Sxynix

The PC market rebounded last year, sporting the highest growth rate in a decade, industry analysts said this week, pinning credit (or blame) on the coronavirus pandemic. Research firm IDC pegged 2020's global shipments of personal computers at 302.6 million devices, a 13% increase over the year prior, which represented the largest annual gain since 2010. The shipment volume was the largest since 2014, said Jitesh Ubrani, research manager with IDC's mobile device trackers team, in an interview. The turnaround was striking: Of the past 10 years, six saw year-over-year declines while one had been flat. [ Related: Weighing a move from Windows 10 to macOS? An IT checklist] Gartner Research, an IDC rival, also claimed a notable boost in PC shipments. Even though Gartner's numbers for 2020 differed from IDC's — the former firm said last year's increase was just under 5%, less than half IDC's — it agreed that that growth was the highest measured since 2010. The difference between IDC's and Gartner's total shipments for the year — 302 million and 275 million, respectively — was largely due to the former counting Chromebooks as personal computers, while the latter did not. "A lot of volume early in the year was because companies had people working at home," said Ubrani, reflecting on the spring months, when businesses worldwide first shuttered, then asked employees to work from home. Enterprises, Ubrani said, purchased large numbers of laptops to equip those suddenly-remote workers, the sales volume at times sufficient to completely throttle the component supply chain. School districts soon added their PC demands to the rising chorus as many tried to equip their students with devices — low-cost laptops in almost all cases — so that children could learn remotely. "School systems were not used to one-for-one," Ubrani said, referring to PC-to-student ratios. "They were used to students sharing laptops." [ Got a spare hour? Take this online course and learn how to install and configure Windows 10 with the options you need. ] A third group — families with school-aged children — joined in on the rush-to-PCs, adding machines to the household when school districts did not (or simply could not) step in. "Beyond the enterprise and educational [markets], there has been a lot of strength in the consumer market," said Ubrani, citing not only the desire of families to give each child their own notebook but also an increase in interest in gaming-centric PCs. Hunkered down at home for long stretches of lockdowns and quarantine, families needed entertainment distractions; some solved that by buying not only PC gaming rigs but also spending more on game titles. Consumers also rediscovered PCs in the past nine months, Ubrani said. "Many of them had gone years since buying a PC," he noted, and as at-home orders lengthened — or returned — realized their old machines didn't cut it in gaming, crafts or other projects. "They found they needed a new device." The PC industry benefited from the pains suffered by other areas of the economy, Ubrani contended. Some families and individuals had more disposable income available during the pandemic because they weren't spending the usual amounts on travel, say, or dining or out-of-the-house entertainment. In fact, Ubrani expected that consumer PC buying would continue to recover from the past decade, when many — including some here at Computerworld — were writing off that market as not only moribund but also purposeless in the face of smartphones and tablets. "I think this shows that there has been a resetting and rethinking of the importance of PCs" for consumers, Ubrani said.

Nintendo has shared a variety of new details about Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury. In addition to giving players an overview of the port's new online mode and other features, the company has revealed the game's file size, and it's quite small. According to Nintendo's website, Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury weighs in at only 2.9 GB. That is larger than the Wii U version's file size, likely due to the extra content the Switch port contains, but it's much smaller than many other Switch games; for comparison, even Super Mario 3D All-Stars weighs in at just under 5 GB. Now Playing: Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury - A Bigger Badder Bowser Trailer The Bowser's Fury component is the most notable addition to the package. Unlike the base game, this mode takes place in a large, open-ended level called Lake Lapcat, where Mario will team with Bowser Jr. (who can be controlled by a second player) to collect items called Cat Shines and take on a Godzilla-sized Bowser. The base Mario 3D World game has also received some new features and upgrades in the move to Switch. This time, the game features local and online play, as well as a new photo mode and other enhancements, like increased movement speed for all characters. The game is also compatible with various Amiibo figures. Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury launches for Switch on February 12. Alongside the game, Nintendo is release a special Mario edition Switch console, as well as the new Cat Mario and Cat Peach Amiibo figures. You can learn more in our Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury preorder guide.

Damaged roads and bridges, power blackouts and lack of heavy equipment on Saturday hampered rescuers after a strong earthquake left at least 46 people dead and hundreds injured on Indonesia’s Sulawesi island. Operations were focused on about eight locations in the hardest-hit city of Mamuju, where people were still believed trapped following early Friday’s magnitude 6.2 quake, said Saidar Rahmanjaya, who heads the local search and rescue agency. AT LEAST 34 DEAD IN INDONESIA QUAKE Cargo planes carrying food, tents, blankets and other supplies from Jakarta landed late Friday for distribution in temporary shelters. Still, thousands of people spent the night in the open fearing aftershocks and a possible tsunami. National Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesperson Raditya Jati said rescuers had so far recovered the bodies of 37 victims in Mamuju and nine in neighboring Majene district. At least 415 houses in Majene were damaged and about 15,000 people were moved to shelters, Jati said. How countries in Asia are handling the coronavirus epidemicVideo odies retrieved by rescuers were sent to a police hospital for identification by relatives, said West Sulawesi police spokesperson Syamsu Ridwan. He said more than 200 people were receiving treatment in the Bhayangkara police hospital and several others in Mamuju alone. Another 630 were injured in Majene. Among those pulled alive was a young girl who was stuck in the wreckage of a house with her sister. The girl was seen in video released by the disaster agency Friday crying for help. She was being treated in a hospital. She identified herself as Angel and said that her sister, Catherine, who did not appear in the video, was beside her under the rubble and was still breathing. The fate of Catherine and other family members was unclear. The quake set off landslides in three locations and blocked a main road connecting Mamuju to Majene. Power and phone lines were down in many areas. Mamuju, the capital of West Sulawesi province with nearly 75,000 people, was strewn with debris from collapsed buildings. An office building was almost flattened by the quake and a shopping mall was reduced to a crumpled hulk. A large bridge collapsed and patients with drips lay on folding beds under tarpaulin tents outside one of the damaged hospitals. Two hospitals in the city were damaged and others were overwhelmed. Many survivors said that aid had not reached them yet due to damaged roads and disrupted communications. Video from a TV station showed villagers in Majene, some carrying machetes, forcibly stopping vehicles carrying aid. They climbed onto a truck and threw boxes of instant noodles and other supplies at dozens of people who were scrambling to get them. Two ships headed to the devastated areas from the nearby cities of Makassar and Balikpapan with rescuers and equipment, including excavators. State-owned firm AirNav Indonesia, which oversees aircraft navigation, said the quake did not cause significant damage to the Mamuju airport runway or control tower. Indonesian President Joko Widodo said Friday that he instructed his Cabinet ministers and disaster and military officials to coordinate the response. In a telegram sent by the Vatican on behalf of Pope Francis, the pontiff expressed "heartfelt solidarity with all those affected by this natural disaster." The pope was praying for "the repose of the deceased, the healing of the injured and the consolation of all who grieve." Francis also offered encouragement to those continuing search and rescue effects, and he invoked "the divine blessings of strength and hope." International humanitarian missions including the Water Mission, Save the Children and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said in statements that they have joined in efforts to provide relief for people in need. Indonesia, home to more than 260 million people, is frequently hit by earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and tsunamis because of its location on the "Ring of Fire," an arc of volcanoes and fault lines in the Pacific Basin. CLICK HERE FOR THE FOX NEWS APP In 2018, a magnitude 7.5 earthquake in Palu on Sulawesi island set off a tsunami and caused soil to collapse in a phenomenon called liquefaction. More than 4,000 people were killed, including many who were buried when whole neighborhoods were swallowed in the falling ground. A massive magnitude 9.1 earthquake off Sumatra island in western Indonesia in December 2004 triggered a tsunami that killed 230,000 people in a dozen countries.

Tesla never refreshes its vehicles, until it does. People have been talking about a Tesla Model S refresh for years, and the Model X is arguably due as well. It appears they may get their wish. Tesla shut down its Model S and X assembly lines near the end of 2020. Now, sources familiar with the matter say they're working to sell off all remaining inventory of the flagship models. Think about it, Tesla didn't even need the Model S and Model X sales at the end of the quarter to sell a record number of cars. Neither flagship model is selling that well, so it may finally be time for some changes. Even though Tesla CEO Elon Musk continues to say the automaker doesn't refresh its cars, Tesla recently refreshed the Model 3 to share some of the latest Model Y features. The Model Y just came to market in March 2020, and Tesla even lightly updated the electric crossover around the same time as the Model 3 update. With all the new features in the Model 3 and Model Y, it just doesn't make as much sense to buy a new Model S or X anymore. There's no reason Tesla can't apply some Model 3/Y magic to its flagship cars to bring them up to date and work to renew interest. This is especially true with strong competition from the Porsche Taycan, as well as upcoming efforts by Lucid and others. Sources familiar with the matter shared that Tesla employees have been asked to "liquidate" remaining Model S and Model X inventory prior to the end of the month. Reportedly, this applies to all markets across the globe. However, Tesla hasn't said anything about discontinuing these vehicles, and the only new variant we're aware of is the Model S Plaid, which isn't due until closer to the end of 2021. While Tesla hasn't substantiated rumors about upcoming refreshed versions of the Model S and Model X, it doesn't tend to publicize such information. There has been a lot of talk surrounding the possibility of a refresh, and Tesla's secret "Palladium" project suggests new Model S and X assembly lines are in the works. This is a developing story. As more information becomes available, we'll either update this article or publish a follow-up. In the meantime, let us know what you think in the comment section below.

The Green Bay Packers and the Buffalo Bills both kept their Super Bowl hopes alive with play-off wins. Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers threw two touchdown passes - one for Davante Adams and one for Allen Lazard - and ran in for another score, while Aaron Jones also bundled over as the Packers beat the Los Angeles Rams 32-18. In the later game, touchdowns from Stefon Diggs and Taron Johnson, who produced a 101-yard run to score following an interception, helped the Bills beat the Baltimore Ravens 17-3. For the Packers it is the second successive year they will play in the NFC Championship game and will face either the Tampa Bay Buccaneers or the New Orleans Saints, who play on Sunday (23:40 GMT). The Packers have not reached a Super Bowl since they beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 31-25 in Super Bowl XLV 10 years ago and lost 37-20 to the San Francisco 49ers in the championship decider last January. Meanwhile, the Bills have never won a Super Bowl and will hope to clinch the AFC title for the first time since the 1993 campaign. Next up for them is the winner of the play-off between the Cleveland Browns and reigning champions the Kansas City Chiefs, with those two meeting at 20:05 GMT on Sunday. Relive Rams @ Packers and Ravens @ Bills as it happened Fans return to Lambeau Field For the first time this season, there was a crowd of up to 9,000 fans at Lambeau Field, including 6,500 season ticket holders, while the rest were a mix of invited guests such as first responders, healthcare workers, members of the military and family of Packers staff. "It was special and there's nothing like it," said Rodgers. "We have really missed that part of this experience so to run out of the tunnel with fans is unbelievable and it's hard to explain how it feels to have the energy from them. "It [the margin] could've been more and I'm so proud of our guys. Our defence came up with a couple of big stops and this feels really good. "I was barely touched all night so we did a good job of shutting them down and that made my game easier." The home fans nearly had an early touchdown to celebrate as the Packers piled on the pressure in their opening drive, but had to settle for Mason Crosby’s 24-yard field goal, before the Rams’ Matt Gay made it 3-3 with a 37-yard field goal. But Rodgers, expected to be named NFL’s Most Valuable Player for the third time in his career, connected with Adams from one yard for his 19th touchdown of the season. Rodgers then got a rushing touchdown himself as he faked to throw and managed to scramble in the corner to extend the Packers’ advantage. However, in the final minute of the first half, a nine-play Rams drive ended with Van Jefferson diving to catch Jared Goff’s four-yard pass. There was still time for one last Packers score but passes to Lazard and Marquez Valdes-Scantling were incomplete, before Crosby’s 39-yard field goal gave the Packers a 19-10 lead at half-time. The Rams, who lost to the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl three years ago, fell 25-10 behind shortly after the restart after a 60-yard sprint from Jones took the Packers into a great position and Jones then bundled his way over from close range. Cam Akers kept the Rams in it with a touchdown and then the two-point conversion attempt at the end of the third quarter. However, Rodgers, who has now made 50 touchdown passes for the season, found Lazard, who sprinted home for a 58-yard touchdown to seal the victory. Johnson's incredible 101-yard score as the Bills advance Saturday's second match was billed as a battle of the quarterbacks between the Bills' Josh Allen and the Ravens' Lamar Jackson, last season's MVP. However, defences were on top in the first half with the hosts' only points coming via a 28-yard field goal from Tyler Bass, who later missed from 43 yards. In blustery conditions, Justin Tucker kicked a field goal at the third opportunity, from 34 yards, in the final seconds of the half to tie it at 3-3. Tucker, for the first time in his career, had previously missed two field goal attempts from within 50 yards - hitting an upright from 41 yards and then again from 46 yards. The Bills have never won a Super Bowl, having lost in NFL's showpiece four years in a row in the early 1990s, and their 27-24 victory over the Indianapolis Colts on 9 January was their first post-season win since 1995. In front of a passionate crowd of 6,772 fans at the Bills Stadium, the hosts grabbed the first touchdown with an 11-play drive at the start of the second half that ended when Allen passed to Diggs for a four-yard score. The Ravens, Super Bowl winners in the 2000 and 2012 seasons, pushed to level the scores but the decisive moment came when Jackson's attempted pass to Mark Andrews in the end zone was intercepted by Johnson and he ran the full length of the field for a memorable 101-yard touchdown. A miserable evening for Jackson also saw him leave the action following a heavy hit in the third quarter and he did not return as he was ruled out with concussion.

A critical engine test for Nasa's new "megarocket" has ended early, but the agency denied it amounted to a failure. Shortly before 22:30 GMT (17:30 EST) on Saturday, the four engines ignited, burning for more than a minute before the event was aborted. The core stage of the the Space Launch System (SLS) was being evaluated at Stennis Space Center, in Mississippi. The engines were supposed to fire for eight minutes to simulate the rocket's climb to orbit. The SLS is part of Nasa's Artemis programme, which aims to put Americans back on the lunar surface in the 2020s. When it makes its maiden flight - possibly later this year - the SLS will become the most powerful rocket ever to have flown to space. Teams at Stennis are still poring over the data to find out what happened. John Honeycutt, SLS program manager at Nasa's Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama, said there were "a lot of dynamics going on" when the engine shut down. Nasa's giant SLS rocket: a guide Nasa's new 'megarocket' set for critical tests Artemis: To the Moon and beyond The engines' power levels were being throttled down and up again; they were also being prepared to pivot - or gimbal. This movement allows the rocket to be steered during flight. Engine IMAGE COPYRIGHTNASA image captionThe RS-25 engines are the same type that powered the space shuttle orbiter "We did see a little bit of a flash come from around the interface between the thermal protection blanket on engine four at the time when we had initiated the gimbal," Honeycutt told reporters at a post-test briefing at Stennis. The as-yet unknown problem triggered what Nasa calls a failure identification (Fid), followed by a major component failure (MCF). As a result of the fault, an onboard computer known as the engine controller sent a message to another computer called the core stage controller, which took a decision to shut down the vehicle. "Any parameter that went awry on the engine could have sent that failure ID," said John Honeycutt. It was the first time all four RS-25 engines had been ignited together, in a test known as a "hotfire". The core stage of the rocket was anchored to a massive steel structure called the B-2 test stand on the grounds of the Stennis facility. This was the eighth and final test in the Green Run, a programme of evaluation carried out by engineers from Nasa and Boeing - the rocket's prime contractor. They wanted to iron out any problems before the core stage is used for the first SLS launch, in which it will send Nasa's next-generation Orion spacecraft on a loop around the Moon. Nasa's outgoing administrator Jim Bridenstine declined to call Saturday's event a failure: "This is why we test," he said, adding: "Before we put American astronauts on American rockets, that's when we need it to be perfect." Officials have not yet decided whether to re-run the hotfire, or proceed with shipping the core stage to Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida to prepare it for the rocket's uncrewed maiden flight, a mission called Artemis-1. "It depends what the anomaly was and how challenging it's going to be to fix it," said Bridenstine. Asked whether a launch this year was still feasible, he added: "I think it's too early to tell. As we figure out what went wrong, we're going to know what the future holds." However, if one or more of the engines needs to be replaced, there are spares waiting to be used at Stennis Space Center. The Artemis-1 mission will evaluate how both the SLS and Orion capsule perform prior to Nasa staging a repeat of this lunar loop with astronauts in 2023. This will be followed by the first landing on the Moon by humans since the Apollo 17 mission in 1972. The SLS consists of the 65m (212 ft) -long core stage with two smaller solid rocket boosters (SRBs) attached to the sides. Engineers at KSC have begun stacking the individual SRB segments for Artemis-1. "This powerful rocket is going to put us in a position to be ready to support the agency and the country in deep space missions to the Moon and beyond," John Honeycutt said during a media briefing on Tuesday. Officials have been planning to ship the core stage to Florida in February. Its engines are of the same type that powered the spaceplane-like shuttle orbiter - America's crewed space vehicle for 30 years from 1981-2011. Nasa is re-using flown hardware: the RS-25 engines used in this test helped launch 21 shuttle missions. Two were used on the last shuttle flight - STS-135 in 2011. The four RS-25s can generate 1.6 million lbs (7 Meganewtons) of thrust - the force that propels a rocket through the air. When the solid rocket boosters are added to the core stage, the combined system will produce 8.8 million pounds (39.1 Meganewtons) of thrust. This will make it 15% more powerful than the giant Saturn V rocket that sent astronauts to the Moon in the 1960s and 70s. Prior to Saturday's test, John Shannon, vice president and SLS program manager at Boeing praised teams at Stennis for keeping the Green Run on track despite the pandemic and this year's particularly active hurricane season.

Gigabyte has introduced its next-generation Aorus high-performance PCIe 4.0 x4 SSDs that offer up to 40% higher peak performance than its current-gen Aorus PCIe 4.0 drives. The Aorus Gen4 7000s SSD comes with a regular aluminum heat spreader with a backplate. Still, for those who want to have maximum sustained performance even in systems with limited airflow, Gigabyte is working on a version of the SSD with a gargantuan cooler featuring two heat pipes. The Gigabyte Aorus Gen4 7000s SSD is based on Phison's latest PS5018-E18 controller (three Arm Cortex-R5 cores, NVMe 1.4, eight NAND channels, 32 CEs, 4th Gen LDPC, RAID ECC) accompanied by 96-layer 3D TLC NAND memory with a 1200 MT/s data transfer rate as well as DDR4 SDRAM cache. The drive comes in an M.2-2280 form-factor and uses a PCIe 4.0 x4 interface. At least initially, the new family will include 1TB and 2TB models. The new Aorus Gen4 7000s SSD is rated for rather impressive performance. Gigabyte promises up to 7,000 MBps sequential read speeds as well as up to 6,850 MBps sequential write speeds for the 2TB version. As far as random performance is concerned, the drives are said to be capable of up to 700,000 random read IOPS as well as up to 650,000 random write IOPSs for the higher-end model. As for endurance, the 1TB version is rated for up to 700TBW (terabytes written) over five years, whereas the 2TB model is rated for up to 1400TBW over a five-year period, which equals 0.38 drive writes per day (DWPD). While Phison's PS5018-E18 controller is made using TSMC's 12 nm process technology, because it has three Arm Cortex-R5 cores and has to deal with very fast 3D TLC NAND (at 1200 MT/s) as well as a PCIe 4.0 x4 interface (at 16 GT/s), its peak power consumption at high loads is actually quite high. Gigabyte says that, on average, the Aorus Gen4 7000s 1TB consumes up to 6.6W, whereas the Aorus Gen4 7000s 2TB can consume up to 8.4W. To ensure that the Aorus Gen4 7000s does not throttle under high load conditions, Gigabyte equipped it with a 7-mm thick aluminum heat spreader featuring nanocarbon coating as well as an aluminum baseplate. For those who plan to use their Aorus Gen4 7000s SSD under high loads for long periods, Gigabyte is preparing a yet-unnamed version of the drive with a rather giant cooling system featuring two heat pipes. Also, this gargantuan cooler will be especially useful in liquid-cooled PCs that do not tend to have many fans inside the chassis. "For those progressive M.2 users who prefer a more extreme thermal solution without installing SSDs between PCIe expansion slots, Aorus Gen4 7000s SSD comes in another version of heatsink with integrated heat pipes," a statement by the company reads. Gigabyte did not announce MSRPs of its Aorus Gen4 7000s SSDs, but since we are talking about premium products here, they will be priced accordingly. In any case, since the drives are already listed on Gigabyte's website, their shipments will likely start shortly, and real-world prices will transpire.

had a few emails from readers asking about the end of Adobe Flash and what they should do about it. In case you don't know, Adobe Flash is a piece of software that web developers used to place animations, audio and video on websites. It was great at first, but then it was found to be a big security hole for hackers to exploit. Adobe kept issuing patches to keep the bad guys out, but ultimately it was determined that Flash was not worth the risk, so big companies like Apple and Google said they would no longer support it. Finally, Adobe just threw in the towel and turned off Flash on Dec. 31. So, what do you have to do? There's really not much from a content standpoint to do. Website developers knew this was coming and they've (hopefully) removed Flash from their websites. What you do need to do is make sure Flash is removed from your computers. Hopefully it is already gone, but in case you still have it installed, here are some instructions to remove it. WINDOWS USERS If you have a Windows PC, you should download the Flash Uninstaller from Adobe, then quit all your browsers and any other programs that use Flash. Other apps that use Flash might include AOL Instant Messenger or Yahoo! Messenger. Basically, quit all your programs and then run the Flash Uninstaller. You can find the full instructions at helpx.adobe.com/flash-player/kb/uninstall-flash-player-windows.html. MAC USERS If you have a Mac, you have a bit more to do to remove Flash. You'll need to determine which version of MacOS you are using, then download the appropriate Flash Uninstaller from Adobe. There are separate uninstallers for Mac OS 10.1 to 10.3 and for Mac OS X 10.4 to current. You can download the uninstallers here: flash-player-mac-os.html" target="_blank">helpx.adobe.com/flash-player/k … 0-player-mac-os.html After the uninstaller finishes, you still need to delete two folders on your Mac. They are: /Library/Preferences/Macromedia/Flash Player /Library/Caches/Adobe/Flash Player You can find these folders inside your home directory in the Library folder (follow the path listed). Removing these directories deletes the Flash preferences and cache files. To read the entire Flash end of life page, go to

In the wake of the tumultuous launch of Cyberpunk 2077, several CD Projekt Red employees have spoken out about the game's development and how it could have been released in such a rough, unfinished state. The problems appear to stem not only from unrealistic development expectations, but also a marketing campaign that seemed destined to over-promise on the final product. Speaking to Bloomberg's Jason Schreier, an anonymous member of the Cyberpunk 2077 development team said a major issue stemmed from the game's engine being created simultaneously with the game. They likened it to putting down tracks in front of a moving train to keep it from crashing, instead of building the track first. The game's development didn't begin in earnest until around 2016, despite being announced several years earlier, as most of CD Projekt Red continued work on The Witcher 3. The game's state at launch would have been derided no matter what fans' expectations were--a game crashing over and over again and simply not working properly will do that--but matters weren't helped by its marketing and E3 debut. The demonstration we saw at E3 2018 contained material that wouldn't be released in the final game, with the release date announced at the same time seen as unreasonable, according to the report. The anonymous employees who spoke to Bloomberg said they felt 2022 would be a more reasonable release window. CD Projekt Red continues to work on addressing Cyberpunk 2077's issues, but it remains to be seen if the game will ever run in an acceptable state on Xbox One and PS4 systems. It's currently not available to buy digitally from the PlayStation Store at all, and the full next-gen PS5 and Xbox Series X|S versions aren't expected until late this year. Refunds were offered to those on consoles who bought the game early, both through select retailers and CD Projekt itself.

V1 Texte & Blur

Will Burger King be the next chicken sandwich king? The restaurant is the latest chain to enter the fast-food "chicken war" fray, with the debut of a new chicken sandwich of its own this year, Restaurant Business reported. Burger King’s largest franchisee, Carrols Restaurant Group, shared the news with investors this week, according to the report. The Syracuse, New York-based operator of 1,009 Burger King locations said the new sandwich will feature fresh, no frozen, chicken that is hand-breaded. DURING CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC, CHICK-FIL-A BOASTS STRONGEST BRAND INTIMACY AMONG FAST-FOOD COMPETITION: STUDY Carrols expects to add the new sandwich to all its restaurants by May, according to the report. A Burger King representative didn’t immediately respond to an inquiry from Fox News. Burger Beast, a fast food reviewer who found a Burger King location testing the sandwich in Miami, wrote that it’s an "ultra crispy" spicy chicken sandwich with buffalo sauce priced at $3.89. TACO BELL BRINGS BACK PO[CENSORED]R MENU ITEM AFTER REMOVING IT IN 2020 "This has to be the best buffalo-style chicken sandwich on the market right now," Burger Beast concluded. Carrols told investors that the company was "very encouraged" by the sandwich’s reception in test markets, Restaurant Business reported. The major franchisee likely understands the impact a po[CENSORED]r new chicken sandwich can have. It also operates 65 Popeyes locations – the restaurant that sparked the so-called chicken sandwich war in 2019 when it debuted a new sandwich and fired off some spicy tweets at chief chicken sandwich chain Chick-fil-A. The launch drove a boost in sales that continued for Popeyes even after it sold out of the sandwich in about two weeks and wasn’t able to restock them for another two months afterward. The Popeyes sandwich’s astounding success has led to a glut of fast-food chains adding new chicken sandwiches to their menus. Wendy’s launched its "crispier, juicier" chicken sandwich last fall. KFC is currently rolling out its new chicken sandwich that it describes as its "best" ever. McDonald’s has set a date next month for its three new chicken offerings to debut nationally. Even burger joints like Shake Shack, BurgerFi and Whataburger have added spicy chicken sandwiches recently. Even with the po[CENSORED]rity in fast food chicken sandwiches, the launch of Burger King’s new offering may look very different from when Popeyes released its hit sandwich and crowds of customers lined up to try it. The coronavirus pandemic has forced restaurants to close their dining rooms or sharply decrease capacity. In its latest earnings report, Carrols CEO Daniel T. Accordino said the franchisee had seen a rise in Burger King sales via delivery. "Our business model is well-suited to customers seeking great value and convenience, which we are providing to them through our drive-thru, at-the-counter for take-out, and delivery channels," Accordino told investors.

The world loves to paint pickup shoppers as old-fashioned grandpas with beer bellies and deep skepticism of modern technology – Abraham Simpson pining for the glory days in real life, essentially. But Ford seems to think that the stereotype just isn’t true, that thoughtfully integrated technology can make a truck owner’s life much happier. And after spending time in the redesigned (and award-winning) 2021 Ford F-150, we agree. A modernized infotainment package, revised styling, new powertrains, and additional productivity features plant the new F-150 firmly in the modern era, with driver aids that wouldn’t feel out of place in a luxury car coming along for the ride. Even volume models like this F-150 XLT SuperCrew 4x4 seen here get in on the action. There are a few problems, mostly related to Ford’s inane pricing and options strategy and its newfound desire to cheapen all of its vehicles’ interiors, but overall, the F-150 holds up as one of the best trucks ever. A vehicle's ratings are relative only to its own segment and not the new-vehicle market as a whole. For more on how Motor1.com rates cars, click here. If the redesigned 2021 Ford F-150 looks familiar, that’s because it shares most of its dimensions – and indeed its basic structure – with the sales champ that preceded it. However, none of its exterior panels are interchangeable, giving the F-150 a whole new personality that’s less aggressive and much more modern. Up front, the LED headlights and foglights of our XLT tester get a C-clamp–inspired light signature that’s visually bisected by the front fascia trim. The new truck retains a distinctive stepped beltline, doing wonders for forward visibility and establishing a link to F-150s of old. Otherwise, the body sides are smoother and less cluttered (save the bulky faux vent on the front fender). On our XLT tester, a Sport Appearance Package bundles an attractive dark-finish grille with black accents and body-color bumpers and door handles. This pack includes 18-inch alloy wheels as standard, but our truck came with 20s painted the same dark gray as the grille. Draped over Iconic Silver bodywork with black “sport cloth” upholstery, this truck is Terminator-chic – cold, metallic, technological, and imposing. The interior’s styling gets a more comprehensive update than the exterior, thanks in part to a rounder center stack and gauge binnacle – the old F-150 was much more angular inside. The door panels are new as well, with the window switches moved from their old perches atop the windowsill to a more natural lower location. The F-150’s paddle-style interior door handles remain, though the cutouts are larger, to allow gloved hands to fit the space more easily says Ford. The fresh design is done in class-average materials. Mid-level models get flimsy-feeling plastic throughout, cheapening the interior a bit too much. That concern also applies to the power-stowing center console shift selector – it folds flat when parked to create room for the unique Interior Work Surface console desk, but it lets out concerningly plasticky grumbles when moving up or down. Working in the XLT Sport’s favor are sophisticated door panel inserts that mimic the historical road map of Detroit, Michigan, Ford’s ancestral home. An American flag motif also appears on either end of every F-150’s dashboard when the door is open. Comfort and space are a non-issue in the 2021 F-150. Since it shares most of its interior dimensions with its predecessor, that means it boasts 43.9 inches of front legroom (beating the Ram 1500 and Toyota Tundra) and 43.6 inches of rear legroom (beating the Chevrolet Silverado 1500 and Toyota Tundra), as well as competitive headroom and best-in-class shoulder room front and rear. That said, nearly every crew-cab pickup in this segment offers space for four fully grown adults with room to spare. Front-seat occupants will appreciate the supportive power bucket seats that come with the XLT Sport package, as well as cavernous front armrest storage, large cupholders, and a small cubby in front of the shifter for odd items (on some trims, this space is a wireless charging pad). A heated steering wheel and front seats were a godsend on a 38-degree morning – this is a truck for the Midwest, make no mistake. Rear-seat passengers will find plenty of space, decent seat comfort, a fold-down center armrest, and huge door pockets, but unlike the Ram 1500, the rear seat doesn’t recline or adjust, and it’s not heated on this model. Pity.

There has probably never been a better time for Manchester United to go to Anfield. First, there is the lack of a crowd on Sunday, then there are Liverpool's defensive injuries and the fact Jurgen Klopp's side have stuttered a bit in terms of scoring goals recently. When you also consider how United are doing - playing well, winning games and three points clear at the top of the Premier League - then they should be feeling more confiden The crowd will not be there to play its part We are now used to football happening behind closed doors because of the coronavirus pandemic, but it will still seem weird for a game of this magnitude to take place without any fans. Regardless of their league positions, Liverpool versus United is always a unique fixture because of the history between the two clubs, but that effect is magnified with them both at the top of the table. There has not been this much riding on the game for a long time. Maybe it was partly because I grew up as a Liverpool fan knowing all about the rivalry but, when I played in this fixture, the week leading up to the match was always extra special. There was more at stake in training and everyone in our camp was at it, fighting to get into the team. On the day, it was the same - it always felt like the biggest game of the season at Anfield. The atmosphere alone told me that, because of the intensity of it and the passion of the supporters. You need to experience it to properly understand what it was like, and the effect it has on the players is hard to put into words - but, for me, it was instantly electrifying. Sunday's game is going to be different because the crowd will not be there to play its part, when usually the supporters are so important. Liverpool's home record without fans is still brilliant of course, and their form at Anfield has not dipped in the past few months. But I still think there is a little bit of an advantage to the away team in an empty stadium and United's recent record on the road will give them plenty of belief. Pick your combined Liverpool-Man Utd XI Man Utd to win at Anfield? You Me At Six drummer Dan Flint takes on Lawro Solskjaer has more decisions to make Both managers have got selection conundrums but United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has probably got more decisions to make. Klopp is desperately trying to get Joel Matip fit to play alongside Fabinho in the centre of his defence and that situation will look after itself if the Cameroonian is ready. If not, then the Reds boss has to decide whether to put one of the young lads in or drop captain Jordan Henderson back and tweak his midfield. Solskjaer has more options, right through his team, but central midfield is the key area where he has to make a choice. Paul Pogba and Nemanja Matic played well in Tuesday's win over Burnley, while Scott McTominay and Fred have been his go-to pairing in the big games this season. If United lose, then Solskjaer will undoubtedly get criticism from fans who will say "he should have done this instead", but his players are fit and in form so it is a good problem to have. Whoever he goes with, there is going to be a tremendous amount of quality on the pitch and plenty of creative players, which hopefully means we will get a really good game. Will Liverpool deliver again? What I want to see on Sunday is both teams playing with freedom and taking risks, rather than playing out another safety-first encounter like we saw when Manchester City drew with Liverpool and United before Christmas. Those games were very dull, but I just have a feeling this will be different. Liverpool, in particular, have got a point to prove because they have set incredibly high standards over the past couple of years and they will feel wounded by their relatively poor recent run. They will be frustrated that they haven't got more from their games against West Brom, Newcastle and Southampton, and I think there will be a reaction to that. United have so much quality and momentum that, of course, it will be a bigger test than any of those matches were, but it is one I think Liverpool will pass. Maybe it is just the fan in me speaking, but I still think they will edge it despite their current issues. What we have seen from Klopp's men over the past few seasons is a remarkable resilience. They have pushed the boundaries and matched the expectations of their fans time and time again. This is another occasion when there are question marks over the team, but I don't have any concerns about them. They have constantly delivered in situations like this, and they have always bounced back from any sort of setback. Part of the reason I am backing Liverpool to win is what this team have produced in the past in games like this, but it is also because I am convinced it is only a matter of time before things click again for their forwards in front of goal. Let's not get carried away, though. This is a massive game for all the reasons I have gone through - but it is not a title decider. Whoever wins this match would make quite a statement, but they would not be guaranteed to go on and win the Premier League, especially in a season like this. t heading into this game than they have done for many years.

Several EU countries are receiving significantly fewer doses of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine than expected, after the US firm slowed shipments. Six nations called the situation "unacceptable" and warned it "decreases the credibility of the vaccination process". Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia urged the EU to apply pressure on Pfizer-BioNTech. Pfizer said the reduced deliveries are a temporary issue. In a statement on Friday, the drugmaker said shipments were being affected by changes to its manufacturing processes designed to boost production. "Although this will temporarily impact shipments in late January to e arly February, it will provide a significant increase in doses available for patients in late February and March," Pfizer said. The EU has also approved the vaccine manufactured by US company Moderna for use, so the bloc is not wholly reliant on the jab developed by Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech. Still, the development is expected to slow the pace of vaccination programmes. The German health ministry called Pfizer's announcement surprising and regrettable, noting that it had committed to binding delivery dates until mid-February. EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said she had been assured by Pfizer's chief executive that all orders guaranteed for delivery in the first quarter of the year would arrive. Last week, Ms von der Leyen said Pfizer had agreed to supply the EU with 600 million doses this year, double its initial order. The pledge may do little to soothe European governments battling to subdue a fast-spreading Covid-19 variant first detected in the UK. What’s happening to the EU vaccine scheme? Coronavirus cases, deaths, vaccinations by country Shocked to be Europe's vaccination stragglers About a third of the 27 EU governments reported having "insufficient" vaccine doses at a meeting this week, Reuters reported citing a participant. Lithuania said it would now get only half as many Pfizer vaccine doses as promised until mid-February. Belgium said it expected to receive about half the planned doses in January. Canada is also affected, because its vaccine supplies come from a Pfizer factory in Belgium. 2px presentational grey line Which other vaccines is the EU buying? As well as Pfizer-BioNTech, the European Commission has reached agreements with five other pharmaceutical companies to purchase hundreds of millions of vaccines, once they pass clinical trials: AstraZeneca: 400 million doses Sanofi-GSK: 300 million doses Johnson & Johnson: 400 million doses CureVac: 405 million doses Moderna: 160 million doses The Commission concluded initial talks with another company, Novavax, for up to 200 million doses. 2px presentational grey line Elsewhere in the world, Turkey - which is not an EU member - said it had vaccinated half a million people in two days with vaccines developed by China's Sinovac Biotech. The figures suggest Turkey vaccinated more people on the first day of its rollout than France did in almost three weeks. In the US, President-elect Joe Biden unveiled a $1.9tn (£1.4tn) stimulus plan for the coronavirus-sapped US economy on Thursday night. If passed by Congress, it would include $1tn for households, with direct payments of $1,400 to all Americans.

When the RTX 3080 Founders Edition landed, we were immediately curious what the waterblocks for that card were going to look like, given that the PCB has a huge bite taken out of it. Back in September, EKWB confirmed that the reference card wasn't identical to the Founders Edition PCB, and later in November it came out with Special Edition waterblocks for the Founders Edition cards. But EKWB isn't the only watercooling player on the market, and Bitspower also wants a piece of the pie -- which resulted in the birth of the Premium Mobius Waterblock for Founders Edition RTX 3080 cards, as listed on Bitspower's website. The waterblock is styled surprisingly strongly to match the styling of Nvidia's Founders Edition cards, albeit without the fans or fin arrays. Instead, you get a see-through window into the block. Of course, because the block's inlet and outlets are at the far end rather than on the side, it also looks like a giant USB stick. On the PCIe side of the waterblock you'll spot a D-RGB connector, and on the outer side a big hole where Nvidia's 12-pin power connector feeds into the card. The block itself is made from nickel-plated copper, with the shroud around it appears to be made from aluminum, though we're not quite sure at this time. Pricing is set at 9,150 NTD, which translates to a pricey $326 USD -- and that's not including sales tax or shipping.

Facebook has initiated legal proceedings against several Portugal-based developers for unscrupulously scraping data from customers using the site. The social network argues that four of their extensions listed on the Chrome Web Store, functioned like spyware. In a release posted in their newsroom, Jessica Romero, Facebook’s Director of Platform Enforcement and Litigation said the developers “misled users into installing the extensions with a privacy policy that claimed they did not collect any personal information. She added that the extensions conceal code that’s designed to scrape information from Facebook along with other information from the users’ browsers, without their knowledge and consent. Keep your devices virus-free with the best malware removal software These are some of the best identity theft protection providers Check out our roundup of the best endpoint protection software Spyware extensions “If the user visited the Facebook website, the browser extensions were programmed to scrape their name, user ID, gender, relationship status, age group and other information related to their account,” Romero said. She added that the case is part of Facebook’s ongoing international efforts “to detect and enforce against those who scrape Facebook users’ data, including those who use browser extensions to compromise people’s browsers.” The four extensions she highlighted, namely Web for Instagram plus DM, Blue Messenger, Emoji keyboard and Green Messenger, are reportedly still available for download in the Chrome Web Store and currently have more than 54,000 users. The developer's response to Facebook's legal action isn't yet known.

Gearbox Software has released the full patch notes for the latest update for Borderlands 3, now live in the game. The update adds a new limited-time mini-event called Supercharged Crystals and makes a few in-game quality-of-life adjustments. Supercharged Crystals ensures that all the crystals in the Takedown of the Guardian Breach, an optional endgame mission, do not lose their charge after you move away from them. Normally, these crystals lose their charge when no one is charging them--only maintaining their charge once you've capped them off--and if any become completely empty, then you have to restart from a checkpoint. Now Playing: Borderlands 3 Excels In Its Endgame So basically, this mini-event ensures you can't be wiped during the crystal charging parts of this Takedown, allowing you to more easily reach the next phase. For folks who haven't managed to beat Takedown of the Guardian Breach, this mini-event is the ideal time to try again. Supercharged Crystals ends on January 21 at 9AM PT / 12PM ET. For those who haven't yet attempted Takedown of the Guardian Breach, it's the second of Borderlands 3's Takedowns, which is the loot shooter's version of a super challenging multi-part raid. We recommend bringing along a full team of four players, and most (if not all) should be max level, have invested in their character's ideal loadout, and possess some really good loot. Beyond this mini-event, the new update makes some balancing adjustments to Borderlands 3 as well, which are detailed below. Borderlands 3 January 14 Hotfix Gear Adjustments Techspert Operative Class Mod Increased the chance on kill to recharge SNTNL Cooldown and Duration from 15% to 35% D.N.A. Increased Weapon Damage, Magazine Size, Fire Rate, and Projectile Speed Decreased Reload Time Ripper Increased weapon damage SF Force Increased weapon damage Malak's Bane Increased weapon damage

Yes This Mean yu can give 1 to your Self And 1 to A Player in 12 Hours Not mean You Can Give Admin Mod And You can Chalenge Him With your ammo not By zp_giveap Also you aleadry Chalenged Him and Kill You

¤ Your name: CyBeR ¤ Claimed Admin name: Predator ¤ Date and time: 14/01/2021 ¤ Reason of complaint: Uzing Zp_Giveap For buying Jumps , Made a Admin Nemesis and He Must Made only Players And The Admin Made him is Aleardy Buy Mod ¤ Proof (screenshot or console or demo): Admin Buy Mod / Predator Use Zp_giveap / Predator made Admin Nemesis

Dodge was clear from the launch of the 2021 Durango SRT Hellcat that the model was a one-year-only offering. The plan was for production to last just six months. New information suggests that assembly of the performance SUV ends in June, according to Mopar Insiders citing dealer sources. The Jefferson North Assembly Plant in Michigan is also going to increase production slightly because of the huge demand. Originally, Dodge planned to build around 2,000 examples of the Durango SRT Hellcat. The limited-run Durango retails for $80,995 (plus a $1,495 destination fee). The options include the $1,495 Black Package for adding dark accents to the body and $2,395 Technology Group that includes adaptive cruise control, brake assist, forward collision warning, and lane departure warning. Additional upgrades include body stripes for $1,195, $1,595 Laguna brown leather seats, $995 19-speaker stereo, $1,295 power sunroof, and more. Ticking every possible option box takes the price to nearly $100,000. The Durango SRT Hellcat packs the familiar 6.2-liter supercharged V8 making 710 horsepower (529 kilowatts) and 645 pound-feet (875 newton-meters). An eight-speed automatic sends the power to an all-wheel-drive system. It can reach 60 miles per hour (96 kilometers per hour) in 3.5 seconds and a top speed of 180 mph (290 kph). It can cover the quarter-mile in 11.5 seconds. Plus, the high-powered crossover can still tow 8,700 pounds (3,946 kilograms). Other performance upgrades include an improved suspension and Brembo brakes with rotors measuring 15.8 inches in front and 13.8 inches in the back. Inside, there's a flat-bottom steering wheel and red-trimmed gauges.

The plant-based meat company, known for its beefless burgers, will serve up free breakfast sandwiches made with its meatless sausage patties for a limited time on Thursday Jan. 14 at local restaurant chains across the country. Restaurants in cities including Austin, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, New York, Seattle and San Francisco will cook up their own iteration of a meatless breakfast sandwich. Eaters can now book a time slot to try one at a location nearby via the reservation website Resy, and can pick up their free meal between 8 a.m. and 11 a.m. MCDONALD’S ALL DAY BREAKFAST MAY BE GONE FOR GOOD The plant-based food category continues to grow in mainstream restaurants and fast food chains with the likes of Burger King, White Castle, Del Taco and KFC embracing meatless menu items. And Beyond Meat in particular seems to be focusing more on breakfast. The company teamed up with Dunkin last year to serve a Beyond Sausage Egg and Cheese, and Starbucks also expanded its breakfast menu to include a Beyond Meat egg breakfast sandwich. What's more, the country's biggest meat company, Tyson, launched its Jimmy Dean-brand plant-based patty, included with store-bought Jimmy Dean croissant sandwiches last week, joining the competition in the meatless breakfast category. The demand for breakfast seems to be higher than ever during the pandemic. When McDonald’s stopped serving its all-day breakfast menu in March, eaters complained about the change on social media. Want to know where you can score a free plant-based breakfast on Jan. 14? Here’s a full list of restaurants serving up the Beyond Meat menu item: Austin: Brunch Bird is offering its Farmer John sandwich. Chicago: Yolk locations are offering their Beyond Skillet. Dallas: Love Burger Shack is offering its Beyond Breakfast Sausage Sandwich. Los Angeles: Hilltop Coffee & Kitchen locations are offering their Beyond Bangin Breakfast Sandwich; Cafe Organix is serving its Breakfast Burger. New York: Gregorys Coffee is offering its Vegan Deluxe; P.S. Kitchen is offering its Beyond Breakfast Sandwich. San Antonio: Earth Burger is offering its Breakfast Warp. San Francisco: Craftsman & Wolves is offering its Breakfast Sandwich. Seattle: Anchorhead Coffee is offering its Beyond Cheddar Biscuit Sandwich. Washington, DC: PLNT Burger locations are offering the PLNT Egg Sammy.

Manchester City extended their unbeaten run to 14 matches in all competitions with a hard-fought win over struggling Brighton. Phil Foden grabbed the only goal just before half-time when he collected Kevin de Bruyne's pass, created space and fired into the bottom corner. The hosts had chances to extend the lead, Riyad Mahrez shooting just wide, Ilkay Gundogan seeing an effort saved by Brighton goalkeeper Robert Sanchez and Bernardo Silva hitting the crossbar. Most culpably, Raheem Sterling sent an injury-time penalty over the bar after Sanchez had fouled De Bruyne. Alexis Mac Allister had perhaps the Seagulls' best chance to equalise but shot over the top. City's fourth straight win in the league moves them up to third, although they will drop back to fourth if Tottenham win at home against Fulham in the late game on Wednesday. Brighton, meanwhile, have now not won in nine league matches and could find themselves in the bottom three if 18th-placed Fulham come out on top at Spurs. Relive Manchester City v Brighton as it happened and analysis

One week after deadly unrest at the heart of the US government, photographs are going viral of National Guard troops keeping watch over the Capitol. The images, showing a heavy security presence inside and outside the building, are a complete contrast to the scenes of chaos broadcast around the world last week. At least 10,000 members of the National Guard will be in Washington DC by Saturday and police officials say that number could be more than doubled for Joe Biden's inauguration day next week. The large deployment comes as the US House of Representatives votes on Wednesday on whether to impeach President Donald Trump for a second time for the role he played in last week's violence. Follow our live updates Can Trump be removed or banned from politics? How many arrests so far from Capitol riots? Did Trump's words incite violence? Mr Trump is accused by the opposition Democratic Party, which has a majority in the House, of "incitement of insurrection" and some members of his own Republican party have indicated they will vote to charge him. Many of the lawmakers voting today were caught up in the events of last week, when thousands of radical pro-Trump supporters broke into the Capitol complex as Congress voted to certify the presidential election results. After the building was secured and rioters cleared, a large fence was erected and thousands of National Guardsmen were brought in to help protect Congress. As of Tuesday, the Pentagon approved those protecting the Capitol to carry lethal weapons as well as protective equipment. The highly visible show of force comes amid widespread criticism of the chaotic security situation last week and amid fears of further violence in the run-up to Mr Biden's inauguration on 20 January. The FBI, still hunting those responsible for last week's violence, has issued warnings of possible armed protests and further unrest across the country in the coming days.