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If you're in the market for a super-ultrawide monitor, then you've probably run into Samsung's new Oddysey G9. But, its $1700 price tag is a bit much to swallow, and if you're willing to make a few sacrifices on the spec sheet, Viotek has an alternative that might just work: the SUW49DA. This display comes in as a huge 49-inch super-ultrawide, packing a 5120 by 1440p resolution and a 120 Hz refresh rate. The panel is also curved at 1800R, which is much appreciated on a format such as this. The panel is based on VA technology, and it comes with a rated 3000:1 static contrast ratio, further helped with HDR400 support. For gamers, the display supports Freesync and is G-sync ready with a minimum refresh rate of 48 Hz, up to its 120 Hz maximum refresh rate. Color coverage is also good at 121 percent of the sRGB space, 92 percent of AdobeRGB, and 90 percent of DCI-P3. Connectivity is handled by two HDMI 2.0 ports and two DisplayPort 1.4 connectors. Pricing is set at $1088 MSRP, but the display is available immediately at Amazon for $980, and it comes with a neat 3-year zero-tolerance dead pixel warranty. We'll be testing this monitor soon, so stay tuned to see if it's the best gaming monitor for your rig.

Zoom update adds filters, lighting changes and noise cancellation Zoom has unveiled a new update which it believes can help business meetings be a little more entertaining. The latest version of the po[CENSORED]r video conferencing platform includes a host of new features aimed at making the meeting experience more fun, allowing users more freedom to personalize their appearance and settings. The new Zoom additions include lighting sliders, image filters, reactions but also add more professional features such as noise cancellation and more control on presentations. Check out the best endpoint security options around today These are the best webcams available now These are the best collaboration tools around today Zoom update "We believe that people connect better on video, but feeling connected when working from home is still challenging," Zoom wrote in a blog post announcing the news. "The casual and fun elements that bring us together in the office seem to be missing from virtual meeting culture … until now." "Zoom wants to empower you to feel your best in virtual meetings, express your individuality, and build moments of fun into your day with some new features that uplevel your video game." The update brings a number of filters and lighting options, including sepia, black and white, and even pink. There's also a number of amusing animal and costume filters for moments when a bit of light-hearted relief is needed. For those that need a quick video quality boost, there is now an automated option to improve your lighting options, as well as a "touch up my appearance" setting for when you need to look your best. Probably more welcome is an improved noise cancellation feature that allows users to tune out background noise, and quick reactions to help you reply quickly without needing to unmute during a video call. And perhaps most importantly for meetings themsleves, Zoom will now allow users to overlay their video over PowerPoint presentations, giving viewers a much more interactive experience. For anyone that wants to keep their meetings professional, Zoom notes that you can disable meeting filters at the account, group, and user levels in the Zoom web portal. The new Zoom update is available to download now. Zoom is making a major change to its most po[CENSORED]r products

Frog Fractions: Game of the Decade Edition: Hop's Iconic Hat (PC) Developer: Twinbeard, Inc. Publisher: Twinbeard, Inc. Released: August 2, 2020 MSRP: $9.99 Frog Fractions has finally made its way to Steam after all these years, by way of its Game of the Decade Edition, and it’s wonderful that it’ll now live on past the imminent retirement of Flash support across web browsers. One thing that might have slipped by some of you, however, is that there’s a new DLC for the game called Hop’s Iconic Hat. If you’re already a fan of the original, I’d recommend going in completely blind for this new bit of DLC. I’ll even go so far as to say I had a good time with it, in case you aren’t sure about taking the plunge and just want a brief opinion. Everything I write after this paragraph will contain some mild spoilers. It’s pretty much unavoidable when attempting to write about it, so consider yourself warned. To anyone who has been following the news on Frog Fractions’ Steam release, you’d be more than forgiven for wondering why the DLC for an old Flash game is going to set you back $9.99. There’s a very simple answer: this unassuming “hat DLC” is, in fact, a brand new Frog Fractions game. I don’t know if this is technically Frog Fractions 3, Half-Life 3, or if it’s just considered its own separate thing where numbers are mostly meaningless, but none of that really matters anyway. The important thing is that it’s fun. It’s hardly surprising that the developer, who released the highly anticipated Frog Fractions 2 unannounced and buried inside of a resource management sim called Glittermitten Grove, would stealth drop the next entry in the franchise as a microtransaction for the original’s Steam debut, but I still let out an audible “hell yeah” when I first figured out what was going on. To the uninitiated, that last sentence probably reads like total word vomit, but I can assure you, against all odds, it’s an entirely coherent statement. You’re just going to have to trust me on this. When you open the menu, you’ll need to click the hat icon on the right side of the screen and then click “Play Wearing A Hat!” At first, during my initial playthrough, it appeared that nothing had really changed at all from the base game outside of the protagonist wearing some goofy new headgear. However, once I obtained the warp drive -- where the original adventure really starts -- it quickly became apparent that this was an entirely new journey. I’m not going to go too far into story beats, because experiencing it for yourself is half the fun, but Hop’s Iconic Hat takes place well after the events of the first game. Hop is older, with a wife and kid, and he can’t quite help but reminisce about his glory days. The whole thing is very much a reflection on and response to everything that transpired previously, and it seems plainly clear that some of it is taken directly from the perspective of the creator and their own experiences too. Don’t worry, this isn’t some sober reflection on the mortality of man or any drivel like that. It’s still very much a Frog Fractions game and everything quickly turns into the comfortable, psychedelic fever dream that we all know and love. There’s just a touch more nuance this time around though. It’s extremely subtle, but it’s there. As a nice change of pace, we actually get to know the characters somewhat. It's hardly groundbreaking, but what's here serves the story well. The first game moved at such a ridiculously fast pace that there wasn’t any time to even start to think about what sort of person Hop, the titular frog, was. To be honest, we may never really know. He’s clearly changed a ton over the years. A lot of time has passed since that initial journey, and the majority of what we see now revolves around him trying to convince his kid that he’s awesome and has done a ton of rad things throughout his life. The results are somewhat mixed, but still pretty dang endearing. If you’re familiar with the franchise, you likely have a solid idea of what to expect from the gameplay. It’s basically a collection of disparate, simple mini-games that work to push you out of your comfort zone while moving the plot forwards. Frog Factions carries a bit of jank at times, but it gets the job done. The soundtrack, on the other hand, is legitimately phenomenal, and I can easily see myself blasting this stuff somewhat regularly. It’s goofy, it's fun, and it all fits remarkably well with each scene. Over the course of its roughly three-hour runtime, I laughed and smiled a bunch. That’s more than enough for me. This could have easily ended up as an embarrassing attempt to relive and milk the franchises’ past success, but it turned out to be something much more enjoyable. It’s not the flashbang of passion and possibility that the original offered, because few things in this world are, but it feels like it has something unique to say, and I think most fans will walk away happy if they take the time to listen. ===================================================================================== SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS Minimum SO: Windows 7 Processor: Dual Core 2+ ghz Graphics: Intel HD Graphics 3000, GeForce 8600, Radeon HD 3650 or better DirectX: Version 9.0c Storage: 500 MB

The Salento, in the heel of Italy’s boot, saw relatively low infection rates, but it has lost many international visitors this year, which means savings can be had Gilda Siena likes to talk – so much so she is known among her guests as “the chatty woman”. In the decade since she bought a 19th-century building once inhabited by Venetian nobility in the Salento area – at the southern tip (the heel) of Italy’s Puglia region – and made it into boutique hotel Palazzo Siena-Home & More, this aspect of her personality has led to many friendships. Proof of the affection felt towards her can be gleaned from the message book and thank you letters and cards received from around the world. Among her favourite guests are the Swiss man who she nicknamed “James Bond” for his flash white sports car (which looked a tad out of place in the hamlet of Specchia Gallone, especially alongside her Mini Metro); the interior designer from London; the couple who asked her to witness their wedding; and the six lesbians from Canada who she hung out with by the pool, chatting and laughing. “Those women were such great fun,” said the 61-year-old. “The most beautiful thing about this job is getting to know people.” But this year, owing to the coronavirus pandemic, there are few people to chat to. “It is a strange year, and sad to see something that was so lively now so quiet. We were like one big family,” said Gilda, whose two daughters help her manage the business when they can. Although tourism has been returning to Italy since the country reopened its borders in early June, and the coronavirus situation is relatively under control, bookings are drastically down. The increase in the number of Italians holidaying at home has done little to diminish the impact of the loss of income from foreign visitors. Italy is the fifth most-visited country in the world, and tourism usually accounts for 13% of GDP, or about €230bn a year. “We were fully booked for the season by January: many people were returning guests, but then they cancelled their bookings because of the pandemic,” said Gilda. For Palazzo Siena, as with other hotels that have reopened, trying to stay afloat has meant reducing prices. The season began late because of the national lockdown. The pricing strategy prompted a trickle of bookings in June and July; August is looking more promising. Another selling point is that Salento and the wider Puglia region have been fairly unscathed by Covid-19, with fewer than 5,000 confirmed cases since the onset of the pandemic in February. The majority of Palazzo Siena’s guests usually come from the UK, the US and Canada. This year, the foreign visitors who have made the journey so far are from neighbouring countries. Austrian Sylvia Fragapane, her Italian husband Fabio, and their daughter drove 14 hours from their home in Switzerland and booked a three-night stay at Palazzo Siena. It was the family’s first visit to Puglia. “We chose Puglia because there are few Covid cases,” Sylvia said. “And we were careful when picking a place to stay – we could tell Palazzo Siena was a beautiful home to stay in, nice and spacious and unlike normal hotels.” Palazzo Siena is somewhat of an oasis amid a pandemic. The building, once owned by a family of rich merchants, had lain abandoned since the 1960s before Gilda caught wind that it was for sale during a conversation with a fellow diner at a pizzeria in nearby Otranto, while on holiday there in 2010. “It was destroyed, but as soon as the door opened it hit me how beautiful it was,” said Gilda, who had never undertaken a project of its kind before. After a brief tussle with another keen buyer, the property was hers. It took a year to restore. Customers soon started to arrive, mostly by word of mouth. The nine airy rooms are impeccably furnished, retaining the building’s original features. Guests fall asleep to nothing but the sound of chirping crickets and wake up to the sound of church bells. Centuries-old vines cover the ancient colonnade in the vast garden, which is home to fig, walnut and almond trees. The vegetable patch provides ingredients Gilda uses in local dishes, including pumpkin flower risotto with burrata, the mozzarella-like cheese from Puglia, and courgette tart. While there’s no restaurant as such, meals can be ordered in advance and served either on the terrace or in the dining room. The pool – which is cleaned by the same person who cleans the pool at the holiday home of actress Helen Mirren in Miggiano, about a half hour’s drive away – offers respite from the afternoon heat. “This is a holiday for people who want peace and to relax,” said Gilda. “Many wake up early, to swim and do some exercise. There are lots of quiet spots to read. There are walking and bike trails nearby. People don’t have to think about dressing up or putting on makeup. For me, this is the real Salento – simplicity.” Specchia Gallone is a neat hamlet of fewer than 500 people, with little entertainment beyond a bar and restaurant. It can be reached by car from Brindisi airport, or by once-daily bus from the baroque city of Lecce, from where you can catch a train to the nearby town of Poggiardo. However, a car is essential for exploring the pristine beaches and remote villages of the Salento. The closest beach to Specchia Gallone, a 20-minute drive away, is Porto Badisco, an inlet with a small sandy beach and rocks from which local youth plunge into the clear water. As legend would have it, the Trojan hero Aeneas made a stopover in Porto Badisco after his escape from Troy. On a recent Thursday morning, the beach was packed, with little social distancing in evidence. “Fewer people are coming but it’s still impossible to find a parking space,” said resident Gino Castaldi. The beachgoers are mostly locals and other Italians on holiday. “I usually like to travel abroad, but this year I’m discovering Italy more,” said Claudio Ressa, an IT specialist from Milan, in Lombardy, the region worst-affected by coronavirus. “The situation in Milan was so heavy. But here I feel relaxed, as there are not so many cases. The people are also welcoming.” More breathing space can be found in Alimini, north of Otranto, where a long stretch of beach is backed by sand dunes and pinewoods. Most of the beach is taken up by private establishments, with lounger and umbrella rental for about €8 a day. The beach businesses must follow strict coronavirus rules, including maintaining adequate space between loungers and disinfecting the beds between customers. “The season is slowly getting started, but with a reduction of 30% or 40% compared with previous summers,” said Enrico Castellano, who manages the Due Laghi beach club. “We’ve had a lot of British people visiting over the past 10 years, but not so many now. I hope they return. It’s a beautiful region, full of nature and well-serviced tourism.” Salento’s economy was once fuelled by the tobacco industry, but all that remains today of that era are abandoned factories. Olive oil is a major product, but growers have been badly affected by another infectious disease – Xylella fastidiosa – a plant pathogen that has killed tens of thousands of olive trees in recent years. That leaves the region heavily dependent on tourism. Villages would usually draw visitors through cultural events and sagre, food festivals showcasing local specialities. But these have mostly been cancelledthis year. “It all went up in smoke,” said Remo De Pascalis, a bakery owner in Giuggianello, close to Specchia Gallone. “All the women usually collaborate to make traditional dishes. Sagre bring small communities together but also attract plenty of tourists – they are the event of the year.” Restaurants, especially those with ample outdoor space, are managing to hold up. “We lost April and May in the lockdown but since we reopened in early June, there has been a steady flow of people,” said Barbara Vincenti, co-owner of Matisse, a restaurant in Uggiano la Chiesa, near Specchia Gallone and recommended for its seafood. “We have a garden so we manage to distance the tables well. For the moment, we are not doing too badly. But I worry about the winter, as people might not want to eat inside. Plus, we don’t know what awaits us with the virus.” The season at Palazzo Siena wraps up in October, when Gilda returns to her home in Bari. She’s not expecting much from the next few months, but hopes to see her friends return in 2021. “This year has been different,” she said. “I just hope that nothing else happens and that we can soon get back to normal.” • Palazzo Siena has a special rate of €190 a night for its comfort rooms in August and September (normal rates in August from €223-€366). In October, comfort rooms cost €139 and suites €179.

The UK "will not hesitate" to add more countries to its travel quarantine list in order to protect public health, the chancellor has said. Rishi Sunak told Sky News "there is always the risk of disruption" to holidays during the coronavirus pandemic. Arrivals to the UK from Belgium, the Bahamas and Andorra have been told they will need to self-isolate for 14 days. It comes amid a surge in cases in France. Belgium has one of the highest coronavirus case rates in Europe at 49.2 per 100,000 people, compared with 14.3 per 100,000 in the UK. The Foreign Office is also warning against "all but essential travel" to Belgium, Andorra and the Bahamas. According to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, France recorded 23.4 cases per 100,000 people in the last two weeks. France's new infections rose by more than 1,600 over 24 hours for the second day running on Thursday, with 1,604 confirmed cases reported. For comparison, Spain's rate was 27.4 per 100,000 around the time it was removed from the UK's travel corridor list of countries exempt from quarantine restrictions. Where can I go on holiday without having to quarantine? Belgium and Bahamas arrivals in UK must quarantine France reaches two-month high in virus cases Asked whether tourist destinations such as France could be next to be added to the quarantine list, Mr Sunak told the BBC the government was keeping the situation "under constant review" and that people should "be mindful" of the risk of disruption to travel given the global pandemic. He told holidaymakers they should constantly look at government guidance and "make the best decisions they can, knowing we live in uncertain times". He told Sky News No 10 was doing "the right thing", keeping the situation "under review on a constant basis" and consulting with scientists and medical advisers. If action was needed, the government would "not hesitate to do that", he said, in order "to protect people's health". The new rules for Belgium, the Bahamas and Andorra have already come into force in Wales and will take effect in the rest of the UK from 04:00 BST on Saturday. Quarantines have already been re-imposed for travellers from Spain and Luxembourg. But people arriving in England and Wales from Brunei and Malaysia will no longer need to self-isolate, after a decrease in confirmed new coronavirus cases there. People who do not self-isolate when required to after being abroad can be fined up to £1,000 in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Those returning to Scotland could be fined £480, with fines up to £5,000 for persistent offenders. Last week, Belgium introduced restrictions that meant people could only meet the same five people outside their household in a month. Joshua Holloway, who works at the University of Ghent, in northwest Belgium, says the "crushing" quarantine news means he will have to abandon plans to visit his family in Shropshire next week. He says they cannot visit him, because they can't afford to miss two weeks of work when they return to the UK, adding: "I also cannot go to the UK for an additional period of two weeks prior to when I had planned to travel in order to be able to enjoy a long weekend there." Mr Holloway called on No 10 to provide "clearer guidelines" on the number of cases a country would need to hit to trigger its removal from the quarantine exemptions list. "With the current system, there is no indication at all as to when Belgium will reappear on the quarantine-free list," he said. The Department of Transport has confirmed people travelling through Belgium by car from Germany or the Netherlands to the UK do not need to isolate on arrival so long as all the travellers remained in the car throughout their time in Belgium - including not getting out at service stations. However, it is permitted to drop a passenger off in Belgium without the need to isolate, so long as they don't get back in the car.

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The Japanese keyboard is the latest layout available. Last month we saw the release of Swedish, Portuguese, Danish and Norwegian layouts of the official keyboard. All of the keyboards come with three USB 2.0 type-A ports, adding much needed extra ports to your Raspberry Pi. Available in two color choices, red and white or black and grey, this new keyboard has been designed to work with all three Japanese character sets. The Japanese keyboard is the latest layout available. Last month we saw the release of Swedish, Portugese, Danish and Norwegian layouts of the official keyboard. All of the keyboards come with three USB 2.0 type-A ports, adding much needed extra ports to your Raspberry Pi. Available in two color choices, red and white or black and grey, this new keyboard has been designed to work with all three Japanese alphabets. Simon Martin, Senior Principal Engineer at Raspberry Pi Trading explains some of the challenges they faced “We ended up reverse-engineering generic Japanese keyboards to see how they work, and mapping the keycodes to key matrix locations. We are fortunate that we have a very patient keyboard IC vendor, called Holtek, which produces the custom firmware for the controller.”

More and more users around the world are upgrading to Windows 10, but many are still sticking with older software editions, new data has shown. The latest figures from NetMarketShare have shown that Windows 10 is now being used on nearly two-thirds of Windows devices as Microsoft's push continues to bear fruit Overall, Windows 10 was found to be running 59.37% of devices, making it far and away the most po[CENSORED]r edition of the operating system. These are the best laptops for work you can buy today Check out the best Linux laptops And these are the best business desktop PC choices out there Windows 10 vs Windows 7 Windows boasts 87.03% of the desktop and laptop market share, however, older versions of Microsoft's operating system are still in regular use. In particular, Windows 7, despite having reached its end of support in January 2020, is still being used on 23.34% of PCs out there according to NetMarketShare. Even worse, the venerable Windows XP still boasts 0.82% of all Windows users, meaning millions of devices could be at risk of attack due to running the outdated and unprotected software. It seems that many users remain reluctant to make the upgrade to Windows 10 given Microsoft’s unfortunate recent habit of apparently breaking bits of its newest OS on a regular basis. Microsoft will now be keen to ensure Windows 10 growth continues throughout 2020 as the operating system now seems to have recovered from the fall it experienced in April 2020, where the OS dropped from 57.34% the previous month down to 56%. Elsewhere, Linux use continued to rise, reaching 3.57% after climbing above the 3% marker for the first time in June 2020, Apple's macOS share fell again to just 8.95% (down from 9.68% the previous month), and Chrome OS (used by Google's Chromebook devices) stayed fairly solid at 0.39% market share.

The widow of PC Andrew Harper has called for killers of emergency service workers to "spend the rest of their lives in jail". Lissie Harper has launched a campaign with the Police Federation for "Andrew's Law" after her husband was killed on duty in Berkshire. PC Harper, 28, died when he was dragged for more than a mile along a road by a getaway car in August 2019. His killers were sentenced last Friday after being convicted of manslaughter. Driver Henry Long was jailed for 16 years, while his accomplices Albert Bowers and Jessie Cole were sentenced to 13 years each. In a statement, Mrs Harper said she hoped a change in the law would allow people to "get the justice that they rightly deserve". She vowed to fight in memory of her late husband "so that anyone killing a police officer, firefighter, nurse, doctor or paramedic is jailed for life". Newlywed PC Harper, from Wallingford in Oxfordshire, died after his feet got caught in a tow strap trialling behind a getaway car that had been used to pull a stolen quad bike near Stanford Dingley. Long, 19, Bowers and Cole, both 18, were convicted of manslaughter but cleared of murder following a trial at the Old Bailey. The maximum sentence a judge can impose for manslaughter is life imprisonment but they must specify a minimum term to be served. Mr Justice Edis said each of the sentences for PC Harper's killers had to reflect "the seriousness of this case". He said: "Sometimes death may be caused by an act of gross carelessness, sometimes it is very close to a case of murder in its seriousness. That is so, here." The judge added the teenagers were "young, unintelligent but professional criminals". Mrs Harper, who last week wrote to the prime minister to ask for a retrial, has called on the "British public and politicians of all parties" to back her campaign. The Attorney General's Office said on Tuesday it had been asked to review the sentences given to the killers after claims they are too lenient. Its officers have 28 days from sentencing to review the case. Mrs Harper said she had "witnessed first-hand the lenient and insufficient way in which the justice system deals with criminals who take the lives of our emergency workers". "The people responsible for wreaking utter despair and grief in all of our lives will spend an inadequate amount of time behind bars," she said. "These men who showed no remorse, no guilt or sorrow for taking such an innocent and heroic life away." John Apter, chairman of the Police Federation of England and Wales, said he fully supported Mrs Harper in her campaign to change the law. "The killing of a police officer should see those responsible face the rest of their lives in prison," he said. Mrs Harper said her "wish" was to ensure "any widows of the future will not have to experience the same miscarriages of justice". "Let us finally put in place laws which we can actually be proud of, let us do something about the injustices of our systems that cause so much heartache and utter outrage from us all," she said. Long, from Mortimer, Reading, pleaded guilty to manslaughter but denied murder, saying he did not know PC Harper was attached to the vehicle. He was given a reduction on his sentence because he pleaded guilty and must serve a minimum of 10 years and eight months in jail. Bowers, of Moat Close, Bramley, and Cole, of Paices Hill near Reading, admitted they were passengers, but denied ever seeing the police officer.

Alongside the release of the new Intel-powered iMac, AMD are announcing the new Radeon Pro 5000 series GPUs, which look great on paper, but will only be available in Macs. The new GPUs in this announcement are the Radeon Pro 5700 XT, Pro 5700, Pro 5500 XT, and the Pro 5300. These GPUs are not to be mixed up with the Pro W5000 series. GPU Compute Units Stream Processors FP32 TFLOPS GDDR6 Memory AMD Radeon™ Pro 5700 XT 40 2560 Up to 7.6 16GB AMD Radeon™ Pro 5700 36 2304 Up to 6.2 8GB AMD Radeon™ Pro 5500 XT 24 1536 Up to 5.3 8GB AMD Radeon™ Pro 5300 20 1280 Up to 4.2 4GB You'll notice from the spec sheet that the Pro 5700 XT has twice the GDDR6 memory as the RX 5700 XT sold to consumers, which is because 3D CAD designers, editors and certain other graphics work requires bigger frame buffers. The Pro 5700 and Pro 5500 XT don't have these kinds of gains over their RX counterparts. A new name on the block is the Pro 5300, which comes with 20 compute units for a total SP count of 1280, and it comes with just a 2 GB framebuffer. It's unclear whether this means we'll also be seeing an RX 5300 graphics card anytime soon, though it has been rumored. The GPUs all also have slightly lower FP32 performance compared to their RX parts, likely due to the thermal constraints presented by the iMac they'll be living in. “AMD Radeon Pro 5000 series GPUs bring new levels of performance and flexibility to the updated 27-inch iMac,” said Scott Herkelman, corporate vice president and general manager, Graphics Business Unit at AMD. “The new AMD GPUs offer the optimal combination of compute performance, energy efficiency and outstanding graphics features to power a wide range of applications – from consumer to pro – wherever graphics matter the most.”

Mobile Suit Gundam Extreme Vs. Maxiboost On (PS4) Developer: Bandai Namco Publisher: Bandai Namco Released: July 30, 2020 MSRP: $59.99 Before we get started, let us take a little trip through history. The initial version of Gundam Extreme Vs. released in Japanese arcades in 2010, where it quickly became a big hit. Over the course of eight years, the game would receive two ports to the PlayStation 3 in Japan and three further iterations, the last of which was Maxiboost On. While the final iteration was still in arcades, Gundam Versus would release on consoles, including controversial mechanics such as boost dive, a mechanic that let players cancel out of any move to drop to the ground near-instantly, and universal assists, which were strikers available to all characters. In 2018, Maxiboost On was phased out of arcades and replaced with a proper sequel, Extreme Vs. 2. Keep these details in mind during the review, as they will be brought up. Just like Gundam Versus, Extreme Vs. is a 2v2 fighting game. Every character is assigned a value of 3,000, 2,500, 2,000, or 1,500, with higher values generally indicating a character with better overall performance. However, when a character is shot down, their value is removed from the team’s health bar of 6,000 points, with the first team to reach zero being the loser of the match. The overcost mechanic is also present, where if your team’s health bar is less than your units’ value upon respawn, you’ll have less health as a result. This results in virtually the same dynamic of figuring out roles, order of death, and longevity. While the gameplay may be similar, the roster is not. Those eight years in the arcades have allowed the developers to build an impressive roster of over 180 characters, with two of them coming from the game's sequel. With the exception of Narrative and the Build sequels, almost every animated entry is here along with multiple manga, novels, and games, for a total of 36 entries. There are about 10-20 clones present, but they exist in different cost tiers and as a means for other characters to be represented. The roster has its bases covered more or less, except for Build Fighters, which only has two characters. This development time also lent itself well for the stage selection, which includes over 30 stages. Nearly every entry has at least one stage, and they have done a fine job in picking out iconic locations including Side 7 from the original show, the colony laser from Zeta Gundam, and the snow-covered city of Brussels from Endless Waltz. The stages make excellent use of size, elevation, and destructible objects for a variety of layouts and strategies. A select few, such as Angel Halo and Gigafloat, even have moving components, although the parts in question move slow enough to not be obnoxious. Needless to say, the location selection and the design for each stage has stood the test of time. On a mechanical level, Extreme Vs. feels great to play and controls very well. At its core, it is a four-button fighter, with the four buttons dedicated to melee, ranged, boost, and target change. Stick tilts are used to unleash different attacks or moves instead of motions. Blocking is the sole exception, requiring players to press back then forward to initiate and hold a frontal guard. Just like in previous titles, mobility and ammo management are the name of the game in this fighter. Some attacks are once per life, some reload passively, others require a manual reload, while some start with no ammo and charge over time. Combined with boost step and boost dash, which act as evasive and mobility options, these help differentiate characters. However, it is arguably the absence of the universal strikers and boost dive that are the greatest driver for moveset diversity. With the strikers gone, they have become part of characters' move lists, while overall the assists have more utility to them due to being freed from the melee and shooting restrictions. For instance, the Gunner Zaku Warrior has three different assists in its moveset, while Burning Gundam has Fuunsaiki as an assist, with the ability to ride the horse mech as a movement utility option. Some mobile suits like Turn X and Full Armor Gundam no longer have an assist of any kind as a result, which will affect their play style as well. Furthermore, with boost dive gone, how you get back to the ground is no longer a simple answer. The higher a character goes, the more dangerous it becomes if they don't have the tools for the way down. In terms of single-player options, there are two main modes. The first is Branch Battle, which is the equivalent of arcade mode. Players choose one of five entry points and proceed along a grid, fighting playable characters, non-playable characters, as well as bosses. They’ll pick one of three paths after completing a match, eventually reaching stage eight where the final boss is. There is some replayability here, as performing well unlocks alternate EX nodes to choose from, and there are random battles scattered throughout as well. Further, there are nine hidden bosses, which can only be encountered upon completing stage eight with over 600,000 points and no continues, with the endpoint determining which boss is fought. The mode can also be played with split-screen or online co-op, allowing for fun with friends or random strangers. The other option is Maxi Boost Mission. While it is only single-player, it is very well put together. Players start on the left side of an area and need to progress through a grid of events with varying conditions to the right side where the boss awaits, before progressing to the next area to repeat the cycle. Along the way they’ll level up, gain customization parts to upgrade and equip, and GP to spend elsewhere in the game. Missions give a rank upon completion, which dictates if any bonus rewards – mainly parts or GP – are received. Outside of a few questionable missions, one acting as a roadblock involving the Divinidad boss while the player is alone and locked into the Crossbone X-3, the missions were fun and felt different enough from one another. It is the highlight of Maxiboost On’s non-competitive options. Free battle also returns, acting as a mix of versus/training mode. Players can choose to set AI difficulty, stage, music, and can also do two-player split-screen here as well, either together against the AI or against each other. 1-on-1 can also be arranged as well, although the game isn’t quite balanced for that. There is also a LAN mode which will be a godsend for tournament organizers. While it was not used for the review, it would appear that it requires four consoles and four copies of Extreme Vs. in order to utilize the mode. You cannot use split-screen in this mode, which is unfortunate as it would lighten the hardware requirements needed, and I hope the developers reconsider this at some point. As for the online side, it has been vastly improved, but also received a major trimming. The 1v1 and 3v3 modes from Versus have been cut, leaving 2v2 as the only mode. There is a casual queue as well as two variations of ranked, one of which lets you team up with a friend or keep your teammate between matches and has a separate ranking. There are also player lobbies which can hold up to 16 players, and can have entry restrictions based on connection strength and ranking, which is fairly standard. Having played numerous matches, it would appear Bandai Namco has improved the netcode from Versus. Where a room with orange or yellow bar players would be unplayable in the previous game, now it only suffers from a couple instances of stutter. Regardless of this major improvement however, you should be playing this with a wired connection for the smoothest experience for all parties. A fair number of cosmetic items are also available for players to unlock. There are over 200 custom UIs for matches, alternative costumes for characters and navigators, along with titles, plates, and effects for them to buy. All of these items can be acquired in one of two ways. The first is to meet whatever requirements are specified, such as raising the proficiency of the Turn A to level 3, which will unlock Loran’s pilot suit and Laura outfit. The other method is to just pay the amount of GP required, with the most expensive items, the alternate costumes, priced at 30,000 a piece. It should be noted that all modes except Free Battle grant GP per fight, and Maxi Boost Mission alone gives at least 300,000 without S Ranking everything. A couple notable bells and whistles should be mentioned as well. The game has a replay system where you can save your replays as well as view the replays of others. In addition to being able to sort by character, you can see who won the match before choosing. Replays can also be viewed with a focus on a single character, or split-screen with up to four players at once, but it may result in a frame rate drop. In addition to over 60 songs from various entries, Maxiboost On supports importing custom music. This allows you to switch not just music used for matches, but also the main menu, victory, and lose screen themes as well. Now I'm not saying I did it but I may have put the Final Fantasy VII victory theme in at one point. There are two major issues with Maxiboost On however, and the first is with its tutorial. They’ve made the exact same mistake they did with Versus where they just slap some textboxes on the screen for you to read and then you don’t have to do them to pass the tutorial missions. Even then, the transform mechanic, which is a major part of numerous characters' game plans, is not mentioned in any regard during the so-called tutorial. Move lists fail to indicate tilt variations and follow-up options, or even basic move explanations. In the same year where Arc System Works released Granblue Fantasy Versus, with one of the most in-depth tutorials and glossaries the genre has ever seen, what Bandai Namco has presented here is unacceptable. How the game handles bans and region matchmaking is another issue. If you drop from an online match, you get hit with at least a ten-minute ban – which is completely reasonable and a smart way to deal with rage quitters. However, the problem is that this ban applies to every online mode. So not just the casual and ranked queues, but also player lobbies and Branch Battle's online are impacted. It is a little overkill. If anything should be immune from this sort of moderation, it is the co-op function of Branch Battle. The other issue is that matchmaking can be set to worldwide or region-based, and regional restricts it to country, not continent. So, Canadian players cannot play with American ones, and European countries are so divided they struggle to find a match without setting themselves to worldwide and taking a potential connection dive depending on who they connect to. If regions get changed to continent instead of country, this would help the issue overall. Now for the big question with any fighting game: What is the DLC plan going forward? Honestly, I do not know. At the time of writing, the only DLC the game currently has is the pre-order unit Barbatos Lupus Rex, which is from the sequel Extreme Vs 2. Maxi Boost On is not the current game in arcades, meaning it may not see a DLC onslaught like Versus did to avoid hurting traffic already impacted by COVID-19. On the other hand, Versus didn’t actually reveal its first DLC wave until nearly a month after launch. So, we may not have an answer until the end of August at the earliest. Either way, there's already 185 characters in the game, so you won't be hurting for a roster expansion anytime soon. Mobile Suit Gundam Extreme Vs. Maxiboost On is what Gundam Versus should have been in the first place. A more properly thought-out offline suite, split-screen support, LAN mode, a deep roster, and an improved netcode all lead to a superior package that can appeal to even non-Gundam fans. However, the lack of a proper tutorial and some questionable decisions with the online hold it back as a whole. Regardless of these issues, it has absolutely lived up to the hype of players who experienced it during its arcade reign.

Video title : Fortnite WTF Moments #231 Content creator ( Youtuber ) : click on me >.< Official YT video :

The Raspberry Pi Zero is a computer the size of a stick of gum, which is designed to be as cheap as possible, with a starting price of $5 (or $10 for a version with Wi-Fi). With dimensions of just 2.6 x 1.2 x 0.2 inches (66.0mm x 30.5mm x 5.0mm), about the size of a USB Flash drive, the Pi Zero is small enough to be embedded in a project and cheap enough to be left there! The same Raspberry Pi OS and software runs on the Raspberry Pi Zero as on larger Pis such as the Raspberry Pi 4, though the smaller board cannot handle the new, 64-bit version of the OS. It may only be a single core machine, but the Pi Zero packs enough power to get the job done. No matter your interest in the Raspberry Pi, a Pi Zero should definitely be in your bits box. But what can you do with it? What boards can be used? Why choose a Pi Zero? We shall answer that and more here. Raspberry Pi Zero Specifications There are three SKUs in the Raspberry Pi Zero line, but all have the same CPU and 512 MB RAM. The Broadcom BCM2835, ARM11 32-bit CPU is the same as found in the original Raspberry Pi 1, but it has been overclocked to 1 GHz. The only differences between the SKUs involve wireless support and camera module support. Which Raspberry Pi Zero Should I Buy? There are three models of Raspberry Pi Zero, though only two of them are current. Raspberry Pi Zero W: Clearly the best choice, but with an MSRP of $10, slightly more expensive than the regular Pi Zero, this version includes Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity. Raspberry Pi Zero (version 1.3): The current version of the Zero lacks wireless connectivity, but has an MSRP of just $5, which makes it attractive for a project where you either don’t need network access or can have it USB connected to a PC. Raspberry Pi Zero (version 1.2): The original version of the Pi Zero lacked the CSI camera connector that version 1.3 and Pi Zero W have. This model has been replaced so you’re unlikely to see it for sale anywhere. All three models share the same layout, size and HDMI / USB ports and if you are thinking of purchasing your first board then the Raspberry Pi Zero W should be your only consideration. Raspberry Pi Zero Trade-Offs When thinking about the Raspberry Pi Zero there are some caveats to consider. To save the money and size over a full-fledged Raspberry Pi 4, you have to make some compromises. One data port: There is a single micro USB port for data (plus one for power), so to connect a keyboard and mouse we either need a USB hub or to use Bluetooth peripherals. Bring your own pins: The GPIO does not come pre-soldered, though you can find some stores that sell pre-soldered models for extra. There are also some solder-free ways to attach pins. Special camera cables: You’ll need special Pi Zero camera cables if you want to use a Raspberry Pi camera module. Regular Pi camera cables won’t fit. Obscure video port: Very few devices use mini HDMI, but the Raspberry Pi Zero is one of them. You’ll need a mini HDMI to HDMI cable or adapter to connect to a monitor or TV. Why choose the Raspberry Pi Zero? The price and size of the Raspberry Pi Zero make it ideal for embedded projects such as data collection, home automation and body cameras. There is enough power to run our code, process the results and upload for later analysis, all via this tiny computer. Old technology such as printers can be upcycled into wireless printers available to all our devices by connecting a Raspberry Pi Zero W and running some simple code. Robotics projects are another area where the Raspberry Pi Zero W is strong, again due to its size and connectivity. Bluetooth and app controlled robots can be easily made using the Raspberry Pi Zero W as the brain and add on boards called HATs / pHATs are used to provide features like motor control and sensors. Another key feature of the Raspberry Pi Zero is that it is a low power computer. Via the micro USB power interface It runs at 5.2V. When connected to WiFi it draws around 200mA which is a total of 1W! An Internet connected Linux computer running using 1W of power! Because the Raspberry Pi Zero W uses so little power we can easily run the Pi from a USB battery pack enabling projects to go “off the grid”. What can you do with a Raspberry Pi Zero? There are a ton of projects you can use a Raspberry Pi Zero for, but here are a few good examples. Body Camera: Record the important moments of your life and upload them to the cloud for safety, all using a Raspberry Pi Zero W and the official Raspberry Pi Camera. Wireless Printer Server: Bring an old printer to life and give it new capabilities. Scoreboard: Build a web controlled scoreboard for your next game. DSLR Camera Tether: Remotely control your DSLR camera over the Internet. Webcam: You can turn a Raspberry Pi Zero into a webcam that connects to your PC and makes video calls. Mini Retro Arcade Machine: Though it won’t run all the emulators well, you can run RetroPie on a Raspberry Pi Zero. In fact, Retroflag makes a case that effectively turns a Pi Zero into a Gameboy. Setting Up a Raspberry Pi Zero Getting started with a Raspberry Pi Zero is the same as setting up any Raspberry Pi for the first time. However, you cannot choose the 64-bit version of Raspberry Pi OS, but instead must go with the 32-bit one. Right now, the 32-bit version is the default and the 64-bit flavor, which looks and feels the same, is primarily for those with 8GB Raspberry Pi 4 models. To avoid the hassle of plugging in a separate monitor, keyboard and mouse, many people do a headless install of the Raspberry Pi OS, which means that they can control the Pi Zero remotely using SSH or VNC. If you have a Pi Zero, you can connect the board directly to a USB port on your PC and control it that way, with the Pi sharing your computer’s Internet connection. To accomplish this, you just add the line dtoverlay=dwc2 to the bottom of /boot/config.txt and add modules-load=dwc2,g_ether to /boot/cmdline.text after the word rootwait. Adding GPIO Pins The GPIO (General Purpose Input Output) pins are 40 pins which enable the Raspberry Pi to interact with electronics and add on boards. The GPIO of the Pi Zero is not pre-soldered, unlike other models of Pi. Soldering is a great skill to learn and the Pi Zero GPIO would be a great place to start. (Image credit: Tom's Hardware) If you can solder, then it is simple to add your own GPIO header pins. But, if not, then there are alternatives such as Pimoroni Hammer Headers which use special header pins which are “hammered” in place using a jig. The header pins are designed to be hammered in place and will gently squeeze into the holes on the Raspberry Pi Zero and lock in place. Pogo pins are spring loaded pins that use friction to create a temporary connection. (Image credit: Tom's Hardware) If you only need a few GPIO pins to be connected then using pogo pins, spring loaded pins, is a simple, solder free way to quickly get connected. The GPIO is an important part of the Raspberry Pi, more so for the Pi Zero. These pins offer connections to the System on Chip (SoC) which can be used to communicate and control with electronic components. Using HATs Featuring the same 40 pin GPIO as previous models, the Pi Zero is compatible with most HAT boards, despite the apparent difference in size between the HAT and the Pi Zero. There are only a few exceptions for compatibility; an example is the Raspberry Pi POE HAT which uses the GPIO and extra POE pins only found on the Raspberry Pi 3 and 4. Add on boards, “pHATs” designed for the Pi Zero match the same layout and size. (Image credit: Tom's Hardware) There are add on boards designed especially for the Raspberry Pi Zero, and compatible with the main models of Pi. The “pHAT” range of boards are designed to match the form factor of the Raspberry Pi Zero. While HAT is an official term, pHAT is not. The official name is uHAT but pHAT has been the most commonly used name. The HAT / pHAT ecosystem is where we see the most creative projects. There are boards for simple projects such as LEDs, buzzers and buttons and there are boards for advanced projects like machine learning and computer vision. All of these boards connect to the GPIO and provide extra features that we can use in our projects.