Apple : US accuses Chinese military officers of Equifax hack |
- US accuses Chinese military officers of Equifax hack
- PS4 Pro barata: los mejores precios, ofertas y paquetes en Febrero 2020
- See the Samsung Galaxy S20 cameras up close via this leak
- Amazon wants to question Trump and cronies over JEDI contract
- PS5 release date, specs, news and rumors for Sony’s PlayStation 5
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| US accuses Chinese military officers of Equifax hack Posted: 10 Feb 2020 01:28 PM PST Four Chinese military officers have been charged by the US over the Equifax data breach which affected over 147m Americans as well as UK and Canadian customers back in 2017 when hackers stole sensitive personal data including names and addresses from the credit rating giant. US Attorney General William Barr announced the indictments and called the hack “one of the largest data breaches in history”. According to court documents, the four Chinese military officers are allegedly members of the People's Liberation Army's 54th Research Institute. The documents also said that they spent weeks inside Equifax's systems during which time they broke into security networks and stole personal data.
The nine-count indictment even accuses the group of stealing trade secrets such as data compilation and database designs. At this time, the whereabouts of the four Chinese military officers remains unknown and it is highly unlikely that they will ever come to the US to stand trial for their crimes. Equifax data breachWhile the people responsible for the Equifax data breach may have been found, FBI Deputy Director David Bowdich explained that justice won't be possible any time soon, saying: “We can’t take them into custody, try them in a court of law, and lock them up — not today, anyway. But one day, these criminals will slip up, and when they do, we’ll be there.” Bowdich also said that so far there has been no evidence that the data obtained in the hack has been used to hijack customer's bank accounts or credit cards. In a statement, Equifax CEO Mark Begr expressed his gratitude to the Justice Department for carrying out its investigation, saying: "We are grateful to the Justice Department and the FBI for their tireless efforts in determining that the military arm of China was responsible for the cyberattack on Equifax in 2017. It is reassuring that our federal law enforcement agencies treat cybercrime – especially state-sponsored crime – with the seriousness it deserves, and that the Justice Department is committed to pursuing those who target U.S. consumers, businesses and our government. The attack on Equifax was an attack on U.S. consumers as well as the United States.”
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| PS4 Pro barata: los mejores precios, ofertas y paquetes en Febrero 2020 Posted: 10 Feb 2020 01:27 PM PST Con una extensa librería de juegos y unas ofertas de paquetes con la PS4 Pro irresistibles, no hay razón para no aprovechar las rebajas y comprar la consola de 4K de Sony. En esta página encontrarás los mejores precios de la PS4 Pro con juegos como el FIFA 20, Death Stranding, Call of Duty Modern Warfare, y NHL 20. La iremos actualizando todos los meses para que puedas tener acceso fácil a las últimas ofertas en los próximos meses. Y si te hace falta un televisor de 4K, hay varias rebajas siempre en activo para conseguir uno por debajo de los $500. ¿Cuál es el precio habitual de la PS4 Pro?El precio de la PS4 Pro es $399 en los Estados Unidos. Así que si encuentras un paquete de juego más PS4 Pro por encima de peso, no merece la pena. Paquetes de PS4 Pro y juegos 4K en Estados UnidosLos paquetes de PS4 Pro generalmente se centran en los grandes lanzamientos de juegos triple A, así que siempre hay que tener un ojo bien abierto para detectarlos. Sin embargo, eso no quita con que puedas tener acceso a otras ofertas como las de esta página. Si estás buscando un gamepad adicional, échale un vistazo a las mejores ofertas para el DualShock 4 (en inglés). También tenemos una guía de las mejores ofertas para la PlayStation VR (en inglés).
Ofertas PlayStation Plus baratasSi estás pensando en comprar una PS4 Pro, también podrá interesarte esta oferta de PlayStation Plus. Este servicio online te permite jugar títulos de la PS4 online y acceder al Instant Game Collection, una librería de juegos gratuitos para la PS4. Aquí puedes encontrar las mejores ofertas PlayStation Plus (en inglés). ¿Qué es la PS4 Pro?Sencillamente, la PS4 Pro es una nueva versión de la PS4 con nuevos procesadores diseñados para crear gráficos con resolución 4K y color HDR. La máquina es más poderosa que la versión anterior, permitiendo a los desarrolladores hacer que sus juegos — como Red Dead Redemption 2, God of War, Uncharted 4, Spider-Man, Days Gone, Horizon: Zero Dawn y muchos más — tengan mucho más detalle en televisores 4K. HDR, o High Dynamic Range, ofrece mucho más detalle en las sombras y los brillos porque utiliza 10 en vez de 8 bits para definir el color de cada emisor rojo, verde y azul que forman cada pixel en la pantalla. Si tu televisor es 4K HDR, la calidad es infinitamente mayor que sin HDR. ¿Funcionan los títulos PS4 en la PS4 Pro?Todos los juegos de la PS4 funcionan, pero no todos los juegos PS4 existentes se beneficiarán de la nueva capacidad de proceso 4K y HDR de las PS4 Pro. ¿Qué más puedo disfrutar en 4K/HDR en la PS4 Pro?Todo el contenido 4K/HDR que haya en YouTube y Netflix se verán muchísimo mejor en la PS4 Pro. Disney Plus también. Amazon Prime, sin embargo, todavía no soporta 4K/HDR en la PS4 Pro. ¿Soporta la PS4 Pro el estándar Blu-ray 4K?No. Esto fue una sorpresa mayúscula, especialmente cuando la Xbox One S y Xbox One X sí lo hacen. Por otra parte, los Blu-rays de 4K son muy caros y muchos consumidores utilizan servicios online y no discos para acceder a este contenido. ¿Necesito una TV 4K para la PS4 Pro?No, la PS4 Pro funcionará en 1080p sin problemas — pero no podrás disfrutar ni de la resolución 4K ni HDR. Las ventajas son mínimas.
¿Es mejor PlayStation VR en PS4 Pro?El número de fotogramas por segundo de la PlayStation VR será mejor en la PS4 Pro y la resolución también, aunque marginalmente. ¿Tiene la PS4 Pro salida de audio digital óptica?Sí. La salida óptica ya no existe en la PS4 Slim, pero la PS4 Pro la sigue teniendo. ¿Cuáles son los mejores juegos para la PS4 Pro?Hemos analizado el catálogo de la PS4 para probar todos los juegos que hemos podido con la PS4 Pro y ver cuáles son los que más aprovechan el nuevo hardware: aquí tienes la lista de los mejores juegos para la PS4 Pro. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| See the Samsung Galaxy S20 cameras up close via this leak Posted: 10 Feb 2020 11:48 AM PST The Samsung Galaxy S20 family of smartphones is expected to launch tomorrow, February 11, and we're eagerly waiting. But, leaks wait for no one, and the latest bunch show off the staggeringly high-end specs that may be coming to the cameras in the new phones, courtesy of noted leaker Evan Blass. We're expecting a Samsung Galaxy S20, S20 Plus, and S20 Ultra in the final lineup of phones. What we're seeing from these leaks are big differences in the camera setups of each device. Per the leaks, the Galaxy S20 will pack a triple-lens setup in the rear. There are two 12MP shooters, one with wide-angle lens and another with an ultra-wide lens. The third camera is a 64MP telephoto. The Galaxy S20 Plus appears to have a very similar setup except that it has one extra sensor, which may be a dedicated depth sensor. Meanwhile, the front will have a small, punch-hole style camera with a 10MP sensor. The Galaxy S20 Ultra steps almost everything up to an extreme. Blass's leaks show a 40MP front-facing camera. On the rear, there's the same 12MP ultra-wide lens seen on the other devices, but then things get wild. The telephoto camera has a 48MP, likely using quad-pixel technology to produce a crisp 12MP photo. While that's technically lower in megapixel than the smaller phones, we've heard rumors that the S20 Ultra's telephoto lens will have more optical zoom. Then there's the insane, 108MP wide-angle camera. That's all topped off by a pair of depth sensors Samsung keeps being SamsungSamsung has a reputation for its cameras, and these phones show a heavy investment in versatile sensors. We've already seen some supposed leaked Galaxy S20 camera samples, and they showed big improvements over the Galaxy S10. But, none of those were from the Galaxy S20 Ultra. Given what we're seeing in the leaks, the Ultra will go even further with photography. There's a bit more to glean from the leak as well. For one, new cases will naturally show up for the new range of devices, including new wireless earbuds and a watch. The leaks also suggest both the Galaxy S20 Plus and Ultra will be 5G, as previously exepcted, but that the standard Galaxy S20 will be a non-5G device. That's a move that could keep down the price of the entry-level model.
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| Amazon wants to question Trump and cronies over JEDI contract Posted: 10 Feb 2020 11:03 AM PST Amazon is seeking to depose US President Donald Trump, Defense Secretary Mark Esper, former Defense Secretary James Mattis and others over how the Pentagon's $10bn JEDI cloud computing contract was awarded to Microsoft. In court documents which were recently unsealed and filed, the ecommerce giant's cloud computing division AWS said that it is currently trying to depose seven “individuals who were instrumental” in the JEDI source selection that “played pivotal roles” in Microsoft being awarded the contract. In addition to Trump, Mattis and Esper, AWS is also seeking to depose Dana Deasy who is the chief information officer of the Defense Department, the source selection authority that awarded the contract to Microsoft and the chairpersons of the SSA, according to the documents.
In a statement to CNBC, a spokesperson for AWS provided more details on the matter, saying: "President Trump has repeatedly demonstrated his willingness to use his position as President and Commander in Chief to interfere with government functions – including federal procurements – to advance his personal agenda. The preservation of public confidence in the nation's procurement process requires discovery and supplementation of the administrative record, particularly in light of President Trump's order to 'screw Amazon.' The question is whether the President of the United States should be allowed to use the budget of the DoD to pursue his own personal and political ends." JEDI contractThe Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure (JEDI) cloud computing contract could end up being worth up to $10bn over a 10 year period. While Amazon was initially seen as the favorite to win the contract, the Pentagon ended up selecting Microsoft instead. Back in November, Amazon filed a notice in the US Court of Federal Claims indicating that it planned to protest the Pentagon's decision to award Microsoft the contract, claiming the JEDI evaluation process had “clear deficiencies, errors and unmistakable bias”. In court documents made public in December, Amazon said that Trump launched “behind-the-scenes attacks” against it which led to it losing out on the contract. AWS is trying to depose Trump about his involvement in the bidding process, including any private conversations he had about it or instructions he gave regarding the award as well as any “efforts to harm Amazon or AWS”. Amazon's cloud computing arm wants to depose Mattis as he claims to have “highly relevant, first-hand knowledge about Trump's animus toward Mr. Bezos and Amazon and the efforts President Trump took to pressure DoD officials” regarding the contract. AWS also claims that Esper intervened in the JEDI award process to “conduct an 'examination' at President Trump's behest”.
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| PS5 release date, specs, news and rumors for Sony’s PlayStation 5 Posted: 10 Feb 2020 10:47 AM PST PS5 (or PlayStation 5) is the next-generation PlayStation, releasing in late 2020, after a long and incredible decade that saw Sony emerge as the clear winner in the home console wars in the eyes of many (sorry Xbox). So what do we know about the PS5 so far? The hysteria started in early 2019, when Mark Cerny, the chief architect on Sony's next console, confirmed that the company was working on the successor to the PS4 Slim and PS4 Pro. We wouldn't get the official name or release date until much later, but Cerny did shed some light on the next-gen console's capabilities, revealing that it would retain a disc drive, and would have something to do with Sony's game streaming ambitions; other than that there was little else to go on. Since then, Sony has been feeding us juicy tidbits such as an official PS5 release window, logo, name and a few key details about features. According to Sony, the PS5 still has big surprises to come – but it won't be revealing them at E3 2020, as the company has confirmed it won't be attending this year, again. That's not to say we won't see the PS5 anytime soon - the official PS5 website is now live, further fueling rumors that Sony is planning a PS5 reveal event in the near future, although this hasn't been confirmed. In addition, we've had some surprising leaks, in the form of a Sony-registered patent that seems to show off the PS5's general shape, button inputs, and cooling vents – this was confirmed to be the PS5 dev kit in a leaked photo. However, we expect the end product design will be different for the PlayStation 5's official launch later in the year. Sony can only keep the finer details of the next-generation PlayStation a secret for so much longer – especially with Microsoft having officially unveiled the Xbox Series X. But between the rumored specs, likely next-gen titles, and official features we are aware of, there's plenty to keep us busy for now. Here's everything we know about the PS5 so far – and what we hope will be revealed the closer we get to launch. [UPDATE: Nvidia GeForce Now benchmarks show how its RTX T10-8 GPU and Intel CC150 CPU could challenge the PS5. Read on to find out more.]
God of War (Image Credit: SIE) Sony has officially confirmed that the PS5 will release "in time for Holiday 2020" in the US, so likely some time between October and December 2020. A leak has suggested that the release date will be November 20, 2020 but that's yet to be confirmed – but it's in the right window, and it would leave time before Christmas to get those orders in. This would put the PlayStation 5 in direct competition with Microsoft's Xbox Series X (formerly Xbox Project Scarlett), which is releasing during the same period. Game on. However, there have been rumors that the coronavirus will delay the release date. But we don't think that's likely. We're expecting to find out the PlayStation 5's release date when the next-gen console is officially revealed. Hopefully we won't be waiting long, as a launch event seems imminent. Read on to find out why.
Death Stranding Sony hasn't officially confirmed a PS5 price yet and, according to the company, that's because it hasn't actually decided how much the next-gen console will cost. In a quarterly earnings call (via Spiel Times), Sony's chief financial officer Hiroki Totoki revealed the company still hasn't nailed down the PS5 price. "What is not very clear or visible is because we are competing in the space, so it’s very difficult to discuss anything about the price at this point of time, and depending upon the price level, we may have to determine the promotion that we are going to deploy and how much costs we are prepared to pay," Totoki explained. “First, we must absolutely control the labour cost, the personnel cost, it must be controlled, and the initial ramp up, how much can we prepare initially, we will work on the production and the sales and we will have to prepare the right volume as we launch this," Totoki continued. “It’s a balancing act it’s very difficult to say anything concrete at this point of time," Totoki said. But we do know that Sony is aiming for "the best balance so that we will be profitable in the life, during the life of this product." While Sony may not have a price nailed down, there have been rumors about how much the PS5 could cost. One such rumor has suggested that the console will cost $499 in North America when it launches. Naturally this should be taken with a pinch of salt, but it would be welcome news if the console did launch at this price, as it's only $100 more than the launch price of the PS4 and PS4 Pro. There's also been a less believable rumor claiming the PS5 will cost up to £900 in the UK, which would be around $1,200, but Sony quickly debunked that. We can expect that the console's price will be in line with the technology it uses, but Sony will also have to be aware of its competition. It's unlikely, with the Xbox Series X, that Microsoft will repeat the mistake it made by launching the Xbox One at a prohibitively high price point, so Sony will have to ensure that it doesn't make a similar mistake by making the PS5 too expensive. There were also concerns that a US trade tariff on Chinese imports of electronics would hike up the price of the PS5 and Xbox Series X, however the tariff has now been halted, meaning we shouldn't have to deal with next-gen consoles being even more expensive.
Ghost of Tsushima (Image Credit: SuckerPunch)
So what is the PS5 packing under the hood? We don't know a huge amount about the PlayStation 5's specs, but here's what we do know. That AMD one-two punch of CPU and GPU unlocks the powers of ray tracing, an advanced lighting technique that can bring next-level immersion to gaming visuals. It's Hollywood tech that's used in big-budget CGI spectacles, putting into context the levels of visual fidelity you can expect from the PS5. Ray tracing is enabled by GPU hardware rather than software level, Mark Cerny told Wired. “There is ray tracing acceleration in the GPU hardware,” he explained. Sony has confirmed that the PS5 will support 8K gaming, and we think AMD SmartShift could be the secret sauce that makes this possible. With 8K TV support comes far more detailed textures, and much larger-scale ones at that. The news of a bespoke SSD drive will be heartening then – just because the games will be getting more complex, that doesn't mean they'll be slower to load. It's estimated that the new SSD is 19 times faster than traditional SSD storage methods (but given the speed difference between the SSD and the optical drive, installation of games will be mandatory). Not only that, but by harnessing the power of the SSD, developers could potentially reduce the install sizes of games because, as Cerny told Wired, “there is no need to duplicate data to compensate for slow seek times that optical drives and HDDs have”. The PS5 will benefit from simplified data management due to its SSD, and this will allow players to have more control over installing and removing games, for example by allowing players to install (or remove) only certain parts of a game – so instead of installing the full game, you could choose to just install the single-player mode and then do multiplayer later, or vice versa.
Uncharted 4: A Thief's End (Image Credit: Naughty Dog) Physical games for the PS5 will use 100GB optical disks, inserted into an optical drive that doubles as a 4K Blu-ray player, and the next-generation hardware will boast a completely revamped UI. Speaking about the new UI to Wired, Cerny said: "Even though it will be fairly fast to boot games, we don't want the player to have to boot the game, see what's up, boot the game, see what's up. "Multiplayer game servers will provide the console with the set of joinable activities in real time. Single-player games will provide information like what missions you could do and what rewards you might receive for completing them – and all of those choices will be visible in the UI. As a player you just jump right into whatever you like." Audio will reach a new "gold standard" on PS5 too, according to Cerny, thanks to a new audio engine that will deliver immersive sound – particularly if you're using headphones. While the details remain unclear, expect something resembling the experience of a Dolby Atmos setup. Sony's PS5 next-generation console will also offer improved cloud gaming performance, and "dramatically improved graphics rendering" power. That's the word straight from the company itself, as it showed off a sneak peak during a corporate strategy presentation.
Marvel's Spider-Man (Insomniac Games) In a statement sent out following the presentation, Sony said the "two keywords for the future direction of PlayStation are 'immersive' and 'seamless'", with the 'immersive' experience "created by dramatically increased graphics rendering speeds, achieved through the employment of further improved computational power and a customized ultra-fast, broadband SSD". The company also reinforced the importance of its cloud-gaming plans with Playstation Now, and somewhat surprisingly doubled down on its underused Remote Play feature, saying the "evolution" of this would in the future "provide a seamless game experience anytime, anywhere". Remote Play is already available as part of the PS4 package, enabling you to stream a game direct from the console to a computer, smartphone, tablet or PS Vita handheld console. But Sony says that going forward it will be "leveraging the latest computing, streaming, cloud, and 5G technologies" to allow it, and the performance of PlayStation Now, to improve. If that's not enough, Sony has confirmed the PS5's "incredibly powerful" backwards compatibility will let you play online with PS4 players. There have also been rumors that the PS5 could be backwards compatible with the PS3, PS2, and original PlayStation, meaning its games library could stretch right back to the glory days of the mid 90s.
We've seen several leaked images of the PS5 dev kit, with each showing the same console design, along with the above render based on one of those images, courtesy of Let's Go Digital). What does the render above show us? There are a number of buttons: on/standby, reset, eject (for the double-layer 100GB-reading Blu-ray drive), system initialization and network initialization, all on the front-left. There are also a number of status lights, numbered '0' to '7', which likely relate to CPU cores engaged, but which could also be status lights for controllers connected. To the right are six USB ports (one USB 2.0 and five likely USB 3.0 ports – the final port being obscured by a cable). A small circle above could well be a camera built into the console, according to earlier patent filings. Interestingly, rubber feet appear to be on the top side of the console, suggesting that devs are being encouraged to either flip the console for stress testing and convenience, or to stack them when working on demanding games. However, these images should only really be used to speculate on what the final design of the consumer console will be, rather than considering it wholly indicative on the machine to come. If we look at older PlayStation dev kits, the final product rarely resembles the dev kit. Dev kits are specially designed to be robust, and to support a console working under extreme load so as to allow the developers to push their creations to the maximum without frying the hardware they're working on. They're also designed to help developers find any flaws in the final PS5 consumer hardware design. With Sony still several months away from the launch of the PlayStation 5, there's plenty of time for its team to create something a little less alien-looking.
While we may not know exactly what the PS5 will look like, Sony did reveal the PS5's official logo at CES 2020. It's essentially just the PlayStation 4 logo with a '5' replacing the '4'. But Sony PlayStation president, Jim Ryan, did tease during Sony's CES keynote that “there’s plenty to share about the PS5 in the months ahead. And we look forward to sharing more details, including the content that will showcase the platform and the future of gaming”.
The PS5 will come with a new controller, according to Sony. The PS5 controller (we don't know the official name yet) will include haptic feedback to replace the DualShock 4's rumble technology, designed to improve the controller's feedback and therefore player immersion. The PS5 controller will also feature adaptive triggers, which Sony says have "been incorporated into the trigger buttons (L2/R2)". These adaptive triggers will allow developers to program the resistance of the triggers to simulate actions more accurately. In an interview with Business Insider Japan (translated by Gematsu), SIE CEO Jim Ryan said: “3D audio and the haptic feedback support of the controller are also things that, when you try them, you will be surprised at how big a change they are. Even just playing the racing game Gran Turismo Sport with a PlayStation 5 controller is a completely different experience. While it runs well with the previous controller, there is no going back after you experience the detailed road surface via haptic control and play using the adaptive triggers." If that's not enough for you, a patent suggests new back buttons are coming to the PS5 DualShock controller – perhaps along similar lines to the Back Button Attachment that Sony just launched for existing DualShock 4 gamepads. But what will it look like? According to a Sony patent for a new controller, published by the Japanese patent office (via VGC), the PS5 controller could look very similar to the DualShock 4 – with some key differences. For a start, the potential PS5 controller seems to have a slightly chunkier design, built-in microphone, larger triggers, no light bar and smaller sticks. It also seems the DualShock 4's micro USB port has been replaced by a smaller USB-C port, which is placed on the top rather than the bottom of the controller. The lack of a light bar does make us question how the PS5 would track the controller when it comes to PSVR and PS Camera games. Usually this is done via the PS Camera, so we're hoping the console will have a different means of tracking the controller, otherwise compatibility will suffer. Unless, of course, Sony is gearing up to move solely onto PSVR 2 – although this doesn't seem likely, as Sony has promised that the PS5 will be backwards compatible with PSVR. It also looks like the stereo headset jack and extension port at the bottom of the headset have been replaced by two larger circular ports. We think these will still be for plugging in headsets, but the two jacks could be headphone and microphone slots respectively, to expand compatibility with headsets. There's also a rectangular design that seems to wrap around the headset, which is potentially for compatibility with a charging dock – but again, this is all speculation on our part. Be wary of controller 'leaks' like these, though, as the rumor mill can work at a feverish pace when there's not much solid to go on. Sony has also patented a controller feature that would enable voice commands, meaning we could see more smart integration come to the PlayStation platform – which ties in with chatter around an AI voice assistant called PlayStation Assist. This would apparently offer "gaming assistance", such as pointing out health packs on a map or reminding you what your objective is, similar to what Google has said its Stadia controller will do.
The entire PS4 library, including PSVR games, will be supported by the PS5; that much is known. But we're now hearing more about confirmed – and rumored – PS5 games. At this point, any first-party PS4 game in the pipeline – from Ghost of Tsushima to The Last of Us 2, would be prime candidates for PS5 cross-gen upgrades. We've also heard enough chatter around a Horizon Zero Dawn sequel and new God of War game to assume we'll be seeing both land on the PS5 console. But what about third-party titles? We've had confirmation that Gearbox's new IP Godfall is coming exclusively to PS5, as is a new title from Bluepoint Studios. In addition, Ubisoft has confirmed that Watch Dogs: Legion, Rainbow Six Quarantine, and Gods and Monsters are all coming to Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 - with a new Assassin's Creed and Far Cry also rumored to be coming to the platforms. In addition, not only has EA has said that Battlefield 6 will be coming to Xbox Series X, but the company has sung the praises of the incoming next-generation machines during an investor call. "The power of the new consoles is gonna be substantially greater than existing consoles," said EA CFO Blake Jorgensen. "We can do a lot more [with PS5 and Xbox Series X]. Things we’re doing will blow people’s minds." While this is a good start, we're expecting plenty more third-party games to be announced in the coming months. According to a survey by GDC, when it comes to developer interest it seems the PS5 is already beating Xbox Series X – and the Nintendo Switch. That's according to GDC's State of the Game Industry 2020 survey, which surveyed 4,000 game developers on a variety of industry topics ahead of GDC 2020 in March. And, of course, the next-gen consoles were top of the agenda. When asked which platform they planned to launch their next project on, 23% of those surveyed said the PlayStation 5, while 17% said the Xbox Series X and 19% said the Nintendo Switch . When it comes to the platform devs are most intrigued by, the PS5 once again leads the pack when it comes to consoles, with 38%, but the Switch only just behind on 37%. Again, the Xbox Series X is seriously lagging behind, piquing the interest of just 25% of devs. The survey also revealed that 10% of developers are currently working on a game for the next-gen consoles. However, while we know of a few third-party games in the pipeline for the PS5, there's still no confirmation on what the PS5's launch titles will be, but we're expecting first-party games to take the lead. In addition, Sony has confirmed that the PS5 will prioritize AAA games over indie games in an effort to focus on "serious gamers".
With Microsoft having officially revealed the Xbox Series X, we're waiting with bated breath for Sony to unveil the PlayStation 5. While the company isn't giving much away about when that'll be, there are several rumors which suggest a PS5 reveal event will take place in February. Rumors of a February reveal were ignited last year, when a 'leaked marketing email' from Sony found its way to 4Chan. The email claimed that a "PlayStation Meeting 2020" is scheduled for February 12, and will see the PlayStation 5 revealed in all its glory. While Sony never confirmed these rumors, there have been other leaks which also suggest February for a PS5 reveal, even if the exact dates aren't the same. One of these other leaks came via 4Chan, which supposedly spilled a bunch of information on the PS5 reveal event. The leak, which was reposted on Reddit, claims the PS5 will be unveiled on February 5, 2020 at a PlayStation Meeting event for the media – much like the initial email leak suggested. According to the leaker, the event will see Sony revealing the console's design and specs, several PS5 exclusives, and a renewed focus on PlayStation Now, alongside the console's price and various other features. However, that's only a few days away and Sony has not confirmed any of this - so we don't think February 5 is a likely date. PlayStation fans on Reddit believe that Sony's next-gen console will be revealed on February 29, at New York City's Sony Hall. As there's a private event booked for that date and because they believe Sony will host the reveal event in a Sony-branded venue. But we're not quite convinced by this theory. All signs are pointing to a February reveal. Even former Sony designer David Scott Jaffe seems to think a reveal is imminent, tweeting that he believes the reveal is "less than [four] weeks away" and calling the event "the worst kept secret in games right now". However, whether the reveal will actually be in February is looking less and less likely. We're now in February and have heard nothing of an event from Sony. But perhaps that's because the reveal event is actually in March?
One PS5 leak claims that Sony's next-gen console will be revealed at a PlayStation Meeting in March, with pre-orders opening as early as March. That's according to Twitter user @PSErebus, who previously correctly leaked the Last of Us Part 2's initial release date; however, as always, we're treating the claim with a suitable dose of skepticism. Regardless of exactly when the reveal is, it looks like a PS5 launch event is imminent, especially given that Sony has now launched the official PS5 website which allows fans to sign up for updates on the next-gen console.
A rumor has cropped up suggesting that Sony will double down by launching the PlayStation 5 Pro at the same time as its base-model PS5. As spotted by Wccftech, noted Japanese games journalist Zenji Nishikawa made the claim in a video on his YouTube channel, and while that kind of thing wouldn't normally be considered a rock-solid lead, Nishikawa has been proven correct in the past with his predictions about the PS4 Pro and Switch Lite. According to Nishikawa, the PS5 Pro will cost around $100-$150 more than the basic PS5 console. The report states that Sony is taking this approach because it has "acknowledged the interest in a high-end model and wants to give players what they want right from the beginning of the generation". While a PlayStation 5 Pro is likely onthe cards, we don't think it'll release at the same time as the regular PS5. In our opinion, it's more likely that Sony will wait around three years (2023) before giving the console an upgrade - usually this happens mid-cycle and the PS5 lifecycle is estimated to be around six to seven years.
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| Xbox Series X release date, specs, design and launch titles for the next Xbox Posted: 10 Feb 2020 10:23 AM PST Xbox Series X is the next-generation Xbox, releasing in late 2020. Previously known by its codename 'Xbox Project Scarlett', the Xbox Series X was officially revealed at The Game Awards 2019 with a trailer that showed off the next Xbox in all its glory. So far we know when the next Xbox will release, its official name, a few of the specs on offer, as well as what it's going to look like. It seems like Xbox Series X will be a bit of a departure both design-wise and name-wise from its predecessors, sporting a blockier style that's similar to that of a small gaming PC. More importantly, the specs Microsoft has revealed so far suggest the new Xbox going to be an absolute powerhouse. But Xbox Series X will not be the only next-generation hardware on offer from Microsoft. The company has confirmed that the next-generation family of consoles will be called 'Xbox' and that 'Series X' is just one of the consoles within that family. Sony's PS5 may be launching in the same late 2020 window as the Series X, but Microsoft looks like it's going to put up one heck of a fight in the next-gen console wars, with the Series X apparently boasting twice the power of the Xbox One X. Plus, Series X can take center stage at E3 2020 now that Sony has confirmed it won't be attending. So what exactly has Microsoft got to offer? Let's break down everything we know about the Xbox Series X. [UPDATE: Xbox Series X reveals will take 'a different approach' to previous consoles. Read on to find out more.]
Expect to see the Xbox Series X console launch in the 'holiday' window of 2020. That's between October and December of this year, and just in time for Christmas. We're thinking a November release is most likely, as that's when Microsoft has previously launched its consoles. It's exactly the same sort of launch period we're expecting Sony to have for its PS5, too. Santa's going to be a busy guy this year. However, there have been rumors that the coronavirus may cause the Xbox Series X's release date to be delayed. But we don't think that's likely. While the Series X's release date is still a good few months away, we do know that Microsoft has plenty planned leading up to release - and the company will be shaking things up a bit with how it reveals information. In an interview with Gamertag Radio (via VGC), Xbox boss, Phil Spencer, explained that Microsoft will be taking "a different approach" to releasing more information on the Series X. According to Spencer, in the lead up to Xbox Series X's release, Microsoft will continue to approach information reveals "in a different way” to its previous consoles and we may even see more "bold" moves like the console's Game Awards reveal. While our focus may be on the Xbox Series X's release date, it's worth remembering that rumors pointed to there being two new Xbox consoles on the way, codenamed Anaconda and Lockhart, the former being high end and the latter being a cheaper, streaming-focused solution. While the former, Anaconda, appears to be the Xbox Series X, Microsoft hasn't spilled anything about the latter, Lockhart, console. Whether Lockhart will also launch within this window is still to be confirmed - as is the console itself - but we doubt it. Read on below for further details on Project Lockhart.
Microsoft won't be pinned down on a price point quite yet – unsurprisingly, given what a sore spot the price of the Xbox One was for fans. At launch, the original Xbox One cost a whopping $499 / £429 / AU$599, which was quickly reduced when Microsoft realized people weren't forking out. Microsoft has at the very least promised that it's learned from this pricing mistake, with Phil Spencer stating that this time "we will not be out of position on power or price.” That doesn't mean that the console will be cheap, mind you, it just means the price point will be better aligned with the console's power and the price points of the competition. After all, Jason Ronald, director of the Xbox platform, gave only a vague reassurance when speaking to Windows Central, saying that Microsoft knew "what reasonable price points are for a console and kind of what customers expect about that". Price will at least in part be determined by the cost of the components going into the console: Xbox Scarlett is going to be a lot more powerful than either the Xbox One S or Xbox One X, and that will likely mean we're looking at an even higher price tag. There were also concerns that a US trade tariff on Chinese imports of electronics would hike up the price of the PS5 and Xbox Series X, however the tariff has now been halted, meaning we shouldn't have to deal with next-gen consoles being even more expensive.
Xbox Project Scarlett components. (Image credit: Microsoft) We now know what Xbox Series X looks like and what it's packing under the hood, and it's shaping up to be an absolute beast of a console. The next Xbox's gaming PC design is pretty apt, considering the next-gen console's internal hardware is comparable to one. "I think the area that we really want to focus on next generation is frame rate and playability of the games," Spencer explained in an interview with Gamespot. "Ensuring that the games load incredibly fast, ensuring that the game is running at the highest frame rate possible." Microsoft is aiming to get Xbox Series X games to run at 60 FPS in 4K, calling the challenge a "design goal". "This generation, we've really focused on 4K visuals and how we bring both movies through 4K Blu-ray and video streaming," Spencer explained. "And with Xbox One X allowing games to run at 4K visuals, we will make really strong visual enhancements next generation." Despite 4K being the aim, Microsoft has said the Xbox Series X has 8K capability. Head of Xbox Phil Spencer even changed his Twitter profile photo to what appears to be a picture of the next-gen Xbox Series X's processor. It says 'Project Scarlett' on there, and it's marked with '8K' (pictured below) suggesting Microsoft plans on doing more than simply talking the talk when it comes to 8K. Not only will games look better, they could be bigger. In an interview with PCGamesN, Samsung revealed that it's talking with Microsoft and pushing the gaming behemoth to adopt ultrawide support for the Xbox Series X.
An SSD will come as standard in Series X, as with the PS5, which will give it the option of using its storage system as virtual RAM, as well as lifting load time performance by a factor of 40x. That'll let developers stream in far more detailed worlds around a player. In terms of 'standard' RAM, the console will use GDDR6. While GDDR6 is usually used as memory for graphics cards, the Series X could use it as super-fast system RAM instead. In addition, benchmark results have appeared online for an AMD ‘Flute’ system-on-a-chip (SoC), leading some to speculate that this could be the hardware that will power Xbox Series X. The benchmark results were spotted by a Twitter user, and while we’re not sure what the purpose of the chip is, we know that Microsoft is working with AMD to produce a custom SoC that combines a processor and graphics card for the next Xbox – in the same way that Sony is working with AMD on its custom Gonzalo SoC for the PlayStation 5. If these benchmark results are real, and the AMD Flute SoC is indeed going to power the Xbox Series X console, then it gives us an idea of the console's specifications and potential power level – something Microsoft has been rather cagey about so far. According to the benchmark results, the AMD Flute SoC will come with eight Zen 2 cores, 16 threads and SMT capability. Interestingly, the base clock speed of the Flute SoC is just 1.6GHz, which is pretty low these days, with a maximum boost of 3.2GHz. This suggests that the Flute SoC will be a low-power part for use in compact systems – such as a games console, and is similar to AMD’s Jaguar SoC which powered the Xbox One. While on paper the Flute SoC’s processor doesn’t sound too impressive – especially when compared to modern desktop PCs’ CPUs – it looks like the Flute CPU will be at least two times faster than previous-generation Jaguar SoCs, and will be a big upgrade over the dated 28nm Jaguar SoCs found in the original Xbox One and PS4. The Flute SoC is also expected to be 7nm, which will also bring power benefits. As a system-on-a-chip, the AMD Flute looks like it comes with a graphics processing unit (GPU) as well, though clues about the graphics capabilities are harder to find. Apparently, it will be based on ‘NAVI 10LITE’ – which has been mentioned before when unreleased AMD Navi GPUs showed up in a Linux driver. It’s possible that this is a ‘Lite’ version of the Navi 10 GPU, which will have reduced or limited specs compared to the full version, including lower CU (compute unit) counts. Having a lower CU count means the GPU will be less power-hungry, again suggesting that the AMD Flute SoC, if it does exist, is designed for a device where power efficiency is important – such as a games console. Finally, the benchmark results also suggest the engineering sample uses 16GB of memory – though the type of memory is not mentioned. It could mean that the Flute SoC shares 16GB of GDDR6 memory between the CPU and GPU, in a similar way to how the Xbox One X shares GDDR5 memory. So, does this mean we have a better idea of what the Xbox Series X's specs will be? Well, there’s some compelling evidence, but remember that this is from a leaked benchmark, and we’re not sure if the AMD Flute SoC is going to be used in Series X – if the SoC even exits. It’s also worth noting that this AMD Flute is apparently an engineering sample, which means this may not be its final specifications – and that could change if (and it’s a very big if) it ends up in the next Xbox when the console launches late 2020. If you're less bothered about the specs and more concerned about whether you can still play physical games on the next Xbox, then you'll be pleased to know that Xbox Series X has a physical disc drive. Microsoft has also confirmed that all your current Xbox One accessories will work with Xbox Series X, including existing controllers and headsets. But we'd doubt that also includes the ill-fated Kinect motion tracker. That means that the Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2 that launched in November 2019 will be forward compatible with Series X, but Microsoft is also launching a next-generation wireless controller to accompany the new console.
Xbox Series X has a completely different design to its predecessors. For a start, the next-gen console has an upright tower design - similar to that of a gaming PC. However, Microsoft has confirmed Series X can sit horizontally or vertically. From what we seen in the Series X reveal trailer, the console is black with slightly indented cooling vent on the top (with what seems to be a green light inside). The Xbox logo sits small on the top left hand corner of the console and there's still a disc drive - which is placed vertically on the left hand side also. Windows Central estimates the console is 31cm x 16cm x 16cm, making it a tall cuboid. The Xbox One measurs 30cm x 24cm x 6cm, making the Series X considerably larger (volume wise) than its predecessor. Unfortunately we haven't officially seen the back of the console yet so really we're taking the Series X on 'face value'. But, thanks to leaked photos that surfaced online, we may have some idea of the next-gen console's ports. Shared on forum site Neogaf, the photos seem to show a prototype of the next Xbox console, which will likely have been shared with devs working on titles for the Xbox Series X. The image below shows off the rear vents of the console, as well as ports for USB, HDMI, S/PDIF, power and Ethernet. There's also a mystery port of some sort (but we'll come back to that). While, the second leaked image shows a single USB port on the front of the console. Will this be the console's final design? It's unlikely and, like any leaked information, we're treating these images with suitable skepticism.
While these images have been circling for a while now, we still weren't entirely sure what that mystery port was - until now. Thurrott claims that sources "familiar with the company's plans" have identified the port as being for storage expansion. Microsoft hasn't confirmed it this is the case, but we wouldn't be surprised if it was seeing as external storage was supported with the Xbox One - but whether we see it included in the final Series X product is still uncertain. This wouldn't be the first time we thought we got a look at the Series X's ports. At AMD's CES 2020 showcase, the company offered what appeared to be our first legitimate look at the upcoming Xbox Series X's rear-mounted ports, showing off dual USB Type-C and HDMI ports (indicating either HDMI passthrough or a dedicated HDMI port for audio out), along with USB 3.0, Ethernet and SPDIF digital audio ports. However, all of this tantalizing Xbox Series X connectivity information has now been officially retracted, with an AMD representative confirming to Stevivor that the "imagery used during the AMD CES press conference was not sourced from Microsoft and does not accurately reflect the design or features of the upcoming console.” Oh well. Guess we'll have to wait a bit longer for an official look.
Microsoft is releasing a next generation controller to accompany its next generation console. The new Xbox Wireless Controller will apparently be more accessible to everyone, as Microsoft has made an effort to refine the size and shape. This shouldn't be too surprising to anyone that's been following the tech giant, as it's been making waves for accessibility in gaming for a while now with products like the Xbox Adaptive Controller. Along with enhanced accessibility, we'll also be getting a dedicated share button (finally) that will let you share screenshots and videos with your friends. However, apart from these details, we don't know exactly what other new features the new Xbox Wireless Controller will boast quite yet.
During the Xbox Series X's official reveal, Phil Spencer said Series X games will be "more lifelike, immersive and surprising" and that the Xbox Series X will "lead us into the future of gaming". He also stated that 15 Xbox Game Studios are building a huge next-generation library that includes Hellblade II: Senua's Saga. Halo Infinite has been confirmed to be an Xbox Series X launch title, bringing back the Master Chief for the franchises' first outing since 2015. It will have been five years at that point since a new mainline Halo game, so fans will be chomping at the bit for fresh Halo action. Not a Halo fan? Don't worry, Xbox Series X will be capable of three generations of backwards compatibility. Microsoft has stated that Xbox Series X will support backwards compatibility from launch, with the company stating it wants the"thousands of games that run on Xbox One" to eventually become playable on Xbox Series X. In addition, Microsoft will avoid siloing by taking a cross-generation approach to its first-party games. Talking to Stevivor, Phil Spencer said Microsoft wants to create a console that utilizes Xbox Play Anywhere so you can move seamlessly between devices: "Our goal for our first-party games is that your entitlements will be cross-generation and your Achievements will move effectively with your save game because that’s where they stand.” Speaking of first-party games, Microsoft has been promising that it's investing in first-party studios in order to make a more competitive offering. As far as third-parties are concerned, we already have confirmation from Ubisoft that its upcoming titles Watch Dogs: Legion, Gods and Monsters and Rainbow Six Quarantine will be coming to Xbox Series X and PS5 after delays were announced during a financial call - there's also rumors that a new Assassin's Creed and Far Cry will be coming to the platforms. It's likely that we'll see the likes of Starfield and The Elder Scrolls 6 coming to Xbox Series X too. In addition, not only has EA has said that Battlefield 6 will be coming to Xbox Series X, but the company has sung the praises of the incoming next-generation machines during an investor call. "The power of the new consoles is gonna be substantially greater than existing consoles," said EA CFO Blake Jorgensen. "We can do a lot more [with PS5 and Xbox Series X]. Things we’re doing will blow people’s minds." There's plenty to look forward to and now that next generation announcements are coming in, we'll be holding our breath waiting for updates from other publishers.
However it seems, at least for now, that game developers are more interested in creating games for the PS5 than Series X. That's according to GDC's State of the Game Industry 2020 survey, which surveyed 4,000 game developers on a variety of industry topics ahead of GDC 2020 in March. And, of course, the next-gen consoles were top of the agenda. When asked which platform they planned to launch their next project on, 23% of those surveyed said the PlayStation 5, while 17% said the Xbox Series X and 19% said the Nintendo Switch. When it comes to the platform devs are most intrigued by, the PS5 once again leads the pack when it comes to consoles, with 38%, but the Switch only just behind on 37%. Again, the Xbox Series X is seriously lagging behind, piquing the interest of just 25% of devs. The survey also revealed that 10% of developers are currently working on a game for the next-gen consoles. While there's more interest in the PS5 now, Microsoft could potentially shift the scale as it reveals more details on Series X. Microsoft's Xbox Game Pass is also gathering more and more steam, bringing players (and devs) back to the Xbox platform. We're also hoping that, by the time Series X launches, Microsoft's game-streaming service Project xCloud may be out of public testing and we should hopefully be able to enjoy Series X games on-the-go. For those who aren't quite sold on upgrading to Series X quite yet, but still want to check out the best upcoming games, Microsoft has stated that there won't be Xbox Series X exclusive games for at least a year and, for the foreseeable future, new games are planned to work across the Xbox family of devices. That means you'll still be able to play them on Xbox One. In an interview with MCV, head of Xbox Game Studios, Matt Booty, has said that as “content comes out over the next year, two years, all of our games, sort of like PC, will play up and down that family of devices.” The plan is that “if someone invests in Xbox between now and [Series X] that they feel that they made a good investment and that we’re committed to them with content.” It makes sense considering Microsoft's aim to slowly transition players to the next-generation.
In an interview with TechRadar, Xbox Game Studios head Matt Booty said that the launch of Xbox Series X certainly won't mean the end of the rest of the Xbox family and that they'll be able to live alongside one another, maybe even in the same house: "Perhaps we feel confident about our content pipeline so that we feel like we don't have to save everything up for [Series X]. But then I will also say that, really for any device these days, when you launch a new device you are not eliminating all of the devices in that family. "When [Series X] launches there will still be the Xbox One S out there, there will still be Xbox One X, and we really need to approach that family of devices, the same way we approach PC - content scales to meet the device. I think that's going to be the case for anybody. We will absolutely lean in on the power of [Series X], we think is going to be the best way to play and it will be the best thing you can put in your living room, but we also want to understand that there will be a family of Xbox devices out there."
The Xbox Series X will not be the only console in Microsoft's next generation lineup. While we were all pretty excited when Microsoft unveiled the next Xbox (formerly known as Xbox Project Scarlett) at the Game Awards 2019, it appears that the upcoming console's name isn't quite what we thought - and it will belong to a family. While we assumed that the next generation console is called 'Xbox Series X', Microsoft has clarified that, in fact, the family of consoles will be called 'Xbox' and that 'Series X' is just one of the consoles within the family. We know, it's a bit confusing. Speaking to Business Insider after the reveal, a Microsoft representative tried to clear up any potential confusion. "The name we're carrying forward to the next generation is simply Xbox," the representative told Business Insider. "And at The Game Awards you saw that name come to life through the Xbox Series X." "Similar to what fans have seen with previous generations, the name 'Xbox Series X' allows room for additional consoles in the future," the representative continued. This clarification from Microsoft serves to further fuel rumors that another next generation Xbox console is on the way. Rumors have circulated for some time about a lower-cost next-gen Xbox console that would sit just below the high-end Xbox Series X. The most solid information on this (so far) had come from a report by Kotaku’s Jason Schreier, who claims there is indeed a lower-specced console in the works from Microsoft that will still play all the next-gen games. Project Lockhart will be disc-less console - a trait that it will carry forward from the Xbox One S All-Digital Edition - but Kotaku's sources believe it will be substantially more powerful than Microsoft’s current disc-less box, and will come with both a solid-state hard drive and a faster CPU than any current game console. The report goes on to say that Microsoft told developers to shoot for a 1440p resolution and 60 frames-per-second frame rate with Project Lockhart and 4K/60 with Project Scarlett, and those same developers have likened the performance of the lower-end console to the PS4 Pro. It seems Project Lockhart will primarily see use as a digital gateway for both Microsoft’s game-streaming service, Project xCloud, and its Xbox Game Pass service. From what we know, it will sit below Series X and be a less powerful - but more affordable - option.
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| Anthem is getting a 'substantial reinvention' – but is it too late? Posted: 10 Feb 2020 10:16 AM PST BioWare has committed to a "longer-term redesign" of Anthem, which aims to essentially reinvent the game as we know it. In a new blog post, BioWare general manager Casey Hudson announced the redesign and pledged that the studio is working to improve upon core aspects of the game that received negative feedback from players and critics. "Over the last year, the team has worked hard to improve stability, performance and general quality of life while delivering three seasons of new content and features," Hudson writes. "We have also heard your feedback that Anthem needs a more satisfying loot experience, better long-term progression and a more fulfilling end game. So we recognize that there’s still more fundamental work to be done to bring out the full potential of the experience, and it will require a more substantial reinvention than an update or expansion."
"Over the coming months we will be focusing on a longer-term redesign of the experience, specifically working to reinvent the core gameplay loop with clear goals, motivating challenges and progression with meaningful rewards – while preserving the fun of flying and fighting in a vast science-fantasy setting. And to do that properly we’ll be doing something we’d like to have done more of the first time around – giving a focused team the time to test and iterate, focusing on gameplay first." This reinvention means BioWare is moving away from full seasons in order to focus its attention on the redesign, but there will still be events, store refreshes and season content. "Creating new worlds is central to our studio mission, but it’s not easy," Hudson continues. "Sometimes we get it right, sometimes we miss. What keeps us going is the support from players like you. Your feedback gives us guidance on how we can improve, and your passion inspires us with the courage to create. I look forward to working together with your involvement and feedback towards the best possible future for Anthem." Can Anthem be revived?
It's been one year since Anthem released to a largely negative reception, with fans and media criticizing the game for its dull story, repetitive end-game and bugs – among other things. In our Anthem review, we said: "It is a game of oxymorons and inconsistencies. The story is designed to be single-player but the game is clearly not. The gameplay is an absolute joy but is stifled by the repetitive nature of the end-game. The character animations are truly sublime, but most of the characters themselves are cliché and predictable. "Anthem is a fun game, and a stunningly pretty one, but with flaws in nearly every other aspect of its design. It will improve with patches, updates, and a strong community, but it isn’t a particularly strong foundation. This is less an anthem, and more an annoying earworm..." While BioWare tried to implement smaller patches to improve the experience, none have been quite enough to change the perception of the game and Anthem became one of 2019's biggest disappointments. Maybe BioWare's redesign will breathe some much-needed new life into Anthem.
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| Volvo’s new XC40 Recharge SUV is so quiet you can hear a twig break Posted: 10 Feb 2020 10:00 AM PST Volvo has never been cooler than right now. As a company, it appears to be in great shape and turning a profit. There are some great cars in the current model range with more to come plus big plans for electrification and, yes, even more safety features. Volvo has also pledged to end road deaths in any of its cars this year, so 2020 is a big deal, and the imminent arrival of the new all-electric XC40 Recharge SUV is getting the ball rolling. TechRadar visited Volvo Cars HQ recently, on the outskirts of Gothenburg and there was plenty to see. As you’d expect, there was much about safety, and quite a lot about electrification, but there was also the sort of Scandinavian quirkiness that makes the Swedish brand so appealing to many car buyers. Where else, for example, would you find a new car with an indicator sound derived from a twig breaking?
Jan Ivarsson, senior technical safety advisor, is something of a Volvo veteran having been with the company for over 35 years. Safety has, of course, always been a big part of the Volvo brand, but with electrification comes new challenges. It made the perfect place to start. Volvo, he told us, is pushing ahead with plans to make its electric cars safer than ever, despite the slightly different issues it presents them with. A guiding handWalking us around the rolling chassis of the XC40 Recharge, Ivarsson explained that Volvo has been making a transition from working with protective safety towards cars with more collision avoidance functionality. In the future, the company also wants to do more to combat people driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. That means the next generation of Volvo vehicles will have an advanced camera system installed to act as a countermeasure to unsafe driver behavior. You could argue that anyone drunk or under the influence of drugs might not be able to question their own judgement on driving proficiency. Ivarsson, however, thinks Volvo can be the connection for getting help. “We would like to support the driver in that type of situation,” he says. “If needed, we will put the car by the side of the road. We’ll support you all the way.”
While safety is a given with Volvo, is this going above and beyond what is expected from legislation? “Since this is a new generation of vehicle types, I think if you look at rulemaking then this is an ongoing process,” Ivarsson says. However, Volvo has the advantage of historical data, which it has collated for many years from collisions involving its own vehicles. “We have done that since the 1970s,” adds Ivarsson. “I have a library of different kinds of crashes, from fender bender-type situations all the way up to really tough ones.” And, crucially, 2020 is the year when Volvo has committed to having no road deaths occurring in any of its cars. “That is our vision,” Ivarsson adds. “We have had this since 2007. This is the vision for our engineers working with safety.” The sound of the futureLater, Volvo staff presented us with an even deeper dive into their ambitious plans for making its electric cars safer for people, not only on the inside but on the outside too. After walking through a labyrinthine series of corridors we arrived at the Volvo sound lab, where the XC40 Recharge has been given its own aural identity both inside and out. Interactive sound designer Fredrik Hagman and technical safety expert Mikael Ljung Aust showed us around the facility and demonstrated their new ‘sound’. Recent legislation requires manufacturers to ensure their electric and hybrid cars emit a noise when they move, both going forwards and also when reversing. But the process of developing the right warning isn’t as straightforward as you might think.
The sound, or Acoustic Vehicle Alerting System (AVAS), has been tailored by Volvo to fit into its overall ethos. “There is a fear that electric vehicles, especially at low speeds, don’t make enough sound in order to be heard in a city environment. Hence the legislation,” Hagman explains. There are some mild variations on the theme, but all three legislative requirements that cover the US, China and the EU require the sound to meet a certain level, frequency and pitch. “Overall the level is in the range between 40 and 60 decibels. The frequency must shift with the varying speed too,” Hagman says. The test vehicle on show (an XC90) has got one speaker hidden under the front end of the car and another at the rear, in order to push the warning sound downwards and circulate it around the vehicle more efficiently. The audible alert, meanwhile, has been produced with conventional studio software, which the team used to produce initial concepts. From that they tuned the sound to match different speed requirements.
Crucially, the next step was testing it out on users in the real world. “You can design it in the studio, but it's not until you get out and try it in the correct context that you get a vastly different appreciation of the sound,” Hagman says. “When you get rid of the combustion engine you get rid of the combustion engine noise, but there are still lots of other noises while driving an electric car. Tire noise for example.” What has been produced is hard to pin down as we move outside for a real time demonstration. It’s a little like, as the engineers put it, a crescendo on a piano. It’s there, and you hear it, but you can’t quite put your finger on it. Back to natureFor reversing, meanwhile, Volvo wanted to avoid the common-or-garden truck reversing sound that is unmistakable. Volvo has therefore come up with a neat variation on that theme, as it’s a rather lilting but totally noticeable tone that works a treat. It’s not so ‘trucky’, joke the audiologists. With all the tech that’ll come with the new Volvo XC40 Recharge, including its unmistakable ‘sound’ the team have also stuck with the underlying earthy vibe often associated with the brand. “We’ve approached the interior design with a more ecological approach,” says Hagman. “So, for the interior sound we designed it with a lot of organic thinking. For example, the turn indicator is actually a twig breaking, which has then been sampled.” This seems to align with Volvo’s organic approach perfectly. While we were visiting TechRadar also got a chance to have a test track session in the new Volvo XC40 Recharge Plug-in Hybrid T5. Granted, it was only a few laps but we got a good impression from the taster experience. And, when the new all-electric Recharge SUV hits our roads in the coming months it’s good to know you’ll be able to hear it coming: albeit in the low-key and very organic way that Volvo does best. Listen carefully, and you may even hear a twig break… This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Lock My PC fights tech support scammers with free recovery keys Posted: 10 Feb 2020 09:56 AM PST In order to stop tech support scammers from abusing its software, FSPRO Labs has removed Lock My PC from the public domain and the company is now providing free recovery keys to affected users. The company offers both a free and a business version of its Lock My PC software which is designed to protect PCs from unauthorized access by creating a lock screen that requires a password to remove. The software also disables hotkeys, CD and DVD systems and the mouse to prevent unauthorized users from finding a workaround. Lock My PC used to be widely available for users to download for free but unfortunately scammers took advantage of this offer as well.
Tech support scammers would impersonate well-known companies either over the phone or through phishing emails which would warn potential victims that their PC was infected with a virus and required a clean, update or maintenance. They would then try to gain control of a users' system through remote control software or by abusing the Windows Syskey.exe program, although this is no longer possible after support for Syskey was removed by Microsoft in the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update. Finally the scammers would encrypt the machine, set a password and force victims to pay a fee to have their access restored. Lock My PC misuseAccording to a notice posted on Lock My PC's development page, FSPRO Labs says that there have been “too many reports of Lock My PC misuse” by scammers impersonating tech support teams who install the software remotely and then restrict user access. To help affected users, the company is no providing a free password recovery feature and the free version of Lock My PC can be unlocked by typing “999901111” in the site's password line and this will produce a numeric recovery code. This code can then be submitted to the software's recovery page to generate a new recovery password that will allow users to unlock their PCs. FSPRO Labs has also decided to remove Lock My PC from the public domain. Existing customers will still be able to download the software and the business edition is still available though new users will have to apply using a corporate email address.
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| Xbox Series X reveals will take 'a different approach' to previous consoles Posted: 10 Feb 2020 09:37 AM PST Microsoft is aiming to shake things up when it comes to revealing more about the upcoming Xbox Series X, according to Xbox boss Phil Spencer. In an interview with Gamertag Radio (via VGC), Spencer explained how the next-gen console's initial reveal at The Game Awards was something he was unsure of, but that it was the start of Microsoft's "different" approach to releasing more information on the Series X. According to Spencer, in the lead up to Xbox Series X's release, Microsoft will continue to approach reveals "in a different way” to its previous consoles.
Shaking things up
Spencer explained that the decision to unveil the Series X at The Game Awards came from a marketing lead who, correctly, pointed out that the company needs to "try new things" with the next-generation console. “It was cool to do it and I think the response has been great,” Spencer said. “But to be completely honest with you, I could be sitting with you today and it could’ve been a disaster. You have to make those decisions and you make them without all the knowledge of how it’s going to play out.” Spencer hinted that we'll be seeing more "bold" moves from Microsoft when it comes to Xbox Series X reveals, in the lead up to the console's release. “I’m really happy with the way [Game Awards] played out and the response from the fans, but every decision we make between now and launch… we’re trying to think about things in a different way,” Spencer said. PS5 looming
With the next-generation console war looming, it's no surprise that Microsoft is considering a different approach to its marketing - especially given that the PS4 beat out the Xbox One (in terms of units sold) this generation. However, Sony still seems to have a few tricks up its sleeve as the company is keeping tight-lipped about its plans for the PS5. That element of surprise has kept fans on their toes, with PlayStation 5 hype at fever-pitch now that the company has confirmed it won't be at E3 2020. When will Sony reveal it? What will it look like? We're hoping Microsoft continues to be "bold" and "different" with its reveals leading up to release. It's going to need to.
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| Halo Infinite release date, news and trailers Posted: 10 Feb 2020 09:23 AM PST Few videogame franchises form as big a part of Xbox's identity as Halo – and Microsoft knows it. When you think of Xbox, it's hard not to imagine the algae-green super soldier that is Master Chief and hours spent fending off the Flood. So it's no surprise that there's a massive new entry on the way for the series: Halo Infinite. Not only that, but the latest chapter in Master Chief's saga is set to release in late 2020 as a launch title for the next-generation Xbox Series X. The Halo series has had its ups and downs over the years; the latest, Halo 5, was a major disappointment for anyone who loved the series' single-player campaigns. But Halo Infinite could hopefully be a return to form, reminding people why the games have been so highly regarded in the past. So far we've only got so much to go on: a couple of brief trailers, and not much in the way of actual gameplay, though there is some very good news about split-screen multiplayer that should please long-term fans of the franchise (spoiler: Halo Infinite has it!). We also know the series' protagonist, Master Chief himself, will be taking center stage, exactly where he belongs. With Microsoft confirming it'll be attending E3 2020, we're hoping to get a full reveal of the next Halo at the event – or in the next few months – and a better idea of the "unique" features enabled by the game's new Slipspace engine. Ready to board the Halo hype train? Here's everything we know so far about Halo Infinite. Cut to the chase
Halo Infinite release date
We now know that Halo Infinite is coming at the end of 2020, to coincide with the launch of the Xbox Series X (though it will be a cross-generation title). Microsoft has given a release window of "Holiday 2020", so we're expecting the game to release, alongside Series X, sometime between October and December 2020. We think a November release date is the most likely as that's when, historically, Microsoft has previously launched new consoles. It's a bit longer than we might have expected since the last Halo title – Halo 5: Guardians, back in 2015 – but we don't blame Microsoft for making sure they have the goods for a new console launch. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, after all. Halo Infinite trailersMicrosoft couldn't resist teasing Halo Infinite during its E3 2019 keynote, showing a trailer that raised more questions than it answered. Yes, Master Chief comes back... but he's powered down and alone. At the same presentation, we learned that Halo Infinite will be a launch title for the Xbox Series X console (coming in late 2020). The Halo Infinite E3 2019 teaser felt appropriate, hearkening back to the original Halo: Combat Evolved with very familiar moments, sights and sounds. We're hoping it will be a much-need game-changer for the series. Check out the trailer to see what we mean: Halo Infinite was officially announced during Microsoft's E3 2018 conference. You can check out the announcement trailer below, but it's a lot more evocative imagery than, say, a clear idea what the game's about. See for yourself: There isn't much else to take away from the trailer other than establishing, dramatic landscape shots and a glimpse of Master Chief's helmet. Judging by the appearance of prehistoric-like animals, we wouldn't be surprised if this next game wasn't set in the past somehow. And, of course, the Warthog vehicle is back. Oh, and we see Master Chief jack some sort of chip into the back of his helmet. Who could this new artificial intelligence be if not Cortana?
Halo Infinite news and features'Unique' features to come David Berger, the game's engineering director, says that Slipspace was specifically designed to allow the introduction of ideas and gameplay features they couldn't have conceived of earlier in development: "You have to make tools that allow you to make new features that allow you to make features that weren't thought about. You've gotta give the content-creators room to ideate outside of that." End-of-year update Further to that, 343 confirmed that splitscreen play is up and running for the game and that the level of armor customization available in Halo: Reach will be reflected in Infinite. Not only that, the Forge editing tool is back and includes Undo and Redo options for the first time. To finish things up, 343 also included two pieces of new concept art to tide fans over through the holiday season. Halo Infinite will be a cross-generation title Halo Infinite will undoubtedly look better on its newer hardware – we hope so, at least – but at least nobody has to miss out. Halo franchise director Frank O'Connor put fears about the quality difference to rest, though, saying at a Halo Outpost event in Orlando (July 2019) that "Xbox One is not going to be a second-class citizen" (via GamesRadar). E3 2019 Multiplayer The decision to remove split-screen co-op from Halo 5, in favor of an online-only version, was met with criticism from fans, as it had been a staple Halo feature that had been around since the first game was released in 2001. Ross said Halo 5’s removal was “painful”, adding that "It erodes trust with the community. [We’ve had a] lot of learnings from that, and I would say for any FPS going out forward we will always have split screen going forward." Despite this, Franchise Coordinator Frank O’Connor has confirmed that the studio won’t be abandoning the co-op systems that were first introduced in Halo 5. These systems included the option to drop in and out of gameplay at will, four-player cooperative play, and specialized loadouts for the different playable Spartans in the campaign.
Following the troubled launch of The Master Chief Collection back in 2014, Bonnie Ross told Game Informer (via IGN) that all Halo games will have some sort of beta prior to the official release. This is to ensure that many issues that plagued The Master Chief Collection’s multiplayer do not happen again. After successful betas for Halo 5 and Halo Wars 2, there’s no reason to think that the studio would suddenly change its mind for Halo Infinite. It’s yet to be announced whether the beta will be available to everyone, or just those who receive a code by purchasing a different game. Gameplay It’s safe to assume that there will be a wide range of multiplayer modes and maps to play on, along with a Forge map editor and a Firefight horde mode. You can probably expect the game to run at 4K 60FPS on the Xbox One X as well, given its status as a first party title. That likelihood is increased by the fact Halo Wars 2 is already capable of running at 4K, and Halo 5 will be getting a 4K update in the near future.
PC Gaming - confirmed Story It’s not clear where Halo Infinite will pick up after this, though the timeline of Halo Wars 2, and the final cutscene, indicates that Halo Infinite is unlikely to be set less than six months after the events of Halo 5. It’ll probably involve humans and elites fighting together again, trying to bring down Cortana and the Created in order to restore freedom to the galaxy. Loot boxes Franchise Director at 343 Industries, Frank O'Connor, however, has called the rumors "bunk." Taking to the ResetEra forums, O'Connor stated that 343 is "not reevaluating anything (significant)" before adding that "Microsoft' isn't designing anything for the next game - 343 is." O'Connor said that while the team watched the Battlefront 2 backlash "with the curiosity you'd expect", they believe that the req system currently in use Halo 5: Guardians are "player focused and well liked and unintrusive as far as these things go." "We have made zero announcements about our next projects and continue to work on our next game and technology with player's needs and interests in mind, " O'Connor continued, "However the story as loosely presented as it is - has no bearing on or relation to any current efforts. I suppose you could say 'company x is evaluating feature y' and always have some grain of truth, but we are neither aping nor adapting an unrelated system from another game." O'Connor finished up by stating that 343 Industries would be evolving its systems and tech "in the future" and that maybe then the emerging stories about changing systems and tech would "have brief applicability. But right now? Nah."
What we want to see from Halo InfiniteUnanswered Questions Unfortunately the Forerunner warlord was completely absent from Halo 5, and while the immediate aftermath of his battle with Master Chief was covered in the comic series Halo Escalation, it was implied that he would eventually return. Of course not all players read the comics, leaving his eventual fate unknown to most. This question also raises the problem of integrating the lesser-known expanded universe canon into the games, which 343i has been wont to do since it took over the franchise from Bungie. Wish list Speaking of multiplayer, the fact Halo 5 included microtransactions didn’t go down particularly well - especially since the REQ packs could let players unlock more powerful weapons that gave them an unfair advantage. While a lot of games have a lot of success selling cosmetic items (Team Fortress 2 and Overwatch come to mind), players are less enthused about Pay-to-Win systems. A link to Halo Wars 2 would also be welcome, and finally bring the story of the UNSC Spirit of Fire back into the mainstream canon. That’s not that much out of the question either, given the RTS sequel’s final cutscene.
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| Philips TV 2020: every OLED, LED, and Ambilight set coming this year Posted: 10 Feb 2020 09:16 AM PST What’s new with Philips TVs in 2020? We’re only a short while into the year, but all the major TV brands have already started to showcase the latest sets to join their TV ranges – and while Philips didn’t make many announcements at CES 2020, the cat’s now out of the bag. Yes, there are a number of new Philips TVs coming this year, from OLED beauties to more pedestrian (but still likely impressive) LCD sets. Philips is a company with great options, whether you’re buying on a budget or for the fanciest centerpiece television you can afford, and the sets announced so far look set to continue that tradition. With the Philips OLED 804 now coming stateside, it looks like some big things are in the pipeline too. Given Funai currently licenses the Philips brand over in the US, it’s a welcome move that should bring some stiff competition to the nation’s TV market. You can find every new Philips TV announced for 2020 below, with a rundown of the specs, processing and format support to expect from this year’s TV range. Make sure to check back every few weeks, though, as we’ll be adding new televisions as they’re formally unveiled.
New Philips TVs for 2020
Philips OLED 805 / 855 (available in 55, 65 inches): This pair of OLED TVs may differ in design – only the TV stand, really – but they should both offer the same level of high-end excellence. Philips’ OLED sets are largely spectacular, thanks in no small part to the three-sided Ambilight projection built in their frames – and this year’s cohort promises greater AI processing too. These aren’t quite the flagship sets in the range, as the Philips 984+ (which launched in late 2019) is still the top dog for now. Expect Dolby Atmos audio and 50W speakers, though – with a release sometime in May. (Pricing not announced.)
Philips 9435 4K HDR LED (available in 55, 65 inches): Even as we drop down to LCD panels, this 4K HDR television still packs in a 50W 2.1.2 channel audio system – from Bowers & Wilkins – with upwards-firing drivers to make the most of Dolby Atmos content. Same Ambilight features as above. (Pricing / availability not announced.) Philips 9235 4K HDR LED (available in 43 inches): 40W 2.1 channel speakers should still give this smaller 4K set something to shout about – while three-sided Ambilight should help too. (Pricing / availability not announced.) Philips 8505 4K HDR LED (available in 43, 50, 58, 65, 70 inches): This Philips set is at the tail end of the premium range, or the top end of the mid-range, depending on your perspective. You’ll get the same three-sided Ambilight and P5 picture processor as the sets above, with a smaller 20W audio output from built-in speakers (no soundbar here.) The stand design varies between panel sizes, but you should get the same picture quality from the 43-inch to 70-inch model.
Philips TV 2020 technologyWhat marks out Philips TVs from the rest? The most eye-catching feature would certainly be Philips Ambilight: a projection technology that throws onscreen colors onto the wall behind your television, upping the ambience (hence the name) and making for a light-show you won’t get with Sony or Samsung TVs. It has a good reputation for sound, too – though not through Philips own audio arm. The company collaborates with audio specialists Bowers & Wilkins for its high-end televisions, fitting them with dedicated Dolby Atmos soundbars to really hear those movie soundtracks or cheering crowds at their best. Like most other TV brands today, Philips offers a range of LCD and OLED sets, with the latter panels saved for its more premium offerings.
Only quite premium sets have been announced so far, with every set listed above featuring the P5 Perfect Picture Processor, now in its fourth iteration. Last year’s chip was certainly impressive, but it looks like there’ll be an even bigger jump this year with the addition of AI processing / neural networks able to analyze millions of video clips and learn how to best display the content sent its way, fine-tuning the “source, color, contrast, motion and sharpness” for each frame. A press release for Philips claims that, “By analyzing all elements of the content, frame by frame, the 4th Gen P5 reproduces a much more realistic, natural image that no longer feels like TV but creates images that closely mirror real life.”
Like Panasonic, Philips is agnostic towards HDR formats, and makes sure to support both the dynamic Dolby Vision and HDR10+ standards (unlike Samsung, which sticks only with the latter). You’ll also get the HLG (hybrid log gamma) broadcasting format, though these formats drop off when you get down to more affordable mid- or low-end sets. Philips uses the Android smart TV platform across its TV range, with 2020 models getting the latest Android Pie (9.0) version. It’s the most common TV platform and the most unremarkable – though Android’s stability issues have generally improved over the past couple of years, thanks to updates from Google. Perhaps most importantly though – depending on your priorities – we now know that every new Philips set this year will come with Disney Plus at launch, meaning you won’t have to wait around for a firmware update later in the year to bring the app to your television. Philips 2019 4K OLED TVsOf course, there are still plenty of Philips TVs released in 2019 you can still find on the market:
Philips OLED+984 Ambilight TV (available in 65 inches): The top-of-the-range TV for Philips in 2019, we loved the OLED+984 Ambilight TV when we reviewed it earlier this year. It's the ultimate high-end lifestyle 4K OLED. It does exactly what a flagship TV should, setting a high bar for image quality, audio and design, without significant compromises. It comes in just one size: 65-inches and costs £4,499 (around $5,908 / AU$8633). Read more in our 5 star Philips OLED+984 Ambilight TV review. Philips OLED+934 Ambilight TV (available in 55, 65 inches): The next model down is the OLED+934, with a built-in Dolby Atmos soundbar. The 2.1.2 channel system has some chops, though a lack of LFE sound effects makes movies with Dolby Atmos a bit poor to listen to. This model costs £1,999 (around $2,580 / AU$3,860) for the 55-inch model, or £2,299 (around $2,970 / AU$4,450) for the 65-inch model. Read more in our Philips OLED+934 review. Philips OLED+903 (available in 55, 65 inches): When we reviewed the OLED+ 903 earlier this year, we loved that it delivered punchy HDR pictures. Which at the time was better than any OLED TV we’d tested so far. The 55-inch model costs £2,499 / approx $3282 (about AU$4795), while the 65-inch model is £3,499 / approx $4596 (about AU$6713). Read more in our Philips OLED+903 review. Philips OLED 854 and OLED 804 (available in 55 and 65 inches): We're looking forward to spending more time with these screens. Identical apart from stand differences (the 854 centrally mounted, the other with a pair of legs) these 4K screens will be available in 55 and 65-inch sizes.
Image Credit: TechRadar They’re very similar to last year’s Philips OLED+ 903, except with one key omission – they lack the impressive Bowers and Wilkins sound system, opting for a Philips-own build instead. Running Android TV, working with Alexa and Google Assistant and with all four of their HDMI ports HDR-ready, these Ambilight screens will be ones to watch for those looking top-notch OLED visuals. For a deeper look at these screens, read our hands-on: Philips OLED 804 / OLED 854 review. Philips 2019 4K LCD LED TVsThough OLED TVs have become Philips’ showstoppers, the majority of its range still consists of LCD TVs. Though LCD can lack the richness of a well-tuned OLED TV, they shouldn’t be sniffed at in their own right – Philips has done some stellar work not only in the picture stakes, but also with audio, thanks to a partnership with Bowers and Wilkins. Philips 8804/PUS 8804 (available in 50, 55 and 65 inches): One of the most promising LCD screens we’ve seen in a while. It’s 4K visuals are available in 50, 55 and 65-inch sizes, and will have the full house of HDR10+, HLG and Dolby Vision support, as well as Dolby Atmos sound. It’s also the only screen revealed so far this year from Philips to include that show-stopping Bowers and Wilkins sound system again. For more info, read our hands-on review: Philips 8804 TV review.
Image Credit: TechRadar Philips 9104/PUS9100 (available in 55-inches): If style is more important than sound quality, check out this TV. It’s another 4K LCD panel, but has been designed in conjunction with design house Georg Jensen, and has striking chrome finish aluminum feet. It too has standard HDR support covered but drops HDR10+ and Dolby Vision, only features Dolby Atmos audio passthrough, and will only come in a single 55-inch screen size. It has a three sided Ambilight though, so this may be one to check out for its aesthetic value. Philips 7304 Performance Series/PUS7304 (available in 43, to, 55, 58, 65 and 70-inches): This is the TV Philips is pushing most heavily for this half of the year, which is nicknamed ‘The One’. Why? Because it’s ‘the one’ TV they think will suit most people, ticking lots spec boxes will aiming to come in at a mid-range price point. The Ambilight 4K LCD screen will come in a range of size – 43, 55, 58, 65 and 70-inches – has the full suite of HDR options and features Dolby Atmos. For more information, check out our Philips The One first look impressions. Philips 7504/PUS7504 (available in 50 and 55-inches): This TV looks set to be a similar screen, coming in 50 and 55-inch screen sizes, trading a less striking stand for beefier 25W 2.1 built in speakers. The One only has two-channel 20W speakers. From here down the range of LCD Philips TVs, you lose access to the top-notch P5 image processing engine, instead being left with the Pixel Precise Ultra HD processing engine. They also run the SAPHI operating system, rather than the more versatile Android TV. Philips 6814/PUS6814 (available in 43, 50, 55 and 65-inches), Philips 6704/PUS6704 (available in 43, 50, 55, 65 and 70 inches), Philips 6504/PUS6504 (available in 43, 50, 58 and 65 inches): The key differences here? The 6814 has a T-Bar centrally-mounted light finish stand with 3-sided Ambilight, while the 6704 has Ambilight, a dark frame finish and two feet supporting it. The 6504 looks pretty much the same as the 6704, but doesn’t have any Ambilight features. Philips 2019 HD TVsIt says a lot about the dominance of 4K TV now that, not only is there only a single non-4K TV in Philips range this year, but it’s not even 1080p – just a 24-inch HD-ready 1366x768 screen. Philips 4304: has no smart features, no HDR, and only two HDMI port ports. This is very much one for the kitchen, or a “my first TV” for the kids’ bedrooms. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Score a free Nintendo Switch Lite with the new Samsung Galaxy A51 and A71 deals Posted: 10 Feb 2020 09:15 AM PST Christmas has most definitely past, now an entire decade behind...technically. And while that means there is absolutely no excuse for you to still have a tree in your house, decorations or any Christmas cheer and motivation left in your system, it does not mean you don't deserve a gift. And if you're contract is coming to an end, leaving you with a phone-shaped hole in your life, there is an easy way for you to land a free gift right now. To be more specific, that gift is a Nintendo Switch Lite. Even more specificity? Getting this freebie simply requires you to invest in a 'Samsung Galaxy A' device. That can be anything from the popular Galaxy A40 from last year all the way through to the A71 and A51, both still in pre-order after being released just days ago. We've listed all of the key phone contracts with Nintendo Switch Lites below. But if the freebie is of no interest to you then you can get better prices than this. Check out our guide to the best mobile phone deals to see top prices on all handsets.
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| Lenovo may have just leaked an AMD Ryzen 9 U-series chip that could make Intel squirm Posted: 10 Feb 2020 09:03 AM PST AMD Ryzen 4000 processors for laptops are right around the corner, but that doesn't mean the leaks and gossip have stopped. In fact, we just heard some whispers that a secret Ryzen 9 chip could be coming. Over on Lenovo's German website, a listing for the upcoming Lenovo Yoga Slim 7 - the laptop AMD used to show off its Ryzen 4000 platform at CES 2020 – suggests that it comes with up to a Ryzen 9 CPU. Here's the trick, though – there is no announced AMD Ryzen 9 processor for laptops.
Now, this leak was spotted by the folks over at Wccftech, and when we went to go check it out on Lenovo's German website ourselves, we totally expected the listing to change - it hasn't. However, over on the US Lenovo page, the laptop is listed as coming with "Up to 3rd Gen AMD Ryzen 7 4700U." It's possible that the "Up to AMD Ryzen 9" on the German website is simply just wrong, then. If the US page is only listing up to the AMD Ryzen 7 4700U - which isn't even the most high-end processor that's been announced - it's hard to believe that it means that the Ryzen 9 chip exists. If it does exist, we won't know until AMD actually puts it into a laptop and tells us about it. Until then, the most powerful thin and light processor in AMD's wheelhouse will be the Ryzen 7 4800U. Let's speculate anyway, thoughFor the first two generations of Ryzen desktop processors there was no Ryzen 9 processor – that didn't show up until the AMD Ryzen 9 3900X. That processor also marked the moment that AMD absolutely destroyed Intel in terms of desktop performance. It is entirely possible that AMD will announce a Ryzen 4000 9-series processor for the best Ultrabooks, especially if you take the recent performance leaks into perspective. Right now, there are leaks that suggest that the AMD Ryzen 7 4800U will outpace the Intel Core i7-9700K, which will be huge if true. If an AMD Ryzen 9 processor does hit the streets, we could potentially see a thin and light laptop take on much thicker and more powerful gaming laptops when it comes to CPU performance. Think about it – a thin and light machine that you could easily carry in your backpack that you can do some heavy video editing with. Now, here at TechRadar we're just writers and photo editors, but we imagine that folks that need to do some heavy duty work would appreciate something along these lines. Now, we just have to wait to see if it ever happens. And even if it doesn't, the performance that the Ryzen 4000 processors we know about promises is more than enough to get us excited for the traveling professionals in our lives.
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| Mythic Quest could be the best Apple TV Plus show yet – but why can't you watch it on PS4? Posted: 10 Feb 2020 09:02 AM PST One of the first big Apple TV Plus shows of 2020 is Mythic Quest, a sitcom from It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia co-creators Rob McElhenny, Charlie Day and comedy veteran Megan Ganz. It's about the fictional studio behind MMO Mythic Quest that's releasing a new expansion, called Raven's Banquet. What it amounts to is a strong workplace comedy with a decent number of laughs per episode. McElhenney plays Ian Grimm (Ian is always pronounced as 'Ayan', which is a good recurring gag), the creative director of the studio whose vision for Mythic Quest is usually ridiculous or overblown. Poppy (Charlotte Nicdao), the studio's lead coder, is often swept up in the wake of Ian's decisions, while hapless executive producer David (David Hornsby) stands on the sidelines, fruitlessly trying to make people do things for him. You can tell the creators love games and understand the culture around it pretty well, even if its depiction of development isn't especially granular. Mythic Quest itself is like a cross between a fantasy MMO and Fortnite, a game where a casino might just pop up in the middle of the map so the creators can make a little more money on microtransactions. Publisher Ubisoft co-produced the show, which gives the in-game moments that break up the show real authenticity. Each episode focuses on a different game-related plot: the launch of the expansion itself, Nazis ruining the game for everyone, an asshole streamer abandoning the game, or a financial crisis at the studio when a rogue head of monetization switches all the microtransactions off. But the highlight of this first season, by far, is a flashback episode with only slight ties to the rest of the show. Set in the '90s, episode five is about a relationship forged in game development hell, where the creators of a popular horror title are tested by the escalating demands of their publisher. It's almost like an episode of Black Mirror – dreams die and the people involved have to figure out how much they're prepared to sell out.
Mythic Quest becomes more of a drama in this episode – and you can tell it was a big deal to the creators, because it's the only episode directed by McElhenney himself, while recognizable faces Jake Johnson (New Girl) and Cristin Milioti (How I Met Your Mother) make prominent guest appearances. You should at least watch up until the end of episode five before you make up your mind on the show. The show is otherwise a standard sitcom in style, but very well done, and worth checking out if you've enjoyed shows like Community, Brooklyn Nine Nine or The Good Place. It's closer to the tone of these shows rather than Always Sunny, for example, which is a series with a deliberately nastier sense of humor. It's a shame this opening season offers just nine episodes – given that most episodes fall in the 24-30-minute range, you can easily knock through those in the app's 7-day trial period (the first two episodes are free, too). Of course, if you've recently bought an Apple device, you've got a year's trial for the service anyway. Still, season 2 of Mythic Quest is already on the way, which is exciting. Sitcoms usually take multiple seasons to hit their stride in terms of characterization and joke writing – and it feels like this could be one of the greats with a little more time. Apple TV really needs to launch on PS4 and XboxMythic Quest, being a show about games development, would be a really good fit for people who stream TV through their games consoles. And yet, there's still no Apple TV app on PS4 or Xbox. It's a shame Apple didn't time the release of the show with an app debuting on consoles – that would've been a hell of a way to get the service more attention from tens of millions of people who might not necessarily be familiar with this new streaming service. Given that Mythic Quest looks a lot like a game people would play on consoles, it ends up feeling like a weird omission. Still, if you love games and you already enjoy US sitcoms, this show is well worth watching. The kind of high-end prestige dramas that Apple launched with are absolutely everywhere these days – truly great sitcoms, though, still number in the single digits. Mythic Quest isn't exactly there yet, but it definitely could be with another season or two.
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| Vulnerable Gigabyte driver allowed RobbinHood ransomware infections Posted: 10 Feb 2020 08:47 AM PST A serious security flaw in Gigabyte drivers may have allowed hackers to take over entire computer systems, experts have warned. According to security firm Sophos, this vulnerability could have meant hackers gained backdoor entry to computers running on Windows 7 or a newer version of Windows OS to deploy the notorious “Robbinhood” ransomware. The ransomware was then able to deactivate any antivirus program running on the system which in turn allowed the hackers to take over the machine.
Robbinhood was able to trick the antivirus program into believing it was one of the “trusted programs” that need to run. Trusted programs are basically is a group of trusted whitelisted applications that needs to run and are not blocked by the anti-virus. It was one of the rare scenarios where, according to Sophos, ransomware hijacked a trusted driver to do so. After initially appearing reluctant to acknowledge the flaw, Gigabyte did back down following unrelenting pressure from users. However, rather than releasing a patch to fix the vulnerability, the company chose to discontinue the support to the driver. This has given hackers an opportunity to infect devices running the said driver. Sophos suggests that users should not rely on a single layer of protection on their devices. Best practices like taking regular backups, multi-factor authentication, and using OS accounts with limited access rights can help to keep the devices safe. Even if the Operating System on your computer is fully updated, hackers can still find a backdoor entry because of these vulnerabilities.
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| 5G is now available to all BT Mobile customers Posted: 10 Feb 2020 08:37 AM PST All BT Mobile customers can now access the operator’s 5G data service. Until now, only those with a BT Halo subscription, which combined 4G, 5G and fibre into a single product, could receive the fastest speeds. Customers can choose from one of four 5G plans, with data allowances ranging from 6GB to 100GB per month, and from a variety of handsets from the likes of OnePlus, Huawei and Samsung. This includes the flagship Samsung Galaxy S10 device.
BT Mobile 5GBT Mobile uses the EE network, which BT also owns, to deliver its services. The EE 5G network is currently the UK’s largest in terms of availability, with RootMetrics recently recording 450.9Mbps on the streets of Birmingham. EE 5G is available in parts of London, Birmingham, Manchester, Edinburgh, Cardiff, Belfast, Glasgow, Newcastle, Leeds, Liverpool, Hull, Sunderland, Sheffield, Nottingham, Leicester, Coventry, Bristol and Wakefield and Wolverhampton. The current focus is on covering the busiest parts of each town and city, such as train stations and public venues. “Our BT Halo customers have been some of the first to enjoy 5G in the UK, and we’re now giving all of our customers the chance to get superfast, reliable mobile connections even in the busiest places,” said Pete Oliver, BT Consumer Marketing MD. “Whether you’re watching HD TV or sport on the go, or FaceTiming your family on the way home, 5G makes a huge difference to everyday experiences and opens up even more exciting new experiences like seamless augmented reality and HD mobile gaming.” Vodafone and O2 also operate 5G mobile services, while Three currently offers 5G-enabled Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) home broadband.
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| Why would Rockstar release GTA 6 soon? GTA Online is a gold mine Posted: 10 Feb 2020 08:19 AM PST Many of us may be impatiently waiting for Rockstar Games to officially announce GTA 6 is in the works, but a recent earnings call, Grand Theft Auto publisher Take-Two Interactive hinted that we won't see a new GTA anytime soon. And, to be honest, I'm really not surprised. During the same earnings call, Take-Two revealed that GTA Online – the online multiplayer mode of GTA 5 – delivered its "best holiday quarter ever for both audience size and net bookings". Not only that, but third-quarter spending on micro-transactions in Grand Theft Auto Online grew a whopping 54%, partly – no doubt – due to the release of the Diamond Casino and Resort update in July, 2019.
"We're now on track to deliver a new record for Grand Theft Auto Online recurrent consumer spending in fiscal 2020," Strauss H. Zelnick, CEO of Take-Two Interactive, said during the earnings call. "Sales of Grand Theft Auto V also exceeded our expectations, and the title has now sold in more than 120 million units." So, with GTA Online proving to be an ever-growing gold mine, why would Rockstar Games want (or need) to release GTA 6 anytime soon? The simple answer: it doesn't. Cash cow
To date, 120 million copies of GTA 5 have been sold globally. According to the earnings call, Take-Two Interactive expects GTA Online to be one of its biggest earners for fiscal year 2020, with the publisher expecting "current consumer spending to grow by approximately 10%, driven primarily by growing Grand Theft Auto Online and Red Dead Online". Realistically, there's no financial pressure for Rockstar to release GTA 6 anytime soon, even if fans are waiting with bated breath for an announcement. GTA 5 (and therefore GTA Online) is still a money-earner, with consumer spending continuing to grow year-on-year. Which is why it wouldn't make sense to try and shift these consumers to a new game right now, which is potentially what Rockstar would try and do. But actually, I think there's three possible options for what Rockstar Games' approach will be for GTA Online and GTA 6 – and one seems more probable than the others. Move everyone over as quickly as possible
The first approach would potentially be to release GTA 6 in the next few years (likely late 2021 or mid 2022) with an online mode available straight away. Rockstar would then try to transition GTA Online players to the new online mode. However, with players already settled and comfortable with GTA 5 and GTA Online, moving that player base to a new game is a risky move. As we've seen with Red Dead Online, online gamers aren't always keen on moving elsewhere when they've poured hours into a game. Especially when so many have sank their well-earned cash into in-game transactions that they're very likely to lose in a new iteration of the online multiplayer mode – unless Rockstar finds a way to transfer those transactions to a new game (which may alienate new players straight off the bat). Practically, though, the studio is more likely to be focusing its efforts on the core GTA 6 game, then release an online mode later. Waiting game
The second, and probably more likely option, is that we will see GTA 6 release in that same release window but without an online mode. This would allow players to purchase GTA 6 but still play (and spend money in) GTA Online. Rockstar could then implement an online mode for GTA 6 a few months or years after launch, slowly transitioning players from GTA Online to the new online mode - although it's likely this could impact the performance of Red Dead Online. GTA 5's online mode launched within weeks of the base game, but didn't start gathering steam until a few years into the game's lifespan – making this the most likely option. It's also worth taking into account the extra time that may be required to develop GTA 6's online mode on next-gen consoles. However, Take-Two president, Karl Slatoff, is confident that the transition of the publisher's live service titles will still be successful. "What exactly the transition is going to be [from game to game] between the console cycles will vary," Slatoff said. "But there's no reason to believe that the success that we're experiencing with those services would be any less in the new generation that is than the old generation." Not all players may want to move to next-gen consoles as soon as possible, as it doesn't sound like it'll be cheap. Giving them the option to slowly transition is likely to be beneficial in the long term. Plus, launching an online mode later would allow Rockstar to continue to reap the rewards from GTA Online, while growing a base for GTA 6. Then, when that base is solid enough, try to transition players from the old to the new. It is arguably the most sensible way to do it. Unless... GTA Online goes independent
The last, but probably least likely, option is that GTA Online goes independent. Instead of simply being a multiplayer mode for GTA 5, it could become a game in its own right, without ties to any of the core Grand Theft Auto titles. It would be a risky, and more work intensive, move from Rockstar but would mean that players don't need to buy a whole new game to access GTA Online. Instead, Online could be made available as a free-to-play download on consoles or through Rockstar Games Launcher on PC. However, this approach would likely impact the sales of the core game. It seems like a big draw of players to GTA 5 is the free online multiplayer mode, which comes free with the paid-for game. I can see the core game sales being affected if that free online mode was no longer available no matter how good it may be – and Rockstar wouldn't want that. The truth is, we can only speculate right now about what's going to happen with GTA 6 and GTA Online. But Take-Two has said it reveal more about its pipeline plans in the coming months: let's just hope GTA 6 is among them.
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| The best iPhone 7 deals and prices in February 2020 Posted: 10 Feb 2020 07:53 AM PST There's no doubt that iPhone 7 deals are no longer the newest option from Apple but there is one thing this handset is still one of the best choices for - affordability. As one of Apple's cheapest phones around, this is a welcome change to the high price tags we see elsewhere. The release of Apple's iPhone 11 and its two more powerful models was a big reminder of the costly nature of Apple and just another reason the iPhone 7 could be the ideal phone for you. But despite its age the iPhone 7 still rocks many of the specs we have come to expect from Apple. A mid-size battery, strong processor and the much loved iOS features Apple has made famous. When it comes to choosing the tariff for you there is still a surprisingly large range of iPhone 7 deals. Big data remains affordable and brilliant cheap contracts under £20 are readily available. On this page you'll find all of the best iPhone 7 deals you can get right now. Whether you're looking for unlimited data, a free phone or any other type of tariff, you can use our comparison chart below to choose the cheapest option out there. Scroll down to find the best deal for you. And if you find yourself feeling like something just a little bit more powerful would be the best decision for you, consult our guide to the best mobile phone deals to see what else is out there right now.
The Apple iPhone 7 might now have fallen behind, becoming one of Apple's older devices and yet, the specs till hold up. The battery might not be market leading but for the price you pay for iPhone 7 deals, the water resistance, impressive camera and strong processor are a perfect combination. Read TechRadar's full iPhone 7 review This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| The best PS4 Pro prices, deals, and bundles in February 2020 Posted: 10 Feb 2020 07:42 AM PST With such a full library of games and excellent prices on PS4 Pro bundle deals right now, there's no reason not to take advantage of the latest sales and a grab a 4K console. You'll find the most powerful PlayStation ever released for less this week, with bundle prices across the US and UK offering excellent savings. We're seeing all the latest games included in these bundles, including FIFA 20, Death Stranding, Call of Duty Modern Warfare, and NHL 20. You'll find the PS4 best deals going right here, and with the PS5 just around the corner, you can bet you'll be saving on games in the future as well. Looking to buy in Australia? You'll want to take a look at our AU page. So keep this page bookmarked to stay informed of the latest PS4 Pro bundles. If you're looking for more information on the PS4 Pro, take a look at our handy Q&A below the deals. If you'd prefer a standard PS4, then check out our PS4 bundles (USA) or PS4 deals (UK) pages. Don't forget to top up your subscription with one of our discounted PlayStation Plus deals too. What is the usual PS4 Pro Price?The PS4 Pro price sits at $399 MSRP in the US and £349 in the UK. That means if you spot a deal above these price points, it's likely not going to be worth your cash unless it's good some hefty goodies included. PS4 Pro bundle deals (USA)PS4 Pro bundles usually revolve around big name releases, so you can expect to see some deals and sales around those particular retail windows. However, there are usually plenty of PS4 Pro deals to be had if you know where to look, and lucky for you, we've developed an eye for cheap PS4 Pro prices. PS4 Pro bundle deals (UK)Need an extra controller on the cheap? Take a look at the best DualShock 4 deals. We also have a guide to the best PlayStation VR deals too.
Cheap PlayStation Plus dealsIf you're buying a PS4 Pro, you'll probably need a cheap PlayStation Plus deal too. PlayStation Plus (aka PS Plus or PS+) allows you to play PS4 games online, along with access to the Instant Game Collection, a bunch of free games for your PS4 each month. The default price for a year is now £49.99. We've shopped around for you though and found a range of prices. So check out our guide of you want the best PlayStation Plus deals. What is the PS4 Pro?Essentially, the PS4 Pro is an upgrade of the PS4, rather than a 'next-gen' console. The keywords to take in from the PS4 Pro are 4K and HDR. The new machine will allow game developers to include 4K options in their games, so expect the likes of Red Dead Redemption 2, God of War, Uncharted 4, Spider-Man, Days Gone, Horizon: Zero Dawn and more to look even better on a 4K TV. HDR, or High Dynamic Range, is the other buzzword to be excited about as the PS4 Pro will allow for extra detail to be seen on a range of games and also a wider range of colors not usually displayed by traditional HD TVs. Will my old PS4 games work on PS4 Pro?Absolutely. If you're planning on upgrading to a PS4 Pro from an older PS4, all of your games will still work. Not every title will be patched to take advantage of the new 4K/HDR capabilities, but the default upscaling (if you have a 4K TV) will more than likely see some improvement to the visuals and the improved console power may give the frame-rate a boost on some titles. What else can I watch in 4K/HDR on PS4 Pro?The PS4 Pro is compatible with 4K and HDR, and the content options for both are increasing all the time on services like YouTube and Netflix. Amazon Prime Video is yet to be updated for 4K content on a PS4 Pro though, so you'll need to check out the Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K deals if you want to enjoy 4K Prime. Does the PS4 Pro support 4K Blu-rays?No. This was a surprise if we're honest, especially as both the Xbox One S and Xbox One X consoles do. It's a bit of a gamble for Sony, but at the same time, 4K Blu-rays are very expensive for now and many consumers look to digital services to provide their 4K movies and TV content instead. Do I need a 4K TV to run a PS4 Pro?No, the PS4 Pro will still work on a regular 1080p TV, you won't get the benefits of upscaling or HDR though. You may see a slim amount of extra detail, or frame-rate boost, but we wouldn't expect a massive leap. If you are thinking of buying a 4K TV soon, then it's probably a good idea to splash out on the PS4 Pro instead of the regular or new PS4 Slim as it'll future proof you for a while. Be sure to look out for a TV that supports HDR too, in order to take full advantage of the PS4 Pro's capabilities.
Will PlayStation VR be better on the PS4 Pro?Yes, but only a little. The PlayStation VR frame-rate is better on PS4 Pro and the resolution gets a bit of a bump too. PlayStation VR will certainly work on the older PS4s too, you don't need a PS4 Pro to get involved there. Does the PS4 Pro have optical audio support?Yes! The optical audio output has been removed from the PS4 Slim though, which is a massive shame. PS4 Pro owners though will still be able to use optical connections for their soundbars and sound systems. What are the best games on PS4 Pro?We've dived through our back catalogue of PS4 games that have received a PS4 Pro update patch to see which ones look the best and have a noticeable difference. Take a look at our extensive feature - The best PS4 Pro games. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
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