Hossam Taibi

We’re standing in a group, chatting in the foyer of Jaguar Land Rover’s Classic Works, the company’s magnificent new Coventry home for old cars. We’re awaiting the arrival of Norman Dewis OBE, undoubtedly the greatest Jaguar classic of all. The iconic former chief test engineer, who joined the company in 1952 with the brief of “signing off every competition and road-going Jaguar”, has just celebrated his 98th birthday as if it’s his 40th. He’s agreed to drop in to Classic for a bit of pre-Christmas cheer, and to take his first-ever drive in the new electric I-Pace with Ian Callum, the man who designed it. It’s a gathering of the usual Jaguar suspects: CEO Ralf Speth, whose determination put this magnificent place on the map; Mike Cross, who aims to make every new Jaguar a driving classic; Callum and his all-important I-Pace; and Tony O’Keeffe, Jaguar master historian who will walk us through the latest revived and recreated cars and show us JLR’s amazing James Hull car collection. Our host is Tim Hannig, who runs this place day to day. These men are the successors of Bill Heynes, Bill Lyons, Malcolm Sayer, Lofty England and Bob Knight, who made Jaguar great in the first place. Dewis was one of them. Suddenly he’s with us. A diminutive figure – whose secret weapon was that, in an era when nobody cared about race driver comfort, he fitted every car – Dewis remains impressively mobile and ‘on the button’. He’s immaculately dressed, sporting his usual custommade walking stick topped with a large chrome Jaguar ‘leaper’, and ready to go.

You and your ex’s roles as parents should be foremost in your mind, says Mariella Frostrup, not your sexuality The dilemma I am 21 and I have a four-month-old son with my boyfriend of four years. We broke up a month ago. Our relationship was full of ups and downs. Since the break up, I’ve noticed my attraction to women is very strong. I’m intimidated by the thought of having sex with a man at the moment and have realised that in every relationship I’ve had, I’ve never been truly satisfied sexually, even with the father of my son. I thought maybe there was something wrong with me. I still love him deeply and care for him, but the way my body excites when I think of a woman is completely different to how it excites to men. I always suppressed how I felt with women, because I thought it had to do with the fact my first sexual encounter was being molested by a woman. I’m confused. I’ve only been in romantic relationships with men and I’ve never (with consent) been sexual with a woman, yet I feel such attraction to them. My mind is flooded with questions and I just can’t seem to understand what is happening. Mariella replies So let’s focus. I appreciate your sexuality is a concern, but perhaps not your most important one right now. Being molested by this woman may well have created a trigger for you and if that continues to play on your mind then I recommend you seek professional help (Women’s Aid, 0808 2000 247, womensaid.org.uk). A good therapist will be able to guide you through the subliminal trauma and unpick the legacy of an experience that will be contributing to your state of confusion. You begin your letter by saying you split up with the father of your baby. Forgive me for presuming that your main preoccupation in the aftermath of that is how to best raise your child. Instead, just four weeks after separation you’re focused on which sex you physically gravitate toward. Let’s presume it’s a form of post-traumatic emotional-displacement disorder. I’m sorry that you and his father are no longer together, but if it turns out you prefer women it’s probably for the best. Raising a child alone is hard work, requiring patience, time and an awful lot of loving; raising a child with the wrong person is equally, if not more, challenging. Luckily at the first glimpse of our baby, most of us are overwhelmed by a tsunami of love that carries us through the challenges ahead and makes the sacrifices seem bearable. But there will be grey days, long nights and what feel like simply impossible periods, and having someone who has your back is incredibly valuable for you and your baby. If it’s at all possible to keep your ex involved in your lives you should be working on it.

Department of Defence chief of staff Kevin Sweeney has resigned, a month after the Defence Secretary James Mattis announced his departure. Rear Admiral Sweeney said in a statement that "the time is right to return to the private sector". He is now the third senior Pentagon official to announce his resignation since President Donald Trump announced US forces would leave Syria. Officials have said there is no timetable for the troop departure. Rear Adm Sweeney held his post for two years from January 2017. Trump's erratic foreign policy course The end of Trump's love affair with generals? In a terse resignation letter, he said it had been an "an honour to serve" alongside his colleagues in the department, but made no mention of Mr Trump. His announcement comes days after General Mattis left his post early, after initially planning to stay in his role until February. His departure adds to a sense of uncertainty surrounding the Trump administration's defence and foreign policies since the surprise announcement of the planned withdrawal from Syria, analysts say. On Tuesday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will embark on a week-long tour of the Middle East designed to reassure allies in the region. The former defence secretary hinted at policy differences with President Trump in his resignation letter. James Mattis' resignation letter in full Addressed to Mr Trump directly, Gen Mattis's letter described his views on "treating allies with respect" and using "all the tools of American power to provide for the common defence". "Because you have the right to have a secretary of defence whose views are better aligned with yours on these and other subjects, I believe it is right for me to step down from my position," he wrote. Department spokeswoman Dana White also left her post after the president's surprise announcement on Syria, as did Brett McGurk, the presidential special envoy to the global coalition fighting so-called Islamic State

With upwards of 97,000 of these entry-level Porsche five-doors having been sold around the globe in those 12 months alone - an outright record for any Porsche model - demand for the Macan is showing little sign of slowing down. By the end of this year, Porsche expects close to 400,000 to have found homes over the past five years. Given that the Macan was still proving to be such an unqualified hit among compact SUV buyers, we shouldn’t be at all surprised to learn that this midlife facelift amounts to not much more than a tweaked front end with LED lights, plus a restyled rear that now incorporates a full-width light bar – a nod to the Panamera and Cayenne that have been replaced wholesale in the past 18 months or so. Within the cabin, there is now a 10.9in touchscreen and the latest Porsche Communications Management software, which again keeps the Macan in line with Porsche’s more expensive family models, although its centre console is still the festival of buttons that Porsche has moved away from with the Panamera and Cayenne. No specific claims are made for revised spring rates here or tweaked damper curves there, apart from the usual fine tuning that goes on throughout any car’s life cycle. The V6 engine in this mid-range Macan S, however, is new, borrowed from higher up Porsche’s model range with its turbocharger located within the valley formed by the two banks of cylinders for sharper throttle response. The 3.0-litre unit develops 349bhp and 354lb ft of torque. Even before Porsche updated the Macan, it was comfortably the class leader in terms of handling agility. That’s thanks in part to the clever four-wheel-drive system, which powers the rear axle until the traction limit nears and the front axle is quickly called into action, plus staggered tyres that put more rubber on the road at the rear end. Post-facelift, the Macan S is as good to drive along a winding road as it ever was. The steering is uncommonly precise for a high-riding car, while the response at the front end is near enough immediate. In many SUVs, you can sense a delay as the rear half of the car lazily hauls itself into the corner, but not in this one. What’s most impressive about the Macan S is that you simply don’t have to make any allowances for its elevated centre of gravity. You just drive it the way you would a hot hatch, for instance, taking note of the few degrees of extra roll when you really pile into a bend. The seating position is also unusually sporting for this sort of car, locating the pedals far enough ahead of you that your legs are outstretched, while the steering wheel comes out to meet you. Specify the smaller GT sports steering wheel and you might even convince yourself you’re driving something from Porsche’s range of two-seaters. Being so much smaller than a Cayenne, the Macan is easier to slip around town in and much more wieldy on narrow roads, although within the cabin it’s no more spacious than a full-size hatchback. On optional air suspension it rides well, rounding off the sharp edges that the standard steel springs aren’t able to smother. However, you’ll quickly undo that advantage by specifying 21in wheels. The V6 engine is sharp and responsive, as well as being strong enough under a wide open throttle to make you wonder if a more powerful Macan is really necessary (once the Turbo and GTS have also been updated, this Macan S will be only the third-fastest model in the range).

Russia has dismissed suggestions that a former US marine accused of spying could be involved in a prisoner swap. Paul Whelan, 48, was detained in Moscow last month. His family says he was simply visiting Russia to attend a wedding. His lawyer had raised the possibility of a prisoner exchange, telling ABC News that "it is not excluded" as a means of resolving the case. But a Russian minister now says that it was "incorrect" to suggest this idea. "It is impossible and incorrect to raise the issue in this way, when official charges have not even been put forward yet," Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told the RIA Novosti news agency on Friday. He added that the situation was "very serious". Russian news agencies, and Mr Whelan's Russian lawyer, Vladimir Zherebenkov, had previously said that the ex-marine had been charged, On Thursday, Mr Zherebenkov also appeared to suggest that a prisoner swap would be possible. "The thing is that in this category of cases, exchanges often happen," he told ABC News. "It is not excluded - such a practice exists. It exists and there are a lot of Russian citizens being held in America." Meanwhile, Russia says the US has detained one of its citizens on the Northern Mariana Islands in the north-west Pacific. Its foreign ministry said on Friday that Dmitry Makarenko had been detained by the FBI and moved to Florida, but the US has not yet confirmed this.

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What does the future hold for the Xbox One S? At Digital Foundry, we've noted something of a concerning trend for Microsoft's base console - while system exclusives continue to hold up well from a quality perspective, top-end third-party titles are pushing the system to its limits - with sometimes disappointing results. The question is this: if the S is losing pace with the competition, how well can it hold up in the years to come? After all, its successor is not likely to arrive until 2020. Let's put all of this into context. The Xbox One has always had a less capable GPU than the PlayStation 4, so the generation has typically seen the PS4 deliver resolution or frame-rate advantages over its Microsoft counterpart - this is nothing new, and the 1080p/900p divide has been in place for much of the generation. By and large, 720p vs 1080p comparisons aside, the differences only really become evident if compared both consoles directly side - so what's changed? There's a combination of factors in play here, but mostly, I suspect it's down to several factors - firstly, the fact is that the vanilla PlayStation 4 is effectively the base platform owing to its ginormous installed userbase. Secondly, developers are pushing that platform harder than they ever have before - so compromises in resolution in favour of features on a PS4 build have a more profound impact for the Xbox One S build. Then there's the arrival of Xbox One X - in terms of its basic nuts and bolts design, its architecture has a crucial commonality with PS4 and Pro, something the S doesn't have - a fully unified memory structure. Across the entire console generation, we've heard complaints from developers about the base Xbox One's ESRAM - not so much the concept of a high bandwidth section of memory that's faster than the rest, but more the fact that there's only 32MB of it. If render targets can't fit into the space, they are relegated to much slower DDR3 with a profound drop in performance. In effect then, developing for the Xbox One S has more fundamental challenges then - the GPU is less capable, and the memory set-up is much more challenging to work with. Meanwhile, Xbox One X shelves ESRAM completely and follows the completely unified memory set-up used in the PlayStation consoles. So how has all of this impacted actual software? DICE's Battlefield 5 is a good example, pushing technology with cutting edge features, but paying for it by reducing resolution dynamically and using reconstruction techniques in an attempt to restore image quality. It's not a totally ideal situation for image clarity but it passes muster on PlayStation 4, but looks significantly blurrier on Xbox One. Reconstruction to hit 720p in the most intense scenes? It works, frame-rate is kept high, but it's not pretty. Red Dead Redemption 2 is another example. Remarkably - bearing in mind how advanced this game is - it's feature-complete alongside the three accompanying console builds. Not only that, but it's effectively delivering the same performance level as the PS4 game. However, the temporal anti-aliasing techniques combined with an 864p base resolution again deliver a very blurry presentation. It's not particularly flattering on a living room flat panel, and scales even more poorly on the latest 4K displays. Temporal AA has become something of a standard at the tail-end of this generation and it can look great, but it does rely on a decent base resolution. Another interesting scenario is presented by Avalanche's Just Cause 4. In the wake of poor performance in JC3, the developer tackled the challenge offered by its huge explosions and insane physics work by optimising CPU utilisation and - yes - fully embracing dynamic resolution scaling. The vanilla PlayStation 4 is pushed hard and bottoms out at a 720p pixel-count - so where does leave the Xbox One S? A blurrier image more of the time, combined with frequent drops to the target frame-rate. We also spent some time with the Codemasters Evo team last year as they closed in on the final days of development for its debut title, the criminally overlooked Onrush. It's another example of a cutting edge engine built from the ground up, fully dynamic in almost all regards. It also offers users the chance to choose between resolution or performance, and plays best at 60fps. However, this option wasn't available for the base Xbox One version of the game, which only featured a 30fps mode. All of which sums up our concerns about the trajectory of the Xbox One S - with two more years projected for the current console generation and the PlayStation 4 userbase likely to hit 100m well before that, it's Sony that defines the technological baseline. As the vanilla PS4 gets pushed ever harder, the worry is that the Xbox One will struggle still further. From a marketing perspective, Microsoft is insulated somewhat, simply by virtue of the Xbox One X's existence. So, for example, it's interesting to note that the firm highlighted our coverage of Red Dead Redemption 2. We said that the game looks and runs best on Xbox One X, and it does - indeed, for that level of technical accomplishment to render natively at 'true' 4K is an astonishing achievement. But we also discussed how blurry the S version looks and how it doesn't match up to the others. If the X wasn't about, the story wouldn't have been anything like as positive for Microsoft. Obviously though, the Xbox One S isn't going anywhere, and it's highly likely that the machine will take on a new role. The X is there for the core gamer who values good performance and image quality worthy of their 4K screen, but Microsoft is planning on expanding its audience and it's here where the S plays a crucial role. The firm has already revealed that its cloud-based streaming system - dubbed Project xCloud - features server blades built around the S architecture. Bearing in mind that mobile devices are the primary target for streaming, resolution deficiencies won't be an issue, while using S hardware instead of X represents huge power savings and far greater efficiency. It's a more obvious fit for the task in hand.

Natalie d’Arbeloff is a full-time working artist – but it is only now, in her 90th year, that she has decided to openly admit her age. Why? Because of the patronising preconceptions about getting old For the past 30 years, I have avoided mentioning my date of birth except when bureaucratically, medically or legally required to do so. In all social interactions, I avoid the subject. If I am asked directly why I won’t say how old I am, my default answer is: vanity. It is the truth, and why not? I have reasons to be vain. I have been extremely fortunate with my genes; my mother and father lived until they were 97 and 101, respectively. I’m still a full-time working artist, still exploring, discovering and getting better and better every other day. I don’t feel, think, or look my age. But this year, on my birthday in August, I will reach a particularly inadmissible number, therefore I have decided it is time to conquer my fear of admitting “the number”. I am finally ready to liberate myself – here goes ... On 7 August 2019, I will be 90. I was born in 1929, the year of the Wall Street crash, which ushered in the Great Depression. Keen to list for this piece some lesser known and less depressing events to commemorate my birth in Paris, I googled the date. But please don’t be amazed that a nearly-90-year-old uses google as a verb and understands the internet. It is normal if they have been that sort of person all their life. True, I don’t know any other 89½-year-olds, but I’m fairly sure there are thousands out there at this very moment, thinking deep and/or funny thoughts, writing and painting, building and dancing, gazing at the stars and generally contributing to the world. I doubt I would have clung so stubbornly to this phobia of admitting my age if patronising preconceptions about ageing didn’t exist. If I am at a party and someone asks “Are you still working?”, I want to punch them in the face. (I don’t, of course, because I’m only 4ft 11in, so I can’t reach.) But such questions are stereotypical of people’s perception of age. I will admit to a few age-related physical glitches. For instance, I use hearing aids, but only if I am with people who mumble. (Why can’t people speak consonants clearly?) And I’ve got only eight of my own teeth left. In fact, the possibility that I might forget to put the synthetics back in before going out – along with the probability of a man-made apocalypse – is why I sometimes worry about the future. There is also my right hip. It began, absolutely unacceptably, to go a bit wonky a few months ago. This is at the top of my list of issues to resolve this year, along with finding someone to give me a major retrospective exhibition before it is too late. For me, being a certain age doesn’t feel as if it is set in stone – why not be several ages at once? I chose art as a career very early on and the insecurities of the profession, together with its incomparable joys, have no doubt contributed to my indifference towards ageing. Artists who are in it for the long haul are often age-indifferent, even if their bodies aren’t. The aged Matisse created his magnificent cutouts from his sick-bed. We are all different, from the moment we are born until the moment we die, and the eighth or 80th – or any other – year of my life was not the same as yours. Identity is fluid enough to be exempt from categorisation, so why should people who have accumulated a large quantity of years be perceived as having uniform characteristics? Individuality does not drop off automatically, like old skin, when we reach a certain number. Maybe it is because I started writing a diary when I was nine that I see my life as a film that I can stop and examine at any point. It also hasn’t been a still life and perhaps my refusal to see myself defined by such a static word as “old” has something to do with the fact that, since the age of about six, I was on the move. My father, a restless, enterprising Russian émigré, transported my mother, a Parisian, my older sister and me, and later on our much younger brother, from Paris to Paraguay, Brazil, the United States, Italy, England etc, for varying periods of time. I have never felt that I had a fixed home, even though I have lived in England since 1963. I do salute all the brave, bold age-admitters. But I must confess that the fear of becoming invisible, in a sexual sense, played a major part in my refusal to admit my age. People may say sexual invisibility happens to all of us, sooner or later; that’s life, biology, so what? And I certainly don’t want to pretend to be physically young. But it seemed perfectly rational to me that the sexy buzz that accompanied me all my life would still be there as long as I didn’t mention my age. My father, even when he was nearly 100, believed in the same kind of magical unrealism. If he met a neighbour, a sprightly 70-year-old, say, he would tell us: “I saw that Mr X – he’s such a starichok!” (“little old man” in Russian). Sacha literally did not see himself or Blanche, my mother, as old. Blanche herself began to paint at 94, climbed six flights of stairs every week to attend an art class and had her first and last solo exhibition at 96. Whether my parents’ misperception of themselves contributed to their longevity is anyone’s guess. Some people are starichoks. Some refuse to be. There are no rules in age, only exceptions. My only advice is: be the exception. So this “little old lady” has made her confession. But you still haven’t got my number.

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The Democratic-controlled US House of Representatives has voted to end a partial government shutdown, but the move looks certain to be vetoed by President Donald Trump. Mr Trump has said he will reject any measure that does not provide funding for his proposed US-Mexico border wall. New House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has branded the wall "an immorality". The new congress is considered the most diverse in history with record numbers of women and women of colour. The bills passed by the House of Representatives would fund homeland security operations, including $1.3bn in border security, until 8 February, and fund several other agencies until September. However, it requires Senate approval, and sign off from the president, in order to become law. Republicans currently have a majority in the Senate, and majority leader Mitch McConnell has said Republicans there would not back measures that Mr Trump did not support. Mr McConnell called the Democrats' move a "total nonstarter" and a "political sideshow". However, Democrats argue that the bills are nearly identical to ones passed by the Senate last month, before Mr Trump insisted wall funding must be included. Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat from California, was elected as Speaker of the House for a second time - becoming the third most powerful politician in the US. She previously led the House from 2007-2011 - and remains the only female to hold the position. She invited the children and grandchildren of House Representatives to join her as she was sworn in, saying: "I'm particularly proud to be a woman Speaker of the House of this Congress, which marks the 100th year of women having the right to vote." Later, she told reporters: "We're not doing a wall... a wall is an immorality between countries. It's an old way of thinking. It isn't cost effective." She added that spending money on "more infrastructure at the ports of entry" and better technology would be more efficient.

Hyundai used last year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES) to unveil its Nexo hydrogen fuel cell SUV, but for 2019 it’s thinking even further outside the box with the Elevate concept. Previewed by an image ahead of the official unveiling in Las Vegas, US, next week, the Elevate is a unique machine combining what looks like four driven wheels mounted on robotic legs for a “totally new” vehicular concept that Hyundai says will be able to “take people where no vehicle has been before”. Few technical details of the vehicle’s mechanical systems have been revealed, but we do know that it utilises an electric powertrain alongside advanced robotic systems. Clues to the Elevate’s purpose include a first aid logo on what looks like a slide-opening door panel, likely intended for boarding patients rescued from terrain otherwise inaccessible by traditional ground vehicles. It’s not yet clear whether there's any production or research intention with the Elevate concept beyond drawing in crowds at the tech show’s stands. We can expect more details, alongside a “prototype” displaying the vehicle in action, when CES's doors open on 8 January.

The GeForce RTX 2070 is a tantalising prospect: all of the cool ray tracing and deep learning technology that debuted with the RTX 2080 and 2080 Ti in a much more affordable package. However, the outgoing GTX 1080 should offer similar performance at a lower price - so which card is the better buy for most people? That's what we'll aim to answer here, as we examine exactly how these two graphics cards compare in terms of in-game performance, features, pricing and availability. First up, we'll take a closer look at the features that define the RTX 20-series cards: the capacity for real-time ray tracing, deep learning super sampling (DLSS) and more. Are these game-changers that'll become the RTX series' greatest strength, or fad technologies that only serve to drive up the cost of GPUs? It's a complex topic and the answers aren't all that clear yet, but we can give you a good indication of what to expect once these features start to be supported in real games. We'll also briefly discuss the smaller features that you might not have heard about, including improvements for content creators and VR fans that could make the RTX 2070 a must-have upgrade. After that, we'll cover the topic that absolutely everyone will care about: real performance in traditional games. We've tested the RTX 2070 and GTX 1080 exhaustively, so we can show you exactly how these cards compare in a wide range of modern games at different resolutions. Pricing and availability is another key concern for anyone looking to buy a new graphics card, so we'll conclude by showing you where to find the RTX 2070 and GTX 1080 for the best prices and giving our judgement on which card is the better buy. Of course, we'd be remiss to not also mention our full GeForce RTX 2070 review, which tackles all of the topics we'll cover here in greater detail. For now though, let's get into the comparison! RTX 2070 vs GTX 1080: feature comparison Deep learning super-sampling (DLSS) While real-time ray tracing gives the RTX series its name, deep learning super sampling (DLSS) could well be the more important addition. DLSS has the potential to boost frame-rates substantially in games that support it, allowing RTX cards to out-muscle their GTX competitors or to offset the performance cost of real-time ray tracing. We've produced an in-depth review of DLSS if you want to learn more, but the short version is that it works by rendering a low-resolution image which is then upscaled to your monitor's resolution. This is achieved by a deep learning algorithm, which has been trained on extremely high resolution images of the game that's being played. That allows the graphics card to deliver a final image that looks similar to one produced with traditional anti-aliasing while using half of the shading power. The practical upshot of all this is that frame-rates can go way up. In fact, in the first shipping DLSS title, Final Fantasy 15, frame-rates are boosted by a massive 40 per cent by switching from traditional TAA to DLSS. That's incredible, particularly for the mid-range RTX 2070 Real-time ray tracing Ray tracing refers to simulating light as it bounces realistically around a scene. This approach has historically been way too intensive to happen in real-time, but the specialised hardware of the RTX cards finally makes this a reality. While enabling real-time ray tracing in games like Battlefield 5 still has a heavy performance penalty, especially on the low-end RTX 2070, it provides for more realistic-looking lights and shadows and could even allow for some unique gameplay possibilities. If RT is well-supported by developers and the performance penalty is mitigated through DLSS, it could well become an essential feature - but at this stage, it's still too early to tell how fast the real-time ray tracing future will arrive. Turing architecture: new rendering features As well as RTX and DLSS, Nvidia's 20-series graphics cards include some other interesting additions. For example, new shading models like mesh shading have been included, which essentially allow the GPU to take closer control over level of detail settings, significantly freeing up CPU and GPU resources without sacrificing visual fidelity. Variable rate shading is another clever addition which reduces processing on scene elements that aren't likely to be focused on by the player. That tactic can add roughly 15 to 20 per cent to frame-rates, at least based on a Wolfenstein 2 demo we've seen, allowing another avenue for canny game developers to optimise for the new RTX cards. The RTX 2070 also joins its 20-series fellows in offering a USB-C VirtualLink port, designed to support next-generation VR headsets to connect without using separate video and data cables. Future 8K displays will also be able to plug into your RTX 2070 through a single DisplayPort 1.4 cable at 60Hz, something that wasn't possible on GTX 10-series cards. Streamers and game video creators might also be prompted to upgraded to the RTX 2070 through its inclusion of a more efficient NVENC encoder. The new version supports a wider range of video standards, allows for higher resolutions and doesn't sap your processor as much as the previous version. Combined together, these improvements mean that 4K streaming becomes a possibility without extremely expensive hardware - as long as you've got a fast internet connection! RTX 2070 vs GTX 1080: performance benchmarks While the RTX 2070 and the GTX 1080 will take centre stage in our performance comparison, it makes sense to include some greater context as well. This comes in the form of two higher-end Nvidia graphics card from this generation and the last, the RTX 2080 and the GTX 1080 Ti. We've also included the AMD Vega 64, Team Red's fastest graphics card at the moment. Our testing was performed at 1440p and 4K to best show the difference between these two cards, as 1080p testing is often too CPU-limited. To give you a better idea of the raw performance of these cards, you can see some of the relevant stats in the table below. Note that Founders Edition figures are given first, with their reference equivalents in parentheses, as the RTX FE cards we tested come factory overclocked.

Yes we are three days into January, otherwise known as Dry January, Back To The Gym Jan, Giving Up Bad Stuff and Taking Up Good Stuff Janvier. This was always the month of self improving resolutions, and now it’s basically compulsory. So, if you happen to be a resolution denier - if you don’t see why you should be forced into living like Mark Wahlberg just because it’s the start of a new year - your best bet is to go with some ‘alternative’ resolutions, less New Year New You more whatever amuses you. Here are some I prepared earlier: To not give up drink in January .or do anything, throughout the year, that qualifies as ‘Lemming ’. (Lemming is the modern habit of adopting something simply because everyone else is). This year Lemming things we deliberately will not be doing, include: banging on about how good Olivia Colman is in The Favourite. Banging on about Ottolenghi Simple (but never actually opening Ottolenghi Simple). Banging on about how much we are looking forward to the new Big Little Lies/Fleabag (generally behaving like the person who has read and memorised the year’s cultural round up). To not buy eggs This is not an anti-egg policy, this is an attempt to reverse some wasteful habits, one of which is buying eggs as a back up, so we can always have scrambled eggs, and then never getting around to having scrambled eggs. Other habits in this vein include: stockpiling bubblewrap, just in case, and falling for the 3 for 2 litre bottles of conditioner offer. To buy more haloumi Because it lasts about a year in the fridge - see above –which makes it a guaranteed guilt free food purchase To implement a personal phone ban I mean actually ban it: at the table; in front of the TV; whenever there is someone present too old or too young to give a stuff what’s trending on Twitter. Ban us in your restaurants, restaurateurs! Shame us in your homes, friends! We took smoking outside, it hurt, but we’re all happier and healthier for it.

China says it has successfully landed a robotic spacecraft on the far side of the Moon, the first ever such attempt and landing At 10:26 Beijing time (02:26 GMT), the un-crewed Chang'e-4 probe touched down in the South Pole-Aitken Basin, state media said. It is carrying instruments to analyse the unexplored region's geology, as well to conduct biological experiments. The landing is being seen as a major milestone in space exploration. There have been numerous missions to the Moon in recent years, but the vast majority have been to orbit, fly by or impact. The last crewed landing was Apollo 17 in 1972. The Chang'e-4 probe has already sent back its first pictures from the surface, which were shared by state media. With no direct communication link possible, all pictures and data have to be bounced off a separate satellite before being relayed to Earth. Why is this Moon landing so significant? Previous Moon missions have landed on the Earth-facing side, but this is the first time any craft has landed on the unexplored and rugged far side. Ye Quanzhi, an astronomer at Caltech, told the BBC this was the first time China had "attempted something that other space powers have not attempted before". The Chang'e-4 was launched from Xichang Satellite Launch Centre in China on 7 December; it arrived in lunar orbit on 12 December. The Chang'e-4 probe is aiming to explore a place called the Von Kármán crater, located within the much larger South Pole-Aitken (SPA) Basin - thought to have been formed by a giant impact early in the Moon's history. "This huge structure is over 2,500km (1,550 miles) in diameter and 13km deep, one of the largest impact craters in the Solar System and the largest, deepest and oldest basin on the Moon," Andrew Coates, professor of physics at UCL's Mullard Space Science Laboratory in Surrey, told the BBC. The event responsible for carving out the SPA basin is thought to have been so powerful, it punched through the Moon's crust and down into the zone called the mantle. Researchers will want to train the instruments on any mantle rocks exposed by the calamity. The science team also hopes to study parts of the sheet of melted rock that would have filled the newly formed South Pole-Aitken Basin, allowing them to identify variations in its composition. A third objective is to study the far side regolith, the broken up rocks and dust that make up the surface, which will help us understand the formation of the Moon. What else might we learn from this mission? Chang'e-4's static lander is carrying two cameras; a German-built radiation experiment called LND; and a spectrometer that will perform low-frequency radio astronomy observations. Scientists believe the far side could be an excellent place to perform radio astronomy, because it is shielded from the radio noise of Earth. The spectrometer work will aim to test this idea. The lander carries a 3kg (6.6lb) container with potato and arabidopsis plant seeds - as well as silkworm eggs - to perform biological studies. The "lunar mini biosphere" experiment was designed by 28 Chinese universities. Other equipment/experiments include: A panoramic camera A radar to probe beneath the lunar surface An imaging spectrometer to identify minerals An experiment to examine the interaction of the solar wind (a stream of energised particles from the Sun) with the lunar surface The mission is part of a larger Chinese programme of lunar exploration. The first and second Chang'e missions were designed to gather data from orbit, while the third and fourth were built for surface operations. Chang'e-5 and 6 are sample return missions, delivering lunar rock and soil to laboratories on Earth. Is there a 'dark side of the Moon'? The lunar far side is often referred to as the "dark side", though "dark" in this case means "unseen" rather than "lacking light". In fact, both the near and far sides of the Moon experience daytime and night-time. China launch will prep for Moon landing Why China is fixated on the Moon China's scientific revolution But because of a phenomenon called "tidal locking", we see only one face of the Moon from Earth. This is because the Moon takes just as long to rotate on its own axis as it takes to complete one orbit of Earth. The far side has a thicker, older crust that is pocked with more craters. There are also very few of the "mare" - dark basaltic "seas" created by lava flows - that are evident on the near side.

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A computer built to mimic the brain's neural networks produces similar results to that of the best brain-simulation supercomputer software currently used for neural-signaling research, finds a new study published in the open-access journal Frontiers in Neuroscience. Tested for accuracy, speed and energy efficiency, this custom-built computer named SpiNNaker, has the potential to overcome the speed and power consumption problems of conventional supercomputers. The aim is to advance our knowledge of neural processing in the brain, to include learning and disorders such as epilepsy and Alzheimer's disease. "SpiNNaker can support detailed biological models of the cortex -- the outer layer of the brain that receives and processes information from the senses -- delivering results very similar to those from an equivalent supercomputer software simulation," says Dr. Sacha van Albada, lead author of this study and leader of the Theoretical Neuroanatomy group at the Jülich Research Centre, Germany. "The ability to run large-scale detailed neural networks quickly and at low power consumption will advance robotics research and facilitate studies on learning and brain disorders." The human brain is extremely complex, comprising 100 billion interconnected brain cells. We understand how individual neurons and their components behave and communicate with each other and on the larger scale, which areas of the brain are used for sensory perception, action and cognition. However, we know less about the translation of neural activity into behavior, such as turning thought into muscle movement. Supercomputer software has helped by simulating the exchange of signals between neurons, but even the best software run on the fastest supercomputers to date can only simulate 1% of the human brain. "It is presently unclear which computer architecture is best suited to study whole-brain networks efficiently. The European Human Brain Project and Jülich Research Centre have performed extensive research to identify the best strategy for this highly complex problem. Today's supercomputers require several minutes to simulate one second of real time, so studies on processes like learning, which take hours and days in real time are currently out of reach." explains Professor Markus Diesmann, co-author, head of the Computational and Systems Neuroscience department at the Jülich Research Centre. He continues, "There is a huge gap between the energy consumption of the brain and today's supercomputers. Neuromorphic (brain-inspired) computing allows us to investigate how close we can get to the energy efficiency of the brain using electronics." Developed over the past 15 years and based on the structure and function of the human brain, SpiNNaker -- part of the Neuromorphic Computing Platform of the Human Brain Project -- is a custom-built computer composed of half a million of simple computing elements controlled by its own software. The researchers compared the accuracy, speed and energy efficiency of SpiNNaker with that of NEST -- a specialist supercomputer software currently in use for brain neuron-signaling research. "The simulations run on NEST and SpiNNaker showed very similar results," reports Steve Furber, co-author and Professor of Computer Engineering at the University of Manchester, UK. "This is the first time such a detailed simulation of the cortex has been run on SpiNNaker, or on any neuromorphic platform. SpiNNaker comprises 600 circuit boards incorporating over 500,000 small processors in total. The simulation described in this study used just six boards -- 1% of the total capability of the machine. The findings from our research will improve the software to reduce this to a single board." Van Albada shares her future aspirations for SpiNNaker, "We hope for increasingly large real-time simulations with these neuromorphic computing systems. In the Human Brain Project, we already work with neuroroboticists who hope to use them for robotic control."

The power output of Mercedes-AMG upcoming A45 appears to have been revealed accidentally by a German insurance website. HUK24, an online insurance provider, has stored powertrain specs in a drop-down list for the new range-topping A-Class, examples of which were registered for road use in Germany in December. The details, although unconfirmed officially, reveal that there will be two different power outputs from the car's 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine. The 'base' model will produce 387PS (382bhp), while the flagship S variant makes 421PS (415bhp). Both will put their power down through all four-wheels, and are set to go on sale later this year. The output of the standard model is already in excess of the 370bhp produced by the outgoing A45, with the top-spec car a full 45bhp more powerful. That should translate to 0-62mph of around four-seconds, and possibly less. The video, which the German firm has called 'Not another Christmas video', showed an A45 in a bold multi-coloured disguise livery lapping a test track in Germany, and showed the car performing a series of powerslides While few official details of the range-topping A-Class have been revealed, Autocar has previously learned that it is set to have the highest specific output for a production engine in the world, eclipsing even the McLaren Senna's 789bhp V8. AMG boss Tobias Moers told Autocar earlier this year that the A45 will get "well over 400bhp" from its new engine, which is expected to be an extensively re-engineered version of the current car's 2.0-litre unit. OUR VERDICT Mercedes-AMG A45 AMG pops its hot hatchback cherry in singular, inimitable fashion, but do less expensive rivals like the Honda Civic Type R and Golf R deliver greater thrills? Find an Autocar car review Then a model Driven this week 2 JANUARY 2019 FIRST DRIVE Citroen C3 Aircross long-term review Is Citroen's high-riding supermini good to live with and to look at? We’... 21 DECEMBER 2018 FIRST DRIVE Mercedes-Benz C-Class C220d Coupe 2018 UK review Entry-level diesel motor makes a lot of sense in the sleeker, two-door C-... 21 DECEMBER 2018 FIRST DRIVE Litchfield Alpine A110 2018 UK review Litchfield’s very well-judged engine remap liberates more power and torque... That means it will have more than 200bhp per litre, ranking the car at least 12bhp-per-litre higher than the current A45 and beating the current specific output champion, the 197bhp-per-litre Senna. The model, dubbed by AMG insiders as 'The Predator' as a nod to its extreme performance, is expected to serve a rival to Audi Sport's RS3 in the pairing's ongoing super-hatch fight, while also ensuring the A45 offers stronger straight-line performance than the forthcoming BMW M2 CSL. Despite rumours to the contrary, the model will be pure petrol and will not require a hybrid set-up to produce its headline-grabbing numbers. "It's going to be the next step in every perspective, including driving dynamics," said Moers. The A45's big power advantage will be illustrated with only small aesthetic differences. It will have a quad oval-exit exhaust system, whereas the A35 will get a dual-exit system. Also featured on the A45 is AMG' Panamericana front grille, giving the 2019 car a design nod to the recently revealed GT 4-door Coupé. The A45 will have its own unique chassis developments with optional adjustable damping offering an extreme mode for high-speed circuit running. The current A45 is renowned for its stiff adjustable set-up, but the recently sighted test cars for the next-gen model look to be sitting lower, suggesting AMG could be targeting even more body composure for track-day driving in its future model. The new A-Class is 10mm longer than today’s car and adopts a new floorpan and body structure that are claimed to provide significant increases in rigidity. This provides it with improved refinement. The new A45 will also get a significantly wider front track and receive its own unique wheel carriers in a bid to reduce unsprung mass. It will roll on standard 18in wheels, but 19in rims will be an option. The basis for the changes to the M133 engine unit comes from Mercedes’ new M260 four-cylinder engine. This is derived from the older M270 motor used by today’s A-Class but has a new crankcase and cylinder head. Initially, the reworked M133 will feature a traditional exhaust gas-driven twin-scroll turbocharger. However, AMG is also developing a more advanced variant of its new engine that uses a 48V electrical system and runs both an electric-driven turbocharger and electric motor in a hybrid set-up that promises an even greater ramp-up in performance. AMG is also looking to endow its new hatchback model with an extra 20lb ft — a move that, insiders have told Autocar, will provide it with at least 369lb ft and allow its 0-62mph sprint to crack the 4.0sec mark.

Spiders, maker of 2016's The Technomancer and 2014's Bound by Flame, said it's trying to depict grandiose sceneries in muted warm colours and dark undertones. You can get a sense of the look it's going for in the teaser video, below. In the game you, alongside other settlers, mercenaries and treasure hunters, explore a remote island where the locals, who are fighting off invading settlers, are protected by supernatural beings. Spiders said GreedFall is about combat, but it's also about diplomacy, deception and stealth. Here's the official blurb: The island of GreedFall is a living, ever-evolving world. Your actions, from seemingly trivial choices to the most important political decisions, will influence and affect its course as well as the relationship between the different factions established on the island. That's it for now. GreedFall is planned for release in 2018 on PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. One to watch .

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The first listing of AMD’s next-generation Ryzen 3000 series processors based on the Zen 2 core architecture has been spotted online. Listed by a Russian retailer, the site lists down AMD’s new Ryzen 9, Ryzen 7 and Ryzen 5 processors along with their key specifications. The Russian retail site, E-Katalog (via Videocardz), has five Ryzen 3000 series processors listed on it at the moment. Now there’s no way of confirming whether these specifications are real or just placeholders based on the recent leaks but AMD definitely has announcements planned for CES 2019 so retailers might just be getting ready if there’s a planned introduction for the new processors at the keynote by the CEO of AMD, Lisa Su. AMD’s Zen 2 architecture would deliver the first 7nm desktop processors, improving the chip architecture and increasing the IPC from the previous generation. AMD will also be adding in efficiency improvements to the new processors achieved through the new process node that allows for higher clock speeds AMD Ryzen 9 3800X – A 16 Core AM4 Part With 125W TDP and Up To 4.7 GHz Clocks Looking at the leaked processors from the listings, we first take a look at the Ryzen 9 3800X. AMD is moving their Ryzen family one step ahead with the new Ryzen 9 lineup which would offer twice the cores of the current flagship mainstream part, the Ryzen 7 2700X. The Ryzen 9 3800X would feature 16 cores and 32 threads. It will run at a base frequency of 3.9 GHz and a boost frequency of 4.7 GHz (single-core). The chip will have a TDP of 125W which is slightly up from the 95W TDP for the previous generation 8 core parts but considering you are getting twice the cores and much higher frequencies, the TDP trade-off would be negligible. AMD Ryzen 7 3700X & 3700 – Now With 12 Cores and Much Higher Frequencies With the AMD Ryzen 7 3000 series lineup, AMD seems to be offering two new parts, the Ryzen 7 3700X and the Ryzen 7 3700. Both parts are identical in core configuration with the differences lying in the clocks and TDP. The Ryzen 7 3700X will feature 12 cores and 24 threads which is 4 more cores and 8 more threads compared to the Ryzen 7 2700X. The CPU will clock in at 4.2 GHz base and 5 GHz boost clocks, matching the highest speed of Intel’s fastest 8 core chip in a 105W TDP package. The Ryzen 7 3700, on the other hand, will feature slightly tuned clock speeds at 3.8 GHz base and 4.6 GHz boost with a TDP of 95W. It’ll be interesting to see if AMD matches similar prices for Ryzen 7 3000 series to their existing parts which would clearly crush the competition. AMD Ryzen 5 3600X & 3600 – 8 Cores Now Enhanced With Zen 2 and Higher Clocks Finally, we have the Ryzen 5 parts which have got a core upgrade too from 6 cores to 12 threads to 8 cores and 16 threads. The Ryzen 5 3600X will feature clock speeds of 4.00 GHz base and 4.8 GHz boost with a TDP of 95W while the Ryzen 5 3600 will feature clock speeds of 3.6 GHz base and 4.4 GHz boost clocks with a TDP of 65W. Normally, the X parts will feature higher XFR and precision boost frequencies with slightly better overclocking albeit with slightly higher prices. It will be interesting to see if these listings are real. They definitely sound too good to be true but anything is possible at this point given AMD will be offering 64 cores and 128 threads with their first EPYC Rome processors based on the Zen 2 CPU architecture. We are just a few days away from finding out if this is legit so stay tuned for more information.