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AOTW #51 @Meh Rez vM ! ♫ : Rewarded with 7 days of VIP

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Samsung recommends that users backup their data before installing the update. Samsung is rolling out a beta version of Android 13-based One UI 5.0 in Germany for Galaxy S22 series users. People have to register on the Samsung Members app to get a chance to download this beta build. The South Korean tech giant has advised users to back up their smartphone's data before installing the update. Samsung has further stated that this build will supposedly not work with service provider-locked handsets. The stable version of Android 13 is expected to come later this year in September. Samsung announced the update on Friday via a post on its community forum as spotted by Android Authority. Registration for the One UI 5.0 beta test is open in Germany for a limited period exclusively for the first 500 members who register for the 'One UI beta program' in the Samsung Members app. This beta version is only compatible with the unlocked Galaxy S22, Galaxy S22+, and Galaxy S22 Ultra. So far, only these smartphones work with the Android 13-based One UI 5.0 beta that reportedly carries the firmware version S90xBXXU2ZHV4. Samsung could reveal more compatible devices in the future. Users looking to sign up for the One UI 5.0 beta should keep in mind that they may encounter unexpected bugs. Samsung recommends that people should backup their data prior to installing the update. Contactless payment apps like Samsung Pay and Google Pay are not expected to work with this beta build. In addition, several third-party applications might not be fully operable. A past report had claimed that Samsung could have started rolling the One UI 5.0 beta in late July for the Galaxy S22 series smartphones. Samsung is expected to release a stable version of the One UI 5.0 in October. In related news, Google could reportedly roll out the stable Android 13 version sometime in September this year. https://gadgets360.com/mobiles/news/samsung-s22-plus-ultra-one-ui-5-beta-android-13-galaxy-3228687

September is looking very likely. The Google Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro will almost certainly be the first phones to ship with Android 13 on board, but some older phones might actually get updated to Android 13 before these handsets launch, as we’re likely to see the next Pixel models in October, while Android 13 now looks almost certain to arrive in September. The latest evidence for that comes from Google’s August security bulletin(opens in new tab), which – as spotted by Droid Life(opens in new tab) – notes that Android 13 “will have a default security patch level of 2022-09-01.” Given that Google releases security patches every month, that suggests Android 13 will launch in September, since otherwise, it would presumably have a default security patch level from another month. That said, this is for the AOSP (Android Open Source Project) version, which is not the version that’s pushed to most smartphones. That can sometimes come later, but in most years Pixel phones get their update on the same day as the AOSP version, so if you have a Pixel 6 or another Pixel phone that’s still supported, then there’s a very high chance you’ll get Android 13 in September. Exactly which date it will arrive is less clear, but Droid Life speculates that we could see Android 13 on September 6, as Google often pushes updates out on the first Monday of a month, and while September 5 is that Monday, that’s also Labor Day, so shifting it to the Tuesday would make sense. Of course that’s just speculation for now, and while Pixel owners might see Android 13 then, most other handsets will get it weeks or even months later, as is typical with Android updates. Analysis: lots of evidence for September This is compelling evidence that we’ll see Android 13 in September, but then a September launch always looked likely. The biggest previous evidence of this came from Google’s Android 13 roadmap, which for a long time has suggested September would be when the finished version would land. Technically September isn’t named, but given the spacing on the chart, it looks like September was the target, as you can see in the image above. The only real evidence that we wouldn’t see it in September is that Android 12 didn’t land until October of last year, but Android 11 and Android 10 both landed in September of their release years. So September looks very likely, putting it head-to-head with iOS 15. https://www.techradar.com/news/android-13-could-land-even-sooner-than-the-google-pixel-7

My inner keyboard freak cannot deny the superb aesthetics on display here. Spotted by Gizmodo(opens in new tab), gaming gear company Higround(opens in new tab) is partnering with Sega on some swag based on the company's golden age, including absolutely killer keyboards and keycap sets. These are in a whole other league next to the Walmart-sourced Sonic the Hedgehog keyboard(opens in new tab) recently inflicted on my colleague, Jorge Jimenez (and likely 2.5 times as expensive). The star of the show is definitely the vista of Sonic's Green Hill Zone printed on glorious PBT caps, but my personal preference is for the Dreamcast-themed board with its clean look and directional buttons that match the pastels of the Dreamcast controller's face buttons. Awesome as the Green Hill Board is, it's the PBT keycap equivalent of an RGB light strip apocalypse⁠. Not quite the tasteful understatement you get with the Dreamcast board. I have to mention the dueling Sonic/Shadow board(opens in new tab) as well. I'd never use it, but I have to appreciate, from afar, it's apocalyptic Hot Topic perfection. Both I and PC Gamer Executive Editor Tyler Wilde share a dim assessment of blank keyboards(opens in new tab)⁠—it's nice to still be able to cheat and reorient yourself here and there, even as a touch typist⁠—but all three keycap sets have characters printed on their fronts, facing the user, instead of up top, a nice compromise between aesthetics and function. The 65% layout (cutting off a numpad and function keys for a smaller footprint) really speaks to me as well. I use it myself and while I occasionally miss the function keys, replicating them with multi-key shortcuts works fine and I've never regretted dropping the numpad. I'm not fond of Higround's switch choice for the boards though. They use speed silvers, according to a diagram of the Dreamcast board's construction(opens in new tab), which are a bit of a "gamer switch." They're linear like a Cherry MX Red, but highly sensitive to better augment those Wood Tier IV competitive matchmaking reflexes. In practice, my K/D ratios stayed the same while using speed silvers and the hyper-sensitive actuation just mucked up my typing. I prefer a stiffer linear switch like the horribly named Gateron Oil Kings(opens in new tab) in my board. Higround is also selling the keycaps as separate sets, with extra keys for full-sized boards even, so you can put them on your own switches if you like. You gotta go fast if you want them, though. This limited "capsule collection" goes live at 12:00 PM PT today, August 5(opens in new tab). https://www.pcgamer.com/i-cant-choose-between-these-sweet-green-hill-zone-and-dreamcast-keyboards/

Nickname: @-YoSeF Video author: RICH Name of the game: PUBG MOBILE Link video: Rate this video 1-10: -

A streamer who felt betrayed by GSC's attitude to Russian Stalker fans has turned a videogame leak into a propaganda attack. If you've lurked the Stalker subreddit recently, you've almost certainly come across a curious anomaly: a leaked build of a supposed console port of the original Stalker: Shadow of Chernobyl. Rumoured to be due to release shortly before Stalker 2, footage of the build shows the familiar classic in a slightly altered state: there's no cursor in sight, there are controller prompts everywhere, and if that's mouselook I'll eat my hat. It all looks very legit and, while GSC refused to comment when PCG asked about it, this feels like too much work for even the most determined modder. But it's not this alien version of Stalker that's interesting, it's the document that accompanies it. Written by a Russian streamer who goes by the names 'Nevazhno, Kto' and 'Velichaishii' (meaning 'It doesn't matter who' and 'The greatest', respectively), the five page pamphlet is part confession, part manifesto, and outlines the how and why of his leaking the port. "[GSC] cast off everyone who supported their game for 15 years and kept it alive," writes Nevazhno, referring to what he perceives as mistreatment of Stalker's Russian fans by GSC Game World—a Ukrainian company—since Russia's February invasion of Ukraine. His list of their offences is comprised of eight incidents, and range from things like "Constant discrimination against Russians in [GSC's] Discord server," to anger over the money the company raised(opens in new tab) for the Come Back Alive Foundation, which helps train and equip Ukrainian troops. "The purchase of weapons and military equipment is not a charity event," he writes, alleging that equipment provided by the Foundation was used in Ukrainian strikes on Belgorod(opens in new tab). Nevazhno's first complaint, though, is that GSC attempted to solicit donations for the Ukrainian army from Russian players—a crime in the Russian Federation—without making them aware of the potential legal consequences. "This was an attempt to make bargaining chips out of Russians," he writes, "The only mention of criminality came when people began to complain about this shit to Roskomnadzor" (the Russian agency responsible for monitoring mass media). I reached out to GSC Game World to ask them about that, and they told me that, "We have been publishing pleas to help Ukraine in our social media and on our web resources—just like thousands of other Ukrainian companies… Nonetheless, an important thing to mention is that we also added a clarification about the donations from Russia later on. We think we might be in the absolute minority—if not the only ones—to do so". I was curious about Nevazhno's reasons for targeting GSC in particular—rather than any other Ukrainian game company that's raised money for the country's military—and hoped I could get him to expand on where he obtained the leaked build of Stalker's console port. Regarding the build's provenance, Nevazhno didn't have much more to say beyond what he wrote in the original document, where he hinted that it had come from GSC employees upset about the company's attitude to Russian players. GSC strongly denied this in my correspondence with them, however, pointing out that a glut of personal employee information was leaked by the same group of Russian bloggers who have been circulating this build: it seems unlikely anyone in their office would feel comfortable leaking that kind of material. But Nevazhno wrote at length and in depth about his motivations, and they mirror the feelings of isolation and fraternal betrayal that are now common among Russians with regards to the Ukraine conflict. "My entire [YouTube] channel is built on Stalker… working with audio, with video, my interest in game development—it all started with this game," Nevazhno told me. But when he felt that Russian players were being unfairly mistreated—in particular GSC's attempts to solicit donations from Russian fans—he felt "it was not possible to maintain neutrality". He tells me that he feels western media only presents a one-sided view of the war in Ukraine but, even if he accepted that interpretation, he "did not take up arms, did not kill anyone, and did not march into a foreign land… but [GSC] seems to have a different opinion". In our communication, Nevazhno presents himself more as a heartbroken fan than a frothing nationalist, but GSC's Zakhar Bocharov reminds me that leaks such as these—both of Stalker's console port and of GSC employee information—are "accompanied with calls for bullying and death threats" which have been an ongoing fact of life for people at GSC since the war began. Regardless of Nevazhno's disappointment at the treatment of Russian Stalker fans, it's an unavoidable fact that leaks such as these—in which he feels completely justified—add to an already intense mental burden for game developers in a country at war. Whether intending to or otherwise, Nevazhno has turned GSC's own work into a cudgel to be used against them in a conflict they didn't ask for. I asked Nevazhno if he intended to leak more info from GSC, or if this would be his final act regarding the company. "I hope that everything ends with this," he wrote, "It doesn't matter how I got it, what's important is that I didn't lie, and this is not some fan mod… this leak was made out of a desire to achieve justice, which I saw in revenge by any means at all. This was a cry from the soul". It's grandiose rhetoric, so much so that you might accidentally forget the subject under discussion is a leaked console port of a PC game from 2007, and that the people who will be afflicted and affected by it are not enemy combatants but a team of developers. I don't doubt that Nevazhno's feelings of heartbreak and betrayal are genuine, but they hardly seem to justify his subsequent actions. He concluded his email to me with a plea to GSC Game World to change their attitude regarding Russian players to a more positive one: I am not convinced this leak was the best way to go about achieving that. As for GSC, those developers that aren't fighting continue to work on Stalker 2(opens in new tab) in offices removed from the warzone. Bocharov tells me that the strain of working at war, and of confronting the fallout of leaks such as these, are an "inherent part" of the dev's lives now. Nevertheless "We still believe in the best—for our game, our country and the whole world". https://www.pcgamer.com/a-leaked-stalker-port-is-a-strange-new-front-in-the-war-in-ukraine/

Accepted

V1: V2: V3: V4: V5: V6:

166

No @The GodFather

done

@-GloW V1: 10 vote Me V2: 1 vote @Meh Rez vM ! ♫ V3: 0 votes @Agent47 V4: 0 votes @SaLaH. V5: 1 votes @Mr.Daniel V6: 0 Votes Winner Glow, congrats

START VOTE V1 V2 V3 V4 V5 v6 Good Luck!

Opponent's Nickname : @-GloW @Meh Rez vM ! ♫ @Agent47 @SaLaH. @Mr.Daniel Place an image : Type of work : PNG No gif Text : Free Dimensions: 600x200 How many total votes ?: +10 Work time: 30 hours

Samsung Galaxy S22 series previously started to receive the latest August 2022 security update in Europe. Now, a wider roll out of the latest security patches for Samsung's latest handsets has begun, as per a report. The security update is currently said to be available in the US, Latin America, Russia, and South Korea. Additionally, the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3 has also reportedly started receiving the August 2022 Android security update with fixes for several security vulnerabilities. The update for the foldable phone is said to be available in Europe. According to a report by SamMobile, the wider roll out of the August 2022 security update for the Samsung Galaxy S22, Galaxy S22+, Galaxy S22 Ultra has begun. The update was earlier said to be available in Europe and brings several fixes for security vulnerabilities. Samsung is reportedly rolling out the latest security update for the Galaxy S22 series in Latin America with the firmware version S90xEXXU2AVG6, in Russia with the firmware version S90xBXXU2AVG6, and in South Korea with the firmware version S90xNKSU2AVG6. In the US, Samsung is reportedly rolling out the August 2022 security update for the carrier-locked variants of the Galaxy S22 series with the firmware version S908USQU2AVG6. It is yet to be rolled out for users in other Asian markets. Another report by SamMobile has shared that the August 2022 Android security update has also started rolling out for the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3. The update is said to be currently available for the foldable phone in Europe with the firmware version F711BXXU2CVG8. It is said to bring dozens of fixes for security vulnerabilities. It could reportedly include general bug fixes and stability enhancements for the foldable handset. Galaxy Z Flip 3 users in other regions are expected to receive the August 2022 Android security update within the next few days, as per the report. To recall, Samsung Galaxy S22 series was launched in February this year. The Galaxy S22 features a 6.51-inch Dynamic 2X AMOLED display with full-HD+ resolution and Gorilla Glass Victus+ protection. It is powered by an octa-core 4nm SoC coupled with 8GB of RAM. Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3 was launched in August last year. The foldable phone features a 6.7-inch primary Dynamic AMOLED 2X Infinity Flex display with 120Hz adaptive refresh rate, full-HD+ (1,080x2,640 pixels) resolution, and 22:9 aspect ratio. It is powered by an octa-core 5nm SoC under the hood. https://gadgets360.com/mobiles/news/samsung-s22-series-z-flip-3-august-2022-security-update-us-latin-america-russia-south-korea-europe-galaxy-3217815

Older GPU users will now have a chance to block all that unwanted background noise in coms. Older AMD Radeon GPUs are getting some love in the form of unofficial drivers from the NimeZ group. The driver's aim is to give users with now-unsupported AMD graphics cards a chance to utilise AMD's Noise Suppression tool(opens in new tab) over Discord, or whatever app you use to chat to your teammates. Just to be clear, the driver isn't officially out yet, but evidence of it was posted by rysresolvext(opens in new tab) (via TechPowerUp(opens in new tab)) a couple of days ago on the the AMD subreddit. NimeZ has been making drivers for older Radeon cards for some time, giving users with ageing cards a chance to enjoy support for newer games. The group's latest exploit is pretty darn impressive, and gives anyone packing a GPU that predates the RX 5000-series access to the Noise Suppression tool. The driver is a rehash of AMD's 22.7.1 Adrenalin update, that's been swung around to support these older GPUs. If you're wondering what the big deal is here, AMD Noise Suppression takes your mic input—or the output from whoever you're chatting to on coms—and uses a machine learning algorithm to remove background noise. It tries to keep as much clarity in the voices as possible, while getting rid of any unwanted commotion that might be happening elsewhere. We found it did a great job even in extreme cases, though Jacob does kind of sound like he's inside a bubble(opens in new tab), or talking over a radio. Unlocking this feature for older AMD GPUs is an fantastic win, but it's important to note that if you do grab the drivers(opens in new tab) when they come out, you're not going to be covered under warrantee any longer. As TechPowerUp points out, however, if you're packing AMD's Polaris, Vega, or even older previous-gen Graphics Core Next (GCN) cards, you're unlikely to still be within your warrantee anyway... so go ham! Or more accurately, go make yourself sound like you're talking through a ham radio, while your Mom hoovers around you. https://www.pcgamer.com/amd-nimez-noise-suppression-drivers/

Nickname: @-YoSeF Video author: TACAZ Name of the game: PUBGMOBILE Link video: Rate this video 1-10: -

Ed Boon says don't get your hopes up. Mortal Kombat co-creator Ed Boon has warned fans to manage their expectations, saying there'll be no new entry announcements at this weekend's Evo. Responding to a tweet from IGN claiming "the developers behind Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat, Tekken, and Guilty Gear are all expected to make announcements during Evo 2022," Boon said "...except Mortal Kombat. Sorry." In a follow-up tweet spotted by VGC(opens in new tab), he continued: "It's time for Street Fighter and other great fighting games to be in the sun! Let's enjoy that!" It's worth pointing out that the actual IGN article talks more about announcements from publisher Warner Bros. than it does Mortal Kombat specifically, which leaves NetherRealm's other fighter Injustice still on the cards for a potential sequel announcement. It also just released Multiversus, which seems like a prime candidate for some nice roster reveals. There's also the fact that Boon is known to be a little bit of a prankster—anyone who's been a Mortal Kombat fan for long enough will know how much he loves messing with people and throwing curveballs for anything and everything. While I'm inclined to believe he may be serious this time, there's no telling until Evo is upon us. There've already been a fair few pointers towards the existence of Mortal Kombat 12. The beginning of this year saw NetheRrealm producer Jonathan Anderson tease its existence(opens in new tab) with an image that displayed a file called "MK12_Mast" on it. In June, VGC(opens in new tab) noted how Johnny Cage actor Andrew Bowen tweeted that he was at the Warner Bros. Studio. Bowen later deleted the post. Evo 2022 kicks off on Friday August 5, offering three days of bombastic fighting game fun. There are usually a good few announcements that happen like new games and new characters, so it's well worth tuning in. https://www.pcgamer.com/dont-expect-mortal-kombat-12-to-make-an-appearance-at-evo/