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Anyone watching Netflix's latest hit show, "Bridgerton," knows that the matchmaking Queen Charlotte had a penchant for Pomeranian pups. And in fact, this fondness was true of the real-life Queen Charlotte. She brought them with her when she moved from Pomerania in central Europe to the United Kingdom to marry King George III in 1761. Her love of the lap dog was then passed down through the royal generations. Her son, King George IV also liked the breed and Queen Victoria owned dachshunds, pugs and Pomeranians. One of the most famous royal dogs was a small terrier called Caesar. "[He] had a prominent place in Edward VII's funeral procession ahead of the other monarchs who attended in 1910," said Richard Fitzwilliams, a royal commentator based in London. Further down the line, King Edward VIII — who was forced to abdicate in disgrace in order to marry the American divorcée Wallis Simpson in the 1930s — also owned pugs, which we know from another Netflix period drama, "The Crown." But are the British royals really responsible for kicking off the lap dog craze? And when exactly did these toy breeds become po[CENSORED]r beyond court life? "Perfect Pets" is the ultimate guide to the world’s most po[CENSORED]r animal companions. Find out what makes dogs man’s best friend, why cats were worshipped in ancient Egypt, plus plenty of other fascinating facts about our furry, feathered — and even some scaly — friends. Inside you’ll learn all about these amazing animals and their unique abilities, plus some top training tips and care guides to help keep your pets happy and healthy. Small dogs emerged not long after dogs were domesticated; one of the oldest little dog remains was found in the Middle East and dates to 12,000 years ago, a 2010 study in the journal BMC Biology found. But it's hard to know when these tiny canines became in vogue because large datasets on breed po[CENSORED]rity don't go back that far in time. However, the available research does indicate that people are significantly influenced by trends and celebrity culture when it comes to picking their pooches. Stefano Ghirlanda, a professor of psychology at Brooklyn College, showed this influence by delving into the American Kennel Club's puppy registration data between 1926 and 2005. In a 2013 study in the journal PLOS One, he and colleagues cross matched the po[CENSORED]rity of registered dog breeds with their typical characteristics such as health, longevity and behavioral traits, including aggression, trainability and fearfulness. You'd expect there to be a link between desirable traits and breed po[CENSORED]rity, but that just ain't so. "We found absolutely no correlation in anything when we did this," Ghirlanda told Live Science. "Breed po[CENSORED]rity fluctuates quite a lot and that made us think it was just a question of fashion."

There’s been a shake-up at England’s youngest manager table following the new permanent appointments at Bradford City and Bristol Rovers, with one of the incumbents yet to blow the candles on his 30th birthday cake. Below we cast an eye over the 10 youngest managers currently employed in England’s top-four divisions - that’s the Premier League, Championship, League One and League Two - which feature the likes of Joey Barton, Wayne Rooney, and Mikel Arteta... 1. Conor Sellars: Bradford City (29) At the top of the pile we have a brand new face: Conor Sellars. Aged just 29, Sellars is now the youngest permanent manager in English football after League Two side Bradford City made the rare decision to give the job to not one but two managers (more on joint-boss Mark Trueman in a moment). In mid-December the duo were installed as caretaker managers following the exit of Stuart McCall. A couple of weeks later the pair were named interim managers, then in February (2021) they were deservedly handed the reins full-time following a remarkable transformation. The decision - made by CEO Ryan Sparks who is only 29 himself - came after a cracking run of form which saw Selles and Trueman bag seven wins from 11 games, losing only once. This is made even more impressive considering that the club had previously won none and lost seven of Stuart McCall’s final eight matches. Sellars, son of former Blackburn and Newcastle winger Scott, enjoyed a varied playing career in Portugal, Iceland, and at non-league level in England. The Englishman, who secured his UEFA A Licence in 2019 and speaks Portuguese, has been at Bradford since 2014, during which he’s held various roles, including Academy Coach, Head Foundation Phase Coach, U18 Professional Development Phase Coach, and now manager! The aforementioned Mark Trueman is the second youngest boss in the top-four divisions, behind his Bradford associate Conor Sellars. Trueman, who turned 34 earlier this month, has enjoyed a fantastic start to life in the Bantams dugout (see above section). Similarly to Sellars, Trueman spent his playing days in the non-league circuit, and only recently (October) was on the books at Thackley. He took his first steps into coaching with FC Halifax Town, where he won the National League U19 Alliance. Then ventured over to Bradford Academy, where he was the U18 boss. Up until the joint-manager appointments at Bradford City, it was Russell Martin who had the title of ‘youngest manager in England’. The now 35-year-old was a surprise replacement for Paul Tisdale in the MK Dons dugout back in November 2019, when he was still a player. Martin had a tough task on his hands with the newly-promoted club stuck in the League One relegation zone, however despite his inexperience he impressed in his new post and later steered the club to safety while he also managed to finish above rivals Wimbledon. He’s now got his side up in the top-half of the table; the play-offs could even be within reach with 17 games still left to play. A bright future awaits Martin whose superb start to life in management recently saw him linked with Championship side Bristol City, although this following quote was no doubt music to the ears of MK Dons fans: “I'm very happy here, I'm so invested in the people I work with, the culture we've brought here and I want to continue to improve and grow that. And I'm invested in the club. We've got a lot of work to do, and that's all I'm focussing on.”

Splice, the New York-based, AI-infused, beat-making software service for music producers created by the founder of GroupMe, has managed to sample another $55 million in financing from investors for its wildly po[CENSORED]r service. The GitHub for music producers ranging from Hook N Sling, Mr Hudson SLY, and Steve Solomon to TechCrunch’s own Megan Rose Dickey, Splice gained a following for its ability to help electronic dance music creators save, share, collaborate and remix music. The company’s po[CENSORED]rity has made it from bedroom DJs to the Goldman Sachs boardroom as the financial services giant joined MUSIC, a joint venture between the music executive Matt Pincus and boutique financial services firm Liontree in leading the company’s latest $55 million round. The company’s previous investors include USV, True Ventures, DFJ Growth and Flybridge. “The music creation process is going through a digital transformation. Artists are flocking to solutions that offer a user-friendly, collaborative, and affordable platform for music creation,” said Stephen Kerns, a VP with Goldman Sachs’ GS Growth, in a statement. “With 4 million users, Splice is at the forefront of this transformation and is beloved by the creator community. We’re thrilled to be partnering with Steve Martocci and his team at Splice.” Splice’s financing follows an incredibly acquisitive 2020 for the company, which saw it acquiring music technology companies Audiaire and Superpowered. In addition to the financing, Splice also nabbed Kakul Srivastava, the vice president of Adobe Creative Cloud Experience and Engagement as a director for its board. The funding news comes on the heels of Splice’s recent acquisitions of music-tech companies Audiaire and Superpowered, creating more ways to improve and inspire the audio and music-making process. Splice is also pleased to announce that Kakul Srivastava has joined the company’s board. Splice’s beefed up balance sheet comes as new entrants have started vying for a slice of Splice’s music-making market. These are companies like hardware maker Native Instruments, which launched the Sounds.com marketplace last year, and there’s also Arcade by Output that’s pitching a similar service. Meanwhile, Splice continues to invest in new technology to make producers’ lives easier. In November 2019 it unveiled its artificial intelligence product that lets producers match samples from different genres using machine learning techniques to find the matches. “My job is to keep as many people inspired to create as possible,” Splice founder and chief executive Steve Martocci told TechCrunch. It’s another win for the serial entrepreneur who famously sold his TechCrunch Disrupt Hackathon chat app GroupMe to Skype for $85 million just a year after launching.

Govt will soon add more items to the list of defence hardware that cannot be purchased from foreign suppliersUnion defence minister Rajnath Singh on Monday said the government will soon be adding more products to the list of hardware that cannot be purchased from foreign suppliers, even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi assured the industry that the military hardware, which Indian firms were capable of designing and manufacturing in the country, will not be procured from abroad. Both Modi and Singh were speaking at an event hosted by the Confederation of Indian Industry and the Society of Indian Defence Manufacturers on the budget proposals to boost domestic manufacturing of defence hardware.

Note: All stats and records through games played on Sunday, Feb. 21 Feb. 22 Trail Blazers (18-11) at Suns (19-10) 9 p.m. ET, NBA League Pass It’s a battle between two of the most clutch players in the game – Damian Lillard ranks second in the league with 82 clutch points (on 61.5% shooting from the field, 58.8% on 3-pointers and 100% on free throws), and Chris Paul ranks fifth with 63 clutch points this season and let the entire league last season with 150 clutch points. The Suns and Blazers enter the week ranked fourth and fifth in the Western Conference; could this game turn out to be a first-round playoff preview? This is the first meeting of the season between the Suns and Blazers; they split last year’s seasons series with the four games separated by just one point. Feb. 23 Kings (12-18) at Nets (20-12) 7:30 p.m. ET, NBA League Pass The Nets enter Week 10 riding a six-game win streak – the longest active streak in the league, as they just swept the Pacific Division in five straight road games. One of those wins came in Sacramento as Kyrie Irving (40 points, nine 3-pointers made) and the Nets set a franchise record with 27 3-pointers on 47 attempts (57.4%). The Nets became the fifth team to ever shoot 57% or better when attempting at least 40 3-pointers in a game. While the Nets are the hottest team in the league at the moment, the Kings are looking to get back on track as they have lost seven straight games. Prior to this losing streak, the Kings had won seven of eight games; is it time for the pendulum to swing back in the wins direction? Warriors (16-15) at Knicks (15-16) 7:30 p.m. ET, NBA League Pass Stephen Curry at The Garden – need I say more. Just a reminder that Curry posted the first 50-point game of his career at Madison Square Garden against the Knicks back in 2013. That 54-point performance remained his career high until this season as he has topped that mark twice already. The Knicks are currently seventh in the Eastern Conference with Julius Randle making a strong push for All-Star consideration from the league’s coaches. He is one of four players averaging at least 20 points, 10 rebounds and five assists this season.The last two teams to represent the Eastern Conference in the NBA Finals meet for the third time this season after splitting their first two meetings on Jan. 20 and 22 in Toronto. The Heat are back at full strength and coming off a 96-94 win over the Lakers in a Finals rematch. Since returning to the Heat on Jan. 30, Jimmy Butler has averaged 21.1 points, 9.0 rebounds, 8.7 assists and 1.8 steals over the past 12 games. Pascal Siakam is one of four other players besides Butler to average at least 20 points, five rebounds, five assists and 1.5 steals over the past dozen games. Anthony Edwards just had the dunk of the year on Friday night against the Raptors. Now the rookie will face another high-flier in Zach LaVine – the two-time winner of the Slam Dunk contest at NBA All-Star 2015 and 2016.

Listening to both men talk about all aspects of BMW’s design, it’s clear that the ‘separator’ reasoning is the philosophy behind what they’re doing. Dukec justifies it with the amount of noise they’ve created: “If you want to create something that stands out, it must be distinguished and it has to be different. If you want to reach some customers, you have to stand out. It’s not our goal to please everyone in the world, but you have to please your customers.” This, then, is at the heart of what van Hooydonk and Dukec are trying to do – sell cars. “It all comes back to the customer,” is how Dukec puts it. It’s difficult to argue with the numbers as, Covid-aside, 2020 was a good year for BMW. The group’s sales recovered later in the year, with the 686,069 vehicles sold in the final quarter marking a 3.2% increase on the same period in 2019. Not that it’s been easy or without risk. It’s the age-old compromise of acknowledging the past but also moving a company forward, a job that’s not easy with a back catalogue as long as BMW’s. As van Hooydonk is all too aware of. “There is some friction when your old product is so successful, and that’s what we’re seeing,” he says. “If your market success isn’t there, then you have to change. That’s a very stressful situation as a company. It’s better to have this kind of stress [the controversy], even though it would be even better to have market success and universal praise for the changes. But somehow that’s rarely the case.” What’s clear is that both men feel a huge amount of responsibility towards BMW. Both are well aware of the history of the brand – indeed, they’ve justified their current strategy by looking back to the 1960s, when BMW pioneered a sports car that came with a healthy dose of limousine. Cars like the 1500, which set the standard for the company for years to come, right up to today. These days, the fragmentation of what customers want (and Dukec is clear on this: he’s aiming for customers to want his cars, not need them) means that van Hooydonk and Dukec have identified two groups they want to appeal to. They’ve called them the elegant creators and the expressive performers. While it’s tempting to dismiss this as marketing hyperbole, it does make sense when you view it in terms of the product. The creators tend to sit in the odd-numbered cars – the traditional 3, 5 and 7 Series – while the performers are the even-numbered buyers, with cars like the M4 or X6. It boils down to how people will use their cars. As Dukec has it, the creators want a car “more focused on the cabin, but it still has to have a fluid silhouette and nice proportions”, while the performers don’t want such a practical car. The cabin will be smaller, like a suit that’s “not the most comfortable one, but it’s the one in which you look the best. They want a car that’s almost irrational.” What does all this mean for the cars you’ll see in the street? Traditional BMW styling cues, like the kidney grille, quad headlights and Hofmeister kink will remain, but you’ll see increasing fragmentation across the range. The sportier models will get vertical grilles and fuller bodies with sculpted surfacing, while electric cars will have a similar treatment to the recently revealed iX. The grille on that car remains vertical because of all the high-tech equipment, such as autonomous driving sensors, that needs to be positioned in the centre. The saloons, meanwhile, probably won’t get a vertical grille or even a big one: Dukec actually used the word “narrow” to describe it. It will depend on the customer and the car’s character. This separation is an entirely deliberate ploy. As van Hooydonk says: “We are expanding the vocabulary of the BMW brand with each new model and we’re pulling them further apart. And that’s deliberate. We are making them stronger in character without taking the brand apart.”

Prime minister Boris Johnson set to reveal a roadmap out of lockdown on Monday that will include easing of restrictions on organised sport; grassroots football, golf, tennis and other outdoor sport set to resume on March 29 Non-elite sport - including grassroots football - is set to be allowed to resume in England from March 29 as the government begins to ease coronavirus lockdown restrictions. Prime minister Boris Johnson is set to reveal a roadmap out of lockdown on Monday that will confirm schools in England will reopen to all pupils on March 8, with children's after-school sports and activities also allowed to resume. On the same date, outdoor recreation with one other person will also be permitted, meaning people will be allowed to sit together in a park with a coffee, drink or picnic. Adults will have to wait a further three weeks to restart organised sports, with grassroots football set to resume along with the reopening of tennis courts, golf courses and other outdoor sport facilities. The relaxation of measures is the first stage of a four-part roadmap expected to include the reopening of non-essential retail and hospitality in the coming months. But restrictions will be eased step-by-step across the whole of England, avoiding a return to the previous system of regional tiers. The prime minister is due to announce his plan to the House of Commons on Monday afternoon, before leading a Downing Street news conference at 7pm. MPs will vote on the regulations in the coming weeks.

There are some actors whose faces speak volumes, who can convey emotion and pathos with a simple twitch of the lip, or a raised eyebrow. Frances McDormand is such an actor, and she brings her inimitable talents to Chloé Zhao’s quiet and contemplative elegy Nomadland. The two-time Oscar winner plays Fern, a flinty widow living out of her converted van who travels across the country chasing seasonal work. A stint with Amazon’s Camperforce, a job in a rock quarry, and a campsite host are just a handful of jobs Fern takes on to fund her itinerant lifestyle. Fern is a vandweller, part of large but little seen community of older folks who found themselves struggling after the financial recession of 2008. While the nomadic lifestyle is a choice for some, for others it is a last resort, after steady work dried up and mortgages couldn’t be paid. This older, roaming workforce was the subject of the 2017 non-fiction book Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century by Jessica Bruder, which inspired the film. In fact, aside from McDormand and fellow actor David Strathairn, the cast is made up of real life vandwellers, several of whom were featured in Bruder’s book, including Bob Wells, who runs a po[CENSORED]r YouTube channel called CheapRVliving and a non-profit called Homes on Wheels Alliance to help people transition to the lifestyle. Wells also hosts the Rubber Tramp Rendezvous, a two-week gathering of nomads in Quartzsite, Arizona, where folks take workshops, trade wares, and meet fellow travelers. Zhao artfully showcases both the supportive community of vandwellers and the intense isolation of the lifestyle. Fern’s loneliness is magnified against the stunning natural landscapes she visits, like Badlands National Park and Sequoia National Park. Though the film shies away from overt political messaging, viewers can’t help but contrast the stunning geography of America with the country’s failure to provide a social safety net for its most vulnerable. Grief is a recurring theme in the film, both the personal grief of losing a loved one and the larger cultural grief of the American Dream. So many of these vandwellers spent their lives working hard, and thanks to the ruthlessness of capitalism, they are left with nothing. It’s an American tragedy we’ve seen time and time again, like a modern day take on Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath. And while these landscapes function as a co-star of sorts, it’s McDormand’s performance that takes your breath away. As Fern, she struggles with grief on multiple levels. Fern is faced with not only the death of her husband, but the death of Empire, Nevada, the town she called home. Empire was built around the US Gypsum plant that manufactured sheetrock, and the closing of the factory decimated the company town. A mere six months after the factory closed, the town’s zip code was discontinued. Perhaps it is why Fern keeps on driving and refuses to put down roots. And while she remains friendly and amiable to the characters she encounters on her journey, she remains committed to the road. “I’m not homeless. I’m just houseless,” Fern tells a friend at the beginning of the film. But what do you call home when your hometown becomes a ghost town? With its haunting beauty and stirring performances, Nomadland may be the best film of the year. It’s already racked up awards like the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival, and has garnered 4 Golden Globe nominations. Academy Award nominations are sure to follow. As for Zhao, her next film, Marvel’s Eternals, will be quite a departure from the indie sensibility of Nomadland. But if Nomadland is anything to go on, she may deliver the most artful MCU film ever. Nomadland is currently streaming on Hulu. (featured image: Searchlight Pictures)

Canadian firm Inkas is pretty good at one thing: turning vehicles into armoured fortresses for people who would rather not contract rapid-onset lead poisoning, if you know what we mean. It’s latest offering is an upfitted BMW X7 — in fact the company’s the first to armour up this SUV model. Starting with a regular BMW X7, Inkas adds a layer of armour underneath the sheetmetal, allowing it to withstand a .308 Winchester bullet, even if fired at the door seals. The underside has also been strengthened to take the blast of two simultaneous grenade blasts. The entire vehicle meets the CEN 1063 BR6 ballistic standard. If you aren’t feeling enough like James Bond, Inkas will also let you add sirens, a PA system, air-filtration devices, night vision, a smoke-screen system, an engine-bay fire-suppression system, and emergency lights. Inkas doesn’t offer any engine upgrades to cope with the extra weight of the armour, but it will put the armour on any trim level of X7 you wish, which means you can opt for either a 335-horspower inline-six; or a V8 with 523 or 612 horsepower. On the inside, it’s a regular X7, which means you get adaptive cruise control, ambient lighting, Apple CarPlay, Android Auto compatibility, lane-keep assistance and more. Pricing for the armoured X7 is available on request, but how can you put a price on a life?

Data on the number of Covid-19 cases is now so encouraging that outdoor sports for children and small numbers of adults should be allowed immediately as part of an accelerated easing of the lockdown, a leading scientist and adviser to government has told the Observer. With the prime minister expected to take a cautious approach to lifting restrictions in a statement to the House of Commons on Monday, Prof Mark Woolhouse of Edinburgh University, whose work feeds into the Sage committee’s sub-group Spi-M, said the data showed there was no need for the government to be “ultra-cautious”. “The government has said the country’s exit from lockdown should be data-driven. Well, the data is extremely good, far better than anyone, including me, anticipated two or three weeks ago,” said Woolhouse. “Hospitalisations, deaths, and case numbers have all plunged while vaccinations have already reached a quarter of the adult po[CENSORED]tion. “The corollary is that if we plan to ease lockdown in a data-driven way, we should right now be looking at starting the process of coming out of lockdown earlier than we were thinking about two or three weeks ago. The data drive has to go both ways.” His comments came as the prime minister prepared to announce a new target to give all adults a first dose of the vaccine by the end of July. Plans to offer a first dose to all adults over 50 will also be brought forward two weeks to 15 April. “This virus very rarely transmits outdoors. So, quite honestly, outdoor activities that don’t involve close physical contact could be adopted now. That is not an argument to say we can have crowds back at football matches. But sports involving small numbers of players or sports for children: they could start perfectly safely today.” In a statement to parliament on Monday Johnson is expected to confirm that schools will reopen from 8 March, and that some family outdoor gathering will be allowed before Easter. On Saturday, the health secretary, Matt Hancock, announced that care home residents in England would be able to receive indoor visits from 8 March, including allowing the holding of hands. But overall the emphasis from the prime minister over the coming days is expected to be on accelerating the vaccination programme, rather than any “big bang” lifting of lockdown. Johnson said in a statement on Saturday: “Hitting 15 million vaccinations was a significant milestone – but there will be no let-up, and I want to see the rollout go further and faster in the coming weeks. “We will now aim to offer a jab to every adult by the end of July, helping us protect the most vulnerable sooner, and take further steps to ease some of the restrictions in place.” Tory MPs and ministers remain divided on how fast the lockdown can and should be lifted, with the more cautious fearing a repeat of what happened last year when easing rules too fast led to restrictions being reimposed. However, a large number of Conservatives on the party’s libertarian wing want the prime minister to end the lockdown now to save jobs and the economy, as well as to prevent an educational and mental health crisis for young people including students. Graham Brady, chairman of the 1922 Committee of Conservative backbenchers, said it would be “reckless” to maintain anything like the current level of restrictions. “Tardiness in releasing restrictions might be portrayed by some as caution but it is also acting recklessly with the lives of many others. In particular children and young people whose educational and social development has been damaged so much and who are suffering a dreadful epidemic of mental health problems that may be with us for many years into the future.” Woolhouse added that issues such as ensuring safe transport to parks and grounds and changing facilities would have to be borne in mind if rules on outdoor sports were to be eased. “But if you ask what should the government be considering, then measures to allow us to have outdoor activities should be right at the top of the list.” He said there was good evidence that relatively little transmission of the virus occurred in primary schools. “So I am also very comfortable with opening primary schools. I do think the government doesn’t have to be ultra-cautious,” he added. “I am not saying ‘let everything go’ but thinking about letting people do things that have low risks which just makes everyone’s lives more tolerable.” Other scientists urged caution. The epidemiologist Anne Johnson, of University College London, said: “Although all the indicators are in the right direction, it is still too soon to unlock – if we open up too quickly there is a danger we could set off another big wave of infections. However, we can see the green shoots of spring beginning to show.” NHS England said that more than two-thirds of people aged between 65 and 69 had had their first dose of the vaccine just a week after invitations went out. Around 460,000 people aged 64 will now be called forward to receive their jab, as the health service urged people aged over 65 to respond to their vaccine letter if they had not already done so. Some parts of England had already begun vaccinating the over-65s before the invitations were sent out, after they reached everyone in the top four priority groups who wanted a jab. Paul Whiteman, general secretary of school leaders’ union the NAHT, said school staff should now be prioritised. “With the vaccination programme progressing rapidly and the most vulnerable looking set to be protected very soon, we would like to see all school staff prioritised for vaccination as we enter the next phase. “This would not just help protect those staff at work, as they are forced to take greater risks than those able to stay at home; it would also mean a more sustainable return to school for children in the longer term, with less disruption to education caused by absence and illness.” The official government death toll rose by 445 on Saturday, bringing the UK total to 120,365.

It’s hard to imagine life without the internet. But while the online world provides many benefits, one of its biggest drawbacks is trolls: the army of keyboard cowards who sit behind their desks and fire off hate, usually under fake names, who can cause their victims physical and psychological harm. It’s no wonder high-profile people and celebrities have been known to pull the plug on their social media accounts in response. In 2017, British singer Ed Sheeran quit Twitter citing overwhelming abuse from trolls, while Stranger Things actress Millie Bobby Brown deleted her account in 2018 after becoming the subject of a homophobic meme. At the weekend, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle announced they were abandoning social media due to the amount of “hate” they received. According to media reports, the couple are “very unlikely” to return to social media platforms.

BEIJING (Kyodo) -- North Korea has changed the English title of its leader Kim Jong Un from "chairman" to "president," according to recent state media reports from the country. The Korean Central News Agency on Wednesday ran an English story of Kim visiting the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, on the outskirts of Pyongyang, on Tuesday to mark the birthday of his late father, Chairman Kim Jong Il, whose preserved remains lie in state there. The KCNA report referred to the current leader as "president of the State Affairs of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea," using the country's formal name. KCNA, whose English service had previously called him "chairman" of the State Affairs Commission, the highest governing body, changed that to "president" for the first time last week while reporting on Cuban leaders' message to Kim. However, his title in Korean remains the same as before. Speculation has been growing as to why the title was changed. South Korea's Yonhap News Agency quoted experts as saying the move appears intended to present North Korea to the world as a "normal state" by following the practice of other countries such as China and Russia, whose heads of state are called "president." Until now, the title of "president" was reserved for Kim Il Sung, the late state founder and grandfather of the current leader. It has been suggested there might also be a dual aim of gaining external authority by using the same title as the state founder, who died in 1994 after 46 years in power. During a ruling party congress last month, Kim, formerly "chairman" of the ruling Workers Party of Korea, was elected as its "general secretary," taking over the top post previously held by Kim Jong Il, the nation's previous leader who died in 2011 after 17 years of rule.

The FIA, Formula E Operations, teams and manufacturers have worked together on these updates to protect and increase the competitiveness of customer teams, but it will not boost costs for manufacturers. With twin-motor powertrain configurations banned in agreement with all teams, plus a convergence around longitudinal set-ups, a growing emphasis has been placed on software. In the races, this largely concerns optimising energy efficiency and the calibration of the regenerative braking. Throughout the Gen1 and Gen2 rules cycles, customer teams - such as Envision Virgin Racing (Audi) and Venturi Racing (Mercedes) - have received the same motor and invertor hardware as their supplier but have been largely responsible for developing software in conjunction with external engineering partners and specialists. PLUS: How Mercedes and Porsche can avoid a difficult second FE album However, Autosport has learned that this will be closed off during Gen3, arriving for the 2022-23 season, and that manufacturers will be required to provide exactly equal equipment - now including any software upgrades - for every race. Frederic Bertrand, the FIA director of FE and innovative sports projects, told Autosport: "Up to now, the car from the manufacturer was delivered and then additionally the team could provide some software and updates on the performance side. "This is no longer possible in the next generation. The car will have to be delivered updated in the same way the works team car is. "Every race, the manufacturer will have to provide to the customer and to its works team the same type of software." According to an FIA spokesperson, these changes will "ensure the healthy progression of the championship in the next generation" by signposting the expenditure required by privateers and manufacturers. Bertrand added: "This we wanted because we feel that software is clearly one of the major paths right now of performance and development. "We had the feeling some could deliver the car but at the end if you don't get all the side upgrades and software management system delivered with it, then the guys are not able to be competitive at the end because they're losing too much time to recover. "This we wanted to close for the future." The FIA and FE have introduced a new clause to its updated Gen3 Manufacturer Registration Procedure so that if a manufacturer decides to quit the championship, it will have to continue to supply any customer teams until the end of the rules cycle in 2025-26. Additionally, the FIA will introduce a €600,000 cost cap split across both cars on manufacturer services related to the supply of cars - less than half of the previous estimated amount for Gen2. This covers the manufacturer's technical support provided by two engineers working with the customer team, software updates plus the implementation and running of simulator models.

PC gaming hardware and accessories saw a huge leap in sales in 2020, according to industry-tracking firm The NPD Group. This is something that PC gaming fans are well-aware of as video cards and processors remain difficult to find. Hardware and accessories for the PC gaming space reached $4.5 billion in the United States last year. That is up 62% compared to 2019 and more than twice the sales in the 2017 period. NPD also noted that PC gaming content increased 19% to $7.5 billion. The growth isn’t exclusive to video cards, processors, and games, though. Every PC-gaming category grew year-over-year. This includes audio headsets, monitors, and keyboards. NPD adviser Stephen Baker credits much of the momentum to pandemic-related behavioral changes. “COVID-19 lockdown measures played a role in the growth we’re seeing in PC gaming, as consumers looked for ways to stay entertained while spending more time at home,” said Baker. NPD analyst Mat Piscatella echoed that sentiment. “[PC gaming is] one of the most accessible segments, as many households have a desktop or laptop computer,” said Piscatella. “Over the course of 2020, there was a significant increase in both the number of PC video game players as well as the time and money those players invested in PC gaming.” Baker expects this market to continue growing through 2021 — although at a slower rate of around 3%. Beyond that, the industry should settle at around these spending levels. “We remain optimistic about the outlook for PC gaming hardware and accessories for the future, and expect the segments growth rate will exceed that of the total industry,” said Baker. “We do not, [however], expect ongoing incremental dollar increases but rather a plateauing of demand at these new elevated levels.” GamesBeat's creed when covering the game industry is "where passion meets business." What does this mean? We want to tell you how the news matters to you -- not just as a decision-maker at a game studio, but also as a fan of games. Whether you read our articles, listen to our podcasts, or watch our videos, GamesBeat will help you learn about the industry and enjoy engaging with it. How will you do that? Membership includes access to: Newsletters, such as DeanBeat The wonderful, educational, and fun speakers at our events Networking opportunities Special members-only interviews, chats, and "open office" events with GamesBeat staff Chatting with community members, GamesBeat staff, and other guests in our Discord And maybe even a fun prize or two Introductions to like-minded parties

What’s that up ahead? It is a hitchhiker with their thumb in the wind? The Suns’ bus keeps driving down the regular season road and as the miles pass, new members are looking to join the fun and jump onto the bandwagon. Good. Welcome aboard. Remember to fill out your application. Dave King will review it. Phoenix has now completed their 4th set of seven games and are 39% of the way through the 2020-21 season. Knowing that there are 10 such periods in a 72 game season (plus two games at the end), we have taken note of each seven game stretch. We have been observing the team in these periods as they navigate the peaks and valleys that the regular season poses. As we enter Period 5, the set of games that will take us halfway through this journey, Phoenix has an 18-10 record and is tied for 4th in the Western Conference. They have just completed their strongest stretch of the season against stout competition (opposing teams were 84-73 entering the 7-game period) with a .857 winning percentage. Outside of an epic 24-point collapse against the Nets, the team knifed their way through the Eastern Conference’s best and ended the period with a dominating 4th quarter against the Pelicans. As of today, Phoenix has a 96% chance of making the playoffs. We will not be playing the “refresh tank-a-thon” game this year. This is music to my ears. It would take an epic collapse to miss the playoffs this year. Period 4 taught us that epic collapses are possible, however. The goal is to stay focused. To continue to focus on the road ahead rather than the destination. Seven games at a time. 15 of you called it! Pat yourself on the back, virtually high-five those around you, and start betting on games at your local sportsbook. Another vote for 0-7, eh? I am happy to report that you are wrong. In more ways than one. So what did we learn? My observation on this run of Suns basketball is this: the team has grit. Not all of the wins in Period 4 were blowouts. They had to mentally overcome blowing a 12-point lead against the Cavs. They had to survive the final minutes of the 4th versus Milwaukee. They had to come back being down 11 to defeat the Pelicans. Winning in the NBA is hard and if you are not focused on every possession, if you let possessions get away from you, you lose. We’ve seen it for too many years in Phoenix. This team has absorbed the personality of Chris Paul and personifies it on the court. The matches they navigated during Period 4 will do wonders for this team moving forward. It shows the team that they are never out of it. It is a point of reference when they play difficult competition, knowing they can win. It builds confidence. It was a fun stretch of games. Like your shrink tells you to do with your feelings, compartmentalize it. It is the past. We look towards the future now. Like the seventh track on The Blueprint III, we’re on to the next one. The road that lies ahead contains opportunity. The Period 5 stretch has winnable games against some bad teams. Only one nationally televised game this period? That’s the Suns I know! Although I was kind of getting used to the national pundits discussing the championship level of defense the Suns play, only to watch it disintegrate and crumble before our eyes. Sorry...that Nets loss still stings when I think about it. Put in a box, John, put in a box... First up will be the Grizzlies. If you feel that this is a team that “has the Suns’ number”, you’re not wrong. While the Suns dominated the Grizzlies during the Steve Nash era, Memphis has gone 21-9 against Phoenix Since the 2012-13 including 4-1 in the last five. That includes the national TV 108-104 loss on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day in January. Memphis has been a schizophrenic team this season as they currently sit 9th in the west with a 13-12 record. They have had a 7-game win streak to account for their 13 wins, but they have had two streaks of 3 losses of more as well. Which Grizzlies team will we see tonight? Hopefully the one that loses. Dillon Brooks is on my ‘Top 5 NBA Guys Who Annoy Me’ list (headlined by Trae Young) and to see him lose would make for an enjoyable Saturday evening. I get that C.J. McCollum, Jusuf Nurkic and Zach Collins are out for the Trailblazers, but to give the Suns a 73% chance of winning that game? I believe it is much closer than that. The Suns are Blazers are jockeying for Western Conference positioning and the result of this game could go a long way in determining an end-of-year tiebreaker. Damian Lillard has been an absolute stud since his running mate McCollum went down with a left foot injury. In the 14 games without C.J., Dame has gone for 31.9 points on 45.9/39.1/92.8 splits. His team during that stretch is 10-4 and currently amidst a 6-game winning streak. I guess that’s not good enough to get him as an NBA starter... One of the games I am circling during Period 5 is the contest against the Hornets. LaMelo Ball, who Charlotte has decided to move into the starting lineup for the past 8 games, is just plain fun to watch. His court vision and playmaking skills are exceptional for a rookie talent. It isn’t necessarily equating to wins, but they are a team that can...wait for the bad pun...sting you. A three-game road trip begins in the Windy City against the Bulls, stops over in the Twin Cities versus the Timberwolves and ends in the City of Angels facing the Lakers. The Bulls are lead by the puzzling case of Zach LaVine. He is a scoring machine, a “walking bucket” some might say. He is doing so in an incredibly efficient manner and is someone the Suns will not want to allow to get going. 28.5 points per on 51/42.7/85.7. Good stats, bad team guy or legitimate All Star? We’ll find out when the Suns play them. Then it’s the Timberwolves. Oh, the Timberwolves. All of those years we spent contemplating what would happen if Karl Anthony-Towns, D’Angelo Russell and Devin Booker would team up for a super team. Newsflash: it wouldn’t be super. 2⁄3 of the duo are in Minnesota and, although KAT has only played in 10 games so far this season due to a plethora of challenges, the team plays zero defense. They currently are the worst team in the NBA. They do have the #1 overall pick in Anthony Edwards. He is exciting! Look at the dunk he had last night: The last game of the seven game stint is a make up game hosting Golden State. The Warriors, the team Phoenix beat by 11 in late January, is 6-5 since then. Kelly Oubre has played much better since his 1-for-11 shooting night against his old team. He’s averaged 19.7 since, including a career high 40-point performance against the Mavs.

My Vote DH 2

2021 BMW 330i Iconic Edition price and specs BMW says $81,900 drive-away price includes $10,000 worth of extras Illuminated grille, black trim, laser headlights and a sunroof top the equipment list Just 200 examples available in Australia Pricing and specification details for the 2021 BMW 330i Iconic Edition have been published. Limited to just 200 examples across BMW Australia showrooms, the special-edition 330i – priced from $81,900 drive-away – includes a range of po[CENSORED]r options, including a 'BMW Iconic Glow' grille, featuring white LED elements integrated into each vertical strake that illuminate when activated, and when the vehicle is stationary. Other standard inclusions: laser high-beam headlights, a power-operated glass sunroof, a rear lip spoiler, tri-colour M stripes on the seat belts, puddle lamp projection from the door mirrors, carbon-fibre mirror caps, heated front seats, 19-inch black alloy wheels, and a black grille. Black Sapphire and Mineral White exterior colours are available, with 100 units of each colour on offer. Even though the limited edition is equipped with what BMW claims is $10,000 worth of extra equipment, the drive-away price of the 330i Iconic Edition is less than the 330i M Sport variant on which it is based. Normally, the BMW 330i M Sport costs between $85,000 and $87,000 drive-away depending on state of registration. Above and bottom: The BMW 330i Iconic Edition, as pictured on BMW Australia's online configurator. The carbon-fibre mirror caps and grille illumination aren't pictured. Other standard features on the Iconic Edition – derived from its M Sport donor vehicle – include Vernasca leather trim, power-adjustable seats, LED (low-beam) headlights and tail-lights, a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, a 12.3-inch infotainment touchscreen with Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, satellite navigation and digital radio, keyless entry and push-button start. There's also adaptive dampers, M Sport brakes, wireless smartphone charging and an array of active safety features including autonomous emergency braking, lane-keep assist, adaptive cruise control, blind-spot monitoring and rear cross-traffic alert. Also carried over is the BMW 330i's 190kW/400Nm 2.0-litre turbo four-cylinder petrol engine, mated to an eight-speed automatic transmission driving the rear wheels. BMW Australia is expected to release information on the BMW 330i Iconic Edition later this week. The information in this story has been sourced from dealers and BMW's online configurator. We will update this story if any new details are released.

Norman Powell poured in 29 points and Pascal Siakam (see-A’-kam) had 27 as the Raptors handed the Bucks their fifth straight loss, 110-96 Toronto began a 21-4 run in the first quarter and began the second half with a 13-4 spurt to take control. Giannis Antetokounmpo (YAH’-nihs an-teh-toh-KOON’-poh) had 23 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists for the Bucks, who hadn’t dropped five straight since the 2016-17 season. Milwaukee is 1-5 without Holiday. UNDATED (AP) — Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James and Brooklyn Nets forward Kevin Durant are the leading fan vote-getters in the Western and Eastern Conferences for the All-Star Game. Joining James in the West starting lineup are Denver center Nikola Jokic (nih-KOH’-lah YOH’-kihch), Los Angeles Clippers forward Kawhi (kah-WY’) Leonard, Golden State guard Stephen Curry and Dallas guard Luka Doncic (DAHN’-chihch). Milwaukee forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (YAH’-nihs an-teh-toh-KOON’-poh) and Philadelphia center Joel Embiid (joh-EHL’ ehm-BEED’) join Durant in the East starting frontcourt, with Washington’s Bradley Beal and Brooklyn’s Kyrie Irving are the teams’ starting guards. NFL-NEWS AP source: Eagles send Carson Wentz to Colts for draft picks UNDATED (AP) — Jared Goff and Carson Wentz went 1-2 in the 2016 NFL Draft. Less than five years later, the quarterbacks have gone 1-2 in the NFL trade market. A person familiar with the deal tells The Associated Press that the Philadelphia Eagles have agreed to trade Wentz to the Indianapolis Colts for a third-round pick in this year’s draft and a conditional second-round selection next year. The 2022 draft pick can turn into a first-round pick if Wentz plays 75% of the snaps this year or 70% and the Colts make the playoffs. Wentz is coming off the worst season of his five-year career and was benched for rookie Jalen Hurts after 12 games. He was 11-2 with the 2017 Eagles before a knee injury ended his season and Philadelphia went on to win its only Super Bowl title. Wentz is an ideal fit to succeed Philip Rivers, who retired after leading the Colts to the playoffs in his only season in Indianapolis. The trade comes three weeks after the Los Angeles Rams shipped Goff to the Detroit Lions for fellow quarterback Matthew Stafford. In other NFL news: — The Falcons have cleared almost $11 million in cap space by releasing safety Ricardo Allen and defensive end Allen Bailey. There may be more cost-cutting moves ahead for the Falcons, who rank near the bottom of the NFL in salary cap space, according to Spotrac. — The league has increased the salary cap to a minimum of $180 million for the 2021 season. The league and the NFL Players Association had previously set a minimum of $175 million because of revenue losses incurred during the coronavirus pandemic. The final cap number will be determined following further review of revenue figures for 2020 and other accounting. The cap was $198 million last season. — The NFL says the first position-specific helmet created for its players represents a major step in helmet technology, though it must still undergo testing by the league and the players’ union before being authorized for use. The helmet provides additional support in the front, where most head impacts take place for offensive and defensive linemen. TOP 25 MEN’S BASKETBALL-SCHEDULE Shockers pull off Shocker UNDATED (AP) — The Wichita State Shockers aren’t getting a lot of love from voters in the AP men’s basketball poll, but they just earned a lot of respect from sixth-ranked Houston. Alterique Gilbert and Tyson Etienne each scored 16 points in Wichita State’s 68-63 win over the Cougars. Gilbert was 3-for-4 from beyond the arc for the Shockers, who were 10 of 22 from beyond the arc. It was Wichita State’s first home win over a top-six team since knocking off No. 2 Louisville in February 1967. Also in Thursday’s top-25 action: — Corey Kispert provided 20 points and Joel Ayayi (ah-YAH’-ee) added 16 for top-ranked Gonzaga in its 25th straight win, an 87-65 thumping of Saint Mary’s. Drew Timme (TIH’-mee) chipped in 12 points to help the 21-0 Bulldogs stretch their home winning streak to 48 games. — No. 3 Michigan was a 71-64 winner against Rutgers as Franz Wagner (VAHG’-nur) furnished 20 points and Mike Smith added 12. Michigan led 37-28 at halftime, then scored eight of the first 10 points after the break to lead by 15. — Fourth-ranked Ohio State owns a seven-game winning streak after EJ Liddell dropped in 23 points and Duane Washington Jr. added 21 in the Buckeyes’ 92-82 victory at Penn State. The 18-4 Buckeyes shot 58% from the field, including 11 of 20 from 3-point range. — Luka Garza raised his nation-leading scoring average to 24.7 points by delivering 30 in 11th-ranked Iowa’s 77-62 win at No. 21 Wisconsin. Joe Wieskamp (WEES’-kamp) added 17 points for the Hawkeyes, who led just 49-46 before hitting seven straight shots to go up 68-54. — Matt Mitchell registered 19 points as No. 25 San Diego State won its seventh straight game, 67-53 versus Frenso State. Trey Pulliam had 18 points in the victory. NHL-SCHEDULE Leafs blast Sens UNDATED (AP) — The NHL elected to go with an all-Canadian division this season due to travel restrictions on U.S. travel. No one is happier with the decision than the Toronto Maple Leafs, who lead the league with 28 points following a 7-3 rout of Ottawa. Auston Matthews leads the league with 16 goals after scoring twice and collecting two assists. Mitch Marner also had four points with a goal and three assists for the Leafs, who have points in 13 straight games since a 3-2-0 start. Elsewhere on NHL ice: — Kyle Palmieri scored twice, including a short-handed tally to back Mackenzie Blackwood’s 25-save performance in the Devils’ 3-2 win over the Bruins. Pavel Zacha (ZAH’-kah) scored for the second consecutive game and New Jersey moved to 2-0 since having seven games postponed due to COVID-19. — The Blues picked up a 3-2 comeback win over the Sharks as Brayden Schenn tied it late in the third period and David Perron (peh-RAHN’) scored on a power play in overtime. Mike Hoffman also scored, and Jordan Binnington made 29 saves in the Blues’ first game since playing a league-record seven straight versus the Coyotes. — The Islanders’ eight-game point streak is over after Sidney Crosby scored the opening goal in his 999th NHL game to jumpstart the Penguins’ 4-1 victory. Bryan Rust and Jason Zucker each had a goal and an assist for the Pens, who blanked New York until Brock Nelson scored with 4:21 remaining. — Nicklas Backstrom netted a power-play goal and Tom Wilson had a short-handed tally in the Capitals’ 3-1 win against the Sabres. Conor Sheary scored and Vitek Vanecek (VEE’-thk VAN’-eh-chehk) made 22 saves as Washington earned its second straight win since a four-game losing streak. — Shootout goals by Kaapo Kakko (KAH’-poh KA’-koh) and Artemi Panarin (ahr-TEH’-mee pah-NAH’-rihn) gave the Rangers a 3-2 victory over the Flyers. Colin Blackwell and Brendan Smith scored in regulation for New York, and Alexandar Georgiev (GUR’-gee-ehv) stopped 20 shots as the Blueshirts ended a four-game losing streak. — Elvis Merzlikins (murz-LEE’-kihnz) made 32 saves in his first start since coming off injured reserve, backstopping the Blue Jackets’ 3-0 win over the Predators. Cam Atkinson scored his team-leading seventh goal in support of Merzilins’ first shutout of the season and sixth of his career. — The Kings wasted a 2-0 lead before Gabriel Vilardi scored in the fourth round of a shootout to send them past the Coyotes, 3-2. Dustin Brown and Jeff Carter supplied regulation goals for Los Angeles, and Jonathan Quick finished with 20 saves. NHL-LIGHTNING-STARS POSTPONED Lightning at Stars postponed again DALLAS (AP) — The NHL game between Tampa Bay and Dallas scheduled for Saturday has been postponed, marking four straight home games for the Stars to be called off because of frigid conditions and power outages in Texas. The postponement announced Thursday also means the first four meetings between the teams from last season’s Stanley Cup Final have been been postponed. The defending champion Lightning and Stars were supposed to play twice in the first week of the season before COVID-19 issues with the Stars forced them to postpone their first four games. MLB-NEWS Blue Jays expect to play in Florida, Buffalo and Toronto UNDATED (AP) — The Toronto Blue Jays expect to split the home portion of this year’s regular-schedule among their spring training complex in Dunedin (duhn-EE’-dihn), Florida, their Triple-A ballpark in Buffalo, New York, and the Rogers Center in Toronto. Toronto announced Thursday that it will play the first two homestands of the season in Dunedin because of Canadian government restrictions during the pandemic. Team president Mark Shapiro (shuh-PY’-roh) says a return to Buffalo is a likely option in June because of the heat and humidity in Florida. He hopes for games in Toronto at some point during the summer. In other MLB news: — Indians ace Shane Bieber recently tested positive with COVID-19, delaying the AL Cy Young winner’s arrival at training camp by a few days. President of baseball operations Chris Antonetti said Bieber has only dealt with “very mild symptoms” from the virus. The 25-year-old Bieber was dominant last season, leading the league in wins, ERA and strikeouts. — Phillies’ two-time All-Star catcher J.T. Realmuto (ree-al-MOO’-toh) has a small fracture in his right thumb and will be evaluated again in two weeks. Realmuto was injured while blocking a pitch six days before the fracture was discovered. He practiced on the first day of spring training Wednesday. — The Giants beat infielder Donovan Solano in salary arbitration, leaving owners 5-3 in the process this winter. Solano will be paid the team’s $3.25 million offer rather than his $3.9 million request. The 33-year-old hit a career-high .326 with three homers and 29 RBIs in 190 at-bats last year. — Former All-Star reliever Brad Boxberger has signed a minor league contract with the Brewers that includes an invitation to major league camp. The 32-year-old Boxberger went 1-0 with a 3.00 ERA in 23 appearances for the Marlins last season. — The Indians are bringing back 39-year-old reliever Oliver Pérez on a minor league deal and an invitation to big league camp. Pérez has spent the past three seasons with the Indians, appearing in 139 games. Pérez went 1-1 with a 2.00 ERA in 21 games last season while helping the Indians gain a wild-card spot. — Red Sox left-hander Chris Sale is closer to getting back on the mound following Tommy John surgery in March. Sale says he has no restrictions with his elbow and is concentrating on checking off each benchmark of his throwing program as he inches closer to a return. — Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo says Stephen Strasburg is in “preparation mode, not in rehabilitation mode” after throwing just five innings last season. The 2019 World Series MVP was shut down in 2020 by a wrist problem that required surgery. Nats ace Max Scherzer is dealing with an ankle sprain and has been told to slow down his conditioning regimen. — Former Minnesota second baseman Brian Dozier has retired after nine major league seasons and 167 home runs. Dozier played his first seven seasons for the Twins and hit 42 homers for them in 2016. — Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole and other baseball players will be pushing for changes that make more teams competitive as they think about looming labor negotiations that could lead to a work stoppage next year. Many veteran non-stars have taken substantial paycuts in recent years, while others have turned down cuts and retired. The players’ association is upset that some teams have lowered major league payroll in favor of rebuilding with youth, a process it calls tanking. PANDEMIC-NEWS Ivy League scrubs spring sports season UNDATED (AP) — The Ivy League has decided not to hold a spring sports conference season for the second straight year because of COVID-19. The move announced Thursday by the conference presidents came nearly a year after the conference was the first to cancel its postseason basketball tournament. In other pandemic-related sports news: — The NHL’s COVID-19 numbers have dropped steadily since peaking at 59 players last Friday. The number is down to 13, the fewest since 12 were listed on Jan. 17. — The ACC says it won’t make public tickets available for fans to attend its men’s and women’s basketball tournaments. Instead, attendance at the two tournaments in Greensboro, North Carolina, would be limited to family and guests of team personnel. PGA-GENESIS INVITATIONAL Burns leads at Riviera LOS ANGELES (AP) — Sam Burns is the first-round leader at the PGA’s Genesis Invitational at Riviera. Burns birdied three straight holes in a 7-under 64 that puts him two strokes ahead of Matthew Fitzpatrick and Max Homa. Patrick Cantlay is in a group at minus-4, while Dustin Johnson is a 3 under.

Manila House Private Club's recent webinar shed light on social media's effects amidst a pandemic. Moderated by Bambina Olivares, the "Cutting of Oxygen: Can We Live Without Social Media" webinar stirred an interesting discussion among personalities whose careers mostly hinge on the online world. The audience was able to hear from content creator Macoy Averilla, Instagram product marketing lead Alex De Leon, EON's strategic planning lead Teddy Mapa and research analyst Andrea Duldulao, and psychologists Mara Yusingco and Ian Agustin. After the talk, we were able to gather three of the most significant things to keep in mind when connecting through social media while keeping your distance in real life. Read below to know how to lessen your social media use to get a healthier lifestyle: We're quite susceptible to doomscrolling during these challenging times. Unfortunately, constantly seeing negative posts can affect you completely. EON's research analyst Andrea Duldulao mentioned how this can cause extreme stress and information overload. Instagram's product marketing lead even shared how often they work to ensure false news doesn't cause more people distress. So, instead, focus on positive content. Follow more people who bring happiness, find content that enhances the mind rather than troubles it. We often hear people say the term "social media detox" which refers to limiting the use of social media applications. Some would delete their social media app either for days or weeks just to keep themselves away from another hour of endless scrolling. But it appears that we don't have to turn away from the online world completely. Mara Yusingco, a psychologist and instructor at the Ateneo de Manila University, explained that overusing social media can definitely harm a person. Psychologist Ian Agustin agreed, which means that you don't need to delete Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter permanently. You just need to use it moderately. Macoy Averilla, also known as Macoy Dubs, shared that he refuses to read comments on social media. Considering the abundance of satire in his videos, Macoy will always be prone to criticism. But the content creator finds this as part of "social media's ecosystem". Much like Macoy, we can either learn from the comments or choose not to pay attention to them as much. Which only circles back to the first tip—keep your timeline full of optimism. All you have to do is simply remember these three effective tips to have a healthier experience on social media.

In the early 1920s, Mark and Mary Blumenthal started a new life. Their parents had already left behind family roots in Lithuania and Russia to live in Britain. Against a background of rising anti-Semitism in Britain and across Europe, these second-generation immigrants changed their Jewish name to the most inconspicuously English one they could have found: Bland. Now their great-grandson is a BBC presenter who announced on Thursday he would be known as Ben Boulos - taking his maternal family's name to reflect his Sudanese-Egyptian heritage. The name change game He says he received an "overwhelming and overwhelmingly positive" reaction - much of it from people with similarly mixed heritage who have wrestled with questions of identity. "I didn't realise quite how many people had gone through the same thought processes about their name, what it says about their identity, and how many people thought about changing it," says Ben. Some of the people who contacted him had multiple cultures in their background but Anglicised names that concealed their family history. Others had lost a name from their culture through marriage. And many had a similar story to his great-grandparents on his father's side, where they had in the past swapped a Jewish name for an Anglicised one "for reasons of survival" as Ben puts it. All these questions came to a head for Ben in lockdown, when the enforced isolation gave him time to weigh up his desire to better reflect his identity and the potential upheaval to his career and family. "Thinking about your name and your identity is the kind of thing you put off because life is too busy, it's never a good time, everyone else is busy. When is the right time to strike up a conversation with your parents about your idea of changing your surname?" With the blessing of his family, he announced the change on Twitter: "Same Ben. Less Bland." As a boy at school, Ben says he was driven to fit in. His accent and appearance meant most people took him to be as white and British as they come. But every now and then there was a cultural disconnect. People didn't understand when they learned that his family celebrated Christmas or Easter on a different day, in line with their Coptic Christian faith. His home life was a bustling hubbub of traditional Sudanese-Egyptian food and conversation in Arabic and English - far from bland. At work in the BBC, Ben says colleagues would sometimes be taken aback by his language skills. "Every time I would go through the process of explaining and people would say, 'I had no idea, why have you never said?' I always felt it would be a very odd thing to go around saying the whole time." The name Bland had achieved exactly what his great-grandparents needed at the time - to "mask any kind of difference", Ben says. "Now it feels like having a name that reflects the heritage on my mum's side of the family is not just for people who can see and decipher little clues, it's like the mask has come off and it's out there for everyone to see." Ben says he is as proud of his Jewish heritage as of his Sudanese-Egyptian background and considered reverting to the name Blumenthal. But he says he wanted a name that gives "a more complete picture of who I am and the influences on my life". Boulos reflects the identity that has played the bigger role in shaping him, and the Coptic Christian faith he continues to practice. He worried, however, that his decision might be seen as disloyal to his great-grandmother's memory, her foresight in seeing Europe's shift to violent anti-Semitism and taking steps to protect her family. "Who knows if they hadn't taken that decision whether the family would have survived and whether I'd even be here?" Ben asks. But he feels that his decision reflects "a recognition that the world has completely changed", where he can speak openly and proudly of both his Jewish and his Sudanese-Egyptian heritage - and they no longer need the name Bland for survival. Ben sees a parallel between the two strands of his family which both converged on Britain as a refuge - his Sudanese-Egyptian family having become increasingly concerned about life in Khartoum during the 1970s and 1980s for the Christian minority. "That's why with the name Bland, it's fine that people have assumed up until now that I'm just as Anglicised and as British as they come. I really feel there is a lot to be thankful to this country for," he says. "But it doesn't give the complete picture about who I am, the background that shaped my identity and my beliefs and my perspective on the world. I want that to be more clear." One person who has mixed feelings about the change is journalism's other Ben Bland, a former Financial Times reporter who is now a south-east Asia expert for a think tank. On one occasion the two Ben Blands appeared simultaneously on the BBC. In his explanation of the name change, the BBC presenter mentioned that he'd been receiving social media messages meant for the other Ben Bland, "some pleasant, some hostile". Ben Bland - the south-east Asia expert - congratulated his former namesake on his new identity. But he said: "I'm a bit concerned that my abuse-meter will rise now."

Office 2021 for PC and Mac is coming later this year, Microsoft has confirmed, but despite what many believe you won’t need an Microsoft 365 subscription in order to use it. Although Microsoft has shifted its focus in recent years to subscription-based software and services, particularly as it weaves in cloud functionality and storage from OneDrive, there’s still a subset of users that would prefer the familiarity of an upfront purchase instead. For a long time, though, Microsoft’s commitment to offering that has been questioned. The software giant’s push around Microsoft 365 subscriptions, after renaming Office 365 in 2020 to better reflect the nature of the packages it offers, seemed designed to push upfront purchases out of the way. How much value you get out of a subscription to Microsoft 365 really depends on how much of the software and services you actually commit to. If you’re just looking for a word processor, then paying a monthly fee – or for a yearly subscription, which Microsoft offers a discount on – probably doesn’t make sense. However if you’re willing to shift your digital life to Microsoft’s cloud, then things like bundled OneDrive start to make more sense. Microsoft 365 Family, for example, is priced at $99.99 per year and includes software for up to 6 users, and up to 6TB of OneDrive cloud storage. Microsoft 365 Personal is $69.99 per year, but only includes software access for one person, and 1TB of storage. Beyond pricing, the big difference between Microsoft 365 and Office 2021 is the sort of functionality you can expect over time. With Office 2021 and the one-time purchase model, what you basically get out of the box is the software you have for its lifespan. That’s five years, Microsoft says. Like other service providers, Microsoft has been aggressive in rolling out new features and updates over the past few years. That’s included special smartphone and iPad apps for Office, new video conferencing features for Teams, and more task-focused software such as Outlook Spaces. What’s been consistent about them is that they’re designed for Microsoft 365 users to try. In short, if you want to be on the cutting edge of what Microsoft sees as the future of its Office suite – and the definition of that seems to get broader all the time – then you need to be on a Microsoft 365 plan. As for why you might still want to go for a one-time purchase, there are more reasons than just wanting to bypass a monthly or annual subscription fee. Systems that are rarely or never connected to the internet, for instance, need full standalone functionality. While we’ll have to wait a little for Microsoft to actually release the new version of Office 2021 with outright purchase, there’s good news around pricing. The company says that it does not plan to change the price for the software when it does launch it, compared to what it’s currently asking. Right now, Office Home & Student 2019 is the only personal version of the software offered as a one-time purchase. That costs $149.99, and includes the “Classic 2019 versions” of Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. You don’t get any cloud storage, though, nor Microsoft’s mobile apps or Outlook, and the license covers use on a single PC or Mac, for use at home or at school. Office 2021 Home & Student is likely to have the same restrictions, to go with the same $149.99 price. It’ll be supported for five years, Microsoft says, and on both PC and Mac.

The Colorado Economic Development Commission normally doesn’t throw its weight behind unproven startups, but it did so on Thursday, approving $2.9 million in state job growth incentive tax credits to try and land a manufacturing plant that will produce hardware for quantum computers. “Given the broad applications and catalytic benefits that this company’s technology could bring, retaining this company would help position Colorado as an industry leader in next-generation and quantum computing,” Michelle Hadwiger, the deputy director of the Colorado Office of Economic Development & International Trade, told commissioners. Project Quantum, the codename for the Denver-based startup, is looking to create up to 726 new full-time jobs in the state. Most of the positions would staff a new facility making components for quantum computers, an emerging technology expected to increase computing power and speed exponentially and transform the global economy as well as society as a whole. The jobs would carry an average annual wage of $103,329, below the wages other technology employers seeking incentives from the state have provided, but above the average annual wage of any Colorado county. Hadwiger said the company is also considering Illinois, Ohio and New York for the new plant and headquarters. “Quantum computing is going to be as important to the next 30 years of technology as the internet was to the past 30 years,” said the company’s CEO, who only provided his first name — Corban. He added that he “loves” Colorado and doesn’t want to see it surpassed by states like Washington, New York and Illinois in the transformative field. “If we are smart about it, and that means doing something above and beyond, we can win this race. It will require careful coordination at the state and local levels. We need to do something more and different,” he said. The EDC also approved $2.55 million in job growth incentive tax credits and $295,000 in Location Neutral Employment Incentives for Nextworld, a growing cloud-based enterprise software company based in Greenwood Village. The funds are linked to the creation of 306 additional jobs, including 59 located in more remote parts of the state. But in a rare case of dissent, Nextworld’s CEO Kylee McVaney asked the commission to go against staff recommendations and provide a larger incentive package. McVaney, daughter of legendary Denver tech entrepreneur Ed McVaney, said the company’s lease is about to expire in Greenwood Village and most employees would prefer to continue working remotely. The company could save substantial money by not renewing its lease and relocating its headquarters to Florida, which doesn’t have an income tax. “We could go sign a seven-year lease and stay in Colorado or we can try this new grand experiment and save $11 million,” she said. Hadwiger insisted that the award, which averages out to $9,500 per job created, was in line with the amount offered to other technology firms since the Colorado legislature tightened the amount the office could provide companies. But McVaney said the historical average award per employee was closer to $18,000 and the median is $16,000 and that Colorado was not competitive with Florida given that state’s more favorable tax structure.

STATELINE, Nev. -- Imagine flying a foot off the surface of Lake Tahoe at 70 miles per hour, soaring through the trees and getting a bird's-eye view of two outdoor NHL games with almost no one else around. Now watch the NHL Outdoors at Lake Tahoe this weekend. NBC will use two drones to broadcast live footage for the first time -- plus a fixed-wing aircraft, robotic cameras, handheld cameras and usual game cameras -- when the Colorado Avalanche and Vegas Golden Knights play in the Bridgestone NHL Outdoors Saturday (3 p.m. ET; NBC, SN, SN1, TVAS) and the Boston Bruins and Philadelphia Flyers play in the Honda NHL Outdoors Sunday (2 p.m. ET; NBC, SN, SN1, TVAS). "You're going to see some shots that you've never seen in a hockey game before," NBC director Charlie Dammeyer said. The NHL long dreamed of playing in the wilderness to celebrate the most romantic roots of hockey, but it never made sense to play games without fans in attendance instead of drawing tens of thousands to a stadium. Then came the coronavirus pandemic. If ever there were a time to do it, this is it. The NHL Outdoors at Lake Tahoe is a made-for-TV event, which provides a mix of opportunities, challenges and responsibilities. The NHL can play somewhere it never could with fans in the stands, NBC can try things it never could with fans in the stands, and the whole thing is tailored toward the fans who cannot be there. "It's as close to a blank canvas as we've ever had for one of these outdoor games, and to me, that's the exciting part," Dammeyer said. "We still have to cover a hockey game. We still have to serve the fan. We still have to serve the viewer. That's what makes it unique. The only way for people to watch this is [on television], so it's our job to capture the best action, capture the game and oh, by the way, capture this great beauty that's around us." Everything was planned with television in mind, starting with the location of the rink on the 18th fairway of the golf course at Edgewood Tahoe Resort, 50 paces from the water at its closest point. The game camera is at center ice facing the benches and the view of the pines, the lake and the Sierra Nevada. Along with two cameras that isolate on players and another that focuses tightly on the puck, the game camera sits atop a deck made of scaffolding but decorated to look like it's made of stone. The deck is an independent structure to prevent shaking and almost 30 feet tall to mimic the camera angle in an arena, even though the cameras are closer than they would be in an arena. "You don't want to mess up how people are viewing a game, right?" Dammeyer said. "Really, it's the game camera. That's how 90 percent of the game is ultimately viewed, is from the game camera, so we start with that position." At the north end of the rink, facing the vista of South Lake Tahoe, are two camera towers decorated to look like fire lookout towers. At ice level surrounding the rink, there will be robotic cameras and handheld cameras. Normally, NBC couldn't use a camera called a jib because it is a large piece of equipment that would block fans in the stands. Meanwhile, wireless cameras will roam the surrounding grounds, from the beach to the golf course. A third-party vendor that usually films movies and commercials will fly the two drones. One is about 7-feet wide and heavy, and it will carry a cinematic, gyro-stabilized camera. Think of the other as the Connor McDavid of drones. "It's fast," Dammeyer said. "I think it can go 70-some miles per hour. It can go a foot off the lake. It can fly through trees. It's going to give you the wow shot." What neither drone will do, however, is fly over the ice. The drones will avoid flying over people. Dammeyer will rely on their high-tech, high-powered lenses and won't ask them to follow the puck. He will use them between the whistles. "Normally, in an indoor game, I might go to a tight face on the bench or something like that," Dammeyer said, standing next to the rink. "Here, I may come right off this lake right over here and come right up to the face-off." The fixed-wing aircraft will complete the picture with all-encompassing panoramas. "I think it's our job to, A, cover the game and, B, really remind people of where we are," Dammeyer said. "It's unique, and I think if we don't embrace that and the uniqueness of us doing a hockey game on a golf course in the middle of winter on Lake Tahoe with no fans … "I think that would be a mistake if we didn't embrace that, and we absolutely will embrace that."