Everything posted by Mr.Talha
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In a nutshell: Intel is expected to show off its first non-K Alder Lake processors at CES in two weeks, and we’ve just seen what is allegedly a retail unit of one of these CPUs, complete with the new stock cooler. We’ve been hearing about Intel experimenting with new stock cooler designs since September. Now, Peruvian news site XanxoGaming has got its hands on one by purchasing a retail version of the Core i5-12400F. The cooler matches previously leaked images of the Laminar RM1, with a spiral design that makes it look pretty similar to AMD’s Wraith Stealth and Spire coolers. It also appears to feature a blue LED around the fan. In a nutshell: Intel is expected to show off its first non-K Alder Lake processors at CES in two weeks, and we’ve just seen what is allegedly a retail unit of one of these CPUs, complete with the new stock cooler. We’ve been hearing about Intel experimenting with new stock cooler designs since September. Now, Peruvian news site XanxoGaming has got its hands on one by purchasing a retail version of the Core i5-12400F. The cooler matches previously leaked images of the Laminar RM1, with a spiral design that makes it look pretty similar to AMD’s Wraith Stealth and Spire coolers. It also appears to feature a blue LED around the fan. Intel’s CES press conference, which takes place at Mandalay Bay, starts at 10 am PST on January 5. The Alder Lake non-K series processors are expected to launch alongside the budget-orientated B660 and H610 motherboards soon after the event finishes. Alder Lake has arrived to glowing reviews, so it’ll be interesting to see how the cheaper non-K chips shake up the market and compete with similarly priced AMD options. The 12th-gen CPUs have already boosted Intel’s share of the sales market in Germany, though team red remains the dominant force by far. In other Intel news, CEO Pat Gelsinger recently reaffirmed his belief that the current chip crisis will not alleviate until 2023.
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In context: The past week has kept IT organizations scrambling to respond to the Log4j vulnerability impacting systems around the world. As security experts have continued to identify additional bugs in the logging utility, network administrators have worked tirelessly to identify and close off any potential access that that may allow the vulnerability to be exploited. Unfortunately, a newly discovered vector has proven that even isolated systems with no internet connectivity may be just as vulnerable, further complicating the already enormous problem. Researchers at Blumira have more bad news for the IT community battling Log4j security exploits. While previous findings indicated that impacted systems would require some type of network or internet connectivity, the security firm's recent discovery now asserts that services running as local host with no external connection can also be exploited. The finding pointed researchers to several more use cases outlining alternative approaches to compromise unpatched assets running Log4j. A technical post by Blumira CTO, Matthew Warner outlines how a malicious actor can impact vulnerable local machines. Warner states that WebSockets, which are tools that allow fast, efficient communication between web browsers and web applications, could be used to deliver payloads to vulnerable applications and servers with no internet connectivity. This specific attack vector means the unconnected but vulnerable assets could be compromised simply by an attacker sending a malicious request using an existing WebSocket. Warner's post details the specific steps a malicious actor would take to initiate the WebSocket-based attack. The newly identified attack vector will result in a greater number of vulnerable assets across already heavily affected industries. According to Check Point Software, over 50% of all government, military, finance, distribution, ISP, and education organizations are currently affected by the Log4j vulnerability. Warner notes that there are available methods organizations can use to detect any existing Log4j vulnerabilities: Impacted organizations can update their instances of Log4j to version 2.17 to mitigate the tool's vulnerability (which keep popping up). This includes any organization that may have applied the previous remediations, versions 2.15 and 2.16, which were later found to include their own set of related vulnerabilities.
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OnePlus is working on launching new smart TVs in India in the near future, according to a tipster. The company could bring at least two new smart TVs to the Indian market, a 32-inch model and a 43-inch variant. Details about these smart TVs are currently unavailable, and the tipster has not provided a launch date for these smart TV models. The company already has three smart TV ranges available today — the affordable Y-series, the mid-range U-series and the high-end Q-series. According to a tweet by tipster Mukul Sharma, OnePlus is working on launching new smart TV models in India. The company could launch “at least” one 32-inch model and a 43-inch variant, according to information received by the tipster. While the tweet states the launch of the device could take place soon, there is no mention of a tentative date, or whether they will be part of the company's Q-series, Y-series, or U-series smart TV lineup. It is worth noting that OnePlus is yet to reveal any information regarding the launch of new smart TV models in the country. OnePlus is also working on releasing two new smartphones, the flagship OnePlus 10 series and the OnePlus Nord 2 CE 5G smartphone. The high-end OnePlus 10 Pro is expected to feature the flagship Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 SoC, along with a 6.7-inch (2,048 x 1,080 pixels) LTPO AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate. The smartphone is confirmed to launch in January and is expected to feature a 48-megapixel primary camera, a 50-megapixel wide-angle camera, along with an 8-megapixel camera. On the front, OnePlus 10 Pro is could sport a 32-megapixel selfie shooter. Meanwhile, the successor to OnePlus Nord CE 5G is tipped to feature a MediaTek Dimensity 900 SoC, along with a 6.4-inch full-HD+ AMOLED display with a 90Hz refresh rate. OnePlus Nord 2 CE 5G renders were recently spotted online, ahead of the smartphone's official launch. On the camera front, OnePlus Nord 2 CE 5G could feature a 64-megapixel triple-camera setup, along with a 16-megapixel selfie camera. The smartphone is tipped to come with a 4,500mAh battery with support for 65W fast charging, according to recent reports.
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We’re well into peak holiday, and that means it’s time for another free PC game from Epic. Today, it’s one of this year’s most unique RPG games, the reverse roguelike Loop Hero. You have until tomorrow at 8 am PT / 11 am ET / 4 pm GMT to claim your copy and start your quest to rebuild a shattered world. Loop Hero is a roguelike RPG, but rather than playing the hero, you’re placed in the role of dungeonmaster, watching a little warrior (or thief, or necromancer, as you unlock additional classes) plod around a track floating in the midst of an undifferentiated black abyss. As the little fighter journeys round and round, you’ll pick up new tiles to place down that give shape to the landscape. Each one has different effects, with some granting benefits and others spawning monsters, and your job is to modulate the difficulty such that your hero gets just enough of a challenge so that they’re properly leveled when they meet the area boss. The lo-fi Amiga-style graphics and chiptune soundtrack might lull you into thinking Loop Hero is a simple game, but don’t be fooled: there’s a lot of complexity here, and plenty to discover. Tiles often have hidden synergies that magnify their effects or change neighboring tiles, and each class demands a different approach to leveling and enemy placement.
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Economy When the world started to take notice of Evergrande's $300bn (£226bn) debt crisis earlier this year, some asked whether it would become China's "Lehman moment". Since then it has become clear that Beijing is handling the situation in a very different way to how Washington dealt with the bankruptcy of investment banking giant Lehman Brothers at the start of the global financial crisis in 2008. After Evergrande announced that it may not be able to meet all of its financial obligations, the crisis-hit firm defaulted on some of its overseas bonds. It has now reportedly entered a debt restructuring process with Chinese authorities that may include the sale of some of its founder's personal assets. "It is opaque but when we speak to our industry contacts in China, no one is surprised," said Vinesh Motwani of Silk Road Research. Evergrande v Lehman "The biggest difference between the two is that Evergrande was a train wreck that everyone saw coming," said Mr Motwani, who was working in the US as an analyst at Credit Suisse when Lehman collapsed. "When the 'three red lines' policy was announced more than a year ago, it was clear that Evergrande was one of the worst offenders, so the reaction in China was 'this was a long time coming'." The "three red lines" are a set of debt thresholds that severely limit the ability of certain property developers to borrow. For decades the sector had seen uncontrolled borrowing, something the China's central bank, the People's Bank of China (PBOC), described as "reckless". Evergrande's crisis is a "grey rhino" event, a term used to describe a slow-moving obvious threat as opposed to a surprise "black swan" occurrence, according to Rory Green, the Head of China and Asia Research at investment advisory firm TS Lombard. "The warning about Evergrande has been going around for a very long time so none of the bondholders should be surprised that they're defaulting," he said. Another major difference between the collapse of Lehman Brothers and the Evergrande crisis is that when the US government needed to act, it had to pass legislation in order to have the authority to intervene but the Chinese government does not have this problem. By controlling the country's property market through state-owned banks, Beijing also knows which developers are likely to default - something that could not have been said about Washington during the subprime mortgage crisis. At the same time, China is being far more selective with its actions than the US was during the global financial crisis. Unlike Washington which bailed out some of the world's biggest banks, China's Communist Party is taking a more piecemeal approach. "Beijing is like a surgeon operating on a tumour who is thinking 'what do I need to save?'," said Alicia Garcia Herrero, the chief economist for Asia-Pacific at investment bank Natixis. For the Chinese government, it is crucial that Evergrande's day-to-day operations remain intact. It aims to ensure the company can finish the homes it is building so that ordinary property buyers are not affected and trust in the property market is not seriously damaged. As Ms Herrero puts it: "Beijing also needs to be looking at the heart, if it is still beating. That's people's perceptions of the property sector." So far, this approach seems to have limited the impact on the housing market, according to Mr Motwani: "Actual property prices are still up year-on-year. Even where they have fallen month-on-month, they are not down by double digits." But there are concerns that if prices continue to fall, potential buyers may put off purchasing new homes - which would further slow down the market. Experts predict Evergrande's restructuring could take months, if not years, with little in the way of headline-grabbing announcements as authorities try to avoid the kind of shocks that hit the global financial system after Lehman Brothers collapsed. Mr Green points to past big Chinese business failures. Using the implosion of insurance and financial giant Anbang as an example, he expects Evergrande's restructuring to be a long process: "Anbang went into restructuring two years ago and it is still ongoing. Evergrande is much bigger so it could take years. But in my opinion, the worst funding condition has passed." "The most likely scenario is for Evergrande to be split into separate units. It will be the cutting up of the grey rhino and regional banks will be tasked to deal with those separate units to ensure the stability of the sector and the economy." Will international investors be scared off? While Evergrande missing offshore bond interest payments may not have triggered a financial meltdown as they are mostly held by wealthy overseas investors, some analysts are concerned about the impact on the Chinese property sector's reputation. "It definitely hurts the faith of international investors in China's offshore real estate bonds," said Jackson Chan from financial markets research platform Bondsupermart. Crucially, it has made it much more expensive for Chinese property developers to borrow money from international investors. What remains to be seen is how Beijing strikes a balance between continuing its strict property market policies and the risk of the country's massive real estate industry losing access to affordable foreign investment.
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News Leftist candidate Gabriel Boric has won Chile's presidential election after an early concession from his far-right rival, José Antonio Kast. Mr Kast conceded defeat barely an hour and a half after polls closed, and with around half of ballots counted. With most of the votes counted, Mr Boric won with 56% and Mr Kast trailed with 44% of the votes. The election has been one of the most polarised in recent decades and comes after mass anti-government protests. Both candidates offered starkly different visions for the country, and both are outsiders representing political parties that have never been in government. At 35-years-old, Mr Boric will become one of the world's youngest political leaders, and the youngest president in Chile's history. Chile's dark past hangs over presidential run-off The deep divisions ahead of polling day In a phone call with outgoing President Sebastián Piñera, which was publicly broadcasted, Mr Boric said he would do his "best to rise to this tremendous challenge". A former student protest leader, he backed the mass demonstrations against inequality and alleged corruption that rocked Chile in 2019 and 2020. Once the most stable economy in Latin America, Chile has one of the world's largest income gaps, with one percent of the po[CENSORED]tion owning 25% of the country's wealth, according to the United Nations. Mr Boric has promised to address this inequality by reforming Chile's pension and healthcare systems, reducing the work week from 45 to 40 hours, and boosting green investment. His rival, meanwhile, stood on a platform of law and order, pledging cuts to tax and social spending. Mr Kast also defended the legacy of former military dictator General Augusto Pinochet, who took power in a coup and ruled the country from 1973 to 1990. Under his leadership more than 3,000 people were murdered by the state or disappeared, and thousands of political opponents were held in internment camps. In a tweet, Mr Kast said he had called Mr Boric to congratulate him on his "great triumph". "From today he is the elected President of Chile and deserves all our respect and constructive collaboration," he added. The country is going through huge changes after voting overwhelmingly last year to re-write Chile's Pinochet-era constitution. Mr Piñera said that Chile was living in "an environment of excessive polarization, confrontation [and] disputes," and urged his successor to "be the president of all Chileans."
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https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/59719428 Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel says player safety is at risk after his side were made to play their Premier League game against Wolverhampton Wanders on Sunday despite a Covid-19 outbreak. Tuchel's side had a request for the fixture to be postponed after reporting several positive cases at the club. Chelsea had just four outfield players on the bench as they drew 0-0 with Wolves. "It is not safe," Tuchel told BBC Sport. He added: "We talk about protecting players and a safe environment but it is not safe. I would be not surprised if the next test shows up and we have more positives. "How should it stop if we sit in the bus and have dinners and just stay together like nothing happened?" Six of the Premier League's 10 weekend matches were postponed because of Covid. Aston Villa's game with Burnley on Saturday was called off just two and a half hours before the scheduled 15:00 GMT kick-off. The 20 top-flight clubs are set to meet on Monday at 13:00 GMT to discuss the escalating crisis around the coronavirus pandemic. Managers and captains are also due to hold their own meetings. Speaking after his side's 2-2 draw at Tottenham on Sunday, Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp outlined his own frustrations around the current schedule. The Reds are currently without the likes of Thiago, Virgil van Dijk, Fabinho, Curtis Jones and Jordan Henderson due to Covid-related issues or ill health. "We play now on Wednesday, Sunday and Tuesday," Klopp said. "That is impossible. We do not have the players. We could maybe have another [Covid] case or two. We have to think about it, we cannot just push it all through. "First of all, take away the second semi-final of the Carabao Cup. Just play once, wherever you play it I don't care. The 26th and 28th December is really not possible. We would prefer to play but we need some help. If we carry on, we cannot carry on as usual. "If we don't play any more and have a break I am fine. But I know the problem. When do you want to play the games? It is not that easy to fit them in. We said before coronavirus that it was a bit busy and now it gives us a proper punch." Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta said on Saturday he wants everyone to "play under the same rules" when it comes to deciding how things will progress. Having stressed the importance of the league completing the season, the Premier League - and UK government - has urged footballers to get vaccinated. Latest figures, published in October, said 68% of the English top flight's players had received two doses. If one lesson is to be learned about football during the pandemic, it is no-one wants to give anything away and everyone will be looking after themselves. The obvious point around the Premier League meeting is that nine matches have been postponed in barely a week and all clubs, to a lesser or greater extent, are wrestling with the impact of Covid on their squad. A circuit break - or postponement of fixtures - sounds good in theory. But in practice? First, where are the spare games going to be played? The season must end on 22 May. Between now and then, there are two spare midweeks with no matches in them. Second, are clubs willing to pay a rebate to any broadcaster inconvenienced? And then, there are the more political aspects. Moving fixtures from December to a later point in the season would help clubs who have money to spend in the January transfer window. Clubs not in great form at present might be open to the idea as well, whereas clubs whose form is good might be keener to play on.
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In brief: Getting hold of a new graphics card remains an exercise in futility and disappointment for all but those willing to pay scalpers a small fortune. There is another option, though, providing you’re lucky enough: win one from AMD, which is giving away special Halo Infinite editions of its Radeon RX 6900 XT to 28 people. We all know that the graphics card market remains in a sorry state, with prices still around double the MSRP on the rare occasions when they’re in stock. AMD’s Radeon RX 6900 XT is particularly elusive and expensive; eBay sellers list the card at around $2,000 on average, twice its $999 suggested retail price. Thankfully, AMD is running a competition that sees 28 of its RDNA 2 products given away. And these aren’t just any Radeon RX 6900 XT cards; they’re Halo Infinite Limited Editions, complete with a green and yellow color scheme, Master Chief’s 117 service number, and the FPS’ name. There are several ways to win one of the cards, the easiest being to simply input your details in this form to be entered into a sweepstake. Another way of winning involves watching OpticMaNiaC or DKarma on Twitch from January 5. Participants just have to wait until a moderator mentions a keyword then comment and enter that keyword to be entered into a draw. The final method involves playing the Halo Infinite multiplayer and following AMDGaming, OpticMaNiaC, or DKarma on Twitter. You then need to look out for tweets from OpticMaNiaC and DKarma with challenges to complete in the game. Replying to these tweets with video captures of the challenges will let you compete for a spot on a team that will train together in a series of live streams. Following completion of the exercises, the selected person will win a card. Nvidia is also giving consumers the chance to win some high-end hardware right now, including three Matrix-inspired powerful PCs, an RTX 3080 Ti, monitors, and
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In context: Adobe has always been the go-to solution for professional designers, primarily due to InDesign, Photoshop, and Illustrator. These are extremely powerful programs, but demand a significant time investment in order to master them them. If that has historically been a barrier for you, Adobe's latest solution might be worth a look. Adobe's Creative Cloud Express is a new creative app that aims to simplify creating multimedia content, making it an attractive solution for small businesses, students, influencers and social media managers. Adobe's new app enables users to create compelling marketing materials through drag-and-drop and a few clicks. The Creative Cloud Express app uses the same framework and technologies as other Adobe applications like Premiere, Photoshop and Acrobat. It also features Adobe Sensei to remove backgrounds from images, edit videos and turn them into GIFs, and even convert/export PDFs. "With Creative Cloud and Creative Cloud Express, we are meeting the demands of all creators and catalyzing the creator economy," said David Wadhwani, CBO and VP at Adobe. "Creative Cloud Express is the start of a brand-new journey to introduce first-time creators to Adobe creative tools while adding significant value to our current Creative Cloud subscribers." The app is free in its base version, offering thousands of templates, images, fonts, essential editing tools and 2GB of cloud storage. However, you can pay $9.99 per month for the premium subscription (three-month free trial available), which unlocks more assets, 100GB of cloud storage and other editing tools. Moreover, premium subscribers can add their brand/company logo, convert PDFs to other formats, and create, manage and share templates and assets in Creative Cloud libraries. If you subscribe to the premium service, you'll also have access to Adobe Premiere Rush, Photoshop Express, Spark Video and Spark Page. Creative Cloud Express is available on Adobe's website or from the Microsoft Store, Google Play Store or Apple App Store. Enterprise and Teams users will have to wait until 2022 to try it out.
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Sony has kicked off its year-end sale in India on Thursday, with discounts on its Bravia smart TVs and audio products. As part of the sale, the company is offering discounts, cashback offers, and a two-year warranty on specific Bravia TVs. Similarly, Sony has also discounted its audio products including true wireless earbuds, headphones and Bluetooth speakers, with discounts of up to 60 percent of the retail price. The sale is available across offline and electronic stores, the company's online store, as well as Amazon and Flipkart until January 3, according to the company. As part of the company's year-end sale, the company is offering an instant cashback offer on select Bravia TVs, as well discounts of up to 30 percent. The company is also offering a two-year warranty on some Sony Bravia TV models, listed on the company's website. These include the Sony Bravia XR-65A8OJ IN5 which is currently priced at Rs. 2,65,990 down from the retail price of Rs. 3,39,900, and the Sony Bravia KD-55X8OJ, which is priced at Rs. 87,390 (MRP Rs. 1,09,900) on the website. According to Sony's website, customers can purchase four headphones models equipped with active noise cancellation at a discount. The Sony WH-1000XM4 is discounted at Rs. 24,990, down from the retail price of Rs. 29,990, while the Sony WH-H910N is on sale for Rs. 9,990 (MRP Rs. 24,990) or a discount of 60 percent. Meanwhile, the Sony WH-CH710N is currently priced at Rs. 7,990 (MRP Rs. 14,990) and the WH-XB900N costs Rs. 9,990 down from Rs. 19,990. Sony is also offering discounts on its true wireless (TWS) earbuds, with the company's WF-1000XM3 TWS earbuds currently listed at Rs. 9,990 (MRP Rs. 19,990) while the Sony WF-SP800N TWS earbuds are priced at Rs. 10,990, down from Rs. 18,990. The Sony WF-XB700 can be purchased at Rs. 6,990 (MRP Rs. 11,990) while the Sony WF-H800, which usually cost Rs. 16,990, are priced at Rs. 6,990. Sony has discounted its SRS-XB13 wireless Bluetooth speaker at Rs. 3,590, down from the listed price of Rs. 4,990. The company is also offering discounts on its wireless Bluetooth headphones, starting with the Sony WH-CH510 and WI-XB400 that cost Rs. 2,990 and Rs. 2,790, down from their listed price of Rs. 4,990. Meanwhile, the Sony WI-C400 which costs Rs. 3,990, are now priced at Rs. 2,990 and the Sony WI-C310 costs Rs. 1,999, down from the listed price of Rs. 3,290.
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As part of its holiday celebration we’re once again getting treated to a daily free game from the Epic Games Store, and today’s title is one of the best Soulslikes on PC. Remnant: From The Ashes was one of the most-lauded games of 2019 and it’s completely free, but only for the next 24 hours – so you better go grab it quick. PC gamers are still waiting on the inevitable port of From Software’s classic Bloodborne on PC, to say nothing of the delay of Elden Ring, but anyone looking to scratch that Soulslike itch could do far worse than give Remnant: Beyond The Ashes a try – especially as it’s currently free on the Epic Games Store for the next day. Remnant is a single-player or co-op action-focused survival RPG where, much like Dark Souls or similar titles, players much traverse the world and take every combat encounter seriously – underestimate a single enemy and you’ll likely die and lose a lot of progress to boot. Remnant has been free on the Epic Games Store before, of course, as it last popped in back in August 2020. For anyone who missed it, and who doesn’t have Microsoft’s newly-rebranded PC Game Pass, can pick it up today for the reasonable price of nothing whatsoever – provided you’re quick and grab it within the next 24 hours. Here’s the trailer to get you in the mood:
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[Winner MythiCa] [Battle] ⚔ Mythica vs King_of_lion
Mr.Talha replied to Cinderella 乡's topic in GFX Battles
V1. Good text + good blur -
Why it matters: Nvidia just announced some new laptop products which are coming early next year. Most odd is that one of them is a line of laptops featuring a never-before-revealed RTX 2050. It looks like another unexpected measure to work within the supply-choked GPU market. The new RTX 2050, MX570, and MX550 GPUs should give more choices to customers with different hardware requirements. We already have laptops equipped with the more recent Ampere generation’s RTX 3050, but perhaps the 2050 will be a cheaper option (3050 laptops go for around $800). Even at a lower price point, the RTX 2050 will have all the technologies associated with Nvidia’s latest graphics cards: RT cores, Tensor cores, DLSS, Nvidia Reflex, Nvidia Broadcast, Nvidia Encounter, and Nvidia Optimus. It’s hard to say how it will perform, though. TechSpot’s review of the GeForce RTX 3050 Ti laptop noted its paltry 4GB of VRAM hurt its ray-tracing performance. Nvidia did just release a 12GB desktop 2060 in another attempt to ease some pressure in the GPU market. So maybe a new laptop 20 series card won’t be short on RAM. The 3050 Ti review also questioned its place in the market compared to the cheaper 1650 or more powerful 3060. As for the other two cards, the newly announced MX570 is the fastest MX GPU yet. Nvidia hasn’t revealed detailed specs, but it will have more CUDA cores and faster memory. As the successor to the MX450, the GeForce MX550 will outperform integrated graphics with snappy performance in applications like Adobe Lightroom and Premiere Pro. All three cards are planned for Spring 2022, but Nvidia has not mentioned specific laptop models at this time.
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In context: Even with YouTube and Facebook competing in the live streaming market, Twitch still reigns supreme. That could change soon, however, as a new contender approaches. TikTok is starting to take its first steps in streaming, launching the TikTok Live Studio app to select users worldwide. Users who've had access to the streaming app shared images of the UI, chat features, and the settings page to show what the software can do. TikTok Live Studio is rather basic in its current state, much like what Twitch Studio beta was when it was released. The current version of TikTok's streaming software allows users to record in landscape or portrait mode. It can also capture from a variety of sources including games, mobile, video, program, camera, text and images. Moreover, a chat component features a basic set of emojis. To try the new streaming app, you'll need to access the official website and sign in using a TikTok account. Once you've downloaded the app, open it and enter your account credentials. Then, you'll be able to stream content from your computer, phone, or gaming console directly to TikTok. A TikTok representative said Live Studio is nothing more than a test for now, and as such, it may never be widely released. The ongoing phase will allow the social media giant to evaluate how creators use the software. Based on these results, development will be adapted according to their needs. It's still unclear what the primary type of streamers TikTok is hoping to get with its offering, but based on marketing material, it seems aimed at gamers. Alternatives like OBS Studio and Streamlabs OBS are much more mature than Live Studio, but that's to be expected considering the app is still in a test phase.
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Noise Beads have silently debuted as the latest entrant in the growing market of truly wireless stereo (TWS) earbuds in India. The new earbuds come with a metallic finish and are claimed to deliver up to 18 hours of listening time on a single charge. The Noise Beads also come with touch controls and include support for voice assistants. The earbuds feature a beads-like design and come in a compact charging case. Users also have two different colour options to choose from. Noise Beads price in India, availability Noise Beads price in India has been set at Rs. 1,499 for an introductory period, according to a listing on Amazon. The earbuds appear to be later available at Rs. 3,499. The Amazon listing also suggests that the Noise Beads will go on sale in the country starting 12pm (noon) on December 24. Noise Beads specifications The Noise Beads come in an ergonomic design with silicone tips for convenient fit. The earbuds include Bluetooth v5.1 connectivity that is paired with a proprietary Hyper Sync technology. Noise has also offered an IPX5 build to provide a splash-resistant design. Further, each Noise Beads earbud weighs 4.5 grams. Similar to other TWS earbuds, the Noise Beads are paired with the charging case that carries a USB Type-C port for charging. Each earbud also has a dedicated battery that is rated to offer seven hours of playtime on a single charge. The total playback time of the earbuds with the charging case is claimed to be up to 18 hours. The Noise Beads are equipped with touch controls and support both Google Assistant and Siri. Moreover, the earbuds can be paired with an Android phone or an iPhone.
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Valve’s Steam Labs effort brings new ways to browse the mountains of games available on the platform, generally introduced with beta rollouts known as ‘experiments’. After a quiet 12 months, lucky experiment number 13 has landed, introducing Store Hubs with “new ways to browse every niche of Steam“. Store Hubs essentially serve as a gentle revamp for all of Steam’s genre and tag pages. Once you’ve opted into the experiment, all such pages will now have a recommendation carousel at the top, highlighting a number of games based on what you’ve played in the past and what your friends and followed curators are recommending. The games are highlighted with relevant tags and release info, plus a few seconds of footage from a highly compressed trailer. The revamped store pages also highlight new and upcoming events, push forward games you’ve wishlisted, and are more likely to present you with personalised recommendations. The newer, more robust sorting tools are also available here, letting you narrow down your niche even further. These features will eventually just become part of Steam – assuming, of course, that users like them. Valve’s Steam Labs experiments have been fairly quiet lately, as the last one was introduced back in December 2020, bringing additional features for browsing sales. Hopefully all this means that finding new PC games will be a bit easier.
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DH1 DH2
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Accepted
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Why it matters: The chip shortage, high demand, and scalpers have all contributed to a situation where new hardware is hard to find in stock and consumers have to either pay a greatly inflated price or play the waiting game. In the case of DDR5 DRAM, it makes more sense to play the waiting game, as getting your hands on a kit that’s reasonably priced could remain a challenge in the coming months. If you’ve been contemplating a PC upgrade that involves DDR5 memory, chances are you already know that such kits suffer from poor availability, not to mention the continuing problem of scalpers grabbing every last one to sell at inflated prices that reach as high as $2,500. The main reason is, of course, the ongoing chip shortage. However, it’s not the lack of DDR5 chips, but rather the lack of power management integrated circuits (PMICs) that has led to this situation. Manufacturers are actively trying to improve production capacity, but that can’t exactly happen overnight. Availability won’t improve much in the coming months, but the average selling price could see a small decrease. According to a report from TrendForce, the cost of DDR5 modules could fall by anywhere between three to eight percent in Q1 2022. In the case of DDR4 modules, the price could decrease by as much as 10 percent as a result of PC OEMs trying to reduce inventory during the holiday shopping season. This won’t necessarily make a huge difference for your wallet but is indicative of a slow, gradual improvement in supply for DRAM that could eventually make DDR5 scalpers lose interest. Right now you can only use DDR5 with a handful of Intel Alder Lake CPUs, but that will change as Intel launches additional models and suppliers ramp up production. There is now an oversupply of mobile DRAM, but that hasn’t helped in the current context where phone makers have trouble securing a constant supply of various other components. TrendForce expects mobile DRAM prices to decrease between eight to 13 percent in the first quarter of next year, especially as smartphone sales have taken a hit and created inventory pressure for both suppliers and phone makers. In the case of graphics DRAM, suppliers are now gradually shifting from 8 Gb to 16 Gb GDDR6 chips, with Micron leading the transition. However, since most chips used for consumer graphics cards are still of the 8 Gb variety, the high demand means prices won’t improve and at best will remain flat in the coming months.