Sprinter

Nickname: Osiris Video author: Techno Name of the game: Preding farm Link video: Rate this video 1-10:

C++ is arguably the most powerful programming language as well as being one of the world’s most po[CENSORED]r. It has many pre-defined functions, and libraries which make writing modern, robust C++ a breeze. Using a fast and reliable C++ compiler and IDE is very important for beginners and professionals since it helps C++ developers in remembering which language features exist, how to use them, and even detect errors when we get it wrong. If you are on the hunt for the best C/C++ compilers available today, we highly recommend using a professional C++ compiler with an advanced IDE from the start. Table of Contents What do we mean by C++ Compiler? What is an IDE? What is CLANG and why do I need my C++ compiler to support it? What makes Embarcadero C++ Builder 11 with the CLANG C++ compiler a great choice? What is the C++ Builder Community Edition? What the features of the C++ Builder CE version? Where can I get the C++ Builder Community Edition? See What’s New in RAD Studio 11 Download RAD Studio 11 Now What do we mean by C++ Compiler? There are two types of programming languages: Interpreted and Non-Interpreted (Compiled). All computers (CPU/GPU) work with machine code (code that can be directly programmed by assembler codes) that tells the computer what to do (exe files are this kind of file). This is the most native and fastest code, but it requires writing many lines for simple things and is hard to generalize for all kinds of machines. A Compiler (C or C++ Compiler, etc.) is a computer program that converts one programming language (i.e. C/C++ codes) written with text into executable machine code with a linker. Such code may not be as fast as assembler code, but the difference in speed is very small because both machine code and compiler-based code in text form are much more compatible with other CPU/GPUs and/or with other Operating Systems when you compile them on a machine. This is one reason why C++ is the fastest and most powerful programming language. Interpreted programming languages run inside executable applications like Java, Python, or Visual Basic. This is why they are slower when executing operations, as they need to use compiled libraries for faster operations. Again, they mostly use C/C++ compilers to build these libraries. Using an interpreted programming language is like being carried by a runner, while a compiled (non-interpreted) programming language is like running itself. This subtle difference turns into a huge gap when you run the same routine (i.e. for face recognition) millions of times a millisecond. What is an IDE? An IDE (Integrated Development Environment) is a software application that provides a complete set of features for application development. Code is generally written in text format, and you can easily edit or modify your code using text editors like Notepad, etc. For a developer, beginner or professional, however, a C++ IDE is really important because of powerful tailored features like error highlights, auto code completion, and help system which help with the process of writing the code plus the opportunity to run, test, debug, deploy, merge or transform code to run on other platforms (multiplatform coding) are also important. All these capabilities require a powerful compiler and IDE which is a specialized tool to help developers create and test their code. CLANG is a standard for professional compilers, so the best C++ compiler should be a CLANG compiler What is CLANG and why do I need my C++ compiler to support it? In Windows application development, native C++ compiler and IDE that supports the latest Windows features are very important. Some of the IDEs are not specifically designed for C++ development. Some IDEs are designed only for console application developments. Some are supports with few features, generally, you must install a C++ compiler with a lot of options changes, etc. In modern application development, professional developers use much stronger C++ IDE. If the IDE development company also develops a compiler, these both together work well in integrity. Be sure that your C++ IDE comes with a CLANG-based compiler. Be sure that your IDE also supports, other C++ libraries and standards like Dinkumware standard library, MSBuild/CMake/Ninja support, and po[CENSORED]r libraries like Boost and Eigen. CLANG is considered to be a production-quality C, Objective-C, C++, and Objective-C++ compiler when targeting X86-32, X86-64, and ARM. It is a new C/C++ compiler standard (C++98, C++11, C++17, C++20, C++23 ..) supported by The LLVM Compiler Infrastructure Project, and has been a default compiler in recent years for most C/C++ compilers. This means that if you code for a CLANG compiler, most other IDEs, Compilers of Platforms will support your code without any changes. The latest C++17 standard is supported by most C++ compilers. More information about core language features can be found here. C++ 20 is new and needs adaptation time. We highly recommend you start with or to move to a CLANG Enhanced compilers like Embarcadero’s C++ Builder, which supports the CLANG (C++11, C++ 17) standard and has its own C++ Compiler, IDE, GUI Designer, and more. The C++Builder Standards and Clang Enhanced Compiler features can be found here. In my opinion, If we combine all these above, The Best C++ Compiler and IDE for Windows 10 and Windows 11 is Embarcadero C++ Builder. What makes Embarcadero C++ Builder 11 with the CLANG C++ compiler a great choice? cbuilder 11 512x5121x 3351761 7714427 C++ Builder is the easiest and fastest C and C++ IDE for building simple or professional applications on the Windows, iOS & Android operating systems. It is also easy for beginners to learn with its wide range of samples, tutorials, help files, and LSP support for code. C++ Builder comes with Rapid Application Development Studio, also known as RAD Studio, and C++ Builder is one of the most professional IDEs that work under RAD Studio. It is the oldest IDE (it began as Borland TurboC in 1990 and was later renamed Borland C++ Builder). Under the Embarcadero brand, C++ Builder has continued to grow with loads of great new features, updates, and support. RAD Studio’s C++ Builder version comes with the award-winning VCL framework for high-performance native Windows apps and the powerful FireMonkey (FMX) framework for cross-platform UIs. There is a free C++ Builder Community Edition for students, beginners, and startups. What is the C++ Builder Community Edition? Embarcadero’s C++ Builder CE is a shared free C++ IDE and Compiler for the community of freelance developers, startups, students, and non-profits, C++Builder Community Edition is a full-featured IDE for building iOS and Windows apps from a single modern C++ codebase (limited commercial use license). C++Builder Community Edition includes a code editor, powerful debugging tools, built-in access to po[CENSORED]r local databases with live data at design time, Bluetooth and IoT capabilities, and a visual UI designer with support for pixel-perfect, platform-specific styling. What the features of the C++ Builder CE version? Build Windows and iOS C++ Applications 10x Faster with Less Code. C++Builder Community Edition provides you with an integrated toolchain and professional-level developer tools from Day 1 Featuring Clang-enhanced compiler, Dinkumware standard library, MSBuild/CMake/Ninja support, and po[CENSORED]r libraries like Boost and Eigen. Develop Windows and iOS applications with a single codebase and responsive UI Enjoy the award-winning Visual Designer using the C++Builder VCL and FireMonkey frameworks for maximum productivity Built-in Debugging Tools that allow you to debug on any device Build database apps with local/embedded capabilities Hundreds of included components to enhance your app and reduce development cycles Direct access to InterBase, SQLite, MySQL, SQL Server, Oracle, PostgreSQL, DB2, SQL Anywhere, Advantage DB, Firebird, Access, Informix, MongoDB, and more. Licensed for use until your individual revenue from C++Builder applications or company revenue reaches $5,000 US or your development team expands to more than 5 developers https://blogs.embarcadero.com/the-best-c-compiler-for-windows-10-and-11/

Intel is one of the biggest chip makers in the world, so it’s no surprise to see many PC builders deciding to opt for team blue when deciding upon a CPU. Still, deciding upon a processor brand is only half the battle as Intel has numerous desktop chips for sale. As a result, finding out which offers the best value for your money isn’t an easy task. That’s where we step in. Our team of experts review all of the latest Intel processors, using professional benchmark software to evaluate performance, as well as running the chips through intensive workloads such as content creation and gaming. We also make sure to test the likes of peak temperature and power consumption under stress, so you know what extra components you’ll need to get the processor running at its full potential. We’ve listed all of the top rated Intel processors below, so you can be sure you’re getting great value for money, and if you’re open to buying a chip from rivals such as AMD then make sure to check out our best CPU and best Gaming CPU guides Most powerful: Intel Core i9-14900K – check price Best value: Intel Core i5-14600K – check price Best value for gamers: Intel Core i5-12600K – check price Best budget: Intel Core i5-11600K – https://www.trustedreviews.com/best/best-intel-processor-3517396

You might have heard about a game called Wingspan, which went from being acclaimed in the hobby space to selling a massive million-plus copies in retail. It did so not only by being a fun board game but thanks to its accessible and appealing theme where players manage a bird sanctuary. It was not without its critics, particularly over its slightly repetitive structure, and those concerns have fed into the design of a more complex re-skin, Wyrmspan, where players represent mighty dragon wranglers in a fantasy setting. The original game was famous for its high production values--that’s another key plank of its wide appeal--and while Wyrmspan isn’t quite as pretty, it doesn’t disappoint in that department either. It has a collection of multicolored, speckled resin eggs just like its predecessor, a slew of punch out cardboard resource tokens and two neat plastic storage boxes to keep them in. The coins are cardboard but are silvered, which is a lovely touch. Players each get a selection of wooden cubes and an adventurer piece in their color, along with one of five boards to track their growing menagerie of dragons, which is where most of the game state will get tracked. There are three other shared boards, one to track the round and its associated bonuses, another is a dragon guild board with four different bonus tiles to sit in the middle, and the final one organizes the dragon and cave decks. The dragon deck is enormous--almost 200 cards--each with its own distinctive art. While the dragons are impressive, it’s not on a par with the luminous illustrations of real-world birds in Wingspan. And the graphic design generally verges on the bland, with most of the boards being empty space printed with generic fantasy-style fonts. Not that that matters so much once they’re covered in face-up dragons. If you’re familiar with Wingspan you’ll already have a good grasp on how to play Wyrmspan--there’s a boxout in the rules that should make learning it a cinch--but there are some key differences. Players start each of four rounds with six coins, and each of the game’s three actions--excavate, entice and explore--costs a coin to perform. Sometimes an action will cost an additional coin or give you a coin back, so the number of actions you can take each turn varies. Excavate lets you play cave cards from your hand into one of three different dragon habitats on your player board. You’ll need to have a cave card to get dragons into anything other than the initial slot, and playing a card also nets you a bonus printed on the card, such as additional resources or card draws. Entice allows you to play a dragon from your hand into an empty cave. This will cost you resources like meat and gold, printed on the dragon’s card, in addition to the coin. Dragons are a major source of victory points, and most have other printed effects. Some dragons have an ability when played, others at the end of a round, but for most you’ll need the third action type, Explore, to get the most out of them. This is the most complex action, in which you send your little adventurer meeple into any inhabited caves, gaining benefits depending on which habitat you’re exploring and what dragons you’ve got played there. The Crimson Cavern will let you get food resources to spend on dragons, while the Golden Grotto and Amethyst Abyss will net you cave and dragon cards, respectively, from a face-up selection. The more dragons in a given habitat, the deeper you can go and the better the rewards will be. The dragon deck is enormous - almost 200 cards - each with its own distinctive art. “ You’re thus immediately caught in a classic board game dilemma: you need food and cave cards to play dragons, but without dragons, it’s hard to get food and cave cards. There’s nothing for it but to bite the bullet and take some pathetically weak explore actions while you try and build a strategy, but the big question is what aspects are you going to favor, and which can you neglect? Decisions here will be heavily impacted by what dragon and cave cards you start with. For example, some cave cards give you food tokens, so you might feel you can wait on po[CENSORED]ting your Crimson Cavern. And this is where the additional complexity of Wyrmspan begins to bear fruit over its predecessor. The extra concepts ensure there’s a lot more interplay in effects between the cards in your hand and the actions you can take, ensuring there’s more strategy and tactics in your choices. https://www.ign.com/articles/wyrmspan-board-game-review

When Blizzard first announced Diablo Immortal, the fan reaction was...mixed. Now that we have both a Diablo II remaster and the promise of a full-fledged Diablo IV, maybe the community can better appreciate this mobile game spin-off of the beloved, satanic action-RPG. Unsurprisingly, Blizzard’s classic formula pairs just a bit too well with bothersome free-to-play tactics. However, exploring dungeons, killing monsters, and scoring sweet loot remains as irresistible as ever. Set between the events of Diablo II and Diablo III, Diablo Immortal’s dark adventure tasks you with fighting your way through multiple, demon-filled regions, such as cemeteries, woods, and mountains. In addition, you'll occasionally run into a familiar franchise face, like the smooth-voiced Deckard Cain. Evil's forces wage a never-ending battle. Fortunately, Diablo Immortal’s combat feels so good you’ll never want to stop. The launch build includes six playable classes (Barbarian, Crusader, Demon Hunter, Monk, Necromancer, and Wizard). I opted for the Monk during the original preview, and I spent my time punching, kicking, and activating various special moves that were basically flashier punches and kicks. This time around, I opted for the Necromancer, and summoned allies from the dead. You eventually unlock the ability to view recommended builds, and, as “The General,” I focused on raising a skeleton army, ghostly sorcerers, and hulking golems to battle foes on my behalf. The combat satisfied, between the visuals, sound effects, speed, and ways crunchy attacks collide with enemies. The only time that the virtual touch screen controls proved a hinderance was during attacks that required me to hold and aim. Big projectile attacks, such as the Monk’s Wave strike or Necromancer’s Bone Spikes, occasionally veered off course as I lifted my finger to release them. Perhaps to compensate for this potential imprecision, Diablo Immortal's difficulty never becomes too challenging (if you don’t go above your level). There’s no dodge roll like in Diablo III's console versions, but the control setup should feel familiar to mouse-and-keyboard players. https://www.pcmag.com/reviews/diablo-immortal-for-ios

Penny's Big Breakaway is a loving homage to a somewhat awkward period in gaming history. The early days of 3D mascot platformers were defined by garish saturated colors, exaggerated character designs, and a variety of gimmicks as the genre found its footing in this new environment. Penny's Big Breakaway fits right into that legacy, like a lost gem that just got a shiny new remaster. But while its stylized look will probably be an acquired taste, it makes good use of its gimmick to avoid some pitfalls of the era it emulates. The story revolves around Penny, an aspiring yo-yo performer who goes to a talent show audition put on by a stodgy Emperor. Along the way, her toy prop fuses with a creature, becoming a sort of sentient and voracious pet. The creature grants her all sorts of special abilities but also causes trouble at the talent show, angering the Emperor and putting her on the run from his army of penguin goons. Her "big break" turned into a breakaway, get it? That sets the stage, so to speak, for a few different elements. For one, it sets the expectation that stages will be propulsive with constant movement. You're a wanted fugitive! As a result, stages aren't wide open worlds to explore so much as they are courses to navigate, often with great speed, as you stunt and trick your way past traps and obstacles. You can occasionally pause to catch your breath or find a collectible, but for the most part, each stage has you running from Point A to Point B as fast as you can. The premise and stage design ethos also facilitates the major threat of the penguin army. While there are standard enemies and a life bar like you might expect from any 3D platformer, this is a more novel element. Instead of having your health whittled down by enemy crash damage, the penguins are trying to capture you. They don't damage you at all, but they do cling onto you and slow you down, and if too many swarm you at once, you'll be captured. You can fling them off in small doses, but it's easy to get overwhelmed if too many come at once. They aren't a constant presence in the stages, but the threat allows them to be peppered in at key moments to keep you on your toes or lightly encourage you to pick up the pace. It's a clever little move that I appreciated more as I saw the way the stage design slyly inserted them at key moments. Finally, there's the yo-yo. This is the major gameplay gimmick of Penny's Big Breakaway, and the impetus for your whole suite of special moves and abilities. You can fling it at enemies, naturally, but you can also use it to cling onto ziplines, to spin giant screw-machines, ride like a unicycle, and facilitate acrobatic mid-air moves. You can yank yourself forward for a pseudo-air dash, or make the yo-yo stick in mid-air a single time to swing off it like a grapple point. It's a versatile set of moves that feels very natural after only a few hours, which helps you feel properly equipped throughout the progressively increasing difficulty. On top of your regular abilities, the yo-yo can also get a variety of special abilities when it eats certain foods. A hamburger will make it extra heavy and able to knock down walls, and a red pepper gives you a speed boost for your unicycle ability, while a cake lets you spin into the air and flutter your way down. Like the standard abilities, these are scattered throughout stages to add a little spice and variety. By default, the standard yo-yo attacks are mapped to the right stick, which means you have no camera control. This is mostly fine, as the levels are built to move in one direction and the automated camera tracks your movements well enough that it isn't often a problem. But the very rare occasion that I did hit an obstacle or pit I didn't see made me wish for my own camera control, and besides that, I didn't actually use the stick-based yo-yo controls often anyway--aside from the spinning maneuver, which can only be performed with the stick controls, I favored button-based controls. The right-stick control does allow you to fling your yo-yo in one direction while running in another, which is a nice touch, but not often necessary. Maybe it's just because I'm used to the standard jump and attack button placement, but I used those much more often, so the trade-off for full camera control left me wanting. Sometimes, though, and especially in later chapters, the level design is a little too sparse with its checkpoints. Since levels are designed to be chains of traversal, tricks, and stunts, it's easy to get sent back to a checkpoint and then have to fight your way back to where you died just to try it again. Fortunately, there's no real penalty for death other than a cost to your high score, since even if you run out of life, your checkpoint spot is retained. Then, of course, there's the visual style, the most direct homage to the era that it's imitating, and the one that leaves me with the most mixed feelings. The transition to 3D was a particularly thorny one in gaming history, as the rudimentary polygon-pushing could only do so much with its power and settled on simple shapes and saturated colors--think series like Banjo Kazooie or Klonoa. It's a distinct style, but it's one that was defined by very early limitations, and so it's not one that has aged gracefully. Penny's Big Breakaway approximates this style well, with characters who are often little more than bulbous spheres with faces drawn on and draped in a few other bubbly clothes. I'm not nostalgic for video games having that look, so I didn't find this visual style appealing, but I can imagine it will feel cozy for gamers who came of age alongside the N64 and PlayStation. The story comes to a sweet little conclusion, though I couldn't even begin to explain much of what happens in between. The story meanders, sometimes seeming as if it's coming to a head only to jump off in some other direction. One of my favorite boss-baddies was a strident, by-the-books judge, but his part was so minor and quick that I wished for more time with him at the expense of less memorable antagonists. But then, even a hazy, dreamlike story could be interpreted as a tribute. Penny's Big Breakaway is a loving tribute to a bygone era, warts and all. Its new and inventive ideas, like the acrobatic yo-yo mechanic or the penguins hot on your tail, show a level of cleverness, but it is also a sweet, earnest throwback. I'd like to see Penny return, though maybe next time, this lost-gem motif can be applied to a less restrictive era in 3D platforming. https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/pennys-big-breakaway-review-if-it-aint-broke/1900-6418189/

Music title: We still don't trust you Signer:Future - Metro boomin Release date: Yesterday Official YouTube link: Informations about the signer: Your opinion about the track (music video): Good

firebrand politician named Donald is about to stand trial. Just a few days before jury selection, he goes on TV to slam the charges as baseless and biased. “The FBI and the Justice Department,” he insists, have “targeted” their political opponents in a burst of partisan persecution. The rhetoric sounds familiar, but this is not a story about Donald Trump. It’s about a man named Don Hill, a former Dallas City Council member who was facing bribery charges 15 years ago. The telltale clue that this isn’t about Trump is what happened next: The judge, upset by the attempt to taint the jury pool, slapped the politician-turned-defendant with criminal contempt and ultimately sentenced him to 30 days in jail for violating a gag order. Today, Trump routinely spouts invective far more inflammatory than anything Hill said. He denigrates prosecutors. He lies about his cases. He vilifies the judges overseeing them — and then vilifies their wives and daughters, too. Yet Trump has never faced the swift repercussions that were imposed on Hill — and are routinely imposed on other defendants in America. Instead, Trump gets special treatment. “I can’t imagine any other defendant posting on social media about a judge’s family and not being very quickly incarcerated,” said Russell Gold, a law professor at the University of Alabama. As Trump prepares to begin his first criminal trial on Monday in New York, the tolerance of his tirades is perhaps the most glaring sign of the judicial system’s Trump exceptionalism. But it’s far from the only example. Over the past year, in ways large and small, in criminal cases and civil ones, Trump has consistently been given more freedom and more privileges than virtually any other defendant in his shoes. Some judges in Trump’s cases may have afforded him unique leeway in hopes of avoiding any appearance that they are meddling in the 2024 campaign. Indeed, Trump’s role as a presidential candidate — one who is always eager to play the martyr — complicates the task of prosecutors and judges eager to lower the temperature of the proceedings. Penalizing Trump before he’s ever convicted of anything could stir a backlash and trigger more heat, not less. Trump supporters surely bristle at the notion that he’s getting any preferential treatment. After all, he is facing dozens of felony counts across four criminal cases, and a series of massive civil judgments has damaged his reputation and his wealth. But the fact is that no other person in America — if charged with the diverse panoply of malfeasance that Trump has been accused of — would enjoy the same procedural and structural advantages that Trump has harnessed, to great effect, as his legal troubles reached a fever pitch over the past 12 months. There may be good reasons for some of those advantages. A former president and current candidate is no ordinary criminal defendant. But special treatment carries a hefty price: It shatters the American lore that everyone is treated equally before the law. The result, ironically, is a partial confirmation of one of Trump’s favorite grievances. He’s enmeshed in a “two-tiered system of justice,” he often says — and he’s right. There are two tiers. But Trump frequently has been the beneficiary, not the victim. Here’s how. Former President Donald Trump appears in court with his legal team. Former President Donald Trump appears in court for his first arraignment, on April 4, 2023, in New York. | Pool photo by Steven Hirsch Avoiding the courthouse chaos It started with the first arraignment. Just over a year ago, Trump became the only former president in history to be indicted. During an extraordinary appearance at the criminal courthouse in Lower Manhattan, District Attorney Alvin Bragg unveiled the charges: 34 counts of falsifying business records to cover up a sex scandal with the porn star Stormy Daniels. Like all defendants, Trump was required to turn himself in for an initial court appearance to hear the charges against him. But the authorities made special accommodations that largely spared Trump from the byzantine, often humiliating procedures that thousands of other defendants endure every day. He was not handcuffed. No mug shot was taken. Rather than sitting in a holding cell for hours while waiting for a judge, Trump was whisked through the courthouse and then released on his own recognizance. Over the next six months, Trump was indicted in three more cases: two (in Washington, D.C., and Georgia) for trying to overturn the 2020 election, and one (in Florida) for storing classified documents at Mar-a-Lago after his presidency and obstructing the government’s efforts to get them back. The arraignments in those cases largely followed the same choreography. (The Georgia authorities, unlike their counterparts in the other jurisdictions, did take Trump’s mug shot — which he promptly used as a fundraising tool.) No one argues, of course, that the arraignment of a former president should play out like a typical surrender of a suspect wanted by police. The Secret Service, for one thing, would never allow one of their most prominent protectees to spend the day in Central Booking. But these special concerns point to a deeper reality that has pervaded Trump’s yearlong odyssey through the criminal justice apparatus: The system was never designed to handle a defendant who is a former, and perhaps, future president. And when confronted with such a defendant, the system was sure to bend. MOST READ 1247767221 Iran launches drone attack against Israel ‘The 401(k) industry owns Congress’: How lawmakers quietly passed a $300 billion windfall to the wealthy Trump the Front-Runner? Not So Fast. ‘I know it sounds crazy’: The new strategy against Republicans in deep red states Michael Cohen on the Trump Trial: Prepare To Be Surprised Former President Donald Trump speaks with journalists during a midday break from court proceedings. https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2024/04/12/trump-trial-special-treatment-justice-system-00151814

Hoopoes (/ˈhuːpuː, ˈhuːpoʊ/) are colourful birds found across Africa, Asia, and Europe, notable for their distinctive "crown" of feathers. Three living and one extinct species are recognized, though for many years all of the extant species were lumped as a single species—Upupa epops. In fact, some taxonomists still consider all three species conspecific. Some authorities also keep the African and Eurasian hoopoe together but split the Madagascar hoopoe. The Eurasian hoopoe is common in its range and has a large po[CENSORED]tion, so it is evaluated as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. However, their numbers are declining in Western Europe.[3] Conversely, the hoopoe has been increasing in numbers at the tip of the South Sinai, Sharm el-Sheikh. There are dozens of nesting pairs that remain resident all year round. Taxonomy The genus Upupa was introduced in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae.[4] The type species is the Eurasian hoopoe (Upupa epops).[5] Upupa and ἔποψ (epops) are respectively the Latin and Ancient Greek names for the hoopoe; both, like the English name, are onomatopoeic forms which imitate the cry of the bird.[6][7] The hoopoe was classified in the clade Coraciiformes, which also includes kingfishers, bee-eaters, and rollers.[8] A close relationship between the hoopoe and the wood hoopoes is also supported by the shared and unique nature of their stapes.[9] In the Sibley-Ahlquist taxonomy, he hoopoe is separated from the Coraciiformes as a separate order, the Upupiformes. Some authorities place the wood hoopoes in the Upupiformes as well.[10] Now the consensus is that both hoopoe and the wood hoopoes belong with the hornbills in the Bucerotiformes.[11] The fossil record of the hoopoes is very incomplete, with the earliest fossil coming from the Quaternary.[12] The fossil record of their relatives is older, with fossil wood hoopoes dating back to the Miocene and those of an extinct related family, the Messelirrisoridae, dating from the Eocene.[10] Species Formerly considered a single species, the hoopoe has been split into three separate species: the Eurasian hoopoe, Madagascar hoopoe and the resident African hoopoe. One accepted separate species, the Saint Helena hoopoe, lived on the island of St Helena but became extinct in the 16th century, presumably due to introduced species.[12] The genus Upupa was created by Linnaeus in his Systema naturae in 1758. It then included three other species with long curved bills:[13] U. eremita (now Geronticus eremita), the northern bald ibis U. pyrrhocorax (now Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax), the red-billed chough U. paradisea Formerly, the greater hoopoe-lark was also considered to be a member of this genus (as Upupa alaudipes).[14] Extant species Genus Upupa – Linnaeus, 1758 – three species Common name Scientific name and subspecies Range Size and ecology IUCN status and estimated po[CENSORED]tion African hoopoe Upupa africana Bechstein, 1811 South Africa, Lesotho, Eswatini, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Angola, Zambia, Malawi, Tanzania, Saudi Arabia and the southern half of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Size: Habitat: Diet: LC Eurasian hoopoe Upupa epops Cabanis & Heine, 1860 Six subspecies U. e. epops Linnaeus, 1758 U. e. ceylonensis Reichenbach, 1853 U. e. longirostris Jerdon, 1862 U. e. major Brehm C.L., 1855 U. e. senegalensis Swainson, 1837 U. e. waibeli Reichenow, 1913 Europe, Asia, and North Africa and northern Sub-Saharan Africa Size: Habitat: Diet: LC Madagascar hoopoe Upupa marginata (, ) Madagascar Size: Habitat: Diet: LC Distribution and habitat Hoopoe nesting at Ganden Monastery, Tibet Distribution of Upupa species African hoopoe Eurasian hoopoe (breeding) Eurasian hoopoe (resident) Eurasian hoopoe (wintering) Madagascar hoopoe Hoopoe with insect Hoopoes are widespread in Europe, Asia, and North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa and Madagascar.[15] Most European and north Asian birds migrate to the tropics in winter.[16] In contrast, the African po[CENSORED]tions are sedentary all year. The species has been a vagrant in Alaska;[17] U. e. saturata was recorded there in 1975 in the Yukon Delta.[18] Hoopoes have been known to breed north of their European range,[19] and in southern England during warm, dry summers that provide plenty of grasshoppers and similar insects,[20] although as of the early 1980s northern European po[CENSORED]tions were reported to be in the decline, possibly due to changes in climate.[19] The hoopoe has two basic requirements of its habitat: bare or lightly vegetated ground on which to forage and vertical surfaces with cavities (such as trees, cliffs or even walls, nestboxes, haystacks, and abandoned burrows[19]) in which to nest. These requirements can be provided in a wide range of ecosystems, and as a consequence the hoopoe inhabits a wide range of habitats such as heathland, wooded steppes, savannas and grasslands, as well as forest glades. The Madagascar species also makes use of more dense primary forest. The modification of natural habitats by humans for various agricultural purposes has led to hoopoes becoming common in olive groves, orchards, vineyards, parkland and farmland, although they are less common and are declining in intensively farmed areas.[15] Hunting is of concern in southern Europe and Asia.[18] Hoopoes make seasonal movements in response to rain in some regions such as in Ceylon and in the Western Ghats.[21] Birds have been seen at high altitudes during migration across the Himalayas. One was recorded at about 6,400 m (21,000 ft) by the first Mount Everest expedition.[22] Behaviour and ecology In what was long thought to be a defensive posture, hoopoes sunbathe by spreading out their wings and tail low against the ground and tilting their head up; they often fold their wings and preen halfway through.[23] They also enjoy taking dust and sand baths.[24] Adults may begin their moult after the breeding season and continue after they have migrated for the winter.[25]The diet of the hoopoe is mostly composed of insects, although small reptiles, frogs and plant matter such as seeds and berries are sometimes taken as well. It is a solitary forager which typically feeds on the ground. More rarely they will feed in the air, where their strong and rounded wings make them fast and manoeuverable, in pursuit of numerous swarming insects. More commonly their foraging style is to stride over relatively open ground and periodically pause to probe the ground with the full length of their bill. Insect larvae, pupae and mole crickets are detected by the bill and either extracted or dug out with the strong feet. Hoopoes will also feed on insects on the surface, probe into piles of leaves, and even use the bill to lever large stones and flake off bark. Common diet items include crickets, locusts, beetles, earwigs, cicadas, ant lions, bugs and ants. These can range from 10 to 150 millimetres (0.4 to 5.9 in) in length, with a preferred prey size of around 20–30 millimetres (0.8–1.2 in). Larger prey items are beaten against the ground or a preferred stone to kill them and remove indigestible body parts such as wings and legs.[15] Breeding Hoopoes are monogamous, although the pair bond apparently only lasts for a single season. They are also territorial. The male calls frequently to advertise his ownership of the territory. Chases and fights between rival males (and sometimes females) are common and can be brutal.[15] Birds will try to stab rivals with their bills, and individuals are occasionally blinded in fights.[26] The nest is in a hole in a tree or wall, and has a narrow entrance.[24] It may be unlined, or various scraps may be collected.[19] The female alone is responsible for incubating the eggs. Clutch size varies with location: Northern Hemisphere birds lay more eggs than those in the Southern Hemisphere, and birds at higher latitudes have larger clutches than those closer to the equator. In central and northern Europe and Asia the clutch size is around 12, whereas it is around four in the tropics and seven in the subtropics. The eggs are round and milky blue when laid, but quickly discolour in the increasingly dirty nest.[15] They weigh 4.5 grams (0.16 oz).[23] A replacement clutch is possible.[19] When food is bountiful, the female will lay a few extra eggs for the purpose of providing food for chicks that have already hatched. In a study done in Spain, it was found that nests with a higher incidence of cannibalism successfully fledged more chicks than in nests where hatchlings weren't fed to older chicks.[27] Hoopoes have well-developed anti-predator defences in the nest. The uropygial gland of the incubating and brooding female is quickly modified to produce a foul-smelling liquid, and the glands of nestlings do so as well. These secretions are rubbed into the plumage. The secretion, which smells like rotting meat, is thought to help deter predators, as well as deter parasites and possibly act as an antibacterial agent.[28] The secretions stop soon before the young leave the nest.[23] From the age of six days, nestlings can also direct streams of faeces at intruders, and will hiss at them in a snake-like fashion.[15] The young also strike with their bill or with one wing.[23] The incubation period for the species is between 15 and 18 days, during which time the male feeds the female. Incubation begins as soon as the first egg is laid, so the chicks are born asynchronously. The chicks hatch with a covering of downy feathers. By around day three to five, feather quills emerge which will become the adult feathers. The chicks are brooded by the female for between 9 and 14 days.[15] The female later joins the male in the task of bringing food.[24] The young fledge in 26 to 29 days and remain with the parents for about a week more.[19] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoopoe

I'm too narrow into Circuto Monteblanco's turn two. Lars Kern, Porsche’s factory development-driver ace in the car leading me around the track, pulls away. No matter, though. Tug at the Porsche Taycan Turbo GT’s right-hand steering-wheel paddle and you unlock Attack Mode, which gives you 1,019 horsepower for 10 seconds. Get on throttle quickly, and the car scrambles out of the corner with authority, vaporizing my mistake. It’s a monster. Quick Specs 2025 Porsche Taycan Turbo GT Weissach Package Motor Dual Permanent-Magnet Synchronous Battery 93.4-Kilowatt-Hour Lithium-Ion Output 1,019 Horsepower / 958 Pound-Feet 0-60 MPH 2.1 Seconds Curb Weight 4,850 Pounds Base Price $231,995 The Turbo GT is the product of "what if?" Specifically, "What if we made a track car out of an electric sedan?" A genuine skunkworks project, a small team within Porsche developed the car. The team answered only to the board, not middle management. The quickest four-door in the world—electric or not—resulted. Top Videos: We turned a handful of laps at Circuito Monteblanco outside Seville, Spain, on the launch for the recently facelifted Taycan. It was eye opening. Based on the Turbo S, the Turbo GT gets a new silicon-carbide inverter for the rear motor that pushes total power output up to 1,019 hp during launch control and for 10 seconds in what Porsche calls “Attack Mode,” and in all other situations, you get 777 hp. That power pairs to revised aerodynamics including a fixed rear wing on the Turbo GT model, wider wheels and tires, a specific tune for the standard active-suspension system, and some weight-savings measures. Nothing too extreme, well maybe except for the rear-seat delete with the Weissach Package. Even the power figure, though enormous, isn’t that much greater than the Turbo S’s. But these tweaks adds up to a very different electric sport sedan. Even knowing chassis electronics have made ultra-high-horsepower cars so approachable, the Taycan Turbo GT intimidates. It’s still a 1,000-plus-horsepower car that weighs close to 5,000 pounds in its lightest form. I didn’t pay much attention in physics, but I do know that force is equal to mass times acceleration, and this has a lot of M and A. Pros: Demonically Quick, Enormously Grippy, Shockingly Approachable Yet, the Turbo GT is shockingly approachable. For something designed to set crazy fast lap times, it’s incredibly welcoming and talkative. You quickly get a sense of the grip level available, which is gargantuan. The Turbo GT comes with the new Pirelli P-Zero R tires standard, and while these tires manage the huge power and weight well, the optional Trofeo RS really make the car come alive. Turn-in grip is absurd. You turn the wheel and think you’re at the limit, but there’s always more available. And breathe off the throttle mid corner and the car rotates beautifully. It’s so responsive. On either tire, the Turbo GT feels hundreds, if not a thousand pounds lighter than it is. The standard Porsche Active Ride suspension system is fully active, meaning it can put force into the body via hydraulic motor-pump units connected to each damper. The system runs off the Taycan’s 800-volt battery and is capable of generating enormous force (2,248 pounds) in a very short amount of time. As a result, the Turbo GT has virtually no roll, pitch, or dive. (It doesn’t compensate for tire deflection, so the car does move around, but the body sits perfectly level.) Gallery: 2025 Porsche Taycan Turbo GT First Drive 2025 Porsche Taycan GT First Drive 59 Photos Clever calibration means this feels more natural than you’d expect, but Active Ride generates immense grip by controlling the loads independently at each corner. The damping is basically perfect, too. Monteblanco has a couple tall curbs and big rumble strips. You can huck a Turbo GT over them at silly speeds and the car just shrugs it off. If a car is just a battle between horsepower and grip, this battle is evenly matched. Which is astonishing. In the slow corners and chicanes, the Turbo GT rockets forward, with just a hint of how hard the car is working to generate traction; in the high-speed stuff, it feels absolutely stable. Between the massive mechanical and aero grip—the Turbo GT Weissach Package generates a maximum of 485 lbs at its 190-mph top speed—the car feels planted at all times. Monteblanco’s best corner is a fast uphill right with a compression at the bottom. You need a light brake or a lift, and the corner puts so much load through the car. The Turbo GT takes it all no problem. It’s astonishing. The Turbo GT excels at stopping too, especially when you consider the fact that it’s constantly adjusting the balance of regenerative and friction braking, and dealing with incredible speed and weight. Cons: Expensive, Limited In Appeal Oh yeah, speed. Porsche had us stop along the front straight and launch the Turbo GT. From there, Kern says if you ran the full length of the straight, you’d probably be doing around 175 mph braking into turn one. Too fast for an event like this. Yet even stopping more than halfway down the straight and using launch control, you still hit around 120 mph before you have to pull the chute. Launching the Turbo GT is genuinely disorienting. Porsche says 0-60 mph in 2.1 seconds for the Weissach Pack car, and the first time I did it, my vision went blurry for an alarming amount of time. It takes a little over six seconds to get to 124 mph, which is about as long as it’d take me to get to 60 in my Volkswagen GTI if I decided that I no longer wanted a functioning clutch. The acceleration and speed are party tricks, but the Turbo GT is much more. It feels entirely at home on a track. The way it generates grip recalls the best stuff I’ve ever driven on a circuit, and it still manages to feel engaging. “For us as race car drivers, it’s not a negative if the car drives well,” Kern says. “It’s as easy as that. We like a comfortable car as well, a car that’s easy to drive at the limit.” Downsides? The cool bucket seats you see here aren’t available in America. They’re a little silly in a car like this, but they offer more feedback through the seat of the pants, and, well, the whole car is a little silly, right? I think the target audience for this is small, though. A $230,000 four-door EV track car is a very specific niche, but I suppose there are always people who want the best version of a thing. And while we didn’t get to drive the Turbo GT on the road, the flexibility of the active suspension should mean it’s no more difficult as an everyday proposition than any other Taycan. Unless you delete the rear seats. https://www.motor1.com/reviews/715239/2025-porsche-taycan-turbo-gt-review/

Alex Pereira knocked out Jamahal Hill in the first round to retain his light-heavyweight title at the landmark UFC 300 event in Las Vegas. Brazil's Pereira, 36, dropped American Hill, 32, with a left hook before finishing the fight with repeated ground strikes. Pereira has now won seven of his eight UFC bouts in a remarkable two and a half years. "When I step into the octagon I don't see myself as champion," said Pereira. "I do the same thing in my personal life. I don't let this belt go to my head ever." Max Holloway delivered the moment of the night at the T-Mobile Arena as he stopped fellow American Justin Gaethje in the final seconds of the pair's lightweight bout for the symbolic BMF title. Holloway, 32, pointed to the ground with 10 seconds to go, inviting Gaethje to stand and trade punches, before knocking him out with one second remaining as the pair swung wildly. In the co-main event, Zhang Weili retained her strawweight title by unanimous decision against compatriot Yan Xiaonan in the UFC's first all-Chinese championship bout. Following the event, the UFC announced Ireland's Conor McGregor would fight for the first time since July 2021 when he takes on American Michael Chandler at UFC 303 in Las Vegas on 29 June. Pereira wows again The landmark 300 event boasted a strong card top to bottom, with 12 current or former champions in action, including two in the first fight of the night in former flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo, who beat former title holder Cody Garbrandt by submission in the second round. The UFC's efforts in producing a star-studded show are synonymous with past centenary events, with WWE star Brock Lesnar fighting at both, while McGregor and Jon Jones were in contention to appear at UFC 200 before their bouts were cancelled. The headlining bout between Pereira and Hill was finalised following weeks of negotiations between the UFC and various fighters which did not come to fruition, including Leon Edwards, Israel Adesanya and Dricus du Plessis. But former middleweight champion Pereira was granted the prestigious headlining slot against Hill and he once again made the most of his opportunity in the spotlight. Pereira beat Jiri Prochazka in November to become only the ninth fighter to win titles in two weight classes in the UFC, and he achieved that feat in record-breaking time - seven fights. Hill, meanwhile, was fighting for the first time in 14 months after recovering from a ruptured Achilles sustained in July which forced him to vacate the title. After the pair traded leg kicks in the opening stages, Pereira started to come forward, applying pressure to Hill. With Hill retreating, Pereira then dropped the challenger with a left hook before delivering repeated blows on the canvas, forcing the referee to halt the contest. Following his victory, Pereira hinted at a move up to heavyweight and an attempt to become the UFC's first three-division champion. "I want to keep continuing defending this belt, and I know there needs to be a lot promotion around this fight, but I want a fight at heavyweight," he said. Holloway delivers moment of the night UFC president Dana White announced in Thursday's press conference that fighters would be awarded $300,000 (£239,000) performance and fight-of-the-night bonuses at the event, up from the standard $50,000 prize. And Holloway, stepping up to lightweight from featherweight to contest for Gaethje's BMF title, delivered a moment befitting of the prize. After largely outclassing the 35-year-old over five rounds and heading for a decision win, Holloway risked defeat by inviting Gaethje to stand and trade punches with 10 seconds remaining. But, with the final bell looming, Holloway cemented victory, connecting with a left hook which sent Gaethje crumbling to the canvas and wowing the sell-out crowd. Former heavyweight champion Mark Coleman, who was treated in hospital last month after saving his parents from a house fire, then wrapped the commemorative belt around Holloway, awarded to the UFC's 'baddest' fighter. "Give it up to Gaethje - he's the real BMF. He had so much to lose and nothing to gain from this fight," said Holloway. Double Olympic judo gold medallist Kayla Harrison was victorious on her UFC debut as she dominated fellow American Holly Holm, forcing the former bantamweight champion to submit in the first round to a rear-naked choke. Former two-weight champion Amanda Nunes, who retired last year, then teased a potential return and match-up with Harrison by responding to footage of Harrison's post-fight interview on social media. https://www.bbc.com/sport/mixed-martial-arts/68810970

Having your dog put down can be a difficult and heart-breaking decision. Discuss with your veterinarian about the treatment options available, the costs involved, and their impact to your dog's quality of life. Coping with putting your dog down can be stressful and hard, so make sure to surround yourself with support. Give yourself and loved ones extra time to pay their respects and say good-byes. Pet loss can affect each person different. Be aware that there are support out these to help with grief and honoring your pet's memory. 1 Discuss about the options available for your dog's treatment. Ask questions about your dog's illness, prognosis, and treatment options available. Make sure to write everything down or bring along a friend or family member who will help you remember your options. Your feelings of grief will make it difficult for you to remember everything. If your veterinarian indicates that there may be few or no options that can treat your dog's illness or condition, ask about other options to consider and the costs involved, including the following:[1] Continuing to provide treatment at home and the medications available. Discuss about palliative care to help with pain management and the costs. Putting the dog down in a safe space under direction of a veterinarian. Discuss when and how this is done and the costs involved. Treatment options to prolong life or surgeries needed. Understand the limitations, such as only prolonging a dog's life for a few more months and the possibly of high vet bills. Step 2 Assess your dog's quality of life. 2 Assess your dog's quality of life. Use the HHHHMM Quality of Life Scale to assess your dog's health and condition, as indicated in the criteria below. Talk with your vet about what score you believe your dog has in terms of quality of life, and compare this to the score your vet gives. You can also ask other members of your household or close friends and family to provide a score as well. Understand that you may have a biased score (with good reason), due to wishing to have more time with your pet. Think about the following criteria for your pet's quality of life:[2] Hurt Hunger Hydration Hygiene Happiness Mobility More Good Days than Bad Step 3 Consider the pros and cons of euthanasia at end of life. 3 Consider the pros and cons of euthanasia at end of life. While putting your dog down via euthanasia may seem upsetting, think about the reasons why it may be a less painful way for your pet to end their life. Talk with your veterinarian about the pros and cons, as well as your dog's current quality of life:[3] Pros: providing a gentle way to go in a safe and controlled space, having the opportunity to be present when you say good-bye, ensuring that your pet feels no pain at the time of death Cons: feeling possible guilt that you cannot stop your pet from dying, taking on the stressful task of making life and death decisions for your pet Consider filling out this assessment tool created by the Ohio State University Veterinary Medical Center, and discuss it with your veterinarian to understand your dog's current health and quality of life: https://vet.osu.edu/vmc/sites/default/files/import/assets/pdf/hospital/companionAnimals/HonoringtheBond/HowDoIKnowWhen.pdf Part 2 Coping During the Final Days or Weeks Download Article 1 Provide a comfortable environment during your dog's end of life. Watching your pet suffer is likely something that causes you great pain and worry. Most likely as you are making the decision to put your dog down, you are continuing to provide as much comfort as possible for your pet. Think about these ways to provide care for your elderly pet to minimize their pain or distress:[4] Ask your veterinarian about comfort medications available to reduce pain or other symptoms related to your pet's illness that lower their quality of life. Provide a quiet and comfortable space at home for your pet. Reduce noise or interactions that could cause stress to your pet. Provide a warm, well-cushioned sleeping spot for your pet as they may have pressure sores, arthritis, or reduced mobility. Monitor issues with incontinence or loss of bladder control. Check for soiling or wetness regularly. Surround your dog with their favorite toys, blanket, and treats to make them comfortable. Try to be home for as long as possible to comfort your dog. If you must be gone for long periods of time , then have a familiar friend or family member check in on them. 2 Notify family or friends before putting your dog down. You may have relatives, children, or friends that have a close relationship with your pet. Make sure to notify them, and help them if they have questions or are experiencing grief. Make sure to identify someone who can also support you when you decide to put your dog down.[5] Make sure to tell friends and family a few days ahead of time about the plans to put down your dog. This allows them to offer support or make arrangements if they wish to be present at the time of the procedure. While you may be hesitant to tell your children, use this is as a time to help them grapple with loss as a part of life. Consider having a supportive friend or family member join you before or after your dog has been put down to provide additional emotional support for you. 3 Help your child to cope with grief. If you have a family pet that is adored by your children as well as you, then understand that they need to an opportunity grieve and cope with dying process. Children may have questions and fears related to their dog's death. Help them to process these feelings. Allow your child to express their grief openly. Be respectful of their compassion for their dying pet. Provide reassurance that their pet's death is not their fault or anyone else's. Explain to them, "Dying is simply a part of life. It is a process we must face from time to time. While we can't change it, know that this is not your fault." Allow them to participate in the final moments or afterwards if they wish to be present. Be a support for them, and help them to understanding this difficult time. Consider words of support such as, "I know that this is tough. He was such as sweet and loveable dog. Let's help each other through this, okay?" Try reading books to your children to help the understand and cope with their feelings, such as ‘’I'll Always Love You’’ by Hans Wilhelm. If the child is able to read, have them read it. 4 Saying good-bye in the final moments. Use this time to find some closure. While you can't stop your pet from aging and passing away, you can find some meaning and acceptance in the process of death and dying. It reminds us to use these precious moments wisely and thoughtfully. Give your pet the love and support that they need in their final moments. Provide lots of physical affection, such as by petting them and snuggling them. Use this as a time to let go of the past , and be a supportive presence. Talk with your pet. Say what you need to say to find meaning and closure. Know that you don't have to be present in the final moments. It may be hard to be present a few moments before your pet is put to sleep. Know that the act of saying-goodbye can be different for everyone. Part 3 Grieving After Your Dog is Put Down Download Article 1 Consider burial or cremation options. For many people, their dogs can be like close family. Talk with your veterinarian or other community resources about burial or cremation options that feel right for you. Some people wish to provide a burial for their pets, either at a pet cemetery or possibly on their own property. Understand that each person and family is different. You may not wish to bury or cremation your pet, and that's okay too. Review the costs and planning involved with burial or cremation. If this is a family dog, make sure to get input from all the family members about their preferences. 2 Honor your pet's memory. There are many ways to honor your dog's memory that can be respectful and cathartic. While some people simply keep the memory alive through photo albums and small keepsakes, others may wish to hold memorial services for their pet. Do what feels right for you. Consider these ways to honor their memory:[6] Create a photo album of your pet. Add some memorabilia items of your pet such as a collar or toys to go with the photo album. Create a small vigil in your home after your pet's death using photos and candles. Light a candle to honor their memory. Have a small memorial service at your pet's grave site if buried. Share memories of your pet with friends and family, including silly stories, heartwarming moments, and cute photos. Plant a tree or flowers in their honor. Donate any of their old toys, bed, or other items that are in good condition to a dog shelter. 3 Reach out for support in times of grief. Remember that you are not alone in your feelings of grief, loss, and guilt. Death, particularly the act of putting down a pet, can be difficult. You may feel regret that you could not do more to help them. Find support to help you with these feelings of grief.[7] Talk with supportive friends and family who can help you through this time. Identify pet loss support through counselors or local support groups in your community via the Association for Pet Loss and Bereavement: http://www.aplb.org/support/ Find online support through pet loss chat rooms via Rainbow's Bridge: http://www.rainbowsbridge.com/ Find grief support and resources via ASPCA's Pet Loss Hotline: 877-GRIEF-10 (877-474-3310) 4 Identify healthy self-coping strategies after loss. Accept your feelings as they are and allow yourself plenty of time to grieve. Don’t shame yourself if grieving the loss of your pet takes longer than you expected. This is just a reflection of the special relationship you had with your dog. Don't let anyone tell you how to feel. Your loss is your own.[8] Instead, take healthy steps to stay well in mind and body. Consider these positive ways to self-cope:[9] Get plenty of rest and sleep. Exercise regularly. Join a fitness class or group. Eat healthy. Make nutritious and delicious meals for yourself. If you have other pets, keep the routine consistent. They may feel sorrow as well when your dog passes. Give them extra love and attention. Keep up with their daily routines. https://www.wikihow.com/Cope-With-Having-a-Dog-Put-Down#:~:text=Reach out for support in,with these feelings of grief.

Perhaps more than any other moment in NASA’s history, the Columbia shuttle disaster reshaped the US space agency’s approach to innovation, forever altering how it balanced risk with the call to explore beyond Earth. The tragedy killed seven astronauts as the Columbia shuttle disintegrated upon its return to Earth on February 1, 2003, due to damage the vehicle sustained during launch. More than 20 years later, the lessons learned continue to shape the space industry and NASA’s approach to working with private-sector partners such as SpaceX. Changes at NASA were necessary, according to a formal investigation about the Columbia disaster published six months after the accident. A culture of complacency and misplaced trust in the space shuttle’s experimental design spelled disaster, the report outlined. Concerns about vehicle safety from staff engineers were also left unheeded by management, according to previous reporting and a new CNN docuseries, “Space Shuttle Columbia: The Final Flight.” The disaster led directly to the decision to end the broader NASA space shuttle program, forcing the US space agency to rely on Russia for rides to space — one of myriad ways Columbia altered history. Cultural changes: ‘Safety days,’ review boards and round tables Columbia marked the second deadly mishap for the shuttle program after the space shuttle Challenger exploded during launch in January 1986. Following the Columbia disaster, NASA grounded its remaining fleet of three shuttles as the space agency sought to parse what went wrong. “We spent the next year-plus … trying to encourage the (NASA) culture to put safety first and, most importantly, to ensure that people that had dissenting opinions or questions were heard,” Wayne Hale, then deputy manager of the space shuttle program, told CNN. “It was all in the name of trying to encourage people to speak up.” Some changes were simple: An audio-conferencing system was replaced with video, Hale said. And in the shuttle mission’s management team meeting room, a round table replaced the rectangular table. “We were told by the sociologist that if you had this straight, long table with the father figure at the head … that might discourage people from speaking up,” Hale said. NASA also had “safety days” — time set aside for engineers to stop work and just “contemplate how to better improve our organization’s approach to safety,” Hale added. Shifting perspectives The tragedy touched the entire NASA organization, leaving a legacy with which the remaining astronaut corps had to contend. “Obviously it affected us emotionally,” said Garrett Reisman, a spacecraft engineer from California who in 2003 was member of the NASA astronaut corps waiting to make his first foray into space. “I remember being called into the office, volunteering to work with families,” Reisman added. For two years, he said his entire job at NASA was to check in on the family of Ilan Ramon, the Israeli astronaut who had died on the Columbia mission. He went with Ramon’s kids to their guidance counselor to help them pick out classes. He and other astronauts helped find a house for Ramon’s wife. Reisman still visits the family in Israel once a year. KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- The STS-107 crew arrives at KSC to take part in Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test activities. Standing, left to right, are Payload Commander Michael Anderson, Pilot William "Willie" McCool, Commander Rick Husband, Mission Specialist David Brown, Payload Specialist Ilan Ramon (the first Israeli astronaut), and Mission Specialists Laurel Clark and Kalpana Chawla. STS-107 is a mission devoted to research and will include more than 80 experiments that will study Earth and space science, advanced technology development, and astronaut health and safety. RELATED ARTICLE More than 20 years later, families of the Columbia crew carry on their loved ones’ legacies “It helped me understand exactly what the consequences are, not just for you (the astronaut) — but for all the people you love,” Reisman said. “That stayed with me.” Reisman flew on two shuttle missions after the program resumed flight in 2005 as NASA put in numerous safety stopgaps, including a mandate that a spare shuttle was always prepared to rescue crew members in orbit if their vehicle was damaged during launch. Despite any lingering anxieties, the changes provided a newfound sense of security, Reisman said. “We had all these inspection and repair techniques,” he said. “I felt like when I was flying on Endeavour and Atlantis and Discovery (the three remaining shuttles) that it was much more safe than what the crew on Columbia — and certainly Challenger — had taken on.” NASA forced to rely on Russia The space shuttle Atlantis completed the final flight of the program in July 2011, leaving NASA without a means to fly its astronauts to the International Space Station. The program’s end forced the space agency to turn to Russia, which — as tensions eased in the post-Cold War era — was a primary US partner on the space station and had a reliable vehicle called Soyuz to ferry its cosmonauts to the orbiting outpost. The arrangement kept NASA astronauts space-bound. But as US-Russia relations became strained once again in the mid-2010s, sharing those rides to space became increasingly politically unpo[CENSORED]r. Culture clashes in the commercial world By the end of the shuttle program, a contingent of engineers within NASA already had ideas for the path ahead. Rather than keeping the design and development of the next astronaut-worthy spacecraft in-house, NASA could turn to the burgeoning private space industry to take over the task. Commercial companies had a bit more leeway to innovate in the post-Columbia era, Hale and Reisman acknowledged. “I think one of the big challenges was to find the right path between the really huge bureaucracy and paperwork requirements that NASA had — which in some cases were frankly over the top — and figure out how to accommodate the culture of a commercial (company),” Hale said. In 2014, NASA selected the Elon Musk-led SpaceX and its longtime partner Boeing to take up the task. In this handout image from NASA taken by the International Space Station crew, the Space Shuttle Discovery performs a 360 degree flip. ) RELATED ARTICLE The space shuttle was revolutionary for its time. What went wrong? The prospect of moving faster and paving a new future for the astronaut corps excited Reisman, who left NASA in 2011 to work for SpaceX on its Crew Dragon vehicle. Wary after the Columbia tragedy, NASA didn’t always see eye to eye with its commercial partners. The result was a culture clash that played out behind the scenes. “I have an org chart that shows all the different (NASA) review boards that all engineers working on NASA programs had to go to approve any major design decision,” Reisman said. “What happened was, post-Columbia, they were listening to dissenting voices so strongly that all of those dissenting voices effectively became a veto.” Long, painful meetings characterized relations between SpaceX and NASA, according to records of the era that the space agency compiled. But eventually, SpaceX got its Crew Dragon to the launchpad, and its inaugural crewed mission in 2020 returned astronaut launches to US soil for the first time in a decade. Boeing is still working toward the first crewed mission of its Starliner spacecraft. Redefining rocket design The lessons learned from Columbia — and the Challenger explosion before it — have left an indelible mark on the design of modern US spacecraft. “Probably the biggest example is just by putting the crew on top of the rocket instead of on the side of the rocket, you eliminate the hazard of any debris coming off the vehicle and hitting the spacecraft,” Reisman said. “A lot of those things were baked into the requirements that NASA gave us,” he said, referring to instructions given to SpaceX and Boeing. Crew Dragon, Starliner and NASA’s own Orion capsule — designed to return humans to the moon later this decade — all launch atop rockets rather than being strapped to the side of them. In this new era of rocketry with commercial companies largely leading the way, Hale said the challenge is to ensure the space industry avoids being lulled into the same complacency that led to the Columbia disaster. “My only concern now, as an old retiree, is — all these years later — how well are those lessons still communicated?” Hale said. “After 20 years, are people starting to forget?” https://edition.cnn.com/2024/04/13/world/columbia-space-shuttle-disaster-nasa-scn/index.html

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Nickname: Osiris Video author: Throneful Name of the game: Destiny 2 Link video: Rate this video 1-10: 7/10

Motorola has announced an event for April 16 to reveal the Edge 50 family. The Motorola Edge 50 Ultra, Edge 50 Fusion, and Edge 50 Pro are expected to go official in global markets at the event. The Motorola Edge 50 Pro with Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 SoC was launched in India earlier this month. The Chinese electronics brand has now shared a teaser to offer hints about the chipset on the Motorola Edge 50 Ultra without confirming the moniker of the phone. The upcoming handset is expected to come with upgrades over the Motorola Edge 30 ultra. The company has officially teased the Motorola Edge 50 series via an X post. As per the post, Qualcomm's new Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 SoC will power an Edge series handset. While Motorola didn't reveal the exact moniker of the handset, it is quite clear that the Ultra variant will carry this SoC. Past leaks and a recent Geekbench benchmark listing have also indicated that the Motorola Edge 50 Ultra runs on the same Snapdragon 8 series chipset. Motorola Edge 50 Ultra surfaced on Geekbench earlier this week with an impressive single-core CPU score of 1,947 and a multi-core score of 5,149. The listing showed a high-performance core with a maximum clock speed of 3.01GHz, four cores capped at 2.80GHz and three cores capped at 2.02GHz. These CPU speeds are associated with the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 SoC. The listing suggested 12GB of RAM and Android 14 operating system on the device. Moto G64 5G Full Specifications Revealed Ahead of April 16 Launch As per past leaks, the Motorola Edge 50 Ultra will carry a triple rear camera setup comprising a 50-megapixel primary sensor. The handset is said to carry a 6.7-inch OLED display with 165Hz refresh rate. Motorola Edge 50 Ultra is anticipated to be the most premium handset in the upcoming Edge 50 series. It could debut in the US with Motorola Edge+ 2024 or Edge Ultra 2024 moniker and cost around $999 (roughly Rs. 83,000).The Motorola Edge 40 recently made its debut in the country as the successor to the Edge 30 that was launched last year. Should you buy this phone instead of the Nothing Phone 1 or the Realme Pro+? We discuss this and more on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.Affiliate links may be automatically generated - see our ethics statement for details. COMMENTS For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube. ts : https://www.gadgets360.com/mobiles/news/motorola-edge-50-ultra-teasers-snapdragon-8s-gen-3-soc-launch-april-16-specifications-5424408#pfrom=desktop-lhs-trending

AMD is known for offering a balance of high performance and affordability within the competitive CPU market, and the best AMD processor provides multitasking capabilities to help you excel in a professional capacity, as well as dramatically improving the performance of your PC games. Unlike AMD’s closest competitors, AMD processors have historically hit that sweet spot of high-performance power and cost-effectiveness, causing their po[CENSORED]rity to soar among professionals and gamers alike. Their best chip, the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X, supports the latest DDR5 and PCle 5.0 technology and offers unbeatable value for the price point. In contrast, the AMD Ryzen 5 7600X represents an even more affordable option and is bound to appeal to budget buyers, thanks to its impressive single-core performance. Its multicore performance may be too laggy for some, but overall this energy-efficient chip is excellent for productivity and is a solid choice for gaming to boot. In much the same way that anyone looking for the best graphics card shouldn’t ignore AMD’s offerings, your search for the best processor should consider AMD’s latest and greatest processors, too. LATEST VIDEOS FROM TECHRADAR CLOSE However, scoping out the best processors on the market can be exhausting, particularly if you’re not sure which way to turn. And that’s where we come in. We’re well-versed in the best processors that AMD has to offer and can help steer you in the right direction, according to your specific needs and requirements. The best AMD processor of 2024The AMD Ryzen 9 7950X is easily the best processor on the market right now with incredible performance, energy efficiency, and support for the latest DDR5 and PCIe 5.0 technology. There is no area where the processor doesn't either match or surpass competing chips on the market, and coming in at a slightly lower price point than its predecessor, it is the enthusiast processor to own right now. If there is a single fault with the processor, it's that the new Ryzen 7000 series requires a new AM5 motherboard and doesn't support DDR4 RAM, so you'll need to buy a new expensive RAM kit as well, but given the generational leap here, there's no question that the price is worth it for those who have the means to invest heavily in their system. https://www.techradar.com/news/amd-processors-the-best-amd-cpus-in-2019

In the world of PC gaming, the operating system (OS) you choose can significantly impact your gaming experience. With the rise of various OS options, gamers in 2024 have a wide range of choices. This article will explore the best gaming OS for PC, providing a comprehensive round-up of the most po[CENSORED]r operating systems, their pros and cons, and how they can optimize your gaming performance. Best OS for gaming overall: AtlasOS Best Linux distro for gaming: Pop_OS Best compatibility: Windows 10 What you must know before trying a different operating system Before you consider switching from your current Windows OS, it's essential to understand that every operating system may have its compromises. For instance, you might encounter issues with anti-cheat or DRM incompatibility, which can be a problem even with software like Atlas OS. Therefore, it's crucial to identify the games you wish to play and verify their compatibility with the new OS. Platforms like Reddit or Discord can be valuable resources for this information. Always remember to double-check before making the switch to ensure a seamless gaming experience. AtlasOS Atlas is a transparent and streamlined modification of Windows, specifically redesigned for gamers. The primary goal of AtlasOS is to maximize your system's performance and optimize latency, providing a smoother and more responsive Windows experience. This results in higher framerates and improved in-game performance compared to standard Windows. AtlasOS achieves this by reducing processes and lowering RAM usage, breathing new life into your Windows system. The community feedback for AtlasOS is overwhelmingly positive, with a high Trustpilot rating, reflecting the team's commitment to improving the OS. One of the unique aspects of AtlasOS is its open-source nature. Licensed under GPL-3.0, the project's GitHub repository is open for contributions, inviting tech enthusiasts to contribute to their vision. In addition to its performance benefits, AtlasOS also fosters a welcoming community of passionate tech enthusiasts. By joining the community, users can engage in discussions with like-minded individuals and seek advice from experts. This community-driven approach, coupled with the performance benefits of AtlasOS, makes it a compelling choice for gamers seeking to optimize their Windows experience. Pros: Optimized for gaming performance, ensuring smooth gameplay. Offers a high level of customization, allowing gamers to tailor their OS to their needs. Cons: As a new OS, it might not be compatible with all games. Requires a certain level of technical knowledge for customization. https://www.ghostcap.com/best-gaming-os-for-pc/

A mobile Doom game isn’t such a farfetched idea. After all, Bethesda turned other hit franchises, such as Elder Scrolls and Fallout, into well-received Android and iPhone spinoffs. However, while Mighty Doom occasionally reminds us of what makes Doom so magnificent, this free-to-play top-down shooter is only adequate. It’s no replacement for real ripping and tearing. Diet Doom Some mobile versions of big, po[CENSORED]r games try to shrink the entire experience to the small screen. Games like Apex Legends, Diablo Immortal, and League of Legends: Wild Rift are pretty close to their console counterparts. Mighty Doom isn’t like this. Think of it more like Fallout Shelter or Rocket League Sideswipe—a wacky spinoff that in no way competes with the genuine article. If you want true Doom on the go, consider picking up a Nintendo Switch. Mighty Doom Instead of a first-person shooter, Mighty Doom is a top-down title like Robotron or Smash TV, the kind of game that the original Doom essentially recreated in 3D. In fact, Mighty Doom is even simpler than those retro comparisons. The mini Doom Slayer you control shoots automatically, so you only have to worry about moving him to the most advantageous positions. Like in Vampire Survivors, this seemingly stripped-down formula still requires you to make intelligent decisions . The tiny maps occasionally feature boost pads or exploding barrels that reward situational awareness. But this is ultimately a casual mobile game meant to be played with one thumb, although a real joystick would be better than the fiddly virtual one. Mighty Doom strings you through its bite-size levels using a roguelike structure. To complete a world, you must conquer its 40 randomized levels in one run. The gauntlet of about nine worlds, taking you from ancient castles to Hell on Earth, should theoretically last you a while. But aside from some background details, levels blur together so much that I quickly got my fill of going back through these same layouts. The core gameplay isn’t bad, just generic, which is a shame considering how exciting and iconic the source material is. Mighty Doom Mobile Mayhem Fortunately, Mighty Doom does feature some elements that might appeal to new and old Doom fans. Despite the cute chibi aesthetic, the game doesn’t skimp too much on Doom’s bloody violence. Granted, it doesn’t have the same graphical quality as Doom Eternal on a high-end PC, but it’s still delightful to see tiny Doom Guy use his tiny chainsaw to dismember the tiny boss monsters. Mighty Doom also retains the Glory Kill system, where you can instantly kill enemies to gain valuable resources. Seeing a vulnerable enemy halfway across the map encourages you to play aggressively, to charge through the horde and slay the demon before they snap out of their stupor. That feels like Doom. Mighty Doom’s weapon system also feels like Doom, even if it’s doing something traditional Doom games don’t do. Your initial loadout includes your standard gun, a special cooldown weapon like missiles or a shotgun, and an ultimate attack using your magic sword. However, you gain access to random power-ups as you level up throughout your run. Shoot bouncing bullets, multiple bullets at once, or bullets that explode...these abilities all stack on top of each other, making you increasingly lethal and ridiculous in equal measure. Nothing I saw approached the creativity of, say, Hades, but this is the most interesting thing the game has going for it. Mighty Doom Want more news, reviews, gear, and tricks to level up your game? Sign up for our gaming email newsletterSign up for our gaming email newsletter. Slow Slaying Mighty Doom's weapon combos give you lots of cool upgrades relatively quickly, but its overall free-to-play progression is the exact opposite. Expect all the classic tactics meant to slow you down or get you paying. An energy limit throttles how many times you can play in a day, which is about four runs per day on average. If you die during a run, you can watch an ad to revive yourself once. Purchases are available for upgrading gear, extending your energy, or unlocking loot crates; you can buy bundles for the "best deal." While recent Doom games let you customize your loadout and upgrade your equipment, they understand that Doom is all about feeling monstrously powerful, even from the very start. So it makes me sad to open up shiny loot crates in Mighty Doom for endless gear and weapons offering marginal stat increases. Doom isn't an RPG or a looter shooter. The last thing I should care about is a slightly stronger chest plate or +2 fire-resistant boots or any other incremental perk that makes my eyes glaze over. I just want to pound demons to a pulp. I still had fun playing Mighty Doom by ignoring this stuff, but presumably you need to somewhat engage with the loot to make meaningful progress in a reasonable amount of time. Less offensive are Mighty Doom's seasonal events, which are totally fine ways to keep the game fresh and keep players coming back. During testing, I played the Easter event which had me slaughtering zombie bunnies. That was fun and very Doom. Hellfire on Your Phone No way in Hell does Mighty Doom compare favorably with the real Doom games, some of the greatest ever made. And even compared with other mobile games, you can do a lot better...but you can also do a lot worse. As a free way to shoot demons with an ever-escalating arsenal, Mighty Doom is fine, but nothing more. For more in-depth video game talk, visit PCMag's Pop-Off YouTube channel. Eager to see the new titles on the horizon? Visit The Best Video Games Coming Out in 2023. TS : https://me.pcmag.com/en/mobile-games/16793/mighty-doom

Children of the Sun bills itself as a tactical third-person puzzle-shooter, but not all of those descriptors are equally relevant. Discard any attachment you have to the idea of it being a tactical third-person shooter in any traditional or meaningful way, and focus purely on the puzzle part. Children of the Sun, rather, is a supernatural sniper game where you control the path and speed of just one bullet per level – one part Hitman: Sniper Assassin, one part Seinfeld magic loogie. Essentially, you need to pause, pivot, and plot your single shot to kill every enemy on each level, all without losing said bullet beyond the boundaries of the map, or striking a part of the environment. It’s clever and compulsive, and I’ve found stitching together successful runs very satisfying. However, it definitely doesn’t elicit much sympathy for its mask-wearing main character, and I’m not sure it’s quite as replayable as it thinks it is. The premise of Children of the Sun is simple, and it’s relayed in an equally simple fashion, with no voiceover – just quick sequences of sharp, hand-drawn artwork. That delivery is impressively effective, though. Whatever language you speak, I’d expect you’ll be able to easily follow the story. There are occasional subtitles, but they don’t seem to contribute anything especially crucial. Our unnamed character – The Girl – is hell bent on killing her way through The Cult in order to snuff out its sadistic chief – The Leader – who murdered her parents. Also… she has paranormal powers that allow her to move things with her mind. That’s all you need to know, and that’s really all you’ll ever know. She’s upset, but her telekinetic killing spree is soothing her pain. Or making her horny. I think it’s one or the other. Her telekinetic killing spree is soothing her pain. Or making her horny. I think it’s one or the other. “ It’s not that deep but, admittedly, it doesn’t need to be. It’s a revenge story, and I love revenge stories. You don’t exactly need a diving bell to get to the bottom of Death Wish, for instance. That said, it would’ve been nice for Children of the Sun to have generated a little more empathy for The Girl. She doesn’t exactly have any personality to speak of; she’s kind of just a disaffected clump of adolescent angst in a weird mask. Arguably, the solution here is just to fill in the blanks yourself but, when I do that, the most I get is someone who spent her formative years getting picked last for team sports and listening to a lot of Thirty Seconds To Mars. It’s possible I’ve just outgrown Children of the Sun’s overt edginess. Bullet with Butterfly Wings Outside of the teenage Tumblr tone of the main character, Children of the Sun has gone for a deliberately grainy and stylised PS2-era aesthetic. It does the job nicely, but sometimes it’s just a little too dark for its own good. I have, for instance, occasionally been forced to restart levels after striking objects I couldn’t actually see until I hit them. Enemies do glow, though. This is smart because it makes Children of the Sun less about seeking out your prey in the first place, and more about the process of putting together the perfect sequence of kill shots. This is the fun part. I would expect that needing to desperately scan for unfairly camouflaged cultists while also trying to nail a run would’ve easily ruined what Children of the Sun does right. It certainly isn’t overwhelmed with controls or buttons; indeed, everything is performed via the left and right mouse buttons, plus the scroll wheel. It’s quite easy to pick up. The grungy, grim tone is unlikely to be to everyone’s tastes, but it’s very straightforward and approachable to otherwise play. The Girl can strafe left or right at the beginning of each level – sometimes in a small space, sometimes circling the entire perimeter – but that’s the only navigation. 99% of Children of the Sun is spent controlling a bullet, not The Girl herself. I’ll concede her extremely limited movement does feel pretty pointless early on, but later into the roughly five-hour run time it becomes crucial to manoeuvre to the right firing angle to ensure you’ll be able to take everyone down before running out of bullet tricks. Those tricks are thoughtfully rationed out as the levels progress, and include things like using the fuel caps of cars to cause an explosion to kill nearby enemies and give you a bonus chance to redirect your bullet, or the ability to gently steer it by several degrees to strike moving targets. Later still, you’ll learn the ability to rapidly accelerate bullets to smash through armour, and to use successful hits of enemy weak spots to bank an on-demand trajectory change in any direction. Adding these new techniques to the overall system keeps things from becoming stagnant, and the way in which Children of the Sun encourages us to experiment and combine all these tricks is where it excels most. Need some height? Shoot a bird to gain a better view of the level and a bonus trajectory change while you’re at it. Too close to an armoured goon? Rack up some weak spot strikes on some standard cultists, send your shot out into the distance, and then re-fire it in from afar with a little extra sauce on it. Children of the Sun - First Screenshots 10 IMAGES Master of a Speeding Bullet There’s a scoring system at work within Children of the Sun, and even leaderboards attached to each level to compare your best attempts with both your friends and the rest of the world. I expect this is nice if you’re a ruthlessly competitive type, but killing everyone in a level in a slightly different order (to see if there’s a marginally faster way to do it) isn’t really enough to have me leaping back in to replay all the levels. The layouts of some of the later maps proved complex enough to tempt me back for another few tries but, with the enemies always more or less in the same spots, it’s a bit like solving the same crossword puzzle over and over. It’s just not significantly satisfying after the first time around. Children of the Sun commits the cardinal slow motion sin of showing a bullet in flight as the entire cartridge. “ For clarity’s sake, one last thing I really ought to add is that when I say bullet, I really mean cartridge. Unfortunately, Children of the Sun commits the cardinal slow motion sin of showing a bullet in flight as the entire cartridge – with the case and primer still attached. Clearly, The Girl went to the Portal turret school of ballistics (where firing the whole bullet means 65% more bullet per bullet!) It’s a small goof in the scheme of things but it’s a pretty dorky error, and it’s a shame it’s made it all the way to the final product. I guess you could potentially mount an argument that The Girl’s telekinetic powers allow her to move an unfired cartridge through the air like a deadly dart, but it wouldn’t really stand up. If that were really the case, why does it come out of the rifle like that? Why would she need a rifle at all? She could just chuck killer cartridges through the air like Charlie Sheen in Hot Shots! Part Deux. https://www.ign.com/articles/children-of-the-sun-review