#Hassan.

We’re already seeing developments in accessing Android apps much more easily in Windows 11, thanks to a new tool that installs these apps in one click. WSATools is an app that should make installing and running Android apps in Windows 11 much easier. Since the announcement in June when Windows 11 was showcased with many new features, the arrival of Android apps in Microsoft’s operating system caught some by surprise. While the apps are going to be available in the new Microsoft Store through a partnership with the Amazon App Store, some people wondered whether other Android apps outside of the Store would be able to be used. However, we’re already seeing developers find ways for your favorite Android apps to be made available on Windows 11 regardless of whether they are available on the Amazon App Store or not. How to install WSATools First of all, you need to make sure ‘Windows Subsystem for Android’ has been installed to your device. This will ensure that Android apps will be able to be downloaded with no issues. Once this is complete, download WSATools and you’ll now be able to install Android apps in one click. These are usually labelled as ‘.APK’, which is the file format for Android packages once they’re downloaded. Clicking on one you have downloaded from Google will install the app like any Windows 11 app on your device, and you can log in and use them as you do on your Android smartphone or tablet. There’s always a chance that Microsoft will take this down, especially as it’s being hosted on the Microsoft Store, but it does show the potential for how easy it can now be to use Android apps in Windows 11. Analysis: It was inevitable You can almost guarantee that independent developers will look to try and make the impossible possible. A few weeks ago you would have had to go through Command Prompt to access Google’s Play Store, and now an Android app can be installed like any other in Windows. Having owned a MacBook Pro 14-inch (2021) for a few weeks now, I’ve been surprised by how well certain iOS and iPadOS apps run in macOS. While some games such as GTA: Vice City are glitchy in their controls, there’s a certain appeal with installing the apps you’ve paid for with no issue on a completely different operating system it was meant for. While Microsoft is taking a different approach with Android apps, WSATools showcases just how well Android apps could be managed and installed if Microsoft and Google decided to allow full access in an official way. Apple allows developers to select a check box on whether an app should be able to be installed in the Mac App Store, or left to the iOS App Store exclusively. Microsoft could do the same here with developers, but I suspect this could be tricky with the deal that the company has with Amazon and its App Store availability in Windows 11. However, we are only in the early days of Android apps in Microsoft’s latest release of Windows. It may be the developers who convince the company that Apple’s method of iOS apps on macOS could be the way to go, rather than a halfway solution. link : https://www.techradar.com/news/installing-android-apps-in-windows-11-is-now-much-easier

Save $250 on a GF65 Thin, one of our most favoured gaming laptops. Should you be on the lookout for a gaming laptop with a latest generation GPU under the hood, it has to be said this is a pretty great deal. After the rebate, you can get this 10UE model of the MSI GF65 thin for a fanciful $1,049. It's changed a little since we gave the earlier 9SEXR model a pretty nice score of 74 in our review, but it's only been getting better since then. For just a little more than the RTX 2060 model's RRP, this one packs a current-gen RTX 3060, along with a 10th Gen Core i7 Intel GPU to round it off it nicely. There's more where that came from on our Black Friday gaming laptop deals page. MSI GF65 MSI GF65 Thin | 15.6-inch | Intel Core i7 10750H | Nvidia RTX 3060 | 1080p | 144Hz | 16GB RAM | 512GB NVMe SSD | $1,299 $1,049 after $100 rebate at Newegg (save $250) A decent CPU combined with an RTX 3060 for just over a grand, you can't go wrong really. With a nippy 144Hz monitor, and 16GB of ram keeping it chugging along, you can bet it'll see you right for most gaming as it's been one of our favourites for a while. VIEW DEAL It's one of those made for competitive games, and with that hardware combination it should be able to handle many top games at high settings with the screen maxing out at 1080p. Still, it could struggle with some games on ultra, so don't push it too hard. It's still a pretty nice gaming laptop for just over a grand. Sure it's a not packed with heaps of storage, but there is space for another NVMe PCIe drive in there if you're feeling handy. You can check out some of our Black Friday SSD deals for a bit of extra space, if need be. Either way, you're getting a good amount of RAM for the config—much more would be overkill—and that's topped by a not-horrendous 144Hz panel for smooth frames while you're gaming. link : https://www.pcgamer.com/this-rtx-3060-msi-gaming-laptop-is-just-dollar1049-after-rebate-at-newegg/

Intel has just released its brand new CPU generation, codename Alder Lake. That's potentially great news for bargain hunters, as previous generation CPUs, such as its 11th and 10th Gen, will be replaced just as we creep up to the bargain bonanza that is Black Friday. So now's the time to be on the lookout for Intel CPU deals, as you've got older chips heading out for less and newer chips showing them up with better performance per dollar. Black Friday 2021 early deals: when is it and why you need to shop for PC gaming deals early this year. You'll want to pick up a compatible motherboard alongside any Intel CPU purchase, if you don't have one already. For 11th and 10th Gen Intel CPUs, you'll want a motherboard compatible with the LGA 1200 socket, such as Z590/Z490 or B560/B460. The latest Alder Lake processors fit into the LGA 1700 socket on Z690 motherboards, although you probably won't find many deals on these up-to-date parts just yet. That said, these chips represent a much better deal than their predecessors even at RRP, so if you can pick one up today you might just be better off anyways. So it may seem silly that some of our recommendations here are for Intel's new chips with no discount, but when the leap Intel has made with Alder Lake is so great over its past couple of chip generations, it actually makes a lot of sense to buy a lower-end 12th Gen chip, say the Core i5 12600K, instead of a discounted higher end 10th or 11th Gen chip. Don't forget to also check out our guide on the best AMD CPU deals right now, as the red team has plenty of excellent gaming processors to pick from. Some recently discounted, seemingly in response to Intel's 12th Gen launch. Intel Core i3-10100F Intel Core i3 10100F | four-core, eight-thread | 65W | $129 $92.50 at Amazon (save $36.50) There was once a time when a four-core/eight-thread CPU such as this would've ruled the lineup as the top Core i7. Those days are over, and have been for a while, and now you can find a chip that's equally as good for gaming under $100. Pick up a cheaper 400-series chipset and you'll be able to build a more than capable gaming PC with this at its heart. Just bear in mind you will need a discrete GPU for this, as there's no iGPU on the chip. VIEW DEAL Intel Core i5 12600K | 10-core (6P+4E), 16-thread | 125W TDP | $319.99 at Newegg Intel Core i5 12600K | 10-core (6P+4E), 16-thread | 125W TDP | $319.99 at Newegg This chip is brand new, and so you're looking at the standard retail price here. However, this chip runs circles around even the 11th Gen Core i9, so you don't want to spend too much on one of those while this chip is available. The only downside here is a higher platform cost, as only the more premium Z690 chipset is available to purchase. VIEW DEAL Intel Core i7-10700K Intel Core i7 10700K | 8-core, 16-thread | 125W | $349.99 $329.99 at B&H If, for whatever reason, you prefer eight older cores to 6+4 of Intel's newer hybrid architecture—for example you're not planning to make the leap to Windows 11 or have very specific needs—Intel's 8-core 10700K is still a force to be reckoned with. While the newer Core i7 12700K will give it a run for its money, it won't be found for this little for a long ol' time. Might be worth considering this chip then, if you can't make your budget stretch any further and don't want the chip above. VIEW DEAL Intel Core i5-11600K Intel Core i5 11600K | six-core, 12-thread | 125W | $268.99 $239.99 at Newegg (save $29 with promo code BTDAYZ826) Of all the 11th Gen chips, it was the Core i5 11600K that stood out to us as a good deal for gamers. That said, it's recently been replaced by the more capable Core i5 12600K, though you can't find that for anywhere near as cheap. Bonus here is you can also save cash on a cheaper motherboard, so it's all-round a great pick for a budget PC. link : https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/intel-core-cpu-black-friday-deals-2021/

Despite its name, the Mini has become bigger with each generation. So it is with this latest version of the SUV variant, the Countryman, launched in 2017 and still going strong. Run a tape-measure around it and you will find that it’s 200mm longer than its predecessor. It’s roomier in the back, too, and has a larger, 450-litre boot. In keeping with its SUV classification, it’s taller and sits higher than the Mini hatchback. In short (if that’s not a contradiction), it’s a proper Tardis. Depending on your point of view, it’s as ugly, too, although others will doubtless call it characterful. In fact, character is one thing that this bigger Countryman isn’t short of. Much of it flows from the way the car feels on the road, which is grippy and agile. The payoff, mind, is a firm and fairly noisy ride, so you want to avoid larger wheels with run-flat tyres. The optional adaptive suspension that some used cars have eases things but not nearly enough.There’s no basic One trim for the Countryman; instead, it launches straight into familiar Cooper (134bhp 1.5-litre petrol or 148bhp 2.0-litre diesel) trim, followed by zippier Cooper S (189bhp 2.0-litre petrol or 187bhp 2.0-litre diesel) and John Cooper Works (228bhp 2.0-litre petrol) forms. In between are four-wheel-drive All4 variants of all but the JCW. Also with four-wheel drive is the plug-in hybrid Cooper S E All4. Transmissions comprise a slightly notchy six-speed manual and a slick eight-speed automatic (the PHEV gets a six-speed automatic). Manual and automatic gearbox availability is split almost 50:50, so you should have little trouble finding your favourite in the trim and colour of your choice. All4 models are still the same road-oriented cars as front-wheel-drive versions. They’re outnumbered two to one on the used market and quite a bit more expensive. For example, a 2018 Cooper with 30,000 miles is £14,900, but its All4 equivalent is £1000 more. It’s less economical, too. On the subject of economy, diesel is the way to go if you’re a high-mileage driver but, given the Countryman isn’t the most comfortable car, you might prefer to keep things local. In that case, go with the Cooper petrol. A big chunk of the Countryman’s character springs from its interior, which borrows much from the hatch. So there are lots of toggles and dials and flashes of chrome. It all looks very different from the competition. Fortunately, it’s practical, too. The rear seats split 40/20/40 and the boot features a false floor to offer additional stowage. Comparing used Minis has always been difficult because they come with so many fitted options and packs. In October 2018, Mini simplified things by moving to three core trims called Classic, Sport and Exclusive. Options still remained, but Chili, one of the most po[CENSORED]r packs, got the heave-ho. Be warned: most don’t add value. BUYER BEWARE Body On ALL4 models check for evidence of off-roading in the form of underside graunches and body scratches. It's not an off-roader but that doesn't stop some people… If fitted with one, make sure the panoramic sunroof can withstand a door being slammed shut. Charging If it's a PHEV, make sure the home charging cable is present; some early cars were delivered without them. Need to know Large occupants take note: the seats are on the small side. All trims have driver’s seat height adjustment, but only Exclusive and JCW add lumbar adjustment. The ride is quite firm – tiringly so over long distances. Bigger wheels with run-flat tyres make it worse. The PHEV’s economy can be disappointing. It also has a smaller boot and less rear head room. Rear parking sensors are standard but fronts are optional. link : https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/used-cars-nearly-new-buying-guides/nearly-new-buying-guide-mini-countryman

The original off-the-shoulder chiffon dress was created by Greek designer Christina Stambolian. It featured a sweetheart neckline, a flowing black trail Princess Diana made revenge dressing po[CENSORED]r when, after the televised admission of adultery by her husband Prince Charles of Wales, she wore a little black dress — called the ‘revenge dress’ — to a 1994 dinner at the Serpentine Gallery in Kensington Gardens. It had made quite a news back then, because it was an unorthodox take on the royal way of dressing, and Diana was seen as something of a rebel. But, what she was really doing, as experts deduced later, was that she was owning her stance. The mother-of-two wanted to come across as someone who was in control of her life, despite her much-publicised marriage unravelling in the public eye. ALSO READ |Sarah Jessica Parker’s closet is filled with everything that Carrie Bradshaw wore in SATC The reason we are back to talking about the dress several years later, in 2021, is because Australian actor Elizabeth Debicki, who will bring Diana to life in the fifth season of Netflix’s The Crown, has been photographed in the recreated costumes, looking uncannily similar to the late princess, who died in a car crash in 1997. Stambolian said Diana had wanted to wear the dress for a while, but had thought of it as “too risqué”. “[The princess] chose not to play the scene like Odette, innocent in white. She was clearly angry. She played it like Odile, in black. She wore bright red nail enamel, which we had never seen her do before. She was saying, ‘Let’s be wicked tonight!’” she was quoted as saying. As was expected, the day after Diana’s ‘revenge’ outing, her fashion choice became front-page news in the UK. It even usurped coverage for Charles’ documentary. In a way, it was Diana’s return to the spotlight. Interestingly, her revenge looks became so po[CENSORED]r over the years that there even exists an Instagram account called @ladydirevengelooks that was set up in 2018 by fashion writer Eloise Morgan after her own breakup, the Independent report states. link : https://indianexpress.com/article/lifestyle/fashion/princess-diana-revenge-dress-iconic-fashion-relevance-prince-charles-the-crown-royal-family-7614610/

Officials have released the names of eight people who died when a massive crowd surged at rapper Travis Scott's Astroworld festival in Houston, Texas. The victims were all between the ages of 14 and 27. Hundreds of other concert-goers were injured in the crush. One nine-year-old boy remains in a medically induced coma due to severe brain and organ trauma, according to a fundraiser set up by his father. Local authorities are still investigating the circumstances surrounding the incident. Travis Scott, fellow performer Drake, and Astroworld's organisers are now facing a number of lawsuits. Here's what we know about those who lost their lives. John Hilgert, 14 The youngest victim of the Astroworld tragedy, Hilgert was a freshman and avid baseball player at a high school in Houston. According to a report in the Houston Chronicle, Hilgert texted a friend to make sure they arrived at Astroworld early and found a good spot from which to watch Travis Scott's concert. Police investigate crowd surge at Texas festival Astroworld tragedy: Were warning signs missed? "John was a good student and athlete and so polite," his mother, Tracy Faulkner, was quoted as saying by the Houston Chronicle. "He was the sweetest and smartest young man." Hilgert's school - Memorial High School - mourned his death on social media and said that counsellors would be made available to students this week. "Our hearts go out to the student's family and to his friends and our staff at Memorial," the school district said in a statement. "This is a terrible loss, and the entire MHS family is grieving today." Brianna Rodriguez, 16 Another local high school student, Rodriguez was an avid dancer and member of the school's band. On Twitter, the band described her as "someone who could always make anyone smile." "Although she's gone and she cannot perform with us anymore. We know that she'd want to still enjoy our time in Heights [high school]," the post said. In the wake of her death, Rodriguez's family set up a GoFundMe page to raise money for her funeral. As of Tuesday morning, more than 1,500 people had donated $66,455 (£48,983), more than double the page's target of $30,000. "Dancing was her passion and now she's dancing her way to heaven's pearly gates," her family wrote on the page. Jacob Jurinek, 20 Jurinek was studying art and media at Southern Illinois University. In a statement, the university's chancellor described him as "a creative, intelligent young man with a promising career in journalism and advertising." Together with his friend Franco Patiño - another victim of the crush - Jurinek had reportedly travelled to Astroworld to celebrate his 21st birthday. "Jake was beloved by his family and by his seemingly countless number of friends for his contagious enthusiasm, his boundless energy and his unwavering positive attitude," his family said in a statement shared by Today. "He was an avid fan of music, an artist, a son, a best friend to many, a loving and beloved cousin, nephew and grandson," the statement added. Franco Patiño, 21 link : https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-59225744

Samsung Galaxy S21 FE has not launched yet, even though leaks have been in abundance. The predecessor Samsung Galaxy S20 FE was unveiled in September, and the Galaxy S21 FE is presumably delayed due to chip shortages and supply constraints worldwide. A new leak reveals a possible new launch date for the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE and even the Samsung Galaxy S22 series. The latter, the flagship Galaxy S series from Samsung, is likely to include multiple models just like every year. Prolific tipster Jon Prosser has tipped that the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE may launch on January 4 next year with no pre-order timeline. The phone will likely go on sale from January 11 onwards. Next year's Consumer Electronics Show (CES), where generally new products are announced, will begin in Las Vegas on January 5. Samsung will presumably unveil the Galaxy S21 FE in pre-event media keynotes. Of course, this is pure speculation and Samsung has made no official announcement yet. The tipster additionally reports that the Samsung Galaxy S22 series will be unveiled on February 8 next year at 10am ET (8.30pm IST). Pre-orders for the Samsung Galaxy S22 lineup will likely begin the same day and sales may commence from February 18. Samsung Galaxy S21 FE Back Panel Design, Colour Options Tipped Again Prior to this, Prosser leaked hands-on images of the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra model. As per the leaked images, Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra appears to have a hole-punch display with curved edges. The images also suggest that Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra could include a dedicated space for an S Pen. On the back, the Galaxy S22 Ultra seems to have a quad rear camera setup, along with an LED flash module. Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra Tipped to Sport Waterdrop-Style Notch Display As for the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE, the phone is likely to have a similar design pattern as the Galaxy S21 series. The handset may feature a 6.4-inch AMOLED display with 120Hz refresh rate. It has been tipped to be powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 SoC. In addition, the Galaxy S21 FE may pack a 4,500mAh battery and 25W fast charging. link : https://gadgets.ndtv.com/mobiles/news/samsung-galaxy-s21-fe-launch-january-4-sale-11-s22-series-february-8-tipped-jon-prosser-2603118

VoIP: Voice over Internet Protocol. Meet the acronym for communication technology which helps your company communicate faster. What is VoIP? If you’re looking to set up a modern business phone system, then your research will no doubt have lead to you to VoIP phones, sometimes referred to in full as: Voice over Internet Protocol phone technology. Did you know that "businesses that switch to VoIP reduce the cost of their local calls by up to 40%, and save up to 90% on international calls"? This is what makes VoIP worth learning about and investing in as business. Spending time understanding how VoIP works can help you save a lot as a business long-term. So, it's crucial to understand this modern digitally-based business phone system so you can choose the best VoIP services later on. You've also likely run into the acronym SIP, or Session Initiation Protocol in connection with VoIP. In fact, navigating the world of business phone systems can often feel like an alphabet soup of acronyms. In this article we'll only be looking at what VoIP is in detail, and how it works with SIP. However, you can learn more about SIP and its difference from VoIP in our article, SIP vs. VoIP: a guide for businesses. What is VoIP? First things first, what is VoIP and what exactly does it stand for? VoIP stands for Voice over Internet Protocol and is essentially a digital phone service. Instead of sending audio through traditional phone lines, VoIP phone systems digitize your voice and send packets of audio over the internet. In some ways, VoIP is a lot like making a video call—except that you’re only sending audio, not video, back and forth. As a cost-effective alternative to the traditional analog phone system, businesses enjoy significant savings with cloud based telephony systems like VoIP. With free quotes from the best VoIP phone providers, your business can too. Thanks to a rise in remote working and customer preference to contact businesses by phone, po[CENSORED]rity for VoIP phone software and VoIP hardware is set to keep growing. With VoIP phone systems, you can add as many phone lines as your business needs without having to bring in an electrician. You can also integrate with software to automatically route your calls between departments or to keep a digital recording of every call that comes into your business. What is SIP? What is SIP? Well, not quite the refreshing summer drink you were imagining: SIP stands for Session Initiation Protocol. It's an open-source communications protocol that is deployed by VoIP phone systems to function. For VoIP business phone users, SIP is critical to initiating, maintaining, and terminating a phone call between two or more devices. It’s particularly important to understand the word protocol in order to understand SIP. In this context, a protocol is a set of rules used by digital devices to communicate with each other. A protocol like SIP regulates how the exchange of data packets is synchronized between devices and how those data packets are interpreted. The usefulness of Session Initiation Protocol isn’t limited to enabling VoIP business phone calls. SIP software can also be used to conduct video conferences, exchange instant messages, or distribute multimedia files and other data across global teams. SIP vs VoIP: What’s the difference? Trying to compare SIP and VoIP directly doesn’t really make sense. Why? Comparing the two is like assessing a magician and their assistant side by side. One, VoIP, is the principal performer while the other is a support act. VoIP is a communications system, and SIP is a signalling protocol used to support that communications system. SIP is one way to deploy your VoIP phone system. It's favoured by telephony managers as it directly connects PBX (private branch exchange) users with public network phone users. VoIP business phone systems which use SIP rely on the protocol, to relay information between VoIP-enabled devices. You may notice SIP and VoIP have become somewhat synonymous, since SIP is easily the most widely used protocol for supporting VoIP communications. SIP trunking explained With a single SIP trunk, you can have as many incoming or outgoing phone calls as your business requires. Michael Graw To run a VoIP phone system using SIP, you’ll need a SIP trunk. If you're wondering 'what is a SIP trunk and how does it work?', panic not. A SIP trunk can be defined as the piece of hardware that enables all the SIP-enabled phones and devices in your business to connect to the internet. If you're opting for a hosted VoIP service, your SIP trunk will likely located at a nearby data center. Or, if you are self-hosting your own VoIP business phone system, the SIP trunk may be installed as part of your business’s internal telephony network. The great thing about using SIP trunks is that they enable you to connect an unlimited number of lines. Practically, that means with a single SIP trunk, you can have as many incoming or outgoing phone calls as your business requires. The most significant limitation on the number of simultaneous VoIP calls your company can handle boils down to your internet bandwidth. Choosing the right hardware for SIP and VoIP To run a successful VoIP business phone system based on SIP, you need to have compatible SIP hardware. What does compatible SIP hardware include? Individual desk phones, which must be SIP-compatible. Analog phones, for example, won’t be able to connect to a SIP trunk to make and receive calls. The same is true for office phones designed for a protocol other than SIP. The good news is that since SIP is so widely used for VoIP phone systems, the majority of business handsets and other VoIP-enabled devices are compatible with SIP. So, you don’t have to spend a fortune to upgrade your business’s phones to a hard-to-get model. Always check to be certain. The advantages of SIP for business Why do so many VoIP providers and businesses use SIP as the protocol supporting their phone system? This protocol has become the most po[CENSORED]r VoIP protocol because it offers a number of advantages over alternatives, including these: ✓ SIP is a highly flexible, integration-friendly protocol software Data packets sent using SIP can be interpreted by other communication protocols, which opens the door for integration with non-SIP software. This allows VoIP calls running on SIP to be automatically recorded using third-party software, for example, or for businesses to integrate their digital phone calls with a proprietary internal app. SIP’s flexibility also means that your business is unlikely to run into compatibility problems if you change software platforms in the future. ✓ Quality-first, SIP processes VoIP call data individual devices ...is another reason why SIP is ideal for businesses, particularly enterprise-scale businesses. This benefit reduces the amount of network bandwidth being used by an individual call. So, you can have more employees making more digital phone calls without experiencing connectivity issues or poor call quality. ✓ The protocol of choice for VoIP SIP’s po[CENSORED]rity has also made it the protocol of choice for new VoIP phone systems. Almost any service provider that offers VoIP supports SIP-enabled handsets, so you’re free to switch providers in the future. You’re also unlikely to have trouble finding SIP-compatible software to expand the functionality of your phone system. Alternatives to SIP for business SIP may be the most po[CENSORED]r protocol for operating a VoIP phone system, but it’s not your only option. H.323 is another common protocol found in VoIP systems. In contrast to SIP, H.323 is built to work with both analog phone systems and cloud phone systems. Most businesses shy away from H.323, however, because it’s difficult to implement and highly complex. And unlike SIP, H.323 is not compatible with a wide range of productivity software applications. Other alternatives include Media Gateway Control Protocol (MGCP) and Skinny Client Control Protocol (SCCP). MGCP is somewhat complex and doesn’t support caller ID, which is a major drawback for many businesses. SCCP is a proprietary protocol used by Cisco, and the company has largely been phasing it out in favor of SIP. VoIP & SIP Summary It’s easy to get confused when asking the questions, what is VoIP and what is SIP? In short, VoIP is a type of phone system that enables you to place calls through the internet rather than through traditional, analog phone lines. SIP is a communications protocol that enables VoIP calling. Why should you choose VoIP and SIP? While there are other VoIP protocols available, SIP is by far the most po[CENSORED]r, for good reason. It enables VoIP-enabled phones to integrate with a wide range of productivity software. And with VoIP for business software and hardware options offering faster, more flexible communication styles it's no wonder VoIP is a favourite with multiple business sectors worldwide. SIP also reduces the burden that a VoIP phone system places on your company’s network so that your employees can make and take more calls without a drop in quality. Now that we've covered VoIP, dig into your next read: How to choose a small business VoIP phone service. link : https://www.techradar.com/news/what-is-voip-a-guide-for-business

A single MI200 offers nearly 5X the compute of Nvidia's A100 AMD officially revealed its Instinct MI200 compute focused GPU today, a major upgrade over the previous Instinct MI100. The MI200 will be use in the upcoming Frontier supercomputer, powering its exascale performance via thousands of EPYC CPUs and MI200 GPUs. AMD makes numerous comparisons to Nvidia's A100, claiming significant increases in computer performance and density. As always, take these announcements with a grain of salt as paper specs don't tell the whole story, but MI200 looks to be an absolute monster. Fundamentally, MI200 appears to use an updated and enhanced version of the GPU that powered the MI100. MI100 had 120 CUs (compute units) and 7680 streaming processors. MI100 used TSMC's N7 fabrication node, and also supported up to 32GB of HBM2 memory clocked at 1.2 Gbps. MI200 takes the ball and runs with it, boosting all of the key performance metrics. (Image credit: AMD) The first major change relative to the MI100 comes in the use of a multi-die package. This is basically taking the same chiplet approach that AMD used in its recent Zen 2 and Zen 3 CPUs and applying that to GPUs, though with some enhancements. The two CDNA dies (that's "Compute DNA", as opposed to the graphics-focused RDNA used in consumer GPUs) are linked together via an Infinity Fabric, with 25 Gbps links providing up to 100 GBps of bi-directional bandwidth between the GPUs. There are eight available links in the MI200 OAM (OCP Accelerator Module, where OCP is "Open Compute Platform") configuration, yielding 800 GBps of bandwidth between the two chiplets. That's a massive increase over the Infinity Fabric links used in Zen 3, if you're wondering. On Zen 3, the Infinity Fabric operates at the RAM clock, with a maximum official speed of 1600 MHz (though overclocked chips have reached as high as 2000 MHz). With 16 bytes and double data rates, that's only 51.2 GBps of bi-directional bandwidth, meaning MI200 has 16 times the interlink bandwidth. It's AMD's answer to Intel's EMIB, in essence. MI200 will also use TSMC's N6 node, a refined version of the existing N7. N6 represents a minor evolution in process technology, but it does allow for higher clocks and improved efficiency. It's also compatible with the N7 design rules, meaning it's relatively easy for a company like AMD to port a design from N7 to N6. One surprising piece of information is that the entire MI200 chip contains up to 58 billion transistors. That's certainly a lot, but Nvidia's A100 by comparison has 54.2 billion transistors in a single GPU core. Unless we've missed something, that means the total size of the MI200 chips are roughly the same size as Nvidia's A100, except they potentially pack a lot more compute performance into that area. Based on the specifications AMD has released, MI200 will clock at up to 1.7 GHz, compared to 1.5 GHz on the MI100. The memory was also upgrade to HBM2e running at 3.2 Gbps, which combined with the dual-chiplet GPU layout means overall bandwidth for MI200 increased from 1.2 TBps to 3.2 TBps. But that's just getting started. While many of the core functional units of MI200 appear similar to MI100 — the vector FP64 and FP32 rates look unchanged, along with the matrix FP16 and FP32 rates — AMD has enhanced both the vector and matrix units. Specifically, both matrix and vector computations now have FP64 support, and for the vector FP64, the rate of computation has been doubled. Putting that into numbers, MI100 was the first GPU to provide over 10 TFLOPS of FP64 vector compute. With its higher clocks, dual-GPUs, and doubled FP64 rates, the MI200 has a peak FP64 vector rate of 47.9 TFLOPS — AMD was quick to point out that this represents a 4.9X increase over the Nvidia A100 FP64 vector rates. MI200 also adds FP64 matrix support, with a peak rate that's double the vector unit rate: 95.7 TFLOPS. Again, by way of comparison, the Nvidia A100 FP64 vector performance is 19.5 TFLOPS. That's on paper, of course, so we need to see how that translates into the real world. AMD claims performance is around three times as fast as the A100 in several workloads, though it's difficult to say if that will be the case across all workloads. On the FP16 side of things, the performance isn't quite as high. Nvidia's A100 has 312 TFLOPS of FP16/BF16 compute, compared to 383 TFLOPS for the MI200, but Nvidia also has sparsity. Basically, sparsity allows the GPU to skip some operations, specifically multiplication by zero (which, so my math teacher taught me, is always zero). Sparsity can potentially double the compute performance of the A100, so there should be some use cases where Nvidia maintains the lead. There are some key pieces of information that are still missing, like power requirements. The Nvidia A100 has a TDP of 400W for the SXM variant, which will be the direct competition for the MI200 OAM. Rumors are the MI250 OEM could have a TDP of up to 550W. For connectivity, Nvidia uses NVLink connections and AMD uses its Infinity Fabric, and we'll likely at least 6-way configurations of the MI200 OAM. The above image comes from AMD's slide deck and presumably shows a rendering of a single node in the Oak Ridge National Labs Frontier supercomputer. Assuming it's an accurate picture, there will be six MI200 OAM GPUs paired with dual EPYC CPUs. ORNL's director Thomas Zacharia says that a single MI200 GPU provide more compute performance than an entire node in ORNL's previous Summit supercomputer. Frontier is currently being installed and will be available for researchers to begin using starting next year. AMD has two models for the MI200 OAM currently planned. The higher performance MI250X, which we've used for most of this discussion, has 110 CUs per chiplet, while the lower MI250 drops down to 104 CUs per chiplet. That's the only real change, so the MI250 ends up with about 5% less compute performance. There will also be a PCIe version of the MI200 in the future. There's plenty of other information to digest from AMD's accelerated data center premiere keynote, and we've covered the EPYC Genoa and Bergamo CPUs elsewhere. While Intel's Alder Lake CPUs may bring competition to AMD's existing consumer line, AMD's data center offerings still look incredibly potent. The full slide deck of the MI200 section of the presentation is in the gallery below. link : https://www.tomshardware.com/news/amd-instinct-mi200-chiplet-datacenter-gpu

From mice to monitors, let’s spool up those origin stories. Apparently, it’s the 50th anniversary of the very first commercial video game, a commemoration to which many will no doubt take profound epistemological exception on account of some or other obscure oscilloscope-based laboratory curiosity. Anyway, to complement that peerless gaming landmark and provide plenty more opportunities for a fact-checking furore, here is a list of PC hardware firsts from the annals of technology. Have at ‘em, kids. The first mouse Arguably, the first computer pointing device roughly the size and shape of a rodent and with a cable resembling a tail dates back to 1964. Working at the Stanford Research Institute, Bill English helped Douglas Engelbart build the first mouse prototype based on conceptual work done the previous year by Engelbart. PC Gamer is supported by its audience. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Learn more Home Features Celebrating 50 years of the hardware that makes our PC's tick By Jeremy Laird 10 minutes ago From mice to monitors, let’s spool up those origin stories. COMMENTS Old PC on desk (Image credit: Secret agent mike via Getty Images) Apparently, it’s the 50th anniversary of the very first commercial video game, a commemoration to which many will no doubt take profound epistemological exception on account of some or other obscure oscilloscope-based laboratory curiosity. Anyway, to complement that peerless gaming landmark and provide plenty more opportunities for a fact-checking furore, here is a list of PC hardware firsts from the annals of technology. Have at ‘em, kids. The first computer mouse (Image credit: SRI International) The first mouse Arguably, the first computer pointing device roughly the size and shape of a rodent and with a cable resembling a tail dates back to 1964. Working at the Stanford Research Institute, Bill English helped Douglas Engelbart build the first mouse prototype based on conceptual work done the previous year by Engelbart. RECOMMENDED VIDEOS FOR YOU... Sorry, the video player failed to load.(Error Code: 101102) As it happens, that mouse was used as a critical part of what has since become known as the 'Mother of All Demos', a keynote given in 1968 by Englebert in which he demonstrated for the first time in a single system with many of the core elements of modern personal computing, including a GUI with resizable application windows, hypertext, the command prompt, video conferencing, word processing and collaborative real-time editing. English and Englebert’s mouse used wheels rather than a trackball to register movement. The first mouse based on a trackball was offered for sale in 1968 by the German company AEG-Telefunken as an input device for its SIG 100 vector graphics terminal, a subsystem of a mainframe computer. The mouse weighed nearly half a kilo and had a single input button. As for the first mouse attached to something akin to a personal computer, that came with the Xerox Alto of 1973, a single-cabinet machine with a list price of around $100,000 in today’s money. In the early 1980s, the Xerox 8010, Sun-1 and Apple Lisa began to po[CENSORED]rise the mouse, with Logitech introducing its first third-party mouse in 1982, the same year that Microsoft added mouse compatibility to MS Word. The first hard drive Problem is, the IBM 350 was the size of a large cupboard. The first hard disk drive (or HDD for short) dates way back to 1956 and the IBM 305 RAMAC mainframe with its IBM Model 350 disk storage. It was the first such system to store and retrieve data on a magnetic disk via a moving head. The IBM Model 350 was 60-inches long, 68-inches high and 29-inches deep and contained 50 magnetic disks rotating at 1,200RPM and had a total capacity of 3.75MB. Seek time averaged about 600 milliseconds. Problem is, the IBM 350 was the size of a large cupboard. Not exactly the stuff of personal computing. Instead, it was the early 80s that saw several landmarks, including the first desktop PCs with built-in HDDs such as 1983’s IBM PC XT and its capacity of 10MB. The hard drive as we know it arguably arrived that same year from Rodime PLC in the UK, which introduced the first 3.5-inch drives, the format that soon became the standard for personal computing. Colorado-based PrairieTek then introduced the first 2.5-inch HDD in 1988. Together, the 3.5-inch and 2.5-inch form factors dominated PC storage until the solid-state era rejigged storage media. The first GPU How, exactly, do you define a GPU or graphics processing unit? As early as the 1970s, so-called arcade games had dedicated circuitry for rendering graphics. In the 80s, consumer computers like the Commodore Amiga had dedicated graphics chips. By the 1990s several vendors offered add-in boards for accelerating graphics that resembled today’s high-end GPUs in concept, including cards from S3, ATI (now AMD), PowerVR, and 3dfx. Arguably, it was Sony that first coined the term GPU in 1994 in reference to the Toshiba-designed graphics chip in the PlayStation One. But we’ll give the accolade of the first GPU to the Nvidia GeForce 256 of late 1999. It was the first add-in board for a PC to be marketed as a GPU or Graphics Processing Unit. Just as important, it was the first consumer PC card to offer a single-chip graphics solution capable of transform, lighting, triangle setup and clipping and rasterising. It was the hardware transform and lighting support that really set the GeForce 256 apart, offloading those tasks from the CPU and massively increasing rendering performance compared to the competition. Just for the record and purely for fun, the GeForce 256 or NV10 as the chip was codenamed, was built on TSMC’s 220nm process and contained 17 million transistors. Nvidia’s latest GPU, the GA102 monster in the GeForce RTX 3090, is produced on an 8nm process and packs 28 billion transistors. Progress doesn't half enjoy messing with numbers. The first flat panel monitor With the term flat panel monitor, we’re deliberately distinguishing it from any kind of cathode ray or CRT display, some of which were latterly available with flat surfaces. True flat panels are far lighter and thinner than any CRT and have come to dominate display tech despite some obvious shortcomings. Those issues largely relate to LCD or liquid crystal technology, which in turn has come to dominate the flat-panel market. So, what and when was the first LCD flat panel monitor? The first simple LCD panels in pocket calculators and digital watches were seen in the 1970s. It was 1972 when the now-dominant active-matrix thin-film transistor or TFT panel was first prototyped by Westinghouse in Pennsylvania, while 1982 saw the first LCD TV from Seiko Epson in Japan, which was actually a watch, albeit monochrome, with Seiko also first to the full-colour LCD TV in 1984, this time in a pocket device. In 1988, Sharp demoed a 14-inch full colour TFT LCD. In the late 80s and early 90s, laptop and desktop displays with monochrome panels appeared, pe-dating the first desktop full-colour monitors. Indeed, pinning down the very first commercially available full-colour LCD monitor is a tricky task. But certainly one of the very earliest was the NANAO F-1020 from Eizo in 1993, a 10.4-inch TFT panel with a resolution of just 640 by 480 pixels. By Eizo’s own estimation, the F-1020 was a flop. But it was in 1998 that Eizo launched the L66, an 18-inch flat panel. It was the first to offer 1,280 by 1,024 pixels and arguably the first to really give CRT tech a run for its money. Speaking of giving CRTs a run for their money one of the LCD monitors greatest weaknesses then and now has been response rate. Today’s quickest LCD panels are rated at around 1ms for pixel response. Back in 1997 when flat panels were first becoming widely available, many manufacturers didn’t even quote response times. One exception was Panasonic which was particularly proud of the fast response of its 14-inch LC40, a 1,024 by 768 resolution model. Oh, and it was claimed to be good for an impressive 50ms response times. link : https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/celebrating-50-years-of-the-hardware-that-makes-our-pcs-tick/

What is it? It obviously pays to invest - the Cupra Formentor is Cupra’s first, and thus far only, stand-alone model and currently accounts for 50% of UK sales. The bean counters at the Volkswagen Group should take note. We’re testing it here in second-rung V2 1.5 TSI spec and, yes, the beady-eyed among you will have spotted that the images aren’t of the V2. Sadly, we couldn’t get our test car photographed, but to me the V2 loses little of the VZ2’s visual appeal. The Formentor is a decent-looking thing, to the point where non-car friends were interested to know what it was when it was parked up outside my house. They’ve never shown similar curiosity in a BMW X2. Equally, you’d never know from inside that you’re not sitting in one of the top-of-the-range models. One upshot of the large, 12in touchscreen that dominates the cabin is that you’re not left with many blank switches in lower trim levels, simply because there aren’t many in the first place. In fact, all Formentors get the same-sized, twin-screen set-up - 12in for the infotainment, 10in for the digital dials. The V2 also gets figure-hugging, electric seats in nappa leather (the latter normally the preserve of high-spec exec cars), heated steering wheel, electric tailgate and parking sensors all-round. Additionally, it still has the separate climate control switches in the back, plus a couple of USB-C ports back there, so the kids won’t feel short-changed either. Head and leg room are decent in the rear. The ubiquitous Volkswagen 1.5-litre petrol is available with both DSG and manual gearbox options, but we’ve tested it here with the dual-clutch set-up. With 148bhp and 184lb ft, it’ll hit 62mph in 8.9sec but because there’s no mild-hybrid technology, the emissions of 155g/km aren’t sector-defining. They’re similar to a car like the X2 and a couple of tax brackets behind the Peugeot 2008. What's it like? The Formentor is definitely at the more engaging end of compact SUVs, but the trade-off is that the ride is also at the firmer end of the spectrum. Not that this should come as a massive surprise - even just a cursory glance at the 19in wheels (standard on the V2) should give a clue that you’re not about to jump into a magic carpet. adaptive dampers, but the V2 1.5 TSI doesn’t get these. It does, though, still keep various driving modes, so you can alter other aspects of the car’s character like engine response and steering weight. None of these fundamentally tweak the car’s character, but that’s not a huge miss when the basics are largely spot on. The engine spins away happily and is, most of the time, unobtrusive: it’s only when you really rev it that the sound becomes coarse. But you get very little performance gain by carpeting the accelerator so our suggestion is to leave it in the lower rev range. The throttle response in Comfort isn’t the sharpest - as we also found in the most powerful 306bhp version - but Sport mode tweaks it to become more aggressive. As with most VW Group products, the steering is accurate enough, if lacking in ultimate levels of feel. But body roll is well controlled and you can have a reasonably rewarding drive across your favourite back road. It’s no sports car, but there’s a depth of driving involvement that’s lacking from a lot of this class, Mazda CX-30 excepted. Should I buy one? Arguably, this is the sweet spot of the Formentor range. The VZ1 and VZ2 trims don’t add a huge amount of extra kit (other than a Safety and Driving pack for the latter), so the V2 makes the most financial sense. That is if you can make do without the most powerful engines and adaptive dampers, as the top-spec, Golf R-sourced 306bhp lump is only available on VZ versions. link :https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-review/cupra/formentor/first-drives/cupra-formentor-vz2-15-tsi-150-2021-uk-review

Often bloating is a physical reaction to excessive consumption of certain foods The festive season continues. While Diwali — one of the main festivals in the country, which is celebrated with a lot of zest — is over, many people are still reeling from the post-Diwali effect of having eaten more than they usually do, and feeling bloated. It is no secret that food plays an important role in almost all Indian festivals. And the festive season is a perfect excuse to do a little bit of binge-eating, knowing fully well that the diet and eating patterns will likely return to normal in the coming days. ALSO READ |Try these post-Diwali detox tips without having to hit the gym But the post-festive feeling of bloating is not nice. It leads to a lot of bodily discomfort. But worry not, for there are solutions for it. Nutritionist Nmami Agarwal says there are a few additions that you can make in your diet so as to feel better. While many people consider bloating to be a serious health issue which is indicative of an underlying health condition, often bloating is caused by something that is non-serious, or is just a part of a physical reaction to excessive consumption of certain foods, pre-menstruation sign, not drinking enough water, or not having proper bowel movement. It is just the body’s way of retaining wind/air and water, instead of releasing it. If you have cheated on your normal diet in the last few days, you can take some measures to help yourself feel better. The aforementioned tips can come handy. 📣 For more lifestyle news, follow us on Instagram | Twitter | Facebook and don’t miss out on the latest updates! 📣 The above article is for information purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice. Always seek the guidance of your doctor or other qualified health professional for any questions you may have regarding your health or a medical condition. link : https://indianexpress.com/article/lifestyle/health/post-festive-bloating-tips-healthy-eating-health-diet-nutrition-sleep-7612727/

Some of those killed in Friday's massive fuel tanker explosion in Sierra Leone are to be buried in mass graves shortly, officials say. The authorities have also made an urgent appeal for blood donations to treat more than 100 burn victims admitted to hospitals. Officials say that blood supplies might run out in the next 72 hours. More than 100 people were killed after the tanker collided with a lorry in the capital, Freetown. Those being buried on Monday will be laid to rest in the same cemetery as some of those who died in the 2017 mudslide that killed some 1,000 people in the city, says local journalist Umaru Fofana. In pictures: Devastation after Freetown collision Africa Live: More on this and other stories from the continent President Julius Maada Bio has declared three days of national mourning for Friday's disaster and ordered flags to be flown at half-mast. Mr Bio also said that a task force would be set up to look into the tragedy, and make recommendations on how to avoid similar incidents. Most hospitals in the West African nation have been stretched thin by the accident because of the growing medical needs and also because the sector has not fully recovered from the 2014 Ebola pandemic. The World Health Organization has despatched 6,000 tonnes of medical supplies to help treat the victims. line 'The fire had burnt all his clothes' Mayeni Jones, BBC News, Freetown A pungent smell of burnt rubber and metal hangs in the air, a haunting reminder of the tragedy that happened here on Friday night. At a nearby local bar, a po[CENSORED]r spot to hang out, ashes still smoulder. Close by a couple of firefighters walk around talking to residents and business owners gathered in small groups, many of them still stunned in disbelief by what happened here, unable to comprehend their losses. Businesses that once stood as a symbol of hard work are no more. Friends and colleagues whose presence was assured are gone forever. Bar owner Mohamed Lamin Mansaray watched one of his employees, nicknamed Eddy Boy, walk out of the blaze. The fire had burnt all his clothes. "He asked me for water," he says. "He wanted to drink." Eddy Boy later went to a local hospital to have his burns treated. "Unfortunately he didn't make it. He passed away." line What happened on Friday night? The explosion is believed to have happened at a junction outside the busy Choithram Supermarket in the densely po[CENSORED]ted Wellington suburb in the east of the city at around 22:00 GMT on Friday. Sierra Leone's National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA) said the vehicles collided when the tanker was entering a nearby filling station to discharge its fuel. The drivers, noticing a leak, left their vehicles and warned people to stay away. The explosion occurred when people tried to collect the fuel, the NDMA said. One report said a bus was completely burnt, while nearby shops and market stalls were caught up in the flames. The port city of Freetown, which is home to just over a million people, has faced several serious disasters in recent years. In March, more than 80 people were injured after a major fire in one of the city's slums left more than 5,000 people displaced. And in 2017 over 1,000 people were killed after heavy rains led to a mudslide that swept through the city, leaving around 3,000 people homeless. link : https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-59205372

Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra could be more like the Galaxy Note series and not like the Galaxy S lineup. Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra hands-on images have leaked online. The live images suggest that the new Samsung flagship could include S Pen support. The Galaxy S22 Ultra also appears to have curved display — similar to the top-end Galaxy Note models. A tipster on Twitter has suggested that the display of the unannounced Galaxy S22 Ultra will be flatter than the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra but aligning with the curved screen of the Galaxy Note 10+. The smartphone is also tipped to have an improved camera experience. FrontPageTech.com has leaked the live images that appear to showcase the design of the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra. The images suggest that Samsung could incline more towards its Galaxy Note series — over the Galaxy S models — for developing the new Galaxy S-series flagship. As per the leaked images, Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra appears to have a hole-punch display with curved edges. A recent report, however, suggested that the new phone would come with a waterdrop-style display notch. The images also suggest that Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra could include a dedicated space for an S Pen. This corroborates a previous report based on early renders that also suggested Galaxy Note-like S Pen integration on the new flagship. In addition to the S Pen slot, the Galaxy S22 Ultra appears to have a USB Type-C port, a SIM card slot, and a loudspeaker grille on the bottom side. Samsung Galaxy S22 Series Tipped to Come With 25W Fast Charging On the back, the Galaxy S22 Ultra seems to have a quad rear camera setup, along with an LED flash module. FrontPageTech.com also reports that the camera setup will include a 108-megapixel primary sensor, along with a 12-megapixel ultra-wide shooter, a 10-megapixel sensor with a telephoto lens, and another 10-megapixel sensor with a periscope-shaped lens with 10x telephoto coverage. The fresh images also hint at a matte finish design for the back of the Galaxy S22 Ultra. It could just be limited to prototypes, though, and may not be a part of the retail units. Alongside the leaked renders, a tipster who goes by pseudonym Ice Universe has claimed that the Galaxy S22 Ultra will come preloaded with the enhanced 108MP mode to capture better results. The source also suggested that the Galaxy S22 Ultra may feature a [CENSORED]ture on its display that would be similar to that of the Galaxy Note 10+. It would, however, be less curved and flatter than one featured on the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra. The Galaxy S22 Ultra is speculated to be launched in February next year. It is advised to consider the reported details with a pinch of salt as Gadgets 360 wasn't able to independently verify the leaks and Samsung hasn't made any official announcements yet. link : https://gadgets.ndtv.com/mobiles/news/samsung-s22-ultra-hands-on-images-photos-108mp-camera-mode-galaxy-2601169

Opinion: Choose your Adobe Challenger When it comes to Adobe, Black Friday is a great time to look for a deal if you want to finally try out Photoshop or another of the Creative Cloud apps. With a push from the company this year to make sure all of its apps work with Apple’s M1 Macs, there’s no better moment to see what offers Adobe may bring out. In previous years, there’s been deals up to 40% off the Creative Cloud subscription. When you factor in $599 / £508 / AU$871 for a yearly subscription, it could be a significant discount for Cyber Monday as well, especially if you’re looking to use the suite for a project or a student assignment. But there could be a bunch of deals that you may be interested in but not sure which one to go for. With this in mind, here’s a few deals we’ve come across in recent years, and which ones to look out for, just in case. Being able to save on the following plans can make a big difference in the long run, especially if you’ve decided to add Photoshop, Lightroom, or other Adobe apps into your workflow. With Adobe’s improvements to Apple’s new MacBooks, alongside Photoshop coming to the web, it looks to make that subscription more justified if you’re still wavering. ADOBE STUDENT PLAN While there’s a Student deal that saves users over 65% for a Creative Cloud subscription, in the past there’s been Black Friday deals that have offered monthly discounts of up to 30%, and yearly discounts of up to 45%. The yearly subscription of $599 / £508 / AU$871 could be a big dent in your bank account, while a monthly charge of $52.88 / £49.99 / AU$76.88 can be as much as an iPhone 13 Pro contract for three years. ADOBE PHOTOGRAPHY PLAN This plan offers Photoshop, Lightroom and 20GB of cloud storage for $9.99 / £9.99 / AU$9.99 a month. If you want to only edit photos and only photos, it's an ideal plan for this. Last year for Black Friday, this plan was 16% off the above pricing, so we may see something similar appear in the coming weeks from Adobe. ADOBE CREATIVE CLOUD PLAN The most common plan that many go for, where every essential app from Adobe is included in the plan. Priced at $52.99 / £49.99 / AU$76.99 a month, you'll be able to use the apps on your Mac, your PC, and your iPad if you wish. All of the apps can be downloaded and updated from the main Creative Cloud app, so you can pick and choose which apps you want to install at certain times. Are subscription plans the new normal? There was a time where you could buy Photoshop for a one-off fee, and you could use it as many times as you wanted for that specific version before a new one would be announced. However, as devices became more powerful and the alluring choice of having more than one device, there was a reason for Adobe to replace one-off payments with subscriptions. Microsoft was one of the first to do this with Office 365, and now it’s a common trait. Apple with iCloud and other services, alongside Microsoft and Game Pass, and much more. But Adobe doesn't just offer one plan, several are offered to better help your needs. Some that you’ll most likely go for may be the Photography plan that offers Photoshop, Lightroom and 20GB of cloud storage for $9.99 / £9.99 / AU$9.99, to the Dreamweaver plan for $19.99 / £19.99 / AU$19.99. We aren’t far from seeing what Adobe will offer for Black Friday weekend. But if you’ve recently upgraded your PC or Mac, and you want to get the best out of Adobe’s apps, you’re going to be in a great position once the deals are announced to help save you a significant chunk of change. link : https://www.techradar.com/news/which-adobe-black-friday-deal-should-i-get-in-2021

Or should you opt for an external SSD instead? USB flash drives have been ubiquitous for nearly two decades now, as they've remained the go-to option for anyone who needs local, portable access to important files. They're still sold everywhere (including chain drug stores, usually at heavily inflated prices), despite companies like DropBox, Google and Microsoft making cloud storage a convenient and often free alternative (depending on capacity). For many, local storage that you can carry around in your pocket or on your keychain is still a better option--and faster if you don't have a fast internet connection on every device you use. You may also need a USB flash drive to do a clean install of Windows 11, especially if you want to bypass Windows 11’s TPM requirement. Plus, a good flash drive can be shockingly tough to kill. Over the years, I've had flash drives frequently go through the wash while hiding in a pocket and keep working as if I weren't so careless. I even drove over one once with my car while in college and it faithfully offered up all the papers I was working on, despite a cracked and partially crushed outer shell. But because these drives often seem to work forever, and tech companies are always hard at work increasing speed and capacity, you could be hanging on to a drive that's pitifully slow by today's standards, and too cramped to hold all the things you might want to store on it. To get a sense of the high-end flash drive market here in late 2021, we collected four recent flash drives that promise speeds in excess of 500 MBps. These drives also sport capacities that could scarcely be dreamed of back when flash drives first became common. All four drives we're looking at below offer 1TB of storage, although in true storage fashion, you can find these drives in lesser capacities as well. Just remember though, to actually take advantage of this kind of speed, you'll need to plug your drive into a fast USB port. For the best performance you'll need a USB 3.1/3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps) port, or a Thunderbolt 3/4 port which also incorporates fast USB. Note that most of the drives tested below still sport USB-A plugs, so you'll need an adapter of some sort if you want to plug them into a Thunderbolt or USB-C port, although Kingston's DataTraveler Max drive has a USB-C plug. That's nice for modern systems, but then of course you'll need an adapter for that drive any time you need to plug it into something that only has USB-A ports. With all that out of the way, let's take a close look at the drives themselves. After that, we'll look at our drive testing, then circle back to see which drive (or drives) stand out and if you should pick one for your speedy, portable storage needs, or opt for an alternative like one of the best external SSDs. Buffalo's SSD-PUT Rugged and Portable SSD Drive Stick--we'll call it the Buffalo SSD-PUT for the sake of sanity--comes in 500GB and 1TB capacities (we tested the latter). It's on the bulky side, as flash drives go, at 1.7 x 0.9 x 0.43 inches with its USB plug retracted, though not exactly huge. And at $105 on Amazon with an ongoing $15 coupon (and $64 for the 500GB model with a similar coupon), it's also the most affordable of this flash drive bunch. Buffalo promises up to 600 MBps of read speeds with this drive, and 500 MBps or writes. Note that this is with a firmware update that the company released after the drive launched. It was as easy to install as any simple application, and we did so before our testing. The SSD-PUT's shell is made up of textured black plastic that doesn't feel particularly tough, but the feel of its build quality is about par for the course for this recent round of flash drives. Buffalo sells the drive with a three-year warranty, and you'll need to register with the company to get that last year--it's two years of coverage without registering. The other drives here ship with longer five-year warranties but, again, cost more. Kingston DataTraveler Max 1TB ]\ At 3.2 inches long with its USB-C port housed inside its black plastic shell, the Kingston DataTraveler Max is the longest flash drive of this bunch, but it's otherwise compact, at 0.83 inches wide and 0.34 inches thick. It comes in 256, 512 and 1TB capacities, and the top-capacity model we tested has the highest rated speed of any flash drive we've seen: up to 1,000MBps reads and 900MBps writes. That's pushing into external NVMe SSD territory. Kingston also sells its DataTraveler Max with a five-year warranty. But along with faster rated speeds and a better warranty than Buffalo's drive also comes a higher price. The 1TB model sells for about $180 on Amazon and Newegg, although we did spot it for a lesser $166 at B&H. link : https://www.tomshardware.com/features/1tb-flash-drives-tested

For almost 20 years, Entropia players have been grinding, gambling, and selling virtual real estate to earn real dollars. In 2004, a year after the launch of MindArk's real-money economy game Entropia Universe, user Deathifier bought a treasure island on Planet Calypso for 265,000PED (Project Entropia Dollars—equal to $26,500). The treasure island made history as the most expensive virtual item owned at the time, and Deathifier claimed to break even within a year. He set about filling the island with special mobs, levied a tax on visitors, sold houses, and posted updates on the theft of a Green Atrox egg for which he offered a 50PED ($5) reward. Over time, the Swedish MMORPG unveiled more planets, some of which are owned and operated by other companies like Creative Kingdom (Planet Cyrene) and Beladcom (Planet Toulan). It rolled out all the features you'd expect to see in a real-cash playground: real estate, pets, resorts, malls, vehicles, and an ATM-style system to cash out in-game earnings. In 2005, Deathifier—an Australian named David Storey—told PC Gamer that "being an Entropia millionaire [would] happen someday." In 2016, long after Entropia Universe was making the news, he filed a lawsuit against Planet Arkadia over an intellectual property dispute which has now also largely been forgotten, save for an informal forum post and a disembodied court ruling. Two years later, Deathifier appeared to vanish from Entropia Universe altogether and other players speculated that his holdings were annexed by MindArk (when reached for clarification, a MindArk spokesperson declined to comment). In some ways Deathifier's tale of entrepreneurship is a precursor to the current discussions on blockchain gaming, NFTs, and ideas of digital ownership. But instead of using the flavor-of-the-month cryptocurrency, transactions in Entropia Universe were done with good old-fashioned cash. Entropia Universe is a game expressly designed to make you want to spend money, to want money to buy and own things, and nothing else. In its prime, people were even selling ad space in player-made magazines—in 2011, a full-page ad in the Entropia Times was at least 500PED. "We do apologize about having to drop the ability to buy magazines with in-game PED," wrote the editorial team in its third issue, "but the move was necessary because we're unable to pay the printer with PEDs, and the delay with the withdrawals would be too long." Today, playing around with cash in a game is business as usual thanks to microtransactions and real-money auctions, but it wasn't always this way. The early-to-mid 2000s was a Wild West era of cash for Diablo II dupes, a time when Second Life was blowing minds with its proto-metaverse economy. There was a fleeting window where Entropia Universe was hot. Even Anshe Chung, one of Second Life's biggest stars at the time, forked out $60,000 for an Entropia virtual banking license that allowed her to lend money to other users. There are some straightforward Entropia success stories—in 2006, Mike "Ogulak Da Basher" Everest sold enough weapons in the game to help send his siblings to college (his mom apparently played, too). Entrepreneur Jon "Neverdie" Jacobs mortgaged his real house to buy a virtual asteroid for $100,000, turned it into a po[CENSORED]r (and profitable) nightclub, and in 2010 sold it for $635,000. Jacobs also wrote a song called "Gamer Chick" about his girlfriend and fellow player Tina Wiseman which could, at one point, be played on in-game jukeboxes. When Wiseman died in 2005, MindArk built an in-game monument for her. In 2009, VentureBeat reported that Entropia had over 820,000 registered users and over $420 million in user-to-user transactions. Today, Entropia Universe has around 86,000 subscribers—a fraction of a drop in the bucket compared to other MMOs, but a huge increase from pre-pandemic numbers that dwindled into the 18,000s. And the subscriber count still seems to be climbing. Dipping a toe into the Entropia forums, it's clear that the folks who stuck around are lifers, and even in the starting area you can see other players busying themselves with the never-ending metachore of playing a game for money. Return to Entropia My first foray into Entropia began with a variation on a timeless mantra I once heard in a business owners' talk years ago. "The most common investment, one that almost all colonists make, is in the avatar itself," a generic NPC named Sarah Tergus tells my freshly-created character while running through the basics of the game. Humans came to Calypso, colonization against "horrible" enemies was rough, now there's a "sophisticated market economy," and don't forget the Deposit Center to convert a bunch of cash into PED. Outside in the starting area, I meet Mr. Yoshida, who needs me to run errands. "Not a day goes by without Jimmy, the maintenance technician, weeping over his workload," he tells me, which is hilariously on the nose for a real cash economy game. Like most gacha games, there's a notification box at the top of the screen that gives you updates on what other people are earning. As I'm rudely attacked by a Daikiba Cub, perhaps Entropia wants me to be comforted by the fact that someone named Harry Hoob Hoobler has just made 56PED ($5.60) by killing a Sonic Squid Stalker. I had to use the only PED I earned (all 10 cents of it) not long ago for a quest, and given that I'm not prepared to spend a penny on this game, it's no surprise that I'm broke. There is no real narrative in Entropia—a blessing that MindArk is self-aware enough to know that spending time and money on an engaging story wouldn't be cost-effective for players who are here to get rich or die trying. MindArk's site does have a section on responsible gaming, which includes a reminder that you can create a support case to change your deposit limits—the kind of reminder you'd see at a casino or a bookie's. When I try to talk to a couple of other people in the starting area, one ignores me and another just gives me a smiley face. Visiting this vestige of old-school cash economy gaming, it's easy to see why blockchain technology and NFTs have taken hold of a very specific sector of the gaming industry. It is frankly astounding that Entropia Universe, a game that still runs on CryEngine2, is capable of attracting new players to its aggressively generic, storyless world. There's not really an engaging game to play here: it really is all about the money. MindArk does now have a deal with Epic Games to use Unreal 5 for future content, and its promise to remain a "bleeding-edge virtual world" while "pioneer[ing] development of the world's leading real-cash economy MMORPG" likely means today's trends like cryptocurrency and NFTs will pop up eventually. It's a reminder that nothing has changed about human nature under capitalism since Entropia Universe issued its first PED—we've simply found more efficient ways to get more people involved. Buying and selling virtual real estate on a decentralized ledger today is simply an extension of what MindArk did nearly 20 years ago, and it's depressing as hell. Even the metaverse ties in: In 2019, MindArk announced that it was working on a way to imbue virtual avatars with real human consciousness so that the mind could live on in Entropia. "If I have to live forever, would I want it to be in Entropia? Because I'm not sure it would be on this planet, and most game worlds are even more terrifying," points out Massivelyop's Bree Royce. But if we're making a metaverse where anything is possible including sustaining an immortal mind, why on earth would we want to replicate the same financial rat-race drudgery that has defined so much of our real world? While MindArk hints that there are "exciting changes" coming to Entropia Universe in the near future, I'll bet you 0.1PED those changes revolve around a three-letter acronym that's already done much damage to divide artists and creators with scams and stolen artwork. One might think of David "Deathifier" Storey and wonder what really happened to his repo'd properties in a game that took up substantial resources in his life. From my visit to Calypso, I can safely say I have never played a game so streamlined toward capital-m Money. Going back in time to Entropia Universe, it feels like we missed an important lesson for the coming decade of games—one that's probably too late to learn now. link : https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/before-blockchain-and-nfts-there-was-the-real-cash-mmo-entropia-universe/

BMW will soon crown its SUV line-up with a range-topping X8 – including a flagship hybrid M version that will be the Munich firm’s most powerful series production model to date. BMW has fuelled rumours that the Porsche Cayenne Turbo S E-Hybrid rival is about to be unwrapped, confirming "an all-new high-powered, hybrid-electric, concept vehicle" will be shown to media at the LA motor show on 16 November, ahead of a public reveal on 29 November. Notably, Franciscus van Meel, boss of the M division and Marcus Syring, head of M design, will be on hand at the reveal - suggesting a heavy performance focus for the new model. Expected on sale in 2022, the X8 serves as a sportier, more daringly styled version of the seven-seat X7. Although the X8 was once thought to take coupé-like rear-end design cues from the smaller X6, these first spy shots reveal that it retains a squared-edged roofline – albeit one that appears to be lower than the X7’s. This suggests that the X8 will retain three rows of seats, either in seven-seat form or with six captain-style chairs offering greater luxury. Neither is confirmed, though. Other design cues that mark this car out from the X7 include what appears to be a sharp nose design and broader shoulder line, plus a reduction in the glasshouse. Details of the X8’s technical make-up have yet to be revealed, but the expectation is that it will share its platform and much of the wider mechanicals with the X7. That means a range of six-cylinder petrol and diesel engines with mild-hybrid tech, an eventual plug-in hybrid and a 4.4-litre twin-turbo V8 with 523bhp in an X8 M50i. But, unlike the X7, the M50i won’t be the pinnacle of the range because the X8 has also been conceived with a full-fat M version at the forefront of its development. The X8 M will feature a plug-in hybrid system, mating the 4.4-litre V8 to an electric motor and battery pack. Insiders suggest anything up to 750bhp would be possible as a result, making this easily the most powerful BMW yet. Back to top Internally dubbed Project Rockstar, the X8 M hybrid will mate an electric motor of around 200bhp to the petrol engine and offer four-wheel drive. However, it is likely to adopt the switchable system of the M5 and M8 models, allowing on-demand rear-wheel drive when required. The plug-in hybrid element will also allow BMW to dramatically reduce the car’s fleet average emissions. Expect a CO2 rating of well under 100g/km as a result. What’s not yet clear is if BMW is also planning a conventionally fuelled X8 M to sit alongside it, with reduced power and weight. Given the X7 M50i is over £90,000, these range-topping models should push the X8 well into six figures. However, the most affordable X8 is expected to start from around £80,000. link : https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new-cars/2022-bmw-x8-m-750bhp-suv-tipped-reveal-29-november

Domi Velez, 44, beat contestants from around the world to take the crown, wowing judges in Munich with novelties including cobalt-hued butterfly pea-infused breads and reviving ancient breadmaking techniques used in Roman times A Spaniard crowned world baking champion this year has appealed to his government to lower taxes on electricity or risk putting artisans such as himself out of business amid a global energy crunch that is wiping out their margins. Domi Velez, 44, beat contestants from around the world to take the crown, wowing judges in Munich with novelties including cobalt-hued butterfly pea-infused breads and reviving ancient breadmaking techniques used in Roman times. Velez is the fifth generation of a line of bakers that began 120 years ago with his great-great-grandfather. He now runs artisan bakery Velez’s Oven, employing 12 people and producing 33 different kinds of bread, in the southern Spanish city of Lebrija near Seville.Now, however, Velez says his promising operation may be undermined by soaring global energy costs and decades-high inflation in Spain. His electricity bills have doubled to 2,000 euros ($2,310) a month, the cost of cereals for his loaves have jumped this month for the third time this year, and surging fuel price rises have hit delivery costs. ALSO READ |Foreign visitors are being invited to Spanish countryside to revive tourism “We do not have the means to be able to counteract this type of rise and we end up having to raise the cost of the product, with all that implies,” he said. “It’s another spanner in the works of the artisan. We are a family business and don’t have much economic muscle. “We do not have the means to be able to counteract this type of rise and we end up having to raise the cost of the product, with all that implies,” he said. “It’s another spanner in the works of the artisan. We are a family business and don’t have much economic muscle. “He called on the Spanish government to consider lowering taxes on electricity further. “It should be lowered more for all consumers, for the common good,” he said. The government in September announced caps on gas prices and cut its special electricity tax to 0.5% from 5.1% to mitigate the impact of rising energy prices on consumers. But some of the steps have yet to be reflected in bills, and with winter approaching, resulting in a likely spike in energy demand, some consumer groups calling for further tax cuts tied to household income. link : https://indianexpress.com/article/lifestyle/food-wine/bad-recipe-worlds-baking-champion-struggles-with-energy-price-spiral-7608963/

https://www.At least 99 people have died after a massive explosion when a fuel tanker collided with a lorry in Sierra Leone's capital, Freetown. Fuel spilled before igniting and the resulting inferno engulfed bystanders and vehicles at a busy junction. Footage broadcast by local media outlets showed badly charred bodies in the streets surrounding the tanker. President Julius Maada Bio said he was "deeply disturbed by the tragic fires and the horrendous loss of life". In a tweet, he said his government would do "everything to support the affected families". Freetown Mayor Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr described seeing "harrowing" photos. In pictures: Devastation after Freetown collision Some 100 people are being treated in hospitals and health centres around Freetown. The explosion is believed to have happened at a junction outside the busy Choithram Supermarket in the densely po[CENSORED]ted Wellington suburb in the east of the city at around 22:00 GMT on Friday.facebook.com One report said a bus was completely burnt, while nearby shops and market stalls were caught up in the flames. Brima Bureh Sesay, the head of Sierra Leone's National Disaster Management Agency, said there were many "burnt corpses". "It's a terrible, terrible accident," he told local media in a video shared from the scene. 'Fireball spread into traffic' Umaru Fofana, freelance journalist, Freetown At the scene of the accident, there are body parts still lying in burnt-out vehicles. Also here are what's left of the petrol tanker and the truck that rammed into it. Motorbike-taxi riders nearby started collecting the leaking fuel, causing a traffic jam. Shortly after, there was an explosion. The fireballs spread into the surrounding area and onto the vehicles caught in the traffic. The authorities say most of the dead have now been received at the central morgue in Freetown, with the critically injured admitted to hospitals across the city. The army, police and fire force are all at the scene. line The port city of Freetown, which is home to just over a million people, has faced several serious disasters in recent years. In March, more than 80 people were injured after a major fire in one of the city's slums left more than 5,000 people displaced. And in 2017 over 1,000 people were killed after heavy rains led to a mudslide that swept through the city, leaving around 3,000 people homeless. link : https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-59188753

JioPhone Next is in stock at retail stores, a Mumbai-based Reliance Digital representative has confirmed. However, customers cannot walk-in and buy the phone. JioPhone Next has gone on sale in India. The smartphone, created by Google, is up for grabs at nearby retail stores across India. Reliance is urging users to register their interest first via WhatsApp or the company site, before heading to the store. A representative at the Reliance Digital Store in Mumbai confirmed to Gadgets 360 that the JioPhone Next is in stock. However, the phone cannot be bought without prior registration. Reliance is offering EMI plans on the purchase of the JioPhone Next, enabling users to initially pay only Rs. 1,999 to get the phone. JioPhone Next sale details, price in India The Jio official website is taking registrations of interest for the JioPhone Next. Interested customers can also register their interest on WhatsApp by sending a ‘Hi' to 7018270182. The registration process requires the user to share their location and once that is done, the user will get intimation to head to the store and go and buy the JioPhone Next. The representative at the Reliance Digital Store in Mumbai confirmed that the smartphones were indeed in stock. However, users have to register their interest online or on WhatsApp first. Once the intimation to grab the phone from a specific retail store is sent to the user on their phone, only then can they go and purchase the JioPhone Next. As we already know, the JioPhone Next is priced at Rs. 6,499 up front. Buyers can also opt for the Easy EMI option wherein users will have to pay Rs. 1,999 initially (plus Rs. 501 processing fees), and then pay the balance amount in easy EMI. The representative says that the intimation to grab the phone should arrive in a day or two. The company says that it has partnered with more 30,000 retail outlets across India to ensure easy access to the JioPhone Next. It has also made available paperless digital financing option, extending to the remotest corners of the country, making it geographically accessible to every Indian. To find the nearest Jio store, head to this link. There is no option to buy the JioPhone Next from the online Jio store as of yet. If you pay Rs. 1,999 for the JioPhone Next, you'll have to opt for one of the EMI plans offered by Jio: JioPhone Next specifications On the specifications front, the JioPhone Next runs on Pragati OS, an optimised version of Android that is tailored for users in India. It features a 5.45-inch HD+ (720x1,440 pixels) display with Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection and an anti-fingerprint coating. In the camera department, the JioPhone Next features a 13-megapixel rear camera and has an 8-megapixel selfie camera as well. Rear camera features will include portrait mode, night mode, and preloaded custom India-augmented reality filters. The phone is powered by the 1.3GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 215 quad-core processor paired with 2GB RAM and 32GB internal storage that is expandable up to 512GB. JioPhone Next packs a 3,500mAh battery. Connectivity options include a Micro-USB port, 3.5mm audio jack, Bluetooth v4.1, Wi-Fi, and dual-SIM (Nano) slots. Sensors onboard include an accelerometer, light sensor, and proximity sensor. JioPhone Next will come with automatic software upgrades as well. Other key features include Read Aloud, Live Translate, and Google Assistant support. link : https://gadgets.ndtv.com/mobiles/news/jiophone-next-sale-india-today-begins-register-interest-price-in-india-rs-1999-emi-plans-specifications-2599383

Gmail search function comes to Google Drive Tracking down the right files in your Google Drive account may soon be less of a hassle thanks to a new update coming to the service. Google's cloud storage offering is borrowing the search chips function currently seen in Gmail to make finding your files easier than ever. Search chips essentially looks to display possible results as a user is typing in the search bar - offering autofill suggestions and other possibilities for what it thinks they could be looking for. Google Drive search The tool is currently available as part of a new beta for Google Drive, on offer now across all Google Workspace editions (including G Suite Basic and Business customers) - with users able to sign up here. The company says that the tool can help users narrow down their searches in Google Drive, particularly if they're hunting for a file they may not have used often. Going forward, instead of just using keywords such as “marketing plan” or “sales report,” which may return results that are too broad, users can use search chips to surface more relevant results. The results can be file types, such as a Google Doc, PDF or image, but also related to a specific person, location (such as in a shared drive or folder) or when a file was last modified. "We hope search chips in Drive make it easier to find relevant files faster, eliminating the need to perform multiple searches or sort through irrelevant results," a Google Workspace update blog noted. New figures published by Google show that its Workspace suite, which includes Google Drive now has upwards of three billion users (which equates to more than a third of the planet). The company recently revealed an update that means users will be able to access files such as Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides in Chrome, even if they aren't connected to the internet, which could be great news for workers on the go and looking for better online collaboration, especially as more and more employees begin to head back to the office following the pandemic. link : https://www.techradar.com/news/finding-files-in-google-drive-will-soon-be-even-faster

PNY has announced the company's performance DDR5 and XLR8 Gaming Mako memory kits, with the latter coming in both RGB and RGB-less flavors. The new memory kits will slot in just fine alongside Intel's 12th Generation Alder Lake processors. The Performance series arrives with a bare PCB without any fancy heat spreaders or RGB lighting. The memory module is 16GB in size and comes in a single-DIMM presentation. It runs at DDR5-4800 (PC5-38400) with a CAS Latency (CL) of 40 and a 1.1V DRAM voltage. According to PNY, the Performance memory conforms to JEDEC's specifications, meaning that the memory module's other timings are probably 40-40-77. The XRL8 Gaming Mako lineup, on the other hand, will sport a stylish aluminum heat spreader and optional RGB lighting. For those who opt for the Mako RGB, the heat spreader rocks an RGB diffuser comprised of a geometric polymer light pipe and super bright LEDs. The illumination is fully customizable through PNY's included software or your motherboard's lighting software. The XRL8 Gaming Mako memory kits are only available in a 32GB density with two 16GB DDR5 memory modules. In terms of data rate, PNY commercializes the XRL8 Gaming Mako series from DDR5-4800 up to DDR5-6400. In addition, the higher-binned offerings will have full support for XMP 3.0, facilitating the setup process and allowing you to define custom profiles. The DDR5-5600 (PC5-44800) 32GB (2x16GB) memory kit is rated for CL36 with a 1.25V DRAM voltage. The DDR5-6500 (PC5-51200) is the flagship memory kit for the XRL8 Gaming Mako (RGB) series. The memory modules have a CL44 and require 1.4V to run. PNY backs its Performance and XRL8 Gaming Mako (RGB) memory kits with a limited lifetime warranty. Like many vendors, PNY didn't share the pricing for the memory kits. So, unfortunately, they won't be up for purchase in the near future. The Performance DDR5-4800 memory kits won't hit the shelves until mid-November, while the XLR8 Gaming Mako (RGB) will arrive in late Q4. link : https://www.tomshardware.com/news/pny-launches-mako-ddr5-ram-with-speeds-up-to-6400mhz

The old-school maps and gear that'll be available in Battlefield 2042's custom mode designer. and create custom Battlefield modes using the maps and guns from Battlefield 2042, plus a selection of stuff from three older Battlefield games: Battlefield 1942, Battlefield: Bad Company 2, and Battlefield 3. The mode customization tool is exciting. It isn't a spatial map editor—these aren't full mod tools, I'm afraid—but it looks like it'll let us try out some pretty ridiculous ideas. I like that it supports asymmetrical designs, so if you want to pit a bunch of Battlefield 1942 soldiers against a few Battlefield 2042 soldiers, you can do that. Here's a longer explanation of what Battlefield Portal is. In this article, you'll find lists of the maps, guns, gadgets, and vehicles from Battlefield 1942, Bad Company 2, and Battlefield 3 that'll be available in Battlefield Portal, though note that most of these lists are incomplete. EA hasn't published full lists of the weapons and vehicles from the three classic games that'll be in Portal, but we've glimpsed the manifest and have seen plenty of gear in the trailers, so we've put together partial lists for now. We know that Portal will include over 40 weapons and over 40 vehicles from the three older Battlefields. It'll also include all the near-future stuff introduced in Battlefield 2042. We'll update this article with complete lists when we can. The map list is accurate as of November 2021. Battlefield Portal map list There are 13 unique maps available for Battlefield Portal playlists, but they've been chopped up into small, medium, and large sizes. Medium maps are optimized for 64 players, and large maps are optimized for 128 players (these are the new Battlefield 2042 maps). That doesn't mean you can't put 128 players on a medium-sized map, though, or even on one of the small maps, which are designed for deathmatches. The non-Battlefield 2042 maps available in Portal at launch are: Battle of the Bulge (Battlefield 1942) El Alamein (Battlefield 1942) Arica Harbor (Bad Company 2) Valparaiso (Bad Company 2) Caspian Border (Battlefield 3) Noshahr Canals (Battlefield 3) The new Battlefield 2042 maps are: Discarded Hourglass Breakaway Kaleidoscope Manifest Orbital Renewal Here's how they've been chopped up for each size category: Small map layouts Discarded: Recycling Yard Hourglass: Al Salam Park Breakaway: Platform Kaleidoscope: Data Center Manifest: Caju Operations Orbital: Crawlerway Renewal: Fields Battle of the Bulge: St. Vith Arica Harbor: Town Valparaiso: Village El Alamein: Axis Airfield Noshahr Canals: Container Area Caspian Border: Gas Station Medium map layouts Discarded Hourglass Breakaway Kaleidoscope Manifest Orbital Renewal Battle of the Bulge Arica Harbor Valparaiso El Alamein Noshahr Canals Caspian Border Large map layouts Discarded Hourglass Breakaway Kaleidoscope Manifest Orbital Renewal Battlefield Portal classic guns and weapons These lists are incomplete. We'll add to them when EA publishes a full list. Battlefield 1942 guns: M1911, Thompson, M1 Garand, MP 40, STG 44, Walther P38, K98 and K98 Sniper, Panzerschreck, Bazooka, and more. Bad Company 2 guns: The M93R, G3, AKS-74U, M416, MP-412 REX, SPAS-12, M60, Type 88, XM8, and more. Battlefield 3 guns: The P90, DAD-12, A-91, AN094, M16A3, ACW-R, and more. One interesting note is that there will be a "historical tuning" option in the Battlefield Portal mode editor, which sets the weapons to roughly their original time-to-kill. If you want to pit, say, M1 Garands against high-tech guns, it'll be up to you to decide how to balance (or not balance) the mode, say by making the WW2 team bigger, or by adjusting some other variables. Battlefield Portal gadgets Battlefield Portal will include over 30 gadgets from the three classic games. From Battlefield 1942, you'll get the basic explosive pack, wrench, binoculars, and so on. And all the good stuff from Battlefield: Bad Company 2 and Battlefield 3 will be there: defibrillators, C4, various anti-vehicle explosives, and more. The fan-favorite EOD bots from BF3 are there, too. Full list to come. Battlefield Portal vehicles These lists are currently incomplete. Battlefield 1942 vehicles: Sherman, Panzer, and Tiger tanks, Spitfires, Stukas, B-17s, stationary guns, and more. Bad Company 2 vehicles: M3A3 Bradley and M1 Abrams tanks, UAV-1 (remote control helicopter), Humvees, and more. Battlefield 3 vehicles: F/A-18s, AH-64 Apaches, a bunch of tanks and light vehicles. Bad Company 2 vehicles: M3A3 Bradley and M1 Abrams tanks, UAV-1 (remote control helicopter), Humvees, and more. Battlefield 3 vehicles: F/A-18s, AH-64 Apaches, a bunch of tanks and light vehicles. What about Battlefield 2042 stuff? Battlefield Portal is part of Battlefield 2042, and will include all the new maps, weapons, and vehicles introduced in 2042's near-future setting. You can also play as specialists—Battlefield 2042's characters who have unique traits and gadgets—in Battlefield Portal, so if you want to battle soldiers from Bad Company 2 as the wingsuit guy from Battlefield 2042, that's an option. We'll update the lists in this article as EA reveals more about Battlefield Portal. link :https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/battlefield-portal-classic-maps-guns-vehicles/