Apple : How to watch Tales from the Loop: stream the new Amazon show online anywhere |
- How to watch Tales from the Loop: stream the new Amazon show online anywhere
- How to watch Keeping Up With The Kardashians season 18 online from anywhere
- Resident Evil 3 PC performance: the Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 is undead
- The Last of Us 2 release date, trailers, news and rumors
- Working from home during a global pandemic: Q&A with TeamViewer
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| How to watch Tales from the Loop: stream the new Amazon show online anywhere Posted: 02 Apr 2020 01:39 PM PDT Science fiction series Tales from the Loop has already been likened to Stranger Things, Black Mirror and Twin Peaks. Read on to find out how to watch Tales From the Loop online from pretty much anywhere in the world so you can stream this intriguing new Amazon Originals series. Appearing on the Amazon Prime video service and heavily inspired by the magical conceptual paintings of Swedish artist Simon Stålenhag, the show transports viewers to to a town built on top of a machine that has been designed to unlock the mysteries of the universe. Starring Jonathan Pryce and Rebecca Hall, it's set to be a big hit with fans of retro-futurism. Created by Nathaniel Halpern, whose past credits include cult FX show Legion and Netflix's remake of The Killing, Tales From The Loop faithfully replicates Stålenhag's evocative paintings while building eight stories around them. Set in an otherwise ordinary mid-western American town in the mid-1950s that happens to be littered with out of date robots, each episode tells a complete story focusing around one or two of the show's characters. The show's impressive credits list also includes Never Let Me Go and One Hour Photo director Mark Romanek who helms the opening episode, while Silence of the Lambs star Jodie Foster directs the series finale. The legendary minimalist composer Philip Glass, meanwhile, has co-written the show's atmospheric score with Paul Leonord-Morgan. A stylistically unique, slow-burning series that looks set to be packed full of of intrigue, its looking like a good bet for anyone on the lookout for a slice of sophisticated sci-fi. Read on to find out how to watch Tales from the Loop and stream the new series online from all corners of the globe. How to watch Tales from the Loop on Amazon PrimeHow to watch Tales from the Loop from outside your countryThe doors to Tales from the Loop's artfully weird world are set to be opened at a time when people are desperate for a bit of escapism. If you're a Prime Video subscriber but find yourself stuck abroad in the lockdown in a country where the service isn't available, you'll probably find you're unable to stream the show due to geo-blocking restrictions. Thankfully help is at hand. Downloading a VPN will allow you to watch Tales from the Loop no matter where you are by changing your IP address to one in another location. Read more:
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| How to watch Keeping Up With The Kardashians season 18 online from anywhere Posted: 02 Apr 2020 01:30 PM PDT The most dramatic family on planet Earth is back, with plenty of secrets being exposed, family vacations and even physical arguments. Ready for the momager and her girls to come back to your screen? Keep reading to find out how to watch Keeping Up With The Kardashians from anywhere in the world. If there's anything that the trailer for this season has showed us is that the girls are back and Bible!, more dramatic than ever. We won't give too much away but from what the trailer has teased (you can watch that further down this article) Kim apparently becomes too friendly with Khloe's ex, and NBA star Tristan Thompson. Fans can also expect to see the usual business and beauty excursions, topped off with luxuriously extravagant family vacations. And we've only had one episode so far but we've already seen Kylie's exclusive collection with Balmain and a few explosive fights... we'll leave it at that as we're no fan of spoilers for those of you still catching up. We think we just found our new favorite reality TV series Okurr? So keep reading to find out where to watch Keeping Up With The Kardashians from anywhere in the world.
How to watch Keeping Up With The Kardashians online from outside your countryIf you find yourself far from home when the season of KUWTK premieres or you may be stuck abroad for a while – there's no need to panic, geo-blocks are easy to overcome. This is all thanks to a handy piece of tech called a VPN, it changes your address so you can stream KUWTK no matter where in the world you are. So you can watch each episode live or catch-up with the series and watch as if you were back at home.
Watch Keeping Up With The Kardashians in the US
Watch Keeping Up With The Kardashians online in Canada:
How to watch Keeping Up With The Kardashians online in the UK
How to watch Keeping Up With The Kardashians online in AustraliaWhere to watch Keeping Up With The Kardashians online: season 1 to 17If you're not fully caught up with all of the family's excursions and antics, don't fret - what better time is there to start a series with 17 seasons then now that we all need to spend increasingly more time at home? US: All you've got to do is sign up to Hulu or Sling TV Okurrr? UK: For fans based in the UK, you'll have to head on over to Hayu also. Don't want to sign up to Hayu? You can also watch it on Sky if you have it. Canada: You'll need to subscribe to Hayu to watch these famous sisters Australia: You've got plenty of options to catch up with the latest family options. Choose Hayu, Foxtel or 9Now. Elsewhere: Currently in a country not on the list? Don't worry, you can always get a VPN and stream the show from one of the countries above.
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| Resident Evil 3 PC performance: the Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 is undead Posted: 02 Apr 2020 01:28 PM PDT Remakes of classic games are extremely popular right now, and titles like Resident Evil 3 remake are an excellent example. The original version of the game never made its way to PC, so not only are PC gamers able to play this horror classic for the first time, but it looks like a brand new piece of software entirely. In fact, it's probably one of the best-looking games of the year. However, with all the visual eye candy here, Resident Evil 3 on PC is pretty taxing on your gaming PC – particularly on VRAM. Before you go on Steam and slap down some cash to pick up Resident Evil 3, we thought it'd be good to explore just how it will perform on some of the most popular graphics cards. Luckily, we here at TechRadar have access to all the latest and greatest PC hardware, and we went ahead and tested a two-minute slice of the game, embedded below, on ten graphics cards, from the Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 6GB to the Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 Ti.
Pictured: our GPU running Resident Evil 3 at 4K Resident Evil 3 PC performance: putting it to the testThe Resident Evil 3 system requirements, listed below, do a pretty decent job of telling you what kind of hardware you'll need to play this game at 1080p both at 30 fps (minimum) and 60 fps (recommended) levels. For the most part, our testing reveals that these requirements are generally accurate, but it goes a little deeper. For instance, Resident Evil 3 on PC is an extremely VRAM-dependent game, to the point where running the game at "Graphics Priority", this game's way of saying "High" recommends 5.54GB of VRAM at 1080p – which a lot of older graphics cards like the venerable Nvidia GeForce GTX 970 just won't have. We did find that you can go above the amount of VRAM you have available, given that you have enough system memory to handle some of the overflow. Just keep in mind that if you're playing in this way, you could experience some occasional stuttering. For instance, the Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 at 1080p performed extremely well at 1080p with Graphics Priority settings, but when we turned it to Max, our average frame rate dropped just a little bit, yet our 0.1% low dropped all the way down to 13 fps from 37. For the most part these drastic drops in frame rate are pretty rare, and only really happen when you're transitioning from area to area or getting out of a cutscene. The game is still completely playable maxed out, and for the most part is relatively smooth. If you want to max it out and get completely smooth gameplay, however, you're going to want to make sure you have a graphics card with at least 8GB of VRAM, which means an Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060 Super or an AMD Radeon RX 5700. Your graphics card is only one part of the setup, however. We tested the game on a system equipped with an Intel Core i9-9900K and 32GB of HyperX Fury RGB RAM at 3,000MHz. (We mostly stuck to 3,000MHz because we forgot what it was actually rated for and didn't have time for a ton of trial and error). Watching system usage, all 16 threads of the processor were being hit pretty consistently by the game, with an even spread across all of them. Traditional knowledge points to games as being single-threaded applications, and that's a reality we're getting further from with every major game release. The system requirements technically recommend an Intel Core i7-3770, but we'd recommend a more heavily threaded processor for this game. As for memory usage, the game is actually pretty forgiving, assuming you're not going over your VRAM budget. When we were within spec for the graphics card we were using, the Resident Evil 3 PC port only really used around 6-7GB of system memory. However, that rapidly got pushed upwards if we tried to max out the game on pretty much anything but the RTX 2080 Ti. System memory usage could then spike all the way up to 11 or 12GB, which means if you have the recommended 8GB of system memory, you could run into some serious Resident Evil 3 performance problems. Here are the Resident Evil 3 minimum system requirements:
Resident Evil 3 Recommended system requirements:
Resident Evil 3 PC performance: by the numbersPerhaps unsurprisingly, the only cards that can deliver a solid 60 fps at 4K are the Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 Super and the RTX 2080 Ti. Even at the more balanced Graphics Priority setting, which is designed for GPUs with 6-8GB of VRAM, the RTX 2070 Super is just shy of hitting that vaunted 60 fps target with 59. Still, though, that's a very playable frame rate. However, for as much attention as 4K gets in the mainstream, not many people actually play at that resolution. 1080p is still the most common display resolution, and if you're still rocking an FHD display, you shouldn't have too much of a problem running this game at 60 fps. While the RTX 2080 Ti can easily exceed 200 fps with all the bells and whistles turned all the way up, things are more interesting at the lower end of the spectrum. Graphics cards like the AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT and Nvidia GeForce GTX 1660 Super are far more affordable, and can still max this game out with good frame rates. With everything turned up all the way, even the aging GeForce GTX 1060 6GB manages a respectable 70 fps with everything turned up. Again, as we mentioned earlier, maxing the game out with only 6GB of video memory can result in some jagged bits of gameplay, so we'd recommend sticking with the Graphics Priority preset. The difference in visual quality isn't that apparent, and average frame rate gets boosted up to 74 fps, while avoiding any massive spikes of latency. Finally, 1440p is becoming more and more popular every day, and it's an entirely attainable resolution for modern mid-range GPUs. With the Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060, we got around 83 fps with the Graphics Priority settings, which, again, is recommended for GPUs with only 6GB of VRAM. If you do have an 8GB card, however, the Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060 Super was able to get a solid 86 fps average, while the Radeon RX 5700 was close behind at 84 fps. At the end of the day, most graphics cards should be able to handle this game pretty easily, unless you're trying to run it at 4K. Performance drops in half at this high resolution, so we'd only recommend it if you have one of the absolute best GPUs on the market today. However, because this game includes AMD's FidelityFX CAS (Contrast-Adaptive Sharpening), if you want to run the game on your 4K monitor, you should be able to upscale from 1440p without it looking awful. In fact, in our testing, even our Nvidia graphics cards provided excellent video quality on our 4K screen. That way, you kind of get the best of both worlds.
Upgrade your rig for Resident Evil 3 PC performanceWhile Resident Evil 3 isn't the most demanding game on the market right now – looking at you, Control – it is still going to be hard for some older GPUs and CPUs to work with. If you're still rocking a graphics card with 4GB or less of RAM, you're probably going to be in for some performance issues. Likewise, if you have an older Core i5 processor with just 4 cores and 4 threads, you'll similarly have some problems. And, if you haven't upgraded to 16GB of RAM, we'd advise you to do so while RAM is still affordable. We're about to see new consoles and smartphones launch at the tail end of the year, and that will likely see memory and SSD prices increase. But, we get it. PC components are kind of confusing, especially if you're a newcomer to the space. So, we went ahead and put together a couple of build configurations for 1080p, 1440p and 4K that can run the game (and pretty much all the best PC games) at the Graphics Priority preset. 1080p60 build:
1440p60 build:
4K60 build:
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| The Last of Us 2 release date, trailers, news and rumors Posted: 02 Apr 2020 01:07 PM PDT The Last of Us 2 – or The Last of Us: Part 2, if we're using its proper name – is the long-anticipated sequel to the iconic post-apocalyptic narrative game and is likely to be one of the biggest games to launch this year. ...Unfortunately, when exactly that will happen is a bit of a question mark as Sony has just announced that the game will be delayed indefinitely due to logistic problems caused by the novel coronavirus. The good news is that the game is almost finished, and will likely be available as soon as Sony can figure out a way to get it safely into customers' hands. Given the first game was hailed by players and critics alike as a masterpiece with excellent, emotional storytelling and engaging, realistic characters, we have to admit that the decision to release a follow-up isn't particularly shocking – even if the end of the game seemed pretty conclusive. We'd probably have been more surprised if there wasn't one. And yet, when The Last of Us 2 was first announced, we'd be lying if we said our hearts didn't skip a beat. The Last of Us 2 was first announced by Naughty Dog at PlayStation Experience in 2016 alongside a teaser trailer, but it wasn't until September 2019 that we were finally told the game's initial release date of February 2020 during a State of Play livestream. However, Naughty Dog later announced that the release date has been delayed by a few months, before a second delay in April 2020. Cut to the chase
The Last of Us 2 release dateThe Last of Us 2 was initially due to release on February 21, 2020. However, Naughty Dog later announced that the game's release date was being pushed back to May 29, 2020. The game's director, Neil Druckmann, apologized in a blog post and explained that the developer wanted to prioritize game quality over a punctual launch. "We realized we simply didn’t have enough time to bring the entire game up to a level of polish we would call Naughty Dog quality," Druckmann wrote. Unfortunately, due to the coronavirus pandemic, it was then delayed a second time in early April 2020 when Sony said that it needed time to sort out logistical issues around the game and give the team at Naughty Dog some more time to finish up. Sony and Naughty Dog have yet to announce a new release date for the game, but we expect it to be available later this year before August, though, for now we can only speculate. The Last of Us 2 trailersThe most recent trailer for The Last of Us 2 is also its (initial) release date announcement trailer. Shown during the September 2019 State of Play stream, it revealed the game's initial release date and shows Ellie in action as well as a glimpse at Joel. Check it out below: Probably the most emotion-evoking Last of Us 2 trailer was shown during E3 2018. This trailer finally gave us a look at Ellie in an intimate scene before cutting away to some of the brutal but stealth-based combat we can expect to see in the game when it's launched. The gameplay sequence gives us a look at Ellie fighting for her life in the wild. Success in a fight appears to require the right balance between stealth and all out attack as damage seems to have a more realistic impact. Ellie can move quietly between areas, taking weapons from bodies and crafting, before bursting out and taking down her enemies. It's a different creature in many ways to the original The Last of Us but it looks like something to look forward to, with more advanced enemies to challenge us and more complex gameplay to thrill us. See the gameplay for yourself below: The Last of Us Part 2 had another trailer drop during PSX 2017. During a panel it was confirmed that the game will be set in the city of Seattle and the darker themes we know are coming were touched upon. You can watch the panel for yourself below: Another trailer for the game was shown at Sony's press conference during the 2017 Paris Games Week. This trailer is around 5 minutes long, focusing on conflicts between the human factions in the game. It shows that part 2 is going to have a dark story, perhaps even darker than the first, and the trailer is fairly harrowing to watch. Visually impressive though it is, do note that it's gory before you watch it for yourself below: The first look at The Last of Us 2 came with its announcement at PlayStation Experience in 2016. Despite the fact that the game was early in development, the trailer showed a full (non-gameplay) scene that features both Ellie and Joel. You can watch it below: The Last of Us 2 news and rumorsVerticality and "agile" gameplay Naughty Dog's official Twitter account shared a brief clip of Ellie navigating some snow-covered rooftops, showing off the character's increased agility the game's increased focus on verticality – possibly given Ellie being a teenager, and therefore a bit more lithe than The Last of Us' protagonist Joel. Crunch controversy A recent report from Kotaku's Jason Schreier has opened up discussion over crunch practices at The Last of Us 2 developer, Naughty Dog. According to Schreier's development sources, despite best efforts to avoid it, crunch is still happening at the studio and that the game's delay hasn't alleviated overlong working hours. Schreier states that, for some, being on the team means "working upwards of 12-hour days and even weekends when the studio is in crunch mode, sacrificing their health, relationships, and personal lives at the altar of the game." Following the publication of the report a former animator for the developer, Jonathan Cooper, posted his own experience of crunch practices to Twitter, adding that one of his friends was hospitalised due to overwork. Sony and Naughty Dog are yet to make an official comment on the report, though Naughty Dog VP, Neil Druckmann, posted praise for the studio's animators on Twitter. Schreier's report is an interesting deep-dive into Naughty Dog's reputation and asks important questions about just how sustainable crunch practices (which are believed to be a problem throughout the industry, not just with Naughty Dog) actually are. European Steelbook In a thrilling sign that the release date of The Last of Us 2 really is drawing closer, images of the European steelbook cover of the game have appeared on Reddit. The covers don't give much away about the game's still-closely-guarded plot but they do offer fantastic watercolor portraits of our protagonists Ellie and Joel looking far more mature than they did in the first game. These covers are likely to be a must-have for big fans. Coming to TV The Last of Us franchise has been confirmed as coming to TV following an announcement on Twitter from HBO. The series is being led by Craig Mazin, who previously worked with HBO on the highly-acclaimed Chernobyl series, and Neil Druckmann, co-director and writer of the games, will be writing the series with an executive producer credit too. This is to be the first production from Sony Interactive Entertainment's film and TV arm, PlayStation Productions and at the moment it only has a release date of "coming soon". TLOU 2 will "redefine triple-A" An update and a PAX East demo - canceled In addition to that tantalizing bit of information, the developer announced that The Last of Us 2 would getting a playable demo at PAX East. However, PlayStation has since canceled its PAX East appearance over concerns about coronavirus - meaning the demo won't be available. Members of the public would have had the chance to play an early area of the game called "Patrol" that features Ellie and Dina. The demo was due to be around an hour long and was apparently just a "small glimpse" of what the full game will offer. Guess we'll just have to wait a few more months... Ashley Johnson has been honing her archery skills We've already seen Ellie wielding a bow in trailers for the game, but perhaps we'll be relying on it as a primary weapon in the upcoming sequel. Although, Johnson did point out that her desire to learn archery isn't indicative of how heavily a bow and arrow will feature in the game.
Much more violent and sexually explicit The game's website now features an ESRB rating of 'M' for Mature (via DualShockers) which, in itself, isn't a surprise as it's the same rating awarded to its predecessor. However, the content warning describes 'blood and gore', 'intense violence', 'nudity', 'sexual content', 'strong language' and 'use of drugs'. And, while The Last of Us's rating warned of 'blood and gore', 'intense violence', 'sexual themes' and 'strong language', it seems that Naughty Dog is upping the nudity and sexual content in the game's sequel. While we're not surprised that The Last of Us 2 is going to be extremely violent (the trailers have suggested that), this will be the first Naughty Dog game to feature nudity. But what does that mean we can expect? Well, as GameSpot points out, the ESRB defines 'nudity' as "graphic or prolonged depictions of nudity", while 'sexual content' is defined as "non-explicit depictions of sexual behavior, possibly including partial nudity". That means we'll be seeing a lot more nudity and sexual scenes than we did with The Last of Us, which had a "sexual themes" descriptor that warns about "references to sex or sexuality." We're not sure exactly what form this will take, and the ESRB hasn't published the rating publicly, but it looks like things are about to get much sexier in The Last of Us. Pointing out Parallels It's a teasing comment that's left many fans asking for more information and some are theorising that there could be narrative and visual parallels between the games. Regardless, those who enjoyed the original game are likely going to be happy to see any nod of acknowledgement which will tie the titles together in a more meaningful way. New job listings Last year, Naughty Dog confirmed that The Last of Us 2 won't launch with an online mode due to a wish to completely focus on the game's substantial single-player story. However, it was added that something would be coming eventually and separately from the main game. We won't know for certain what game this online project is related to but it's exciting to see that something is in the works. There's been another job-listing recently that also hints at some exciting news: could The Last of Us 2 be coming to a PC near you?. There's been a lot of online speculation recently thanks to a LinkedIn job posting, which specifies some interesting skills for a graphics programmer to be part of the team working on The Last of Us 2 - including PC programming chops. Halley Gross Interview In the interview, Gross praised her colleagues at Naughty Dog as "wizards" and said that they're working together to "make the most complex, nuanced character in a videogame". This character is undoubtedly Ellie who Gross touches on later in the interview. Ellie, Gross explains, is a traumatized character on a "mission for justice" who is, overall, "driven by love" for other characters like Joel and Dina. According to Gross, the narrative is about seeing who Ellie "can become when she grows up in such a hostile environment." This, unfortunately, means putting Ellie in difficult situations which will test her values and her drive: "while we love Ellie, and we’re really excited to see her grow up, we’re certainly not going to coddle her".
Neil Druckmann Interview Rather than throw in new enemies just because they can, Druckmann says that the studio has carefully considered new Infected additions like the Shamblers. These new enemies emit clouds of burning acid and will force players to consider how they approach combat in a different way, especially when they’re appearing alongside the fast Runners and powerful Clickers. Human enemies are also more dynamic. According to Druckmann, every human enemy in the game will have a unique name so that when they die their comrades might scream out their name in grief. Human enemies can become emotional and unpredictable, making combat more dynamic and realistic. Fans of visuals will also be happy to know that The Last of Us 2 will be making the most of the power of the PS4 like The Last of Us did with the PS3 before it. This means, according to Druckmann, that the game is “able to have much wider environments, sequences with a horde of infected, several squads of enemies looking for you in big spaces.” Similarly, this has made it possible to give Ellie and all of the other characters a new animation system called motion mapping making their movements more responsive and more realistic: “The fidelity we can get in the faces and the motion capture — we can better translate what the actors are doing on stage into the game, and get these nuances so we can rely more on the way someone blinks or the way they squint instead of lines of dialogue. It allows the writing to be much more nuanced than it’s been before.” Two Discs Allies “In the past in almost all of our games, the allies have done kind of fake damage, where you see them shoot enemies and it's a little bit theatrical—like their bullets are clearly doing way less damage than yours,” Newman said. For The Last of Us 2, however, ally bullet “do exactly as much damage as yours do" so players can count on the AI to help them. Multiplayer Story At the moment we know The Last of Us 2 will take place in the city of Seattle, five years after the end of the original game, with a 19 year old Ellie taking the starring playable role. Joel will still appear in the game but if the teaser trailer is anything to go by, he could be a much more passive presence. This time around, Ellie is extremely angry about...something. From what we saw from the teaser trailer she wants revenge, which to her appears to be a dish best served deadly. She does, after all, promise to “kill every last one of them.” It’s not clear who “them” is but it could signal that the Fireflies, the first game's well-meaning but morally grey antagonists, will make a return. Anger, hate and revenge are going to be key themes this time around so expect to be in for an emotionally heavy ride. In the trailer for the game shown at Paris Games Week in 2017, we got a look at how dark the game is likely to be. The trailer focuses on the opposing relationships between human characters in the game and features some seriously cringe-inducing violence. It doesn't tell us much about any new characters of how they'll relate to one another but it does confirm that we're going into a dark game world in The Last of Us part 2. In a recent panel at PSX both Druckmann and Gross said that though the game's story will indeed be dark and there'll be a focus on the theme of hate, "there is hope" and there will be "lighthearted moments." We can't pretend we're not relieved to hear this after the game's controversial Paris Games Week trailer which, Druckmann said, was intended to highlight the game's exploration of the pursuit of justice. Ellie is one of the most real and refreshing characters we’ve seen in gaming so it’s exciting that Naughty Dog are going to take her story further and put her in center stage. The creative director of the game, Neil Druckmann has said that the story will be about Ellie and Joel’s relationship and that though the story would be complementary to the story of the first game, it would be much larger.
When asked at a PSX panel whether or not Joel or Ellie may die, Druckmann responded that "no one is safe" highlighting that the game's story really could go anywhere. Hopes are particularly high for this larger story as it’s been revealed that one of the writers of Westworld, Halley Gross, will be co-writing the game’s story. Having someone who’s written scripts for such an incredibly popular and successful show should be a boon for the game's story. Gameplay Ellie will have some moves similar to Joel but there are some things she'll be able to do that are completely different. For one thing she can jump - the new jump button should make the world of The Last of Us Part 2 more complex and more enjoyable to traverse. It also has the potential to make combat more interesting. Speaking of combat, Ellie doesn't really throw punches as her first form of attack, she has a stealthy knife. Melee combat generally appears to offer a little more than the original game, with evasions and an environment that can help as well as hinder your fighting. Not only has Ellie matured as a character, the enemies she faces have developed and they're more realistic than ever. The Infected in The Last of Us Part 2 are smarter and more reactive than their predecessors, making them a tougher foe to face. AI has improved, allowing enemies to communicate with one another and to look for Ellie when she's hiding. Expect some tense moments to arise from this.
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| Working from home during a global pandemic: Q&A with TeamViewer Posted: 02 Apr 2020 01:00 PM PDT Businesses have been forced to quickly adapt in order to keep operating during the global coronavirus outbreak. For instance companies that were reluctant to implement remote working policies in the past have now been forced to do so quickly as governments around the world have ordered their citizens to stay at home. To learn more about how businesses have been disrupted by the outbreak and the complications that could arise while working from home, TechRadar Pro spoke with the president of TeamViewer Americas, Finn Faldi.
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| Best Mac 2020: the best Macs to buy this year Posted: 02 Apr 2020 12:59 PM PDT The best Macs and MacBooks have been extremely influential and certainly occupy a space of their own in the computing world. Their svelte – yet surprisingly tough – chassis, as well as powerful specs under the hood and nifty features that are uniquely Apple’s, have long been the standard to which many other laptops aspired. And, unsurprisingly, they’ve long been favored by many creative professionals for all their creative and productivity needs.. If you’re ready to get on the Mac bandwagon, you’ve come to the right place. We’ve tested and reviewed all the Mac computers on the market, and we’ve handpicked the best ones for you. So whether you’re looking to make the switch from Windows, or you’re looking to upgrade your old one, you’ll find something you’ll love on this list. Let us show you our picks for the best Macs and MacBooks money can buy. From the latest MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2019) to Apple’s impressive all-in-ones, these are the best Macs 2020 has to offer.
The MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2019) is truly the best MacBook for content creators, designers and other creative professionals. While we are sad that Apple has retired the 15-inch MacBook Pro, we’re more than happy to see the MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2019) hit the shelves. As thin, light and sleek as ever, this doesn’t feel like a 16-inch behemoth. If you’re worried that this was going to be bulky and awkward to use, don’t be. Yet, despite its svelte frame, you’re still getting that extra real estate on that stunning display, as well as the latest and greatest components behind it. Apple then rounds those out with amazing (and loud) speakers and a much, much better keyboard. This is truly the best MacBook for content creators, designers and other creative professionals. Read the full review: MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2019)
Apple Mac mini (2018) is packed with 8th-generation desktop processors. Mac Mini fans, rejoice! The Mac Mini has finally been upgraded with modern hardware, ushering Apple’s smallest Mac to the modern age and naturally warranting it the top spot in our best Macs list. This tiny thing is packed with 8th-generation desktop processors, a ton of RAM and some of the fastest SSDs we’ve seen – all while keeping the same adored form factor. It’s a tad pricier this time around, but with the raw speed on offer, you’ll find that it’s worth the price increase. Read the full review: Mac Mini 2018
MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2019) is refreshed with hexa-core 9th-generation processors. If you want the most performance you can get in a MacBook without needing to pull off a heist, you’ll want to look into the MacBook Pro 15-inch. Now refreshed with hexa-core 9th-generation processors and up to 32GB of RAM, you won’t be held back by anything you throw at it – especially now that you can get Radeon Pro Vega 20 graphics. With that kind of performance, the MacBook Pro takes a lofty spot on our best Macs list without breaking a sweat. Read the full review: MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2019)
If you're looking for an all-in-one Mac, the new 27-inch iMac might just be the best Mac for you. The iMac has long been one of the cheaper ways to get into the macOS ecosystem, and we’re glad that hasn’t changed. Though what has changed, we also appreciate. The new iMac is packing with 8th- and 9th-generation desktop-class processors, letting this stylish all-in-one reach that fabled 8-core performance. If you’re looking for an all-in-one Mac, the new 27-inch iMac might just be the best Mac for you, at least if you’re on a budget. Read the full review: iMac (27-inch, 2019)
The MacBook Pro with Touch Bar (13-inch, mid-2019) is quieter and more reliable. The biggest issue with the older MacBook Pro was that it was still packing Kaby Lake processors while its rivals had moved ahead. Luckily, the MacBook Pro 2018 changes everything, making it more powerful than ever. It still has the controversial Butterfly keyboard, but that’s also been improved so that its quieter and more reliable. It’s not hard to recommend the 13-inch MacBook Pro 2019 to anyone looking for the best Macs. Read the full review: MacBook Pro with Touch Bar (13-inch, mid-2019)
Apple's thinnest and lightest MacBook is back in 2020 with a vengeance. Apple’s thinnest and lightest MacBook is back in 2020 with a vengeance. Not only has it fixed a lot of the complaints with its predecessors – namely, that problematic keyboard is now gone, replaced by a drastically improved keyboard. But it also comes with new and more powerful internal components, even more storage space options, and a lower price of entry. There are a couple of things we’d do better, like the muted screen and the average battery life, but this model of the MacBook Air is better than anything we’ve seen from the line to date. Read the full review: MacBook Air (2020)
iMac Pro can handle any workload you can possibly throw at it. Professionals and creatives need something that can handle any workload they can possibly throw at it. If you’re one such user, the iMac Pro isn’t just one of the best Macs for you; it’s the only Mac to consider. Not only does it have a vibrant 27-inch 5K display with a P3 wide color gamut, but it also boasts the most powerful hardware Apple could get its hands on. It’s extremely expensive though, so it’s really only meant for folks who have deep pockets and need that unbridled power to get through their daily workloads. Read the full review: iMac Pro
If you're looking for a MacBook that's easy to take with you wherever you go, you will love the MacBook (2017). While Apple has officially taken the MacBook out of its MacBook lineup, many third parties are still carry it. And because the 12-inch MacBook has found its niche as an ultraportable and lightweight laptop, it’s still deserving of a spot on our best Macs list… that is, until stock runs out. It’s low on ports, but that’s hardly a surprise in a laptop this thin. It can support basically everything under the sun with its Thunderbolt 3 port, anyway. It’s not as powerful as the MacBook Pro, but if you’re looking for a MacBook that’s easy to take with you wherever you go, look no further. Read the full review: Apple MacBook (2017) Michelle Rae Uy, Bill Thomas and Gabe Carey have also contributed to this article What to look for in the best Macs and MacBooksWhether it’s the new 16-inch MacBook Pro that just came out or the Mac Pro 2019 that’s also just released, it’s not hard to see why the best Macs are the weapons of choice of creative professionals. And, even if you don’t go for the newest releases, there’s already a few excellent options to choose from, especially with Apple recently giving its MacBook Air, 13-inch MacBook Pro and 15-inch MacBook Pro that much-needed update. The best part is that the best Macs come in different shapes, sizes and price so that whether you want the cheapest MacBook you could find, a professional workhorse that breezes through all your extensive workloads like a pro, or an all-in-one that saves you space, there’s a Mac on the market for you.
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| Best rugged tablets of 2020: Water resistant, drop-proof and shockproof slates Posted: 02 Apr 2020 12:50 PM PDT You're going to need the best rugged tablet money can buy if you work outside or in busy environments, as the pieces of kit can be the ideal tool for a range of functions. These are powerful handheld devices that can withstand hard knocks and long drops, but also provide you a decent user experience at the same time. The best rugged tablets have been built to withstand the elements, with the latest shock-absorbing technology built in. They have also been put through rigorous testing to make sure that they will endure all sorts of punishment. This does mean that they come with a slightly higher initial outlay compared to standard tablets, but it's worth remembering that they can save money in the long one, as you don't need to repair or replace damaged rugged tablets as often – if at all. While you won't get a rugged tablet that's as slim and light as the iPad Air 2, it doesn't mean you should have to lug around a chunky and unwieldy tablet either. If you think a conventional tablet like that might be better for your work, check out our list of the best tablets instead. So, to help you find the best rugged tablet, we've put together this list, which gather the top shock and drop-proof tablets on the market today.
If you're working outside, then the Panasonic Toughpad FZ-M1 is easily one of the best rugged tablets on the market today. This is thanks not only to its tough design that is shock resistant to to drops of up ton 180cm, but also because the display has been designed to be used outdoors in bright sunlight - so you'll still be able to use the Panasonic Toughpad FZ-M1 no matter how bright your surroundings are. The screen supports 10-finger multi-touch, it runs on Windows 10 Pro, it's water and dust resistant and comes with a configuration port for a variety of expansions (serial, LAN, 2D Barcode Reader, NFC). The Pansaonic Toughpad FZ-M1 has seen a successor since it was launched, but we weren't as big fans of that device as we are this one, so if you're looking for the best rugged tablet for you, this still takes our pick for the top spot.
If you're looking for a rugged Windows tablet that can withstand an impressive amount of punishment, then the Getac F110 is an excellent choice. Its durable body can withstand moisture, extreme temperatures and drops, without it being bulky or heavy. It is certified to MIL-STD 810G, 1P65 and MIL-STD-461F standards. The most recent version of this tablet comes with 6th generation Intel Core processors, so there's plenty of power here, and a dual battery system means you can easily swap them out without having to pause. There are a few other Getac devices out there, but this is one of the only that's rugged enough to make our list of the top spots (the company makes rugged laptops too).
Dell is another well-known brand that produces rugged tablets. The Dell Latitude 7212 Rugged Extreme Tablet is one such device, and Dell has recently updated the model with more up-to-date components,including 7th generation Intel Core processors (though we'd like to see 8th generation chips included soon). For your money you get an excellently-built tablet that has IP65, MIL-STD-810G and IP-810G certifications (rather than merely meeting the standards in laboratory tests). Dell's customary high build quality is evident here, and while it isn't the most glamorous looking tablet, it does the job of withstanding harsh conditions, and accidental drops. It's quite an expensive tablet, but with improved components, and a range of specifications that you configure to better suit your needs, the Dell Latitude 7212 Rugged Extreme Tablet is well worth the price.
The HP ElitePad 1000 is a fantastic business laptop, and it can be configured to come in a rugged design that is IP65 and MIL-STD 810G tested. It can withstand a 6ft drop onto linoleum-covered concrete. It features an Intel Atom processor, which isn't the most powerful CPU, but it's still capable of handling most business applications. Biometric security keeps your important data safe, and HP also offers a range of accessories, such as docking stations and additional batteries.
The Panasonic Toughbook CF-33 is a 2-in-1 rugged device, which means it has an attachable keyboard that allow it to work as either a laptop or as a tablet. When in tablet mode, the Toughbook CF-33 is an excellent durable machine , with MIL-STD-461F, MIL-STD-810G and IP65 certification, which means it can survive shocks, drops liquids and dust. The battery life is a bit on the short side compared to other rugged tablets on this list, but you can quickly swap out the battery when you need extra time. You can also buy extended batteries that double the run time from 10 hours to 20. This is an additional cost, however.
Unlike other rugged tablets on this list, the Samsung Galaxy Tab Active 2 isn't designed for industrial-grade protection. However, what it does provide is IP67 certification for dust and water ingress, and a battery that lasts between eight to 10 hours. Plus, it supports replaceable batteries, so you can keep on working even if you're away from a power supply, and it's drop-tested to 1.2 metres. A decent camera and NFC technology are included, and it's rounded off with Samsung's customary excellent build quality. The newer Galaxy Tab Active 2 improves on a lot of the features of the first Tab Active, with more RAM, better CPU and much more.
This 10.1-inch Android tablet can withstand drops up to six feet, as well as being water and dust resistant. While it's bulkier and heavier than non-rugged tablets, it's still portable enough to be easily carried around worksites. The XSlate Android L10 also has a better display than its predecessor, made of Corning Gorilla Glass 3 with higher resolution and glove/wet touch technology. It's not the most powerful tablet on this list, but it's a more affordable alternative for people who want to use an Android device outside and on the road.
The Getac Z710 is a handy rugged tablet that does pretty much everything you'd want from an Android tablet, while coming in a rugged body. Design-wise the Getac Z710 is one of the better looking rugged tablets we've seen, and it comes with a number of business-orientated features that make it an excellent choice for enterprise use. The 7-inch screen is crisp and responsive to touch, but it does have a habit of showing off glare in direct lights. It has been tested for drops up to six foot, and is MIL-STD-810G certified, while Corning Gorilla glass protects the screen from shattering. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Apple sale: the 13-inch MacBook Air gets a $200 price cut Posted: 02 Apr 2020 12:46 PM PDT If you're looking for discounted Apple devices, then look no further than B&H Photo's Apple sale, which includes price cuts on best-selling items. You can see our roundup of the best laptops under $500: the best budget laptops around. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Best touchscreen laptops 2020: the best touchscreen laptops we've tapped this year Posted: 02 Apr 2020 12:43 PM PDT The best touchscreen laptops essentially give users the ability to utilize their laptops as tablets to squeeze in a bit of gaming and some Netflix watching after school or work. In other words, they have forever changed the way we think about – and use – laptops, transforming the portable scene for good and for the better. Their touchscreen and 2-in-1 capabilities offer users a few different functionalities, catering to their different needs. All the while, the best touchscreen laptops are delivering the same level of power and portability that rival that of the best laptops on the market. The fact that these laptops are now available with touch-friendly operating systems like Windows 10 and Chrome OS, making them a better value and even more appealing to consumers. If you’re ready to get on the touchscreen laptops bandwagon, you’ve come to the right place. We reviewed a number of these touchscreen laptops ourselves, and meticulously picked out the best, some of which also made our best 2-in-1 laptops list.
The HP Spectre x360 (2020)'s killer combination makes it one of the best touchscreen laptops out there. HP’s beloved and highly praised 2-in-1 is back with a vengeance, this time with more powerful components like the 10th-generation Intel Core processors and Intel Iris Plus graphics. Of course, that impeccable 2-in-1 design and pristine gem-cut chassis are back, as are its security features and Bang & Olufsen speakers. That killer combination makes it, now more than ever, one of the best touchscreen laptops out there. Is it a wonder that this is one of our favorite laptops of 2020? If you care about aesthetics as much as you do performance and overall quality, this is the laptop for you. Read the full review: HP Spectre x360 (2020)
Dell XPS 13 boasts that covetable 4K touchscreen feature. The competition in the Ultrabook market is getting tougher every year, and early players have been finding it difficult to keep up. Not the Dell XPS 13, however. Not only has this laptop kept a lofty spot in every best touchscreen laptops list, but it’s also still among the best laptops on the market years after its first release. This extremely luxurious device comes with an all-day battery life, solid performance and a design that you’ll fall in love with at first sight. Due to its thin chassis that’s only about half an inch, it does compromise on a couple of things, most notably its audio and its price tag, which is pretty high for some people. However, the Dell XPS 13 is worth every penny. Read the full review: Dell XPS 13 (2020)
Razer Blade 15 Studio Edition more than meets the standards of videographers, photographers and designers. Razer has redesigned its best gaming laptop to turn it into a mobile creative workstation touting a jaw-dropping performance that meets the standards of videographers, photographers and designers. This laptop packs a serious punch. But, it also rocks a stunning, factory-calibrated 4K display with the touchscreen model on hand, giving video editors not just incredibly sharp content but also lots of space to work on while they’re editing on the go. If a fast and seamless workflow is of utmost importance in your day to day, then the Razer Blade 15 Studio Edition is the best touchscreen laptop for you. Just be ready to splurge. Read the full review: Razer Blade 15 Studio Edition
You can't go wrong with HP Envy x360 13 (2019) for productivity or for entertainment and Internet browsing. If a 13-inch slimline 2-in-1 laptop that gets you through your daily computing routine, whether for productivity or for entertainment and Internet browsing, is all you need, then you cannot go wrong with Envy x360's AMD upgrade. This laptop not only packs the latest AMD mobile CPU, but also boasts a premium chassis that will be the envy of other laptops at your office, making it deserving of its moniker. Better yet, it offers 9 hours of video playback, lasting you an entire work day without charging. Read the full review: HP Envy x360 (2019)
There's a lot of things going for the Lenovo Yoga C940 beyond its gorgeous premium design. There’s a lot of things going for the Lenovo Yoga C940 beyond its gorgeous premium design. It’s a great performer, first of all, thanks to the powerful internals under its hood. It’s also got a keyboard that’s comfortable to type on, a rotating soundbar with 2 additional speakers, a touch pen and a TrueBlock Privacy Shutter. All in a fairly thin and light laptop, and for a price that’s every so slightly cheaper than the competition. If you’re as much about the add-ons as the basics, then you’ll get a lot of value out of the Lenovo Yoga C940. Read the full review: Lenovo Yoga C940
The Lenovo Yoga C930 boast high-quality IPS Glossy touchscreen display. Not only is the new Lenovo Yoga C930 one of the best hybrid laptops we’ve reviewed to date, but it’s also deserving of a spot on our best touchscreen laptops list. It’s all thanks to that high-quality IPS Glossy touchscreen display, which not only offers stylus support, but is also available in both Full HD and 4K – nifty if you work with high resolution photos. Get all your productivity tasks out of the way, and then throw in some decent gaming post work. Read the full review: Lenovo Yoga C930
Surface Book 2 (15-inch) boast a larger screen and extremely beefier hardware. The Surface Book 2 15-inch delivers the same great touch and pen experience as the Surface Pro. However, it also takes it to a new level by boasting a larger screen and extremely beefier hardware. Thanks to its quad-core processor and potent discrete GPU, it’s well-equipped to handle your most ambitious art projects, not to mention some of the best PC games that are currently taking up all your free time. If this isn’t one of the best touchscreen laptops on the market right now, we don’t know what is. Read the full review: Microsoft Surface Book 2 (15-inch)
Microsoft's Surface Laptop 3 has a stunning display. With the debut of an AMD Ryzen processor in Microsoft’s Surface Laptop line, the Surface Laptop 3 is more accessible than ever to more people, especially fans of AMD’s latest processors and graphics cards. Unfortunately, there aren’t many fresh features this time around – if you need more ports, for example, you might want to skip this. But, this latest model is more powerful than ever, and it does pack some of the longest battery life in its class. And, of course, it’s one of the thinnest and lightest laptops on the market. If longevity and portability matters most to you, it’s a worthy contender. Read the full review: Surface Laptop 3
Lenovo Yoga C630 boast a 13.3-inch, wide-angle FHD stunning display with touchscreen functionality. Budget users seeking touchscreen functionality will appreciate the value the Lenovo Yoga C630 offers. This 2-in-1 starts at $629 (about £517, A$927), with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 850 Processor, 4GB RAM, 128GB of SSD storage and integrated Qualcomm graphics. That means that it’s a lightweight option for those folks who aren’t entirely convinced by the Chrome OS environment. It has a few aces to top it all off, including the Lenovo Active Pen, a Fingerprint Reader and more than 23 hours of battery life. And what of the display? It’s a 13.3-inch, wide-angle FHD stunner, with touchscreen functionality, of course. Read the full review: Lenovo Yoga C630
Lenovo's ThinkPad X1 Extreme mobile workstation is among the best touchscreen laptops for you. In the market for a potent powerhouse and you have the funds to shell out a considerable amount of cash, then Lenovo’s ThinkPad X1 Extreme mobile workstation is among the best touchscreen laptops for you. It has several configurations on hand, depending on your needs and budget. At its most basic, however, it’s already pretty powerful, fitted with a solid graphics card and a 4K multi-touch display that is an absolute knockout. For gamers, this display also boasts the Dolby Vision high dynamic range (HDR) technology for top-notch image quality. Read the full review: ThinkPad X1 Extreme Mobile Workstation Michelle Rae Uy, Gabe Carey and Bill Thomas have also contributed to this article
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| Best computer speakers 2020: the best audio systems for your PC Posted: 02 Apr 2020 12:23 PM PDT Whether you care to admit it or not, the best computer speakers are essential to any PC setup. It doesn’t matter if you are a hardcore gamer, create a lot of video content, or simply enjoy blasting tunes and watching movies on your computer. Computer speakers with incredible soundstage, superb sound quality and perhaps even immersive surround sound elevate your computing experience considerably, and they’re worth every penny. What’s more, although many gamers and content creators agree that to truly experience immersive audio on your PC, using one of the best gaming headsets is the way to go, wearing headphones for hours can become fatiguing. The best computer speakers make for a stellar alternative, and not just to give your ears a break. Computer speakers, like any computer peripheral, can be a confusing mess of options, and it might not be easy to figure out what’s best for you. So we are here to help. Whether you want a more balanced, audiophile-level sound, care more about surround sound and great soundstage, or prefer lots of bass so you can feel those explosions deep in your spleen, we’ve got the best computer speakers you’re looking for on this list. Peruse, click that buy button, and experience sound like you’ve never before. Best computer speakers at a glance
Audioengine A2+ will function with your PC's USB port for uncompressed audio and amazing sound quality with its built-in DAC. While the Audioengine A2+ arrived on the scene four years back, they are still conceivably among the best computer speakers on the market. These slick-looking speakers will function with your PC’s USB port for uncompressed audio and amazing sound quality with its built-in DAC. The Audioengine A2+ comes sans subwoofer. However, if you really need that deep bass for extra rumble, that’s hardly a deal breaker: mostly because there is an RCA output, so it’s simple to connect an external woofer, which Audioengine also sells separately.
Logitech Z623's subwoofer produces a powerful, deep sound. They may be more expensive than you’d expect to pay for Logitech’s best computer speakers, but the Logitech Z623 speakers are still pretty reasonable, considering that they’re an audio beast. The Z623 may look like a typical set of speakers, but the subwoofer produces a powerful, deep sound that can easily be adjusted up or down based on your preference. As a bonus, these speakers have an impressive soundstage – with great highs and mids – making for an extremely immersive gaming and movie audio experience.
The Logitech G560 speakers are one of the best computer speakers for gaming. When it comes to computer accessories, Logitech is a household name. However, the G560 takes the company’s speaker prowess up a level. These are the first Logitech computer speakers created specifically for gaming, and the manufacturer’s hard work has more than paid off. The Logitech G560 speakers are, without a doubt, one of the best computer speakers for gaming. Not only do they have RGB lighting – a must for gaming peripherals in 2020 – but through Logitech’s software, the multi-colored illumination can adjust to any kind of content you consume for a more brilliant, not to mention mesmerizing, experience.
The Razer Nommo Pro has a lot to offer and is definitely a sound investment. The Razer Nommo Pro may have an amusing name and a uniquely funky look, but make no mistake, these are a quality set of speakers that must be taken very seriously, and not only because of its hefty price. Try to combat the urge to run in the opposite direction of that $500 price tag, the Razer Nommo Pro has a lot to offer and is definitely a sound investment. There’s the thundering down-firing subwoofer that’ll blow you away, and then there’s the Razer Chroma feature, making these speakers look just as great as they sound. There are definitely more reasonably priced computer speakers out there, but with this level of quality, the Razer Nommo Pro is worth the cost of entry.
The Harman Kardon Soundsticks III speaker and sub combo features booming bass. Sure, the Harmon Kardon Soundsticks III may look like a bloom of jellyfish. These translucent computer speakers look more like a modern art installation protesting rising ocean temperatures, but you’ll appreciate them once you hit that power button. These are certainly an excellent speaker system that belong on our best computer speakers list. This speaker and sub combo features booming bass, thanks to its woofer, as well as detailed highs. Finally, you get that amazing sound at a good price, making it ideal for music fans with a mid-range budget.
Edifier E25 Luna Eclipse offers a powerful but well-controlled bass, as well as great balanced sound. The Edifier E25 Luna Eclipse is a staggering speaker setup that not only has an enticing design, but also sounds terrific. It’s meant for folks who like a lot of rumbling and booming bass. The Luna, which comes in red, white and black colors, offers a powerful but well-controlled bass, as well as great balance with sharp mids and good stereo separation. It even includes a nifty little remote control so you don’t have to get up if you’re feeling lazy. The Luna Eclipse are some of the best computer speakers out there, especially if you like to pump up the volume with little to no distortion.
AudioEngine HD3 Wireless Speakers have USB Audio and Dual Analog Audio Inputs. Wireless speakers might not make the cut for gaming, where every millisecond counts, but that’s why you should opt for the AudioEngine HD 3. The beauty of these speakers is that it offers the best of both worlds. They’ve only got about 30ms of latency when using the wireless connection, so latency is practically negligible as far as listening to audio, watching videos and doing casual gaming. For competitive gamers, these also have USB Audio and Dual Analog Audio Inputs, not to mention subwoofer output for that extra rumble. And, since it is made by AudioEngine, you know the sound quality is top-notch.
The THX-certified Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 THX boasts a wide frequency range of 31Hz to 20kHz and detailed audio quality. The Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 speaker system offers fantastic, versatile sound. This means regardless of whether you’re listening to music, watching movies or gaming, you’re getting the best computer speaker experience. These THX-certified speakers boast a lot of power, a wide frequency range of 31Hz to 20kHz, and detailed audio quality with strong bass, maximum clarity and great balance. When we say it’s powerful enough to replicate that home theater quality in your living room, we’re not exaggerating. The best part is that the price is very reasonable.
The Edifier M3200 comes in a unique form. Edifier has always been a trusted name in audio, so it’s no surprise that it’s making a two-time appearance on this list. Just like the E25 Luna Eclipse, the Edifier M3200 comes in a unique form – that of an hourglass – because why the heck not? And, just like the E25, this audio speaker system boasts audiophile-level sound. It also comes with a magnetically shielded subwoofer with 5½ inch driver for richer, deeper bass whether you’re gaming or watching The Witcher. What’s more, that price that’s less than $100/£100 is perfect for budget gamers.
The Mackie CR4BT promises professional-grade performance. The Mackie CR4BT promises professional-grade performance. True, it has its share of drawbacks – including a weaker mid-range and bass that cut off at 70 Hz, meaning while there’s good bass presence, you might be missing that extra low stuff. However, they do sound great for a premium pair of speakers, and the pros include the acoustic foam pads to isolate the speakers from the surface below it, as well as the front auxiliary input. These aren’t your run-of-the-mill peripherals; they are the best computer speakers if you do a lot of multimedia creation and production-related work.
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| Why the legacy of this crisis will be a positive change to the way we work Posted: 02 Apr 2020 12:00 PM PDT While we are all still adapting to the dramatic and unparalleled impact that the ongoing pandemic is having on our professional and personal lives, it is worth considering how much of this influence is temporary and which aspects mark a long-term shift in working practices and behaviours as we currently know them. Rightly so, the focus of global governments and business leaders is on the health crisis element of the pandemic, with the number one priority being saving lives. Yet in time, it will turn to addressing the impact of the economic and social crisis that has beset our global economies and daily lives, with an emphasis on getting “back to normal” as fast as we can.
But will we want everything to get 'back to normal'?Already there has been glimpses of some positive impacts of the global shut down: clear skies over the previously permanently polluted Wuhan, wildlife returning to the waterways in Venice, a fresh respect and increased resources for our health services everywhere, freshly bolstered technology, and a sense of businesses and communities coming together to help each other at a time of crisis. Let’s look at six ways in which our working lives might also change for the better long-term. 1) Employee experience becomes a thing, and can’t be ignored Having had it forced on them in a crisis, companies will need to take employee experience much more seriously from now on. This means not only providing employees with the right tools and technologies to do their job but also designing remote ways of working with reference to their needs; making their working experience richer and more rewarding as well as productive. Prior to Covid-19, employees were selecting employers who were able to offer a positive work experience including flexible benefits, modern working practices and a healthy culture. Post Covid-19 you can add the right tools and sustainable home working to that list. If you haven’t prioritised employee experience as a business you may find yourself struggling to attract the top talent. 2) Video and collaboration tools become mainstream, and will get better Video conferencing and collaboration tools have existed for some time, but many companies have proved reluctant to adopt them on a mass scale. During the next few months, a broad range of tools and technologies will be experimented with by those who have not needed to use them before. Whilst Slack and Microsoft Teams will be more commonly known as communication tools, others which allow collaboration and workflow management such as Miro, Mural, Jira and Tableau are likely to take centerstage, as businesses work out how to fulfil the role of meeting and collaborative working spaces in a remote digital environment. These tools are great, but they have tended to be used by the creative and technology parts of the business, not used organisation-wide as a means of communication and co-working. They were not necessarily designed to cope with the demands of company-wide meetings, or formal new business presentations, or creative thinking workshops. This means providers need to move fast to bolster the technological infrastructure underpinning them, and build out the use cases to make the experience even better. My recommendation to software providers and businesses using these tools is to capture all pain points or niggles they have had with these tools, as this knowledge can be used to design better solutions, fit for the “new normal”. Considerations include coping with large numbers of participants, providing branded backgrounds, using video for important formal meetings when everyone is in a different home office, better lighting and cameras, more robust underlying technology, variable speed etc. These are small things, but they will be important to get right if we are to adopt these tools more in the future. 3) New ways to keep culture thriving Whilst individually we may be finding this sudden move to work from home weird, isolating and unnatural, there will be new creative ways to connect with colleagues and friends. Already we see groups gathering virtually for drinks or to watch a common Netflix stream. We’re like to see services develop more features which recreate experiences you’d share with friends but from home. Companies are retaining their virtual “cake Fridays” and similar social conventions. Likewise, Slack has lots of applications which stimulate contact with colleagues. We will see more people unite over common hobbies as they seek ways to feel less isolated and more engaged. 4) Spot and plug the gaps in our business continuity plans The Covid-19 outbreak has resulted in a widespread adoption of home working, a ceasing of business travel, and the temporary closure of organisations worldwide. Business in general has hitherto proved resistant to experiment with wholescale remote working or even truly flexible working policies, but the next few months will test business continuity plans and their ability to protect staff at the same time as maintaining operational effectiveness. I believe, the businesses that use this as an opportunity to test and learn, and then build those learnings into their future operating models will be the businesses that recover faster when the lock down ends. 5) Remote working is here to stay, so let’s make it work brilliantly Vital lessons will be learnt on how to effectively manage and support large numbers of remote workers, across the full range of functions, for the very first time. Banks and insurers are working out how to provide call centre capabilities when operators work from home, and how they respect client data in that process. This means thinking hard about workflows, home environments and information security. For example, some companies are giving team members new encrypted devices but what about the risk of that data being exposed to the people they live with in close quarters? Large IT project teams will also work out the protocols and processes required to continue working effectively in agile methodologies when all its members are at home. Necessity now lays the groundwork for more opportunity in the future. Companies will start to see that there are cost advantages to having fewer offices and more people working from home, and some of us as employees will prefer that too, resulting in some businesses putting in place permanent flexible working policies that work for both parties. 6) Business travel may be a thing of the past Organisations that have to put a temporary ban on business travel will discover new ways to connect, work and make decisions across international locations, virtually. They will be amazed at the savings they make, both on travel and time, and they will note the continuity in projects being delivered, sales being made and business functionality. Questions will be raised as to whether businesses will want to go back to supporting face-to-face meetings with the high cost of international and domestic business travel. Plus, we are already starting to see the positive environmental impact of our decreased carbon footprint. Importance of learningThe learning we all do now, whether as an individual employee or a business, will be critical to understanding and designing better working practices, culture, tools and technologies in the future. This is a time for product and service designers to step up and create wholesale changes to the way we organise ourselves, and the way in which the tools and technologies that we use are improved to help us operate better, both for the employee and for the business. This is not just to get ready for any further situations like the Covid-19 outbreak that may lie in the future, but because there are many business, social and environmental benefits to be had in adopting these new ways of working on a permanent basis. Peter Ballard is Founding Partner at Foolproof
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| FCC may open up new bandwidth for Wi-Fi 6E devices Posted: 02 Apr 2020 11:55 AM PDT The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) could end up opening the 6GHz band for unlicensed Wi-Fi use as it has announced that a proposal to do so will be voted on later this month. Doing this would free up over 1,200MHz of additional bandwidth for upcoming Wi-Fi 6E devices which will include the necessary antennas and chipsets required to tap into the extra spectrum. The FCC laid out its plans to open up the 6GHz band in an announcement, which reads:
"To accommodate that increase in Wi-Fi demand, the FCC is aiming to increase the supply of Wi-Fi spectrum with our boldest initiative yet: making the entire 6GHz band available for unlicensed use. By doing this, we would effectively increase the amount of spectrum available for Wi-Fi almost by a factor of five. This would be a huge benefit to consumers and innovators across the nation. It would be another step toward increasing the capacity of our country's networks. And it would help advance even further our leadership in next generation wireless technologies, including 5G." 6GHz bandThe 6GHz band has the capacity to accommodate up to seven 160MHz channels at once as it provides more than twice as much bandwidth as the 5GHz band used by today's Wi-Fi devices. Latency will also be a lot lower on the new 6GHz band as there won't be any older Wi-Fi devices using the spectrum. At the 8th Annual Americas Spectrum Management Conference last year, FCC chairman Ajit Pai voiced his support for opening the 6GHz band for unlicensed Wi-Fi use, saying: "This band is currently populated by microwave services that are used to support utilities, public safety and wireless backhaul. But studies have shown that sharing this band with unlicensed operations is feasible, and can put massive amounts of new spectrum into the hands of consumers." Currently the 6GHz band is used for emergency broadcasts and microwave transmissions but a great deal of work has been done to demonstrate that unlicensed Wi-Fi usage won't interfere with the existing traffic on the spectrum.
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| iPad deal alert: the latest model Apple iPad gets an $80 price cut Posted: 02 Apr 2020 11:35 AM PDT If you're searching for at-home entertainment, a tablet can be a fantastic option, and luckily for you, we've found the latest model Apple iPad on sale. iPad deals:Interested in other iPad models? We've listed even more of the cheapest iPad deals and refurbished iPad sales. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| The Last of Us 2 delayed indefinitely due to ‘logistical concerns’ Posted: 02 Apr 2020 11:23 AM PDT The Last of Us Part II won’t make its May 29 launch date due to logistical concerns, Sony's PlayStation account announced today in a tweet. The Last of Us 2 was initially due to release on February 21, 2020 before shifting the release date to May 29, 2020. Sony has yet to announce a new new release date for the game, but said in a tweet that it will update fans as soon as it can. In a separate tweet, Naughty Dog, the game’s developer, expressed its disappointment with the delay but says the decision is out of its hands. The Last of Us 2 is expected to be one of the biggest PS4 releases of the year - so we expect this wasn't a decision Sony Interactive Entertainment, the video game publishing arm of the company, made lightly. A pandemic of epic proportionsNeither Sony nor Naughty Dog cite it directly, but the delay seems to come as a direct response to the issues caused by the outbreak of Covid-19. Both Naughty Dog and Sony say the game is almost finished and seemed to be on track for its May arrival, but they claim it's the logistical side slowing everything down. It's a similar problem other publishers have brushed up against - Square Enix had to ship some copies of Final Fantasy 7 Remake to countries early to reduce shipping congestion, for example – and we expect the novel coronavirus to create additional problems for the gaming world for the next few months as teams adapt to their new work flows. Everyone hopes that shipping delays and logistical issues would be less frequent as we move into the world of digital downloads – but sometimes, unfortunately, these issues are unavoidable.
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| Coronavirus became the catalyst for remote working. Here's what to do now Posted: 02 Apr 2020 11:04 AM PDT We’re living in strange times. Many countries are under stay-at-home orders, including most states in the U.S. and in the U.K. Employees are “flattening the curve” by working at home. That has presented several challenges for employees who have never worked at home or had to do remote work of any kind. It has also created challenges for employers. Questions about how to make sure employees work in a safe and healthy environment, have the tools they need, can stay productive and communicate with one another, and have a good work ethic even with frequent distractions are all rising to the surface. Fortunately, employers can encourage certain behaviors, switch to specific apps and services, and help employees stay productive during these dark times. These tips are divided into three sections related to health and safety, tools and services, and staying productive. They apply to most business functions, although they are geared for the typical home office worker. Health and safetyOne thing is clear about this new work environment: It took many of us by surprise. Employers who have allowed some telecommuting here and there are now faced with the idea of having an entire workforce that’s remote. That’s a bit easier if you run a company where everyone is on the web all day, not as workable if you make a product, run a service-oriented company, or normally meet in person with customers. While there will be major adjustments in every area for an employer and the employees, the best place to start is with health and safety. That’s because employers might not know what kind of work environment the employee has arranged. It might be in the basement of a house or a side room of an apartment. From a worker’s compensation standpoint, even if an employee works at home, the employer still has to make sure there is a safe and healthy place to work. An employer may also need to supply certain office products such as a business laptop, new business monitor to work with their desktop computer, or even a desk. The recommendation here is to communicate clearly what the company expects, whether that is in a written contract or other materials such as a website meant for workplace safety guidelines. It should be an urgent priority. If you do offer a health and safety website, even a basic portal, it’s also a good idea to have a place where an employee fills out a short form that ensures he or she has reviewed the guidelines set in place and checks a box to consent to the guidelines. At the very least, the website or contract should spell out what happens if the employee is hurt during office hours, who is responsible for equipment repairs, and how to create a safe place to work. Having employees submit photos of their home office is not a bad idea. Tools and servicesStandardizing on the tools, apps, software for laptops, services, and other logistics for work-at-home employees will help with communication. The pandemic snuck up on all of us and no one could have predicted this situation. For those in the U.K. and the U.S. who are on lockdown orders, it took a matter of only a week or two to realize it was necessary. Companies can now start addressing the work at home situation more diligently. Time is still compressed and there is an urgency about work in general, especially for employers who are concerned about long-term revenue opportunities. It’s still smart to communicate with employees about a standard set of business apps and tools, to set best practices, and to communicate about future plans. This might involve letting everyone know which collaborative software to use (such as Slack versus Microsoft Teams) and which video conferencing platform is preferred. This might evolve over time. Many companies are using Zoom for video chats, but there are now concerns about privacy and security with that app. The important point here is that employees will need to know which tools are “mission-critical” and approved. Helping employees stay productiveYou might say the two most important steps in developing a work-from-home strategy for employees are more direct -- it’s important to establish the guidelines and stick closely to them. Employee health and safety is paramount, as are the tools they use. In terms of helping with productivity, this is an ongoing endeavor. You might start with basic communication about what is expected, along with guidance and instruction. It is not about rule-keeping or enforcing regular hours, especially since that likely won’t work. What will work is regular communication that includes tips, helpful articles sent as links by email, a blog that informs rather than instructs, and daily or weekly check-ins by video with each and every employee. Staying productive is not a rigid and scientific activity; employees won’t suddenly snap into a more productive mode simply because there are new dictums from on high. Instead, what works is encouragement, guidance, tips, and assistance. This is also where apps and software can help. Using an app like Trello or Asana can help employers manage projects remotely. Both apps use a colorful, appealing interface that can help in times of stress. If an employer has normally used a more elaborate app during non-stressful times, it might be worth considering switching to a far easier app. Another example: Because there are so many digital distractions now, simplicity in communication will help. Employers could encourage everyone to communicate on Slack about work issues only, instead of text messages or even phone calls. This helps with productivity because employees won’t have to keep checking every possible communication channel and keep tabs on all of them. It means they can focus on actual action steps. Also remember that if you're using Microsoft 365, previously branded as Office 365, this is a SaaS-based cloud platform built for collaborative working that allows more than just the shared editing of files, but also comes with communications built in via Microsoft Teams, and other apps. In the end, communication is always at the center. Being clear about health and safety, the approved apps, and encouraging productivity will help relieve at least some of the confusion.
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| Finished Tiger King? 7 shows you should watch next on Netflix and Amazon Prime Posted: 02 Apr 2020 10:41 AM PDT We're now in a post-Tiger King world. You've probably read a million articles on what happened to the various people you met in Netflix's latest documentary series, which is about the wild life of big cat owner Joe Exotic. But now it's time to figure out what you'll watch next. Below, we've rounded up a few favorites that we think you'll want to see, now that Tiger King is done. All of them are on Netflix, except one, which you can stream on Amazon Prime. Not all of them are documentaries, either, as we've made recommendations based on specific elements of the show. Did you like the true crime elements of Tiger King? We've picked out some hits of that genre, even if the subject matter is vastly different in our selections. Do you like your documentaries with a bit of humor, or do you simply enjoy cats? We've based a few choices around those things too. Your first stop after this piece should be our list of the best Netflix documentaries, where you'll find a lot of great stuff to watch on the factual side. Wild Wild Country – if you want another wild ride
Where to stream it: Netflix If you loved how quickly Tiger King escalated, then you’re going to want to check out Wild Wild Country. Wild Wild Country is a docuseries about Indian guru (and controversial cult leader) Osho, who gathered such a huge number of followers in the ‘80s that he decided to build a utopia in Oregon to house them all. But this wasn’t just made up of tents and camp fires, this utopia was essentially a functioning city complete with an airport. But, of course, Osho’s practises weren’t exactly above board, and that’s when things get truly interesting. Wild Wild Country will have you wondering how the heck you (probably) never heard about this story before, and have you perplexed at the lengths some people will go to to become (and follow) powerful figures. American Vandal – if you liked the comedy
Where to stream it: Netflix Tiger King starts as a show about an eccentric with an eyebrow-raising number of big cats who seemingly just wants to be famous, before it gets darker. The overall ludicrousness of the Joe Exotic persona is one way the show gets you hooked. If you've not seen it yet, mockumentary series American Vandal should be your next stop, if you enjoyed this element of the show. The first season is set in a high school where pictures of penises are spray-painted onto every teacher's car, with one slightly wayward student taking the fall for the crime. Did he actually do it, though? The filmmakers in this excellent series investigate, and it's got as many twists and turns as any real true crime series. The second season, set in another school where the entire student body is afflicted by laxatives, is another wild ride with an unforgettable conclusion. Jenny Slate: Stage Fright – for a wacky biography
Where to stream it: Netflix Jenny Slate’s standup isn’t just funny – it’s otherworldly. In this hour-long comedy special for Netflix, Slate jokes about paranormal sightings in her childhood home, looking like Anne Frank as a child, and making love to the moon in one beautifully-twisted meditation on the self and way our identity is forged. It’s very, very weird – but the Netflix format gives us a look behind the scenes too, with interviews with her family and candid moments backstage to show the apparatus behind the fever-pitch humor we get to see onstage. Cats_The_Mewvie – if you need more cats
Where to stream it: Netflix The best part about Tiger King is all the b-roll footage of big cats, and if you want a long unbridled look at the best household pet animal, Cats_The_Mewvie is basically 90 minutes of videos of cats. Well, technically there’s a documentary somewhere here, looking at why cats are so popular in our lives and in online media, but if you can hear that over the ‘awww’ and ‘lookatit!’s of the audience, you really need to turn your TV down. The Devil Next Door – for true crime intrigue
Where to stream it: Netflix Perhaps one of the most suspenseful documentaries on Netflix right now, the Devil Next Door follows a Cleveland grandfather and retired autoworker who is accused of being a notoriously sadistic Nazi guard – known as Ivan the Terrible – at the Treblinka extermination camp during the Holocaust. The Devil Next Door sees John Demanjuk arrested, denaturalized as a US citizen, and extradited to Israel for what was one of the most highly publicized trials of the 20th century. If you loved Tiger King for its true crime intrigue, then The Devil Next Door should be the next show you add to your watch list, even if the subject matter is very different. Dark Days – if you like documentaries that seem too strange to be true
Where to stream it: Amazon Prime Video Ever heard of a documentary premise that appears so outlandish that it couldn’t possible be true? Then only to watch the film and find out the harrowing truth? That’s Dark Days in a nutshell. It’s an unbelievable look at New York City’s homeless community at the turn of the millennium, where a forgotten cohort of rough sleepers have established a literal underground community in a shanty town in the city’s abandoned subway lines. Living their days without sunlight, it’s an eye-opening, often sad, look at what happens to those that society turns its back on. An excellent DJ Shadow soundtrack complements the black-and-white footage. Making a Murderer – arguably the greatest Netflix documentary series
Where to stream it: Netflix Making a Murderer was the first big Netflix true crime documentary to really capture the public's attention, sparking wider interest in the genre. Exploring the question of guilt or innocence of the convicted Steven Avery for the murder of young photographer Teresa Halbach, you could argue this show has created a frenzy for the genre that borders on the unhealthy. It's very different to Tiger King in tone and seriousness, as you'd expect. Making a Murderer remains the best true crime documentary on Netflix. You've got two seasons to watch here if you somehow haven't seen it already, and it's very well-made. Be sure to read more background materials on the case once you're done watching. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| IBM Watson can answer all your coronavirus questions Posted: 02 Apr 2020 10:28 AM PDT In order to help government agencies, academic institutions and healthcare organizations handle the influx of calls and messages regarding the coronavirus, IBM has announced that it will provide a bundle of Watson services for free. The company will combine Watson Assistant, which uses IBM Research's natural language processing technology, with Watson Discovery to create IBM Watson Assistant for Citizens. The new Watson suite will be available online and on smartphones and will be free for at least 90 days. According to IBM, wait times for coronavirus-related questions are exceeding two hours, so the company believes that using AI via Watson may be able to help speed up response times. In a press release, general manager of IBM data and AI, Rob Thomas explained how AI can be used to get critical information out to citizens, saying:
"While helping government agencies and healthcare institutions use AI to get critical information out to their citizens remains a high priority right now, the current environment has made it clear that every business in every industry should find ways to digitally engage with their clients and employees. With today's news, IBM is taking years of experience in helping thousands of global businesses and institutions use Natural Language Processing and other advanced AI technologies to better meet the demands of their constituents, and now applying it to the COVID-19 crisis. AI has the power to be your assistant during this uncertain time." Watson Assistant for CitizensWatson Assistant for Citizens is available on IBM's public cloud and the digital assistant ingests data from a number of sources including the US Centers for Disease Control & Prevention as well as local authorities such as states, cities and school districts. The new service will be available in English, Spanish and 11 other languages and will come with 15 pre-trained coronavirus intents. The Watson services are available in the US but they have also been used in the Czech Republic, Finland, Greece, Italy, Poland, Spain and the UK. Some of the organizations using Watson Assistant for Citizens include the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, County of Ostego in New York, City of Austin in Texas, the UK National Health Service Wales and the Polish Ministry of Health.
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| LG's 48-inch OLED TV is coming – but it needs to be cheaper Posted: 02 Apr 2020 10:00 AM PDT LG's first 48-inch OLED TV is on the cusp of release, and we finally have a price tag for the compact OLED – but, sadly, it's not as cheap as we'd hoped. The LG CX OLED is this year's successor to the LG C9 – a brilliantly capable television that topped a huge number of our buying guides (best OLED TVs, best 55-inch TVs, etc) last year. We caught wind of the set's 48-inch model a few months ago, and ever since we've been eagerly awaiting a retail price to put next to the (relatively) small TV. So, how much does it cost? The 48-inch CX OLED will cost £1,499 – around $1,860 / AU$3,100 by current conversion rates. That's a decent £300 lower than the 55-inch, and likely to lower over the coming year, but is still nowhere near cheap enough to meaningfully shake up people's buying habits for OLED displays. Admittedly, we only have the UK pricing, for now, but it doesn't bode well for those wanting an affordable OLED in 2020. A missed opportunityPreviously, the cheapest LG OLED available has been the B Series, such as the LG B9 OLED we reviewed last year. When we got word of a 48-inch OLED model, our immediate hope was that it could bring OLED TV prices below £1,000 / $1,000 (around AU$1,700) and finally drop OLED sets within reach of those with smaller budgets. Sadly, that isn't the case. At the moment, it looks like the 48-inch CX is going to cost roughly the same as the 55-inch BX OLED, which feels like a pointless overlap to have pursued. There are certainly issues of cost involved for LG, given the need to create new production lines for the smaller 48-inch size, which won't yet have been scaled up to a large size. It may also be the case that LG doesn't want to undersell the model as something inferior, or reduce its profit margins for a size it doesn't know for sure people want. But we can't shake the feeling that a 48-inch model of the BX would have been the best thing for consumers – helping to lower the price barrier at the very bottom of LG's OLED range. As it is, this reduction and size and cost for the CX isn't as tempting or game-changing as we hoped it would be.
The pricing for the LG BX OLED has yet to be revealed Is there hope for cheap OLEDs yet?Yes! For one, we haven't received official pricing for the LG BX, in any territory. It may be the cheapest OLED in the range does do what the 48-inch CX model couldn't, and offer a real bargain for a decent OLED display. This is also the first 48-inch OLED that LG has put out, and we could well see more TV series get this smaller size in 2021 – or somewhat unexpectedly in late 2020. The pricing of this model is likely to drop by the Black Friday sales later this year, too, though likely won't drop to a three-figure sum. This is really just the start of 48-inch OLEDs, and they may need time to realize their potential for bringing OLED into many more people's homes. The cheapest OLED you can buy currently is the Hisense O8B, at just £999 (around $1,200 / AU$2,050) in the UK, though for a baseline of quality you'll really want to go for whatever LG OLED you can afford. LG has misstep slightly, though, in picking the CX over the BX – and not offering the price drop it could have.
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| Apex Legends gets duos mode and map rotation permanently from next week Posted: 02 Apr 2020 10:00 AM PDT Apex Legends is getting duos mode permanently from April 7, EA and Respawn have revealed. Map rotation for both duos and trios is coming on the same date for Kings Canyon and World's Edge, which is also a permanent change. While duos and the old Kings Canyon map have featured in the game as limited time events in the past, this marks a major difference in the flexibility of the free-to-play FPS. Could it have been caused by the increased competition of Call of Duty: Warzone? Either way, we're delighted, as it'll make playing the game with friends a little easier. This isn't all players can look forward to from Apex on April 7. A new Bloodhound-themed lore event called The Old Ways kicks off then too, with an area in the northwest region of World's Edge becoming home to Bloodhound's Trials. Here, players will fight prowlers, which sound like NPC enemies from what we've been told, to get high-tier loot. Obviously, the prowlers won't be the only threat, with other players no doubt rushing for the same rewards. That should make it a little quieter on the train in World's Edge for a few days, thank god. A new set of daily challenges will accompany The Old Ways event, as well as event-specific DLC items that players can buy. It's hinted that you'll benefit during the event if you've got Bloodhound in your team, which makes sense. The Old Ways runs from April 7-21, and there are more details here. Here's the trailer:
Apex gets better and betterWe're not sure when Apex season 5 begins, but we've thoroughly enjoyed our time with the game during season 4. This kind of change just gives players more ways to enjoy Respawn's FPS. If you've been playing with one friend, and find yourself frustrated by the consistency of random teammates you're grouped with in trios, you never have to worry about that again. Having two maps in rotation is a treat, too, especially for players coming to the game who didn't experience earlier seasons of Apex. Call of Duty: Warzone is the big new show in town, but there's more than enough room for both. And they're each free. What a time to be alive.
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| How to watch Crisis on Infinite Earths: order and online streaming details Posted: 02 Apr 2020 09:29 AM PDT Featuring the greatest superheroes from the DC Comics canon, Arrowverse crossovers are now major events in the calendar of any TV fan and we're here to tell you how to watch Crisis on Infinite Earths in order this year. Running across a number of the best superhero shows, Crisis on Infinite Earths is comprised of five episodes - one each of Supergirl, Batwoman, The Flash, Arrow, and DC's Legends of Tomorrow. We don't want to spoil anything for you, but it's safe to say the superheroes are really up against it this year as the Anti-Monitor seeks to destroy the entire multiverse. Whether you're a hardened DC Comics fan or simply looking for an easy way to get hooked on a new show, here's how to watch Crisis on Infinite Earths online and stream the crossover in the correct order - including all the free viewing options around.
How to watch Crisis on Infinite Earths from outside your countryIf you're trying to access streaming content from the likes of The CW or NOW TV from abroad, you'll almost certainly be unable to due to geo-blocking restrictions. But there's an easy and perfectly legal workaround. Downloading one of the best VPNs will allow you to watch Crisis on Infinite Earths in order no matter where you are. This simple bit of software changes your IP address so that you can access episodes live or on demand just like you would at home, making streaming The CW and NOW TV for free a viable option from anywhere in the world. Watch Crisis on Infinite Earths: part 1 - SupergirlCrisis on Infinite Earths kicks off with Supergirl season 5, episode 9 as the Monitor and Harbinger assemble the world's greatest superheroes to take on the Anti-Monitor.
Watch Crisis on Infinite Earths: part 2 - BatwomanCrisis on Infinite Earths: part 2 is Batwoman season 1, episode 9 - but it's a tricky one, especially for folks in the UK. That's because Batwoman has only just started airing on E4 in the UK and episode 9 isn't due to drop until May, messing up the running order as otherwise dictated by Sky. Folks in the US have it easier, though, as at the time of writing, it was still available to stream for free via The CW's website.
Watch Crisis on Infinite Earths: part 3 - The FlashNext you want to watch The Flash season 6, episode 9, which is easy in the UK but has stopped streaming for free on the US on The CW's website. That means you'll have to buy it, unless you're in the States from abroad in which case using a VPN will allow you to re-locate yourself to locations like the UK where other streaming options may be available.
Watch Crisis on Infinite Earths: part 4 - ArrowKeep watching Crisis on Infinite Earths in order by making for Arrow season 8, episode 8, which can currently be watched for free in both the US and UK.
Watch Crisis on Infinite Earths: part 5 - Legends of TomorrowGetting things underway in style, DC's Legends of Tomorrow season 5 kicks-off with the final instalment of Crisis on Infinite Earths - so you want Legends of Tomorrow season 5, episode 1 to finish watching this year's Arrowverse crossover in the correct order. It first airs in the UK Thursday, April 2 on Sky One at 8pm - after which it'll land on the network's more affordable streaming sibling, NOW TV. In the US, you'll have to pay for it.
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