we find ourselves considering. Why? I guess it’s because, consciously or not, we’re keen to project the right image of ourselves. But the truth is that once our cars are bought, we spend hardly any time looking at them, whereas we literally live in their interiors, whose design by comparison we barely think through at all. Yet interior design has undergone a revolution over the past generation. Time was when interiors were scarcely styled at all, at least from the point of view of the driving environment. Instruments were placed wherever was easy and a dashboard created around them. Then, in the 1970s and 1980s, a certain sense of ergonomic cohesion was gradually introduced, but it wasn’t until this century that mainstream manufacturers started thinking as hard about the look of their cars within as without. And with good reason. First, an interior is far harder to design, because unlike an exterior which is just a relatively simple shape, an interior contains a whole host of competing interests, from dials and switches to the dashboard and infotainment system, all arguing over the same small amount of space. But as journeys have lengthened yet traffic slowed and we’ve spent more and more time looking at our interiors, merely making it functional was never going to be enough. It had to offer a pleasant place to sit and while away all that time. Not least because of the quality of the items with which we now fill out homes, be they sleek music systems, flatscreen televisions or smart and minimalist phones. It simply won’t wash any longer to leave that kind of environment and go and sit in the motoring equivalent of student digs. There’s one more consideration: so much of a car’s exterior is now governed by the legislative rulebook that it’s becoming ever harder to create genuinely beautiful and distinctive exteriors, hence all those jelly-mould crossover SUVs we have these days. But there remains far more scope for creative expression on the inside, so that’s where car manufacturers keen on carving an identity for themselves are increasingly concentrating. But so too is that job getting harder. Interiors aren’t exempt from the forces of law, but that’s really only where the problems start. There’s now so much stuff that we expect to find in our cabins that packaging it all within the legislative framework is becoming an increasingly fraught business. Remember when you would get into your car and every single thing you needed to do, from adjusting the treble on your stereo to turning down the heating a touch, could be accomplished with a single action: the turn of a knob or the flick of a dial? Things are rarely so easy today. We live in an era where function follows form at a deferential distance, so the price paid for a nice, clean-looking fascia with the minimum number of controls is that even some quite fundamental functions require you to go rummaging around in endless menus to locate them. Say you want to turn off the stability control in Volkswagen’s new Golf GTI. You would like to just press a button and see a little light appear on the dash, but these days that would be far too easy. First you must find the vehicle settings menu on the glossy touchscreen in front of you. Once you’ve done that, you need to keep swiping until you find the page concerning the brakes. Yes, the brakes. Only then do you get to tell the car you would like to turn off the ESC. Does it do it? Of course not. It first tells you this is a bad idea that it doesn’t recommend and insists you confirm your wilful recklessness before it will grudgingly do as you ask. So what are the most important priorities of a car interior? To me, job one is visibility. If you can’t see out properly, you’re unlikely ever to be truly comfortable – and that’s becoming increasingly difficult, because car manufacturers make ever-thicker A- and B-pillars to help their cars’ crash performance, apparently without considering how much more likely it is that their cars will crash as a result. And there’s no excuse: even two-seat mid-engined supercars can feel like goldfish bowls if properly designed, as anyone who has sat in a McLaren will tell you. But in many important regards, interiors have progressed beyond all recognition. When I started doing this job in the late 1980s, many cars weren’t even symmetrical, meaning the driving position could be radically different depending on whether the car you drove was left-or right-hand drive. Pedals nowhere near where your feet naturally fell were common, as were seats that weren’t actually directly in front of the steering wheel. Steering wheels that adjusted in any direction at all were the exception, not the norm they are today. I may be critical of the latest Golf’s subsystems, but the way the car presents its primary controls to the driver – pedals, steering wheel and gearlever – is impeccable. One important area in which we seem to be regressing, however, is the design of the instrument pack, or IP, as it’s known in the trade. Some might raise an eyebrow at this, knowing how beautiful those ultra-high-definition screens that are rapidly replacing conventional clocks can look. And I agree: some are excellent. But others aren’t, and I’ll cite BMW as an example only because there was a time when its IPs were without doubt the best in the world. But, having tried to get used to its new design philosophy, where the electronic needles only sweep through a limited arc right around the outside of the IP cluster, I recently climbed into an M2 that still uses the old tech and found myself wondering what on earth was so wrong with BMW’s simple, circular dials that it had to change. I’m still trying to figure that one out. But automotive interior design must at times feel like a thankless task. The customer wants more of everything: more gadgets, more information, more entertainment (don’t get me started on apps), yet they also demand presentation as clean as it is on their smartphones. The only difference is this: it doesn’t matter how much time you spend looking at your smartphone at home, but it matters a very great deal how much time you spend looking at your smart screen in the car you’re driving. And yes, voice recognition and even gesture control can help, but they’re at best useful extras, not complete solutions in themselves. As ever, then, the best interiors are those that strike the correct compromise between ease of use and appearance. It’s tempting to say that everything should have its own, separate, one-touch control, but that would lead to an interior plastered with buttons that could be completely confusing too. Alternatively, a car with no buttons or similar controls might look stunning but, in reality, would likely be difficult and time-consuming to operate. With each new car I drive today, I now configure its control systems the way I want them to be before I set off, which may add between five and 10 minutes to my journey. And I know that if I stop even for five minutes to grab a sandwich, half the systems I’ve disabled will have turned themselves back on again by the time I’ve got back on board. The car will have taken itself out of Dynamic driving mode, turned its stability control fully on again and reactivated its hateful lane-keeping assistance function. So I have to do it all over again. This has little to do with the manufacturer trying to stop you having a crash and almost everything to do with removing grounds for you to sue them if you do. For me, and because I’m old, I would give up all the gadgets and swanky screens in favour of interiors with a limited number of clearly labelled, logically arranged switches. Twenty years ago, that was simply common sense. Today, it sounds like a revolution. Which is why it’s never going to happen. What should happen next? How do we resolve the conflicting interests of the demand for more content and the desire for cleaner cockpits? Truly intelligent voice recognition has a role to play, but I’m increasingly minded to think that the only way to create the space we need on the dash for comprehensive yet easily understood and accessed functionality and information is to migrate the dials onto the screen. The information on current head-up displays duplicates what’s already shown in the IP. There’s no longer space for such redundancy; if the data I need is on the screen, I never look for it anywhere else, because that’s where my eyes are already pointing. So ditch conventional instruments, project all their data on the screen and use the space you save to create a driving environment that’s as easy to operate as it is attractive.

The Blaugrana have denied having any involvement in the sharing in public of the terms of the Argentine's current deal in the Spanish media Barcelona say they are ready to take legal action after the publication of the details of Lionel Messi's €555 million (£491m/$674m) contract. Spanish newspaper El Mundo leaked documents revealing the terms of Messi's current deal at Camp Nou, which is due to expire at the end of June. Their report states that the four-year agreement, which the Argentine signed in 2017, includes fixed incomes and bonus payments which amount to €138m (£112m/$167m) in annual earnings. Messi has already pocketed €510m (£452m/$619m), with a further €45m (£40m/$55m) set to come his way over the next six months, with El Mundo claiming that the 33-year-old is the best-paid athlete in the history of professional sport. The club captain has been tipped to bring his 17-year career at Camp Nou to an end this summer, with Barca reportedly unable to continue paying his lucrative wages amid mounting debts exceeding over €1.2 billion. Blaugrana officials have now announced their intention to sue El Mundo for releasing Messi's contract to the public without their permission, while condemning attempts to defame Messi's character and image. "In view of the information published today in the newspaper El Mundo, in relation to the professional contract signed between FC Barcelona and the player Lionel Messi, the club regrets its publication given that it is a private document governed by the principle of confidentiality between the parties," a statement on Barca's official website reads. "FC Barcelona categorically denies any responsibility for the publication of this document, and will take appropriate legal action against the newspaper El Mundo, for any damage that may be caused as a result of this publication. "FC Barcelona expresses its absolute support for Lionel Messi, especially in the face of any attempt to discredit his image, and to damage his relationship with the entity where he has worked to become the best player in the world and in football history." Messi was denied a transfer last summer after his decision to activate the release clause in his contract, with the Argentina international eventually pledging to stay put for the duration of the 2020-21 campaign out of his love for Barca and their fans. However, speculation over his future has only increased since then, and although the six-time Ballon d'Or winner has been linked with the likes of Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City, he has also opened the door to a potential switch to MLS before hanging up his boots.

Rabat – Moroccan kickboxer Tarik Khbabez lost his fight to Dutch heavyweight champion Rico Verhoeven in the final of the Glory 77 on Saturday. The Duch legend defeated the Moroccan kickboxer in the first round, with Tarik Khbabez abandoning the fight at the end of the round due to a hand injury. “I had surgery on my hand three months ago and I haven’t made a full recovery,” the Moroccan kickboxer said after his defeat. The world’s kickboxing league, Glory Kickboxing, signed Khbabez in October 2020. Khbabez started his kickboxing career in 2013. At the time of signing, Glory announced that the Moorccan-Dutch champion had a professional record of 15 wins, six losses and one draw. “I don’t come to score points, I come to win. Everyone who stands in front of me in the ring wants to take away from me what I’ve been fighting for ears. I just won’t let that happen,” he said. Rico Verhoeven, meanwhile, remains undefeated despite successive confrontations with a number of big names in the competition, including Morocco’s Badr Hari. Hari lost his fight against Verhoeven in December 2019. He, too, had to give up during the match due to a leg injury. Prior to that, Rico Verhoeven also defeated Badr Hari in December 2016. Verhoeven is reportedly interested in yet another re-match with the Moroccan champion.

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There are many ways to detect movement and distances with your electronics. In another tutorial, we showed how to use a PIR motion sensor with Raspberry Pi Pico. Used in alarm systems, PIRs employ Infrared light to detect moving bodies in a room and are good for projects where, for example, you want users to wave their hands in front of a device to activate it. Our tutorial on how to build a Raspberry Pi handwashing timer uses a PIR. Ultrasonic sensors, on the other hand, use pulses of sound and a simple calculation to determine the distance between themselves and the objects in front them. They are often used in robots to make sure the bot doesn’t walk or roll into an obstacle. We also used one in our Raspberry Pi Toilet paper reminder to tell when we’re running out of rolls. In this tutorial we will use an ultrasonic distance sensor, an HC-SR04+, to quickly determine the distance of an object from our Raspberry Pi Pico. For this project you will need A Raspberry Pi Pico running MicroPython (see how to set up Raspberry Pi Pico) Thonny installed on your computer An HC-SR04P or HC-SR04+ Ultrasonic Sensor 4 x Male to male jumper wires Half or full-size breadboard Hardware Setup of Ultrasonic Sensor on Raspberry Pi Pico This build exclusively uses an ultrasonic sensor compatible with the 3V logic used on the Raspberry Pi Pico GPIO. The HC-SR04P and HC-SR04+ are compatible with 3V and 5V logic making them ideal for Raspberry Pi Pico, Pi and Arduino projects.

Fintech app users may be getting into more trouble than they expected by using free services that sell on their data, a new report has revealed. Research from security firm ESET found that fintech apps were more likely to sell on user information than services from other sectors, with 50% of consumers saying they did not know what the app did with their data. This is despite nearly half (42%) of 10,000 global consumers surveyed by ESET saying they used a free fintech application or platform. These are the best stock trading apps around today Keep your devices virus free with the best malware removal software Also check out our roundup of the best identity theft protection Security risk The report also found a worrying lack of oversight from consumers when using such apps, with only 31% of people say they read the terms and conditions of a fintech application before downloading it, and only 29% reading the privacy policy. ESET notes that this is symptomatic of the wider fintech app user base, as it found almost half (48%) of all consumers do not use a VPN, and 42% of consumers said they would log in to their financial applications using a public Wi-Fi network. Even the users who claimed to be adept at such services (so-called "Fintech adopters" - those who were use four or more FinTech applications) showed a number of shocking security lapses, with 7% not having any security software installed on their devices. “Protecting consumers’ sensitive and financial data has never been more important," noted Ignacio Sbampato, chief business officer at ESET. "Financial technology has a role to play on the journey to personal and societal economic recovery, and it is vital that FinTech solutions and their users are adequately protected. Our findings about consumers and their attitudes to data security reveal that many people may be vulnerable to cyber risks, and it is our mission to ensure that technology users’ most valuable information is protected with cutting-edge security software.” We've assembled a list of the best Android antivirus apps available

When your girlfriend comes to your house with her female dog... You and your dog Be like :

Perhaps you’ve been waiting to discover an electric car that’s genuinely good to drive but are bored rigid of reading tributes to the Porsche Taycan (£85,000), Jaguar I-Pace (£64,000) and Polestar 2 (£45,000). Excellent cars all, but crikey, they don’t half make a dent. Some good news, then. Neither of the EVs in this brief twin test costs more than £28,000 after the government grant for plug-in cars, yet both come from makers who understand the importance of involving the driver. More than that, it could be argued that, at their very best, the Mini Cooper and Mazda MX-5 exemplify what we love about front- and rear-driven sports cars respectively. So even before we’ve unplugged the charging cables, there’s cause for optimism. The Mini Electric has been out for some time, so it’s already a known quantity. In short, we like it. We especially like its turn of pace (thank you, 199lb ft of slap-bang torque), the trademark fish-bowl view forward, the conspicuous sense that the centre of gravity is grazing the road surface and its well-tuned steering response, which is so important in achieving the ‘go-kart’ agility that Mini frequently references. If you want to buy small and electric but still need that driving buzz, so far this is your best ‘affordable’ option (unless you can find yourself in a Renault Twizy on a wet roundabout). The only thing we don’t especially like about the model that already accounts for one in 10 new Minis sold is its meagre range. Fully charged, it barely gets 140 miles on the official test cycle, dropping to around 110 miles in the real world. And this isn’t simply a quirk of the supermini segment: the Peugeot e-208 is officially rated at 206 miles and even the new Fiat 500 will manage 199 miles. So while it’s unusually good to pedal about, the Mini cements its ‘second-car’ status before you even flip the bright-yellow toggle that prompts the electricals into life. Only you will know whether or not that’s a deal-breaker. You might think the Mini’s range would be an opening for the less powerful, 235kg heavier and marginally costlier Mazda MX-30 to exploit and quickly even up the scales for overall appeal. But no. With 124 miles, the first electric Mazda somehow offers even less autonomy than the Mini. Mazda’s defence is that it takes a ‘right-sizing’ approach, having carefully assessed the needs of would-be buyers. It says that fitting a bigger battery pack would make the MX-30 more expensive and the extra mass would blunt its handling, and all for no good reason, given that hardly anyone drives more than 50 miles daily. Hmm. Objectively that may be true, and it seems sensible enough on paper. But for a compact crossover, even one intended for suburban commuters, this is an unambiguously punchy strategy, and more so because Mazda desperately needs to sell plenty of these cars in Europe to avoid CO2-related fines. Apologies for the range-related downer, but at least now we can move on and get to the good bits. After all, what would boost the MX-30’s appeal considerably among existing (and surprisingly discerning, not to mention loyal) Mazda owners when it arrives in the UK imminently is if it can scalp the little Mini dynamically. Get up close and it presents like one of those twee motorshow concept cars from around the millennium. Remember the Ford 021C or the Dodge Kahuna? Maybe you don’t, but the MX-30’s cylindrical lights, chunky cladding and uncomplicated lines give it the same flavour of super-sized toy-box charm. The cabin is less adventurous, but only marginally so. There are rear ‘suicide’ doors and some cork trim (like Peugeot, Mazda is one of those manufacturers that originally started off making something completely different to cars – in this case cork, in 1930), but today the boring old driving ergonomics are what count. And they’re solidly good, not least because they borrow heavily from the ICE models. As ever with Mazda, there are no configurable driving modes or confusing gimmicks when you want to get going. Unlike the Mini, whose interior is a montage of bloop-bleep sounds, fluoro-hues and quirky displays (although, in the case of the main instrument dials, one that’s not even centred properly and is surprisingly rough in resolution), the Mazda is traditional. The thin-rimmed steering wheel could have been ripped straight from an MX-5, the digital instruments are designed to look analogue and the fabric seats may appear to have been ordered from the Heal’s catalogue but are supportive, comfortable and sporting. By comparison, the Mini sets its driver deliciously low, with even more figure-hugging seats and a view forward that feels as though your eyeline is just skimming the scuttle. One of these cars strikes a classy GT-esque tone while the other feels raw pocket-rocket, and there’s no question which is which.

First Lady Jill Biden made history when she announced she would continue teaching during her time at the White House, making her the first FLOTUS to do a paid job outside of the executive mansion. “I’m really looking forward to being First Lady and doing the things that [I did] as Second Lady, carrying on with military families and education and free community college, cancer [the Biden Cancer Initiative], that Joe and I have both worked on. And I’m going to teach as well,” she told comedian Stephen Colbert, as reported by Independent. As the 69-year-old begins to redefine her role, let us take a look at some of the duties that a First Lady is traditionally expected to perform. The US first family can redecorate the personal living spaces in the mansion. According to Kate Anderson Brower, author of First Women: The Grace and Power of America’s Modern First Ladies, only a few rooms of the house can be changed as the others are considered “historic rooms”. First Ladies are generally responsible for choosing them and overseeing annual holiday decorations at the White House, including Christmas trees and oversized gingerbreads, according to Independent. Hosting Hanukkah and Easter egg roll The First Lady is also in charge of the Easter celebrations at the White House, who are “hostesses for the nation and the presidential administrations”, as described by the National Museum of American History. Hosting state dinners at White House These state dinners are held when foreign leaders visit the White House, the planning of which typically falls on the First Lady. “The first lady and her staff are responsible for the elaborate planning and attention behind the glitter and ceremony of the state dinner,” according to the White House Historical Association. No more casual shopping trips Former FLOTUS Michelle Obama had reportedly told Oprah Winfrey during an interaction that she was excited about taking a shopping trip when she left the White House, which was otherwise forbidden due to security risk. “I do want to drop into Target. I want to – I do, I want to go to Target again! I’ve heard so many things have changed in Target! I tell my friends they’re going to have to give me a re-entry training for like, okay, what do you do at CVS now? How do you check out? It’s like I’ve been living in a cave,” she was quoted as saying. Choosing a cause First Ladies are expected to focus on a social cause during their time at the White House. For instance, while Melania Trump chose the initiative ‘Be Best’, Michelle created ‘Let’s Move!’ and ‘Let Girls Learn’ initiative. Fashion rules While First Ladies wear iconic designer outfits, they may not be able to keep the clothes. They can wear a gifted designer outfit only as long as they wear it once and donate it after. And if she decides to purchase a designer item, she is expected to pay the full price herself. Not every gift is acceptable Earlier the first families could not accept gifts from foreign officials and governments without the consent of Congress; now the gifts are handled by the National Archives and Records Administration. Gifts from other than foreign officials can be accepted, provided they do not pose a risk to their safety. The current First Lady should invite the future First Lady for White House tour The First Lady, according to Independent, is supposed to invite her successor to the White House and give her a tour after an election. Melania, however, chose to skip the tradition when she and Donald Trump left the White House.

Watford have agreed to cut short the loan deals of Manchester United midfielder James Garner and Brighton striker Glenn Murray. The Sky Bet Championship club welcomed both players on season-long loan deals in the summer but they are set to return to their parent clubs. Garner and Murray are both expected to join new clubs ahead of Monday's transfer deadline, with United keen to loan out their young midfielder for another six months. The 19-year-old has started 12 Sky Bet Championship games for Watford this season, while Murray has only made one league start since joining in October. Nottingham Forest - managed by Chris Hughton, Murray's former manager at Brighton - are interested in the experienced striker and have enquired about his situation. Watford remain hopeful of bringing in a new signing before the deadline - which is likely to be a loan. Meanwhile, Gerard Deulofeu has completed a permanent move to Udinese after his initial transfer on a season-long loan in October. The 26-year-old Spaniard has made 10 Serie A appearances this season for the Serie A club, who are also owned by Watford's owner Gino Pozzo. Deulofeu originally joined Watford in January 2018 in a £12.6m deal and scored 17 goals in 70 appearances during his two-and-a-half year spell at Vicarage Road. Watch Watford vs QPR in the Sky Bet Championship on Monday night, live on Sky Sports Football and Sky Sports Main Event. Coverage starts at 7pm, with kick-off at 7.45pm. The winter transfer window is open until Monday February 1 at 11pm. Follow all the news and analysis on Sky Sports News and across Sky Sports' digital platforms, including our dedicated Transfer Centre blog.

Morocco’s Abdelmalek Saadi University (UAE) and the Moroccan Royal Navy this week organized their first-ever joint oceanographic research. The event took place in Tangier, northern Morocco, and was meant to Reinforce scientific cooperation between the two institutions. Under the partnership, efforts will particularly focus on maritime research. During the Tangier event, both the Royal Navy and the Tetouan-based university presented works they have previously carried out in the field of oceanographic research. They exchanged their varied experiences to put together a common research program that will be implemented in the short, medium, and long terms. Ahmed Hammouch, the director of scientific research and innovation at the Moroccan Ministry of Education, said that Morocco has “extremely important resources” that need to be explored. He appeared to argue that the cooperation between the Royal Navy and the Tetouan-based university was an important first step in Morocco’s desire to increase efforts in the exploration and study of its underwater resources. He said that while scientific research in Morocco occupies a very important place, there is still work to do to explore the country’s numerous resources and exploit them more efficiently. The president of the UAE, Bouchta El Moumni, said that the meeting with the Royal Navy aimed to study the significance of Morocco’s maritime resources for the country’s “socio-economic and strategic” development efforts. He added that Morocco has a coastline that spreads over more than 3,500 km. This, he argued, is essential to the country’s prosperity and plays a vital role in the growth of its blue economy, the creation of wealth and employment, and its resilience to the effects of climate change. The university president also noted that the maritime domain in Morocco is insufficiently studied. He explained the need for more “cartographic, geochemical, biological, sedimentological, and geophysical” research efforts and plans necessary for the exploration and sustainable exploitation of the country’s resources. Understanding Morocco’s vast and rich “maritime capital” requires multidisciplinary oceanographic research projects such as the new one involving specialists and researchers from the Royal Navy and the UAE, El Moumni argued. The news comes as Morocco’s government appears to be planning to foster the development of its productive sectors, including the maritime field. In his Green March commemorative speech on November 7 of last year, King Mohammed VI announced a new development model for Morocco’s southern provinces. The region’s vast maritime resources will be front and center in Morocco’s push to make it a continental and global hub for investment and trade, the King declared. In December 2020, Morocco and the European Union (EU) signed an administrative arrangement on cooperation in maritime research and innovation. The two partners pledged to bring the scientific activities between Moroccan research facilities and EU research institutions to the next level in the coming months.

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Name of the game: Sword of the Necromancer Price: 13.49$ After Discount Link Store: Here Offer ends up after X hours: 4 February Requirements: MINIMUM: Système d'exploitation : Windows 8/8.1/10 Processeur : 2.50 GHz Mémoire vive : 2 GB de mémoire Graphiques : 128 MB DirectX : Version 9.0c Espace disque : 800 MB d'espace disque disponible RECOMMENDED: Système d'exploitation : Windows 8/8.1/10 Processeur : 3.00 GHz Mémoire vive : 4 GB de mémoire Graphiques : 1 GB DirectX : Version 9.0c Espace disque : 800 MB d'espace disque disponible

Having posted its all-time quarter record revenue of $111.4 billion this week, Apple is looking for ways to expand. The company's CEO, Tim Cook, sees selling Macs to businesses as one of the main growth opportunities for Apple, especially with the Apple M1 chip and its successors in tow. But with Intel appealing to businesses with vPro and AMD attempting to do the same with Ryzen Pro, there's work to do. Apple has significantly increased its global PC market share from around 3.6% in Q1 2010 to 8.2% in 2020, due to wide adoption of Macs by consumers. Being the world's fourth largest PC supplier, Apple is still considerably behind Dell, which commanded 16.4% of the market last year, but noticeably ahead of companies Acer and Asus, which controlled around 6% of the market each. The Big Three PC makers, Lenovo, HP and Dell, all have large businesses selling to enterprise customers. So it makes sense for the Cupertino, California-based company to eye business PC sales. "We have been on a multi-year effort in the enterprise and have gained quite a bit of traction there," Cook said during Apple's quarterly conference call with analysts and investors, as reported by CRN. "We are very optimistic about what we can do in that space." Indeed, Apple has been trying to tap into the enterprise for quite a while. In 2014, it inked the IBM MobileFirst for iOS solutions pact in a bid to offer specialized apps, services, tools and management services for iPhones and iPads used by various enterprises, such as SAS. In 2015, the two companies expanded their collaboration to Mac PCs with the Mac@Work program. IBM had over 290,000 Apple devices in its own fleet as of late 2019, which was still below IBM's headcount of 352,600 that year. In addition to IBM, there are multiple Apple Mac-focused managed service providers (MSPs) who have been witnessing increasing adoption of Apple's devices by various companies in the recent years. "We have seen an increase in Mac purchases by our clients--not only the ones that already depend on Apple and the macOS, but also clients that have traditionally been on Windows," Jim Harryman, CEO of Kinetic Technology Group, a Mac-focused MSP, told CRN. "We see [Apple products] creeping into those companies as well and starting to take hold in areas that you wouldn't traditionally think." Apple M1: A New Enterprise Opportunity? Business-focused PCs from companies like Lenovo, HP, and Dell mostly rely on Intel's vPro, with some opting for AMD Pro. They support a host of security and management technologies that are exceptionally handy for the target market. But even with Intel processors inside Macs, Apple's platform is much different on the hardware side of matters and obviously different from Windows and Linux on the software side of things. Therefore, Apple has never supported Intel vPro or AMD Pro. This, perhaps, has been a barrier to entry for Macs in enterprises. Now that Apple is transitioning its own system-on-chips (SoCs) and released the M1 and is moving to a system architecture it controls almost completely, it can potentially develop a vPro or AMD Pro-like platform with enhanced security and robust management technologies, which will make it more competitive against The Big Three PC OEMs. In fact, when Apple rolled out its Employee Choice program a few years ago, it highlighted numerous enterprise-oriented capabilities, though most of them come with regular Apple Macs. AMD's Pro platform supports capabilities like Transparent Secure Memory Encryption (TSME) to protect against snooping while data is processed. That's something that Apple hasn't talked about publicly in terms of its security technologies. With its own silicon, Apple is much better equipped to introduce such features and support them across its hardware and software. "We are also pleased with the rapid adoption of the Mac employee choice program among the world’s leading businesses," Luca Maestri, CFO of Apple, said during Apple's quarterly call. "With the introduction of M1-powered Macs, we are excited to extend these experiences to an even broader range of customers and employees, especially in times of increased remote working." Cook admitted that Apple's share on the PC market is "quite low in the total personal computer market" and said that the company's own processors opened up new growth opportunities. "[The M1] gives us a new growth trajectory that we have not had in the past for the Mac," Cook said.

Gamers have been warned to take care when accessing their libraries online following a huge rise in the number of phishing sites using the Steam platform as a lure. Recent research from Webroot found that there had been a 250% jump in Steam mentions on phishing sites between November and December 2020. However following further lockdowns over the festive period, and a rise in gaming-themed Christmas presents and giveaways, attacks using Steam-themed sites have continued to rise, with a nearly 400% jump in phishing sites mentioning Steam in January 2021, when compared to November 2020. We've assembled a list of the best malware removal software around These are the best identity theft protection services on the market Also check out our roundup of the best ransomware protection Record year"Cybercriminals are able to extract funds that you may have paid in, or sell items you have purchased in your games, but they can also use your account for theft via a stored credit card and also for money laundering – purchasing in-game currency using one stolen account and then transferring it to another compromised account to try and cover their tracks from law enforcement. For these reasons it is important to keep your credentials safe, use strong passwords and be aware of phishing attacks trying to fool you into providing your details.” Phishing scams are becoming even more of a threat as many people are forced to work from home due to pandemic-related lockdowns, cutting them off from the business environment and in-house security protection. Recent data from Google suggested that 2020 was a record year for phishing, with the company detecting 2.11m phishing sites in 2020 - a 25 percent increase compared to 2019, when the search giant discovered 1.69m malicious domains. “Remember that your online gaming accounts are a hot target for hackers for several reasons," warned Matt Aldridge, Principal Solutions Architect, Webroot.

my vote goes to DH1 , good sound & rhythm

What is it? If you always liked big, mainstream saloons with great handling and a decent turn of speed, take a good look at this one because the breed is getting much rarer and even this former market leader won’t be around forever. Vauxhall’s D-segment Insignia has had a good life in the UK, amassing sales of around 300,000 units in a bit over a decade – even managing 8000-odd units in 2019 – despite much demand shifting to SUVs, and the premium marques have taken even more. However, Opel-Vauxhall has made it clear this platform won’t continue beyond the mid-2020s, when all of its models are due to be electrified, so this latest set of changes – bringing impressive and efficient refinements to powertrains across the Insignia range – is likely to be the last before the Insignia joins all those other family-sized exec saloons in the sky. Our test subject, the top, performance GSi – which comes with a brand-new 227bhp four-cylinder turbo engine, a new nine-speed auto and a clever four-wheel drive system – emerges as the car with the clearest purpose in the newly refreshed range. SUVs can’t match it for handling, and big, spacious saloons as quick as this (147mph, 0-60mph in 7.0sec) are usually a fair bit more expensive than this car’s seriously enticing £38,690. What's it like? In particular, nothing in this class can match the Insignia GSi’s standard, clever Twinster four-wheel drive system. It acts like a front-drive layout in gentle driving (thus saving fuel) but, once selected via a console button, delivers unimpeachable traction and adds greatly to the car’s agility and handling balance by adding a torque-vectoring capability unseen at this price level. A conventional rear diff is replaced by a pair of clutches that use sensor info to direct torque to the rear wheel that can best accept it. Throw in fuel-saving cylinder deactivation, LED matrix headlights, quick-acting gearshift paddles, Brembo brakes, adaptive damping tuned on the Nürburgring and four selectable driving cycles (Standard, Tour, Sport and Competition) – plus the conservative but well-made and comfortable interior – and you have an extremely complete saloon package, especially for a car on the right side of £40k that needs no significant extras to be habitable. In three years’ time, this is going to be one helluva used car bargain… On the road, the Insignia GSi is instantly familiar territory – a roomy, flat-riding machine that’s refined without quite achieving the highest standards of its premium competitors that cost much more. The engine is smooth and quiet, even when operating close to its 6500rpm redline. It will pull well from low revs, but for real shove when you’re manual shifting via the paddles, it needs to be turning above 3500- 4000rpm. Left to its own devices, the nine-speed auto is smooth and unobtrusive, although in Sport it will drop three ratios on the kickdown if you’re willing to give it a second of thinking time. The paddles elicit a quicker response. The chassis feels familiar, too: quick and fairly meaty steering makes the car feel agile despite its 4.9m length and unimpressive 2240kg kerb weight, greatly helped by the four-wheel drive system’s traction control and especially the tendency of the Twinster diff to balance understeer in hard cornering so the car feels as if it’s ‘on rails’. Best of all, despite its electronic suspension and traction-keeping systems, the car feels reassuringly ‘analogue’ to drive. Should I buy one? Great equipment, handy performance and excellent chassis, at a price no one else can match. The Insignia is an appealing and rather old-school car whose days are numbered. When it goes, we’ll miss it and cars like it.