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They include some landmark designs such as the Alfa Romeo Alfasud, Fiat 127 and, er, the Morris Marina. Then there were all of the cars that have long since been forgotten – unless you can remember the magnificence of the Austin Apache or Clan Crusader that is…

Every year on April 10, Siblings Day is celebrated to mark the special bond. Siblings are the most irritating being on this earth, but a day without them is like a hell. We may have as many friends, but a friend like them is nowhere in the world. Whether you are blessed with a younger or an elder sibling, they are going to stand by you no matter what consequences they have to face. Well, we know it's hard to appreciate them in a person, so here is an opportunity for you all. As the special day is here, we have brought you some amazing messages, wishes, greeting and quotes that you can send to your sisters and brothers. Also, mark this day by sharing these wishes on your WhatsApp, Facebook and Instagram status.You owe a special place in my heart that I can’t express in words. Happy sibling’s day! Happy Sibling’s Day to the world’s Best Brother. Thank You for being my brother and guardian angel. Happy Sibling’s Day to one favourite sibling to another. Happy sibling’s day. No matter what, you’ll forever be my best friend. Happy sibling’s day to my favourite sibling. Thank you for saving my back, always. On this national siblings day, you must thank me for my existence in your life. Thanks for being my most favourite person to annoy all day, every day. Happy national siblings day.

Intel took to YouTube on Thursday with a deceptively simple goal—help people understand how a CPU works. The company uploaded two videos as part of those efforts: a Key Concepts video covering the most basic aspects of CPU design and a Microarchitecture Deep Dive offering more information about those concepts. Surprisingly, the videos come without the usual bit of marketing we would expect from the company, so they’re incredibly informative without pushing Intel’s products. Both videos were hosted by Intel CVP of Client Engineering Boyd Phelps, who "has worked on some of the most well-known chip designs in Intel’s history, from Nehalem to Haswell to Tiger Lake and more." Here's the first of the twoPhelps offers a high-level overview of what a CPU is, how CPUs have changed over time, and how they rely on the Instruction Set Architecture (ISA) in that video. That's more than most people might think, but the video is a little under 19 minutes long, and Intel included chapter markers for each section of the video. Here's the second video:That one's a bit longer; it clocks in at about 25 minutes. But it also has a lot more to cover—Phelps offered high-level overviews of everything from pipeline depth and superscalar execution to the microprocessor front-end and the CPU back end. This is probably the easiest way to learn more about processors that we've seen to date. It doesn't seem like Intel will stop here, either. As it said in the video's description: "Architecture All Access is a master class technology series featuring Senior Intel Technical Leaders taking an educational approach to the historical impact and future innovations of key architectures that will continue to be at the center of ‘world-changing technology that enriches the lives of every person on earth.’" The company also encouraged people "interested in CPUs, FPGAs, Quantum Computing and beyond" to "subscribe and hit the bell to get new episode notifications." If the videos on those subjects are this high-quality, well, that might make this the first time that deciding to "hit the bell" was a good idea.

Intel has started releasing a series of explainer videos as part of a new series called Architecture All Access, and it's actually a good way to learn more about your PC. In each video, senior Intel leaders will go deep on a particular facet of how computers work, starting with, unsurprisingly, the CPU. With the competition between AMD and Intel so fierce right now, it's a great time to learn about the brain of a modern PC. This week's two-part course is Modern CPU Architecture hosted by Boyd Phelps, the CVP of client engineering at Intel. Phelps has worked on Intel CPUs dating back to Nehalem in 2008, up through the recent Tiger Lake chips. There's a lot to take in from these videos, but if you have some time to kill this weekend, you can learn about the history of CPUs, and get to take some deep dives into the more advanced CPU architecture concepts. Part one covers the broad strokes of what CPUs are and what they do, and also has a great story about the first computer bug. (Spoilers: It was an actual bug.) Part two covers the key parts of a CPU in a "microarchitecture deep dive" and goes into the future of computing in the coming years. Phelps does a great job explaining complex topics like branch prediction and CPU microarchitecture in a digestible way. The series doesn't require a doctorate in computer engineering to understand, which is always a plus.Jorge Jimenez is a Hardware Writer from the enchanted lands of New Jersey. When he's not filling the office with the smell of Pop-Tarts, you can find Jorge streaming bad games with his dog or binge-watching an irresponsible amount of superhero TV shows.

I know what you’re thinking: we’ve lost the plot. It’s just not a fair fight, is it? I mean, how could it be? It’s like asking the well-meaning Old Boys squad from your local rugby club to play 80 minutes against a first-string All Blacks side. The result is only going to go one way, and in an uncomfortably brutal fashion. Yet there’s method to our madness here, because the Ford Puma ST and the Lamborghini Urus have more in common than a 444bhp difference in power and £140,000 gap in price (you could buy nearly six Pumas for the cost of one Urus) would have you believe. You see, these two are essentially the bookends of an increasingly po[CENSORED]r genre: the super-heated SUV. It’s obviously not a new concept (Porsche has been at it for the best part of two decades now), but in recent years we’ve seen an explosion in their numbers, to the point that the majority of new ‘driver’s cars’ launched these days take their design cues from rutted tracks as much as race tracks. Hell, so strong is the apparent allure that when Seat’s hot halo brand Cupra went its own way, its first offering wasn’t a pocket rocket or a sports car but an SUV.Believe the hype and these cars serve up a multitasking approach to motoring, their Swiss-army-knife-on-wheels shtick promising both thrills on the road and more than a modicum of go-getting, adventure-seeking character that traditionally tuned tin boxes don’t have the ground clearance or go-anywhere gumption to deliver. So this is both a straight headto-head and an exploration of the wider impact of such cars. You might be appalled or perplexed by the seemingly never-ending appetite for SUVs or unable to shake off the belief that anything with so much extra heft and height can ever raise smiles and spirits when you’re in the mood for going hard and fast. But do these prejudices marry up with reality? Time to find out. On looks alone, both of our contenders play on their rough-andtumble influences. The pugnacious Puma’s muscular transformation is particularly effective, its 19in alloy wheels and subtle ST add-ons giving it a more squat stance than the standard car, even if the decision to colour-key the usually grey plastic wheel arches makes it look more like a slightly taller family hatchback than a true crossover. Either way, it’s dwarfed by the look-at-me ostentatiousness and tape-measure-stretching dimensions of the Urus, which commands attention everywhere it goes. The Giallo Auge yellow paint plays a part, but even if it were finished in ignore-me grey, this vast and angular Lamborghini would have a magnetic effect on eyeballs. Love it or loathe it, there’s no arguing with the high-riding Italian’s towering kerb appeal. Height, of course, is one of the big draws of cars like these, their increased elevation offering drivers a panoramic vista (and a sense of superiority) plus a clearer picture of the road ahead – something that’s especially useful when it’s unfamiliar. You certainly sit high in the Urus, but while you do look down on other road users, you do so through a letterbox-shaped viewfinder, the low, coupé-like roofline robbing you of some of the usual visibility benefits of a big SUV.

A majestic New England style homestead set in English style park-like grounds on Auckland’s Southern outskirts has been placed on the market for sale. The five-bedroom/five-bathroom mansion sits on some 1.44 hectares of semi-rural land at Karaka, in Counties just off State Highway One, and is accessed by a meandering tree-lined driveway delivering total privacy in manor-like surrounds. The substantial home was completely remodeled some 10 years ago to plans drawn up be noted Kiwi architect Terence Hitchcock – whose vision for the stately manor included installing a lift between the two floors, recladding the residence’s exterior in black stained cedar, and altering the roofline to be more in undulating harmony with its countryside surrounds. Terraced gardens planted with shrubbery and topiary hedging overlook gently rolling lawns fringed by mature trees and a large lily-filled pond. The aquatic theme is continued on the horizon - with the home’s vista across Whangapouri Estuary on the inner reaches of the Manukau Harbour. Reflecting the English heritage of the estate, the grounds of 49 Walters Road are planted with mature oaks, swamp cypress, chestnuts, crab apples, magnolias and poplars. The property at 49 Walters Road is now being marketed for sale by tender through Bayleys Papakura, with tenders closing on April 21. Salesperson Peter Sullivan said the home reflected the best of two continents – with a stereotypical New England dwelling representing the East Coast of the USA, and the gardens paying homage to the landscaping styles seen in rural England and France. Mr Sullivan said that with vast six-metre ceiling studs throughout much of the home’s spacious 567-square metre interior, the designer character delivered a lofty “roominess” rarely seen in Kiwi lifestyle abodes – sustaining a luxury and lifestyle of the highest quality in one of Auckland’s foremost ‘stock-broker’ belts. The residence is heated by two large open fireplaces, with underfloor heating installed in the tiled spaces within the kitchen, bathrooms and entrance foyer. In addition to the communal lounge and dining room areas, the home also features a media room, study and studio space, and a wine cellar. The home has garaging for five vehicles. “With the ways Covid-19 changed working remotely from residential dwellings last year, this property is well suited to sustain a work-from-home office environment which is totally separate from the family living spaces,” Mr Sullivan said. “The study is already laid out to sustain a private area for either children to undertake homework or for parents to enjoy a space dedicated to administrative office-type tasks, while the substantial studio with its own kitchenette could easily be reconfigured into an office for two or three staff.” Mr Sullivan said that with the home centrally located in the middle of the park-like grounds, there were numerous corners around the living areas for any new owner to add swimming and spa pool amenities. “The paved wrap-around pathways encircling the main home, along with existing sheltered BBQ and al-fresco social spaces, mean a substantial pool area could be established either surrounded by the trees, or with views over the inner harbour,” he said. “Additionally, there are ample fenced paddocks of luscious grass for a family with an equestrian inkling to accommodate several ponies - with plenty of room to add stables and a tack room.” The home’s master bedroom is located in its own wing, and features a luxury ensuite, walk-in wardrobe, and doors opening out onto the gardens. Two other bedrooms are also located on the ground floor. Both the upstairs bedrooms have their own ensuites. Irrigation for the paddocks and water for the home are derived from three sources – directly from town supply, through reticulated run off stored in underground tanks, and with a deep bore – meaning the property has the potential to be self-sufficient if needs-be.

Adults with a disability or mental illness are receiving extra care bills running into thousands of pounds that they say could force them to cut back on food and heating and threaten their social independence. Amid a care funding crisis, some English councils are quietly increasing charges to people with learning disabilities and mental illness, in effect clawing back welfare payments and leaving some working-age adults with little more than £3 a day to spend. People facing the charges fear they will be unable to afford enough clothes and worry that basic pleasures like swimming trips will have to stop. One single man living with bipolar disorder said he may have to put down his dog because he will be unable to afford to look after it. Advertisement Care charities have drawn up dossiers of charges they describe as a new “care tax” and say it is a result of national underfunding of social care. The Health Foundation has estimated that at least an additional £6bn a year is needed to meet growing demand, rising to £14bn if the country wants to improve access to care and pay more to staff, many of whom earn minimum wage. Mencap, the learning disability charity, said it had received dozens of “concerning” calls to its helpline about the issue, and its chief executive, Edel Harris, said it was “causing huge distress for them and their families, and leaving many without enough money to cover their additional needs”. Some people are refusing to pay and are considering legal challenges. Care Act guidance says charges must be “reasonably practicable” for people to pay and that the approach to charging should promote “independence, choice and control”. One of the councils levying increased charges, West Sussex county council, said that while it had previously charged working-age care recipients less than Whitehall rules allowed, increases were now necessary because of “decreased funding from central government”. Care recipients in the county have seen weekly charges rise sharply, in one case from £5.59 to £83 a week, and in another from £40 to £151 a month. Matthew Welch, 22, who has cerebral palsy, has seen his care contribution more than double to £77, leaving him with just £23 a week from his welfare benefit, a move his mother, Sarah Welch, described as “appalling”. Sue Livett, the managing director of the Aldingbourne Trust, a charity in West Sussex that provides care for people with learning disabilities and autism, said at least 50 families had complained about increased charges. Advertisement A council spokesperson said: “Our charging arrangements follow national guidance and are based on an individual assessment of a person’s financial circumstances. We have asked people to contact us if they will find it difficult to pay so we can work with them on an individual basis.” A parent in Staffordshire said their family had been hit with a backdated bill exceeding £20,000 for their adult children with learning disabilities. “It’s disgraceful,” they said, requesting anonymity. “They have no opportunity to go out and earn money on their own. They rely completely on benefits.” Also in Staffordshire, a young adult with complex learning difficulties who needs round-the-clock care was sent a bill demanding he pay £88 a week towards the costs, equivalent to £4,500 a year. It has to be taken from his universal credit payments and leaves him with just £25 a week for other expenses. His mother, a hairdresser unable to work during the pandemic, said she was “absolutely furious” and it meant they would not be able to afford enough clothes for her son, which is a particular issue owing to his incontinence, plus it could prevent him from going to the cinema or the swimming pool with his carers. “It’s a huge effect on his quality of life,” she said. “He won’t have any variety in his day. We are not acknowledging that people are individuals and have needs in their lives.” Dr Richard Harling, the director of health and care at Staffordshire county council, said the amount people were asked to contribute was “based on what they can afford to pay while still being left with income to meet their living costs”. He added: “If a person feels they are contributing too much, they can contact us to appeal their financial assessment.” Social Care Futures, a coalition of care givers and receivers, has received more than 150 reports of rising charges. “Escalating charges must be capped and there must urgently be a significant investment in social care, our lives and freedom,” said Anna Severwright, the coalition’s convener. A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care said: “People should pay affordable rates and not be charged more than it is reasonably practicable for them to pay. Local authorities should ensure people retain enough of their benefits to pay for support not provided by the council. “We are providing councils with access to £1bn in additional funding for social care in 2021-22, on top of a further package of support worth £3bn to help address the additional pressures during the pandemic.” David Jones, 60, lives alone in West Sussex with bipolar disorder, which 10 years ago rendered him unable to work. The former newspaper subeditor relies on two hours of support a week to help him keep his flat in order but is facing an increase in his contribution for this from £40 to £151 a month. The money would have to come from his personal independence payment (Pip) and would take up a third of that budget. He said that would leave him choosing between “heating and eating” and it would affect his budget so much that he will have to consider putting down his 14-year-old dog, Megan, which he said would be “beyond awful”. Pip is supposed to help people with illness, disabilities and mental health conditions maintain norms of everyday life. He said clawing this money back was “just ridiculous”. “I simply can’t afford it,” Jones said. “This extortionate demand represents 20% of my monthly income from benefits. It has to be outright unfair and a national scandal that the Department for Work and Pensions awards us Pip with one hand, and the county council takes up to a third of it away with the other. “I would have to cut my food budget drastically and might end up having to go to a food bank,” he said. “I have a dog and if I was going to try and budget for the amount of money [I have left] the dog would have to go.” He said Megan had been a “lifeline to sanity” during the pandemic and had been “incredibly helpful for my mental health”. “This [demand] has caused me incredible distress and anxiety,” he said. “There are people in an even more vulnerable position than me suffering with mental health illnesses, autism and learning disabilities and it must be extremely difficult for them to cope with this. It’s really heartless and cruel. I don’t think it’s going to raise an awful lot for the county council but it’s a vast amount for us.” The council has said central government cuts precipitated the increased charges and it has asked “people to contact us if they will find it difficult to pay”.

A new irrigation policy that favors Taiwan's chipmakers over its rice farmers has led to increased tension between the two, The New York Times reported Thursday, as the country attempts to respond to a water shortage caused by an ongoing drought. Liberty Times Net reported that Taiwan's Water Resources Agency shut off irrigation to more than 183,000 acres of farmland to conserve water. Yet companies in the Hsinchu Science Park—most notably TSMC—still receive the precious liquid. It might seem odd to prioritize chip production over farming, but Water Resources Agency deputy director Wang Yi-Feng told the NYT that the inverse would be a "lose-lose" because the farmers would suffer from low yields even with irrigated water. Yet a recent study co-authored by the Semiconductor Industry Alliance estimated that 92% of the world's sub-10nm chip production happens in Taiwan. That means problems in the country "may cause severe interruptions in the supply of chips."Companies like TSMC have responded to the water shortage with everything from improved recycling processes to trucking in water from elsewhere. These efforts won't completely solve the problem, however, at least in the short term. Taiwan's Water Resources Agency is essentially in a no-win situation. If it favors rice farmers it runs the risk of further limiting chip production during a global shortage, and there's no guarantee that the farms would receive enough water anyway. But, as The New York Times report showed, prioritizing the semiconductor industry is already rubbing some residents the wrong way. It's also a temporary solution that appears to be intended to bide time until the drought finally comes to an end. In the meantime, TSMC can announce plans to spend $100 billion in three years to improve chip supply and continue developing new technologies, but it can't actually make it rain.

Some may think that an Eli Roth-directed Borderlands movie is merely some sort of fever dream: but no. There have been various tidbits about the film's casting, and it's now been announced that Edgar Ramirez, known for roles in films like Zero Dark Thirty and Hands of Stone, will be playing the arms manufacturer Atlas. In addition to this, further cast-iron proof of the project's reality comes in the form of a plot synopsis. Included in the press release announcing Ramirez's casting is this summary of the movie's events (thanks, ComicBook). Essentially, Atlas hires Lilith (Cate Blanchett) to find his missing daughter, and various gun-based hijinks ensue: "Lilith (Blanchett), an infamous outlaw with a mysterious past, reluctantly returns to her home planet of Pandora to find the missing daughter of the universe’s most powerful S.O.B., Atlas (Ramirez). Lilith forms an alliance with an unexpected team— Roland (Kevin Hart), a former elite mercenary, now desperate for redemption; Tiny Tina (Ariana Greenblatt), a feral pre-teen demolitionist; Krieg (Florian Munteanu), Tina’s musclebound, rhetorically challenged protector; Tannis (Jamie Lee Curtis), the scientist with a tenuous grip on sanity; and Claptrap (Jack Black), a persistently wiseass robot." 'Persistently wiseass robot' is the kind of phrase that you'd think might hurt ticket sales but, as the success of the Borderlands franchise shows, there's no accounting for taste. On a more serious note, there's no denying that Roth has assembled a setllar cast so, who knows, this might be an unexpected joy in the vein of the Monster Hunter movie.The synopsis concludes: "These unlikely heroes must battle alien monsters and dangerous bandits to find and protect the missing girl, who may hold the key to unimaginable power. The fate of the universe could be in their hands—but they’ll be fighting for something more: each other." No need to watch it now, is there? Don't say I never do anything for you. The film is currently in production in Hungary , and doesn't yet have a release date.Rich was raised by a Spectrum 48K in the Scottish wilderness, and this early exposure to survival mechanics made him a rooter-out of the finest news truffles, and suspicious of all the soft, civilised Amiga people. These days he mostly plays Counter-Strike and Rocket League, and is good at one of them. He's also the author of a Brief History of Video Games.

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Free audio editors are surprisingly powerful, and we've rounded up the very best ones for the job, whether you're making your own podcasts, mixing music, or just trimming a sound recording to a particular length. The best free audio editor is Audacity – a feature-packed open source program that offers more features than many commercial alternatives. It supports almost every audio format you can name, allows for live streaming, and is packed with a vast range of plugins. Audacity won't be the right choice for every project though, and if you only need to shorten a sound file or adjust its volume, one of the simpler tools in this roundup might be a more suitable option. Scroll down for our full guide to the very best free audio software. with something for every job and skill level. The best free audio editing software overall is Adobe Audition Adobe Audition is a comprehensive toolkit for audio, allowing for multitrack, waveform, and spectral display for the mixing, editing, and restoring of audio. It's not free like the options below, but the result is the ability to polish the finishing for standalone audio as well as video. This powerful audio app is available either as a standalone or as part of the Adobe Creative Cloud. For tech-savvy users or those willing to spend a few minutes learning how to navigate Audacity’s slightly intimidating interface, this is the best free audio editor. Audacity is an open-source product that works on Mac, Linux, and Windows devices. Over the years, it has developed an enormous developer following, meaning it’s constantly being updated with new features and plugins to keep it competitive with other audio editors. One of the best third-party Audacity plug-ins is Gsnap, which allows you to add autotune effects to your sounds. With this audio editor, you can edit pre-recorded files, capture new sounds, add effects, and stream podcasts. While beginners may be intimidated by the complicated visual look of the Audacity interface, it’s surprisingly user-friendly with lots of screen real estate dedicated to showing you the waveforms of your tracks and large buttons for important actions like starting and pausing recordings.

ServeTheHome has just confirmed that Lenovo is fully utilizing AMD's Platform Secure Boot (or PSB) in its server and workstation pre-built machines. This feature locks AMD's Ryzen Pro, Threadripper Pro, and EPYC processors out from being used in other systems in an effort to reduce CPU theft. More specifically, this feature effectively cancels out a CPU's ability to be used in another motherboard, or at least a motherboard not from the original OEM. If a thief wanted to steal these chips, they would have to hack the PSB hardware and firmware to get the chip functioning in other hardware. But that would be super difficult to do. AMD's Platform Secure Boot runs on a 32-bit AMD secure ARM SoC with its own operating system. The hardware isolation is another layer of security for the system, as it's nearly impossible to access FSB since the system won't be able to detect the ARM processor in the main operating system. In theory, this feature is an excellent idea. It effectively makes these chips OEM exclusive, which can help reduce CPU theft. On the other hand, this feature will prevent current owners of these pre-builts from using the chips in other systems down the road.It's not much of a problem today, but suppose the system gets a CPU upgrade in the future. The old CPU effectively becomes e-waste, unless it ends up in the hands of someone who already has a compatible Lenovo system. Alternatively, if a motherboard fails, it locks the user into using a replacement motherboard from the original vendor. Thankfully, this feature has to be enabled by an OEM in the first place, so you can still go out and buy an EPYC, Ryzen Pro, or Threadripper Pro CPU/system that isn't using this feature specifically. Still, this feature can be a double edged sword. Most people buying servers aren't going to be swapping chips out and using them in other systems, so this potential issue should be quite rare. Perhaps more worrisome is that Ryzen Pro processors from the Renoir and Cezanne families also support PSB. Enabling it on that sort of hardware and the resulting vendor lock-in would limit the ability to part out such PCs in the future.

As arguably Counter-Strike's best map, Dust2 has been remade and remixed countless times in those decades—not least by Valve, whose latest rendition looks generations ahead of that dusty orange original. But over the last few months, one mapper has been busy updating the iconic map within the constraints of the original Counter-Strike. The end result is Dust 2020, a map so stunning it defies the limitations of the game's ageing engine. Created by artist Daniil Lebedev, Dust2 2020 doesn't just update the original map—it expands it, adding entirely new routes and a verticality that never existed before. A tour from YouTuber 3Kliksphilip shows off these new paths, but also dives into some of the technical feats Lebedev has accomplished with the severely limited engine.It's frankly staggering what the mapper has managed to pull off. In lieu of even the simplest reflections, Lebedev has used clever layered textures to give the domed roofs a certain shine. Shadows are pre-baked into textures, and techniques used to gloss over Half-Life's monsters are repurposed to create oil puddlesBridges creak under strain and canopies tear open when dropped through. Hell, I wouldn't be shocked if the single car at Long-A had more polygons than a typical launch Counter-Strike map. It's a complete transformation that may annoy some Dust2 purists, but it's damned impressive to walk around. Granted, all these improvements come at a cost. You'll need a beefy 128MB of RAM to run the map. But it gives the iconic map a real sense of place it never had before—a grander, denser space that nevertheless retains that familiar Dust2 feeling. At the very least, it's a fair bit more impressive than Valve's own anniversary offering, which let CS:GO players run about on the original map in the new engine. Dust2 2020 is available to download over on GameBanana.A one-time dog sledder, pancake flipper, alien wrangler and indie darling, Nat now scours the internet looking for the hottest PC gaming news. Destined to become Scotland's first Battlemech pilot.

Microsoft’s regular schedule of releases for Windows 10 is expected to drop a major update in the latter stages of 2021. Despite being some way off, the Windows 10 21H2 Update, currently being referred to as ‘Sun Valley’, is shaping up to be a significant step forward for the operating system. Microsoft is yet to officially reveal the 21H2 update to Windows 10, but through leaks, rumors, and the Windows Insider Program, we’ll begin to piece together a good picture throughout the months leading up to its release. There’s already a good deal of chatter about Windows 10 21H2. As we begin to build a picture of what to expect, here is everything we know so far about 2021’s second major release of Windows 10.The first update for 2021, Windows 10 21H1 has already been announced and is in the later stages of testing before release in the first half of the year. What we can safely expect is that the second update will be released between June and December. Windows Central reports that the internal timeline for the Windows 10 21H2 release points to October, with testing through the Windows Insider channels before then. Isolated features may appear in the Dev Channel first, with a ‘final build’ decided upon in June to then begin testing through the Beta Channel. Windows 10 21H2 ‘Sun Valley’ update name At this time there is no confirmed name from Microsoft. Based on the naming convention for Windows 10 updates, however, it’s safe to assume that its official designation will be Windows 10 21H2. The ‘21’ refers to the year and ‘H2’ refers to the second half of the year. With Windows 10 21H1 confirmed for the first half of 2021, there’s no reason not to assume Microsoft is continuing this trend. The name being tossed around at the moment is ‘Sun Valley’ which is unlikely to be its release name. This is an internal codename for parts of the next version of Windows 10 which is being worked on and has been outed to the public by way of leaks from those with insider knowledge of Microsoft’s workings. ‘Sun Valley’ was first reported as a codename for the UI enhancements Microsoft is working on for the 21H2 release. The other name being touted for the Windows 10 21H2 project is ‘Cobalt,’ encapsulating everything in the release including the UI improvements and the under-the-hood enhancements.

Hearthstone's latest expansion went live earlier this week, and it's fair to say I've been having a lot of fun with Forged in the Barrens. Yes, there are some decks which currently feel oppressively strong—No Minion Mage and Secret Paladin in particular, not to mention those pesky Watch Posts—but as is often the case around annual set rotation, the freshness from so many old cards leaving Standard is keeping me queuing. However, it's also fair to say that this has been one of the buggier rollouts in recent years, which is understandable given the number of fundamental systems being tweaked, what with the recent introduction of Classic mode and the Core set to also contend with. Consequently, on Monday, April 5, a hotfix will be deployed that addresses a lot of the issues discovered so far. You can read the full list of fixes on the Blizzard forum here, but among the more notable are giving Manrik's Wife* a Mana cost so she can be played from hand, and preventing Silverleaf Poison from drawing two cards when applied to the Kingsbane weapon in Wild. The most interesting change, to me, is: "Fixed a bug where Totemic Call could still give the Wrath of Air Totem when playing with certain Shaman Hero skins.For context, with the launch of Forged in the Barrens, the Shaman hero power was changed so that it could no longer roll the Wrath of Air Totem (which is the one that grants +1 Spell Damage.) It was replaced with the Strength Totem, which gives a friendly minion +1 Attack at the end of your turn. Or at least that's what Blizzard thought had happened. It turns out that if you played with Shaman hero skins other than the default Thrall one, you could still summon Wrath of Air, which proved particularly relevant because Shaman's current deck—like this double Doomhammer variant—makes good use of Spell Damage. I'm not sure exactly what skins are affected, but can confirm that the Lady Vashj and Thunder King ones work. As several Control Warlock opponents have found to their cost. Obviously, you can't be certain that your opponent knows about the bug and is exploiting to gain a very marginal edge, unless you queue into Clarkinator, because I definitely will be. Those 15 wins I need for my 1K Shaman portrait aren't going to Doomhammer themselves, y'know. [*In case you're wondering what the deal is with Manrik's Wife anyway, this should help.]

While the iPad is undoubtedly the all-conquering best tablet range right now, without the best iPad apps it's basically just a souped-up Chromebook. Nobody wants that - so we're here to help you, whether you want the best iPad Pro apps to make use of the Apple Pencil, the best iPad mini apps to work on a smaller screen or just something to reivigorate your time with a tablet. We've spent hundreds of hours testing the best free and paid-for iPad apps, and have helpfully split them into multiple categories on the following pages to let you browse for what you actually need. Of course, if you need a better iPad, our list of the best iPads around is there for you too - but if you've just been given a new tablet, then these are the titles that you need to be checking out - starting with our favorite new app this month.Oh, and if you're looking for something fun, then we've also rounded up the best iPad games you can download right now. Looking for an upgrade? Check out the best cheap iPad deals available now

The cryptocurrency mining and Ethereum mining boom continues to roll on, and if you've read our best mining GPUs and want to see what all the fuss is about, we've got the details on the most po[CENSORED]r ways of mining with your PC. Besides the actual hardware for mining — which basically means having one of the best graphics cards — you'll need to decide on the software you want to run, and how you want to get paid. There are three primary approaches to mining, and we'll cover these in order of ease of getting started. Advertisement Before we continue, let's be clear: We're all about providing information, both good and bad. There are GPU shortages, other PC component shortages, GPU pricing is stratospheric, and clearly, there are a bunch of people who think mining is awesome. This has all happened before, and we've seen how it ends — or at least where it goes temporarily. Anyone that had the foresight to put together a big mining farm sometime in the past year or two and save all the Ethereum and/or Bitcoin it generated (while eating the costs) looks pretty smart today. Trying to do the same thing right now? It will cost more, profits will be lower (or not even materialize for potentially years, if ever), and there are loads of other concerns that we'll get into. Case in point: Just look at the past couple of months. We originally posted this article with data taken from before February 16, 2021. Two weeks later, we saw record prices for Bitcoin and Ethereum come and go, difficulty of mining increased, and potential profits dropped by at least 25 percent. Then Bitcoin rebounded and hit a new record high of over $61,000, while Ethereum has mostly stayed in the $1,800–$1,900 range, and mining profits improved along with those prices. Just in the past week, we've seen a low of around $51,000 for Bitcoin and a high of nearly $60,000; Ethereum ranged from $1,568 to $1,860. Regardless of price, longer-term stability will almost certainly be at lower profits than we see right now. For that to happen, the difficulty of finding a block will need to increase — and it has. Ethereum difficulty increased about 15% during the month of March, 16% in February, and 24% in January. Unlike the volatility in price, difficulty has been on a steady upward climb, day after day, since the last Ethereum update in January 2020.

Three days into the Elite Dangerous: Odyssey Alpha, and the mood around the space sim's next update is a little sour. Now, Frontier has addressed two major issues with the early test—though it perhaps fails to address some of Odyssey's more fundamental problems. Writing in an initial feedback post on Steam last night, Frontier addresses blowback to the game's budget taxi service, Apex Interstellar. The studio is aware that having Apex as the only traversal option exacerbates issues, along with the sheer scale of the massive solar system used for testing. But the root of the problem, in that it sucks to spend most of your time twiddling your thumbs as someone else flies around space, is something Frontier is looking to solve. "There’s no doubt that the time spent during these trips is less engaging than Odyssey’s other features, given the currently limited options for interaction during the journey," Frontier explains. Short term, the studio hopes to move the Alpha start point to a more central location and make it clear when a mission will send you on an extremely long trip. But it also sounds like Frontier want to improve the interactivity of the flights themselves, mentioning an "increased number of loadout and cosmetic customisation" to use during the flight.I have some ideas of my own, of course. They mostly involve cramming the shuttle full of obnoxious tourists. But don't expect taxis to simply get faster—the developer is (rightly) very clear that turning the system into a glorified fast-travel would be a massively destructive move. Frontier also responds to criticism that on-foot combat is incredibly punishing right now. While I hadn't noticed it, PVP combat is apparently rife with criminals blasting pilots with little penalty—with stronger punishments supposedly in store for these murderers. What I have seen, however, is that even Threat 0 missions feature absolutely brutal NPCs, and Frontier plans to "reassess" how mission difficulty is communicated up-front. It's reassuring to see issues addressed so quickly into the Alpha's lifespan. But Frontier's response doesn't hit at some of the more underlying problems affecting Odyssey. Stations are still lifeless spaces full of dead-eyed Pixar characters, and the current loop of taking long flights to undercooked missions is simply a miserable way to play. Hopefully, these problems are alleviated when the Odyssey alpha opens up, and these features are given greater context within Elite's wider galaxy.

Long gone are the days of limiting your Raspberry Pi with large-capacity microSD cards and SSDs. Thanks to Dr. Scott Baker's latest project, makers are finally free to use 360K floppy disks for all their legacy storage needs! The best Raspberry Pi projects are made from scratch and this one definitely fits the bill. Dr. Baker has created a custom HAT for the Raspberry Pi designed to interface with a floppy disk drive. It's able to read, write and even format old 360K floppies with a custom, Python-based application. The project relies on a WD-37C65 controller—a vintage chip from Western Digital. While Dr. Baker is using it with a Tandom TM100-2A floppy drive, it's also compatible with 1.44MB, 3.5-inch drives.The controller has been adapted to a HAT that plugs directly onto the Raspberry Pi GPIO pins and provides access to a floppy header, used for connecting floppy drives.

DNS-over-HTTPS (DoH) is not exactly a new technology, and it is something that is supported by all of the big-name browsers. Google has already implemented the privacy and security boosting feature in the Windows, macOS and mobile versions of its Chrome browser, and now the company is working to bring it to Linux. With the platform attracting a very security-minded groups of users, the only surprise here is that it has taken Google this long to bring DoH to Chrome for Linux. Once implemented, the change means that both DNS queries and DNS responses will be securely transmitted over HTTPS. But the Linux implementation is set to differ slightly from versions of the browser for other platforms. Here's our list of the best VPN services around These are the best Linux distros for business And here’s our pick of the best Linux laptops The reason it has taken longer for Chrome for Linux to benefit from DNS-over-HTTPS is that it makes use of Chrome's own built-in DNS client, and this is disabled by default on Linux. This has been the case for quite some time because of Chrome's failure to respect advanced Linux DNS configuration through nsswitch.conf, which is in turn because of the complexity and variety of Linux distributions.The solution that the Chromium Project has come up with involves building support for the browser to read and parse DNS configuration that have been put in place. It also needs to be able to disable DNS-over-HTTPS on configurations that do not support it. Safe as houses In the design document, the team behind the project explains: " As Chrome's resolver does not support changing such mechanisms or their order, Chrome's support for respecting nsswitch.conf will be limited to detection of whether or not the configuration is a common configuration compatible with Chrome behavior". As a fallback, Chrome will not autoupgrade to DoH or use the built-in resolver unless a DoH server is explicitly selected via Chrome configuration settings. At the moment it is not clear exactly when DoH support will arrive in the Linux version of Chrome, but it is thought to be version 91 or 92. This means that the feature should be available for testing in a matter of weeks, and will hopefully roll out on a wider basis soon after this. Check out our guide to the

Two years ago, PUBG Corp began testing a lighter, free version of PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds that'd run on less powerful hardware. But now, PUBG Lite's publisher is pulling the plug, shutting down the game's servers next month. Krafton, the publisher overseeing PUBG Lite development, posted a statement on the game's website announcing the closure. Starting today, PUBG Lite is no longer available for download, with the servers ultimately going offline on April 29th. "We are deeply grateful for the passion and support from the astounding number of PUBG LITE fans that have been with us. During the strenuous times of the COVID-19 pandemic, we hope that PUBG LITE was able to provide our fans a fun way to stay safe. "Unfortunately, we have made the difficult decision to close service after much deliberation and the time has come for our journey to end. We regretfully inform you that service of PUBG LITE is scheduled to end on April 29th, 2021 (UTC)."Entirely separate from the core PUBG client, with its own development team and servers, PUBG Lite came with vastly lower recommended hardware requirements. The game was first tested in Thailand, before expanding to select other countries, and eventually featured the Erangel, Sanhok, Bodie, and Vikendi maps. Sure, there was no cross-play with regular old PUBG, but it was a valuable option for folks without the graphical horsepower to run the demanding base game. PUBG itself is still going strong, recently adding Metal Gear-style Fulton balloons for yeeting your squad. But while it never got the same amount of love, it's still a shame to see the more accessible client fizzle out like this. Thanks,A one-time dog sledder, pancake flipper, alien wrangler and indie darling, Nat now scours the internet looking for the hottest PC gaming news. Destined to become Scotland's first Battlemech pilot.

could be about to bring in a new feature which makes web apps look slicker, and more like standard Windows 10 apps, as well as adding useful extra functionality. This possibility was flagged up by Techtsp (via Windows Central) and it revolves around the title bar of web apps (PWAs, or Progressive Web Apps). In their current form, web apps still have a title bar at the top effectively marking them as an Edge window, taking up space, looking rather clunky, and only offering basic window controls (like close, minimize or maximize) while doing so. How to use Windows 10 These are the best antivirus apps We’ve also picked out the best web browsers The plan in the works, as described by Amanda Baker, a software engineer on the Microsoft Edge team, is to remove that title bar, instead having a customizable top bar that will make the web app look much more like a normal application. The Windows Control Overlay feature will facilitate this change, giving developers full access to the bar along the top, and the ability to customize it and add more features, like a search box or navigation controls, or a logo. RECOMMENDED VIDEOS FOR YOU... video playing Xiaomi Mi 11 | Everything you need to know Galaxy S21 | Everything you need to know 26/01/21 Galaxy S21 | Everything you need to know Galaxy S21 Ultra | Everything you need... 26/01/21 Galaxy S21 Ultra | Everything you need to know IPhone 12 Pro | Everything you need... 24/12/20 IPhone 12 Pro | Everything you need to know in 1 minute AirPods Max | Everything you need... 24/12/20 AirPods Max | Everything you need to know in 1 minute PS5 | Everything you need to know in 1... 14/12/20 PS5 | Everything you need to know in 1 minute All of which should add useful extra functionality, while making the web app not only look more streamlined, but also ensuring that it performs better on the accessibility front. That’s because without the current title bar, there’ll be more screen real-estate to show the actual content of the application when doing things like zooming in (which may be necessary for the visually impaired). In a technical document explaining the idea, Baker wrote: “Instead of leaving most of the title bar as empty space and including the title of the app in the standard browser font, a developer can fill this area with the content that they usually place just below it: a custom logo, a search box, or navigation controls for example.”Developers at Microsoft have reportedly already got the basic code required to make all this happen in place, and as Techtsp notes, the Windows Control Overlay feature is already present in chrome://flags. However, it’ll likely be months before we actually see this coming through and being used by web developers (assuming the report is on the money). As ever, time will tell, but this could be an impressive step forward for web apps running via Microsoft Edge.Check out the

This Raspberry Pi Pico creation comes to us from a company called Picosoft. The Japan-based dev team has designed a Python machine known as Orange-Python that boots directly into a MicroPython interface. Some of the best Raspberry Pi projects we've come across use a custom interface. The MicroPython program developed for the Orange-Python is very small—small enough to be flashed onto the Pico and stored locally.The whole operation is powered by an RP2040 on a Raspberry Pi Pico. The only extra accessories you need are a keyboard, VGA monitor and something to supply power via microUSB. When the Orange-Python system boots, it loads into a mode called Read Evaluate Print Loop (or REPL). This is an interactive interface that works like programming on an old BASIC computer. You can see it in action on Twitter. The team even managed to program a Tetris-style demo.

Polish horror developer Bloober Team has backed out of acquisition talks with several potential buyers, according to a new report by local outlet Bankier.pl (via VGC). Bloober, the developer of games like The Medium, Blair Witch and Observer, had reportedly been in talks with over a dozen companies from across the globe. But in a press release sent to Bankier, the studio now claims that it has walked away from talks, feeling any acquisition put it at risk of "losing its overriding strategic objectives." "At this stage it would be incompatible with the culture of the organisation, and would significantly limit the potential growth of the company’s value in the coming years, especially taking into account the projects implemented and planned," the press release continued. Bloober Team is currently rumoured to be working on Observer 2, though wider hints from the studio suggest it's been pegged to develop a new Silent Hill (something Andy K would prefer go to Remedy). But thanks to its recent successes, Bloober reckons it now has enough spare cash floating around to start investing in new games from external studios."Moreover, the company, having spare financial resources, has the possibility of making investments aimed at increasing its fundamental value." We rated The Medium quite highly—as did many others, evidently, given that the game recouped its development costs within a few days. It'll be interesting to see what new voices in horror end up financially elevated by that game's success.

could finally be getting a fix for one of its most annoying quirks, as Microsoft is looking to separate the taskbar from the Explorer.exe process in the upcoming Windows 10 21H2 update. So, why is this a big deal? Explorer.exe is a critical process in Windows 10 that runs Windows Explorer (the way you view files and folders in Windows 10), and it also handles other parts of the user interface – including the taskbar, which runs along the bottom of your screen.If you’ve used Windows 10 for a while, you may have encountered a problem where Explorer.exe crashes. This means that some windows become unresponsive – and it also means the taskbar stops working. This can be pretty annoying, as the taskbar can allow you to switch programs, or quickly restart your PC to fix the problem. However, it looks like Microsoft is solving this problem. In a preview release of Windows 10 21H2, which is sent out to testers (known as Windows Insiders) to try out new features and check for bugs, references to taskbar.dll have been spotted, and as Windows Latest points out, this could hint that Microsoft is removing the taskbar from Explorer.exe.This move would mean that if Explorer.exe became unresponsive, it should't affect the taskbar. Running the taskbar in its own process should also result in performance improvements, with the taskbar feeling a lot more responsive. Jump lists, which are small menus that appear when you right-click an app and show open windows or regularly used files and settings, could also see an improvement in performance. However, these are early days, so a lot of this is just guesswork at the moment, as the taskbar.dll doesn’t appear to work properly in the early build. So, it may end up never seeing the light of day, or this could be for some other unknown feature that Microsoft is planning for the taskbar. However, we’d love to see Microsoft find a way to ensure that the taskbar, which is such an important part of the Windows 10 user interface, performs better than ever, and doesn’t crash if Explorer.exe becomes unresponsive.