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If you’ve ever looked into becoming a Twitch streamer, you’ll know that finding the right accessories isn’t always easy. Not only do the best microphones and webcams come at a premium price point, but pairing your choices with the right tripods, mic arms, and lighting requires careful research. While well-known brands like Logitech, Elgato, and Razer make exceptional products, few companies provide an all-in-one solution that includes everything you need to stream online. Enter Streamplify – an affordable new range of gaming PC gear that aims to kit out budding content creators with a complete streaming setup. Developed by Pro Gamers Group, the same company responsible for brands like Noblechairs, Streamplify provides both tools and knowledge to aspiring creators and streamers. At a glance, the range appears to be an array of budget accessories that cost significantly less than branded alternatives. This is certainly the case, but each product goes beyond cheap and cheerful by packing respectable specs and additional extras that will save you heading to Google in a panic. Streamplify kindly let me try out its complete bundle, which includes an RGB microphone, 1080p webcam, two ring lights, and a green screen. It’s worth noting that while I’ve dabbled with streaming Steam games in the past, I actually felt empowered to get back into Twitch content creation. In fact, even though I’m certainly not going to be the next Pokemaine, both the range’s accessories and easy setup helped me feel more confident and effectively re-opened the door to a previously shelved hobby. The entire Streamplify brand takes a straight-talking approach to accessories, with products hammering home simplicity with names like ‘CAM’ and ‘MIC’. Yet, each package actually features much more than a single peripheral, with various bits and bobs to help keep you on the beating path of your setup journey. For example, there are actually two versions of the RGB microphone, one comes with a desktop tripod and the other a mic arm. Just like other options out there, both ring lights come with their own stand, but there’s a notable difference in adjustability and quality. Not only does this help anyone building a setup from scratch save a few pennies, but it’ll means you probably won’t need to go hunting for a mounting solution with additional functionality. As for actually putting everything together, Streamplify also has you covered, as each box features an ‘assistant’ QR code. This handy little square wisps you off to a comprehensive collection of information about your chosen product, including tutorial videos. Ultimately, this makes it feel like Streamplify has your back and cares about you successfully crafting a perfect setup. Network N earns commission from qualifying purchases via Amazon Associates and other programs. That’s not to say the bigger brands don’t care about your success too, but helpfulness seems to be baked into Streamplify’s design language. Sometimes it’s subtle things, like the fact the Streamplify Cam has a built-in privacy shutter that physically switches off its mic. However, there are other touches that exemplify that aforementioned commitment to accommodation, like including an all-in-one shock mount and pop-filter with the RGB mic. Helpful tutorials and inclusions aside, it all goes for nothing if the product they’re attached to isn’t up to par. Thankfully, Streamplify’s range of stuff boasts exceptional build quality and surprisingly great specs, especially when you consider its price point. To put things in perspective, the Streamplify Cam can handle 1080p 60fps capture, just like the Logitech Streamcam, but it comes in at just $69.99. Sure, Logitech’s high-end electric eye comes with fancy features like AI-powered auto-tracking, which is reflected in its $169.99 price tag. But, at less than half the price, the Streamplify cam pulls its weight where it matters, particularly when it comes to the image quality and spec required to put on a good Twitch show. Network N earns commission from qualifying purchases via Amazon Associates and other programs. Quality seems to be consistent across the entire Streamplify collection too, with the likes of the RGB mic consisting of metal and nice feeling plastics, all while producing clean audio. Admittedly, the mic’s ring of multicoloured lights isn’t spectacular, but it still adds flare to the device without driving up the price. And let’s be honest, even a basic touch of colour matters when it comes to streaming aesthetics. Video and audio are undeniably integral when it comes to making content, but good lighting can transform something passable into a professional production. That said, you don’t have to pick up Streamplify’s duo of ring lights alongside its webcam and microphone offering, but they personally helped me easily address one of the biggest issues with my hobbyist streaming sessions – shadowy, grainy images of my face. Naturally, I could have simply hopped onto Amazon and picked up some cheap LED lights to prevent me from looking like Nosferatu while playing Dead Space, but the whole affair seemed like a hassle at the time. My desk cabling already resembled a squiggly child’s drawing, and wading through specs and features felt like a chore. Yet, using Streamplfy’s ring lights feels like an instantaneous solution, one that barely required any effort to get up and running. Cam bonanza: Take a peek at the best webcams You can opt to either pick up either the USB powered “LIGHT 10” or the higher wattage “LIGHT 14” on their own, but they complement each other perfectly both in terms of setup and results. The bigger 14-inch light comes with two USB sockets on the back, meaning you can link up to two smaller ring lights together and power them all from a single wall socket. Both models have camera screw mounts on their centre, allowing it to serve as a place to pop your webcam or even a smartphone if you happen to use yours as a makeshift webcam. It’s needless to say that both PC gaming and Twitch streaming are expensive hobbies, which makes Streamplify’s ambitions all the more worthwhile. Its collection won’t instantly transform you into the next big internet sensation, as you’re unlikely to achieve that through decent spec’d hardware alone. Nevertheless, as someone who grew up in a working-class environment with not much money to spare, I can say first-hand that quality equipment at an approachable price helps facilitate creativity, and Streamplify could help many people kickstart their Twitch streamer journey. It might be something of a pipedream, but I’d love to see more new faces earn affiliate status by using Streamplify’s gear, as it’d prove that great things can happen when learning curves and knowledge barriers are removed. https://www.pcgamesn.com/streamplify-twitch-streamer-accessories

Earlier today, Activision Blizzard announced that it would move its 1,100 US-based temporary QA workers to full-time status, and increase the minimum salary for those roles across the company to $20 per hour. However, a spokesperson for the company has now confirmed to Bloomberg that these raises will not apply to workers at Raven Software, many of whom are pushing for unionisation. Activision Blizzard says the lack of raises for QA workers at Raven Software are “due to legal obligations under the National Labor Relations Act.” The company says “whether Raven workers choose to unionise has nothing to do with the salary increases elsewhere for Activision’s QA workers.” You can read the full report at Bloomberg. “Make no mistake, all credit for Activision Blizzard’s latest move to give all temporary and contingent QA team members full-time employment and a raise should go to the workers,” the Communications Workers of America says in a statement shared to social media. “It’s especially galling then that Activision has excluded Raven Software QA workers, who have been at the forefront of this effort, from these benefits. The company’s assertion that the National Labor Relations Act prevents them from including Raven workers is clearly an effort to divide workers and undermine their effort to form a union.” Communications Workers of America is working with the Raven Software employees who are attempting to unionise. Employees formed a union called the Game Workers Alliance earlier this year, which Activision Blizzard has so far chosen not to recognise. GWA and Activision Blizzard recently participated in hearings with the National Labor Relations Board, which has yet to render a decision on the unionisation effort. In July 2021, the state of California filed a lawsuit against Activision Blizzard alleging years of workplace discrimination and harassment. The story has since embroiled CEO Bobby Kotick and prompted the US federal government to open an investigation. It continues to unfold and to be of immense importance to the game industry. You can catch up on all the developments so far in this regularly updated explainer article. Worker group ABK Workers Alliance says that pay for most QA employees at Activision Blizzard was set to $17 per hour as of December 2021. https://www.pcgamesn.com/activision-blizzard-qa-raise

India plans to increase its domestic production of military equipment over fears that its main supplier Russia might not be able to meet demand because of the war in Ukraine. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh announced the decision on Thursday while releasing a list of military equipment that will be produced domestically and no longer imported, including helicopters, tank engines, missiles and airborne early warning systems. "Our objective is to develop India as a defence manufacturing hub,” Mr Singh said. India depends on Moscow for about 60 per cent of its defence equipment but Russia's losses in Ukraine are creating uncertainty over future supplies. Defence Ministry officials say India, with the world’s second-largest army, fourth-largest air force and seventh-largest navy, cannot sustain itself through imports. The ministry’s website said military orders worth 2,100 billion rupees ($28 billion) are likely to be placed with domestic state-run and private defence manufacturers in the next five years. New Delhi and Moscow agreed to transfer some weapons manufacturing to India during a visit last year by Russian President Vladimir Putin, said D S Hooda, a retired Indian army general. Imports of helicopters, navy corvettes, tank engines, missiles and airborne early warning systems will cease eventually. "The requirements of the Russian military itself, with the kind of losses that it is suffering, may mean some of those spares that we need will probably get diverted,” Gen Hooda told Associated Press. Defence Ministry officials said India might consider purchases from former Soviet republics and Warsaw Pact countries to meet its short-term requirements. Bulgaria, Poland, Georgia, Kazakhstan and Ukraine could help India with spare supplies for Russian Sukhoi and MiG-29 fighter jets and with upgrading tanks and armoured vehicles, because they have similar Soviet-origin platforms and spares, a ministry official said. India's Foreign Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar told his British counterpart Liz Truss during her visit to India last week that there was now an emphasis on “made in India” and that "the more collaborative we are, the possibilities of working together are more“. The two sides discussed ways to strengthen Indo-British defence ties, apparently to reduce India’s strategic dependence on Russia. India’s Defence Ministry has so far identified a “positive indigenisation list” of more than 300 items, with a timeline for banning imports of these items. India’s air force has more than 410 Soviet and Russian fighter aircraft with a mix of imported and licence-built platforms, including Su30s, MiG-21s and MiG-29s. All require Russian spares and components. India also has Russian tanks, helicopters, frigates, submarines and missiles. Rahul Bedi, a defence analyst, said India was awaiting deliveries of Russian missile systems, frigates, an Akula-class nuclear-powered submarine and assault rifles. Sanctions on Moscow over its war in Ukraine could jeopardise India’s recent $375 million order from the Philippines for BrahMos cruise missiles. Russia’s rocket developer NPO Mashinostroyenia, which formed a joint venture with India’s government-run Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) to design, upgrade and manufacture BrahMos, is responsible for providing the missile system's engines and seekers. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government is pushing for greater self-reliance, but India lacks a strong industrial base for military equipment. The process of shifting manufacturing of spare parts to India has begun, but Gen Hooda said it was unclear if it could quickly make up for any supply shortfall. "I would say if you really want to see significant progress it will take at least five years,” he said. The Defence Ministry has also signed nearly 60 offset contracts worth more than $13 billion by 2027 for purchases of fighter aircraft and weapons from the United States, France, Russia and Israel. The deals require 30 per cent to 50 per cent of the contract value to be returned to India as offsets or re-investments. An offset involves an obligation by a foreign supplier to buy a certain amount of goods from the importing country as part of the contract. India's government wants part of that money to benefit its defence industry or to allow the country to gain in terms of technology. It involves setting up joint ventures with Indian companies to manufacture defence equipment. The government announced in the 2022-2023 budget that 68 per cent of all capital defence procurement would be from local manufacturers. Provided by The National Indian Air Force personnel service a Russian-made MiG-29 fighter jet at the Yelahanka Air Force Station in the southern city of Bengaluru. AFP Meanwhile, defence trade with the US increased from nearly zero in 2008 to $15bn in 2019. Major Indian purchases from the United States included long-range maritime patrol aircraft, C-130 transport aircraft, missiles and drones. In 2020, India announced that foreign companies could invest up to 74 per cent in its defence manufacturing units, up from 49 per cent, without government approval. The aim is to attract foreign companies with advanced technologies to set up factories in India in collaboration with local companies. India fully opened its defence sector, previously confined to state-run companies, to the private sector in 2001. However, only 110 of the 330 private companies with industrial licences for such manufacturing have begun production, according to the Defence Ministry. Starting from scratch, the DRDO began trying to develop advanced defence technologies in 1958. It has worked on short-range and long-range Agni and Prithvi missiles, Tejas light combat aircraft, tanks, multi-barrel rocket launchers, air defence systems and a wide range of radar and electronic warfare systems. The Defence Ministry earmarked 10 billion rupees for procurement from start-ups in 2020-2021. The government has established two defence industrial corridors, in northern Uttar Pradesh and southern Tamil Nadu states, with investments of $2.7bn by 2024 by state-run and private sector companies. https://www.msn.com/en-ae/news/world/india-to-boost-domestic-weapons-production-over-fears-of-shortfall-from-russia/ar-AAVXHSY?ocid=EMMX&cvid=decc2cf3729c4241a6f57dad68224ec2

Since Windows 10, Microsoft has had a consistent plan of updating Windows every six months with bug fixes and updates. This carried on for Windows 11 until Microsoft's recent event when it announced a bunch of features, such as tabs in File Explorer. Four months into 2022, we've already seen two major updates. Normally, these would have arrived six months apart, usually named '2H22' to help reference the major update for that time. There's been constant speculation on a big update to Windows 11 called Sun Valley 2. All these current updates, however, make us wonder if we should still expect a major update with a codename for Windows, or if "Sun Valley" is now irrelevant. Sunset for the Valley Back in the days of Windows XP and Windows Vista, major updates would be called 'Service Pack', with new features and a collection of bug fixes that would arrive a couple of years after the original Windows release, and that would be it. However, the way we use PCs in recent years has prompted Microsoft, and other companies, to refine their software over time, often in response to customer feedback, and also to make some features more prevalent than they once were. Microsoft had been following a six-month timeline for major updates in Windows 10, and then a yearly schedule for Windows 11. But it's telling that we're already seeing rumored features for Sun Valley 2 already arrive now. While we've reached out to the company to see whether the timeline of major updates has changed, it already looks to be happening. If you were waiting for a significant update to arrive, it's most likely coming in a smaller update in the coming weeks or months, instead. It's a method that would be great for Apple to follow, as well. The era of yearly updates on macOS from WWDC has little meaning for anyone. Having a constant stream of minor updates could help users gain new features while keeping developers in the loop of what's coming up. More incremental updates that are larger than the bug and relatively minor changes Apple delivers throughout the year could help Apple developers more effectively adapt their apps to these updates, as well. Otherwise, they're left scrambling to ready major changes in time for the typical September releases of the new macOS or iOS versions. Such a change would be a good thing for Apple fans. On the Windows side, it's an adjustment in perspective. Sun Valley 2 has no meaning anymore - the new Windows 11 updates are either here already, or they're already in the Windows Insider program, which allows you to test features under development that may arrive in an official capacity. It looks to be a new standard for Microsoft and Windows 11 as a whole, and we're all for it. Your move Apple. https://www.techradar.com/news/windows-11-monthly-updates-have-killed-sun-valley-2-before-it-even-released

Meta and D-Link are reportedly working on a new Oculus Quest 2 wireless adapter, and it could enhance cordless VR gameplay on gaming PCs. Dubbed the VR Air Bridge, the device is allegedly based on an existing Wi-Fi 6 USB adapter, but it’ll provide a direct connection to the Quest 2, rather than using the cloud or your home network. Spotted by software engineer ItsKaitlyn03, the Oculus Quest 2 wireless dongle gets a mention within a new driver, alongside its catchy full name – D-Link DWA-F18 VR Air Bridge (via Android Central). While a recent update improves existing Air Link functionality on the Quest 2 using Framerate Insurance (AFI), the VR Air Bridge could enhance VR streaming tenfold. In theory, it would do this by not having to share network space with other devices through a Wi-Fi router, as it’d cut out the middle man entirely with a two-way connection. Meta hasn’t officially announced the existence of a dedicated Oculus Quest 2 wireless adapter, meaning the tech might just be an experiment for now. That said, seamless VR streaming sounds like it’d put the Quest 2 ahead of its competitors, especially since even the upcoming Sony PSVR2 seemingly won’t cut the cord. The Oculus brand has been forced into retirement, but the Meta Quest 2 is still pushing ahead with regular feature updates and enhancements. The social media giant’s goggles are also still the most po[CENSORED]r VR gaming device on Steam, but last month’s data suggests the Valve Index gained more new users. Gaming goggles: Check out the best VR headset Some enthusiasts may be waiting for future devices like the Oculus Quest 3 or Project Cambria, the subtle increase in Valve Index users suggests impatience. Brand new features like direct wireless streaming might help convince some PC gamers to invest in current hardware, but there’s a chance we’ll start to see Oculus Quest 2 uptake start to plateau. https://www.pcgamesn.com/oculus/quest-2-wireless-VR-air-bridge

A Max Payne remake is coming from Remedy Entertainment, the studio which created the series in the first place. The remake will a single game encompassing both Max Payne and Max Payne 2. It will be financed by Rockstar (the current overseer of the series), developed in Remedy’s Northlight engine, and will be similar in scope to a “typical Remedy triple-A game production” like Control. “Max Payne has always held a special place in the hearts of everyone at Remedy, and we know the millions of fans worldwide feel the same,” Remedy CEO Tero Virtala says in a press release. “We’re hugely excited to be working with our partners at Rockstar Games once again for the chance to bring the story, action and atmosphere of the original Max Payne games back to players in new ways.” The Max Payne remake will be released for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X and S. The project is currently in “the concept development stage”. In other words, it has not yet entered full production, and you can expect a long, long wait for further information about the game, much less a release date. The original Max Payne was released in 2001, and was notable for its neo-noir trappings and Matrix-inspired bullet time mechanics. Rockstar’s parent company, Take-Two, bought the rights to the series in 2002, and published Remedy’s sequel, Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne, in 2003. Rockstar itself developed the final entry in the series, Max Payne 3, which released in 2012. According to the press release, “Under the agreement, Remedy has a royalty opportunity after Rockstar Games has recouped its development, marketing, and other costs for distributing and publishing the game.” https://www.pcgamesn.com/max-payne/remake

Twitter will prohibit posts by governments and state-linked accounts that show prisoners of war captured during fighting in Ukraine. Ukrainian government social media accounts have posted videos showing Russian prisoners of war answering questions or making phone calls home. The Geneva Conventions – the internationally agreed rules of war – state that prisoners must be protected at all times “particularly against acts of violence or intimidation and against insults and public curiosity”. Twitter's head of site integrity Yoel Roth said a new policy requiring the posts to be taken down would not be applied retroactively. "We don't want Twitter to be used by state actors to infringe on international humanitarian law and, to the best of our ability, we want to disincentivise governments from engaging in this type of behaviour," he said. The company said it would add a warning note to tweets where there was a “compelling public interest” in showing the content. Human rights group Amnesty International last month called on the rights of prisoners to be respected after Russians were brought to news conferences to discuss their roles in the military invasion. It said public appearances could jeopardise their safety when they eventually returned home or could cause problems for their families while they were detained. “As the conflict continues, it is essential that all parties to the conflict fully respect the rights of prisoners of war,” said Joanne Mariner, director of Amnesty International’s Crisis Response Programme. Moscow has throttled access to Twitter by slowing its service and has banned Meta's Facebook and Instagram. https://www.msn.com/en-ae/news/world/twitter-bans-posts-featuring-pows-in-ukraine/ar-AAVUMsb?ocid=EMMX&cvid=2b4bcb77c16540dcb90af7e3341bd6b3

As the browser wars(opens in new tab) rage on, Microsoft Edge(opens in new tab) is one step closer to challenging Google Chrome(opens in new tab) as it has finally surpassed another major rival. According to data(opens in new tab) from the web analytics service StatCounter, Microsoft’s browser(opens in new tab) is now used on 9.65 percent of all desktops worldwide which still pales in comparison to Chrome’s 67.26 percent market share. Back in February of this year, Edge was closing in on Safari(opens in new tab) but based on new data from March, Apple’s browser now has 9.57 percent of desktop browser market share worldwide. Meanwhile, Mozilla Firefox(opens in new tab) has slipped slightly from 9.18 percent to 7.57 percent. Surprisingly, Internet Explorer is still being used on one percent (0.92%) of desktops globally, most likely by users that haven’t upgraded to Windows 11 or even Windows 10 yet. Microsoft is planning to retire its IE 11 app(opens in new tab) on June 15 of this year though, so these users will have to make the switch to Edge or even to an alternative browser like Opera(opens in new tab) which has 2.83 percent of desktop browser market share worldwide. Mobile is a different story altogether Although Edge is certainly making inroads on desktop, the same can’t be said for Microsoft’s browser on Android and iOS. According to StatCounter's mobile data(opens in new tab), Chrome is used on 63.26 percent of all smartphones which makes sense as there are currently over 3bn active Android devices in use and Google’s browser comes preinstalled on Android smartphones(opens in new tab). Likewise, Safari, which comes preinstalled on iPhones(opens in new tab), has 24.81 percent of the mobile browser market share worldwide. Samsung’s browser, Samsung Internet(opens in new tab), meanwhile is currently in third place at just under five percent (4.99%). Although Microsoft Edge doesn’t even appear in StatCounter’s mobile browser market share data, its usage is growing on mobile. According to Edge’s Play Store listing, the browser’s mobile app has been installed over 10m times and has 4.5 stars based on 453k user reviews. Apple’s App Store doesn’t provide the same detailed install data that the Play Store does but Edge for iOS is ranked #18 in utilities and has a 4.6 rating based on more than 78k user reviews. A recent report from Windows Central says that Microsoft is reportedly planning to consolidate its Android efforts(opens in new tab) into a single division to offer tighter integration between Google’s mobile operating system and Windows 11(opens in new tab). While the move is likely more geared towards having Android apps run better on Windows, the software giant’s renewed interest in Android could see it double down on Edge’s mobile app for the platform. https://www.techradar.com/news/browser-wars-microsoft-edge-just-steamed-past-a-major-rival

The first discrete Intel GPU has arrived on the scene, but early tests suggest it falls flat against Nvidia’s GeForce GTX 1650. The YouTube channel Benchmark Lab recently tested the Intel Arc Alchemist A370M chip across ten games, and it failed to keep up with the green team’s 2019 mobile offering. According to Benchmark Lab’s data, the new Intel GPU pumps out significantly less frames than the GTX 1650. Comparatively, there’s a performance gap of around 15-20% in games like The Witcher 3, Microsoft Flight Simulator, and Red Dead Redemption 2 . Of course, failing to boost fps is only part of the problem, as release notes for the mobile chip warn of glitching and crashing when running Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, Forza Horizon 5, and various other big releases. The first Arc Alchemist Intel GPU makes its debut nestled within the new Samsung Galaxy Book 2 Pro, which adds insult to injury. In theory, an Intel Core i7-12700H Alder Lake should give it an advantage against a GTX 1650 paired with an AMD Ryzen 5 5600H. Yet, it seems like even one of the best gaming CPUs can’t carry the A370M to Nvidia’s level. It’s worth noting that in terms of spec, the Intel Arc A370M doesn’t quite match up with the Nvidia GTX 1650, as the latter has a larger memory bus and faster clock speeds. It’s also early days for the blue team’s newcomer, as game-changing features like Intel XeSS AI upscaling won’t arrive until the summer. Blue GPU: Here’s everything we know about Intel Arc Alchemist. It’s easy to get disheartened about the new Intel GPUs performance quirks, but the company is likely hard at work addressing the early issues. We’ve still got a few months before the “limited edition” Arc Alchemist graphics card for gaming PCs arrives on the scene, leaving some room for driver optimisation. That said, the next-gen Nvidia RTX 4000 series is on the horizon, so if it wants to rank among the best graphics cards, it’ll have to up its game in more ways than one. https://www.pcgamesn.com/intel/gpu-nvidia-gtx-1650-comparison

Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga launched on Steam just a few hours ago, and it’s already the biggest game from either franchise in the history of Valve’s platform. With 82,517 concurrent players as of this writing (via SteamDB), it’s reached Steam’s current top 10 games, and that player count absolutely dwarfs any Lego or Star Wars game that’s come before. For comparison, the current player count for the new Lego Star Wars puts it around the current levels of Destiny 2, Rust, and Grand Theft Auto V. All those games, however, are dwarfed by the likes of CS:GO, Dota 2, Lost Ark, Elden Ring, Apex Legends, and PUBG, which regularly reach hundreds of thousands of concurrent players. The previous biggest Star Wars game on Steam by concurrent player count was Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, which reached 46,550 players at launch in 2019. The only other games to even break 10k are Squadrons, The Old Republic, and the modern Battlefront II. But there’s an important caveat here, as prior to 2019, EA kept all its PC launches (and thus, all its Star Wars games) exclusive to Origin. But the gap is even bigger on the Lego side, where those games have been on Steam for ages. The next-biggest Lego game on Steam is Lego Marvel Super Heroes, which reached 5,953 concurrent players in 2014, a few months after launch. So yes, The Skywalker Saga is about 14 times bigger than any prior Lego Steam release. Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga has been in development for years, and has suffered multiple delays. The devs at TT Games confirmed the final release date earlier this year amid reports of crunch at the studio. https://www.pcgamesn.com/lego-star-wars-the-skywalker-saga/steam

Tens of thousands of Russian troops are probably being moved to eastern Ukraine to surround and overwhelm Ukrainian forces, the US said. The US expected that Russian commanders were now troops were being moved from northern Ukraine to the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine, as well as refocusing efforts in parts of southern Ukraine. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said the US will impose additional sanctions against Russia this week. Follow the latest developments below. https://www.msn.com/en-ae/news/world/russia-ukraine-live-moscow-moves-thousands-of-troops-to-east-region-us-says/ar-AAU1cOS?ocid=EMMX&cvid=75b097fc851c4172a44532d517f26468

Audio player loading… Vivid is available for Apple's Macs from today (April 4), where it can double the brightness of your Pro Display XDR or MacBook Pro 14-inch (2021), with no loss in quality of the image. Apple has been showcasing how bright these products can go, but this level of brightness has only been reserved for certain use cases such as editing videos and watching HDR movies. The maximum brightness has been 500 nits for both the MacBook Pro and Pro Display XDR for its users, with no override on the user's part to enable this higher brightness for other methods. This is where Vivid comes in. Available to download as a free trial, alongside a one-off fee of $15 / £15 / AU$17 to remove the split-screen that shows the default brightness, and Vivid's settings. On the day of its launch, TechRadar spoke to its two developers, Jordi Bruin and Ben Harraway, about how Vivid came to be, and whether there's any risk to leaving the brightness on for longer than needed. We speak to Vivid's developers (Image credit: TechRadar) Having used Vivid before its launch, we were taken aback as to how much of a difference the full brightness made, especially with games. Playing Streets of Rage 4 on macOS through Steam, or Metal Gear Solid 5 through Parallels, really showed off what the display of the MacBook Pro 14-inch is capable of. We asked Bruin and Harraway what prompted them to create Vivid in the first place. "Back in October of last year I received my new MacBook Pro and was very surprised when I saw the brightness of HDR videos. It made it seem like the rest of my screen was becoming dimmer when in fact the video was just getting brighter." Bruin explains. "I like to work from different places throughout the day and often end up outside on a terrace or in a park. I tried watching some HDR videos outside and they were much more visible than the other content on the screen. After spending a few weeks working on different approaches I gave up for a few months until reaching out to Ben, who found a solution that worked great!" Using the brightness keys on our MacBook Pro 14-inch, once you reach the maximum setting, a further option appears thanks to Vivid, where you can go even brighter, taking advantage of the display. While there's a small hit on the battery life, it's a hit worth taking once you see how much everything pops with the extra brightness. However, we asked Bruin and Harraway whether there was any danger to the display, in way of screen burn. "Vivid doesn’t use any hacks or low-level system calls to achieve the higher brightness. We believe that makes it really safe to use," Harraway explains. "We don’t make your display do anything it’s not supposed to. Vivid just enables the extra brightness usually reserved for HDR content, so it’s exactly the same as watching an HDR video." Bruin clarifies. "Apple claims the following: "Pro Display XDR can sustain 1000 nits of brightness across the full screen. This means that a pro can edit an HDR photograph or video with the entire frame at 1000 nits of brightness, indefinitely." The official word from Apple on this topic is here. macOS has built-in protections to dim the screen if it would get too hot as well. But to be clear, we are not changing anything on the display level, we are overlaying an HDR window which triggers the extended brightness mode." While Vivid is a simple app, it gets the job done, and the difference is night and day, especially when you're using it at night. Even though we're at the launch of the app, we wondered if there were already any features in the planning for future versions. "We wanted to keep the first version tightly integrated with the system and easy to use, so that we could get feedback from users on what they would want to see. We have a version that includes Shortcuts and Widgets, but right now we’re not sure if those features would really add something that our customers would be looking for." Bruin explains. "We’ve designed Vivid in a way that you almost forget that it’s an extra app since you just use your normal brightness keys to activate it. Accessibility is important for both of us, which is why we’re using as many native components as possible. After launch, we will be searching for feedback on this front to fix any issues we might have overlooked." So far, Vivid is something that can make you look at your MacBook Pro or Display XDR in a different way, especially as you watch videos or play games. As the displays improve and the brightness gets brighter, it looks as though this app will be useful to many Mac users for the next few years at least. https://www.techradar.com/news/your-macbook-pro-or-display-xdr-can-finally-shine-brighter-with-new-macos-app

If your custom rig lacks an Intel CPU sticker, or you couldn’t resist peeling it off your new Intel Alder Lake laptop, you could grab a replacement case badge for free. While the company has offered this service for a while, an enthusiast on Reddit has shared their experience with the program, which looks to be fast and efficient. In a recent post, Excellent-Ad-7062 shared a photo of their brand new Intel CPU sticker alongside an order letter. In the included note, the company thanks the enthusiast for “consistent and proper use” of its brand identity, but also says sticking the badge to a PC’s front bezel “will help ensure we consistently meet our brand promise to deliver innovation, intelligence, reliability, and leading-edge technology.” Outside of brand awareness, it’s hard to see why popping an Intel sticker on your gaming PC case would benefit the company’s performance. Sure, seeing an impressive rig at a LAN event wearing the badge could sway you to pick up one of its best gaming CPUs, but it’ll take more than waving banners to stay ahead of competing products like AMD’s Ryzen Zen 4 CPUs. That said, replacement product stickers are still a nice gesture, and it shows that Intel cares about the long-term commitment of its customers. To claim a shiny new Intel CPU sticker, you’ll need to fill in a replacement request form, and you’ll also need to prove you own one of the company’s chips. Thankfully, a screenshot of your PC’s system information counts as proof, so you won’t need to go looking for old invoices or packaging gubbins. Intel usually includes a badge with gaming laptops and pre-built PCs that use its components, so the upcoming Arc Alchemist GPU could receive similar treatment. We’ll have to wait until Summer 2022 to see if that’s the case, but we could see the decal pop up before then on devices using Arc 3 and 5 discrete graphics. https://www.pcgamesn.com/intel/cpu-sticker-free

Minecraft and Civilization 6 aren’t necessarily games that you’d put together. Minecraft’s a sandbox game. Civilization 6 is a 4X game,. They’re not what you’d consider fast friends. Despite that, while the way you interact with the world is different in each, the core concepts of exploration, survival, and building are integral in both games. And there’s never a limit to the possibilities of Minecraft builds. If you’re willing to commit enough time, you can actually recreate parts of Civilization 6 in Minecraft. In fact, a pair of Redditors is continuing to do so. LookosZero and their friend ChuteNNN have been recreating the wonders of Civ 6 for some time now, and have most recently recreated the Great Library. The Great Library is an interpretation of the Egyptian Library of Alexandria that boosts your science in a variety of different ways. The monument isn’t particularly great in the game itself, but that doesn’t stop it from being visually striking thanks to a wonderful combination of columns and the mighty statue atop it. While the finished build is cool, perhaps the most eye-catching aspect of the whole endeavour is that LookosZero made the video in the style of Civ 6’s building cutscenes. https://www.pcgamesn.com/minecraft/civilization-6-wonder

The Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Humanitarian and Charity Establishment (MBRCH) has donated Dh20 million ($5.44bn) to the One Billion Meals campaign, Wam news agency reported on Sunday. Announced last month, One Billion Meals encourages people to donate money to feed the needy. It will run until the target is met. The campaign aims to help the vulnerable in 50 countries, supporting efforts to achieve the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal 2 to end hunger by 2030. The One Billion Meals initiative is an extension of the 100 Million Meals campaign, which was launched during Ramadan 2021. At the time, it successfully distributed 220 million meals across 47 nations – double its initial target – with the participation of MBRCH teams. During Ramadan 2020, a 10 Million Meals campaign supported communities hit by Covid-19 across the UAE. Last year's 100 Million Meals campaign provided food parcels and instant smart vouchers to millions of people across four continents, including in Palestine, Lebanon, Jordan, Sudan, Yemen, Tunisia, Iraq, Egypt, Kosovo, Brazil, Benin, Burundi, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Senegal, Kenya, Uganda, Ghana, Angola, Sierra Leone, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. Organised by Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives, the total was reached thanks to the generosity of 185,000 donors, from inside and outside the UAE. On Sunday, the Emirates Red Crescent distributed hundreds of tonnes of Ramadan ration in Yemen. Around seven million people will benefit from the donation drive and iftar programmes in Shabwa, Hadramaut, Taiz, Hodeidah, and Socotra. Meanwhile, a Sharjah charity distributed 30,000 meals to fasting people in the emirate on the first day of the holy month. How to donate The One Billion Meals campaign website has details of several options for donors. Money can be pledged online, either monthly or by a one-off donation. You can donate by SMS message through Etisalat or Du and you can send money by a bank transfer. For big monetary donations and related enquiries, contact the campaign’s team 800 9999. https://www.msn.com/en-ae/news/national/ramadan-2022-uae-charity-donates-dh20m-to-one-billion-meals-campaign/ar-AAVOhup?ocid=EMMX&cvid=8d04f330a566424e9a48ed25589bcc89

Audio player loading… After the release of Android 12 in 2021, followed by the subsequent releases of the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro, we’re already wondering what the next version of Android will bring. Since its debut in 2008, Android has always brought a major feature with every headline release. But with Android 13, codenamed Tiramisu, it could be a perfect time for Google to fine-tune what’s already there in the millions of Android smartphones around the world. We’ve combed through our Pixel, OnePlus, and other Android phones to roundup five features we’d like to see arrive in Android 13 later this year, no matter how major or minor these may be. But first, we’ll run you through when we expect it to land and which Android phones will likely be supported. We'll also look at the features we already know about, as the developer preview is out now, complete with a few Android 13 features. LATEST NEWS The second Android 13 developer preview has landed and it's packed full of new and changed features. We've also heard that the OS could support two numbers on one eSIM simultaneously. Android 13 release date rumors A new Android version usually appears for developers in February and indeed the first developer preview of Android 13 is now available, having launched on February 10, and a second preview has since followed. These early releases give developers a heads up as to what should be appearing in the fall of that year, allowing them an idea of what they could implement for future versions of their apps. Google has also revealed an Android 13 roadmap which you can see above. From this you can see that the first proper beta might land in April, with a stable release in June, likely to coincide with Google I/O, which we now know kicks off on May 11, then a shipping date in September. Though October is possible too, as that's when Android 12 landed. Android 13 supported phones Android has a reputation for not making it easy to update your phone to the latest version. Part of it is due to the different manufacturers on how they have designed Android to match a brand, such as Samsung. But with Google releasing a new Pixel phone every year, these usually come with the latest Android version. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see a Pixel 7 or a Pixel Fold appear with Android 13 in October again to start with. Other manufacturers usually follow after a few months of testing and putting their own spin on the new Android release, but it’s usually not until the first half of the next year. Android 13 features We don't know much about what Android 13 will offer yet, but the first developer preview has revealed some features, with a second developer preview revealing more. Eagle-eyed developers have recently spotted signs that Android 13 could support the use of two numbers (and two carriers) on a single eSIM at the same time – technology that Google patented back in 2020. Meanwhile, Google's dynamic theming (which changes the color of icons to match your wallpaper) will now work with third-party app icons. This is just a Pixel feature for now, but with Google pushing to get other manufacturers to support dynamic theming it should eventually benefit most phones. This release is also very focused on privacy, adding a photo picker feature that lets you share media such as photos with apps without granting them access to your entire media library. Similarly, a new ‘Nearby device permission for Wi-Fi’ will allow apps to discover and connect to nearby devices over Wi-Fi without needing location permissions. Plus, with Android 13 users will be able to set the default language on a per-app basis. So you could set one app to English and another to Spanish for example. As for the second developer preview, that includes a new Foreground Services Task Manager for monitoring and closing apps that are running in the foreground. It also includes the ability to dim wallpapers, redesigned media controls, and new user profile features, such as a profile picker button on the status bar, and a full screen profile switcher, which is likely designed for use with larger devices. Plus, the first time you open an app it will now have to ask your permission to send you notifications. While not a confirmed feature, evidence of the ability to change the flashlight brightness has also been found in Android 13 code, though it looks like this might mostly be limited to phones that launch with Android 13 - not those that are updated to it. Google has also revealed that it's working on app archiving - a feature that would let you archive apps to free up around 60% of the space they take up, without fully deleting them. This would remove parts of them, but keep the icon on your phone and mean they can quickly be restored next time you come to use them. The company hasn't confirmed that app archiving will come to Android 13, but has said it's arriving later this year, so Android 13 is likely. What we want to see Android 13 is still a little while away, so we've put together a list of the improvements we want to see from the next-gen software. 1. UI Fixes While Material You showcases a new look for Android, it’s not without its faults. Some buttons are confusing users when a feature is enabled. For example, if you go to ‘Internet’ in the Notification Center, you have to press this icon again to toggle Mobile Data, Wi-Fi, and Hotspot. It feels convoluted, and there's no option to make these three options a separate toggle. Alongside this, the colors in Android 12 lack contrast - everything looks pale compared to the vibrancy that iOS shows. But according to Android Police, it looks like Google is already aware of this, as new vibrant colors have seemingly leaked for Android 13. See more Giving some saturated colors across the user interface could help the overall appearance of Android. However, the Material You design we're currently seeing is essentially version 1.0 of a new look for the operating system. iOS is still seeing refinements in its flat design since 2013, so we're going to see visual improvements in Android for years to come. 2. Scrolling Screenshots for all, not some apps This feature was introduced for some apps in Android 12, where you could take a screenshot of a web page, but Android would stitch the content into one image. However, while it’s a useful feature, it requires developers to include a ‘View-based UI’ in the app, otherwise scrolling screenshots isn’t an option for users. Instead, Android 13 should make this available to all apps, regardless of the current requirement. Users shouldn’t need to check whether certain features in Android are also available to certain apps, and scrolling screenshots is one of them. 3. Release the backtap gesture This first appeared in a beta version of Android 11 back in 2020, before it was removed when the final release appeared for the Pixel 4 series and other smartphones. There’s a variant already available on Apple’s iOS 15, where you can customize a back-tap gesture on your iPhone, that could launch the Camera app or a shortcut for example. It’s very useful for when you’re browsing another app, and you quickly want to switch to the camera app without going back to the home screen and finding its icon. For Android, the backtap could be an easy win for users, especially as the software can be better customized compared to iOS. Imagine an Android 13 backtap where you can launch certain apps or media with a certain amount of taps, or the end result changes, depending on the app that you’re currently using. 4. Hand Off from iOS According to Android Police, this may already be coming to Android 13, mirroring a feature where you can transfer what you’re listening to on your iPhone, to a HomePod speaker for example. Tentatively called ‘TTT’ or Tap to Transfer, you can send the media you’re either watching or listening to, towards a device that could be in your home or workplace. With a barrage of televisions running Android, alongside smart speakers, this could work well for sending across media in an easier way from your smartphone. 5. Please fix ‘Open by Default’ feature Before Android 12, you could open a file and a message box would appear, asking you if you’d like to open this in an app just once, or from then on. It was a simple message box but it solved a purpose. But with Android 12, an ‘Open with Default’ appears instead, ridding you of the choice of using an app once. This change has been frustrating to users, as it requires you to go deep into the Settings app to make the filetype forget to open in a certain app. For Android 13, let’s revert it back to how it was. That’s all we ask. Our ranking of Google’s Pixel phones in 2022 https://www.techradar.com/news/android-13-release-date-rumors-supported-phones-and-5-features-we-want-to-see

The NVMe M.2 market has become quite busy as of late. Especially when you consider that a lot of M.2 drives have become essential for the fastest experience in gaming and other tasks. I, for one, am pretty much one of those people who multitask on different programs and want them to load faster so I can get to work quicker. In comes Kingston with the FURY Renegade SSD to solve this very problem. The Renegade is made by the gaming division of Kingston (also known as Kingston FURY). This M.2 SSD is its next-generation PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 drive for gamers, enthusiasts, and high-power users. The drive is supposed to essentially deliver cutting-edge performance through its Gen 4x4 controller and 3D TLC NAND. PNY Introduces Its Newest M.2 SSD, The CS2130 M.2 NVMe SSD Does it accomplish this very objective though? Well, let's find out in this review. So, for this review, I am going to be using an entirely new rig that I built for this very drive. The rig is essentially going to be a high-performance build that's meant to play video games and also be outfitted to do other tasks such as video editing and streaming as secondary activities. You can read the specs below: Processor AMD RYZEN 7 5800X Motherboard ASRock B550 Steel Legend (AM4) GPU ZOTAC GAMING RTX 3070 Storage Kingston FURY Renegade SSD 1TB Western Digital 1TB HDD RAM 2x8GB Kingston FURY Beast DDR4 2x8GB XPG Spectrix D50 DDR4 So, as you can see. This rig is less of an overclocking rig and more of a standard high-end gaming rig. The setup is meant to mimic that of an average user who seeks to have a smooth gaming experience more than anything else. This rig on its own has been used during my Babylon's Fall, Persona 4 Arena Ultimax, Shredders, Atelier Sophie 2, and Phantom Breaker: Omnia reviews. Some keen-eyed readers might also have noticed that another Kingston FURY product is making a cameo appearance in this review. Indeed, it's worth pointing out that I was also able to receive a review unit of the Kingston FURY Beast RAM. While I am going to go into the specifics of the RAM itself in another review, I decided to use both devices to see how well they synergize together. KLEV Announces the CRAS C710 NVMe M.2 SSD, An SSD Lineup Which Features Write Speeds of Up to 2,100 MB/s With that out of the way, let's shift our focus back to the Renegade to take a closer look at the ins and outs of this Solid Slate Drive. The Kingston FURY Renegage SSD is optimized to reduce game and application load times, stream and capture with ease. The review unit that was provided to Wccftech has a 1TB total storage capacity. However, the drive is currently available n 500GB, 2TB, and 4TB capacities alongside the 1TB form. As said before, this SSD has an M.2 form factor. This means that it can be used to optimize your gaming rig or your laptop. The Renegade also uses a low-profile graphene aluminum heat spreader to keep the drive cool during intense usage. This form factor is pretty much tailored to be used in the tightest of spaces in gaming laptops and motherboards. The drive is also pretty light physically, weighing about 7 grams. Now, we're going for the fun stuff. Here's the performance reported by CrystalDIsk. CrystalDiskMark is a disk benchmark software.It measure sequential reads/writes speed,measure random 512KB, 4KB, 4KB (Queue Depth=32) reads/writes speed,select test data (Random, 0Fill, 1Fill), The results below reflect the performance of the SSD: The next software I used for benchmarking purposes is ATTO BM. As the industry’s leading provider of high-performance storage & network connectivity products, ATTO has created a widely-accepted Disk Benchmark freeware software to help measure storage system performance. As one of the top tools utilized in the industry, Disk Benchmark identifies performance in hard drives, solid-state drives, RAID arrays as well as the host connection to attached storage. Top drive manufacturers, like Hitachi, build and test every drive using the ATTO Disk Benchmark. You might be surprised by the results this benchmark brought. Now, while numbers are nice to look at. There will be some more practical readers that are interested to know what the performance in games is like. I can say that the games I played in this rig have been performing quite well with the 3070/32GB RAM combo I put this rig through. I've played through games like Ghostwire Tokyo and loading times for those have reduced to barely 2 or 3 seconds. I also used it in Video/Photo edition environments. Not only to work on the editing of videos that I use for my reviews but for personal projects. On Adobe Premiere, for instance, the program barely got stuck while loading video effects and the previews played at a smooth framerate without any slowdown. Accessing files from other drives was just as seamless, which helps a lot. Unfortunately, there are still some snags. When it comes to virtualization, the M.2 SSD has shown some limitations. When playing some mobile games on LD Player, for example, I have stumbled across several instances of slowdown that happen for no reason. Sometimes, the program just has some problems writing data to the drive and it has to hang around just to do so. While the loading times are much faster in normal games. For some reason or another, the Renegade has a lot of issues working with emulation. I am certain there has to be some reason behind this. But at the very least the issues are just slight slowdowns at best and nothing too system breaking. The last thing I'd have to complain about is definitely the price point. While this is cheaper than a lot of high-end M.2 SSDs in the market. It still is quite expensive at a $184 price point. Some SSDs in the market are faster at the same capacity storage. However, I think that at least this is made up with the fact that the SSD offers some good thermal metrics (despite lacking a heatsink) and good performance all around. Overall, the Kingston Renegade SSD has provided great results for this custom rig. While I cannot confidently recommend it to entry-level users, I still believe that this will be a great SSD to use for high-end computers who want an edge in speed. This SSD in my opinion can beat the massively po[CENSORED]r 980 PRO if my results are anything to go by. The SSD is advertised as being PlayStation 5-ready. In other words, this very SSD can be used to boost the performance of your gaming console as well as your PC. I think that the Renegade is a great alternative to many high-end SSDs that are currently available in the market. However, the unfortunate reality is that the price point won't be as accessible to everyone. Hopefully, Kingston will continue to expand its efforts to make M.2 SSDs more powerful and accessible to the general public. The Renegade is certainly a great step in the right direction. https://wccftech.com/review/kingston-fury-renegade-m-2-ssd-review-smooth-sailing-and-quick-performance/

One determined fan has made a Final Fantasy VII Remake Tomb Raider mod with the aim of turning the JRPG game into Angel of Darkness. The FF7R mod changes nearly every character into someone from the 2003 Tomb Raider action-adventure game, including – obviously – Lara Croft as Tifa. Despite still being unavailable on Steam, the Final Fantasy VII Remake has proven really po[CENSORED]r with modders – and not just for the predictable reasons, cough. There’s some really great stuff out there that completely changes the game, like giving it classic combat or a PS1-style camera. A surprisingly ambitious mod is the FF7R Angel of Darkness Project – one modder’s attempt to replace “a lot of the characters, weapons, and objects” with their equivalent from 2003’s Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness. The Final Fantasy characters replaced include “Cloud, Barret, Tifa, Aerith, Red XIII, Heidegger, Sephiroth, Wedge, Biggs, Corneo, and Jessie”, and modder xRaq says they may replace more of them in the future. Tifa is now Lara Croft in her black Angel of Darkness gear. Cloud is Kurtis Trent, Barret is Louis Bouchard, and Aerith is Janice – there aren’t actually that many female characters in Angel of Darkness, so it was lucky xRaq found one with blonde hair and a red jacket. Check it out below. The modder admits it’s “a very niche mod that is specifically made for those who love Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness, which is kind of a restricted circle of people”. As for Final Fantasy VII Remake Part 2, that’s hopefully getting a reveal this year – maybe. https://www.pcgamesn.com/final-fantasy-7-remake/tomb-raider-mod

Valve’s portable powerhouse now fully supports Windows 11, thanks to a beta Steam Deck update. The in-progress patch enables fTPM for the handheld’s AMD chipset, allowing players to use exclusive OS features. However, you’ll still need to choose between Microsoft’s platform and SteamOS, and the former still comes with optimisation caveats. If you’re brave enough to install Windows 11 on your Steam Deck, you can now delve into features like Microsoft’s DirectStorage API, which could help speed up load times on the handheld. Yet, unless you get a kick out of tinkering with experimental gaming PC setups, you might still want to hold off, as a lack of driver support means Windows still isn’t quite as good as SteamOS on the Deck. As you’d perhaps expect, Valve’s beta Steam Deck patch is also still being tested, meaning early adopters could run into a few quirks. Thankfully, an official SteamOS update also just arrived on the scene, featuring various improvements like the ability to type using dual trackpads. A lack of dual-booting support on Steam Deck will likely deter players from trying out Microsoft’s latest OS on the handheld, but Windows 11 is gaining po[CENSORED]rity with Steam users across the gaming PC board. Therefore, while Valve’s SteamOS still reigns supreme on the micromachine, there’s a chance that the platform could gain some footing once the experience improves. https://www.pcgamesn.com/steam-deck/beta-update-windows-11

Using Microsoft Teams on Mozilla Firefox could soon be a much nicer experience after a number of key features were announced to be finally coming to the browser. The company has said it is working on bringing what it called "improved meeting support" for Teams users looking to work with the Firefox browser. This includes full audio and screensharing support for any Microsoft Teams meetings carried out in Firefox, which up until now has struggled to allow users to utilize the video conferencing tool to its full strength. Microsoft Teams and Firefox In the Microsoft 365 roadmap entry, the update is still said to be in development, however the company says it should roll out by the end of April, meaning users should not have to wait too long Firefox had been one of a number of browsers unable to fully support Microsoft Teams calls, alongside the likes of Safari and Internet Explorer. Anyone attempting to join a Teams meeting using Firefox would be directed towards downloading the software's desktop client, a somewhat more lengthy process that could make you late for a call. Although some users of these browsers may have been able to join a Microsoft Teams call, they would have had to deal with a potential lack of video or audio, as well as lacking desktop, window and app sharing. When available, Microsoft says the upgraded experience will be available to all Teams users in the Firefox browser across the world. The latest data suggests Teams has racked up more than 270 million monthly active users (MAUs), up from fewer than 50 million daily active users before the pandemic began. Microsoft Teams has enjoyed a regular schedule of updates and upgrades in recent months as the company looks to ensure its platform remains on top of its game. The news follows a similar recent update from the company revealing that Microsoft Teams apps will soon be available on Office.com and the Office for Windows app as the company looks to further expand the reach of its video conferencing service. This should help improve the user experience for Teams customers around the world, meaning there’s no longer a need to switch between platforms to use specific apps. Stay in touch with the best online collaboration tools on the market right now

The Fortnite Creative economy system will see “big changes” this year, according to Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney. The developer previously promised that Fortnite Creative 2.0 would arrive in the battle royale game sometime in 2022, and it looks like this will come with improvements to the Support-a-Creator sharing program too. Fortnite Creative was added to the multiplayer game way back in 2018, allowing creators to make their game modes and show them off to other people. While it’s a great place to find items that haven’t been added to the main game – most recently, the jetpacks – it’s only received marginal improvements in the last few years, like stopping XP farming. The Support-a-Creator program is the main way that creatives get paid, and at the moment, it stands at 5% – so for every $100 a player spends in Fortnite or the Epic Games Store, if they tie that to a specific creator code, those creators get $5. While Creative 2.0 was previously confirmed as dropping this year by Epic’s CEO Tim Sweeney, the company’s co-founder confirms today that “creator economy version 2 and 3” are already being worked on. More importantly, we should “expect some big changes throughout the year” – perhaps when 2.0 drops. For now, Fortnite has just had a Zero Build mode added, and the game has raised over $100 million USD to support relief efforts in Ukraine. https://www.pcgamesn.com/fortnite/creative-economy-changes

Link :https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-kent-60965245 Motorists have reported scenes of chaos approaching Dover with long queues caused by more disruption to cross-Channel ferry services. Bad weather and a shortage of ferries are being blamed. Capacity at the Port of Dover was already reduced, due to the suspension of P&O services. Drivers have been forced to wait hours to board ferries, while a section of the M20 is being used to park lorries, leading to long tailbacks. Under Operation Brock, the motorway remains closed to anything other than freight between junctions eight and nine, with Kent Police and National Highways on the scene. Dover MP Natalie Elphicke said: "The traffic disruption caused by P&O's actions is very serious", adding that the adverse weather and Easter break had made the situation "severe" and likely to continue for days. "The problems have caused an unacceptable impact on our community, particularly at Whitfield, Aycliffe, Capel-Le-Ferne and in Dover town itself." Bus operator Stagecoach also tweeted it was experiencing significant disruption to local services in Dover due to gridlock in the town centre. Some schools have already broken up for Easter and an increase in traffic was expected as many families made the most of the easing of travel restrictions. P&O services have been reduced after the company sacked 800 workers last month. It has yet to be given permission to resume sailings to France using cheaper agency staff. The shortage of cross-Channel services was made worse after a DFDS ferry hit a berth in Dunkirk in strong winds, leading to that being taken out of service for repairs. It will not be available until Monday at the earliest. Travel journalist Simon Calder described it as a "perfect storm" for Easter travellers. With P&O's three vessels at berth in Dover, he said DFDS services had been coping well with the extra passengers until Saturday. A "surge in demand" had been coupled with difficult weather conditions in the Channel overnight, he said. "It's very difficult to see how that will be relieved," he added, with bookings also high at the Eurotunnel terminal at nearby Folkestone. Eurotunnel Le Shuttle is reporting hour-long delays ahead of check in. The firm says it is "currently experiencing issues with our system at check-in" and apologised to passengers. Mr Calder said disruption was affecting airports as well with Easyjet cancelling flights to Mykonos, Copenhagen and Corfu at Manchester Airport. British Airways has also cancelled more than 100 short-haul flights, affecting some 10,000 passengers, with shortages of staff being blamed.

Shanghai residents voiced growing frustration on Friday at confusion over a week of snap Covid lockdowns, taking to social media to complain about food shortages and bewildering stay-at-home orders. After initially vowing they would avoid a city-wide lockdown, officials changed tack this week and announced a phased shutdown which divided China’s financial centre in two so authorities can test its 25 million residents. A four-day lockdown of the Pudong area began on Monday, followed by stay-at-home orders for the densely po[CENSORED]ted Puxi zone which was meant to start on Friday. But many Puxi neighbourhoods were suddenly ordered inside early on Thursday, while much of Pudong was still closed on Friday, angering residents on both sides. “This is de facto city-wide lockdown,” one Weibo user said. “Many Pudong streets and compounds are still in lockdown, few are lifted.” Authorities late Thursday published a bewildering “grid management” plan for reopening, which would keep all residential compounds where a positive test is found closed, as well as the “cells” next to them. The restrictions have led to panic buying at shops as well as a dire shortage of delivery drivers to get food to the millions now trapped at home. “Is this continuing lockdown aiming to starve us?” another poster on Weibo said, calling government promises so far “window dressing”. Residents of some compounds have skirted restrictions by taking deliveries attached to ropes lowered to the ground, according to AFP reporters. As patience starts to fray in Shanghai among a public who have broadly acquiesced with virus controls for two years, leading city official Ma Chunlei on Thursday made a rare admission of failure, saying the city was “insufficiently prepared” for the outbreak. With an infection level of several thousand cases a day, Shanghai has become the heart of China’s worst Covid-19 outbreak since the virus was first detected in Wuhan in 2019. The country reported 7,386 virus cases nationwide on Friday. While tiny compared with many countries, the case numbers are alarming to China’s leadership, who have tethered the country to a “zero-Covid” approach to contain the pandemic. https://www.msn.com/en-ae/news/other/covid-19-shanghai-residents-frustrated-by-food-shortages-prolonged-lockdowns/ar-AAVKoXu?ocid=EMMX&cvid=c1705c24508044fbbcee7027cec2ec19

macOS: No third-party app needed If you have a Mac, you don't need to download any apps to extract and save a single or multiple PDF pages as a JPEG image. To save a single PDF page as a JPEG image, right-click on the file, and under "Open With," select "Preview." In the Preview app, scroll to the page you want to save. Then, click "File" in the top-left corner, and in the drop-down menu, click "Export..." If you want to neatly share PDF pages on social media without relying on ugly screenshots, you should convert them to JPEG images, a.k.a. JPG. That's just one of multiple reasons why you'd want to extract pages out of a PDF to use in a different application as an image. The question is, how to do it in the most effortless manner? Here you go. How to do it in Windows If you're a Windows user, the easiest way to do it is with a free app called Any PDF to JPG (available from the Microsoft Store). Once you've launched the app, click "Load PDF" and choose a file. In the main screen, you'll be able to zoom in and out, or choose a page. To continue, click "Save Image." In the next screen, you'll be able to choose whether to save the page you viewed, all of the file's pages or a certain range of pages. Because PDFs usually contain vector elements (meaning they can scale without pixelation), use the "Scale" option to choose how many pixels the image will have compared to the preview in the main screen. You can also save the image in other file formats. If you want to edit the image later, you should choose the PNG format. To save the file, click "Continue." In the new window, make sure to choose the JPEG format (unless you want to edit later). Underneath, you'll be able to choose the file's resolution and level of compression. Once you've chosen your settings, click "Save." Convert all PDF pages with Automator If you want to quickly convert entire PDF files as individual JPEG images, you should use the built-in Automator tool, which you can find with the Spotlight search (Command + Spacebar). When you open Automator, a dialog will appear. Click "New Document." In the new window, click "Quick Action," and then "Choose." Then, in the search field next to "Variables," type "Render PDF Pages as Images." Drag the search result to the right side of the window. In the new bracket, next to "Format," choose "JPEG image." Here you can also choose a resolution and the compression quality. The Automator tool will also let you save the image files in different formats like PNG or HEIF, if you wish to do that. To choose where the images will be saved, click again on the "Variables" search field. This time type "Move Finder Items" and drag the result to the right, under the existing bracket, and select a folder. To save this action, on the main menu click "File" and then "Save," or press Command + S. In the pop-up window, choose a name for the action (such as "Save PDF as JPEG") and click "Save." Now, whenever you right-click on a PDF file in Finder, you'll be able to turn it into JPEG images by clicking the name of the action you've created under "Quick Actions." Did you know? JPEG images are space-efficient thanks to not saving each and every pixel, but saving each block of 8 x 8 pixels as a combination of up to 64 patterns. Depending on the compression quality, the more complex of the 64 patterns may get ignored, greatly reducing the file size but resulting in artifacts, possibly in the form of large, single-color squares. https://www.techspot.com/article/2430-save-pdf-as-jpg/