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Bundles have become the most powerful weapon in the arsenal of tech giants looking to retain existing customers and attract new ones - with Amazon Prime being, well, the prime example. While we expected big tech to embrace the VPN trend, we didn’t anticipate Google would be the second out of the gates (after Facebook's disastrous VPN attempt). The company has announced it will give a free VPN - VPN by Google One - to anyone that subscribes to its Google One 2TB plan. The free VPN will first reach US-based Android users, before expanding to other territories (Canada, Australia, Germany and UK) and platforms (iOS, Windows and Mac) in the coming months. Free VPN with a catch At $99.99 per year, the 2TB offer comes with a number of extras, including Google Drive cloud storage, Gmail, Google Photos, Google Workspace, 10% back in Google Store rewards and the ability to share the plan with up to five additional people. You should also be able to use a device as a hotspot, which would allow even more devices to be serviced by the VPN, enabled via a slider on the Google One app. Google promises never to log “your network traffic or IP”, but minimal logging may take place to ensure quality of service (which is something all VPN providers usually do). As you might expect, Google shunned both OpenVPN and Wireguard in favor of its own proprietary protocol (to ensure a high throughput while minimizing battery consumption), although it may embrace other protocols further down the line. In a bid to remain transparent, Google has open sourced the code that runs on a user’s device and promised to open source the server-side user authentication mechanism. The company will also publish the results of a third party audit, which is already taking place. Competitors to catch up soon So, what’s next? We expect Apple (with Apple One), Amazon (with Prime) and Microsoft (with Microsoft 365) to follow Google with their own VPN solutions. After all, given they own hundreds of thousands of server racks, it’s not as if rolling out VPN for their users will cost millions. Other VPN providers will be thrilled that Google is lending its legitimacy to the VPN cause, growing the size of the VPN pie; a market that is already worth tens of billions of dollars. While the likes of ExpressVPN, NordVPN or Hotspotshield are unlikely to be bothered by Google’s announcement, we suspect it will further accelerate the consolidation we’ve started to see in the market. Note, the offer is only valid for those who have Gmail.com accounts. If you use your own domain name, you won’t be able to access Google One, nor the VPN. The same goes for Google Workspace users, who won’t receive a free VPN anytime soon.

Black Mesa finishing development? That was a joke, ha ha, fat chance. After years upon years in development, Black Mesa, the fan-built remake of Half-Life finally launched in full on Steam in March of this year. And now… the developers have even more new stuff in mind. Black Mesa: Definitive Edition features major revamps for several of the game’s levels, and it’s already playable in beta. Definitive Edition changes the Power Up level to “have more ’cause and effect’ gameplay”, the developers explain in the blog post, “and to better highlight the player’s overall goal for the chapter”. You’ll now be fighting through a darker facility while working to get the lights back on and kill Gargantua, and this will help, er, highlight the new dynamic light system. On a Rail gets some big changes to the rocket silo, which will “better show the objective and subsequent solution”, and it looks nicer, to boot. We’re also getting improved visuals on We’ve Got Hostiles, Questionable Ethics, Surface Tension, Forget About Freeman, and Interloper. The update also improves Steam Workshop support, letting you actually use mods with nothing more than the ‘subscribe’ button – no more custom folders. The update enables support for scripts, choreography, and particles in mods, too. If you haven’t tried out Black Mesa, it’s currently 50% off as part of the Steam Halloween sale, bringing the price down to $9.99 / £7.49 / €8.99. Not bad for an even better version of one of the greatest FPS games of all time.

Nothing is confirmed, but Ford could be thinking about it. Before we step into the meat of this article, know that nothing is remotely confirmed regarding a high-performance version of the Ford Escape. We all know how automakers love to be conveniently vague when it comes to certain ideas, especially regarding the infusion of horsepower into unlikely candidates. That's what we have here, according to a report from Australian website CarsGuide. However, vague answers can also be revealing in some ways. In this instance, a recent media event with Ford's James Hughes saw the discussion shift to questions on an Escape ST. Hughes is the global chief nameplate engineer for the Escape (Kuga outside of North America) so he would certainly know if any horsepower shenanigans were afoot. His answer when asked directly about such a machine? In short, no comment. But the report does have him drawing a parallel to the Focus ST as a good foundation for performance, and he allegedly said the automaker always evaluates opportunities. Such responses are boilerplate-speak for folks on the automaker side of the industry. Hughes' follow-up isn't quite as mild though, as he reportedly says such a thing would be "a fantastic idea." Again, that's not even remotely close to confirming a Ford Escape ST is imminent. However, when the chief engineer of a model line thinks something is a great idea, it's safe to assume there's a discussion on some level about making it happen. Furthermore, it's been our experience on the media side that when something definitely isn't happening, we're told as much and that didn't happen here. So, where does this leave us on the prospects of an Escape ST? Ford already has ST versions of both the Explorer and Edge, so it's not like such a thing would shake the pillars of Dearborn with steps into uncharted territory. The Explorer ST is arguably the better of the pair with 400 horsepower and a tuned suspension, but it still pales in comparison to the real ST machines Blue Oval enthusiasts want – the deft Focus and Fiesta hot hatches that were yanked from American shores in the name of more crossover cash-grabs. Gallery: 2020 Ford Escape: First Drive: As such, perhaps Hughes' comparison to the Focus was deliberate. The Escape's smaller platform could be the best of the bunch for evoking the ST hot hatch spirit that's missing in America. The more we think about it, the more it does seem like a fantastic idea. We still struggle to see it being a replacement for the Focus ST, but if Ford wants to keep its enthusiastic buyers from flocking to vehicles like the Hyundai Veloster N or Volkswagen GTI, it definitely needs something aside from the Explorer and Edge in its ST wheelhouse.

Microsoft has made a small tweak to its Teams collaboration platform that could prove a life-saver for users that work best in peace and quiet. The company has extended its selection of status choices - which was previously limited to either Available, Busy or Away - to include a new Appear offline toggle. Now, users that don’t want co-workers to know they are contactable via Microsoft Teams can use the platform freely without alerting anyone to their presence. Microsoft Teams update The new status option, which has now rolled out to all users, builds upon the existing status duration feature, which allows users to set their availability for a custom period (e.g. ten minutes, two hours, all day). Once this period has elapsed, Microsoft Teams automatically resets the user’s public status back to Available, so that colleagues know they can be contacted again - and the same will apply to the Appear offline option. While co-workers can still deliver messages to offline users, the idea is presumably to minimize the quantity of messages received. Busy and Away statuses serve a similar function, but the option to simulate total absence is likely to prove a more effective shield. The new feature could be a boon for anyone hoping to escape the storm of alerts that has come to characterize collaboration platforms during the pandemic, or carve out a moment of respite to dedicate to a task that demands close concentration. The downside is that the ability to appear offline may further aggravate concerns surrounding employee productivity at home. While businesses have been forced to embrace remote working as a result of the pandemic, research has suggested that leadership is still uncomfortable with the notion of the “out-of-sight employee”.

The RTX 3070 might be a killer card at $500, but the price to performance is not its only strength. The 3070's 220W power consumption is greatly appreciated and has allowed Zotac to produce a very compact RTX 3070 called the Twin Edge. Measuring in at 9.1" by 5.6," the card is tall but very short, allowing it to fit in a variety of cases. Compared to the traditional triple-fan cooler designs found in other Ampere graphics cards, this RTX 3070 looks really small. Aesthetically, the card is pretty average, but that might be a good thing. The entire shroud and backplate are colored in grey, paired with two black fans. The subtle angles in the shroud balance the card well between looking good and not being too boring. Beware though, the card does come with dual 8-pin power connectors, which can be surprising due to its size. The card is listed on Newegg.com for $499.99, but unsurprisingly it is out of stock already. Due to the Ampere stock issues plaguing Nvidia this quarter, you'll have to be patient for availability to return.

Gearbox just wrapped up The Borderlands Show, which included reveals of a whole host of new content coming to Borderlands 3 as part of Season Pass 2. The first big chunk of the new Season Pass, the Designer’s Cut add-on, arrives in the FPS game November 10, and now we have a clearer picture of what we’ll be seeing when it shows up. The new Arms Race mode is what Gearbox is calling “a roguelike experience,” meant to be fast-paced and unpredictable thanks to its randomised elements. You’re dropped into an all-new zone without any of your existing gear, passives, or active abilities, and you’ll have to scrounge for weapons and items in order to survive. The new zone is called the Stormblind Complex, and it’s an old decommissioned DAHL military base on Pandora. The goal is to make it to the extraction point before the clock runs out and you’re swallowed by the encroaching storm, but a few things stand in your way. The first thing is your lack of weapons, which you can fix by looting containers and enemies. The second is Heavyweight Harker, the mode’s final boss. You’ll have to take Harker down to win, and if you die without a teammate around to revive you, your run is over. Gearbox says Arms Race is a way to make every loot drop feel meaningful – something that tends not to be the case as you progress through the Borderlands 3 main campaign. Eventually, everyone just stops bothering to pick up green guns, right? In Arms Race, you’ll need each piece of equipment you find. Arms Race also evens the playing field – Vault Hunters of any level can play together, because their skills and gear have all been set back to zero. The Borderlands Show also revealed all-new ‘Final Form’ models for each of Borderlands 3’s four Vault Hunters. These looks are all meant to showcase how each of the characters might have turned out if they hadn’t decided to pursue their careers in ancient vault spelunking. Each can be mixed and matched with other cosmetics you’ve unlocked for the characters, so you don’t have to use the whole outfit if you don’t want. The Multiverse Final Form cosmetics packs are going to be available as part of Season Pass 2, but they’ll also be included in the new Borderlands 3 Ultimate Edition.

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As Kia gears up for its brand relaunch early next year, the Korean car company will also be working for the Korean government. Today, the automaker announced plans to develop a new standard platform for next-gen 2.5- and 5-ton military vehicles on an aggressive timeline. Kia says prototyping will begin within a year, with government evaluations beginning in 2021. The new vehicles could see deployment as soon as 2024. The core of the project is Kia replacing the 2.5- and 5-ton military that are in operation today. These will have the latest gadgets and goodies, including a high-torque 7.0-liter diesel engine, an automatic gearbox, rear parking assist, around view monitor, satellite navigation, and more, along with the latest commercial vehicle features. Kia will also develop a new 5-ton bulletproof vehicle. The new platform will allow for other variants later, such as equipping vehicles with weapons or other military gear. Gallery: Kia Motors Military Vehicles: Kia will also explore how hydrogen fuel cell technology, autonomous driving systems, and an electric vehicle platform could be beneficial in a military vehicle. The company will also develop a military all-terrain vehicle based on the Kia Mohave SUV chassis, though it could be used in non-military applications. Kia plans to have a prototype early next year and will use what it learns from developing military vehicles to improve its consumer products, which is a nice benefit. This isn’t Kia’s first foray into military vehicle production. The company began producing military vehicles in the late 1970s for the Korean military and overseas ones, eventually creating Korea’s first multipurpose tactical vehicle. Since those first examples rolled off the line, Kia has built 140,000 military vehicles – nine model types with countless variants. The vehicles are fascinating in their own right, though it’ll be interesting to see how technology changes the military, like having autonomous vehicles delivering supplies in dangerous combat zones.

Adobe Flash Player may be nearing its final curtain after Microsoft issued a Windows 10 update aimed at removing the software for good. Back in September 2020, Microsoft reminded users of the impending removal of Flash Player, noting that the product would not be supported on its web browsers after December 31 2020. It looks like Microsoft has now made good on that promise, having released KB4577586, the “Update for the removal of Adobe Flash Player” on October 27 2020. Best laptop 2020: our pick of the 15 best laptops you can buy this year Keep your work secure with one of the best business VPN choices Beat the rush: check out these early Black Friday deals The decision to remove Flash Player was made due to the dwindling numbers of users utilizing the service, and with better and more secure options such as HTML5, WebGL, and WebAssembly it isn’t difficult to see why. In short, whilst Flash may hold some serious nostalgia for those of us who grew up with dial-up internet, the Adobe software is archaic technology that doesn’t hold up to today's standards. Flash end of an era KB4577586 will remove Adobe Flash from all versions of Windows 10 and Windows Server and prevent it from being installed again. Once this update is installed, it cannot be removed – the only option to get it back (should you want to for some reason) is to restore your PC to a previous backup. While the update is not being pushed to devices currently and is currently only available via the Microsoft Catalog, it is anticipated that it will see a wider rollout via Windows Update in early 2021 when Flash exits support. Although Adobe Flash Player is deleted from your system by the update, it remains a built-in component in the Edge web browser, and no official word has been given as to when this will be removed. Businesses have already been urged not to skip important security updates just so that they can keep using Flash, with the NCSC telling companies to avoid it, despite many businesses still claiming it is an important part of their systems. The announcement comes after tech giants including Microsoft, Apple, Google, Mozilla, Facebook and Adobe itself declared in July 2017 that Flash would gradually be phased out of the big internet players.

You may be a fan of Noctua's prowess when it comes to silent operation, but not everybody is fond of the company's classy brown-and-beige theme. Now, Noctua is expanding its lineup of Chromax.black CPU coolers with the NH-D15S chromax.black and NH-U9S chromax.black, giving you a few more options to choose from. These coolers are identical to their standard, non-blacked out variants, other than having a black coating on the heatsinks and fans. The NH-D15S is the single-fan, asymmetrical variant of the ever-so-famous NH-D15, packing a dual-tower design that sandwiches a single, huge NF-A15 HS-PWM 150mm fan in between. This fan will spin at up to 1500 RPM, which isn't much, but offers all the cooling power most systems need without getting too loud. Meanwhile, the NH-D9S Chromax.black features a small, single-tower design with a single NF-A9 PWM fan. This fan spins at up to 2000 RPM, and you can opt to install a second spinner to increase its cooling capacity. Noctua says that it went the full mile in turning these units black, not only using black plastics in the fans and painting the heatsink black, but also fully darkening the mounting assembly, fan clips and more. Both of the coolers support AMD's AM4 socket and Intel's LGA1200 socket, and come priced at $89 and $65 for the NH-D15S Chromax.black and NH-D9S chromax.black, respectively.

We’re fully aware that every game is launching its Halloween mode this week, but World of Tanks has gone one step further by employing two designers with a resumé chock-full of horror game goodness. Masahiro Ito, art director and monster designer for the Silent Hill games and Akira Yamaoka, composer for the series, are collaborating with World of Tanks developer Wargaming Minsk for the creepiest missions the game has ever seen. The legendary pair collaborated with the World of Tanks teams to create a co-op PVE mission that sees players faced with a scientific experiment gone wrong in the town of Mirny-13. When will those scientists learn? The missions will see you hoard a chemical called Mirium, which is dropped by enemy vehicles, and trade it to the mysterious collector Magnus for cash. Players will have to take on phases of enemies to progress, and focus on teamwork to get the job done. There are three difficulty levels, the first of which sees you fight three waves of foes, and you’ll need to beat it twice in order to unlock the next difficulty. If that isn’t enough horror goodness for your soul, the ‘Increased Risk’ and ‘Maximum Risk’ difficulty levels throw four enemy phases at you, which also increase in difficulty each time. However, you’ll get more rewards for your efforts. Co-operation between the five-player teams is key to surviving the “changing” maps of Mirny-13, and we’re expecting some weird and wonderful enemy designs from the mind that brought us Silent Hill’s monsters. Ito says he hopes that World of Tanks players are ready for the “unsettling atmospheres, chilling narratives, and nightmarish beasts” that make Silent Hill an icon of the horror genre. As well as his spooky story, the mode is soundtracked with a spine-chilling score, courtesy of Yamaoka and the Wargaming team. Players will have access to five unique tanks for the Halloween mode, as well as tons of XP, credits, and 3D skins designed by Ito himself.

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The GMC Hummer EV brings the brawny SUV’s look into the modern era with an equally modern all-electric powertrain. Deliveries are expected to begin a year from now, though GMC is just now building Hummer EV prototypes as it rapidly develops the new model. The automaker won’t cover it in camouflage as the test vehicles hit the road in the coming months as GMC still has a lot to do – the company technically doesn’t even have a real vehicle yet. That tidbit of news comes from a new interview by Green Car Reports with Al Oppenheiser, the Hummer EV’s Chief Engineer. He told the publication yesterday that the company had just begun building its first test vehicles. What GMC has been showing to the world is its display vehicle with no internals. The reveal video has a completely CGI Hummer EV in it. The Hummer’s odd state of development is a result of the company’s rapid development timeline for the model – the project only got greenlit in April 2019. Gallery: 2022 GMC Hummer EV: One reason for the speedy development process is the fact that the powertrain development is done. The Hummer EV’s Ultium drive units are finished and ready to go, according to the publication. At launch, the Hummer EV will pack three electric motors that offer a GMC estimated 1,000 horsepower (747 kilowatts), which is allegedly capable of propelling the truck to 60 miles per hour in under 3 seconds. It’ll also come with a commanding price tag of $112,595 for the Edition 1 model. Cheaper, less powerful variants will follow. In 2022, the $99,995 EV3X will arrive, featuring the three-motor setup, adaptive air suspension, Crab Walk, and torque vectoring. In Spring 2023 comes the $89,995 Hummer EV2 while 2024 sees the two-motor base EV2 model arrive for $79,995. That’s still not cheap, but people seem to be excited about it.

Microsoft is “experimenting” with a new feature - called start-up boost - that could increase the speed with which its web browser Edge is able to launch from the Windows 10 desktop or taskbar. The speed gain will be achieved by activating select Microsoft Edge processes when a Windows 10 machine is powered on. With these processes already running in the background, using up minimal computing resources, Edge will exist in a state of readiness that should improve launch times. The start-up boost feature is already available as an option in Edge version 88, which was recently released to the Dev Channel but is not expected to launch as a stable build until mid-January. Early users can activate the feature via Edge settings and administrators can also put in place a blanket policy for all devices running the appropriate browser version. Microsoft Edge for Windows 10: With the latest Windows 10 update, Microsoft’s Edge browser has become much more tightly integrated with the operating system. This means the browser is now impossible to uninstall via traditional methods, which could be a frustration for some users, but also paves the way for improvements like start-up boost. According to a Microsoft Q&A, start-up boost will be available to all Windows 10 users, but the firm could withdraw the feature from certain devices “that do not see expected positive impact”. The firm also warned it is “in the process of experimenting with the feature, so it may be a little while before you see it in your respective channel and build.” In recent months, Microsoft has not been shy about its ambitions for Edge, which is now indisputably the company’s flagship browser. As of this week, for example, users of now defunct Internet Explorer will be redirected automatically to Edge when they visit certain websites. A recent Windows 10 update also saw the new browser force-installed onto users’ devices. The company has also delivered a host of new upgrades to the browser of late, including a secure password generator, in-built price comparison tool, screenshot capture facility and scrolling tab bar. Microsoft Edge still has a meagre share of the overall market (2.16%) when compared with leading browser Google Chrome (66.34%), but its userbase has more than doubled since June and Microsoft will hope recent improvements will help claw back users lost with the decline of Internet Explorer.

So, you’ve pre-downloaded the latest game and watched the second hand of your clock tick slowly towards that midnight launch, only to meet lengthy loading screens when you finally boot. Sure, the rotating on-screen tips are handy, but there’s only so many times you can read the same thing before you consider hurling your gaming PC out the window. But wait, there is another option – upgrade your SSD. If you want to be first through the door to avoid spoilers in story games or keep a step ahead of your teammates in multiplayer games, you’ll want the best SSD for gaming. It seems now is the perfect time, too, as our previous top pick is currently reduced in price. Right now, you can get 34% off the 1TB Samsung 970 EVO Plus SSD on Amazon US, setting you back $164.99 for an $80 saving. A similar discount can be found across the pond, cutting the price tag down by nearly £77 (32%) to just £163. The Samsung 970 EVO Plus is an NVMe drive, meaning it’s incredibly fast with up to 3,500MBps read speeds and 3,300MBps write speeds. It is a 2280 M.2 SSD with an M-key, however, so make sure it fits and is compatible with your motherboard before clicking purchase. At the very least, 1TB should offer plenty of space for the ever-increasing size of games like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare or Baldur’s Gate 3. Just don’t install your entire backlog and you’ll be enjoying superior speeds across all your favourite titles, and at a price that’s hard to argue, too. VIEW DEAL

Dave Kosak has called time on his stint at Blizzard after 12 years. The studio veteran most recently worked on Hearthstone as the card game’s principal narrative designer and has been one of the more prominent members of the team publicly since Ben Brode left Blizzard to start his own game studio in 2018. Kosak has been working on Hearthstone for the past four years and has also worked as a lead mission designer on the title. Before that, though, he spent 11 years working on World of Warcraft in a slew of roles from that of a lead quest designer to a lead narrative designer. He also wrote auxiliary WoW story pieces for the web that included short fiction, short animated films, and more. Before that, he worked on games website GameSpy before it merged with IGN. Kosak shared the news on Twitter last night, tweeting “after 12 remarkable years and countless adventures, I am moving on from Blizzard Entertainment”. He also shared that his next stop is with Deviation Games, where he has picked up a role as a creative director. Details are thin on the ground in regards to what he’s up to, but we’ll find out more soon, we’re sure. Blizzard alumni have been busy of late. Just recently, former boss Mike Morhaime revealed details of a new publisher called Dreamhaven with two studios in two that are headed up by plenty of former Blizzard devs. If you follow me because of #Hearthstone, no need to worry! Last week we announced a great expansion, a new mode, and new progression/rewards. Believe me when I say that’s only the beginning. Great things are in the works! Plenty is going on at Blizzard, too. The studio revealed a new Hearthstone mode just last week, and the World of Warcraft: Shadowlands release date should be coming sometime this year, too.