Nickname : @Revo 324 Tag your opponent : @XZoro™ Music genre : EDM Number of votes ( max 10 ) : 7 Tag one leader to post your songs LIST : @XZoro™

Welcome !

In 2020, Intel caught a lot of negative attention, mostly thanks to stunning releases from its competitors. All of its 2020 releases were generally great, the problem really came down to the launches from AMD – and surprisingly, Apple – outshining Team Blue's hardware. The Comet Lake-S lineup, for instance, brought HyperThreading all the way down the product stack to the Core i3 for the first time. This meant that Intel users were able to get great multi-threaded performance no matter how much cash they were willing to throw at their PCs. It just happened to not be enough to dethrone AMD's multi-threaded lead, and by the time the AMD Ryzen 5000 series launched, Intel's 10th-generation processors just didn't have much of a draw. Intel fared a bit better when it comes to mobile processors, as the Xe graphics in the 11th-gen Tiger Lake processors are genuinely fantastic, able to drive solid 1080p gaming performance in an ultra-slim form factor. Intel's latest mobile chips are also able to provide excellent battery life, and we're definitely excited to see how this will translate when Team Blue launches 11th-gen H-series chips for workstation and gaming-class laptops in 2021. Intel's mobile progress, however, was dampened slightly in November 2020 when Apple announced the MacBook Air, Mac mini and 13-inch MacBook Pro, ditching Intel's silicon for processors designed in-house at Apple. So, 2020 was a tumultuous year for Intel, full of ups and downs. In 2021, we largely expect that to continue, as Team Blue fights to maintain its relevance across all of its product lines. There are definitely some exciting things coming from Intel in 2021, the question is whether or not Intel can become everyone's darling again. Taking a rocket ship to the Rocket Lake It's no secret that the AMD Ryzen 5000 processors that launched in October 2020 absolutely blew Intel's 10th-generation Comet Lake-S processors out of the water, beating Intel in both single and multi-core performance. However, the things we're hearing about Rocket Lake from the rumor mill are very promising. For starters, we've seen some CPU-Z benchmarks that suggest that the Intel Core i9-11900 could be up to 12% faster in single-core workloads than the Core i9-10900K. That's just in CPU-Z, and is only a single benchmark, but it would mark a meaningful performance jump gen-on-gen, even if that may not be quite enough to topple the mighty AMD Ryzen 9 5900X. A large part of this is due to the fact that Intel Rocket Lake will still be based on the 14nm manufacturing process that Intel debuted with Skylake back in 2015. This shouldn't spell doom right away, as Intel has now had more than 5 years to refine its manufacturing process, but we may be starting to get to the theoretical performance limits that Intel can reach at this size. All of the processors in Intel's 11th-gen lineup may not even be Rocket Lake-S, either, with rumors of lower-end processors using a refreshed Comet Lake architecture. As for what these processors will look like, the flagship we've seen show up in rumors is an 8-core chip, down from the 10-core Intel Core i9-10900K. This means Intel is likely trimming down on core counts in order to boost single-core performance. It's also possible that Intel wants to cut back on power consumption, too, as the Core i9-10900K was incredibly power-hungry and could get quite hot under load. Right now, word on the street is that these new desktop processors will arrive in February or March 2021, which means it's very likely that Intel will show them off at CES 2021. Though, that's what we thought about Comet Lake at CES 2020, and then Intel spent that entire show talking about traffic control or whatever. Staying mobile When Apple announced the M1 processor, behind all of its late-2020 computers, we were already taken aback that the Cupertino giant had seemingly abandoned Intel. But, when the M1 started showing a lot of promise against Intel's U-series processors, the whole world took notice. Now, Intel's 11th-generation Tiger Lake U-series processors only just launched in September 2020, so we don't think a followup is coming right away. If Intel does launch 12th-generation processors in 2021, it likely won't be until the latter half of the year. Advertisement However, we're sure we'll see 11th-generation H-series processors showing up relatively soon. After all, the best gaming laptops on the market are still being powered by Intel 10th-generation Comet Lake-H processors, which launched back in Spring 2020. It's likely that we'll get Intel Tiger Lake-H at CES 2021, if not some other time in the first few months of the year. But unlike many other past Intel mobile processor launches, Intel is going to have a ton of competition across the industry. AMD is likely going to have its Ryzen 5000 mobile processors at some point, and we've already heard word that Microsoft is looking to follow in Apple's footsteps to create its own processors – both for laptops and its data centers. For years, Intel has been able to reliably stand in a dominant place in the mobile processor market, but just like its desktop chips, there are competitors coming for its throne. If Team Blue doesn't aggressively counter AMD and the various ARM processors in the mobile space, it could lose relevance to everyday consumers. We expect 2021 to be a year in which Intel really fights to claw back its stake. Intel Xe was weird in 2020, will stay weird in 2021 At CES 2020, Intel unveiled a consumer Xe GPU for the first time. The DG1 was a discrete-class graphics processor initially released to developers in order to get games ready to actually run on Intel's architecture. At the show, Intel showed this processor running Destiny 2 at a pretty respectable framerate, all in a relatively thin laptop (though at the time that laptop was locked in a glass box at the show that no one could touch). Anyway, when Intel Tiger Lake launched in September 2020, consumers could finally use Xe graphics themselves, where previously the graphics tech was only available in Exascale computing. Because these processors are meant for thin and light laptops and Ultrabooks, we got to see the Dell XPS 13 get a massive 50% bump in graphics performance over the early 2020 Ice Lake-equipped model. That's still not quite enough graphics horsepower to run something like Cyberpunk 2077 at max settings, but it's more than enough to play a bit of Rocket League or Fortnite on your lunch break at 1080p. In 2021, we expect to see Intel Xe get pushed even further. Back in October, a SiSoftware benchmark leaked out with a dual Gen12 Xe Graphics configuration. That leak seemed to suggest integrated graphics on a Rocket Lake processor, but it did point to 192 Execution Units (EUs), up from the 96 found on the Intel DG1, which means that integrated graphics on Intel's next-generation desktop processors might be way more powerful than they've been in the past. We would honestly love to see an Intel desktop processor that could give AMD's Ryzen APUs (like the Ryzen 5 3600G) a run for their money, and if this leak is any indication, that could be exactly what next-generation Intel processors could be going for. When it comes to discrete desktop graphics cards, Intel has also announced its Xe HPG series. According to a report on Toms Hardware, these desktop GPUs could come equipped with up to 512 EUs per tile, with each GPU able to have up to four tiles. Through a configuration like this, Intel's desktop graphics cards could be capable of up to 42.3 TFLOPs, which would be enough to rival the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3090 from a sheer FP32 standpoint. Then again, we feel like we've been waiting for Intel graphics cards our entire lives at this point, so all of this means relatively little if it never translates into an actual product. We'll just have to wait and see. Will Intel come out ahead? While it seems like a century has passed in the time since, Intel was still on top of the world just three years ago in 2017. In a large part it was the fact that Intel just kind of got stuck on 14nm on desktop that let AMD get ahead, thanks to Team Red outsourcing its manufacturing to TSMC. And, on the mobile side, Intel is still competitive now, but with heavy competition coming from both AMD and ARM, Intel could have a hard time staying competitive. More than anything, Intel needs a strong 2021 to stay in the game, and while we don't think Intel will be at the top of the market once New Years Day 2022 rolls around, we don't think Intel is going to slip much further than it's already slipped. And, who knows – if Intel is able to push out strong dedicated graphics cards that can take on Nvidia Ampere and AMD Big Navi, it could make everyone love Intel again. Either way, 2021 is going to be another year full of fights for Intel, and it's going to be a lot of fun to watch them from the sidelines.

Nickname : @Revo 324 Tag your opponent : @Meh Rez vM ! ♫ Music genre : French Rap Number of votes ( max 10 ) : 7 Tag one leader to post your songs LIST : @Meh Rez vM ! ♫

DH1 : 3votes DH2 : 2votes @N I N J A x) the winner

v2 , text & blur

Lexus has already taken the most important step towards an electrified future as it has just launched its first model with this type of powertrain. It does so after presenting the Lexus LF-30 Electrified Concept prototype, the vision they have of their electric for 2030. But there is still a decade for that, so for now we will have to stay with the Lexus UX 300e, the electric version of this small SUV. The truth is that it was the most logical movement, taking advantage of a copy seated on the GA-C platform, which stands out for its modularity. In fact, it has not been too difficult to incorporate a new electrical mechanics on the front axle instead of the 250h hybrid powertrain (which we recently tested). It is the top of the range thanks to its 204 hp and 300 Nm of torque, which leave behind the 184 hp that the hybrid achieved. The other element that becomes important in the Lexus UX 300e is the lithium-ion battery with 54.3 kWh of capacity. Thanks to it, the SUV is capable of reaching a range of 300 kilometers in the WLTP cycle (400 km with the previous NEDC cycle). This battery accepts loads of up to 6.6 kW in alternating current and can reach up to 50 kW in fast loads with direct current. Where this Lexus UX 300e wants to stand out is in ride comfort and they already promise that it will be one of the quietest in its segment. Add more isolation than usual and also the Active Sound Control (ASC) system, which transmits natural sounds from the environment. It will also achieve dynamic behavior at height thanks to its low center of gravity and the different driving modes that modify the vehicle's retention and its energy regeneration. There will be no lack of connectivity in the Lexus UX 300e, because thanks to an application for smartphones you can check the status of the battery and the remaining autonomy at any time. There will even be alerts for the user when charging is complete or the possibility of controlling the climate control or heated seats from the mobile. This model begins its commercialization in Spain with four available finishes to choose from. These are the usual Eco, Business, Executive and Luxury; having from the first a fairly complete endowment. All UX 300e have elements such as LED headlights, alloy wheels, multimedia system with connectivity and the driving aids of the Lexus Safety System +. The starting price of the first electric of the brand is 49,900 euros with the Eco finish. It increases to 53,300 euros with the Business finish, to 57,800 euros with the Executive finish and reaches up to 63,500 euros with the top-of-the-range Luxury finish. . These prices do not include discounts of any kind.

According to a report in The Independent, singer Michael Jackson’s Neverland Ranch has been sold to a billionaire for $22m (INR 162 crore approx.). This is $78m (INR 575 crore approx.) less than the price it was slated for in 2016. The same report states that Ronald Burkle, a billionaire businessman acquired the 2,700-acre property in Los Olivos, near Santa Barbara. The report further mentions that Jackson’s Neverland Ranch was up for sale four years ago for $100m (INR 736 crore approx.). However, the price sharply dropped subsequently by 2019. The property was bought by Jackson in 1988. The name given by him shared its origin with Peter Pan stories. The report mentions that the ranch was converted into the pop star’s personal amusement park. There were three railroads built, and even a ferris wheel and an electric train. Post his death, the rides and the many animals were relocated. According to a report in Billboard, Burkle’s spokesman confirmed looking out for Zaca Lake. It adjoins the property. He wanted it for a new Soho House, an exclusive members-only club which already has branches in New York, Miami, Los Angeles. However, he deemed the location to be too remote. He apparently viewed the property from air and subsequently set an offer to buy it. He is the controlling shareholder of Soho House. He was an associate of the pop star and also a co-founder of the Yucaipa Companies, an investment firm. A report in The Hollywood Reporter states that he holds investments in several UK and US based talent agencies.

Rabat – Morocco’s former Education Minister Mohamed El Ouafa died today of COVID-19 complications. Born in 1948 in Marrakech, El Ouafa was one of the leading members of the Independence (Al Istiqlal) Party. El Ouafa was the Education Minister when Abdelilah Benkirane was Head of Government. El Ouafa had a bachelor’s and graduate degree in economics from Paris. In 1976, the former minister held the post of assistant professor at the Faculty of Law in Rabat. He was a member of the House of Representatives from 1977 to 1997. El Ouafa also chaired the municipal council of Marrakech from 1983-1992. The former official had been a member of the executive committee of the Istiqlal Party since 1982. Read Also: Mohamed El Ouafa, Most Famous Moroccan Minister El Ouafa also served as the Secretary General of the Youth Istiqlal party from 1976-1984 and served as president of the General Union of Students of Morocco. During his political career, El Ouafa represented Morocco as an ambassador to India from 2000 to 2004, Iran in 2006, as well as to Brazil. Several other iconic figures in Morocco died this year from COVID-19. In November, Moroccan singer Mahmoud El Idrissi passed away due to COVID-19 at the age of 70. Moroccan journalist Driss Ouhab also died in October due to COVID-19. The journalist was among the first to join the Moroccan television channel 2M after its launch in the late 80s. Earlier this year in April, COVID-19 complications also claimed life of Jewish Moroccan musician Marcel Botbol.

DH1 , good song & i liked the rhythm & sound

both are good , but my vote for DH2 , nice sound & rhythm

DH1 : 0 DH2 : 7 im the winner

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PRO

Kareena Kapoor Khan is soon to be a mother and like earlier, she has been giving us major maternity goals. She has been spotted out and about several times. For Christmas, she stepped out in a Masaba Gupta outfit. The actor was seen in a classic kurta and churidar from the designer featuring the label’s signature prints. Seen with sister Karisma Kapoor, Kareena looked lovely as she completed the look with minimal makeup and pulled the look together with hair tied. Kareena is quite a Masaba loyalist. On her birthday, she was seen in an outfit from the label. The one-shoulder drape top featured a matching skirt and much like Gupta’s other designs, the outfit stood out for the chic bird-and-bees prints. In a picture shared online, Kareena was seen wearing it and cutting a cake. The look was kept understated, and completed with a messy hairdo. The designer too had shared pictures from her collection with models wearing the same outfit. The actor was also spotted in a Masaba Gupta sari making the pink and yellow sari somewhat iconic. The Veere Di Wedding actor looked gorgeous draped in a canary yellow sari, right off the shelves of the designer’s Summer/Festive 2018 collection. The chanderi sari has become Gupta’s most enduring creation since.

Subaru has previewed the sound of its next-generation BRZ’s engine ahead of the sport's car's official reveal on 18 November. An official video, released on the brand’s social media recently, shows little of the BRZ's appearance, being shot from the driver’s perspective, but leaves no doubt as to what its 252bhp turbocharged powerplant sounds like at full throttle. A spokesperson told Autocar that the coupé will be a US-only model and that there are "no plans" to launch it in Europe, as is the case with Nissan's similarly positioned new 400Z. It remains unclear whether the BRZ's Toyota GR86 sibling will be a global model. A recently released preview image gave little away beyond the design of the car's new 10-spoke alloy wheels, but a prototype of the next-generation BRZ was spotted earlier this year, giving us a first look at the hotly anticipated coupé's styling. As reported earlier this year, It will get 252bhp from a turbocharged petrol engine. Like its predecessor, it will be mechanically - and likely visually - identical to a Toyota model. A reveal date for the BRZ's twin hasn't yet been confirmed, however. The images reveal that the BRZ's familiar curved silhouette forms the basis for the styling of the next-generation car, but we can see for certain that the front grille has been significantly enlargened and there are new light designs at both the front and rear. A similarly compact footprint to the outgoing model tallies with earlier reports that the Toyota-Subaru duo will swap from their current Subaru-derived underpinnings onto the TNGA architecture that underpins Toyota's Corolla family hatchback and can be adapted to suit a rear-wheel-drive powertrain. Subaru has now confirmed that the second-gen car will be rear-wheel drive. As with the previous model, however, the BRZ and its GR86 sibling will use an engine from Subaru's current line-up, likely the 2.4-litre four-cylinder boxer motor found in the US-market Ascent SUV. Its 252bhp output represents a substantial upgrade over the 197bhp offered by the current BRZ's naturally aspirated motor, which suggests Subaru and Toyota are looking to target more potent sports cars, such as the Alpine A110. Also on the cards is a comprehensive interior overhaul for both models, with improvements made in material quality, infotainment functionality and usability. The size and shape of this new prototype suggests, however, that there hasn't been a move to significantly extend rear leg room to enhance the car's grand touring potential. Subaru and Toyota extended their model development partnership last year, confirming that a successor to the GT86 and BRZ was under development. Sharing the high cost of designing and building a sports car makes it a more economically viable proposition, given that demand for such models has tailed off in recent years. The two firms will also collaborate on a new electric vehicle architecture with the ultimate aim of jointly launching an electric SUV with Subaru-derived four-wheel drive technology and Toyota's powertrain hardware. The first sighting of a BRZ development mule came just two weeks after Subaru announced that it was ending production of the original model, eight years after its launch.

Provincial health authorities in Essaouira have begun preparations for Morocco’s mass vaccination campaign against COVID-19 by mobilizing 68 vaccination stations and 72 medical teams. In a statement to the Moroccan state news agency, provincial health delegate Zakaria Ait Lahcen said that four of the 68 vaccination stations are located in the commune of Essaouira to a fixed vaccination point at the city level. The rest is set to be distributed around multiple local authorities in the region. Composing the vaccination teams are 183 nurses, 23 doctors, as well as members of the Moroccan Red Crescent (CRM). The teams also include students of the Higher Institute of Nursing Professions (ISPITS) who received special training sessions. As part of its mass vaccination operation against COVID-19, Essaouira is prepared to vaccinate approximately 244,392 inhabitants in the region. Meanwhile, the region’s health authorities are set to receive nearly 513,000 vaccine doses. Earlier this week, Morocco’s government announced the purchase of 65 million doses of the two vaccines the country has chosen for the national campaign against COVID-19. Thegovernment said it aims to vaccinate at least 25 million people as part of its plans to maintain its goal of covering 80% of the Moroccan po[CENSORED]tion to achieve herd immunity. Previously, Morocco’s health minister Khalid Ait Taleb announced that the national vaccination campaign against COVID-19 will be short and will not exceed three months. He noted Morocco will be aiming to mobilize more than 25,600 medical personnel, including 11,000 in urban areas, while the health professionals involved with the vaccination campaign will administer 150 to 200 doses per day. To ensure sufficient staffing, health officials might seek assistance from doctors in the private sector, medical students, nursing students, and members of medical organizations such as the Red Crescent. In addition to people with chronic conditions, the national campaign will prioritize frontline workers such as medical staff, security services, local authorities, and educators. Yesterday Morocco’s Ministry of Health registered 2,329 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the country’s total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases to 428,193. In total, Morocco has so far recorded 7.170 coronavirus-related deaths, marking a national fatality rate of 1.7%.

We all want to know where and how to buy an RTX 3080 card or an RX 6800 XT, but even the best graphics cards are worthless without a great monitor to output to. That's why we've pointed out that buying a new monitor is the best PC upgrade this right now. With the right discount, you can find a high-refresh-rate 1080p monitor for much less than $200, or a 4K, non-gaming screen for well under $300. Now that it's holiday deals season, we're still seeing some great monitor deals and will be highlighting the best ones below. If price isn't your primary concern, or you want to check out how an on-sale monitor stacks up against the best, check out our list of Best Gaming Monitors and Best 4K Gaming Monitors for 2020. Best Computer Monitor Deals: Quick Links Dell: Save up to 46% on monitors Gigabyte Monitors: Save up to 20% at Newegg MSI Monitors: Save up to 20% at Newegg Lenovo: Save up to 40% on monitors Specs to look out for Manufacturer - Keep an eye out for familiar brands and avoid deals from unknown manufacturers. Size - Monitors come in many sizes, always verify the exact size of the monitor you're looking at. The number refers to the measurement of the screen corner to corner. Shape - While most modern displays are flat, curved monitors have started to trend. Refresh Rate - Look for the refresh rate when considering a monitor. The higher the refresh rate, the better. Resolution - A 4K monitor will have a higher resolution than a 2K monitor. Double-check the resolution before you indulge in a tempting deal. Computer Monitor Deal Tips All of the monitor deals found on this page were verified to make sure they provide real value. That said, it's up to you to be diligent and evaluate your sales before spending your hard-earned money. There are a few third-party tools we use that can help you find the best deal. Google Shopping and PCPartPicker are excellent tools for comparing products between different vendors. If you're shopping through Amazon, you can use CamelCamelCamel to view the price history of almost any item. This is a great way to see if the deal is genuine or artificially inflated. Double-check the price history: Use tools like CamelCamelCamel, Google Shopping and PCPartPicker to ensure you're getting the best deal possible.

Microsoft has experienced a fair old rollercoaster of ups and downs this year, with some impressive hardware launches on one hand, and some disappointing delays on the other (Surface Neo springs readily to mind). It was quieter on the software front in some respects, certainly when it came to Windows 10, although Microsoft pushed forward in the gaming arena considerably, not least with a massive acquisition which you’re unlikely to have missed. If you did, though, read on to find out the full details of that multibillion dollar buy, and our assessment of everything else that Microsoft did in 2020 – as well as our thoughts on what’ll be coming from the company next year. We'll show you how to build a PC And how to speed up Windows 10 These are the best laptops around Windows 10 and the ‘X’ factor Windows 10 had a pretty quiet year on the whole. Of the two biannual feature updates delivered this year, the second one – the October 2020 Update – was only a minor upgrade that didn’t do much. And the big changes, which were delivered with the May 2020 Update earlier in the year, weren’t all that majorly impactful in all honesty. Yes, some useful tweaks were made to the search experience in Windows 10, and changes to Cortana, as well as the introduction of a new Cloud Download feature to make reinstalling Windows 10 an easier and more convenient process – but there was nothing particularly earth-shattering. Sadly, bugs rather plagued the May 2020 Update too – and some fairly nasty ones at that, not that this is anything new for Windows 10 – plus it didn’t prove particularly po[CENSORED]r with upgraders. Overall, then, it was a pretty ‘meh’ year for the OS, and that was compounded by the fact that Windows 10X, the new spin on Microsoft’s desktop operating system, was supposed to emerge in all its lightweight splendor this year – but didn’t. And neither did the dual-screen devices which were supposed to debut with Windows 10X on board, with this innovative hardware and the new flavor of the OS being delayed – including Microsoft’s Surface Neo (we’ll come back to Neo and other Surface devices shortly). It was further revealed that Windows 10X will now come to single-screen devices first (meaning traditional laptops), somewhat dampening enthusiasm about how revolutionary this new take on the desktop operating system might be when it does pitch up next year. Behind closed Windows While not much was happening with Windows 10 on the face of it, by all accounts there was a lot going on behind-the-scenes that we weren’t supposed to see – but caught glimpses of thanks to the various leaks and rumors which came out of Microsoft during 2020. Aside from the development of Windows 10X, which is a given, there were a couple of big projects that were initiated behind the doors of Microsoft’s HQ in Redmond, one of those being ‘Sun Valley’ which promises nothing less than a complete overhaul of the Windows 10 interface. Everything – including the Start menu, File Explorer, Action Center, taskbar, the lot – is set to benefit from a more modern and contemporary appearance, and a refinement of Fluent Design, with work well underway now, targeting an H2 2021 release (meaning this will be in the second big feature update of Windows 10 next year, going by rumors – although of course all this could change). Project Latte is another weighty nugget that dropped on the grapevine late in the year, apparently showing Microsoft’s ambition to let Windows 10 users run Android apps on their desktop, which would be another major string to the flexibility bow for Windows 10. What we’re getting at here is that for Windows 10, 2020 seems to have been more a year of groundwork and preparation, ahead of a lot of new stuff potentially being unleashed next year. Surface successes – and disappointments As we mentioned previously, Surface Neo should have arrived for holiday 2020, but Microsoft announced its delay in April, hinting that it might not turn up until the end of 2021 – and more recently, there have even been suggestions of a delay until 2022 – but take that with a big pinch of salt. Still, it’s clear enough that we’ll be waiting some time for Surface Neo yet… So, what Surface products did we see from Microsoft this year? Perhaps the most interesting – and certainly innovative – one was Surface Duo. This was the dual-screen device that did come out in 2020, but it wasn’t a PC. It was a phone. Although according to Microsoft, it was a ‘pocketable computer’. Or a ‘communication device’. The company has used all sorts of weird and wonderful terms for Surface Duo, trying to avoid the ‘p’ word, but essentially it is a phone with two screens (running Android), albeit one with a really nifty design. It’s a seriously tempting portable productivity device, particularly for those who use Microsoft Office a lot. We appreciated the innovation on offer with Duo, even if we weren’t so impressed with the hardware inside – and seriously balked at the asking price. On balance, Duo was a win for Microsoft in 2020, albeit with caveats which are understandable when it comes to trying to do something genuinely different with a mobile device. If Surface Duo was pricey, then at least Microsoft plumped for a much more wallet-friendly portable with the new Surface Laptop Go which arrived in October. Starting at $549, this compact 12.4-inch laptop proved to be a fantastic machine for the money, oozing style and benefiting from a top-notch build quality, all while being affordable. This was the real star of Microsoft’s Surface line-up for 2020, and in our review we gushed that it “redefines what budget laptops should look like”, no less. Microsoft failed to make such an impact with the Surface Book 3, which emerged in May, but landed somewhat awkwardly due to the components inside – the weak CPU in particular – and the weighty asking price. The Surface Go 2 came out alongside the new Surface Book, and proved a solid offering in terms of a budget-friendly Windows 10 tablet. Overall, then, it was a favorable year for the Surface division, although there was no sign of any movement on the Surface Pro or Surface Laptop front. The final piece of the puzzle for 2020, Microsoft’s Surface Pro X refresh, went on sale in October and was a very minor affair – essentially just upgrading the CPU to a Microsoft SQ2 model (the original ARM chip was the SQ1, of course, a tweaked higher-powered version of Qualcomm’s 8cx SoC – and you can still buy the hybrid with that processor at a more affordable price). There was definitely some improvement when it came to the performance of the Surface Pro X with the new SQ2 model, as you’d expect, and in terms of app compatibility for that matter (remember that this is an ARM-based portable). But not long after it was refreshed, the Pro X found itself under fire from a somewhat unexpected direction – namely Apple. Apple embarrasses Microsoft As mentioned, Microsoft might’ve introduced the SQ2 processor in October, but in November, Apple unleashed its own custom-designed ARM effort, the M1 chip, which powered some new MacBooks (and the Mac mini). The problem being that Apple’s ARM solution blew away Microsoft’s in no uncertain terms. To the point that we witnessed Apple’s M1 SoC running Windows 10 on ARM (using virtualization) faster then Microsoft’s Surface Pro X. Much faster, in fact: and this is a Microsoft OS running on a MacBook. To compound that, we further saw that in some comparative performance benchmarks – Geekbench 5, Cinebench and Handbrake – the M1-powered MacBook Air thoroughly outclassed the Surface Pro X, pretty much to an embarrassing extent. In short, this was one of the developments in 2020 that Microsoft would rather forget – and it boldly underlines the need for the firm to seriously pick up the pace with its Windows on ARM ambitions next year, if it wants to remain competitive. Speaking of which, later in December, we heard that Microsoft could be formulating plans for its very own full-on custom ARM-based processors, but apparently this is more likely to be for data centers than Surface devices. However, this is only a rumor right now, and we’ll just have to see how it pans out… Game on Microsoft made some impressive strides forward on the PC gaming front this year. For starters, the Xbox Game Pass for PC emerged as a fully-fledged service from beta in September, allowing subscribers to access a library of over 150 games currently, and some high-quality titles at that. The slight niggle was that EA Play games should have been brought under that umbrella in December, too – but that move has sadly been delayed until 2021. Still, it’s happening, and hopefully that functionality should be here soon, making the Game Pass an even better value proposition. Xbox Game Pass Ultimate also got support for Microsoft’s cloud gaming service (previously known as Project xCloud), allowing for games to be streamed to Android devices – and support for streaming to PC will come in the first half of 2021, it was announced in December. That means those with underpowered PCs will be able to enjoy playing cutting-edge games from the service (providing that their internet connection isn’t underpowered, of course, as ever with streaming services like GeForce Now). But games-wise, the huge move of 2020 was Microsoft buying ZeniMax, the owner of Bethesda (of Fallout and Elder Scrolls fame) and id Software (Doom and Quake). This happened in September, with an eye-watering cost of $7.5 billion making it one of the biggest acquisitions ever seen in the games industry – and a purchase made with the express intention of strengthening the Game Pass library with a bunch of premium titles (Fallout 76 and Doom Eternal are already available). It’s becoming abundantly clear that Microsoft is serious about making the Game Pass a must-have purchase for PC gamers and console fans alike, with the eventual aim of making it the ‘Netflix for games’. If the value proposition keeps getting bolstered along the lines we’re already seeing, it’ll be hard to argue with that. Edge of tomorrow Microsoft’s Chromium-based Edge browser shrugged off its beta tag in January 2020, and the finished product was generally well-received by the web browsing public. In fact, by March, it had overtaken Firefox to become the second most po[CENSORED]r browser behind only the dominant Chrome. Since then, Edge has increased its lead and now has nearly double the market share of Firefox going by NetMarketShare’s figures (although at 11% in November, there’s still a very long way to go for Edge to get anywhere near Google’s Chrome which is on 68%). The revamped Edge has had plenty of praise for the performance levels it offers, and more measures to push forward in that respect are already in testing. This is an obvious – and welcome – avenue for Microsoft to attack Chrome, given the latter’s main weakness is its propensity to be a resource hog. Microsoft’s browser has also been the recipient of many useful new features this year, from additions that help with multitasking, through to functionality that will potentially save you money. Furthermore, as of this year, Microsoft Edge is now on all promised platforms, with the Linux (preview) release having emerged in October. The stage is set for Microsoft to continue with the momentum Edge has gained this year – the company just has to be careful not to annoy users by being too pushy with ads and promotional activity, which sadly became something of a theme for 2020. Cut that out for 2021, Microsoft, and let your product gain standing and followers on its own merit – something it’s perfectly capable of doing. Concluding thoughts Overall, 2020 was a bit of a mixed bag for Microsoft. There wasn’t much doing with Windows 10, and indeed the operating system probably had its quietest year ever – albeit if a lot was seemingly going on in the background. The delay of Windows 10X, and indeed Surface Neo and other dual-screen devices, was disappointing, particularly in some ways because Surface Duo did turn up – and showed us just how promising these innovations might be. Surface Duo proved to be an impressive piece of hardware for 2020, no doubt, albeit with its own weak spots as a mobile device, and furthermore Microsoft produced an excellent device in the form of Surface Laptop Go, which was a lesson in how to make an affordable notebook that doesn’t compromise an inch on quality and style. A notable blip on the Surface radar, however, was the Pro X being seriously embarrassed by Apple’s ARM chip in the performance stakes. Edge moved forward nicely throughout the year, and is now the second most po[CENSORED]r browser after Chrome (at least going by one analytics firm), and Microsoft picked up momentum considerably on the gaming front, most notably with that big ZeniMax deal. Xbox Game Pass for PC solidified its reputation as a great value proposition, too – and that’s only going to get better as we look to 2021. Next year should also witness the launch of Windows 10X – in fact, the lightweight spin on Microsoft’s OS could emerge early in 2021, in theory – and we can keep our fingers crossed that we’ll see Surface Neo not too far behind (but some folks have doubts on that score). Surface Pro and Surface Laptop refreshes are also expected next year – probably sooner rather than later – and it’ll be a big surprise if we don’t see a major revamp for the interface of Windows 10, so 2021 is already shaping up to be a very important year for Microsoft.

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