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David Hanson had to cancel a dream trip to New Zealand because of Covid-19 - but five months on he's still waiting for a refund. The Manchester man was due to fly in March with girlfriend Jemima Rodwell, but the flight with Emirates was cancelled with three days' notice when the Foreign Office advised against travel. "I'm extremely frustrated, really angry just how they can get away with it in terms of being so long," he said. The airline, agency he used to book the flight, and his insurer have been little help, he said. And he's not alone in struggling to get money back months after cancelled plans. A new report by consumer group Which? says airlines are still taking too long to refund passengers. It comes after the airline regulator, the Civil Aviation Authority, said last month that it was "not satisfied" that Virgin Atlantic, Ryanair or Tui were processing refunds quickly enough. Which? says that despite the intervention from the CAA, refunds are still too slow and airlines are "falling short" of promises made to the regulator. David and Jemima had booked their trip because she was maid of honour at her best friend's wedding. 'A lot of money' "We had a full trip planned with the campervan, and then we were going to end up in Queensland for the wedding," he told the BBC. "We had spent months planning, it was going to be a real dream trip. "However, nearly five months later we are still yet to receive a refund on our flights totalling £1,742, which is a lot of money for us." He said the couple had spent "months and months" chasing the booking agency, airline and their insurer but they "seem to have got nowhere. "You end up just feel really powerless." The BBC has approached Emirates for comment. 'My once-in-lifetime holiday hasn't been refunded' 'I don't want a flight voucher, where's my refund?' The CAA's report last month said Ryanair was taking 10 weeks or even longer to process refunds and asked the airline to reduce that time. But Which? says that, despite promises, the airline is still taking months to process some refunds. Pupil support worker Kirsty Ness from Edinburgh was due to fly to Gdansk in Poland with her boyfriend in early April, just after schools broke up for Easter in Scotland. But Ryanair cancelled their flight because of the pandemic. Despite asking for a cash refund, Ms Ness says she was initially sent a voucher to rebook. After five phone calls and dozens of emails, Ms Ness says she finally received her money this week. "As a low-paid key worker £126 is a lot of money not to have for five months," she told the BBC. Ryanair said it had issued more than £670m in refunds and had cleared over 90% of its claims backlog. 130-day wait Virgin Atlantic, meanwhile, made customers wait up to 120 days for a refund, the CAA said in its July report. It was the only airline threatened with action by the regulator, which reviewed the refund waiting times of 18 major airlines. But Which? said it had heard from two passengers who had been waiting for 130 days for a refund for flights cancelled in March. It said it had also heard from a Tui customer who had still not received a refund for travel cancelled in April. Tui said it now issued refunds automatically and normally processed cash refunds within two weeks. Virgin said it was "very sorry" that a "small number" of customers had to wait more than 120 days for a refund. Will I get my money back if I can't go on holiday? "Time after time, Which? has exposed airlines breaking the law on refunds for cancelled flights due to the pandemic and treating their passengers unfairly, and we're concerned that they now feel empowered to do as they please without fear of punishment," said Rory Boland, Editor of Which? Travel. "Passengers must be able to rely on a regulator that has effective powers to protect their rights - especially at a time of unprecedented turmoil," he said. Which? has called for the CAA to be given new powers to take action against airlines that are slow to refund passengers. "The government needs to step up and ensure the CAA has the tools it needs to hold airlines to account, or risk consumer trust in the travel industry being damaged beyond repair," Mr Boland said. In a statement, a CAA spokesman said: "While our initial review has concluded, we have been clear that we will continue to monitor performance closely and should any airline fall short of the commitments they have made to us, we will take further action as required." Calls for more tax The report from Which? comes as rail companies have called on the government to tax some flights more heavily. The Rail Delivery Group, which represents rail operators, says train companies should pay less tax on the electricity they use to power trains to encourage greener travel. The cost, they say, could be covered by airlines paying more tax on flights, possibly on routes which could be made by rail instead. But the demand has not gone down well with airlines, which say that the railways are heavily subsidised by the government.

Nvidia will host an online GeForce-focused event on September 1, the company announced today. CEO Jensen Huang will lead the broadcast at 9 a.m. Pacific / 12 p.m. ET. The company says it will "highlight the company’s latest innovations in gaming and graphics," so it's likely to focus on consumer-facing Ampere GPUs, likely the RTX 3000 series. Yesterday, Nvidia announced a 21-day "ultimate countdown," leading many, including us, to believe that an event would take place on August 31, which would be 21 years exactly from the launch of the Nvidia GeForce 256. But a clock on a new event page also matches the September 1 date. It includes the ability to add the event to your calendar and a "community kit" with borders to put around your picture on social media. We have been collecting everything we know about the RTX 3080, 3090 and other rumored Ampere cards, so you can click on that link to get the lowdown on what to expect.

Windows 10 has removed one method of updating device drivers for those running the most recent May 2020 Update, namely via Device Manager. Microsoft quietly made this move without any announcement with the recent cumulative update for Windows 10 May 2020 Update (build 19041.423), which arrived with a bunch of bug fixes (not to mention another hidden element – a new Start menu lurking behind-the-scenes). Google really loves Microsoft’s Surface Duo phone Windows 10 May 2020 Update problems: how to fix them How to uninstall a Windows 10 update Prior to this update, when visiting Device Manager and poring over your PC’s various installed devices, there’s an option to ‘search automatically for drivers’ which connects to Microsoft’s servers and searches for an updated driver, downloading and installing one if it exists. Head elsewhere However, as Windows Latest spotted, this facility has now been disabled in the May 2020 Update – although if a newer driver is already present on your PC’s drive, it can still be installed in Device Manager. But if you want to actively search for the most recent driver online – which is usually the case – Device Manager will simply inform you that there ‘may be better drivers on Windows Update’ or at the manufacturer’s website. In other words, those who wish to update directly under Windows 10 will now have to head to Windows Update in Settings, which in all likelihood is where you head for updates anyway (or alternatively, visit the downloads page or appropriate section of the manufacturer’s site). While this might be one less option for updating device drivers, it makes sense to keep things all under one roof, and in a way this is simply Microsoft tidying up, which is something the firm has promised to do in various areas of Windows 10 (where there remain multiple routes to achieve the same end, possibly to the confusion of the less tech-savvy). These are the best laptops around

Avengers Disassembled According to recent online reports, Square Enix' upcoming comic book adventure Marvel's Avengers will feature timed exclusive content tied to customers of specific internet media providers such as Verizon, Virgin Media, and Intel. The content was first spotted by Redditor Smoove4254, before finding its way to Twitter via Avengers news-hound @PlayAvenger. The leaks suggest that Marvel's Avengers will be offering exclusive skins, gear, emotes, nameplates and other cosmetic items to users of the aforementioned network providers. Further reports reveal that chewing gum company 5Gum will also be offering its customers in-game items - for example an emote for Ms. Marvel that sees her... chewing gum, obviously. It should be noted that all of the above is yet to be officially announced by Square Enix. Verizon had previously confirmed, however, that it would be offering in-game content on a "timed exclusivity" basis, so it would at least seem that these extra items will be made available to all players at a later date. Marvel's Avengers raised eyebrows in recent weeks with the controversial reveal that everybody's favourite web-slinger, Spider-Man, will appear in the new game, but only as a PlayStation exclusive. It was later revealed that the PlayStation players would also receive exclusive challenges, as well as early access to skins, emotes, nameplates, and "takedowns" - news that understandably raised the ire of PC and Xbox owners. Marvel's Avengers launches September 4 on PS4, Xbox One, PC, and Stadia. Next-gen editions are in the works for PS5 and Xbox Series X, and are scheduled to launch in late 2020.

Universities in England are being told to keep places open for students if they appeal against A-level results. Amid uncertainty about replacement exam grades, Universities Minister Michelle Donelan has urged university heads to be as "flexible as possible". It means if students miss the required grades but successfully appeal, they could still start next term. "Nobody should have to put their future on hold because of the virus," said Ms Donelan. With A-levels cancelled because of the coronavirus pandemic, students will receive estimated results on Thursday, which will be used to decide university places. But if students get disappointing results that they think are unfair, universities are being told to leave the door open for places until appeals have been considered by exam boards. Nicola Sturgeon 'sorry' about exam results Boris Johnson understands 'anxiety' over grades How will exam results day work this year? A-level results to be higher this year, says watchdog Appeals, which have to be submitted through schools, should be completed by 7 September, allowing students who get improved grades to take up places this autumn. The biggest factors determining the replacement exam grades will be how students are ranked in ability and the previous exam results of their school or college. As the row over Scottish exam results has shown, this can mean that high-achieving youngsters in schools with poor results can be marked down. Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon apologised on Monday after accepting her government "did not get it right" over exam results. Education Secretary John Swinney will set out the Scottish government's plan to fix the issue later. Ms Donelan said she recognised the need for universities to be fair towards "students who are highly talented in schools or colleges that have not in the past had strong results". She said the "vast majority of grades" were expected to be accurate, but added it was "essential" to have the appeals "safety net" for "young people who may otherwise be held back from moving on to their chosen route". Calling on universities to show "flexibility" in admissions decisions, she called on them to hold the places of students whose "grade may change as the result of an appeal". But despite these concerns - and the change of heart in Scotland - there are no signs of any change in using a similar approach to moderating results in England. This is still expected to be a good year for applicants, with an expected reduction in overseas students meaning that universities will have more places to fill. The exam regulator Ofqual has already said there will be a more lenient approach to grades this year, with a two-percentage-points increase expected in top grades at A-level. But results will not be as generous as teachers' predictions, which would have pushed up results by 12 percentage points - with these predictions able to be shared with pupils after the results are published. The results to be issued this week are designed to maintain continuity with previous years, but there have been concerns about whether individual students could be treated unfairly. A survey of 500 A-level students in England, carried out by the University of Birmingham and the University of Nottingham, suggested almost twice as many students would have preferred to have taken their exams, rather than rely on estimated grades. Education Secretary Gavin Williamson defended the system for calculating grades this year as "fundamentally a fair one". "We know that, without exams, even the best system is not perfect," he said. "That is why I welcome the fact that Ofqual has introduced a robust appeal system, so every single student can be treated fairly - and today we are asking universities to do their part to ensure every young person can progress to the destination they deserve." But Larissa Kennedy, president of the National Union of Students, said there was "absolutely no merit" in looking at schools' prior overall performance to judge students' results this year, criticising it as "baking inequality into the system". She told BBC Newsnight: "They're just trying to fit students' attainment against a prior year, which means you're just assuming and reproducing the fact that students from low socio-economic backgrounds are - as this system would say - due to get lower grades." She described the algorithm being used to determine grades as a "lazy move", leading to "individuals being let down by an unjust system", which she said was "completely wrong".

Nvidia is teasing a 21-day "ultimate countdown" that is seemingly pointing to its new consumer-facing Ampere GeForce graphics cards, likely to be known as the 3000-series. In a tweet, the company simply mentions the countdown campaign. But in a profile banner on the @NvidiaGeForce Twitter account, it reads "21 days, 21 years." That would suggest that an announcement will be made on August 31, which would be the same day the Nvidia GeForce 256, the company's first GPU, was released 21 years ago, in 1999. That would suggest we'll see the card right after of this year's Gamescom. You can see everything we know about Ampere so far here, and it seems we'll know way more in just a few weeks.

Windows 10 could be getting a new App Manager feature in its Settings tool, the idea being that this is something of a supercharged version of Task Manager, and more intelligent to boot – by actually offering recommendations to shut down programs which are hogging too much in the way of system resources. That’s the theory, anyway, as Windows Latest reports, providing more details on the potential feature after Italian tech site Aggiornamenti Lumia (a common source of Microsoft-related leaks) initially flagged up this development last month. TechRadar is supported by its audience. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Learn more Home News Computing Windows 10 could get a new tool for identifying RAM-hogging apps Windows 10 could be getting a new App Manager feature in its Settings tool, the idea being that this is something of a supercharged version of Task Manager, and more intelligent to boot – by actually offering recommendations to shut down programs which are hogging too much in the way of system resources. That’s the theory, anyway, as Windows Latest reports, providing more details on the potential feature after Italian tech site Aggiornamenti Lumia (a common source of Microsoft-related leaks) initially flagged up this development last month. The idea with the new App Manager (which is currently being tested as a prototype) is that it provides a breakdown of all the apps running on your PC, as Task Manager does, although it also includes a full list of all the programs which are present on your system (but not running). Everyone’s least favorite browser will soon be impossible to uninstall Windows 10 May 2020 Update problems: how to fix them How to uninstall a Windows 10 update Furthermore, as well as giving you the ability to force an app to close (if it isn’t responding – just like you can with Task Manager), the functionality to uninstall an application will be provided. App Manager will also flag up applications which are using large amounts of memory, with ‘suggested actions’ including closing those programs. The idea with the new App Manager (which is currently being tested as a prototype) is that it provides a breakdown of all the apps running on your PC, as Task Manager does, although it also includes a full list of all the programs which are present on your system (but not running). Everyone’s least favorite browser will soon be impossible to uninstall Windows 10 May 2020 Update problems: how to fix them How to uninstall a Windows 10 update Furthermore, as well as giving you the ability to force an app to close (if it isn’t responding – just like you can with Task Manager), the functionality to uninstall an application will be provided. App Manager will also flag up applications which are using large amounts of memory, with ‘suggested actions’ including closing those programs. App watchdog Indeed, Windows Latest observes that the new system will warn about apps which are hogging too much RAM via notifications, and that will be a major boon for less tech-savvy folks who may not check tools like Task Manager. Mainly because if they’re wondering why their machine might be running rather slowly, the notification will actively point this out, and allow these users to do something about the situation and close the offending app (which is Google Chrome, would you believe, in the sample screenshots provided by Windows Latest). All in all, then, this would certainly be a useful development for Windows 10 in terms of user-friendliness, but as ever with features which are in testing, there’s no guarantee it will make the cut for the final version of the operating system.

Have you taken the fall yet? Devolver Digital has released a small list of fun figures pertaining to its madcap battle royale extravaganza Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout, which launched last week on PS4 and PC. In just seven days, over two million copies of the online multiplayer title have been sold on the Steam platform, (the game is free-to-play on PS4 for PlayStation Plus subscribers). Over the week, a staggering 60 million Fall Guys have fallen while on their never-say-die quest to grab one of the 1.5 million crowns captured thus far. Also a smash hit on social media, Fall Guys has clocked up over 23 million collective hours of viewing time on streaming services. You're all sadists. When Fall Guys launched on August 4, it was a runaway success. So much so, that the game had to be taken offline after initial swarms of players wreaked havoc with the servers. Having since been "beefed up" in efforts to improve stability, Fall Guys has been enjoying a consistent stream of both players and viewers. On Saturday, Steam recorded a peak 124,000 players, all gunning for the brass ring... erm... crown. Are you one of the millions currently enjoying Fall Guys? Perhaps you've already won multiple rounds, or unlocked the hardest achievement of all time. Fill us in below with some of your anecdotes from this crazy title. I'm yet to spend any decent amount of time with it, but I'm pretty sure I'd win every single game. Fall Guys is available now on PC via Steam and PS4 via PlayStation Plus.

International donors have pledged a quarter of a billion euros in aid for Lebanon five days after the explosion which devastated a swathe of Beirut. But an online donor summit arranged by France called at the same time for reforms to be made. The blast at a warehouse holding over 2,000 tonnes of ammonium nitrate has focused local outrage on perceived government corruption and incompetence. Clashes have broken out for a second day running in Beirut. Young people calling for the government to quit threw projectiles at police and shops in central Beirut, and protesters attempted to storm barricades barring access to the parliament building. A fire broke out at the scene. Police in riot gear used tear gas as darkness fell, echoing similar scenes during protests on Saturday. 'We don't have dreams any more' The inferno and the mystery ship Why Lebanon is in crisis Fifteen government leaders at the donor summit, spearheaded by French President Emmanuel Macron, promised "major resources", according to a statement. "Assistance should be timely, sufficient and consistent with the needs of the Lebanese people," it said, adding that help must be "directly delivered to the Lebanese po[CENSORED]tion, with utmost efficiency and transparency". The donors were prepared to help Lebanon's longer term recovery if the government listened to the changes demanded by the country's citizens, the communique said. President Macron's office said France had received pledges worth €252.7m ($297m, £227m) from the summit. Officials estimate the explosion caused up to $15 billion (£11.5bn) of damage. It left at least 158 people dead, 6,000 injured and 300,000 homeless. It emerged that the ammonium nitrate had been left at the port warehouse for six years despite repeated warnings it was dangerous. Lebanon is in the midst of its worst economic crisis since the 1975-1990 civil war, with daily power cuts, a lack of safe drinking water and limited public healthcare. The currency collapsed and Lebanon defaulted on its debt in March. Talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on a $10bn bailout have stalled. It is feared that the effect of the explosion on the economy could significantly worsen the prospects of recovery. The government has begun losing ministers critical of its failings. Environment Minister Damianos Kattar was the second to leave the cabinet on Sunday, bemoaning a "sterile regime that botched several opportunities". His resignation followed that of Information Minister Manal Abdel Samad, who cited the failure to reform and the "Beirut catastrophe" as her reasons for going. Who pledged what? Among promises made during the summit were: European Union - extra €30m ($35m, £27m), on top of €33m promised earlier UK - additional £20m; £5m aid package announced earlier this week Germany - €10m; €1.5m earlier France - reconstruction material, medical and food aid Spain - to send wheat, shelters, medical supplies Switzerland - $4.38m US - $15m so far Qatar - $50m Kuwait - $40m Denmark - €20m Norway - €6.5m The United Nations has said more than $100m (£76m) is needed for both emergency humanitarian aid, such as food and water, and the rebuilding of infrastructure, including hospitals and schools. The summit took place online due to the coronavirus pandemic. President Macron, speaking from his summer residence in southern France, called for "an impartial, credible and independent inquiry" into how the disaster was allowed to happen. France is the former colonial power, and Mr Macron was the first world leader to visit Beirut in the days after the blast. But Lebanese President Michel Aoun has already ruled out an international investigation. Beirut explosion: Before-and-after images What is ammonium nitrate and how dangerous is it? What we know about the blast Alluding to Saturday's protests, the French president said it was up to the government "to respond to the aspirations that the Lebanese people are expressing right now, legitimately, in the streets of Beirut". But he added that neither violence nor chaos should prevail, adding: "Lebanon's future is at stake." President Trump also joined the summit and echoed calls for a transparent investigation, saying the US would be able to assist, according to a White House statement. "The president called for calm in Lebanon and acknowledged the legitimate calls of peaceful protesters for transparency, reform, and accountability," the statement said.

As more organizations allow their employees to work from home indefinitely, demand for corporate VPN services from companies like Cogent Communications could fall as businesses will likely need less commercial office space. As reported by Fierce Telecom, the company's CEO and Chairman David Schaeffer raised these concerns recently while announcing Cogent's second quarter earnings results. The pandemic has led to less demand for corporate VPNs during Q2 as millions of employees continued to work remotely. Most of Cogent's customers are located in large multi-tenant buildings and the company warned that corporate customers could reduce the number of these locations “due to adverse economic conditions or new working configurations”. We've put together a list of the best secure VPN providers Secure your entire network with one of the best VPN routers Protect your devices online with the best antivirus software Schaeffer provided further details on how demand for its VPN services have decreased during the pandemic in the company's earnings call, saying: "Roughly half of our corporate customers take a second product, a virtual private network to connect offices running either SD-WAN or VPLS over that connection. Because many of our customers have shuttered their remote locations, those offices sit empty, and there's no need for VPN concentration in those offices, we've seen a reduction in the sale of our VPN services.” Corporate VPNs While Cogent Communications is selling less VPNs that it did six months ago, Schaeffer believes that this is a temporary trend and not a permanent one. As global conditions improve, remote offices will be reopened and businesses will once again need to use a VPN for additional security and privacy. The company's customers are also exercising a higher level of caution due to the pandemic when it comes to making buying decisions, hence the slowdown in VPN sales. Although Cogent's earnings call only gives us insight into what one corporate VPN provider experienced during Q2, it's safe to assume that other businesses that provide VPN solutions for offices have also seen a decrease in the number of installations and sales they've made since employees have started working remotely.

Apple has introduced what may be the penultimate 27-in. iMac configuration powered by an Intel processor. But with Apple already talking up plans to transition to its own silicon soon, does the iMac remain a smart buy for your business? The Apple Silicon transition thing Enterprise purchasers shouldn’t be put off that Apple intends to migrate its Macs to Apple Silicon because, for now at least, they know what they are getting with Intel-based kit – and have been promised support for Macs using processors for “years to come." While that’s a slightly opaque commitment, it should cover standard enterprise Mac usage cycles. In other words, counter-intuitive as it may sound to Mac users focused on the new, bright and the shiny, these iMacs may make a better investment than the first-generation Apple Silicon Macs, because you know what you’re getting. And existing software and services should perform fine on these new Macs for years. Apple’s incremental improvements That's not to mention that users at the high-end of Apple’s creative markets will be able to invest a few hundred additional dollars ($500, to be exact) to purchase a 5K Retina Display model equipped with a matte screen. That last enhancement comes direct from Apple’s Pro Display XDR playbook, and in combination with the new iMac’s TrueTone support means you’ll get less reflectivity and glare in use. That’s nice for most of us, but essential for users for whom color accuracy is important. It’s also a good illustration of how Apple invests in high-end products (in this case, the Pro Display XDR) and then shares some of these improvements across its product range over time. Does this mean that one day you’ll use some future iMac as a reference monitor? I think it does. I just can’t say when. Faster processors and pure SSD drives These 27-inch iMacs host up to a 10th generation Intel chip with a maximum 10-core 3.6GHz Core i9 processor, beefed up by Turbo Boost, which takes it up to 5.0GHz when you need that extra “oomph." That’s not going to speed up your accounts department, I suppose, but that speedy potential will be appreciated in your analysis, management and creative groups. They’ll also appreciate the Radeon Pro 5300, 5500XT, and 5700 XT graphics support, with up to 16GB of memory. Apple has finally dispensed with hybrid Fusion Drives (part hard drive, part SSD) in favor of Macs entirely based on SSD. This means you can open applications and large files faster thanks to the 3.4GBps performance. An 8TB model is available, but an external HD or network storage device would likely be a viable solution for many users. Apple also quietly improved its 21.5-inch iMac with SSDs across the range, and made the 10-core Intel Xeon processor standard issue across the iMac Pro range. Doing the right thing A lot of people seem excited that Apple has at last put a better FaceTime camera (1080p) in these things. For me, that thrill is tempered by a sense that the company didn’t really need to make people wait quite so long before putting a camera in its Macs that's as good as the one inside its iPhones. That was a weird and unnecessary delay. The vastly better speakers and microphone are also worth mentioning, as these quite clearly demonstrate the hard work being done by Apple’s audio team. It’s why HomePod speakers remain the best in the market for the music quality you get. It also means these are great Macs for podcasting and music and work-from-home video conferencing. Another of the right things in this release? You can install additional memory on your own – you won’t need to shell out your IT budget for a post-purchase installation, or cough up cold cash for BTO memory from Apple; that option (as is pretty obvious to all of us) seems way more expensive than buying it anywhere else. New model data at a glance You can immerse yourself in all the relevant data at the Apple site, but here’s a quick run-down: 27-in' 5K Retina Display with True Tone ("matte" nano-texture glass option available) A choice of 6- and 8-core 10th generation Intel i9 chips. Turbo Boost reaches 5.0GHz to deliver up to 65% faster CPU performance. Up to 128GB user-serviceable memory. AMD Radeon Pro 5000 series graphics cards, with up to 16GB of memory. 256GB SSD storage up to 8TB (you’ll pay $2,400 more for 8TB). T2 security chip, supports security and encryption. 1080p FaceTime camera. High-fidelity speakers and a studio quality microphone. 2xThunderbolt 3, 4x USB-A, 1Gb Ethernet, ports (with a 10Gb Ethernet option available). SDXC card slot. Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.0. Ability to connect up to two 6K displays, including Apple’s own Pro Display XDR. Magic Mouse 2 and Magic Keyboard included. Entry level iMac costs: $1,799. (Standard display, 3.1GHz 6-core i5 processor, 8GB memory, Radeon Pro 5300 w. 4GB memory, Gigabit Ethernet). Highest possible configuration costs: $8,799. (Nano-texture display, 3.6GHz 10-core chip, 128GB memory, Radeon Pro 5700XT w. 16GB memory, 8TB storage, 10Gb Ethernet.) Put it all together and Apple claims you’ll get up to 65% more plug-ins into Logic X, significantly faster (40%) 8K ProRes transcode in Final Cut Pro X and up to 25% faster build time in Xcode. Each one of those equates to significant time saving gains for your company’s professional teams. Conclusion These iMacs make me think that if this is the kind of performance Apple aims to achieve in future Macs running on Apple Silicon, then most enterprise purchasers should watch this space. Meanwhile, these models should deliver three to five years of usable life – at the very least.

If you've been holding off picking up Swery's Deadly Premonition 2, I have good news - a new patch for the beleaguered sequel seems to have addressed some of the Switch game's framerate and performance issues. "Holy sh!t the frame rate outdoors is night and day," wrote the OP in a Reddit thread that confirmed the patch was now out (thanks, MyNintendoNews). "It’s so much better now. I still get micro stutters outside but the frame rate itself is so much better. Anyone else noticing anything else?" "Definitely an improvement though performance and load times are still what some people might call inexcusably poor," replied another player. "It's playable now though! I've been waiting for a patch like this to continue my playthrough, so I'm excited to dive back in." "I used to be unable to progress after completing a mini-game (blocked when the score was on screen), but I've managed to pass one with no issue," added another. "I can't say if it's fixed for sure, but it seems to be." A follow-up to the cult hit that released over a decade ago now, Deadly Premonition 2 was highly-anticipated, but since its release last month, social media has been full of complaints from unhappy fans troubled by the game's poor performance, with Reddit threads sharing anything from "progression bugs" to claims the game is "totally unplayable". Shortly after its release, Deadly Premonition 2 publisher Rising Star Games confirmed the team was "constantly working on" issues that have plagued the sequel's recent release on Nintendo Switch. Deadly Premonition 2 creator Hidetaka 'Swery' Suehiro also commented on the issues affecting the sequel, confirming in a live stream broadcast just before the game was released that he was going to "fight with the producer to get something done at some point after the game's release". Deadly Premonition 2 – which was originally announced last September – is available both digitally on the Nintendo eShop and as a physical release. Set in modern-day Boston, it introduces new characters in the form of new FBI agents, but also gives us the chance to travel back in time and reprise the role of fan-favourite York from the original game.

Spain's former king Juan Carlos has reportedly travelled to the United Arab Emirates after leaving his home country amid a corruption investigation. A photograph published by Spanish media group NIUS appears to show the ex-monarch arriving in Abu Dhabi. Juan Carlos made the shock announcement on Monday that he was leaving Spain. The former king denies any wrongdoing and has said he would be available if prosecutors needed to interview him. His departure has sparked a huge debate in Spain about the monarchy and intense speculation about where the former king has gone. Spain's monarchy shaken by ex-king's Swiss fortune Media puzzles over former king's whereabouts Local reports said he had travelled to the Dominican Republic in the Caribbean or to Spain's neighbour, Portugal. But there are now reports Juan Carlos is occupying an entire floor at Abu Dhabi's five-star Emirates Palace hotel. The former king was reportedly close with Abu Dhabi's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan. As yet however his location remains unconfirmed. Spain's royal family and government have so far declined to comment on his whereabouts. Why did Juan Carlos leave? Juan Carlos abdicated in 2014 after close to 40 years in power and handed power to his son Felipe. His decision to give up the throne came after a corruption investigation involving his daughter's husband and a controversial elephant hunting trip the monarch took during Spain's financial crisis. The controversies however did not stop there. In June this year, Spain's Supreme Court launched an investigation into Juan Carlos's alleged involvement in a high-speed rail contract in Saudi Arabia, after the ex-king lost his immunity from prosecution following his abdication. On 3 August Juan Carlos announced he was now leaving his home country in a letter to his son. "Guided by the conviction to best serve the people of Spain, its institutions, and you as king, I inform you of my decision at this time to leave Spain," he wrote. He said he made the decision "in the face of the public repercussions that certain past events in my private life are generating" and in the hope of allowing his son to carry out his functions as king with "tranquillity". A statement said King Felipe VI had conveyed "his heartfelt respect and gratitude" to his father for this decision. How has Spain reacted? The departure has sparked a fresh debate about the role of the Spanish monarchy and the corruption allegations against Juan Carlos. Catalonia's parliament - which is controlled by separatist parties who seek independence from Spain - voted in a non-binding motion on Friday to condemn the monarchy after the ex-king's departure. "Neither Spaniards nor Catalans deserve such a loud and ridiculous scandal on an international scale," regional president Quim Torra told lawmakers. There have also been demonstrations calling for Spain to become a republic again. The country last removed its monarchy in 1931 before a devastating civil war which ended with the victory of dictator Francisco Franco in 1939.

Sometimes, you gotta go fast, but you can’t afford gas. Enter the Adata XPG SX8200 Pro SSD, which is currently the reigning champion on our Best SSDs list. It’s not often that the cheapest option also ends up being our favorite option, but thanks to this deal, the 512GB version of this blazing fast drive is now selling for a nice $69.99. That’s $60 off its usual $129.99 price. This deal only applies to the 512GB version of this SSD. The Adata XPG SX8200 Pro is M.2 2280 uses PCIe 3.0 and has class-leading performance and power efficiency. Our Adata XPG SX8200 Pro review found sequential read/write speeds of 3,500 MBps/3000 MBps, respectively, and power consumption of about 214 MB/s per watt, which was only slightly below that of the much slower WD Blue SN500. Its all-black PCB is also quite stylish, for those who use transparent cases. In practical use, our testing also found that this SSD loaded the Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers benchmark in 18.5 seconds. That’s only a few seconds behind the much more expensive Intel Optane's score, which as an avid FFXIV player, I can say is pretty good

Lost Wing (PC, Switch [reviewed], Xbox One, PS4) Developer: Boxfrog Games Publisher: 2Awesome Studio Released: July 31, 2020 MSRP: $7.99 Lost Wing tells the narrative of the world’s last space car driver as they attempt to bring racing back to the hearts of the denizens of a dystopian future while simultaneously trying to somehow remove the demon currently possessing their left leg. I made that all up. I don’t think there is a story. Instead, Lost Wing seems to focus more on presenting environments to chase high scores in. There’s a couple flavors to this; you can play the “campaign” missions where you race through procedurally generated garbage-strewn streets in an effort to meet and beat the boss, or you can do special challenge missions where you weave through bespoke tracks to reach the end with the most allotted points. Visually, Lost Wing is simultaneously nice to look at while also being rather generic. The ships that you fly are pretty interchangeable with what you might find in any futuristic racer. The HUD is projected on the wall, integrated into the environment nicely, but the neon is a little distracting. It’s sometimes hard to discern certain obstacles that are coming at you, leaving you to memorize their slight differences in size and color to tell how many shots you should lob at them. Likewise, the soundtrack that seems to be key to the game’s aesthetic is merely serviceable. I feel like Lost Wing would fit better with driving, percussion-heavy music, but it seems to settle for quirky or atmospheric. You’re able to pick what song you listen to while speeding through the tracks, but I never really found one that I preferred. I never found an equivalent to Fever from Dr. Mario or Splash Wave from Out Run. The main gameplay loop is maybe a little oversimple. You race from one end of the track to the other through a winding corridor. You’re able to shoot obstacles in front of you, but you’re given a limited amount of ammunition that is only refilled by boosting or picking up orbs off the track. That adds a bit of strategy through managing resources, but, really, I rarely took my finger off the boost, so I almost always had stock unless I died before the boss. It’s a game that you’re going to die in, probably a lot. You’re given three lives to reach the boss, and until you’re able to moderate your speed and control your shots, you’ll likely struggle to even make it that far. A head-on collision will kill you immediately, but if you clip your wing, your ship will merely be hobbled until a repair pickup is found. You can also slow down time, but I only found this useful when I hit a screen flip pickup and needed a moment to get my bearings. It uses the same ammunition as your weapon. You can also use bombs to clear an area around your ship for a short time, but I often forgot these existed. I suppose if you’re going to go after the top spot on the leaderboard, there’s a reasonably high skill ceiling. This leads to the game’s larger problem, which is that, at launch, the leaderboards are pretty dead, at least on Switch. It may take some effort to gain the lead on the first level on easy, but after that, the competition is less than fierce. On two of the challenges I tested out, I received first place simply by completing them. I didn’t have any tricks, nor did I go out of my way to collect more points, but I still landed comfortably in the top spot. I'm writing this a few days after its release, so this could change after some time. I did enjoy what time I spent with Lost Wing, though that didn’t exactly last long. With three tracks, a handful of challenges, and a boss rush, the content is a little thin. It’s definitely priced with that in mind, however, so if you’re looking for something to fill an afternoon, you could certainly do worse. I just don’t think it’s something I’m going to keep coming back to. System Requirements MINIMUM: Requires a 64-bit process and operating system SO: Windows 7 Processor: IvyBridge i5 Memory: 4 GB RAM Graphics: NVIDIA GTX 660 Storage: 1 GB spațiu disponibil