Apple : Android Q release date, new features and everything you need to know |
- Android Q release date, new features and everything you need to know
- AMD Radeon RX 5700 vs RX 5700 XT: what's the best AMD GPU for you?
- Over 1,300 Android apps scrape personal data regardless of permissions
- Microsoft ‘still considering’ a $60 xCloud streaming console
- Leading forensics firm reportedly pays ransomware demand
- Why managed web hosting is better for businesses
- Buying a web hosting service? Check these 9 tips
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- Choosing a web hosting service? Then avoid these common mistakes
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| Android Q release date, new features and everything you need to know Posted: 08 Jul 2019 01:37 PM PDT We got a lot of information about Android Q at Google IO 2019, and the keynote confirmed several rumors we've already heard ahead of the operating system's release date. Yes, the Android Q update isn't slated to come out until August, but right now you can download and install Android Q beta 4 and enjoy a few minor tweaks from beta 3, mostly for dark mode, and bug fixes. As this Android Developers Blog post explains, the beta 4 release collects the final Android Q APIs and official SDK before the full Android Q launch later in the summer. Exciting! We know that Dark Theme, the long-awaited system-wide dark mode, is the biggest shift from Android Pie. We're also seeing the Android 10 Q beta launch on non-Pixel phones, though we're expecting it to launch on Google's first-party handsets before the others, like previous Android releases. What else is new with Android Q? We've got a working features list below, based on what we've tested in the ongoing beta and and saw at Google IO. Cut to the chase
Android Q release date
Google's Android Q developer beta is already here – at least if you own one of 23 of the compatible Android Q beta phones, including all Pixel phones to the OnePlus 6T.
Even the Essential Phone got the update. We'll have to see if the OnePlus 7 gets added to the Android Q list on May 14 when the phone will launch worldwide. The Android 10 Q release date timeline (Image credit: Google) Google has outlined six stages to its six-month-long beta process, including the initial release, three incremental updates, one update with final APIs and the official SDK, and then two release candidates. That's all before the final version of Android 10. Its monthly updates should give us an official Android Q release date in August, and historically, that's when we've seen the final update launch in past Android versions. But that doesn't mean every Android phone will have Android Q by August. The roll out to other Android phones will happen throughout 2019 and even into 2020, as various manufacturers add their own features and interfaces to the operating system. There's a chance you'll have to wait months after the initial Android Q release before you see the OS update on your device. Android Q: what's newWe're getting a better idea of the new Android Q features to come thanks to the beta of Google's mobile operating system. Additional features and bug fixes have come with beta 3 and we expect the same from Android Q beta 4 in early June. Some of the changes are confirmed, while others remain rumors. Here's what you can expected ahead of the official Android Q release date in August. Image Credit: TechRadar Android Q won't have Android BeamOne feature Android Q won't have is Android Beam, the NFC peer-to-peer sharing method when two devices are nearby. Placing phones back-to-back will do nothing in the beta and final software, we confirmed at Google IO. Will Google replace Android Beam with another peer-to-peer sharing method? That remains to be seen. We may have to wait until the final Android Q release date to see it, or maybe when the Google Pixel 4 launches (excepted in October). Closing privacy loopholesA report from the International Computer Science Institute found that over 1,300 apps on the US Google Play Store routinely scraped personal data from users even if explicitly denied by relevant permissions settings. Appmakers have been using multiple clever workarounds to get the info they wanted: if a user set their permissions to not share location data, the apps took their MAC address from routers connected to the phone. They stored the device-identifying IMEI number accessed by one app and shared it with others. They even determined user locations with image metadata. Google is reportedly fixing these issues with the full release of Android Q in August, though presumably not in any planned beta beforehand. Android Q beta 2 foldables emulator (Image credit: Google) Foldable supportAndroid Q is preparing for foldable phones in 2019, or "foldables and innovative new screens," according to the Android Developers Blog post. The Samsung Galaxy Fold – while it was in our hands briefly – seamlessly switched between the folded and unfolded screen states. By Google natively supporting this type of UI continuity in the backend, it'll likely come to more foldable phones when they launch with Android Q onboard. For developers, Android Q beta 2 includes a 'foldables emulator' in Android Studio 3.5, according to Dave Burke, Google's VP of Engineering. Android Q 'bubbles' multitaskingYou've seen the bubbles UI before if you've used Facebook Messenger chat heads. It's an easy way to keep active conversations on-screen as small floating profile pics, while going about your normal tasks in the rest of the interface. You can tap the pic when you want to switch back to the conversation. Google is supporting this idea throughout Android Q and calling it a new way to multitask. So far, its examples are coming to Messages and Hangouts. But Google is reducing development time, interactivity consistency, and user privacy safeguards, so expect to see it in additional apps outside of Google's ecosystem. Dark Theme, the system-wide dark modeThere's a system-wide dark mode coming to Android Q and it's called Dark Theme. We've tested in out at Google IO and it works as intended, but needs to roll out to more of the menus. So far it's limited to the settings menu. It's very early. You'll be able to trigger Dark Theme in two different ways, and both are in the notification shade. The first way is with a dedication Dark Theme quick settings button that switches between the default Light Theme and new Dark Theme. The second way is to turn on a Battery Saver mode, which automatically turns on Android Q Dark Theme. This is a boon for phones with OLED screens, which will burn fewer pixels by essentially turning off pixels in regions of the display that are intentionally black. New Android Q privacy featuresThe Android Developer Blog post announcing the developer beta confirmed a heavy emphasis on boosting privacy in Android Q, a focus that was reaffirmed in the Google IO 2019 keynote. Users will have more control over app access to location info, shared files and repositories like Photos and Videos. Another helpful change: instead of apps automatically switching focus when they have an Activity in the background (like an alarm or call), appmakers can opt to send high-priority notifications first. Android Q beta 3 also introduced a new feature – Scoped Storage – which allows users to control how apps access external storage (say, in a MicroSD card). It will also better protect users from being identified by restricting access to non-resettable device identifiers, like your phone's serial number and/or IMEI, and randomizing its MAC address when connected to different Wi-Fi networks. These might be some of the most onerous changes for developers in Android Q, which is why, as the Android Developers Blog post reads: "We are bringing these changes to you early, so you can have as much time as possible to prepare." Project Mainline: security updates in the backgroundAnother new endeavor announced at Google IO 2019 is Project Mainline, which enables Android devs to update critical parts of Android (so-called 'modules') without a full software package – and critically, without a full update from OEMs. These surgical upgrades download in the background from Google Play and load them up whenever the phone next reboots. They will mainly be used to improve privacy and security, though the Android Developers Blog post also mentions game developers will use it to update modules for consistent platform implementation. All devices that can run Android Q will be able to get Project Mainline. 5GAndroid Q has some particular tricks up its sleeve for 5G. New APIs will enable apps to detect user connection rate and latency, as well as detect if the connection is metered. This will give developers more refined control over how much data to send to users, especially when they have poorer connections or have data-downloading limits. Live Caption, and moreOne of several accessibility features announced at Google IO 2019, Live Caption does what it says on the tin – captioning video and audio in real-time. The feature doesn't require an internet connection, transcribing text from the device's own speech recognition and NLP. On the Google IO 2019 stage, we saw Live Caption used in combination with Live Transcribe to input incoming audio to text, then have a user text a response which was spoken. In the demonstration, the combo – called Live Relay – allows a texting user to interact on a phone call without ever speaking a word. The last accessibility feature coming to Android Q is Project Euphonia, which aims to improve Android's verbal recognition to better process words spoken by users with speech impediments. Developer tools for apps: system settings, connectivity, media and moreDevelopers will be able to show contextually-important system settings within their apps, which harnesses the 'Slices' feature that came in Android 9 Pie. So instead of having to navigate to Settings to switch on Airplane Mode or toggle Wi-Fi or Mobile Data on/off, say, you'll be able to do that right within your mobile browser. There are also tweaks to connectivity, including 'adaptive Wi-Fi' that enables high performance/low latency modes, which would be useful for things like online gaming or voice calls. Like all the depth and blur in Pixel camera software? In Android Q, apps can request depth data (JPEG + XMP metadata + depth and confidence map) to, say, offer "specialized blurs and bokeh options in your app," as the Android post suggests. "You can even use the data to create 3D images or support AR photography use-cases in the future." Android Q will also support more multimedia codecs: AV1 to let media providers stream high-quality video, Opus for audio encoding, and HDR10+ for high dynamic range video "on devices that support it" – like, say, the Samsung Galaxy S10 family. As for gaming, the Android Q beta enhances support for OpenGL along with bug fixes and more functionality. More permissions to preserve privacyAndroid Q will revamp permissions, from the general to specific, and we've heard that users will be able to better view what info they've shared. Here's what we don't know for sure, but have heard about: per the aforementioned XDA Developers leak, users will be able to look at a broad overview of which apps they've given permission for certain things, like location or microphone access. There's a search function that lets you filter by permission item, allowing you to quickly see which apps you've given access to your camera, contacts, location and so on. You can also look at permissions each app has been granted and toggle them individually to set whether access is off, on, or only on while the app is open. Developer toolsThere are plenty of new developer tools described by the XDA leak, but it's not clear how all of them will function. Freeform windows return, which lets you enable them after pressing and holding an app icon in the recent apps overview. On the other hand, XDA also found a feature called "Game Updates Package Preference" whose purpose is a bit of a mystery. Another, titled "force desktop mode," seems like it would push Android to an external display, Samsung DeX-style. Not all of the UI is finished, either, making some features – like screen recording – not totally comprehensible. Face ID-style authentication for logins and purchasesAnother dive into the developer build XDA Developers acquired revealed the OS might get a feature iOS users have bragged about for awhile: Face ID. The next version of Android might support phones packing the hardware to use facial scans for authentication. It's unclear just how it will work, or if it would combine sensor readings for a comprehensive scan of facial features. But we did get hints via error codes in one of the OS' APK, which variably tell the user to move the phone in different directions for the device to get a better look at their face. Other strings of code found by XDA are also promising, like one that blatantly informs users they can "Use your face to unlock your phone, authorize purchases, or sign in to apps." Whether phones will be able to use Face ID is another story: they need to have the hardware installed – whether that's sensors or the right specs – for the feature to work. Goodbye back button, hello (only to) gesture controlsWhile recent Android phones from different brands have tried to push their own gesture controls for years, the OS has always kept its static three-button navigation as an option. Those days might be at an end as that XDA preview build showed only gesture controls, per Tom's Guide. From the looks of it, users may only be able to use the navigation system present in the Google Pixel 3: a small pill at the bottom of the screen that you can swipe in the cardinal directions to get around. It's key to note that Android allows brands to develop their own navigation methods and systems to go along with their overlays, so it's very unlikely that this will be the only way to navigate. This build is also a bit out of date, so who knows if something as integral as OS movement would be finalized that far out. Anything else?There were a couple other additional Android 10 odds and ends from that XDA leak, including a pair of new accessibility settings. Both apply to how long notification messages stay up, and seemingly apply to different kinds of notifications. The first are for "messages that ask you to take action," while the other apparently refers to notifications that pop up with simple reminders. You can toggle these to stay up between 30 seconds and 2 minutes. We're also seeing official support for HDR10+. A few phones this year, including the Samsung Galaxy S10 series, support the codec, and expect that trend to continue as Android Q launches on new devices. That's all we've seen for now, but new details will surely come up in the coming beta versions, at Google IO 2019 in May and from any leaks in between.
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| AMD Radeon RX 5700 vs RX 5700 XT: what's the best AMD GPU for you? Posted: 08 Jul 2019 12:35 PM PDT Right now, we're having a tough time thinking of a better time to buy a new graphics card, thanks in large part to the new Nvidia Super RTX graphics cards, and of course, AMD Navi. Why's that? Well, before the AMD Radeon RX 5700 and RX 5700 XT, we've never seen graphics cards this affordable that can provide such amazing performance in this price range. But, no matter how awesome these graphics cards are, it can be hard to decide once and for all which AMD graphics card is best for you – especially when they're priced so closely together. Luckily, here at TechRadar we've spent an inordinate amount of time obsessing over the best graphics card, so we can help you decide whether to go with the AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT or the Radeon RX 5700. The dent in the RX 5700 XT is supposed to be there Price and specificationsThe AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT and Radeon RX 5700 are actually priced extremely close to one another - there's just a $50 (about £40, AU$70) difference between the two, at $399 (about £315, AU$580) and $349 (about £275, AU$500), respectively. And, because the AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT offers 4 more compute units, with just 256 more stream processors, you're paying 13% more for just 9% more raw horsepower. However, because the AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT has a higher "game clock" at 1,755 MHz vs the 5700's 1,525MHz, you should be getting a bit more performance out of the more expensive graphics card. However beyond clock speeds and stream processors, these two graphics cards are essentially the same. On both the AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT and Radeon RX 5700, you're getting 64 ROP units, 8GB of GDDR6 VRAM clocked at 14Gbps. Just based on the specs, the AMD Radeon RX 5700 easily comes out on top – $50 might not seem like a lot, but that's most of a new PC game. Plus, you get the same bonus 3-month subscription to Xbox Games Pass on PC with either one. All the ports you'll need in the AMD Radeon RX 5700 PerformanceIn terms of raw performance, the AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT is definitely the winner... but not by much. In our testing, the AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT is between 4-11% faster than the AMD Radeon RX 5700. Again, when you're paying 13% more for the faster card, that small of a delta in performance just doesn't make much sense. For instance, in Metro Exodus at 4K Ultra settings, the AMD Radeon RX 5700 averaged 29 fps, compared to the Radeon RX 5700 XT's 30 fps. That's literally one frame more for $50. In synthetic benchmarks the spread is a little more noticeable. In TimeSpy Extreme, for instance, the Radeon RX 5700 XT scored 4,119 points, compared to the 5700's 3,753. That's a 9% performance difference, but that's still a bit small for the price difference. On the other side of things, that performance delta also comes with a difference in power draw and temperatures. The AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT drew as much as 197 watts, while the RX 5700 topped out at 153W – 23% less power than the XT. At the end of the day, the AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT is the more powerful graphics card, but for most people we'd recommend the AMD Radeon RX 5700 instead. That $50 price difference likely isn't worth that small of a performance uplift. It wouldn't be a flagship without a pretty box AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT vs AMD Radeon RX 5700: which should you buy?We couldn't be happier that AMD Navi has finally arrived, but in our eyes it's easy to see that the Radeon RX 5700 is simply the better value for most people. That said, both of these cards will get you absolutely amazing performance at 1440p, and both have the same amount of VRAM and memory speed. If you're looking for the best possible performance out of the two, the AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT is the obvious winner – it's going to be around 10% faster most of the time. But, if you ask us, the best graphics card for most people is one that balances excellent performance with great value, and the winner there is easily the AMD Radeon RX 5700. Still, either of these cards will give you a great 1440p PC gaming experience, so you really can't go wrong – it's just a question of what you want to spend that extra 50 bucks or quid on.
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| Over 1,300 Android apps scrape personal data regardless of permissions Posted: 08 Jul 2019 12:30 PM PDT Smartphone operating systems have ramped up their privacy settings in recent years to let users pick and choose what information apps can get, but it seems those permissions aren’t ironclad. A new study revealed that over 1,300 Android apps can scrape certain personal data anyway, even if a user explicitly denied access to it. Researchers at the International Computer Science Institute (ICSI) created a controlled environment to test 88,000 apps downloaded from the US Google Play Store. They peeked at what data the apps were sending back, compared it to what users were permitting and - surprise - 1,325 apps were forking over specific user data they shouldn’t have. Among the test pool were “popular apps from all categories,” according to ICSI’s report. The researchers disclosed their findings to both the FTC and Google (receiving a bug bounty for their efforts), though the latter stated a fix would only be coming in the full release of Android Q, according to CNET. What are the loopholes for Android users?Before you get annoyed at yet another unforeseen loophole, those 1,325 apps didn’t exploit a lone security vulnerability - they used a variety of angles to circumvent permissions and get access to user data, including geolocation, emails, phone numbers, and device-identifying IMEI numbers. One way apps determined user locations was to get the MAC addresses of connected WiFi base stations from the ARP cache, while another used picture metadata to discover specific location info even if a user didn’t grant the app location permissions. The latter is what the ICSI researchers described as a “side channel” - using a circuitous method to get data. They also noticed apps using “covert channels” to snag info: third-party code libraries developed by a pair of Chinese companies secretly used the SD card as a storage point for the user’s IMEI number. If a user allowed a single app using either of those libraries access to the IMEI, it was automatically shared with other apps. Most insidiously, the ICSI researchers found that a certain number of apps were certifiably using these loopholes...but thousands more had the potential to do so. For example, they found 42 apps that accessed a user’s location via MAC address using ioctl system calls - but 12,408 apps had the specific code that would allow them to do the same. By their own admission in the report, their test system might not have triggered this behavior - or the app had the required permission anyway and the data transmitted wasn’t seen as suspicious. But in any case, it will be up to the FTC and Google whether these apps violate the ‘notice and consent’ doctrine required of apps in the US - that they notify users that they’d like to harvest data and require consent before doing so. “ In practical terms, though, these app behaviors may directly lead to privacy violations because they are likely to defy consumers’ expectations,” the ICSI report concludes. Of course, the report’s scope only includes 88,000 apps - more could be violating permissions without user notice. But crucially, the test pool only contained apps downloaded off the US Google Play Store; it’s unclear if Android apps in other regions are exploiting similar loopholes to scrape user data despite permissions.
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| Microsoft ‘still considering’ a $60 xCloud streaming console Posted: 08 Jul 2019 12:11 PM PDT Although not much has been said about it publicly, Microsoft is still considering a cheap new micro-console that could stream games from its xCloud service, according to a new set of rumors from people who are familiar with Microsoft's plans. The console would be an alternative to the much-pricier Project Scarlett that’s due out in 2020, and could potentially have limited smart TV functionality as well. The source of these new rumors is Thurrott.com’s Brad Sams, via a new YouTube video (below), who’s spoken to sources inside Microsoft and are familiar with the plans for the micro-console.
According to Sams, Microsoft is driven to create a micro-console because it wants a cheaper entry-point for its xCloud streaming service. It seems that, while a traditional Xbox console is obviously the preferred route, Microsoft recognizes that not every gamer can invest $249 (about £250, AU$350) in new hardware every few years. That said, an Xbox micro-console wouldn’t offer the same functionality as a full-size Xbox and wouldn’t likely be able to play Xbox One discs, however it does seem likely with the advent of Google Stadia – a game-streaming service from Google that can use a Chrome browser or Chromecast Ultra to stream games in 1080p – that Microsoft is looking at new avenues for its service. The case for a Project Lockhart-like systemNow, admittedly, the plans for a smaller, less powerful Xbox console aren't new. In fact, up until a few months ago, you might've heard them in the context of 'Project Lockhart' - an all-digital Xbox console that was similar in design to the All-Digital Xbox One S that was released back in May. But, when Microsoft only announced the more powerful Project Scarlett on stage at E3, most outlets agreed that Project Lockhart is either DOA or shelved. If Sams's sources are right, this new xCloud console would scale things back even further than the already less-powerful Project Lockhart – potentially limiting the console to xCloud, a few streaming video apps and nothing else. If Microsoft's goal is to create a basic system that can connect to your TV via HDMI and be controlled with an Xbox One controller, it seems that an even smaller system like the one described above could be the ticket into gamers' homes. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Leading forensics firm reportedly pays ransomware demand Posted: 08 Jul 2019 09:44 AM PDT Eurofins Scientific, the leading forensic services outfit in the UK, has paid out to criminals who hit the company with a ransomware attack, according to a report. While Eurofins Scientific wouldn’t be drawn to comment on whether the ransom had been paid or not – only stating that it was “collaborating with law enforcement” – the BBC alleges that the firm has indeed been forced to pay the ransom demand (although no details were provided as to the amount in question).
The ransomware attack happened a month ago, in the first week of June, and was described as highly sophisticated, with Eurofins saying three weeks after the attack that its operations were returning to normal (but not why they were returning to normal). Eurofins boasts that it has the “most advanced analytical facilities in Europe” when it comes to providing DNA and toxicological testing services to police and other authorities throughout Europe. However, following the ransomware attack, the British police force ceased working with the company. But delays encountered in finding alternative forensic services have led to some court cases being postponed, the BBC further notes. Ongoing investigationThe National Crime Agency wouldn’t be drawn on whether Eurofins has paid the ransom, either, and simply stated that: “As there is an ongoing criminal investigation, it would be inappropriate to comment.” In a previous statement, on June 24, Eurofins said that it “profoundly apologises to the customers of those of its laboratories and sites that have been impacted by the consequences of this sophisticated attack.” The company also said: “We are continuing to work intensively with leading cybersecurity experts to further secure our current systems and infrastructure and to add enhanced security features and measures to protect our systems and data. “The investigations conducted so far by our internal and external IT forensics experts have not found evidence of any unauthorised theft or transfer of confidential client data. The security of our client data and of all our IT systems is of the utmost importance to Eurofins.” We also saw that recently, a US city, Riviera Beach, elected to pay a ransom to regain control of its IT systems, seemingly with a successful resolution. However, we must always remember that there is far from any guarantee that you will actually get your files or data back if you do elect to pay ransomware criminals their demands.
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| Why managed web hosting is better for businesses Posted: 08 Jul 2019 09:36 AM PDT For a busy business owner, your website is critical. Often, it’s the first interaction that most people have with your business. If you’re a digital operation, it’s often the only interaction that someone will have with you. So, making sure your site is up and running is critical. Unfortunately, managing that also takes time and requires the completion of a lot of menial tasks. That’s time you don’t have or should be spending worrying about other things. That’s why managed hosting of your WordPress site makes a lot of sense for most small businesses. But the benefits of managed hosting go beyond just the actual management of your site.
ScalabilityManaged WordPress hosting helps you create a more scalable website. Those websites that grow in popularity or have fluctuations in traffic experience resource changes. The need for additional servers or server space during peak use, for instance, may mean it’s smarter for you to have your website professionally managed. Web hosts have additional server capacity to handle spikes in traffic and other resources available to meet whatever your needs are. SupportThe hosting team is also another support resource that’s around if something bad happens and you need immediate troubleshooting. Managed hosting means that if something goes dramatically wrong and your website stops functioning in the middle of the night, there are people watching and able to step in and fix it. SecuritySince many websites are hosted on the same server along with other websites and can be somewhat more vulnerable security-wise, having your site security managed by a team of professionals through managed hosting can protect your site. How Managed Websites Are Built DifferentlyManaged WordPress hosts often have servers that are specifically configured and optimized for WordPress. These websites can achieve greater performance. Managed hosting can mean you use your plugins and software differently, which is something to keep in mind as you build your site. Shared hosting, an alternative to managed hosting, is generally cheaper and may be more flexible for you if you’re not interested in using WordPress. However, websites with shared hosting require a greater time and resource commitment from their owners. Keep in mind that you’ll be the one managing updates and providing maintenance, for instance. This is why it’s a good idea to decide how you want your website to be hosted before you build it. A website with managed hosting can be designed and tweaked to work with the optimized server. Websites using shared hosting must work using more generic server resources. David Andrews, Technical Product Marketing Manager at DreamHost
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| Buying a web hosting service? Check these 9 tips Posted: 08 Jul 2019 09:25 AM PDT When shopping for the perfect web hosting for you (not the best website hosting for everybody else), you will be bombarded with terms and features that you will have seldom encountered in your everyday life. From FTP to backup, we will explain to you the jargon used and what to look for when you are in the process of acquiring a new web hosting package. Bear in mind though that web hosting - as a technology - has been evolving for over 30 years, ever since the inception of the World Wide Web.
1. Website builderThese days, hosting providers offer the tools you need to create a great website, whether you’re a coding guru or a total beginner. Modern website builders - such as Boldgrid - offer templates with a drag-and-drop function, to allow you to create a slick-looking professional website without the need to hire a web designer. Bear in mind though that a lot of popular website builders such as WIX or Weebly, are proprietary in nature. They are not, strictly speaking, web hosting entities in the traditional sense. You will be limited in what you can do and that lack of flexibility can be detrimental if you want a bit more pizzazz. 2. Solid state drivesAlthough SSDs are more expensive than standard HDDs, this is for a good reason; they are much faster than the traditional spinning disk drives, are more reliable and consume less power. Depending on the technology used, the transfer rate is an order of magnitude or more compared to their mechanical cousins. SSDs don’t come with any moving parts and so they run reliably, silently and make for a durable and energy efficient option for data storage. Expect hard disk drives to remain popular for a long time though especially in the value part of the market where “free” and “unlimited” still rule the roost. 3. BandwidthBandwidth describes the quality and level of traffic and data allowed to travel and transfer between your site, users and the internet. Each hosting company will offer different levels of bandwidth. This can be an indication of which hosting company has the best networks, connections and system. If you have a small business with 5,000 or less visitors per month, you don’t need to worry too much about bandwidth. Most major hosting companies will provide all the bandwidth you require on their cheapest hosting account, from as little as $1/month. 4. StorageMost hosting plans will offer “unlimited” storage capacity, but that is bound to come with restrictions. However, for most small business websites, a low-cost shared hosting plan will serve all of your storage needs. It is unlikely you will need more than 1GB of space, unless you have lots of videos or music files on your website. Most web hosting companies will not accept that users use them only as a file server service. For that you can use online services like Dropbox or even Google Drive (we’ve got a list of the best cloud storage services) where your files will be hosted usually for far less than you’d expect. 5. ScalabilityThe importance of scalability is two-fold: Firstly, you need your website to be able to handle huge spikes in visitor numbers. Secondly: You need a hosting provider you can organically grow with, as your business and subsequent web traffic increases. When you’re choosing a hosting provider, look at how easy it will be to upgrade should you need to. Can your web host move you from an entry-level shared hosting plan to an intermediate VPS when traffic reaches a certain level, without any down time for your website? It may be that your business experiences seasonal fluctuations in web traffic. That needs to be supported seamlessly. For example, a Christmas Tree retailer is likely to experience a substantial influx of web traffic in December. Scalability from a hosting provider will enable the website to handle the traffic fluctuations without failing. It’s important for yourwebsite to be able to handle growth and any sharp spikes in visitor numbers. Ensure you choose a host that offers the opportunity to upgrade to VPS. 6. AccessWhen you sign up for hosting, you will be provided with a control panel for managing your hosting account. You’ll also need FTP (File Transfer Protocol) access to your files. FTP is the most common method used to transfer your web pages and other files from your computer to the web host’s computer to be hosted. Look at the maximum file size as this may restrict your ability to upload media files. Many providers will also offer an online file manager which is useful if you are away from your usual workstation and have to do a quick update to your website, even from your smartphone. 7. SupportWhen technical difficulties arise, you’ll need swift backup support. Good hosting providers will offer 24/7 support, so that you can get your business back online if something goes wrong. There are various methods of support available including, email, telephone, live chat. Check your service level agreement (SLA) for details of the support you can expect to receive. Some providers will also stipulate the expected uptime in their SLA. A 99% uptime means that the site can be expected to be down for 3.5 days a year. That’s down to less than one hour on a 99.99% uptime agreement. All but the most expensive web hosting packages will promise five nines (99.999%) where the maximum agreed downtime is just over five minutes. 8. LocationThe closer a data centre is to your visitors, the faster the page loading will usually be. If it is likely all of your visitors will come from one area, choose a hosting provider with a data centre nearby. Even if that’s not the case, you can always buy a web hosting package that includes the option of a CDN (Content Delivery Network). A CDN will host a copy of the page and the static content of your website when it is accessed from a territory. Caching, as it is known, means that visitors to your website will always get the data from the closest server to their location. 9. BackupLast, but certainly not least, backups are a critical service you should receive from a hosting provider. Not all hosting companies offer this service as part of your bundle , so make sure you ask. Backups will usually be taken off your website daily automatically and kept for seven days, enabling you to restore your website at any point if needed. Backups usually include both the website files (static) and the database (dynamic). Reasons you may need a backup of your website include: fire at data centre, hacking, human error and component failure. You may also decide to backup your files to a third party (like Google Drive) or locally on your computer.
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| Best free and public DNS servers of 2019 Posted: 08 Jul 2019 09:22 AM PDT DNS (Domain Name System) is a system which translates the domain names you enter in a browser to the IP addresses required to access those sites. Your ISP will assign you DNS servers whenever you connect to the internet, but these may not always be the best choice. Slow DNS servers can cause a lag before websites start to load, and if your server sometimes goes down, you may not be able to access any sites at all. Switching to a free public DNS server can make a real difference, with more responsive browsing and lengthy 100% uptime records meaning there's much less chance of technical problems. Some services can also block access to phishing or infected sites, and a few offer content filtering to keep your kids away from the worst of the web. You need to choose your service with care - not all providers will necessarily be better than your ISP - but to help point you in the right direction, this article will highlight six of the best free DNS servers around.
OpenDNS Founded in 2005 and now owned by Cisco, OpenDNS is one of the biggest names in public DNS. The free service offers plenty of benefits: high speeds, 100% uptime, phishing sites blocked by default, optional parental controls-type web filtering to block websites by content type, along with free email support if anything goes wrong. Commercial plans enable viewing a history of your internet activity for up to the last year, and can optionally lock down your system by allowing access to specific websites only. These aren't going to be must-have features for the average user, but if you're interested, they can be yours for around $20 (£14.30) a year. If you're an old hand at swapping DNS, you can get started immediately by reconfiguring your device to use the OpenDNS nameservers. If you're a newbie, that's okay too, as OpenDNS has setup instructions for PCs, Macs, mobile devices, routers and much, much more. Cloudflare Best known for its top-rated content delivery network, Cloudflare has extended its range to include a new public DNS service, the catchily-named 1.1.1.1. The product doesn't have any of the extras you'll often see elsewhere. There's no anti-phishing, no ad-blocking, no content filtering or other attempts to monitor or control what you can access, and what you can't. Instead, Cloudflare has focused much more on the fundamentals. These start with performance, and independent testing from sites like DNSPerf shows Cloudflare is the fastest public DNS service around. Privacy is another major highlight. Cloudflare doesn't just promise that it won't use your browsing data to serve ads; it commits that it will never write the querying IP address (yours) to disk. Any logs that do exist will be deleted within 24 hours. And these claims aren't just reassuring words on a website. Cloudflare has retained KPMG to audit its practices annually and produce a public report to confirm the company is delivering on its promises. The 1.1.1.1 website has some setup guidance, with simple tutorials covering Windows, Mac, Android, iOS, Linux and routers. These are very generic - you get one set of instructions for all versions of Windows, for instance - but there are some pluses (IPv6 as well as IPv4 details) and you should be able to figure it out. If you have any problems, Cloudflare offers a community forum where you can ask questions or see what others are doing, a nice extra touch which we'd like to see followed by other providers. Google Public DNS Google has its fingers in most web-related pies, and DNS is no exception: it's free Public DNS is a simple and effective replacement for your own ISP's nameservers. Privacy can't quite match the 'we don't keep anything' promises of Cloudflare, but it's not bad. The service logs the full IP address information of the querying device for around 24 to 48 hours for troubleshooting and diagnostic purposes. 'Permanent' logs drop any personally identifiable information and reduce location details to the city level, and all but a small random sample of these are deleted after two weeks. There's a further benefit for experienced users in Google's detailed description of the service. If you'd like to be able to assess the significance of Google's privacy policy, for instance, you can read up on absolutely everything the service logs contain to find out for yourself. Google's support site offers only very basic guidance targeted at experienced users, warning that "only users who are proficient with configuring operating system settings [should] make these changes." If you're unsure what you're doing, check the tutorials from a provider such as OpenDNS, remembering to replace its nameservers with Google's: 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4. Norton ConnectSafe UPDATE: Norton ConnectSafe retired and the service isn't available anymore. Norton ConnectSafe is a free DNS service which can automatically block access to fraudulent, phishing and malware-infested websites, as well as optionally filtering sites by content. This is a familiar idea - OpenDNS and Comodo, amongst others, do much the same thing - but ConnectSafe has one important advantage. It takes its data from Norton Safe Web, a comprehensive database on more than 50 million websites in 23 languages. The service delivers probably the best web filtering performance around, and the ability to get it for free, without having to install any software, is a major safety plus. Setting up the service requires choosing from three levels of protection. The Security policy blocks malicious and fraudulent websites only, and uses the nameservers 199.85.126.10 and 199.85.127.10. The Security and Pornography policy adds support for filtering sexually explicit material, and uses the nameservers 199.85.126.20 and 199.85.127.20. The very strict Security and Pornography and Other scheme extends the filtering to block 'sites that feature mature content, abortion, alcohol, crime, cults, drugs, gambling, hate, sexual orientation, suicide, tobacco or violence' by using the nameservers 199.85.126.30 and 199.85.127.30. That's likely to lock you out of a lot of content, but it might appeal as a way to protect young children, and you don't have to use this policy everywhere. You could lock down your kids' tablet with this policy, for instance, but stick with the plain Security policy for your own laptop. There are only very basic setup instructions on the ConnectSafe site, but if you run into trouble, the tutorials on competitors such as OpenDNS may point you in the right direction. Just be sure to use Norton's nameserver IP addresses when you change your device settings. Comodo Secure DNS Comodo Group is the power behind a host of excellent security products, so it's no surprise that the company also offers its own public DNS service. Just as you'd expect, Comodo Secure DNS has a strong focus on safety. It doesn't just block phishing sites, but also warns if you try to visit sites with malware, spyware, even parked domains which might overload you with advertising (pop-ups, pop-unders and more). Furthermore, you can try out the Comodo Dome Shield service, which adds additional features to Comodo Secure DNS. Comodo claims its service is smarter than average, too, detecting attempts to visit parked or 'not in use' domains and automatically forwarding you to where you really want to go. Performance is key, of course, and the company suggests its worldwide network of servers and smart routing technology give it an advantage. DNSPerf's Comodo stats are less impressive, unfortunately. As we write, DNSPerf reports its average query time as around 72ms. That said, Comodo may still be interesting if you're looking for an extra layer of web filtering, and the support website has some short but useful instructions on setting the service up on Windows PCs, Macs, routers and Chromebooks. Quad9 Quad9 is a young DNS outfit which has been providing a fast and free DNS service since August 2016. The company sells itself on its ability to block malicious domains by collecting intelligence from 'a variety of public and private sources.' It's not clear what these sources are, but the website says Quad9 used 18+ 'threat intelligence providers' as of December 2018. That's a little too vague for us, and we're not convinced that using a large number of threat intelligence providers will necessarily help – the quality of the intelligence is generally more important than the quantity. There's no arguing about Quad9's performance, though. DNSPerf currently rates it seven out of ten for average worldwide query times, lagging behind Cloudflare and OpenDNS, but effortlessly outpacing contenders like Comodo. Drilling down into the detail reveals some variations in speed - Quad9 is on the sixth place for North American queries - but overall the service still delivers better performance than most. Setup guidance is a little limited, with tutorials for the latest versions of Windows and macOS only. They're well presented, though, and it's not difficult to figure out what you need to do. Verisign Verisign was founded in 1995 and through the years offered various services, including several security services, like managed DNS. Verisign DNS service is free to use and the company highlights the three features they deem the most important and those are stability, security, and privacy. The service definitely delivers on that account, especially for the security and stability. As for the privacy, while you can never be 100% sure when it comes to the company claims, there weren't any issues and the company assures you that your public DNS data will not be sold to third parties. Performance, however, wasn't that great when compared to some other providers. Still, it's decent and depending on your needs, you might not be bothered by this. At the moment, DNSPerf.com ranks the service at tenth place, worldwide. On their website, you can find tutorials on how to set up their public DNS. Tutorials are available for Windows 7 and 10, Mac, Linux, and mobile devices. There is also a tutorial on how to configure DNS server settings on your router. All in all, Verisign offers a good alternative to some other DNS providers, plus it's free so it's worth checking out. Got further questions about DNS? Here are some common queries along with our answers. What is DNS?The Domain Name System (DNS) is a phonebook for the internet, a framework which translates domain names, like facebook.com or twitter.com, into the IP addresses necessary for devices to load those internet resources. The mechanics of DNS can be quite complicated, as information isn't held in a single database, but rather distributed in a worldwide directory including a vast number of DNS servers. Fortunately, the average internet user doesn't normally have to get involved in any of the low-level technical details. Your ISP automatically provides you with access to a DNS server whenever you go online, and whenever you enter a URL into your browser, this will find the relevant IP address for you. Your ISP DNS isn't performing? Verisign is one of many big-name companies offering a free alternative Why might DNS matter to me?DNS servers can vary hugely in speed, particularly in areas which don't always have the best internet coverage (Africa, South America, Oceania.) To take an example of a single day when we tested, DNSPerf.com reported Cloudflare achieved an average 4.43ms query time for Oceania, while Yandex was left trailing at 350.24ms. That's potentially more than a third of a second in extra waiting time before your browser is able to access any new website. This is an extreme example, to be fair. European or US lookups may see less than 30ms variation between most DNS services, and as your device or router will probably cache the address for reuse later, even this delay will only occur very occasionally. Still, a sluggish DNS server can noticeably slow down your browsing in some situations, and trying an alternative – especially as the best options are all free – is generally a good idea. There's a second possible benefit in terms of uptime. If your ISP DNS server fails, you might not be able to access some or all of your favorite sites. Big-name providers such as OpenDNS claim they've had 100% uptime going back years. How can I find the fastest DNS service?DNS speed depends on many factors, including your location, the distance to your nearest server, and that server having enough power and bandwidth to handle all the queries it receives. DNS Jumper is a portable freeware tool which tests multiple public DNS services to find out which delivers the best performance for you. The program has a lot of options, but isn't difficult to use. Launch it, click Fastest DNS > Start DNS Test, and within a few seconds you'll be looking at a list of DNS services sorted by speed. DNS Jumper can be useful, in particular because it's checking how servers perform from your location, but it doesn't run enough tests over a long enough period to give you a definitive answer. DNSPerf tests multiple DNS services every minute from 200+ locations around the world and makes the results freely available on its own website. This gives a very good general idea of performance, and also enables seeing how services compare on different continents, as well as assessing their uptime. How can I switch DNS servers?The steps involved in changing your DNS service vary according to your hardware and possibly your operating system version. Generally, you must start by finding the primary and secondary nameservers for the DNS service you'd like to use. These IP addresses are normally displayed very clearly on the service website, so, for example, Cloudflare DNS uses 1.1.1.1 and 1.0.0.1. The simplest approach for home users is to update their router to use the new addresses. Most other devices will then pick up the new DNS settings automatically, with no further work required. To make this happen you must log in to your router (the default password may be printed on its base) and look for the current DNS primary and secondary nameservers. Make a note of the current values in case of problems, then replace them with the nameservers you'd like to use. If you run into problems, check out your DNS service website for any setup guidance. Keep in mind that you can also use the tutorials of other DNS providers, as long as you remember to replace their nameserver IPs with your preferred options. OpenDNS, for instance, has specific guidance for many different router types on its support site. If router tweaks aren't right for your situation, you may have to change the DNS configuration of each individual device. Cloudflare has short and simple guidance here, while the OpenDNS website goes into more depth. How can I find my current DNS servers?If you're troubleshooting your internet connection, or maybe thinking of switching DNS servers, it might be useful to check which DNS servers you're using at the moment. The simplest way to do this is to visit DNSLeakTest.com and tap the Standard Test button. Within a few seconds the website will usually display your DNS server IP addresses, host names, and sometimes (if appropriate) the name of your ISP. After that, life gets more complicated as there are several potential options. Your device could be set up to use specific DNS servers; it might ask your router to give it the best DNS servers every time it boots; or it might not know anything about DNS servers, and leave your router to handle everything. On Windows, you could get started by entering IPCONFIG /ALL in a command line window. Look for your network adapter and you should see its DNS servers specified in the list. If there's a single DNS IP address which points at your router – 192.168.x.x – that suggests the router is handling all DNS queries. Enter that IP address into your browser, log in to the router if necessary and your DNS servers should be listed amongst the settings. How can I test a DNS service?If your browser is telling you a website's 'server IP address could not be found', even though you're sure it's up and available, then this could be due to a problem with your DNS. But you might not want to go to the trouble of changing your DNS service to find out. Windows users can use the command line tool nslookup.exe to look at the results of any DNS server without touching their system settings. Run cmd.exe to open a command line window, then type: nslookup website.com Then press Enter (replace website.com with the address of whatever website you're trying to reach). Nslookup uses your default DNS server to look for the IP address of website.com. If it tells you it 'can't find website.com', this means your DNS server doesn't have a record for that domain. Next, tell the tool to use another DNS service by entering a command like: nslookup website.com 8.8.8.8 The 8.8.8.8 address uses Google DNS – replace that with any DNS service you like, such as 1.1.1.1 for Cloudflare. If nslookup returns errors using multiple servers, this doesn't look like a DNS issue. If one server returns an IP address and another doesn't, you might want to try setting up your system to use the working DNS and see if it makes any difference. You might also want to look over our many web hosting guides:
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| Choosing a web hosting service? Then avoid these common mistakes Posted: 08 Jul 2019 09:18 AM PDT If you are relatively new to the world of web hosting, you will be bombarded with advices and tips once you start looking into ways to host your brand new website (or indeed, even when you are at the planning stage or trying to find out whether you actually need a website or should simply go to a website builder). This article will hopefully help you avoid making them; you can also deep-dive into our best web hosting buyers guide which looks at the top players in the market. 1. Using a free hosting serviceA free hosting service might be useful if you are running your blog/website as a hobby or a community group. It will likely come with banners and pop-up ads though and search engines tend not to like websites hosted on free services. Note that there are good free web hosting services too but it is a very tough market to survive. They are notoriously unreliable when it comes to speed, uptime and availability and because you haven’t paid for anything, don’t expect any compensation if they disappear or suffer from downtime. Expect support to be minimal with no advanced features like free databases. You also risk losing credibility, particularly if you are hosted on a domain name like yourbusiness.get-free-hosting.com, rather than using a genuine domain name (although, some free web hosting providers do allow you to park your domain). The bottom line is you usually get what you paid for and if you paid nothing then don’t expect much. And web hosting doesn’t have to be expensive. We even compiled a list of the best cheap web hosting services here. 2. Choosing a web hosting package with no refund guaranteeSome web hosting companies do not provide a refund guarantee for their starter packages. Choose one that offers a money back guarantee in case you select the wrong package. A good hosting company will gladly refund you or move you onto a new package that suits your needs. After all, it is in their interests to make sure that you are a happy customer even if you leave them as you may well come back in the future should your circumstances change. 3. Choosing a shared web hosting package when you need a VPS, or vice versa.The two main types of web hosting packages you can select are shared or VPS. If your website is small and straightforward, shared hosting is the one for you. A Virtual Private Server is only required for websites with high traffic. If your small website grows in the future, you can always switch over to VPS or dedicated hosting, in the meantime save your hard-earned money with some shared hosting. 4. Buying based solely on priceThere are two different ways you could go with this: Hosting is a commodity, so it’s tempting to go for the cheapest plan available, on the other hand you might be tempted by some of the marketing jargon used to up-sell more expensive packages. In a very competitive market, price cuts and special offers will often be used to win customers, so don’t pay more than you need to and keep your eyes open for discount codes. The saying “you get what you pay for” doesn’t necessarily apply to paid web hosting, as a cheap package will quite often be perfectly adequate for a start-up website or personal blog. Keep in mind that the price you see advertised is a monthly price. When you get to the checkout that figure will be multiplied by 12 months and have VAT added on top. This is standard industry practice and most hosts will advertise pricing this way. You may also get a discount for going for longer periods (annual or bi-annual). 5. Not knowing your limitationsYou will come across terms like “unlimited” and “free” while searching for shared hosting packages. If it seems too good to be true, it probably is. “Unlimited” bandwidth and storage will have a limit. Check the terms and conditions to find out more, but restrictions of personal file storage are common, as are rules about certain types of media or streaming. Hosting companies have to implement these restrictions to ensure the smooth running of the service for everyone on a shared server since resources (the electricity the server consumes, the bandwidth used by the server, the hard drives) do cost money. Ask your web host if you can do the following before signing up for a package: Maintain multiple POP accounts, add statistics to your account, install new software on your own, use a shopping cart on your website.
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| How to watch Love Island online for free: stream season 5 from UK or abroad Posted: 08 Jul 2019 09:10 AM PDT It's safe to say, we're well and truly into the swing of Love Island drama now. With unexpected acts of re-coupling, tense throw-downs and the cash prize of £50,000 up for grabs - the one thing we can say is you need to watch Love island online. Whether this is the first time you're watching this dating show behemoth or you're a returning fan, back for a dose of drama, this is the place to be for the ultimate guide to how to watch Love Island online. Returning daily (with the exclusion of Saturday) at 9pm BST, the days of piling around the TV for summer dating drama are back. Whether you're a Love Island devotee who's been patiently counting down the days since last year's bout of strange dating rituals, or someone new to this phenomenon (oh boy are you in for a treat!) this is the place to be to find out everything you need to know about this year's viewing times. Last year ran for a mind-boggling 59 days, leaving contestants Jack Fincham and Danny Dyer's daughter...Dani Dyer victorious and the proud winners of £50,000. This year's show is expected to run for eight weeks but who knows what plot twists lie ahead, you'll just have to watch Love Island online to find out. While not one single couple from the show has managed to stay together for the year that has passed since then, we have high hopes for the longevity of 2019's tanned Romeos and Juliets. With that glorious £50,000 and a lifetime of obscure sponsored ads on the horizon, there is everything to compete for. So if you're ready to watch Love Island 2019 online and all you need is the location and time, scroll down to see how to watch the dating show of the year! Whether you're in the UK or badly timed a holiday, we've got the low-down for where to watch it.
How to watch Love Island online for free in the UK:If you're going to be in the UK the whole time the show is on then watching it couldn't be easier. Simply gather around with your friends and families at 9pm Monday to Friday each week to watch the excessively tanned battle it out for money. Each episode airs at 9pm BST on ITV2 (or 10pm on ITV2+1). But if you would rather watch Love Island online you can easily catch it via the ITV website or watch it on your mobile devices via the ITV Hub app which you can download here for Android and here for your iPhone or iPad. The other way to watch ITV online is to go via TVPlayer.com - we actually prefer this option as the stream tends to be better quality and more robust. It's also a faster site, more responsive and quicker to get up and running with. It's still free and legal, too. How to watch Love Island online from outside the countryIf you’re from the UK and have planned a holiday while the show is on then clearly you're not very dedicated to Love Island! But don’t worry as we can help you avoid any annoying geo-blocking allowing you and your friends to catch Love Island on your holiday. By using a VPN, you can change your IP address to one in the UK which will allow you to stream the event using your ITV account. Keep reading and we’ll show you how.
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| Best cheap web hosting deals of 2019 Posted: 08 Jul 2019 08:50 AM PDT Quality web hosting can be an expensive affair – but it doesn’t have to be. And while you can always fall back on free web hosting providers, there’s also a growing number of cheap web hosting providers that deliver honest, reliable performance and great value for money without breaking the bank. All bar one of the web hosting companies listed below will accommodate more than one website. So while cheap web hosting providers are great for starting your business, they might not be powerful and scalable enough to take it to the next level; which is where VPS and dedicated servers come into play. Note that some of the headline eye-catching prices (from free to just a few dollars/pounds per month) are often only for a limited period (usually the first year), and after that they can swiftly balloon, especially when you factor in the cost of the domain names bundled. If you plan to have a successful online business, it is important to think long-term and how the total cost of ownership (the cost of running your website over years) might impact your bottom line. So, without further ado, below is our hand-picked list of the best cheap hosting deals.
Below are the best cheap web hosting providers of 2019 Image credit: HostGator $31.68 for the first year when purchased for three years. Total cost of purchase is $95.04 HostGator is backed by EIG, one of the biggest web hosting companies, and its Hatchling plan is great for getting started. As with most of the offerings highlighted here, you can only run one website on this plan, but you don’t get a free domain name or free SSL. What you do get is unlimited disk space and bandwidth (but note that you won’t be able to use this space for storing files as this is against the terms and conditions), along with a $150 marketing budget (Google and Bing Ads credits). You also get 24/7 support, unlimited backups, subdomains, MySQL databases, email inboxes and FTP accounts. And finally, HostGator provides access to the popular cPanel control panel as well as its very own website builder (check our best website builder list). Every web hosting plan includes an industry-leading 45-day money-back guarantee alongside a 99.9% uptime guarantee. HostGator also provides free transfers for new accounts within 30 days of signup, and to newly upgraded accounts. (US) $3.45 per month when purchased for four years. (UK) £3.45 per month when purchased for four years. While Hostinger has a cheaper $0.8 per month plan, it's rather basic in features and it supports only one website, but at that price depending on your needs, it might be enough. That being said, the "Business" plan gives you unlimited bandwidth, websites, databases, FTP and email accounts, and 30GB disk space, which compared to rivals isn't that much but it should be enough for the majority of people. Extras include free SSL, daily backups, Cloudflare protection, and SSH access. All in all a good deal and if you're not satisfied, Hostinger provides a standard 30-day money-back guarantee. Image credit: iPage (US) $23.88 for the first year when purchased for three years. Total cost of purchase is $71.64 (UK) £18 for the first year. Renews at £8.35 per month Like dozens of other web hosting providers, iPage is part of the big EIG family and uses the bargaining power of the organization to bring prices down. iPage has it all for such a small price: you get unlimited websites, disk space, bandwidth, MySQL databases and email accounts. As with other EIG members, you get Google and Bing advertising credits and 24/7 support. The money-back guarantee is an industry average 30-days and you don’t get domain privacy, website security or backup as standard. As a sweetener, iPage includes a domain name (for a year) plus free SiteLock security tools (although iPage doesn’t provide much detail as to what that actually includes). Image credit: GoDaddy (US) $1 (there is a sale at the time of writing, usual price is $4.49) per month for the first year, renews at $7.99 per month (UK) £1 (there is a sale at the time of writing, usual price is £3.99) per month for the first year, renews at £5.99 per month plus VAT GoDaddy is the second of the triumvirate of ‘uber web hosting’ companies (the two others being EIG and 1&1) that we’ve listed in this buying guide. Its Economy package has to be one of the best on the market with GoDaddy flexing its (virtual) muscles to deliver exceptional value for money. As expected, you get a free domain name and oodles of storage (100GB) along with unlimited bandwidth, plus free Microsoft Office 365 Business Email for a year (a freebie worth $73 (£55)). Support is delivered 24/7 via a toll-free line and GoDaddy even guarantees 99.9% uptime for this service. Add in 1-click install functionality for more than 125 applications, DDoS protection, plus 1GB of MySQL database storage and you’ve bagged yourself a pretty solid offering. The only true limitation is the fact that you won’t be able to host more than one website, but that’s a common theme across the budget board.
Image credit: 1&1 Ionos (US) $12 for the first year, renews at $8 per month (UK) £12 for the first year, renews at £5 per month plus VAT Like many other premium web hosting companies, 1&1 IONOS offers a 30-day money-back guarantee. As part of one of the world’s largest web hosting firms, you’re in good company as this German-based host includes DDoS protection, geo-redundancy and the all-new HTTP/2 protocol as standard. Your website will have room to grow with a staggering 100GB storage, unlimited bandwidth, up to 2.5GB of system memory and up to 25 databases with 1GB SSD storage each. On top of that you also get a personal consultant, one free domain for a year (no .com or .net in the UK, though), daily backup, 25 email accounts, an SSL certificate and 24/7 customer service.
Image credit: One.com $2.45 (£1.86) per month ($29.4 for a year), renews at the same price Let’s start with the downsides here: One.com is the only web hosting outfit here that charges a setup fee and has a short 15-day money-back guarantee. However, the price you see includes VAT (unlike most of its rivals). The fee is also very reasonable and you do get a lot for your money. We’re talking unlimited bandwidth, 50GB storage, a single database, a website builder (single website), SSL certificate and unlimited email accounts. SSH, backup and restore features are optional. This web hosting company is based in Denmark and has more than 1.5 million active users. Image credit: Tsohost $45.60 (£35.04) a year when purchased for two years, renews at the same price Tsohost is owned by GoDaddy and operates solely in the UK. You get one domain name (free for the first year) and three websites with up to 100,000 page views, 15GB storage, unlimited bandwidth, hundred 200MB mailboxes, an SSL certificate and one basic migration package. You also get free daily site backups, plus a 30-day money-back guarantee. Tsohost uses Dell hardware and UK-based data centers. Our review found this outfit to be a “capable web host with some feature-packed, versatile and honestly priced plans”. We concluded that it was worth a look for beginners and experts alike, particularly if you need a UK provider. Image credit: 123 Reg £8.99 ($11.40) per month for the first year, renews at £12.99 ($16.4) per month Another GoDaddy-owned web host, 123 Reg is a well-known provider in the UK. Its Unlimited package delivers an attractive hosting solution if you have ambitions to grow your website business fast. For £9 per month for the first year, you can host 10 websites, which is particularly impressive seeing as many of these cheap deals limit you to just one site, as we’ve seen. You also get three domain names (which are free for a year) plus you get unlimited web space, unlimited bandwidth, unlimited databases (up to 1GB each), a free SSL certificate, unlimited FTP accounts, website backup and restore, scheduled tasks, IP address blocking and website directory indexing plus a JavaScript generator and Linux apps (WordPress, Joomla, Drupal, Media Wiki and eCommerce). Sadly you only get one 5GB mailbox, which is poor compared to the competition, and the monthly cost of renewing the service after a year gets considerably more expensive. Image credit: Clook Clook are a British company with servers based in the UK and USA. While they may not be one of the big brand names, they have a solid reputation in the web hosting industry, especially for support and stability, which is something many cheap web hosting providers are poor with. While most of their shared and dedicated server plans are priced at normal market rates, ie, not discounted, they do offer a shared web hosting plan which is especially cheap: the Clook shared-0 plan, which costs around $30 (£25) per year. This comes with a respectable 200MB of diskspace and 5GB of bandwidth per month. While these resources are far below what some of the other companies offer, Clook don't oversell which means their servers are less packed and therefore less prone to failure due to too many accounts competing for too many resources. Additionally, the resources provided by the shared-0 plan are absolutely ideal for most small business start-ups and local traders. Most people running a business fear to have too few server resources allocated to their shared web hosting plan, just in case they enjoy a spike in internet traffic and web sales. However, this is a needless fear, and Clook - as with most good hosting providers - can easily upgrade the hosting account if and when resource use and internet traffic use shows that it's needed. In the meantime, the shared-0 plan easily provides enough for any new website and business, and there are all the standard web hosting features included so you don't need to feel like you're missing out on anything. While the Clook website states that it's not designed to host dynamic PHP scripts, there should be no problem hosting a Wordpress website or similar. You might also want to check out our other website hosting buying guides:
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| Best shared web hosting of 2019: top plans from vetted providers Posted: 08 Jul 2019 08:23 AM PDT Shared web hosting means exactly what it says – you share a server with other users who are running their own websites from that hardware. Every customer gets a portion of that physical server for their own use. The main strength here is that this is a cost-effective solution, and because you’re prepared to share hardware with other folks, you’ll naturally be playing less than the outlay for dedicated hosting. By the same token, however, you’re also sharing resources with others, and that means that the performance you’ll get will likely be a fair bit slower (and indeed generally less consistent). That might be fine for sites which don’t have a lot of traffic, but it could be a problem if your bandwidth needs are greater, or reliable and consistent performance is a priority for your website. So, obviously bear all that in mind, but if you do want to go the shared hosting route in an effort to make some serious savings, which are the best providers to plump for? Read on and find out. InMotion Hosting Don’t fret that this popular web host’s plans are marketed as ‘business’ products, because they’re applicable to individual users as well as companies. There’s a good range of choice here, and shared hosting starts from just $3.99 (£3.1) per month (2-year plan). What’s also good to see here is that InMotion incorporates features into its shared hosting plans which other providers charge extra for – like hack and DDoS protection, a system of basic backups, and a WordPress-based website builder. Another strong suit here is the way that this web host provides full details of all its services at-a-glance on the website, and makes it easy to compare features, and make your decision when taking the plunge with a subscription. You also get cPanel and Softaculous-powered hosting, a sterling level of technical support, and in our testing, we found this provider delivered some impressive performance levels when it came to site loading speeds. All in all, there are lots of reasons to go with InMotion, and a 90-day money-back guarantee doesn’t hurt, either. Hostinger A popular web hosting provider, Hostinger has some really affordable plans, both for individual users and businesses. Starting at just $0.8 (£0.63) per month for a single website, 100GB bandwidth, 10GB disk space and $3.45 (£2.7) for unlimited everything, except disk space, which is limited to 30GB. The $3.45 plan also delivers 4X processing power and memory. All plans also come with additional features. Free SSL certificate is included in all plans (you are notified in the shopping cart), and higher tier plans, like the Business plan, comes with daily backups, Cloudflare protection, free domain registration, SSH access and more. Hostinger is definitely a capable provider, although some might be bothered by the disk space limitation when compared to some other providers. Nevertheless, you also get a 30-day money back guarantee, so you can always ask for a refund if you are not satisfied with the service. HostGator This is another web host which caters for the more budget-minded, and of course that’s never a bad thing. Although do note that you only get the really cheap prices when signing up for longer contracts with HostGator, so something of a commitment is required for the best savings here. For example, the cheapest shared hosting plan is $2.64 (£2) per month if you sign up for 36 months, but $4.48 (£3.38) per month if you sign up for one year. The good news is that you get plenty for your money, and no annoying limitations, so even the basic plan allows for unlimited bandwidth, web space, email accounts and more. A 99.9% uptime guarantee is also good to see. Customer support is generally pretty good – although it falls down in a few areas, for example the web help forums aren’t moderated by the company itself – and we found performance was better than average in terms of site loading times. Namecheap If you want to do web hosting on a budget, then as this provider’s name suggests, it aims to be inexpensive. You get some impressive value-for-money with Namecheap, particularly with an initial discount for the first year, and there are some heavyweight plans here. However, note the starter ‘value’ plan only gives you 20GB of hard drive space and 30 email accounts, but you get that at the price of just $2.88 per month. Namecheap offers a 99.9% connectivity guarantee, and is a very easy service to set up, with an initial welcome email that points you in the right direction for everything you might need (backed up by some impressive FAQs). It also plays host to an excellent searchable knowledgebase. To round things off, testing proved that this company generally offers above average speeds compared to rivals, making this a great hosting provider for those who aren’t keen on doing too much damage to their wallet. 1&1 1&1 IONOS (in the late October 2018, 1&1 changed their name to 1&1 IONOS) is a big web hosting player, vying with GoDaddy for world domination, and is the biggest player in Europe. Located in Germany, it offers a bewildering array of services with prices starting from as little as $0.99 per month excluding VAT (although that rises to $7.99 after the first year). On top of that, this shared hoster provides some smart freebies (a free domain, SSL certificates across all plans, free web design software (NetObjects Fusion 2013), 24/7 phone and email support, a graphics archive, a 30-day money-back guarantee, transparent replication (the company calls it geo-redundancy) and a whopping 300Gbps network connectivity. Also, you get a personal consultant, free of charge. UK2 Based in London, bang in the middle of startup territory (Shoreditch), UK2 offers an impressively cheap starting shared hosting package at around $2.5 (£1.95) per month excluding VAT (although that rises to $7.8 (£5.95) a month on renewal). It also offers affordable unlimited packages with unlimited emails, bandwidth, a free SSL certificate (great for improved security and search visibility), a free domain and a dedicated IP. Prospective customers will appreciate the lack of setup fees or hidden charges, the 30-day money-back guarantee, plus 24/7 UK-based phone support on a freephone number and UK-based data centres. SiteGround SiteGround offers some low-end shared hosting plans which may cost a little bit more than some budget rivals you’ll find on this page, but the upside is that they include all the core features that you’ll likely need. The firm’s StartUp account is $3.95 a month initially (with the cost rising when you renew), and with that you get unlimited traffic, email accounts and databases, not to mention one-click installation of apps like WordPress. It also bundles features that rival firms often charge for as extras like daily backups or CDN capabilities (Cloudflare). Another nifty touch is the provider’s SuperCacher system which caches frequently-accessed data in RAM, aiming to improve site performance. This could certainly help busy websites. Not everything is rosy here, though – for example the basic account limits you to 10GB of web space. Also, website support via the company’s knowledgebase is a rather shoddy experience, but there are other avenues of tech support which perform much better. iPage This is a premium web hosting outfit with a well-featured ‘Essentials’ plan which offers a great deal of functionality, and is ideal for those looking to host multiple websites (or those who want plenty of room to grow). With prices starting from as little as $1.99 per month for the shared hosting basic plan (via an offer at the time of writing), iPage gives you unlimited web space and bandwidth, unlimited email addresses, MySQL databases and even domains. Not only that, iPage incorporates some very smart extras like a drag-and-drop page builder, with a basic shared SSL certificate thrown in for good measure. This provider also offers good quality tech support via live chat and email (although other support avenues aren’t as strong). Performance levels seems solid, and this is certainly a web host to bear in mind for experienced users who are dealing with large numbers of sites. PlanetHippo One of the smaller web hosting outfits in this listing, PlanetHippo has managed to keep its prices at a lower level compared to most of the competition. Its One Account Linux shared hosting costs just $1.33 (£1) per month (excluding VAT), and it’s an appealing budget package. The firm’s Unlimited plan offers ‘unlimited everything’ for $8 (£5.99) per month (and that includes a free domain). As with other web hosts, you get a 30-day warranty, 24/7 UK-based support (and it’s of a good quality – although there’s no option to use the phone) and all of PlanetHippo’s servers are based in the UK. Throw in a smartly designed hosting panel, and you won’t go far wrong with this particular provider. Tsohost This is another UK-based provider, and Tsohost also plays the value card, with an entry-level Startup shared hosting plan which starts at $3.8(£2.92) per month (providing you sign up for two years – it’s $4.15(£3.16) per month if you commit for just one year). That plan limits you to 15GB storage and you do get unlimited bandwidth, Let’s Encrypt SSL and a hundred mailboxes. Tsohost’s technical support may not be the fastest out there in terms of response times, at least in our experience, but it did provide clear and accurate answers to queries. Performance levels are also solid, and the company offers a 30-day money-back guarantee.
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| Cyberpunk 2077: release date, trailer and news Posted: 08 Jul 2019 08:13 AM PDT The new Cyberpunk 2077 trailer at E3 2019 starred Keanu Reeves, believe it or not, and he announced the official release date: April 16, 2020. As much as we'd like the much-hyped sci-fi game to land sooner, what we've seen so far makes us think it will likely be worth the wait. Landing on Xbox One, PC, and PS4, Cyberpunk 2077 looks set to be a vast open-world game, draped in dizzying neon colors, and packed with more branching storylines than you could shake a drone at. At E3, we saw a bit more of the metropolis of the future in this extended trailer and in our hands-off demo, where body modification has become an obsession, and you're an outlaw in the sleazy underbelly of the city. Want the full scoop on Cyberpunk 2077? Here are all the news, trailers, and announcements we've had so far. [Update: For a game still so far away, there are still plenty of announcements to tide us over. Comments made by CD Projekt's CEO suggested there may be a sequel of sorts in the works already, as well as a separate dev team working on multiplayer for the mainline game. There's been some contention on the claims, but read on below to find out more.] Cut to the Chase
What is Cyberpunk 2077?Cyberpunk 2077 is a neon cyberpunk game that has The Witcher 3 developer CD Projekt Red moving from a gritty, high fantasy world to an equally gritty, science fiction world metropolis. It's based off the pen-and-paper RPG of the same name, but plays a hell of a lot like The Matrix game we've always wanted. We caught our first peek at the game behind closed doors at E3 2018 – you can check out what we saw in the 48-minute walkthrough video below – and all signs point to another big showing at the expo this June. Cyberpunk 2077 is a game that looks vastly different from its developer's The Witcher series, with towering neon skyscrapers, bionic enhancements and a focus on vertical movement rather than wide open plains. It's also all in first-person. At E3 2019 we learned a lot more about the plot of the game, which features the one and only Keanu Reeves. Reeves plays a character named Johnny Silverhand who's embedded in a biochip that's placed in the main character's brain. In order to unlock the secrets to the biochip, what basically becomes the main thread of the game, Silverhand will guide you to Alt Cunningham, the most legendary net runner of all-time. The only problem? She’s dead. But her consciousness lives on the web and you’ll need to do whatever it takes to track her down – including, but not limited to, befriending or eliminating leaders of the biggest gangs in Night City. Cyberpunk 2077 trailersE3 2019 gave us the latest, slickest trailer yet, with a look at some new characters, weapon-play, and even Keanu Reeves, who will be playing the rock star Johnny Silverhand. Get your fix in the trailer below. After a veritable truckload of hype, CD Projekt Red released 48 minutes of gameplay footage, based on the demo journalists saw at E3 2018. In it, you'll see what gunplay looks like, character creation and backstory assignment, plus how you'll upgrade yourself via cybernetic enhancements. You'll meet some of the characters in Cyberpunk's seedy crime circuit and explore the city on foot and in vehicles. (Quick warning: the trailer contains nudity, violence and swearing.) We were treated to a brand new Cyberpunk 2077 trailer during E3 2018 which you can watch below: In March 2019, we got yet another video, this time of the development team gearing up for the E3 2019 showcase event. Those hoping for a 2019 release may want to start to brace themselves however – though the game remains without a release date, the suggestion of the video below is that development is still in full swing, and a release date may be some time away yet:
Cyberpunk 2077 release date: April 16, 2020In the game’s first official teaser trailer, it was stated that the game will be coming “when it’s ready,” but now we have an official release date: April 16, 2020, care of the E3 2019 trailer. This is despite an investor call in early 2016 that suggested that Cyberpunk 2077 would be released before June 2019. It was also said in this call that CD Projekt Red is planning to release two new triple A RPGs before 2021. It was later clarified in forums that Cyberpunk 2077 would be the first of these games to arrive and work on the second would not start before Cyberpunk 2077 was finished. Image Credit: CD Projekt Red Considering The Witcher 3 took around three and a half years to develop, a 2019 release didn't seem unmanageable for the studio. But the scale of the development, as well as rumors of the game being a cross-gen Xbox Two and PS5 title, it makes sense that the game has taken longer than initially anticipated. Cyberpunk 2077 news and featuresCould we see a movie adaptation in the future? In an interview with VGC at E3 2019, Pondsmith admitted that Keanu Reeves' involvement in the game has made the possibility of a Cyberpunk movie adaption much more likely. "I can’t really say anything on that," Pondsmith told VGC in response to whether he is optioning the Cyberpunk movie rights. "But with Keanu Reeves being tied up in things, it’s become much more of a possibility." "At this point we are teaching people about this new kind of cyberpunk. My favorite film is Blade Runner, but I recognise inherently that it’s a cerebral film and 2049 was even more cerebral. A cerebral film is not necessarily going to allow other people to enter that space and understand it, but at the same time you don’t want to do it totally action." Keanu Reeves' band gets its first single If the appearance of Keanu Reeves in Cyberpunk 2077 as a rock star wasn't enough, punk band Refused are creating the music for his in-game band (named Samurai). And if that wasn't enough, Samurai have released their first single, Chippin' In – presumably something to do with microchips – so you can start getting a sense of Night City's soundscapes already. There may or may not be three games in development Polish news site Bankier reported that CD Projekt President Adam Kiciński had confirmed the existence of yet another AAA game set in the Cyberpunk 2077 universe, likely being the planned follow-up to next year's game – with a secondary team apparently working on a multiplayer mode too. CD Projekt has refuted the claims, while refusing to be drawn on whether a sequel could appear down the line. To be fair, they're probably focused on getting the main title out first. Take your pick of protagonists Instead of a set lead character like the Witcher, it sounds like we'll have a few options to choose from. Cyberpunk 2077's lead quest designer, Paweł Sasko, has commented that "The player in Cyberpunk 2077 can create a custom character that has one of three origin stories, that we call Lifepaths," each with their own "starting location and story background that are strongly connected with the origin story" (via VG24/7). There will be romance Fans of The Witcher 3's romantic sub-plots will be happy to hear that CD Projekt is bringing something similar to Cyberpunk 2077. In an interview with GamesRadar, the game's Quest Designer, Mateusz Tomaskiewicz, confirmed that players will be able to have relationships with different "entities", all of whom will have their own stories, goals and ideas for you to engage with. He stopped short of confirming just how many romance threads players will have the option to pursue and whether or not one of them will be with Keanu Reeves. It seems unlikely, though. There will be no morality system Players won't be constrained by any kind of morality system in Cyberpunk 2077 it has been confirmed by Mateusz Tomaskiewicz in an interview with GamingBolt. Given the complex nature of the decisions players made in The Witcher 3, this decision to favor the grey probably won't come as much of a surprise. This means that if you want to play through the entire game without killing anyone you absolutely can. Or if you want to be the next Angel of Death you can do that too. You just have to invest in the right in-game skills to do so. Image Credit: CD Projekt Red There's more than Night City From what we've seen so far, the setting of Night City in Cyberpunk 2077 looks like a mighty impressive, expansive and very neon place to explore. But it won't be the only location in the game to explore. In an interview with VG247, the Lead Quest Designer, Pawel Sasko, revealed that players will be able to go beyond the walls of the metropolis and explore an area known as the "Badlands". Largely desolate and populated by Nomads, this area will have its own quests. You can even start the game as a Nomad and begin your story outside of the city. Multiple Endings In an interview with CD Projekt, YouTuber Yong Yea got confirmation that Cyberpunk 2077 will have multiple endings. It's not been confirmed just how many there will be but this ties in with the expansive image of the game that's being presented and the idea that players are crafting a highly personal story. New Cyberpunk 2077 gameplay shown at E3 2019, but not playable At E3 2019 we got the chance to see Cyberpunk 2077 at a behind-closed doors demo centered around Pacifica – the southern-most region of Night City – and Keanu Reeves' character, Johnny Silverhand. The weirdest part? Keanu may in fact be the key to immortality. Yes, you read that correctly. Inside Pacifica, two gangs – The Animals and The Voodoo Boys – are fighting for supremacy. In order to meet Bridgitte, the head of the Voodoo Boys, you'll have to first deal with her lieutenant Placide, who wants you to infiltrate The Animals' hideout. Your goal, at least you're told, is to find a high-tech van that's monitoring all the network traffic in Pacifica. To get to this van, you'll have to make your way past The Animals' crew. The reason they're called The Animals, it turns out, is because they take a drug that enhances their muscle mass. To get through them you'll either need to fight your way through – a risky proposition – or sneak your way into the hideout. Image Credit: CD Projekt Red Customization: perks, skills and attributes The choices are vast, and while they're not completely limitless, CD Projekt Red doesn’t want to confine you to a single play style or set path. The reasoning behind that, it seems, is to better mirror the game’s source material – a 30-year-old tabletop role playing game called Cyberpunk (however, there was also a later edition called Cyberpunk 2020). Behind all of the hacking and gunplay lies a fairly complex RPG – the perks screen we saw during our demo had more than 20 perks to choose from and level up. These perks impact how your character plays, but can also impact what choices you have in conversations with the world’s NPCs. Image Credit: CD Projekt Red Vampire Bloodlines and Deus Ex were inspirations for the game Given it’s based on a tabletop roleplaying game and Cyberpunk is already a massive sub-genre in science fiction, we knew Cyberpunk 2077 hadn’t been totally pulled from the ether without any kind of influence. But we’re always interested to find out about some of the more subtle influences on the game and the way it plays, some of which Quest Director Mateusz Tomaskiewicz has revealed in a recent interview with gaming publication AreaJugones. Tomaskiewicz said that games such as Deus Ex, Vampire Bloodlines and Elder Scrolls had influenced him in his work on Cyberpunk 2077's quests. He cites the original Deus Ex as a particular influence and praises the ways in which it gives players the freedom to complete missions in multiple ways. This suggests we can expect a great deal of freedom and complexity and non-linearity in Cyberpunk 2077’s missions as well as in the protagonist you'll be using to cause havoc in the game world which is something quite different from the tight gameplay-loop found in The Witcher. CD Projekt Red is working on two AAA titles – both to be released by 2021 CD Projekt Red has confirmed it still plans to release two AAA titles by 2021. While we know one of these titles will definitely be Cyberpunk 2077, we're still in the dark about what the second title could be. This release window was reaffirmed on the official CD Projekt Red forums, with moderator Donata Popławska confirming the studio is sticking to its original roadmap. "As far as the strategy of the CD Projekt Capital Group for 2016-2021 is concerned, its plans to release the second AAA game by 2021 remain unchanged," the moderator wrote (translated via Resetera user Antiax). However, Popławska did not expand on what the second AAA title to be released in this time frame could be. "We are currently focusing on the production and promotion of Cyberpunk, so we do not want to comment on further projects," they continued. Lady Gaga could be making an appearance? According to french site ActuGaming, Lady Gaga and CD Projekt Red are collaborating for Cyberpunk 2077 and the artist has already visited the Polish studio to take part in motion-capture – suggesting she will have a character role in the game itself. In addition ActuGaming claims the collaboration will be officially announced at E3 2019, with Gaga rumored to be making an appearance at the gaming convention. Last year Gaga tweeted a strange mix of letters and numbers, which the official Cyberpunk 2077 Twitter account replied to with "Of course! Of course we will!", suggesting the A Star is Born actress would be involved with the game in some way or another. E3 2018 confirmed features We got to spend some time watching a demo of Cyberpunk 2077 during E3 and we learned some interesting things about the game. It's a first person RPG set in a huge open world known as Night City – a metropolis split into six districts, each offering a different environment to explore. During the demo we only saw a small part of one of them. Players can create their own character called V and embark on their journey to crawl up from the criminal underbelly. This is a dark game and though The Witcher series is mature, this takes it to a new level. As you'd expect, the game lets you augment your body using various bits of tech – illegal or otherwise – and you can use drugs to enhance your combat, or a kind of digital brain-hack called 'Braindance'. We know weapons are wide ranging and seriously creative, with smart guns and bullets as well as terrifying Mantis Blades for melee. There are no loading screens in Cyberpunk 2077 and the story and side quests are branching and numerous, and your choices genuinely impact the outcome. You can read more about how impressed were were by what we saw. E3 2018 secret message CD Projekt RED used the Xbox Showcase to show its latest trailer for Cyberpunk 2077. But it's more than just a trailer. Spotted by Polygon, there's a moment in the trailer with hidden text with more information on the game which is revealed when you enhance the image. In the message CD Projekt first apologises for "staying silent longer than we planned" but following the release of The Witcher 3 Blood and Wine the developer wanted to wait until it had "something meaningful and substantial" to show. It goes on to say that the vision for Cyberpunk is "an alternative version of the future where America is in pieces, megacorporations control all aspects of civilized life, and gangs rule the rest." This game will, CD Projekt says, be a "true single player, story-driven RPG" where you'll be able to create your own character. At the moment the developer isn't ready to confirm any kind of release date and asks for more patience. It also says it has "no bloody clue" about how big the game is but does say it's "seriously big." Image Credit: CD Projekt Red It could be on the next generation of consoles CD Projekt Red has hinted that Cyberpunk 2077 could be developed for both current and next gen titles. GamingBolt has reported that during a presentation at the Pareto Securities Gaming Seminar 2018 event, the studio's CFO Piotr Nielubowicz and CEO Adam Kiciński mentioned Cyberpunk 2077 hinted that it may be being developed for future hardware. The slide in question stated the team was developing the title for “current and next-generation technology”. Given the game's current timeline, it's possible it could launch on current systems in April (PS4, Xbox One) and then next-gen systems (PlayStation 5, Xbox Two) later in the year. It will be on Steam Good news Steam fans: Cyberpunk 2077 will definitely be coming to the platform. At the Pareto Securities Gaming Seminar (via PCGamesN) the studio’s CEO Adam Kiciński gave a presentation in which he confirmed that the game would not be exclusive to GOG. There's been a lot of furore over the Metro Exodus being 'removed' from Steam and onto the Epic Games Store, but it looks like CD Projekt Red is steering clear of that minefield. It’s going to be bigger than The Witcher 3 It would have been a pretty safe guess to say that Cyberpunk 2077 is going to be a big game, but in an interview with MCV in 2015 visual effects artist Jose Teixeira said it’s going to be “far, far bigger” than anything the studio has ever done. In fact, he said that The Witcher 3 was being treated as a learning experience and that they could do better. To do better, the studio has doubled in size with studio head Adam Badowski saying that after The Witcher 3, Cyberpunk 2077 needs to be “even better, even bigger, even more revolutionary” than what had originally been planned. Image Credit: CD Projekt Red You’ll be travelling on more advanced tech than boats and horses So, we know the game map is going to be intimidatingly big. How will we get around it, then? Well fortunately, moving out of the high fantasy realm gives CD Projekt Red a little more freedom when it comes to creating vehicles. Don’t expect horses and basic boats here – a job listing for a Senior Vehicle Artist for the studio said they’d be expected to work on “incredibly complex vehicles, planes, bikes, robots and mechanics.“ There may be multiplayer It was confirmed years ago that the game would have multiplayer elements but what exactly they’ll be is unclear. It was said, though, that the game would mainly focus on single player. The company president said in March 2018 that these elements are not on the table right now, so it's possible that they'll be introduced after the game's release in a sort of online world like GTA Online. There will be online As well as multiplayer, CD Projekt's CEO has confirmed that there will also be online elements to the game. In an interview with Polish tech site Strefa Inwestorow Kiciński stated that “Online is necessary, or very recommended if you wish to achieve a long-term success. At some point, we have mentioned that there will be a certain online element related to Cyberpunk.” Whether or not the online elements will feed into the multiplayer is unclear. But there won't be microtransactions The studio also tweeted to quell fears over microtransactions in online components, stating that Cyberpunk 2077 will be "nothing less than" the Witcher 3, adding that players will "get what [they] pay for" with "no hidden catch." It appears that while many studios are feeling the need to move to a service model to ensure their titles make money, CD Projekt is staying committed to the story-driven single player experience with Cyberpunk 2077, one which served them very well with The Witcher. Image Credit: CD Projekt Red Things we'd like to seeCombat inspired by the original tabletop RPG We know that the designer of the tabletop RPG Cybperunk on which Cyberpunk 2077 is based is heavily involved in the creation of the game. We hope his involvement extends to the game's combat because the combat system he created in his own game was fairly revolutionary for the tabletop genre. Rather than involving drawn out and long turns, it was fast, brutal, gritty and overall perfectly suited to the spirit of Cyberpunk. A big part of Cyberpunk combat involves upgrading your body with new abilities and robotics which would be perfectly in line with a video game character development system like those created by CD Projekt Red. In Pondsmith's game bodily enhancement has to be carefully considered – Keep checking back here for all the latest Cyberpunk 2077 news (Image credits: CD Projekt Red) This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| The best Three mobile deals in July 2019 Posted: 08 Jul 2019 08:09 AM PDT Three mobile has for a long time been well known in the UK for offering good deals, especially for customers looking for some seriously big data bundles. In the early days, the network was blighted by poor reception in many areas but these days Three mobile doesn't have any such issues and its prices can be stellar. So take a look at our comparison tool to see what you can get for your money with Three. And below that we've also handpicked the best the network has to offer on flagship handsets such as the iPhone XR and Samsung Galaxy S10. And if you're perfectly happy with your current handset but are at the end of your contract, then we heartily recommend that you consider the 100GB Three SIM only deal for £20 per month Want to browse the best phone deals at other networks too? Simply head over to our best mobile phone deals page. The latest and greatest from Huawei, the P30 Pro is now easily our choice for best smartphone camera on the market. Combine top of the line camera quality with an impressive battery life and beautiful screen and you get easily one of the best phones on the market.
Samsung's newest release, this phone is rocking a completely flat, notch-less screen with a pin hole camera, giving it a unique style. Whether it's the triple cameras on the back, fast processor or reverse charging, there is a lot to love here.
Samsung's brand new budget flagship, the S10e features high-end specs for an affordable price. If you want the best Samsung has but don't want to have to pay through the roof to get it, this is the way to go. With all of the same features as the S10 with a few cutbacks, this is a high-end phone with mid-range pricing.
The iPhone XR hits a sweet spot between high tech and reasonable pricing. It looks a lot like its more powerful brethren - both in appearance and on the spec sheet - and boasts a glorious 6.1-inch Liquid Retina display and A12 Bionic chipset without a £1,000 price tag.
OK, so the Samsung Galaxy S9 doesn't make massive strides on the S8, but that doesn't mean it's not still one of the premier Android phones on the market. The cameras in particular are awe inspiring and tangible improvements have been made to the biometrics and position of the fingerprint scanner.
Oh gosh, Apple went and did it. After years upon years of incremental upgrades, it finally made something special to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the iPhone. For the iPhone X it has dropped the bezel altogether, while the 5.8-inch Super Retina HD is scarily good - and then it tweaked things a year later for the XS. Marvellous!
Samsung has now well and truly put the flaming memory of the Note 7 behind it. If the Note 8 was exceptional (6.3-inch infinity display and 6GB RAM), then the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 is even bigger and better (6.4-inch infinity display and 8GB RAM). If you want the best big screen Android phones on the market, then look no further.
Thanks to the spectacle that was the iPhone X launch, the reception for the iPhone 8 was a little bit flat. Perhaps unfairly - it improves on the iPhone 7 with wireless charging and an improved camera. Plus, it's quite a bit cheaper. So if you're looking for the best iPhone but balk at the iPhone X expense, try the 8 on for size instead.
The Google Pixel 3 and 3 XL are relatively new devices on the flagship scene but they have very quickly become two of our favourites. Powerful processors, loud speakers, but most importantly they have what is arguably the best cameras you can get on a phone right now.
What are the benefits of Three?The benefits of getting a Three mobile deal can be split into three main categories: Another factor that has made Three so popular is its offer off massive amounts of data (or even unlimited) at some brilliant price points. Can I keep my number when I switch to Three?You sure can, if you switch over to an Three mobile deal and want to keep your old number, then simply call your old network, get a PAC code and transition it over. If you were previously on Three, you can still keep your number but it is slightly more complicated. They won't let you keep your number, so you have to use this workaround. Buy a free pay-as-you-go SIM from any other network and tell your network that you're moving. They'll release the PAC code, which you then give to the substitute network. Then, you immediately get another PAC code from them. Take that to your old network, and they'll move your number to your new contract. Long winded, but easier than learning a new number! Can I use my Three phone abroad?When it comes to roaming abroad Three mobile deals are a pretty great way to go. With access to free roaming anywhere in Europe and options in at least 71 countries, Three trumps the rest for roaming charges. There are select countries where you will have to pay extra to use your data, you can check Three's website to find these countries. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| The best O2 phone deals in July 2019 Posted: 08 Jul 2019 08:05 AM PDT O2 has been killing it with deals recently, we've been seeing some of our absolute favourite offers coming up with this provider in the start of 2019. While offers from O2 themselves aren't too strong, 3rd party retailers (like Mobiles.co.uk and Carphone Warehouse) have been throwing out consistently strong deals with O2. The company has been one of the best networks in the UK for some time. It's the network that's renowned for its extra Priority reward giveaways. And if you switch to the O2 network you obviously want to be sure you're getting the best deals that O2 has to offer, and that's where this page comes in! We've rounded up all of the best O2 phone deals on the best handsets - from the iPhone XR and Samsung Galaxy S10 down to the cheaper P20 Pro and Samsung Galaxy S9. And if you're still not sure about O2, you can browse the best phone deals at other networks, too - simply head to our best mobile phone deals page. And if the deal you've found is being offered by retailer Mobiles.co.uk and costs at least £10 upfront, then make sure you enter our exclusive 10OFF discount code at the checkout to knock a tenner off. The latest and greatest from Huawei, the P30 Pro is now easily our choice for best smartphone camera on the market. Combine top of the line camera quality with an impressive battery life and beautiful screen and you get easily one of the best phones on the market.
Samsung's newest release, this phone is rocking a completely flat, notch-less screen with a pin hole camera, giving it a unique style. Whether it's the triple cameras on the back, fast processor or reverse charging, there is a lot to love here.
Samsung's brand new budget flagship, the S10e features high-end specs for an affordable price. If you want the best Samsung has but don't want to have to pay through the roof to get it, this is the way to go. With all of the same features as the S10 with a few cutbacks, this is a high-end phone with mid-range pricing.
The iPhone XR hits a sweet spot between high tech and reasonable pricing. It looks a lot like its more powerful brethren - both in appearance and on the spec sheet - and boasts a glorious 6.1-inch Liquid Retina display and A12 Bionic chipset without a £1,000 price tag.
OK, so the Samsung Galaxy S9 doesn't make massive strides on the S8, but that doesn't mean it's not still one of the best Android phones on the market right now. The cameras in particular are awe inspiring and tangible improvements have been made to both the biometrics and position of the fingerprint scanner.
Oh gosh, Apple went and did it. After years upon years of incremental upgrades, it finally made something special to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the iPhone. For the iPhone X it has dropped the bezel altogether, while the 5.8-inch Super Retina HD is scarily good - and then it tweaked things a year later for the XS. Marvellous!
Samsung has now well and truly put the flaming memories of the Note 7 in the past. If the Note 8 was exceptional (6.3-inch infinity display and 6GB RAM), then the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 is even bigger and more powerful (6.4-inch infinity display and 8GB RAM). If you want the best big screen Android phones on the market, then look no further.
Thanks to the spectacle that was the iPhone X launch, the reception for the iPhone 8 was a little bit flat. Which we think is unfair - it improves on the iPhone 7 with wireless charging and an improved camera. Plus, it's quite a bit cheaper. So if you're looking for the best iPhone but the price of the iPhone X is too much to cope with, try the 8 on for size instead.
The Google Pixel 3 and 3 XL are relatively new devices on the flagship scene but they have very quickly become two of our favourites. Powerful processors, loud speakers, but most importantly they have what is arguably the best cameras you can get on a phone right now.
What are the benefits of O2?When it comes to benefits of a O2 phone deal, the best known part comes in the form of O2 Priority. This is a scheme which offers the likes of competition entries, free tickets, coffees and other benefits. Those that sign up with O2 also get access to events that O2 is sponsoring and most importantly, O2 covers 98% of the UK when it comes to coverage meaning you should never be worrying about signal. Can I keep my number when I switch to O2?You sure can, if you switch over to an O2 mobile deal and want to keep your old number, then simply call your old network, get a PAC code and transition it over. If you were previously on O2, you can still keep your number but it is slightly more complicated. They won't let you keep your number, so you have to use this workaround. Buy a free pay-as-you-go SIM from any other network and tell your network that you're moving. They'll release the PAC code, which you then give to the substitute network. Then, you immediately get another PAC code from them. Take that to your old network, and they'll move your number to your new contract. Long winded, but easier than learning a new number! Can I use my O2 phone abroad?Like all of the other networks, O2 covers your roaming charges when you're in Europe. Stray out of that area and you will have to start paying additional costs for the data, minutes and texts you use. Travelling outside of Europe? O2 has a number of different schemes and packages to help you deal with that - you can find them all on the O2 website. The Galaxy Note 9 has been out for a while now and Samsung Galaxy S10 deals are readily available, which in theory should make Galaxy Note 8 deals old news. Right? Well that's what you would think. But the 2017 model is so incredible that it still performs just like a new model and not to mention it is so much cheaper than its successor. Samsung Galaxy Note 8 deals are definitely still well worth a look. And it's still getting cheaper! When the Note 8 first came out EE had deals locked down tight, but now there is a pretty good spread across providers so no matter your preference you don't have to switch, Although EE still does have some of the very best deals on this device. Samsung Note 8 deals are now well under the £900-mark in total over the two-year contract and can go as low as £750. The Note 8 is not by any means a budget device, however. It's a absolutely massive smartphone, not just in size but also in raw power. It's got the screen size and specification smarts to be a competitor to the highly praised iPhone X or iPhone's new massive iPhone XS Max and neither of those come cheap. But there are now some excellent Note 8 deals floating around. Check out our comparison chart and handpicked favourite Note 8 deals below. Now we know some of you may have fiery memories of the Galaxy Note 7 in your head when looking at this device but leave those worries behind. Both the Note 8 and 9 have massively improved their batteries and you won't be facing overheating problems anymore. The Note 8 truly is miles ahead of the 7 in every way.
5 best Galaxy Note 8 deals in the UK today:This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| British Airways gets hammered with a record £183m fine for data breach Posted: 08 Jul 2019 08:05 AM PDT The ICO has penalized British Airways with a record fine of £183 million for a data breach that occurred last year. The incident came to light last September, when British Airways revealed that a sophisticated hack had led to 380,000 customer accounts being compromised, although that initial figure turned out to be an underestimation, with some 500,000 people actually affected, the ICO reckons.
Those folks had the likes of names, addresses, emails, credit card numbers and expiry dates – as well as the security codes on the rear of cards – stolen over a two-week period beginning on August 21, we were told at the time. Although the ICO claims that the thefts began occurring as early as June 2018. The hackers diverted victims to a fraudulent site where all these details were successfully harvested. Fundamental privacy rightsInformation Commissioner Elizabeth Denham commented: “People’s personal data is just that – personal. When an organization fails to protect it from loss, damage or theft it is more than an inconvenience. “That’s why the law is clear – when you are entrusted with personal data you must look after it. Those that don’t will face scrutiny from my office to check they have taken appropriate steps to protect fundamental privacy rights.” And in this case, that investigation has led to a proposed £183.4 million fine. British Airways said it was ‘surprised and disappointed’ at the verdict according to a BBC report, and will get the opportunity to make its case as to why this penalty is overly harsh. The ICO further noted: “British Airways has cooperated with the ICO investigation and has made improvements to its security arrangements since these events came to light. The company will now have opportunity to make representations to the ICO as to the proposed findings and sanction.” The ICO will then consider the airline’s arguments, as well as input from other data protection authorities, before the decision on the penalty is finalized. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Galaxy Note 10 e Note 10 Pro, nuovi leak rivelano le differenze Posted: 08 Jul 2019 08:05 AM PDT Generalmente Samsung presenta un modello della serie Note all'anno, ma questa volta sembra molto probabile che ne vedremo due: circolano infatti molte voci di corridoio riguardo l'uscita del Samsung Galaxy Note 10 e del Note 10 Pro. Adesso sono state leakate foto di custodie e delle pellicole protettive che sembrano progettate per i due modelli, e lasciano immaginare quelle che saranno le differenze. Condivise da @UniverseIce (un divulgatore piuttosto affidabile), le immagini mostrano un numero di fori per la fotocamera diverso sul retro delle custodie protettive. Entrambi i modelli hanno un alloggio per le fotocamere posteriori allungato, ma questi leak mostrano la custodia del Samsung Galaxy Note 10 con accanto un ulteriore foro circolare, mentre l'altra custodia mostra altri tre fori.
Le immagini confermerebbero altri leak precedenti, infatti noi avevamo già sentito che il Galaxy Note 10 avrebbe avuto tre lenti posteriori, mentre il Note 10 Pro ne avrebbe avute quattro. Qui in realtà abbiamo visto due fori extra, ma uno potrebbe semplicemente ospitare un secondo flash o qualcosa del genere. A parte questo, il design sembra molto simile: le pellicole presentano entrambe uno spazio per ospitare la fotocamera frontale, inserita in un foro sul display. Oltre alle immagini, @Universelce ha twittato che ''non ci sarà schermo migliore'' di quello del Galaxy Note 10 nella seconda metà del 2019. Non hanno spiegato nel dettaglio perchè, ma la cosa non ci sorprente, infatti generalmente gli schermi dei top di gamma Samsung sono sempre tra i migliori. Secondo altre voci, entrambi i modelli avranno uno schermo 1440 x 3040, della misura di circa 6.3'' per il Note 10 e 6.8'' per il Note 10 Pro. Non dovremo aspettare molto per conoscere tutti i dettagli ufficiali, infatti la serie Samsung Galaxy Note 10 verrà presentata il 7 agosto. Previous rumors point to both models having a 1440 x 3040 screen, with sizes of around 6.4 inches for the Note 10, and 6.8 inches for the Note 10 Pro. We won’t have long to wait until we found out all the official details though, as the Samsung Galaxy Note 10 range is launching on August 7.
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| Borderlands 3: release date, news and trailers for the next Borderlands game Posted: 08 Jul 2019 08:03 AM PDT More than six years after Borderlands 2 burst into our lives, Borderlands 3 has finally been announced and given a firm release date that we can count down to. After so long waiting, it hardly feels real that the release date of Borderlands 3 is so close; we've even spent some hands-on time with the game now! With larger-than-life characters, a lively and colorful alien planet to explore, tons of absurd weapons, and a wisecracking sense of humor, Borderlands has managed to blow some fresh air into an FPS genre that often sticks to 'gritty' visuals and dull urban environments. Here's everything we know so far about the game, and when it's finally going to be landing on PC and consoles. [Update: Borderlands 3 will have an Apex Legends-style ping system.] Image Credit: Gearbox Cut to the chase
Borderlands 3 release dateGearbox has now confirmed a release date of September 13, 2019. Borderlands 3 Borderlands 3 trailers and previewWhile we wait for the game to land, we do have a number of new trailers to pore over. The very latest trailer popped up during E3 and it brought us an exciting amount of new footage including a new cinematic trailer and ten whole minutes of gameplay footage. You can watch both below: Gearbox took to the stage at PAX East (March 28-30) to show off the formal announcement trailer below. You get a good look at the new villains of the series (a brother and sister?), new shiny cities and creaking scrapyards, and series-favorite robot Claptrap doing some breakdancing. It looks... pretty much the same as any Borderlands game before it, which is both reassuring for fans and a bit disappointing for those looking for a new spin on the series. It's too early to judge before we've seen more, though. What we know for sure is that there'll be a lot of guns (over one billion, and even one with little machine legs) and a whole lot of looting in expansive sandbox environments. Oh, and a saxophone solo – because why not? There's also a separate announcement trailer for the release date, which also names the four vault hunters and the name of the villains: the Calypso Twins... The official announcement came only days after a 'Mask of Mayhem' teaser you can see below. It's packed with little clues and hints of the game to come, including everything from a morse code to braille, and what seems to be a broken-up redeem code (C35TB - WS6ST - TXBRK - JJH6H - TTTJT) that we imagine will be usable for some sort of DLC reward or exclusive skin for eagle-eyed viewers. What's more, we've been able to spend some time with the game thanks to a hands-on gameplay reveal event that TechRadar attended. The gameplay loop, at least, is familiar, with your job to take down enemies, look their corpses, and level up. It looks like Gearbox is putting plenty of detail and imagination into the weaponry this time around. What's new is a focus on movement that's more fluid, and improvements to multiplayer, including the option for allies to revive each other. There's also "loot instancing", designed to level the playing field a little for groups of friends who've spend different amounts of time in the game. Borderlands 3 also gives you your very own spaceship, the Sanctuary 3. For a full rundown of everything we saw in our time with the game, check out our hands-on preview in full. Borderlands 3 news and rumorsAccessibility improvements In addition to the new ping system, Borderlands 3 includes a bunch of other features that aim to increase the game's overall accessibility including compatibility with the Xbox Adaptive Controller, re-mappable controls, a variety of subtitles and closed captioning options, and level-syncing (which will allow you to play with friends, even if you're different levels). There have also been improvements made to online match-making. Players will be able to search for a match in the background while continuing to play the game, and match preferences can be more specific than previously. This means you can find players at the same point in the story as you or set the mode you want to play in. Ping system At a panel at Guardian Con last week (via PC Gamer), Gearbox revealed it has added a range of new features to Borderlands 3 to make multiplayer more accessible than its predecessors. The biggest addition? An Apex Legends-style ping system that allows players to communicate with each other without ever having to say a word. Much like in Apex Legends, Borderlands 3's multiplayer will allow players to simply cover over an enemy or chest and then press a button to 'ping' it to your fellow teammates. In other words, it lets you highlight important things like hostiles, good loot and objectives. This feature will allow players to communicate easily and without having to deal with the stress of a stranger screaming down your headset. Of course, that option remains available. Check out a video of the new ping system in action below: E3 As promised, Borderlands 3 made an appearance at E3 2019 with a brand new cinematic trailer, 10 minutes of gameplay to pore over and confirmation that there's a brand new planet called Eden 6 that's inspired by the Louisiana swamps. Oh, and those rumors about a Borderlands 2 DLC bridging the gap to the third game? Those were true. Borderlands 2: Commander Lilith and the Fight for Sanctuary offers a 10-hour story which starts right at the end of Borderlands 2. Even better, it can be downloaded for free from now until July 9 on Xbox One, PS4 and Steam. After that it'll cost you £11.99 so if you have any interest in Borderlands 3 it's worth picking up right now. Reports of Borderlands 2 DLC - confirmed The rumors about a Borderlands 2 DLC bridging the gap between the second and upcoming third game were true. Commander Lilith and the Fight for Sanctuary DLC is free and available now. Details, details, details We managed to have a chat with Amanda Christensen, a concept artist at Gearbox and a key character designer on Borderlands 3. She told us that "the most obvious jump is in terms of our level of detail" in the upcoming game, and that there are a "bunch of cool little details" spread throughout. It's a revealing chat and you can read everything Christensen had to say about Borderlands 3 here. DLCs: quality over quantity The DLC future of Borderlands 3 looks bright enough, after Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford intimated on Twitter that future DLCs would focus on quality over quantity: it seems as though Borderlands 3 might focus on fleshing out the capabilities of the game's starting classes instead of asking players to start building new ones from scratch, and that's fine with us. Epic Games Store exclusive – to start While Borderlands 3 will launch on PS4, Xbox One and PC, the PC version will start as an Epic Games Store exclusive, before joining the Steam Store six months on. Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford hinted at this back in December, when he voiced his support for the new marketplace. Epic has been courting various exclusives for its store, including Metro Exodus and The Division 2, so we're not overly surprised. Cross-platform co-op could be included A listing page for Borderlands 3 on the Microsoft store gave a hint to a very-cool potential new feature landing with the game – cross-platform multiplayer. Though the page in question has since been pulled, it showed the game's feature set to include play across consoles not limited to Microsoft's own. With the game initially an Epic Games Store exclusive, and that platform's biggest title, Fortnite, being cross-platform in many console scenarios, there's certainly the genesis of the infrastructure to support the feature if true. A representative for the game's publisher, 2K Games, told IGN that “Cross play is something we’re looking at closely, but don’t have anything to confirm or announce at this time.” Vault Hunter names The release date trailer also gave us the names of the four vault hunters, which offer their own spins on the traditional four classes. We have a Gunner weapons expert (Moze), a Siren with floating fists at the ready (Amara), an android Beastmaster (Fl4x), and a suave, stealthy Operative (Zane). We also got the names of the entry's villains: the very evil-looking Calypso Twins (not identical). Borderlands 3 confirmed – as well as a board-game Gearbox gave us the announcement we wanted on March 28, at PAX East in Boston. The showcase was hit with technical difficulties – like a lot – and for some reason included a really long magic trick. But we got our first look at the anticipated title, as well as a tie-in board-game called Borderlands: Tiny Tina’s Robot Tea Party. Image Credit: Gearbox 4K remasters (for free!) Good news for anyone with a copy of Borderlands 1, 2, or the Pre-Sequel: Gearbox is releasing enhanced 4K remasters of the previous games, and anyone who already owns them will get to download the remastered version for free. You'll need a 4K ready console or PC to make the most of it, but it's wonderful fan service for those who do. Hints, lots of hints At PAX West 2017, Pitchford announced during a panel that 90% of the Gearbox team is “working on the thing I think most of you guys want us to be working on.” Pitchford also took part in an IGN Unfiltered interview around the same time, when he said that if another Borderlands game were to be made, it would be more of a true sequel as opposed to another Pre-Sequel spin-off. Caught in the act And in April 2017, Pitchford took to Twitter to post a picture of himself wearing a motion capture suit with the caption “Doing a shoot... I may or may not be a psycho bandit in a video game we may or may not be working on. Also, happy Bulletstorm launch day!” Given that Psychos are a Borderlands enemy we’d say this tweet can be read with a fairly large nudge and wink. The GDC presentation Before all of this Pitchford took to the stage during Epic Games’ Unreal presentation at GDC in March 2017, where he showed off new rendering tech that “may be used in a future Gearbox game.” He explicitly said the footage shown was not from a video game but what was shown was highly reminiscent of Borderlands. He also revealed that this new tech is capable of simulating different physics depending on a planet’s properties. Specifically he said “there might be different physics and the sun and the moons might be in different positions than what we’re used to on Pandora.” That seems to have been pretty prophetic – as we know Borderlands 3 will be making use of some new environments beyond what we saw on Pandora in the previous games. Some changes Borderlands regular Mikey Neumann won't be writing on the new game, as he was unfortunately forced to resign from the project due to health complications. The lead writer on Borderlands 2, Anthony Burch, has also since left the company. There’s been no hint with regards to who’ll be taking up the pen after their departures. Another change is that the voice behind Claptrap, David Eddings, has left Gearbox for Rooster Teeth so it’s unlikely he’ll be taking up the role again. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Best noise-cancelling headphones 2019: the top headphones for travel and commuting Posted: 08 Jul 2019 07:58 AM PDT The best noise-cancelling headphones buying guide: Hello headphones fans, and welcome to TechRadar's round-up of the best noise-cancelling headphones to buy in 2019. It's a universal truth that, on the whole, commutes are terrible. Luckily for us, noise-cancelling headphones exist to bring a little more balance into the world and make your morning and evening journey in and out of work a little more bearable. There's also a lot of choice for your anti-sound arsenal, including high-end options from some of the best audio manufacturers in the business, including Bose, Sony and Sennheiser. (Sorry AirPods fans, those as well as most true wireless earbuds just don't cut it.) Take a look at our list of the best noise-cancelling headphones on the market and pick up a pair to say goodbye to commuting, or traveling more generally, to a soundtrack of crying babies, honking traffic and noisy conversations. That's right, audio nirvana is just one step away. Don't forget as well, Amazon Prime Day 2019 is fast approaching. Starting on July 15, this 48-hour long sales events should see lots of the noise-cancelling headphones on this list being given sizable discounts by the online retail giant. So. we'd recommend waiting until then to buy your next pair of noise-cancelling headphones.
These true wonders of the modern era totally tune out any unwanted sounds, while simultaneously making your music sound even better than any old pair of in-ear earbuds. We believe that noise-cancelling headphones are just as vital as your laptop, TV or mobile phone when it comes to tech that'll change how you live, work and play. That means that choosing the right pair for you is important. Luckily, to help you pick out a pair of headphones that deliver all of the above in spades, we've put together a list of our favorite noise-cancelling headphones, listed below and ranked by their price-to-performance ratio. Can't decide which headphones to buy? Check out our guide video below: What are the best noise-cancelling headphones?Image credit: Sony The Sony WH-1000XM3 are the best noise-cancelling headphones in the world two years running. Sure, they might be a small refinement of last year's excellent WH-1000XM2, but subtle tweaks like using USB-C instead of microUSB and adding padding along the bridge help make Sony's award-winning cans even better. So why does everyone love these Sony headphones so much? Well, it's exceptionally good at cancelling outside noise. Put a pair on while vacuuming and you'll barely hear the motor running. For music lovers, the Sony WH-1000XM3 features aptX HD and Sony LDAC, two of the best ways to listen to Hi-Res music from your phone without a wire. Finally, all of Sony's flagship headphones offer both Google Assistant and, starting in 2019, Alexa support, making them not only the best noise-cancelling cans on the market but some of the smartest, too. Read the full review: Sony WH-1000XM3 Image credit: Sony If you can find a pair, the Sony WH-1000XM2 are still some of the best noise-cancelling headphones around: They sound great, deftly wield noise cancellation technology and cost just as much as a pair of Bose QC35s. They might have a slightly shorter battery life than Bose’s flagship over-ear headphones, but Sony’s WH-1000XM2 outclass the QC35 in terms of performance and feature-set. You’d want to pick these Sony headphones over the Bose because not only do they provide the same level of awesome noise-cancellation, but they have three neat tricks that Bose just doesn't have on its headphones: One is an ambient noise mode that only lets in mid-to-high frequency tones (announcements over a loudspeaker, for instance) and another being Quick Attention mode that allows you to let in all outside noise without taking off the headphones. (The latter is perfect when giving a drink order on a plane or speaking to a coworker for a brief moment before diving back into your work.) The last trick Sony has up its sleeve is the LDAC codec. Alongside the widely adopted aptX HD standard, LDAC enables Hi-Res Audio playback using the 1000XM2. Great-sounding, feature-packed and just as affordable as the competition? The Sony WH-1000XM2 are a solid all-around pick for noise-cancelling cans. Read the full review: Sony WH-1000XM2
Image credit: TechRadar Coming in at the number two spot is the Bose QuietComfort 35 II - a nearly identical product to the already-excellent Bose QuietComfort 35 but updated for 2018 with Google Assistant. This means you still get the class-leading noise cancellation Bose is known for, good sound quality and incredible comfort, plus a convenient assistant to answer any inquiries you might have while traveling. Taken as a whole, the Bose QC35 II NC is an excellent headphone for travelers and commuters. Bose has found a good balance of features that will satisfy most mainstream listeners. While we don't love them as much as the better-sounding Sony WH-1000XM2, they're still top of the class for noise cancellation. Despite the popularity of the QC35s, Bose is shaking things up by releasing a totally new wireless noise-canceling headphones model, with a focus on sleek design and “breakthrough” audio tech: the Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 – and they might be coming for the top spot of best noise-canceling headphones. Read the full review: Bose QuietComfort 35 II Image credit: TechRadar Offering class-leading battery life, terrific style and plenty of personalization when it comes to sound profiles, the Elite 85h is easy to recommend. That said, purists will bemoan the lack of high-end codec support and there are punchier headphones on the market at this price point. When you consider that Jabra’s Elite 85h headphones are the company’s first attempt at premium wireless ANC headphones, the result is quite commendable. We can’t wait to see what the company’s next premium ANC headphones will accomplish. If you want an alternative to Sony's WH-1000XM3, this is it. Read the full review: Jabra Elite 85H Image credit: TechRadar Philips presents a more elegant noise-cancelling solution with its NC1. These on-ear headphones aren't wireless like our top pick, but that's hardly a reason to knock them. Coming in at $299/£195, the NC1 are a compact set that's high on comfort and battery life. You get a lot for the money here. In the box comes the headphones, a hard case for storage and the headphones rock a rechargeable battery that provides noise cancellation for close to 30 hours. But best of all, the sound performance is extremely well balanced and warm. (A quite note for our Australian readers: Philips sadly no longer sells the NC1's down under, so you'll need to import a pair if you're keen.) Read the full review: Philips Fidelio NC1 Image credit: TechRadar A few years ago, the Bose QuietComfort 25 are the best noise-cancelling headphones we've ever used. The lows, mids and highs came through clear as day, never stepping over each other. Music of all sorts sounded predictably incredible. With the noise-cancellation turned on, we never felt further immersed and concentrated than when we let the QC25 engulf our ears. But that was a few years ago and time has moved on since. Bose has released not just one sequel to these headphones, but two: the QC35 and QC35 II with Google Assistant built in, both of which we'd recommend above the QC25. But, it's not all bad. If you don't mind using the older, wired headphones, the QC25s are a finely-tuned set of cans that provide over 35 hours of very good noise-cancelling performance with one AAA battery. Read the full review: Bose QuietComfort 25 [Update: These headphones also come in a wireless version - check out our review of of the Bose QuietComfort 35. Image credit: TechRadar Bowers and Wilkins are a little late to the noise-cancellation game, but their first foray impresses. The PX Wireless aren't just a great sounding pair of headphones, they've also got a number of other interesting tricks up their sleeve. They'll turn on and off automatically depending on whether you're wearing them or not, and they also feature the future-proof USB-C charging standard. In our opinion their only downside is the sound quality, which we felt lacks the depth of the flagship headphones from Bose and Sony. That said, if you've been a fan of the look of B&W's headphones in the past then the PX Wireless are certainly worth a listen. Read the full review: Bowers and Wilkins PX Wireless Image credit: TechRadar With noise-cancelling tech just as effective as that in headphones from rival Bose, and with a more musical sonic ability, the Sennheiser HD 4.50 BTNC are a definite contender for the noise-cancelling crown. More affordable and easy to travel with, these lightweight headphones are a great value all-rounder, whether for flights, commuter trains or busy offices. Design-wise, the Sennheiser HD 4.50 BTNCs seem a more slimmed-down, lighter and more focused effort than the bulky and expensive alternatives from Bose and Sony; and crucially, the HD 4.50 BTNCs are just as good with audio, and almost as good on noise-canceling. Whether you're after noise canceling for long-haul ravel, for the commute, or just to stay more productive in a noisy office, the Sennheiser HD 4.50 BTNCs are worth considering. Read the full review: Sennheiser HD 4.50 BTNC Image credit: TechRadar For the money, the JBL Live 650BTNC punch above its weight in terms of sound quality, build, and features. They offer your choice of either Google Assistant or Amazon's Alexa voice assistant, and can have their EQ customized by the JBL Headphones app. Battery life is rated at 20 hours with ANC and wireless enabled and if you use the JBL Live 650BTNC with a wire with ANC enabled, you can get upwards 30 hours on a single charge. If you don’t want to splurge on the Bose QC35 II or Sony WH-1000XM3, you’ll be satisfied with the JBL Live 650BTNC knowing that you’re getting 80% of the performance at 50% of the price tag. Read the full review: JBL Live 650BTNC Image credit: Microsoft While they're not quite up to par with the flagship noise-cancelling cans from Sony and Bose, Microsoft’s Surface headphones are surprisingly good, with a stunningly warm sound, and generous bass frequencies. Problematically, the active noise cancelling works pretty well, although it won’t block out all ambient noise in your environment, especially if you're somewhere noisy. That being said, if you have the noise cancelling turned on while listening to music, you can pretty much get lost in the experience without being disturbed by your noisy shared office of the rumbling of the train on your commute. Although we were initially unconvinced by the high price (particularly when you can buy quality cans from heritage audio brands for less), most of the Surface Headphone's features work so seamlessly that it feels justified. Read the full review: Microsoft Surface Headphones Image credit: TechRadar If you haven't found something quite to your liking so far, we have one last option for you to look at – the all-new Nura Nuraphone over-ear/in-ear hybrid. Their form factor means you’ve not only got an earbud sitting at the entrance of your ear canal, but also an over-ear cushion sitting over your entire ear. This effectively means you’ve got two physical barriers meaning that the noise from the outside world can’t get to your ears. While more traditional over-ear headphones do a better job offering useful features at a reasonable price, the Nuraphone will appeal to the more experimental audio crowd looking to be on the bleeding-edge of the next big thing. Read our full review: Nuraphone Headphones
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| Best upcoming games 2019: most anticipated titles for PS4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch Posted: 08 Jul 2019 07:53 AM PDT We're half way into 2019 already and, while we've already seen some great releases, there's still a host of exciting new games on the way to feed your gaming fix. Whether you're looking for boot-shaking scares, heart-racing thrills or some wholesome narrative, we've got you covered. Here at TechRadar we've gathered together a list of the best upcoming games coming to PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch in 2019 (and a few releasing in 2020). We'll be updating this list as titles release and others are announced, so watch this space. So without further ado, buckle up and get ready to update your wishlist with the best upcoming games in 2019... Shenmue 3Shenmue 3 (Image credit: YS Net) When's it out? What platform? What's it about? We aren't quite sure what to expect with Shenmue III, especially considering it's not being made by Sega, but hopefully the wait was worth it... Gears 5Gears 5 (Image credit: The Coalition) When's it out? What platform? What's it about? Gears 5 offers a new 3-player online and local co-op mode 'Escape,' a special character pack featuring Terminator skins in a crossover with the upcoming 'Terminator: Dark Fate' film, and a new Map Editor feature. We've already tested out Gear 5's Escape mode and found it to be enjoyable co-operative chaos. Pokémon Sword and ShieldPokémon Sword and Shield (Image credit: Nintendo) When's it out? What platform? What's it about? The new games will be based in the Galar region, which is essentially the Nintendo version of Great Britain - including soccer stadiums and quaint countryside. Expect a whole host of new Pokémon to swoon over too, including the adorable Wooloo and melancholy Sobble. Borderlands 3Borderlands 3 (Image credit: Gearbox Software) When's it out? What platform? What's it about? The fourth core entry in the first-person shoot and loot franchise sees you playing as a Vault Hunter aiming to stop the antagonist Calypso twins from harnessing the "Children of the Vault" and taking possession of the Vaults which exist beyond the planet of Pandora. Expect larger-than-life characters, a lively and colorful alien planet to explore, tons of absurd weapons, and a wisecracking sense of humor. Make sure you check out our Borderlands 3 preview for all the juicy details. Star Wars Jedi: Fallen OrderStar Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (Image credit: Respawn Entertainment) When's it out? What platform? What's it about? While the official reveal only gave us a glimpse at a story trailer, it was more than enough to get us hyped for the upcoming game. E3 2019 gave us a far more meaty look at the game - including some lightsaber-fueled gameplay. While fans of the galactic franchise have seen official tie-ins in the form of Star Wars Battlefront I and II, the new entry takes on a different tack, focusing on a single-player experience more in line with 2008's The Force Unleashed - we just hope it's as good as it looks. The Outer WorldsThe Outer Worlds (Image credit: Obsidian Entertainment) When's it out? What platform? What's it about? If you were disappointed by Fallout 76 then The Outer Worlds could be one to watch. Make sure to check out The Outer Worlds doesn't shy away from its Fallout roots - and that's great. Doom EternalDoom Eternal (Image credit: iD Software) When's it out? What platform? What's it about? Doom Eternal is aiming to go bigger and better than ever before, introducing an enhanced Doom slayer and a host of new demons - and this time the invasion has spread further than Mars. FIFA 20FIFA (Image credit: EA) When's it out? What platform? What's it about? FIFA 20 is the next entry in the long-running football simulation series and sees the addition of new features such as a better manual defending, revamped shooting and a 'Volta Football' street and indoor five-a-side mode. How has the FIFA series changed over the years? Here's how FIFA became the champion of soccer simulators. Death StrandingDeath Stranding (Image credit: Kojima Productions) When's it out? What platform? What's it about? Despite having a firm release date (and various strange trailers), we are still confused about Death Stranding and don't think we'll really have a grasp on its story until we get our hands on it. Cyberpunk 2077Cyberpunk 2077 (Image credit: CD Projekt Red) When's it out? What platform? What's it about? Cyberpunk 2077 is an dystopian RPG from The Witcher 3 developer CD Projekt Red, set in a gritty, science fiction world metropolis. It's based off the pen-and-paper RPG of the same name and promises to be a game-changer when it releases next year. If that's not enough for you, then the announcement that Keanu Reeves plays a major role in the game should hopefully get you excited. Final Fantasy 7 RemakeFinal Fantasy 7 Remake (Image credit: Square Enix) When's it out? What platform? What's it about? The development road for Final Fantasy 7 Remake hasn't exactly been smooth. The game was initially announced back at E3 2015, but won't release until March 3, 2020. Regardless, we're still extremely excited to get our hands Square Enix's reimagining of the classic Final Fantasy game. Here's what it's like to play Final Fantasy 7 Remake if you never played the original Animal Crossing: New HorizonsAnimal Crossing (Image credit: Nintendo) When's it out? What platform? What's it about? We're expecting Animal Crossing on Nintendo Switch to offer the same charm and wholesome atmosphere of previous Animal Crossing titles, while hopefully adding some new characters, more furniture and more areas to explore. Marvel's AvengersMarvel's Avengers (Image credit: Crystal Dynamics) When's it out? What platform? What's it about? Officially announced at E3 2019, the game will have a multiplayer component alongside a single-player campaign, though it wasn't shown off during the event. What we've heard from Crystal Dynamics in a closed-door briefing is that you'll assemble into teams of four online, customize your characters and fight online together through new scenarios. Crystal Dynamics says this content will be free and will come at a constant clip. Halo InfiniteHalo Infinite (Image credit: 343 Industries) When's it out? What platform? What's it about? While we don't know much about what to expect from Halo Infinite, we do know that Master Chief is back and he looks stunning on next-generation hardware (we;;, from the trailers). Ghost of TsushimaGhost of Tsushima (Image credit: Sucker Punch Productions) When's it out? What platform? What's it about? Ghost of Tsushima is set in 1274 Japan - during the first Mongolian invasion - and sees you take on the role of last samurai on Tsushima Island, determined to defend his home and traditions. Dragon Age 4Dragon Age (Image credit: BioWare) When's it out? What platform? What's it about? It'll no doubt be a couple of years before we see the fourth instalation in the popular RPG franchise Dragon Age, but we're expecting a bigger open-world, further exploration of that cliffhanger and even more characters to swoon over and seduce. The Elder Scrolls 6The Elder Scrolls 6 (Image credit: Bethesda) When's it out? What platform? What's it about? The Last of Us Part 2The Last of Us Part 2 (Image credit: Naughty Dog) When's it out? What platform? What's it about? We don't know much about the story so far but Joel hasn't appeared in the footage we've seen yet, although we do know Troy Baker is involved so he's definitely going to show up eventually. Metroid Prime 4Metroid Prime 4 (Image credit: Nintendo) When's it out? What platform? What's it about? Due to development problems, we don't know much about what Metroid Prime 4 will involve, or when we will see it, but we can't help but be excited. StarfieldStarfield (Image credit: Bethesda) When's it out? What platform? What's it about? This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
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