Sxynix

Zombie Army Trilogy (PC, PS4 [reviewed], Xbox One) Developer: Rebellion Developments Publisher: Rebellion Developments Released: March 3, 2015 MSRP: $49.99 -- What you're getting for $50 is three games, which take place over 15 levels called "chapters." They're roughly 20-30 minutes each, and are kind of designed like the maps from Left 4 Dead, but with less of a point "A to B" feel to them. The gist is that in 1945, Hitler has unleashed the depths of hell as a last-ditch effort to win World War II, and...that's basically it. Except now in addition to the previously all-male cast, you're getting four new female combatants. None of the characters have any real personality, but it's a nice little extra. Since this is based on Sniper Elite after all, your primary weapons are long-range rifles, with the secondary slots going to weaponry like SMGs and shotguns, in addition to a last-ditch pistol. You'll also have a few incendiary devices at your disposal like mines, grenades, and trip wires, as well as the power to kick, which functions as your only melee attack. Trip wires are my favorite part of the arsenal, as it's incredibly fun to set traps and watch zombies spring them. The first thing you'll notice after a few rounds though is that the animations feel slightly off. The kick in particular is ridiculous looking, especially if you keep stomping on enemy after enemy. Depending on your view this might either be Army of Darkness-level camp or a flaw of the outdated engine -- I'm mostly somewhere in the latter group. Having said that, the gunplay is fun, taking place mostly from a third-person perspective, with the option to zoom with rifles. The zombies themselves are well crafted, as they're both sufficiently cool looking and have an interesting set of movements. Other denizens like skeletons help spice things up -- it helps that they look like they were taken straight out of a Harryhausen film. Checkpoints flow through each stage, allowing you to recover and play again if you happen to fail on the last section of a lengthy level, and you'll find the occasional safe room just like Left 4 Dead, allowing you to stock up and continue your journey. The pacing is spot-on, as Zombie Army Trilogy doesn't have a whole lot of down time. You'll also have interesting objectives to pursue, like finding the location of an ancient artifact to summon a powerful foe, or turning off a factory that creates an army of armored zombies, or defeating elite or boss enemies. If you get really cocky you can tackle the higher difficulty levels, like "Sniper Elite," which allows for wind contingencies, bullet drop physics, a heart rate to control, and an impact on your stance. It's cool in theory, but all of these don't feel all that important when you're tangoing with the wonky engine half the time, or battling lag in online play, which I experienced on occasion. Solo play is fun when you're going through each chapter and encountering new scenarios at a decent rate, but once you're done, replay value plummets. You're going to want to play online with three other people, especially if you have the skills to tackle the four difficulty settings which cleverly can scale to up to four players, even if you are going solo. Horde mode is another way to keep the party going, but the "endless" style of play can get tiresome given that there are hundreds of horde-style games out at this point, and Zombie Army Elite doesn't stand out above them. It's basically something to play after you've exhausted all of the campaign, but if I ever have the itch to play online, it probably won't be with Horde mode. If you can get past the cheap-feeling engine and have three buddies on hand, you'll have a lot of fun with Zombie Army Elite. It's a blast to overcome particularly tough sections with a team, and hitting an on-point shot from 50 feet away can provide quite the rush. While the package has a lot of problems that prevent it from justifying that $50 price tag, I enjoyed my time playing the entire campaign online. ------------------------------ System Requirments ----------------------------- Minimum ------------------------------ OS: Win Vista 32 Processor: Intel Pentium Dual Core E5700 3GHz / AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 4200+ Graphics: AMD Radeon HD 5870 1024MB or NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460 VRAM: 512MB System Memory: 2 GB RAM Storage: 18 GB Hard drive space DirectX 10 Compatible Graphics Card --------------------------- Recommended --------------------------- OS: Win 7 64 Processor: Intel Core 2 Quad Q8400 2.66GHz / AMD Athlon II X3 455 Graphics: AMD Radeon HD 6790 or NVIDIA GeForce GTX 550 Ti System Memory: 4 GB RAM Storage: 18 GB Hard drive space ------------------------

Yes, you've read that headline correctly. Ford in Spain is currently employing a one-of-a-kind deal on the 2021 Explorer, handing out one of the most anticipated game consoles today for free. For each purchase of the Blue Oval midsize crossover, the automaker bundles a Sony PlayStation 5 with it, and it will run until March 31, 2020, or until supplies last. For context, the Ford Explorer starts at 79,350 euros (without discounts) for the Spanish market or around $97,200 with the current exchange rates. Thinking about it, the Ford Explorer and the PS5 share several things. The three-row crossover is pegged as a family vehicle, while the game console is, of course, something that families will enjoy, supposedly. Moreover, both the PS5 and the Explorer have been a long time coming. The crossover's predecessor in Spain was sold twenty years ago – that's fairly a long time, as is the wait for the PS5. The last generation of the Sony game console, the PS4, was sold seven years ago worldwide. Of note, the PS5 went on sale on November 19, 2020 in Spain, but all of the stocks have been depleted upon launch. There's another batch shipped to the European country but all of which have been accounted for through online stores.

Record Year for Retirement Savings Arlington, VA (Dec. 17, 2020) – PSCA’s 63rd Annual Survey, released today and reflecting 2019 plan-year data, found record contribution and participation rates for the third year in a row. More employees had account balances in, and contributed to, their plans than ever before, and employers contributed an average of 5.3 percent of gross annual pay to participants, the highest recorded to date. Plan participants contributed an average of 7.6% percent of pay in 2019, combined with the 5.3 percent companies are pitching in gives an average savings rate of 12.9 percent in 2019. “2020 has been a challenging year in so many ways and companies have faced unprecedented challenges,” said Hattie Greenan, director of research for PSCA. “Though retirement savings plans have been impacted, the fact that they were in such good shape going into this year bodes well for a swift recovery once the economic impact of the pandemic begins to ebb.” Key Findings Other key findings from this year’s report include: Participation – More than 90% of eligible employees have an account balance, and most (87.3%) of those made contributions in 2019. Roth – Roth contributions are now permitted in three-fourths of plans, up from 69.1 percent in 2018. Target-Dates – Eighty percent of plans offered a target-date fund in their menu, up from 68.6 percent in 2018. Managed Accounts – Forty percent of plans now offer a professionally managed investment alternative to participants, up from 36.3 percent in 2018. Mobile Tech – Nearly 60 percent of plans now offer plan access via mobile technology, up from 47.5 percent in 2018. Amidst all that positive movement, some key plan design aspects held steady. Availability of in-plan annuities remains at fewer than 10 percent of plans, as it has for the last several years. Similarly, while ESG/SRI investments have been a hot topic of late, fewer than three percent of plan sponsor respondents included that option on their plan investment menu. Conclusion “We concluded 2019 with passage of the SECURE Act, which had a number of provisions in it targeted to improve and enhance retirement savings security, including lifetime income options,” noted Nevin Adams, Chief Content Officer and Head of Retirement Research at the American Retirement Association. While the economic and physical impacts of COVID-19 may well weigh on retirement preparations, our results at year-end 2019 suggest that the retirement security prospects of Americans with access to a retirement savings plan at work were the best it has ever had been. “As we emerge from the economic undertow of the pandemic, we’re optimistic about that solid foundation – and hope that more employers will be able and willing to support these vital programs,” stated Adams. About the Survey PSCA’s 63rd Annual Survey of 401(k) and Profit Sharing Plans reports on the 2019 plan-year experience of 602 plans. The full report is available for purchase at: Media copies About the Plan Sponsor Council of America The Plan Sponsor Council of America (PSCA), part of the American Retirement Association (ARA), is a diverse, collaborative community of employee benefit plan sponsors, working together on behalf of millions of employees to solve real problems, create positive change and expand on the success of America’s voluntary, employer-sponsored retirement system. With members representing employers of all sizes, PSCA offers a forum for comprehensive dialogue. By sharing our collective knowledge and experience as plan sponsors, PSCA also serves as a resource to policymakers, the media and other stakeholders as part of its commitment to improving retirement security for millions of Americans. For more information, visit psca.org.

European nations have begun to apply travel bans with the UK after it reported a more infectious and "out of control" coronavirus variant. Ireland, Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands and Belgium are all halting flights and travel. The measures vary and are initially generally short-term. An EU meeting will be held on Monday morning to discuss a more co-ordinated response. The new variant has spread quickly in London and south-east England. Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Saturday introduced a new tier four level of restrictions for those areas, scrapping a planned relaxation of rules over the Christmas period for millions of people. Covid-19 - follow the latest updates here Top health officials said that there was no evidence the new variant was more deadly, or would react differently to vaccines, but it was proving to be up to 70% more transmissible. Which countries have acted and how? Within hours of the UK announcement on Saturday, the Netherlands said it would ban all passenger flights from the UK from 06:00 (05:00 GMT) on Sunday until 1 January. Pending "greater clarity" on the situation in the UK, the Dutch government said that further "risk of the new virus strain being introduced to the Netherlands should be minimised as much as possible". New variant: How worried should we be? Tracking the global pandemic: Where has been hit hardest? What is tier four and who is in it? The country on Sunday reported a daily increase of more than 13,000 cases - a new record, despite tough lockdown measures being applied on 14 December. Belgium is suspending flights and train arrivals from the UK from midnight on Sunday. Prime Minister Alexander De Croo told Belgian television channel VRT the ban would be in place for at least 24 hours as a "precautionary measure", adding "we will see later if we need additional measures". Italy's Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio said on his Facebook page that the government was about to sign a measure to suspend flights from the UK. n Ireland, urgent talks were held on Sunday. In a statement afterwards, the government announced that flights arriving from the UK would be banned for 48 hours at least from midnight, and "in the interests of public health, people in Britain, regardless of nationality, should not travel to Ireland, by air or sea". Ferry crossings for freight would continue. In Germany, an order from the ministry of transport said planes from the UK would not be allowed to land after midnight on Sunday, although cargo would be an exception. Health Minister Jens Spahn said the UK variant had not yet been detected in Germany. What are the Covid symptoms and how do I protect myself? France has suspended all travel links with the UK for 48 hours from midnight. It said the period should be used to provide a co-ordinated European response. Austria is also planning a ban on flights from the UK, with details currently being worked out, local media reported. Bulgaria has suspended flights to and from the UK from midnight but, unlike the short-term measures in many other nations, its ban lasts until 31 January. A European Council meeting will be held at 10:00 GMT on Monday on co-ordinating EU actions. What is the new variant? In the UK, it was first identified in the middle of October from a sample taken in September. Health Secretary Matt Hancock on Sunday said the new strain "was out of control. We have got to get it under control", admitting that this was "an incredibly difficult end to frankly an awful year". The World Health Organization (WHO) says the same mutation has also been detected in the Netherlands, Denmark and Australia. Dr Catherine Smallwood, of WHO Europe, said that as of 20 December, the numbers in those countries were small, nine in Denmark and one each in the other two nations. But she said other countries had notified WHO of other variants "that also carry some of the genetic changes seen in the UK variant". The new UK variant has been shown to spread faster than the original virus - up to 70% more transmissible based on modelling figures - but scientific details on the genetic changes, and how they could affect the behaviour of Covid-19, remain unclear. Although there is no indication the variant will be more resistant to already-developed vaccines, the mutation does involve the spike protein of the virus. This is the part that helps it infect cells - and also the part the vaccines have been designed to target. So although scientific experts have warned against an alarmist response, they also say it is essential to track the variant and try to stay ahead of the virus.

As of today, you can pick up the Razer Huntsman mechanical gaming keyboard at one of the lowest prices we've seen since it was released. The Razer Huntsman is listed for just $79 but we have plenty of keyboard offers in our list of best deals on tech. We update the list daily, so be sure to check back for more discounts throughout the holiday season. The keyboard is designed to be full-sized with a numeric pad on the side. Each key features Razer Opto-Mechanical switches for some loud, tactile feedback. This edition features onboard memory that can be used to store custom macro profiles. The keyboard uses RGB LED backlighting for each key that can be customized using Razer's software. This is a wired device using a USB Type-A interface to connect. Visit the Razer Huntsman mechanical gaming keyboard page for more details and checkout options.

With the release of iOS 14.3, the iPhone 12 Pro and 12 Pro Max get Apple's new raw photo format called ProRaw. The new file lets you have the customization of a raw file built atop the iPhone's computational photo smarts. For the past few weeks, I've been testing out the new feature and I'm impressed at how ProRaw transformed my phone photography. ProRaw is as significant a camera addition as the faster aperture lens Apple added to the main cameras on the iPhone 12 family and the new sensor-based stabilization found on the iPhone 12 Pro Max. Read more: iOS 14.3: These are 16 iPhone features you'll use every day ProRaw works on all four iPhone 12 Pro and 12 Pro Max cameras. It uses the widely supported Adobe Digital Negative, or DNG, file format and contains information for 12-bit color and support for 14 stops of dynamic range. The approach Apple took with ProRaw is similar to how Google saves raw files built from HDR Plus on Pixel phones. ProRaw files are created from multiple image frames and contain the data from the best parts of those photos. Deep Fusion analyzes those images pixel by pixel to create a deep photo file. The A14 Bionic does all of this analysis in real time without causing shutter lag. There are several notable differences between taking a raw photo on an iPhone and a ProRaw photo. The first is that you can only take raw photos using a third-party app like Halide or Moment. ProRaw photos can be taken using the default Camera app. Next, ProRaw files are large. For example, I took a photo of the same subject using each file format on the iPhone 12 Pro Max. The HEIC file was 5.2 megabytes, the JPEG was 6.8MB, the raw photo (taken with the Moment app) was 16.5MB and the ProRaw photo was a whopping 34.7MB. ProRaw's larger file size contains much more image data compared to a standard raw file. A ProRaw file is built on a foundation of computational photography from Smart HDR, Deep Fusion and Night Mode, which can result in a picture with significantly less image noise, better dynamic range and sharper detail and textures. Below are two JPEG files I made, one from a ProRaw photo and another from a raw file taken with the Moment app. On both, I adjusted only the white balance, highlights and shadows. If you look at the photo made from the raw version, you can see lots of color image noise on the bricks of the building and most conspicuously in the dark night sky. The photo made from the ProRaw version hardly has any image noise because of the Night Mode processing the iPhone 12 Pro Max did when I took the photo.

Zen Pinball 2 (PlayStation 3, PS Vita, PlayStation 4 [reviewed], Wii U) Developer: Zen Studios Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment, Zen Studios Released: September 4 2012 (PS3/Vita) / March 21 2013 (Wii U) / December 24, 2013 (PS4) MSRP: Free (Sorcerer's Lair table included, other tables are various additional prices) As usual, Zen Pinball 2 is a free platform that offers a "try before you buy" model for each table, and an import process for players who own any tables from PlayStation 3 and/or PlayStation Vita's Zen Pinball 2. Whereas on PS3/Vita this was a simple Cross-Buy purchase, on the PlayStation 4 this has to be done through an import button on the game's main menu. Since this entry is not technically a Cross-Buy title, the import process does not work backwards from the PlayStation 4 version to any other system, so a player with multiple systems who would like the most bang from their buck would do well to remember this. It's clear the import system was not the easy solution, so the effort Zen Studios went through to make sure players would not have to re-purchase anything is definitely appreciated. PS4's Zen Pinball 2 does not currently offer the entire back catalog of tables. Instead, it has Star Wars Pinball, Star Wars: Balance of the Force, Marvel Pinball, Avengers Chronicles, Plants vs. Zombies, Epic Quest, Paranormal, Earth Defense, and Sorcerer's Lair in starting line-up. This collection includes arguably the best tables Zen has put together so far and will no doubt give players plenty of pinball action to digest while the rest of the library -- and new tables, of course -- will inevitably make their way to the platform in the coming The game runs in 1080p at a blazing 60 FPS, and looks stunning in motion. There doesn't appear to be any noticeable visual edge here, but there didn't need to be. Zen Studios' tables are consistently colorful, vibrant, and have always had an unmatched visual presentation. It looked stellar before, and still does in this outing. Ball physics also appear to be untouched; which is also great as they were perfect the way they were. Zen Pinball is not a simulation of the real pinball experience, but rather what I colloquially refer to as cinematic pinball. Objects and characters will move around the table and directly influence the ball, with the camera sometimes moving to set pieces that do not exist on the table itself. These are pinball tables that can only exist in a videogame, and that's what makes them -- and this game -- so special. Controls are standard fare, with things like the DualShock 4's TouchPad not being used for any radical control option. Of course, this is just fine as it wouldn't make any sense and would more than likely end up feeling imprecise; detrimental to something like a pinball videogame. L1/R1 (or L2/R2) control the left and right bumpers respectively, and the left analog stick handles nudging (don't tilt!). The controls are simple, but there's a sense of even more control now with the fantastic DualShock 4 feeling much more tight and precise than the DualShock 3. months. Leaderboards, personal statistics, the in-game trophy system, multiplayer, and an operator's menu are all here, and create a wide range of incentives to continually return to the game outside of simply wanting to impulsively best personal high scores. Zen Studios were undoubtedly the digital pinball kings last-gen, and are already well on their way to claim the same title on current-gen. PS3/PS Vita players, other platform players, and complete newcomers alike all have no reason to miss Zen Pinball 2 on the PS4. There's no added benefit to this version; just the same game with the same tables we've come to adore, but that doesn't stop it from being a game absolutely everyone should play. Zen Pinball is a must-have anywhere you can grab it, and Zen Pinball 2 specifically on PlayStation 4 is equally just as desirable -- if not more-so. --------------------------------------------- Game System Requirments ------------------------------------------- Minimum ------------------------------------------ Système d'exploitation : Windows 7 Processeur : Dual Core CPU @ 1.6GHz Mémoire vive : 4 GB de mémoire Graphiques : Nvida GTS 450 or AMD equivalent DirectX : Version 11 Espace disque : 6 GB d'espace disque disponible Carte son : DirectX compatible sound card / integrated ----------------------------------------- Recommonded ------------------------------------------- Système d'exploitation : Windows 10 Processeur : Intel i5-4590 or AMD equivalent Mémoire vive : 8 GB de mémoire Graphiques : NVIDIA GTX 970 / AMD 290X -----------------------------------------

my vote goes to DH1

If you’re looking to own one of the most significant modern Corvettes ever built you better act fast. Thanks to a listing on Fantasy Brokers, you have the opportunity to own one of the 2014 C7.R Corvette race cars built and campaigned by Pratt & Miller racing. Chassis #003 is one of the most successful modern Corvette race cars with a winning pedigree and the ability to challenge the best of the GTLM and GTAM classes but you’ll need to be ready to pay the $950,000 price tag. Today you have the chance to own a piece of Corvette history and one of the last great front-engine Corvette race cars. C7.R Chassis #003 has quite a pedigree winning the Rolex Daytona 24 and 12 hours of Sebring in 2015. Chassis #003 also saw action at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Laguna Seca, Watkins Glen, Long Beach, and Road Atlanta. The C7.R Corvettes built by Pratt & Miller in conjunction with GM marks a decade's long partnership to build the best racing Corvettes possible. Although the C7.R may look like a C7 Corvette with an aero from the photos, a huge amount of the car is changed to go racing. For starters, the roofline is 3.0-inches lower and the body is widened by 8.0-inches. All of the exterior body panels are carbon fiber that was massaged by a wind tunnel for optimal aerodynamic performance. Power comes from the battle-tested LS7 V8 engine that was debored to only 5.5-liters to meet racing regulations. This front-mounted engine is home to highly engineered internals, which means this engine still produces an impressive 574 horsepower (428 Kilowatts). The racing LS7 is mated to a 6-speed transaxle that has proven to be reliable during the turmoil of endurance racing.

New Delhi | Jagran Lifestyle Desk: International Human Solidarity Day or Human Solidarity Day is observed on December 20 every year to celebrate the unity and solidarity among people across the world. The United Nations Millennium Declaration (UNMD) says that solidarity is a fundamental value that is essential to international relations. What is the history of International Human Solidarity Day? The UN had in 2005 recognised solidarity as a fundamental and universal value and declared that International Human Solidarity Day will be observed every year on December 20 to encourage governments and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to eradicate poverty by "spreading awareness". As per the United Nations, International Human Solidarity Day is a day to celebrate unity in diversity and remind countries to respect their commitments to international agreements. The aim of the day is also to encourage new initiatives for poverty eradication and raise public awareness of the importance of solidarity. Here are some quotes to observe International Human Solidarity Day 2020: "We Must Stand Together United in Solidarity Against the Targeting, Demonization, and Vilification of Any Group of People" "The organisation relies on the spirit of solidarity as it helps decrease the concerns of world problems. It can be a bullet to poverty, hunger, health, and education" "One should always be aware of all the new plans and schemes implemented by our government to make life better" "A Free Economy and Strong Communities Honour the Dignity of Every Person, Rewarding Effort With Justice, Promoting Upward Mobility, and Building Solidarity Among Citizens" "If someone puts their hands on you make sure they never put their hands on anybody else again" "On 20th December, the general assembly decided to make this day worldwide famous, as this culture can help eradicate poverty and restore deep heritage and harmony worldwide" "It is one of the fundamental values of international relations in the 21st Century. It helps those underprivileged or unaware of government action and need to benefit from this" "Solidarity is defined as one of the essential tools in the Millennium Declaration context" "Sometimes an alien would stand with a moose, not because of solidarity, but because of accidentally doing it" "If not thought carefully, our solidarity for just causes can backfire, especially when we are selective in reacting against injustice"

Nioh 2: The First Samurai (PS4) Developer: Team Ninja Publisher: Sony Interactive Entertainment Released: December 17, 2020 MSRP: $9.99 ($19.99 Season Pass for three DLC packs) The First Samurai struggles with the classic Nioh 1 "more of the same" problem that we've all felt from time to time. If you aren't in the right headspace – if you aren't feeling the grind – it's a bad place to be. Apart from a nasty little gremlin and a super-beefy bird demon who both pack a wallop, I mostly felt like I was going through the motions with repurposed yokai designs, something this series has struggled with before. The wildest offender this time? A blinged-out variation of the familiar One-Eyed Oni. That sameness extends into the two new main-story missions, one of which is a dreary village that leads into a (thankfully more vibrant) flower-filled forest. The other is a cool-in-theory but bland-to-explore "evil island." They're undoubtedly new zones, but they seemed old even on the first run. The incentive to soak in the atmosphere isn't fully there from a storytelling perspective, either. The First Samurai is another trip through time for our half-yokai hero, and it once again syncs up with Otakemaru, the big bad thorn in our side who's always popping up to cause trouble. That's fine on the surface – I haven't been taking these DLC storylines all that seriously compared to the main-game narrative given the lower-stakes premise – but I was hoping to have at least some earnest moments or supporting characters to latch onto. I felt like I did in the prior Nioh 2 packs, but that wasn't the case here. Overall, I actually had a better time with the side missions, one of which is a ridiculous gauntlet with a bunch of returning bosses and short breathers in between waves that felt satisfying to clear. And as much as I liked challenging Nyotengu from Dead or Alive and a fierce monk, before I knew it, I was done. Straight up, you'll get much more out of this DLC if you're an endgame-ready Nioh 2 player. There are several guardian spirits and new weapon-specific skills to unlock if you aren't there yet, but the real meat is reserved for season pass owners. With the latest update, players who own all three DLC packs can access the final New Game+ difficulty tier, Dream of the Nioh, and The Underworld, a rework of Nioh 1's Abyss endgame that's all about buffing yourself to survive long enough to earn the best loot across highly-repeatable levels. Earning loot for loot's sake? At a certain point, yeah. I'm not at that point yet – and frankly, I don't know if I ever will be – but it does exist for hardcore players who want to perfect their builds. Keep in mind, you can't access The Underworld until you've beaten Nioh 2 on Dream of the Wise difficulty, so if you haven't been keeping up, it's a long journey. Your enjoyment of The First Samurai is really going to depend on where you're at with Nioh 2. The biggest difference-makers, at least for me, were the enemies, the story, and the lack of a new weapon type following the Splitstaff and Clawed Fists. Those elements were a big part of why I enjoyed The Tengu's Disciple and Darkness in the Capital as much as I did, and they're the reason why I was generally underwhelmed by The First Samurai. My expectations didn't match up with reality. I have so much love for this game as a complete package, and I'm excited to keep going with next year's PlayStation 5 remaster, but I can't shake the feeling that The First Samurai could've done more. ----------------------------- Game System Requirments ----------------------------- Minimum ---------------------------- CPU: Intel® Core™ i5 4750 or over CPU SPEED: Info RAM: 6 GB OS: Windows® 10 64bit, Windows® 8.1 64bit, Windows® 7 64bit VIDEO CARD: 4GB NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 970 VRAM / AMD Radeon™ R9 290 PIXEL SHADER: 5.1 VERTEX SHADER: 5.1 DEDICATED VIDEO RAM: 4096 MB -------------------------- Recommended ------------------------- CPU: Intel® Core™ i7 4770K or over CPU SPEED: Info RAM: 8 GB OS: Windows® 10 64bit, Windows® 8.1 64bit, Windows® 7 64bit VIDEO CARD: 6GB NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1070 VRAM or over AMD Radeon™ R9 380X PIXEL SHADER: 5.1 VERTEX SHADER: 5.1 DEDICATED VIDEO RAM: 6 GB --------------------------

With the coronavirus pandemic still looming large, many of us will be unable to spend the holiday season in close proximity with family and friends this year. It’s likely that holiday celebrations will be held virtually instead, over video conferencing platforms such as Zoom. That includes both virtual office parties, put on in lieu of the traditional end of year blowout, and family check-ins over the winter break itself. To help make your virtual festivities feel a little more like the real deal, we’ve compiled a selection of Christmas Zoom backgrounds that are bound to get you in the holiday spirit. How to use Zoom backgrounds Before picking out a Christmas Zoom background, you’ll need to know how to configure custom backgrounds on the platform. Thankfully, the process is simple, requiring only a few steps. First, ensure the Zoom backgrounds feature is enabled in your account settings. You can do this by accessing your account page via your web browser, navigating to Settings in the left-hand bar, clicking on In Meeting (Advanced) and toggling Virtual Backgrounds to on (the slider will turn blue once the feature has been activated). To configure your Zoom background, log into the desktop application and click on the settings icon in the top right corner. Under the Virtual Background tab, you can choose from stock options, or upload an image or video via the + icon below the video feed. Whichever background you select in the settings panel will automatically be applied when you next log into a video conference. For the best results, it’s important to ensure the video is bright and evenly lit. Your Christmas Zoom backgrounds won’t perform quite as well in partial darkness or glaring light, which can both result in unwanted distortion. Using a green screen backdrop is ideal, but impractical for many, and a plain background of any colour works perfectly well so long as your clothing isn’t the same colour. Christmas Zoom backgrounds Thanks to a few generous businesses and charities, you’re not short of options when it comes to selecting a Christmas Zoom background for your next video call. Here’s a rundown of ten different selections you could choose from. Zoom On the Zoom website, you can find a curated list of virtual backgrounds of all varieties. Under the Seasonal section, you’ll find a range of suitably festive option .

A fresh benchmark (via Tum_Apisak) of AMD's Ryzen 9 5900HX (Cezanne) mobile APU has turned up on Geekbench 5. The rumored Zen 3 part appears even to give Intel's desktop processors a run for their money. If you haven't been following the Cezanne rumor mill, the Ryzen 9 5900HX is likely the new flagship for AMD's next-generation APUs for mobile devices. Although we haven't completely uncovered the mystery behind the "HX" designation, the consensus is that we're dealing with a SKU that probably allows for overclocking or comes with a more generous thermal limit. At eight cores and 16 threads, the Ryzen 9 5900HX shares the same configuration as the Ryzen 9 4900H, the current flagship. However, the Ryzen 9 5900X is expected to wield AMD's latest Zen 3 cores, which have proven to possess a tremendous uplift in instructions per cycle (IPC). Additionally, the Ryzen 9 5900X also comes with 16MB of L3 cache, twice as much as the Ryzen 9 4900H. The previous Ryzen 9 5900X sample arrived with a 3.3 GHz base clock and a 4.6 GHz boost clock. Today's chip has the same base clock but a slightly improved boost clock at 4.71 GHz, according to Geekbench 5. This obviously blows the previous result out of the water. AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX Benchmarks Before going down the rabbit hole, it's important to highlight a few points. The Ryzen 9 5900X score is only a single submission so take the results with a pinch of salt. Unfortunately, the Ryzen 9 4900H and Core i9-10980HK aren't in Geekbench 5's database of average scores. Therefore, we randomly picked one of the higher results. The Core i9-10900K and Core i7-10700K scores, on the other hand, reflect the average performance of the respective processors from user submissions on Geekbench 5. Starting with the most obvious comparison, the Ryzen 9 5900HX delivers up to 23.7% higher single-core performance than the Ryzen 9 4900H. The multi-core performance, on the other hand, didn't impress as much since the Ryzen 9 5900HX was only 2.2% faster. The Ryzen 9 5900HX had a very strong showing against the Core i9-10980HK as well, which is Intel's fastest Comet Lake-H chip. The results showed the Ryzen 9 5900HX rising above the Core i9-10980HK by 10.9% in single-core performance and 6.8% in multi-core performance. On a different note, AMD's Zen 3-powered mobile chip puts up a good fight with a couple of Comet Lake-S processors too. If the results are accurate, the Ryzen 9 5900X delivered up to 12.9% higher single-core performance than the Core i7-10700K and matched the octa-core part in multi-core performance. In fact, the Ryzen 9 5900H surpassed the Core i9-10900K in single-core performance by up to 8.5%. This is pretty outstanding, considering that the Core i7-10700K and Core i9-10900K are desktop processors rated for 125W each. Recent rumors claim that the Ryzen 5000 family may debut early next year. AMD's President and CEO, Dr. Lisa Su, is scheduled to deliver the virtual CES 2021 keynote on January 12, 2021, and we wouldn't be surprised if Su drops the bomb at the same venue.

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Intel has officially discontinued the Avengers Edition 10th Gen Comet Lake-S processors from its lineup after just five months. That includes the Core i5-10600KA, i7-10700KA and i9-10850KA. Intel didn't say why it discontinued the chips. But considering that as of three weeks ago Square Unix's Marvel's Avengers game hadn't made any money, it's not surprising that Intel's Avengers CPUs failed to take off. Earlier this year Intel partnered with Square Unix to make new Avengers-branded processors based on the Marvel Avengers video game. While it sounds good on paper, in reality, these chips didn't have any superpowers to help them defeat the best CPUs. Intel gave the Avengers CPUs nothing in terms of extra performance, lower prices or anything bundled -- these Avengers Edition processors didn't even come with the Square Unix Avengers game. All customers got was a fancily branded Intel processor. You had to be a die-hard Marvel fan to really want these chips over the standard models. The amount of Newegg comments for Intel's Avenger Core i5, i7 and i9 chips are significantly lower than that of the standard K models, suggesting that on this platform Intel wasn't selling as many Avengers CPUs as the vanilla versions Additionally, Square Unix's Avengers game barely sold 60% of its total predicted volume. To this day, Square Unix is still trying to recover development costs. Fortunately -- if you are one of the few people that wants an Intel Avengers-branded processor, Newegg.com still has a bunch in stock, so grab one while supplies last.

Ahead of the holidays, Amazon has added new video calling features including the ability to use Zoom and other video conferencing software to its Echo devices. Users in the US will now be able to join their family or friends in a group video call with just their voice by simply saying “Alexa, call my family” or “Alexa, join my Zoom meeting” to connect to supported Amazon Echo devices such as an Echo, Echo Dot or Echo Show. In order to set this up, only one users will need to create and name a group in their Alexa app and then any member of that group can start a group call by saying “Alexa call my [group name]”. We've put together a list of the best video conferencing software These are the best webcams for working from home Also check out our roundup of the best business tablets At the same time, users in noisy environments or those that are hard of hearing can use the new Call Captioning feature to have Alexa display text of what the other party on a one-on-one video call is saying in near real-time. Video calls on Echo devices The transition to working from home this year has led users to rely on video calls for both their work and personal life and while you can use your computer or smartphone for video conferencing, some users prefer to use a standalone device instead. This is why Amazon has added the ability to join a video conference call with Alexa through Zoom as well as Amazon Chime on Echo Show 8 devices. To get started, users just need to say “Alexa, join my meeting,” “Alexa, join my Zoom meeting,” or “Alexa, join my Amazon Chime meeting” to join a video call with their coworkers, friends or family. However, adults aren't the only ones using video calls to connect with family members which is why Amazon has also made it possible for children using Amazon Kids app on either their Fire Kids Edition tablet or Fire tablet to make outbound Alexa-to-Alexa voice or video calls. These calls can only be made to approved contacts who have an Echo device or the Alexa app on their smartphone and the ability for children to receive incoming calls will arrive in the coming months. Using one of Amazon's Echo devices as a standalone video conferencing machine makes a great deal of sense as it frees up the screen on your laptop or desktop to do other things while on a video call. We've also rounded up all the gear you'll need to work from home successfully

Kingdom Hearts III Re Mind (PS4 [reviewed], Xbox One] Developer: Square Enix Publisher: Square Enix Released: January 23, 2020 MSRP: $29.99 Re Mind (wow, no math equations to solve this time!) is a paid story DLC with extras that takes place both before and after the final fight in the main campaign. Think of it as an extra quest plus an epilogue: a sendoff of sorts for Kingdom Hearts III. This is where a lot of holes are plugged and some of the clumsier elements are finessed. We get our Final Fantasy cast member additions in a very small cameo format. We get a proper way for Kairi to contribute to the narrative. Characters that were kind of downplayed near the finale shine. You now have the option to directly choose specific Keyblade wielders for some bouts, fighting game style. It also sports a few quality-of-life additions and an ever-po[CENSORED]r secret episode, bolstering the main game in a bid to mostly justify the asking price if you were thirsty for more already. Without spoiling too much, the bulk of Re Mind is a sidequest involving Kairi and Sora that mostly takes place in Scala ad Caelum (that beautiful cityscape near the end of the main game) after a bit of retreading (which basically has you replay most of the Keyblade Graveyard segment). Given that it was one of my favorite areas in the series, I'm happy to see it expanded upon, even if it's ever so brief. There's a ton of explosive triumphant moments here in the Re Mind narrative, which exceed the qualifier of fan service since they actually make sense and tie up loose ends in a reactionary sort of way. I have to warn you yet again: make sure you're already invested before you pick it up due to the retreading. After that, another chapter unlocks (Limit Cut), which can be considered the meat of the DLC. That's your epilogue: a boss rush mode with a light story. It's where all of the crazy fights of the DLC are at, a few of which could be considered some of the toughest in the entire series. Clearing those will net you an insane secret ending that a lot of people are going to be talking about in the coming weeks. I'm keeping it vague, but the focus is on gameplay and combat with Limit Cut, a nice flourish for Re Mind's story angle. Nomura and his team really flex on the playerbase, pushing everyone to their limits to best what is ostensibly a series of paid superbosses: I had a lot of fun powering through these and coming back from the brink of death myriad times. I'll definitely run through them again and the one-two punch of story and pure combat with two distinct episodes was a smart move. It nudges the DLC in the right direction: without it, it wouldn't be as effective. You really have to be a certain kind of person to enjoy it (I'm a superboss fiend), I can't stress that enough. Like every incarnation of the game, even the Re Mind DLC is going to both confuse, anger and excite people en masse. But now that there's "An Oath to Return" (with a future Kingdom Hearts entry), this is all we have until the next one comes along. It'll do. As long as you really, really liked Kingdom Hearts III already: others need not apply. That's your fourth warning! ---------------------------------------- Kingdom Hearts III Re Mind System Requirments ----------------------------------------- Minumum ------------------------------------------------ Operating System: Windows 7 and the KB3135445 platform update Processor: AMD Athlon X2 2.8 GHZ or Intel Core 2 Duo 2.4 GHZ Ram: 4GB or more Free Hard Drive Space: 15GB Processor: AMD Athlon X2 2.8 GHz or higher; Intel Core 2 Duo 2.4 GHz or higher Graphics Card: AMD Radeon 3870 or higher; NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT or higher ----------------------------------------------------- Recommended --------------------------------------------------- OS: Windows 7 / 8 / 8.1 / 10 Operating System: Windows 8 64-bit or Windows 10 Processor: AMD Six-Core CPU; Intel Quad-Core CPU RAM: 8GB Free Hard Drive Space: 15GB Graphics Card: AMD Radeon 7870 or higher; NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660 or higher Graphics Memory: 3GB ------------------------------------------------

New Delhi | Jagran Lifestyle Desk: The year 2020 has been one of the worst times to be alive in this planet, courtesy, the uncountable natural disasters and the ongoing pandemic that has claimed millions of lives across the globe. From locusts swarms to earthquakes to coronavirus to cyclones to bushfires, there isn't a thing that we have not witnessed during the 12 months of this year. Arguably, the year 2020 has kept everyone at the edge of their seats, waiting for what is to come next. So as the deadly year 2020 is coming to an end in a few days, here is a list of 7 natural disasters that rocked the world and shocked the entire humanity: Australian Bushfire 2019-20: The year 2020 started with already raging Australian Bushfire, which was started in May 2019. Over the next few months, the bushfire spread fast and wide affecting temperatures across the country. Also known as Black Summer, the Australian Bushfire was termed as one of the deadliest natural disasters which wreaked its havoc to approx 18 million hectares of area and killing over 400 people (directly or indirectly). A heavy downpour on the night of 1st January flooded the entire region of Jakarta and its neighbourhood areas. The incessant rains led to the overflowing of rivers and caused devastating flash floods across the region. The flash floods led to damage to property and loss of life. At least 66 people lost their lives during the flash floods and almost a po[CENSORED]tion of 4 lakh people was displaced from their homes. Last year in November, China reported the first case of coronavirus in Wuhan. At that time no one had imagined that the entire world po[CENSORED]tion will get affected in some way or other due to this deadly virus. Starting from January, the coronavirus started to spread in other parts of the world and two months later in March, the WHO declared the coronavirus as a worldwide pandemic. A month later in April, the number of worldwide cases crossed a million mark. As months passed, the havoc by coronavirus increased and at present, nearly 7.4 crore people have been afflicted by the coronavirus and over 16 lakh people have lost their lives. However, the year is ending on relatively good, not as around 250 vaccines for the deadly virus have been in the making and some of the vaccine makers have even started inoculating general public. Earthquakes in 2020: Amid the catastrophic situations coming at the fore time to time in 2020, earthquakes became a daily affair in different parts of the world, including India. At least 45 major Earthquakes, measuring over 6 magnitudes on Richter Scale, have been reported from across the globe. Some countries, including Jamaica and Russia, have even faced earthquakes with a reading of over 7 magnitudes. A major earthquake in Turkey even claimed 41 lives. Swarms of Locusts 2020: Despite not harming human lives, the desert locusts are one of the deadliest migratory pests that can eat as much food as 35,000 people can eat. The Swarms of Locusts breed rapidly and almost 150 million of these pests can exist in a 1 square kilometer area. Being called one of the worst pest attacks in almost 26 years, it is being said that the sudden increase of these locusts has occurred due to a change in the climate. In India, videos of the locusts swarming have been circulated and they can make a person uncomfortable. The states of Gujarat, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh have seen the effects of these pest attacks. Cyclone Amphan in Bangladesh and India: Cyclone Amphan was classified as one of the most powerful and deadly tropical storms to have ever make a landfall in India and Bangladesh. Dubbed as a severe cyclonic storm, Amphan hit the coastal areas of Bangladesh and Eastern India in May. It caused landfalls, heavy rains, gust windows, and lightning that left behind destruction in its wake while killing 12 people. Lakhs of people were evacuated before the super cyclonic tropical storm made its landfall. Assam Floods: Heavy rains in the past few months have been seen as a boon and bane around different parts of India. Many parts of Assam have also experienced these heavy rains and as a result, have been negatively affected in the form of floods. 128 villages, 5 districts and so many more have been caused harm.