Apple : iPhone 11 and 11 Pro deals US: get the best prices in September 2019 |
- iPhone 11 and 11 Pro deals US: get the best prices in September 2019
- Google facing privacy probe on use of HTTPS in Chrome
- iOS 13.1.2 release notes detail fixes for bugs plaguing iOS 13
- Intel Cascade Lake-X benchmarks leak out, but it doesn't beat the Ryzen 9 3900X
- HP tiptoes into consumer VPN space, teams up with ExpressVPN
- Microsoft will now encrypt new SSDs with BitLocker
- Best controllers for PC 2019: the best PC game controllers you can buy today
- Best SSL certificate services to buy from in 2019: Get the cheapest price today
- Best SEO tools of 2019
- German authorities shut down illegal data center in former NATO bunker
- Best SSDs 2019: the top solid-state drives for your PC
- AMD just announced a Ryzen PRO lineup, powerful processors for businesses
- How to build a cheap gaming PC that doesn't suck
- Nikon D6: everything we know so far
- Best blogging platforms of 2019
- You can now get up to 3 new games when you buy an AMD processor or graphics card
- AMD Vega II release date, news and rumors
- Best managed WordPress hosting 2019
- Nvidia Titan RTX release date, news and features
- Epic Games Store vs Steam: a tale of two digital storefronts
| iPhone 11 and 11 Pro deals US: get the best prices in September 2019 Posted: 30 Sep 2019 01:42 PM PDT The September 10 Apple Event unveiled the highly anticipated iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro smartphones. The latest iPhone is officially available to order today from all major carriers and retailers like Walmart and Best Buy. To help you wade through all the different plans, we've listed the best iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro prices and deals that are available in the US today. The best Black Friday iPhone 11 deals and pricesWhile there are plenty of fantastic offers below, there's also Black Friday 2019 that you can look forward to. The November sale event is an excellent opportunity to find online bargains, and lucky for you we've put together a guide on how to find the best Black Friday deals of 2019. We'll also tell you everything else you know to know, such as the date, what retailers are participating, and what deals we can expect to see. iPhone 11 deals from US carriers:iPhone 11 Pro deals from US carriers:iPhone 11 Pro Max deals from US carriers:The iPhone 11 Pro Max, the bigger version of the 11 Pro, is priced at $1,099 from carriers such as AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint, and Verizon. Sprint is offering the Pro Max for $16.67 a month with an eligible trade-in and on a Sprint Flex 18-month lease, and Verizon is offering up to $500 off with select trade-in and Unlimited. While AT&T isn't offering a promotion on the Pro Max, you can get the iPhone 11 for free when you buy another eligible iPhone. Learn more about the newest iPhone with our hands on iPhone 11 review, iPhone 11 Pro review, and iPhone 11 Pro Max review. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Google facing privacy probe on use of HTTPS in Chrome Posted: 30 Sep 2019 01:38 PM PDT Congressional antitrust investigators have raised concerns over Google's plans to use a new internet protocol which they believe could give the search giant an unfair competitive advantage over its rivals. Earlier this month, investigators from the House Judiciary Committee sent the company a letter requesting for information about its “decision regarding whether to adopt or promote the adoption” of the protocol according to the Wall Street Journal. The new internet protocol, known as DNS-over-HTTPS, will help improve both internet privacy and security by encrypting traffic which will make it more difficult for hackers to spoof websites. However, congressional investigators are concerned that Google will use data collected through the new protocol for its own commercial gain.
Google plans to have users of its Chrome browser begin testing DNS-over-HTTPS next month. DNS-over-HTTPSProtecting users' privacy online has become increasingly important but lawmakers as well as ISPs are worried the new standard could alter internet competition. Once DNS-over-HTTPS becomes widely adopted, cable and wireless companies will be cut off from the valuable DNS data of their users while Google will gain an unfair advantage in user data. A company spokesperson tried to assuage concerns surrounding its new protocol, saying: "Google has no plans to centralize or change people's DNS providers to Google by default. Any claim that we are trying to become the centralized encrypted DNS provider is inaccurate." Leaders of the House Judiciary Committee are currently conducting an antitrust investigation into Google, Apple, Amazon and Facebook to determine whether US tech giants are engaging in anti-competitive conduct. The development of DNS-over-HTTPS is just another way that Google is working to make the internet a safer place for everyone but lawmakers clearly disagree and we'll find out more once their antitrust investigation into the company is complete.
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| iOS 13.1.2 release notes detail fixes for bugs plaguing iOS 13 Posted: 30 Sep 2019 01:33 PM PDT In an unusual software update cadence, iOS 13.1.2 is now available with more bug fixes for the fresh mobile operating system – which applies to both iOS 13 and iPadOS 13. This might feel a bit like deja vu since iOS 13.1.1 was only released to the public a few days ago on Friday. Today’s update doesn’t contain any particularly notable front-facing features, according to 9to5Mac. It’s mostly fixes to minor annoyances. What’s interesting is the frequency at which these updates are coming to the general public to fix Apple’s iOS software. Among the iOS 13.1.2 release notes, bug fixes for iCloud, Bluetooth, HomePod, and the display are mentioned.
Despite the rapid updates to iPhone’s and iPad’s software, there are still things that remain broken for developers. Marco Arment, developer of the podcast app Overcast calls out the UISearchController-UINavigationBar corruption bug which he says, “totally screwed my app.” The iOS 13 beta launched June 3 at Apple’s WWDC 2019 keynote, however, even after more than three months of testing and the iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro launch, it’s clear that even more time is needed to patch the software update. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Intel Cascade Lake-X benchmarks leak out, but it doesn't beat the Ryzen 9 3900X Posted: 30 Sep 2019 12:54 PM PDT It's no secret that Intel has been playing catch-up with AMD over the last few months as Team Red pulled ahead with Ryzen 3rd Generation – Team Blue has itself admitted this. But, some leaked benchmarks of Intel's next high-end desktop (HEDT) platform suggest it will fall behind AMD's mainstream platform. This is all according to a leaked GeekBench 4 entry spotted by the folks over at Wccftech. In these results, the Intel Core i9-10920X scores a multi-core result of 44,046, compared to the 44,160 scored by the Ryzen 9 3900X in our review. If this leaked benchmark reflects reality, it won't look too good for Intel when Cascade Lake-X launches later this year.
Now, it's important to note that HEDT and mainstream processors aren't directly comparable, as they target different segments of the market. However, because HEDT chips are targeting high processor (CPU) performance for creatives and professionals, they're expected to crush mainstream silicon into the dirt – and the prices reflect that. For instance, the last-generation Intel Core i9-9920X retails for $1,189 (£1,049, AU$1,799). So, if its successor is around the same price, which we don't know for sure, it should be able to beat AMD's mainstream flagship that's about half the price at $499 (£531, AU$809). It's true that the Ryzen 9 3900X is facing increased prices right now, but they've not increased that much. It is also true that this leaked GeekBench 4 result is better than an AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2920X, but that processor is a year old, and new Threadripper chips are right around the corner. Either way, these leaks may not represent reality, and we won't know the details of what Intel's Cascade Lake-X can do until Team Blue reveals its next desktop processors. Until then, all we can do is look at these leaks and try to guess what will happen next. At the very least, the PC components space is alive with competition once more.
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| HP tiptoes into consumer VPN space, teams up with ExpressVPN Posted: 30 Sep 2019 12:51 PM PDT The global VPN market is red hot; weeks after after Cloudflare and Mozilla unveiled their privacy solutions, ExpressVPN has scored a major win thanks to a partnership with computing giant HP. Its VPN service will be bundled with HP’s new Flagship, the Spectre x360 13 with buyers being able to use the VPN - which tops our best VPN list - for 30-days before opting for a full subscription.
We’ve been told that this is not a traditional “load-and-forget” OEM software deal which is usually construed as being bloatware. Instead, it is a deep product integration that took many months of work for teams from HP and ExpressVPN to complete, including a rigorous security review process. HP went as far as pinning ExpressVPN to the taskbar, a clear indication of the amount of trust the PC giant puts into the VPN brand. Whether HP wants to add this VPN service to other product lines remains to be seen. Other than a bundled VPN, the Spectre x360 13 also includes a 30-day trial to a password management, a dedicated mute mic key, a webcam kill switch and optionally, the latest version of HP Sure View, a privacy screen due to launch in January 2020.
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| Microsoft will now encrypt new SSDs with BitLocker Posted: 30 Sep 2019 10:57 AM PDT Although Windows ships with its own full volume encryption tool called BitLocker, SSDs that claimed to offer their own hardware-based encryption were trusted by the tool and left alone. Now though, after a recent update to Windows 10, Microsoft will assume that connected SSDs don't actually encrypt anything. In a Twitter post, SwiftOnSecurity described why the software giant has decided to no longer trust SSD manufacturers, saying: “Microsoft gives up on SSD manufacturers: Windows will no longer trust drives that say they can encrypt themselves, BitLocker will default to CPU-accelerated AES encryption instead. This is after an exposé on broad issues with firmware-powered encryption. “
A report released in November of 2018 revealed that self-encrypting drives have a number of security flaws including the use of master passwords set by manufacturers. This means that those who purchased SSDs which were supposed to help keep their data secure might as well have purchased a drive that did not handle its own encryption instead. SSD encryptionUsers who purchased self-encrypting drives were actually worse off than they thought as Microsoft set up BitLocker to leave these drives alone completely. This was done to help performance without compromising the security of these drives as they could use their own hardware to encrypt their contents instead of using a system's CPU. However, now it seems as though Microsoft will no longer trust SSD manufacturers to keep customers data safe on their own. In its release notes for the KB4516071 update to Windows 10, the company explained the changes it had made to how BitLocker handles self-encrypting drives, saying: "Changes the default setting for BitLocker when encrypting a self-encrypting hard drive. Now, the default is to use software encryption for newly encrypted drives. For existing drives, the type of encryption will not change." While it would be nice if self-encrypting SSDs were as secure as they claim to be, at least now users can rest easy knowing that BitLocker will secure their drives.
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| Best controllers for PC 2019: the best PC game controllers you can buy today Posted: 30 Sep 2019 10:30 AM PDT Purists will tell you that a gaming mouse and keyboard is the only way to play PC games, and, until recently, they were mostly right. Customizability options in strategy games and more precise aiming in shooters make them a perfect solution to playing the best PC games. Now, though, many AAA games are designed with console controls in mind, and PC gamers often find themselves turning to controllers for some of the more dexterity-demanding generes out there. Sports, action-RPGs like Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, and fighting games are among the best reasons to invest in a decent controller for your PC for when a keyboard simply won’t cut it. The hard part, though, is settling on one controller. There are hundreds of viable options to fit every budget, and many sport a host of features that may or may not be appropriate for your situation. We’ve collected five of our favorite PC game controllers below, ranging from budget-friendly options to expensive, premium devices. And, while we haven’t done a full review of every controller on this list, we’re PC gaming experts, so you can trust that each PC game controller on this list will be worth your time and money. We’ve also included our exclusive price comparison tool to make sure you’re getting the best deal possible. Microsoft’s Xbox controller has been the ruler by which other PC game controllers are measured since the Xbox 360 days, and for good reason. It’s comfortable and weighty with a button layout that feels natural. The most recent version – designed for the Xbox One console – iterates on everything that made last generation’s model so great by adding clickier shoulder bumpers and a vastly improved directional pad. The built in bluetooth wireless makes pairing it with your desktop a breeze, and the price point is very attractive for consumers on a budget. It also comes in a variety of colors and patterns, meaning you’re likely find something that matches your rig. And, even if there isn’t a color scheme you’re into, Microsoft will let you customize it through the Xbox Design Lab. This controller is as universal as they come, making it a fantastic choice for just about any setup. A premium version of the Xbox One controller, the Xbox Elite Wireless Controller certainly earns its moniker. It features an enormous number of upgrades over the standard Xbox controller, such as an interchangeable component layout and paddle buttons on the reverse side. There’s also a trigger governor that you can toggle for more sensitive trigger pulls. It’s more than double the price, though, so this is a product aimed squarely at those among us who truly want to take advantage of keyboard levels of customizability. The Elite controller includes some truly impressive software functionality, which lets you tweak and fine-tune nearly every aspect of play. Here, you can customize many different profiles, of which the controller can hold two at any time, letting you change between them with the flick of a switch. If you’re looking for the most feature-packed controller available for your PC, this is your best bet, provided you’re willing to shell out the cash. Read the full review: Xbox Elite Wireless Controller If you’re in the market for a truly budget controller, it’s tough to beat Logitech’s F310. It may be basic in its execution and functionality, but there’s something to be said about the no-frills nature of this cheap option. Just plug it in via USB and you’re ready to go. Considering the glut of customization options and features of all the premium controllers out there, the F310 is oddly refreshing. It also boasts an admirable directional pad and a great button layout. As might be expected, the price point comes with a number of tradeoffs. First, the controller is rather lightweight, which lends an unfortunately flimsy quality to the experience of gaming with it. Also, with no wireless functionality, the cord interface may be less than ideal for some. It’s also a tad small and larger hands are likely to struggle a bit. Still, given these caveats, the F310 is a fine choice for an inexpensive alternative to a mouse and keyboard. The PlayStation 4 is Sony’s best controller to date, and lucky for us it’s compatible with Steam’s entire library of games. Very comfortable in the hands, the DualShock 4 boasts tactile analog sticks with just enough resistance, and perhaps the best directional pad ever. It also features motion technology that’s compatible with with a surprising number of games, allowing you to steer in racing games or aim in shooters by moving the controller around. There are a couple issues, though. Most notably, the exposed shoulder buttons make it easy to accidentally bump them on the desk. The rubber on the analog sticks also tends to rub off after extended use. Still, Sony’s controller ranks up there among the best options for controller-based PC gaming. Read the full review: Dualshock 4 Controller Peripheral manufacturer 8BitDo has made its name on retro designs that lean heavily on nostalgia, and the SN30 Pro wears its inspiration on its sleeve. Modeled after old-school Super Nintendo controllers, it’s ideal for the PC’s ever-growing library of retro-inspired games, even if it doesn’t necessarily appeal to everyone. The button layout will be instantly familiar to anyone who grew up with 2D platformers and JRPGs. The craftsmanship on the SN30 Pro is surprisingly sturdy, especially considering its budget pricing. It also sports a pair of analog sticks should you want to use it for modern shooters or action games, though we wouldn’t recommend that. Its small form factor makes it uncomfortable in the hand during extended sessions and more twitch-based games. Regardless, there are a number of games that would benefit from the authentically retro touch that the SN30 brings to the desk.
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| Best SSL certificate services to buy from in 2019: Get the cheapest price today Posted: 30 Sep 2019 10:02 AM PDT In the middle ages, the Knights Templar established the key processes for the modern system of notary services, banking, loans, and mortgages that we have today. During that era, Knights carried with them documentation that proved their identity, created by a notary, often embossed with official wax seals. The importance of these documents was enhanced by a Papal declaration in 1139 that allowed the Knights Templar to pass freely through any border, pay no taxes, and be granted total freedom from every authority other than the Vatican. Without the documents created by a notary, anyone could impersonate a Knight, and avoid the laws that applied to ordinary citizens throughout the rest of Europe. And when it comes to the worldwide web today, we can draw a parallel with a similar document of authority: the SSL certificate. SSL Certification (or TLS to be more accurate) is a means to verify the source of web pages, domains, and open the door to information exchanges and electronic financial transactions. But how do you pick a good SSL provider? Simple – read on and find out. First of all, we’ve got a list of 10 of our favored SSL certificate providers, although everyone’s needs vary, so following our list, we will engage in an in-depth discussion of all the criteria you should consider when picking the right company for you.
Below are the best SSL certificate providers of 2019 :Comodo SSL As a highly affordable provider of SSL services, Comodo SSL has made some significant headway in the past few years. Much of that success has been the result of very aggressive pricing, with a DV level ‘Positive SSL’ Certification costing just $7.27 (£5.5) currently for four-year coverage. A ‘Premium’ SSL solution only costs $56.06 (£42.4) for four years. That package includes a fully validated certificate, 256-bit encryption and a $250,000 (£189,000) relying party warranty. ___________________________________________________________________________________ DigiCert Having operated independently for some years, in 2017, DigiCert has completed an acquisition of Symantec’s website security and related PKI (Public Key Infrastructure) solutions. The motivation for this buyout was that Symantec managed to convince 90% of Fortune 500 companies to pay for the Norton Secured Seal. These are now DigiCert’s customers, and the company has implemented a plan to transition those using Symantec products on to DigiCert when appropriate. The starting price for an SSL Certificate is $218 (£172) per year, although you might be able to better that with a two-year deal. A wildcard option, covering unlimited servers and a complete multi-level domain, is $688 (£541) – an enticing prospect. Entrust Datacard Based in the US, Entrust has been in business since 1994 and has garnered a reputation as a well-oiled machine for generating certification quickly and smoothly. Entrust was built around a wide selection of security products: ID card printers, authentication systems, credit card printers and a PKI are all among its product lines. With so much invested in secure systems, SSL certificates are considered one of its strongest offerings. Customers especially like the ability to manage numerous certificates across multiple domains from a management console. Prices start at $174 (£130) per year for its Standard SSL single site product, climbing to $609 (£450) for a Wildcard SSL covering unlimited servers and subdomains. From what we’ve seen, most customers seem delighted with the service at all levels, seemingly justifying the extra cost over cheaper options. GeoTrust GeoTrust was once owned by VeriSign and then Symantec, and due to the sale of the latter operation, it might also be part of DigiCert by now. The business covers three main areas: SSL certificates, Signing Services and SSL for enterprise services. Those looking for SSL certification will find that GeoTrust offers a comprehensive selection starting with domain-level and progressing up to its True BusinessID with EV level certification. Pricing is more competitive at the higher end, so those wanting a single site certificate might want to avoid GeoTrust, but those needing EV or OV level products should take a look. Enterprise solutions specifically tailored to government organizations, healthcare businesses and financial institutions are part of the GeoTrust range. Be prepared for identity checks to take longer than others, but the thoroughness of these checks has enhanced GeoTrust’s status. GlobalSign Where some operations have a wide client base, GlobalSign is very focused on enterprise customers, especially those who are looking to deploy highly scalable PKI solutions. By taking this route, an enterprise customer can have all the rules, policies, and procedures for using SSL certificates, and their subsequent creation, distribution and revocation are all handled for them. But if you only want SSL certificates, GlobalSign can do that too. Having the level of support and organization that GlobalSign delivers doesn’t come cheap, and even for a single site with only DV level certification, prices start at $249 (£189). For those wanting the full EV certification, expect to pay $599 (£455) per year for a single site. GoDaddy GoDaddy might be better known for its web hosting plans, but it’s also a big provider of SSL services. Instead of offering DV, OV and EV certification at different prices, they all cost the same relatively low price. The pricing structure is instead based on a single site, multiple sites, or a domain with full subdomain cover. Currently a single site, (DV, OV or EV level) costs $79.99 (£63.5) per year, and the all level domain solution is only $369.99 (£294) per year (at the moment you get 20% off for the first year). The return on that investment is the best SHA2 and 2048-bit encryption, and the trust seal provided by McAfee Secure. One quirk of GoDaddy’s offering is that while the fresh installation is relatively cheap, renewal can be more expensive. If you can be organized enough to do fresh installs each year, you can save yourself a little money over simply renewing. Network Solutions In some respects Network Solutions is a little like GoDaddy, in that they both offer a wide range of web-related services, like domain names and e-commerce solutions, and SSL certification isn’t their sole focus. What might attract customers is this firm’s pricing, with a base cost that starts at $59.99 (£45.5) with a 2-year term for a single site, rising to $403 (£309) for an EV level certificate that should be issued within five working days. The weakness of this offering would seem to be the support team, which has been described in less than glowing terms by some customers. So given that, if you understand the details of installing certificates, then this might be for you, but anyone wanting extensive technical support may want to look elsewhere. RapidSSL RapidSSL is owned by GeoTrust, another SSL provider we’ve already mentioned in this list. The business logic behind this is that whereas GeoTrust focuses on corporate giants, RapidSSL targets smaller businesses that are more cost-sensitive. For just $17.95 (£13.6) per year, RapidSSL will provide a single domain certificate with 128/256-bit encryption with a browser recognition that exceeds 99%. A wildcard certificate that covers unlimited subdomains is $149 (£113) per year, plus it includes a $10,000 (£7,500) warranty and a 30-day money-back guarantee. Free support is provided 24/7 by web and email, and installation tools are part of the package at no extra cost. And, even at this low price, the service is built on the same GeoTrust global infrastructure as the corporate customers benefit from. SSL.com If the most important metric of this sector is customer approval, then SSL.com is delivering the type of SSL service that wins friends and returning customers. Part of that equation is strong customer services and support teams, and the other element is competitive pricing which values those willing to commit for longer periods than a year. A single domain level certificate starts at $49 (£36) per year but can be as low as $36.75 (£28) per annum if bought for five years. If you’re a smaller business looking for certification, SSL.com might be a good place to start. Thawte The company is hardly a household name, but Thawte has managed to corral more than 40% of the global market for SSL certificates. So far it has issued nearly a billion certificates in 240 countries worldwide. What’s helped the firm establish this position is the strength of its offerings, and selling points include impressive browser compatibility, excellent certificate management tools, and up to 256-bit encryption. For those who need EV level certification, the price is $179 (yearly plan), and that comes with a promise to complete the background checks in one to three days maximum. The success that Thawte has had seems well grounded in a strong combination of customer satisfaction and affordable pricing. Understanding SSLThe mechanism of SSL certification has two important functions: authentication and encryption. As a means to authorize a connection, the SSL certificate holds information about the business, website or person you are connecting to, and is also a means to verify that identity through a third-party. If you wish to see this in action, look at the URL of this web page in the address bar of your browser, and alongside the text, just on the left, you should see a small green padlock that identifies that this is a secure SSL-certificated site. Clicking on the padlock will tell you that the connection is secure and allow you to reveal what information the certificate has. That will include the users of the certificate, and the SSL provider that bestowed authorization. In addition to authority and verification, the SSL certificate also includes a means to encrypt traffic between the user’s computer and the website. Without this encryption, sensitive information like passwords could potentially be compromised by a nefarious party intercepting the data traffic flowing between the client computer and the web server. The security of this system is underpinned by another independent third-party, the trusted Certificate Authority (CA), which issues the SSL certificate under strict guidelines. Very much mirroring the phrase ‘my word is my bond’, the support of a CA with an SSL certificate is a declaration of trust in a person, company or website. And the CA is in turn verified by a Root certificate holder, proving that they are trusted to issue certificates and revoke them where necessary. Should these trusted relationships fail, the SSL certificates become invalid. In that case, anyone visiting a location covered by one such certificate would immediately be warned that it has no valid SSL certificate, and that their connection may no longer be secure. As you can imagine, the impact that a revoked certificate would have on a live business would be very serious. So it’s vital that you get your SSL certificate from the right source, backed by the most respected CA. Having inherent trust where identity is concerned is necessary, but having the right level of certification for the business is also very important. Special relationshipsWhen people talk about SSL certificates, it is easy to assume that they’re all the same. But depending on who authorized them and how diligent the background checks were, they come with different levels of validation. Here are the four levels of validation most commonly used:
While self-signed and domain level certificates have their uses, it’s the OV and EV levels that businesses truly need. Because they prove that a company has domain ownership, a genuine business, and that the certificate was applied for by authorized personnel. As it’s reasonable to expect, checks of this type take time. Therefore, applying for and being granted an authenticated SSL certificate is not something that can happen five minutes before a new web venture is about to go live. The other element that separates one SSL certificate from another is the level of encryption that it applies, and exactly how secure that makes it. EncryptionThe model for SSL certificates allows for them to use 128 or 256-bit encryption, should the client’s browser support it. Calculations show that it would take a supercomputer 13.75 billion years to test every permutation of a 128-bit encrypted code. And, for good measure, the initial handshake is performed using an ultra-secure 2048-bit RSA key. Once past that awkward first date, SSL communication is usually continued with 128, 192 or 256-bit, as without quantum computers these are practically uncrackable, and they put less stress on the computers encrypting and decrypting at either end. Most providers are offering 256-bit encryption these days, but that’s only valid when the web server, client computer operating system and browser can all operate at that encryption level. Old operating systems and browsers can force encryption levels to 40 or 56-bit, even if the certificate they’re accessing is capable of 256-bit. While you can’t entirely control the client end, the minimum requirement for encryption should be 256-bit at the server end, period. What makes a good SSL purchase?There is a temptation to make choices entirely based on cost, especially if you have lots of sites to cover or a dynamic business environment. The following factors should play a part in picking the right issuance operation for you:
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| Posted: 30 Sep 2019 09:52 AM PDT At it's heart SEO (Search Engine Optimization) developed as an extension to web accessibility by following HTML 4 guidelines, in order to better identify the purpose and content of a document. This meant ensuring that web pages had unique page titles that properly reflected their content, as well as keyword headings to be better highlight the content of individual pages, and that other tags were treated the same accordingly. This was necessary, not least because web developers were often only focused on whether their coding worked, rather than the user experience, let alone following web publishing guidelines. This slowly changed as it became increasingly known that search engines used these "on-page" signals to provide their "Search Engine Results Pages" (SERPs) - and that there was an advantage to ranking higher on these to tap into free and natural organic traffic. The internet has evolved a lot since those early days, and major search engines such as Google now process far more "off page" information when determining their search results, not least by using semantic processing, collating user data, and applying neural networks for the machine learning of patterns, trends, and personal preferences. Even still, the core ideals of SEO remain the same as they always have - that of ensuring pages have the correct tags for targeting keywords, not just for natural search results, but also for PPC (Pay Per Click) and other marketing campaigns, where call-to-action (CTA) and conversion rates are essential indicators of success. But how does a business know which keywords to target on its sales pages? How does a website filter transactional traffic from general site visitors? And how can that business increase its ability to capture targeted traffic from across the internet? Here we list a number of tools that will help do exactly that. Image credit: Google Google Webmaster Tools (GWT) is an excellent way for newbie webmasters to get started with SEO. The arsenal of tools includes 'Fetch as Goole', which allows you to view URL's in the same way as Google does. This is a very simple way to detect and troubleshoot poor Search Engine Optimization. You can then modify your page accordingly and even review code to make sure your site has not been hacked. 'PageSpeed Insights' permits you to perform speed checks on desktop and mobile versions of your site. As mobile traffic now consumes a hefty portion of web traffic overall, this is crucial for ensuring mobile visitors access and remain on your pages. The 'structured data testing tool' is also useful for checking data has been inputted correctly, performing validation routines to check it's in the right format. Google also very generously offers a free chat with a personal representative via Hangouts. You can make use of this feature during regular office hours for assistance with site issues such as mastering the various tools and detecting malicious activity. Further help is available visit the GWT forum. This is a place for Webmaster's to connect and share troubleshooting and performance tips. GWT has received the universal praise online with the only criticism being a slight delay between when data is posted and when it is reported. Image credit: SEMrush SEMrush SEO tools was originally developed in 2008 by SEMrush. In 2018, the project received funding of $40 million for expansion. The keyword research tool is accessible from SEMrush's super elaborate dashboard. You can view detailed keyword analysis reports as well as a summary of any domains you manage. More crucially, the SEO toolkit allows you to compare the performance of your pages to see how you rank against the competition. For instance, you can analyze backlinks from other websites to yours. (this process is sometimes as 'link building'). Traffic analytics helps to identify your competitors' principle sources of web traffics, such as the top referring sites. This enables you to drill down to the fine details of how both your and your competitors' sites measure up in terms of average session duration and bounce rates. Additionally, "Traffic Sources Comparison" gives you an overview of digital marketing channels for a bunch of rivals at once. For those new to SEO slang 'bounce rates' are the percentage of visitors who visit a website then leave without accessing any other pages on the same site. The domain overview does much more than provide a summation of your competitors' SEO strategies. You can also detect specific keywords they've targeted as well as access the relative performance of your domains on both desktop and mobile devices. SEMrush has received many positive mentions online but has been critiqued for use of SEO jargon such as 'SERP' which may alienate inexperienced users. A 'Pro' subscription costs $99.95 (£74.52) per month which includes access to all SEO tools. Image credit: Screaming Frog SEO Spider was originally created in 2010 by the euphemistically named "Screaming Frog". This rowdy reptile's clients include major players like Disney, Shazam and Dell. One of the most attractive feature of SEO Spider is its ability to perform a quick search of friendly URL's. SEO best practices dictate that search engines are much more likely to index simple, relevant and human readable URL's over addresses which are a meaningless string of characters, so this feature is a major bonus. SEO Spider can also crawl your site to check for broken pages. This saves you the trouble of manually clicking each link to rule out '404 errors'. The tool also allows you to check for pages with missing title tags, duplicated meta tags, tags of the wrong length and any other features which are not in line with the very best SEO practices. SEO Spider also checks the number of links placed on each page to avoid the poor SEO practice of posting too many on one page. This usually confuses visitors to your site, causing them to go elsewhere and Google also ranks down pages with over 100 'outlinks'. There is both a free and paid version of SEO Spider. The free version contains most basic features such as crawling redirects but this is limited to 500 URLs. You also can not customize robots.txt and there's no google analytics integration. This makes the 'Lite' version of SEO Spider suitable only for smaller domains. The paid version $180 (£149) per year and includes more advanced features as well as free tech support. Image credit: Majestic SEO Tools Majestic has consistently received praise from SEO veterans since its inception in 2011. This also makes it one of the oldest SEO tools available today. The tools main focus is on backlinks, which represent links between one website and another. This has a significant influence on SEO performance and as such, Majestic has a huge amount of backlink data. Users can search both a 'Fresh Index' which is crawled and updated throughout the day, in addition to an 'Historic Index' which has been praised online for its lightning retrieval speed. One of the most popular features is the 'Majestic Million' which displays a ranking of the top 1 million websites. The 'Lite' version of Majestic costs $50 (£39.99) per month and incorporates useful features such as a bulk backlink checker, a record of referring domains, IP's and subnets as well as Majestic's integrated 'Site Explorer'. This feature which is designed to give you an overview of your online store has received some negative comments due to looking a little dated. Majestic also has no Google Analytics integration. Image Credit: Moz Pro Moz.com is a platform of SEO tools that aim to help you increase traffic, rankings, and visibility across search engine results. Key tools include the ability to audit your own site using the Moz pro spider, which should highlight potential issues and recommend actionable insights. There's also the ability to track your site rankings over hundreds or even thousands of keywords per website. There's also a keyword research tool to help determine which keywords and keyword combinations may be the best for targeting, and there's also a backlink analysis tool which mixes a combination of metrics including anchor text in links as well as estimated domain authority. Pricing for Moz Pro begins at $99 (£80) per month for the Standard plan which covers the basic tools. The Medium plan offers a wider range of features for $179 (£150) per month and a free trial is available. Note that plans come with a 20% discount if paid for annually. Additional plans are available for agency and enterprise needs, and there are additional paid-for tools for local listings and STAT data analysis. Even if you don't sign up to Moz Pro, a number of free tools are available. There's also a huge supporting community ready to offer help, advice, and guidance across the breadth of search marketing issues. Best free SEO toolsImage credit: Google Although we've highlighted the best paid-for SEO tools out there, a number of websites offer more limited tools that are free to use. Here we'll look at the free options. 1. Google Search ConsoleEven if you're not headstrong on SEO, whatever the size of your site or blog, Google's laudable Search Console (formerly Webmaster Central) and the myriad user-friendly tools under its bonnet should be your first port of call. The suite of tools gives you valuable information about your site at a glance: it can assess your site's performance and observe potential problems to troubleshoot (like negative spammy links), help you ensure your site is Google-friendly and monitor Google's indexing of your site. You can even report spam and request reconsideration if your site has incurred a penalty. Plus, if you don't refer to their Webmaster Guidelines now and again, well, you've only yourself to blame if you go wrong. Search Console is constantly updated, and new features are on the way, such as new URL inspection tool or the new sitemaps report. 2. SEOQuakeSEMRush’s SEOQuake is one of the most popular toolbar extension adored by millions. It allows you to view multiple search engine parameters on the fly and save and compare them with the results obtained for other projects. Although the icons and numbers that SeoQuake yields might be unintelligible to the uninformed user, skilled optimisers will appreciate the wealth of detail this add-on provides. Gauge details about number of visitors and their country, get a site's traffic history trended on a graph, and more. The toolbar includes buttons for a site's Google index update, backlinks, SEMRush ranking, Facebook likes, Bing index, Alexa ranks, web archive age and a link to the Whois page. There’s also a useful cheat sheet and diagnostics page to have a bird’s view of potential issues (or opportunities) affecting a particular page or site. 3. Google AdWords keyword plannerKnowing the right keywords to target is all-important when priming your web copy. Google's free keyword tool, part of Adwords, couldn't be easier to use. Plug your website URL into the box, start reviewing the suggested keywords and off you go. Jill Whalen, CEO of HighRankings.com is a fan and offers advice to those new to keyword optimisation: "make sure you use those keywords within the content of your website. It's really a question of being descriptive as keyword phrases typically describe what you offer. Think about the fact that you're trying to answer someone's question at the other end of the search engine. They're typically searching Google because they have a question or a problem to solve. Make your website answer those questions and solve those problems and it will be the one to show in the search results." 4. Google OptimiseYet another Google tool on that list (not a surprise isn’t it). Optimise is not for the faint hearted and will make even seasoned SEO experts uncomfortable. SEO isn't all about rankings and without the right balance of content that engages with your visitors and drives conversions, you're earnest optimisation could be wasted. Google’s free service helps take the guesswork out of the game, allowing you to test your site's content: from simple A/B testing of two different pages to comparing a whole combination of elements on any given page. Personalization features are also available to spice things up a bit. Note that in order to run some of the more complicated multivariate testing, you will need adequate traffic and time to make the results actionable, just as you do with Analytics. 5. Live Keyword AnalysisAny seasoned search engine optimisation specialist will tell you keywords matter, and while simply clawing keywords into your text arbitrarily can do more harm than good, it's worth ensuring you have the right balance. Live Keyword Analysis is a breeze to use: simply type in your keywords and then paste in your text and your keyword density analysis will be done on the fly. Don't forget to proof and edit your text accordingly for optimum readability. A must for website copywriters especially as you don’t need to register or pay for anything. 6. AhrefsGoogle's Pagerank algorithm underpins most of what makes the current world wide web work the way it does. Understanding backlinks (sites linking to you) allows website owners and publishers to understand what link opportunities they might be missing out on. Enter Ahrefs, arguably one of the most powerful players out there. They maintain one of the largest live backlink indexes currently available with 16 trillion known links, covering 200 million root domains. While Ahrefs isn't free, the backlink checker feature is, which provides a useful snapshot that includes your domain rating, the top 100 backlinks, top 5 anchors and top 5 pages, the strict minimum to provide with a feel of what Ahrefs has to offer.
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| German authorities shut down illegal data center in former NATO bunker Posted: 30 Sep 2019 09:37 AM PDT German authorities have shut down a data center set up inside a former NATO bunker which was used to host sites dealing in drugs and other illegal activities. Seven people were arrested in a recent raid but the main suspect of the long-running investigation is a 59-year-old Dutchman who is believed to have acquired the former military bunker located in the town of Traben-Trarbach in western Germany back in 2013. After acquiring the bunker, the suspect turned it into a very large and heavily secured data center which he maid available to clients to use for illegal purposes. According to regional criminal police chief Johannes Kunz, he had links to organized crime and spent most of his time at the bunker despite being registered as having moved to Singapore.
In total, thirteen people aged 20 to 59 are under investigation, including three German and seven Dutch citizens. German authorities have arrested seven people involved in the illegal data who they believe may be a flight risk. Illegal data centerThe data center within the former NATO bunker was set up as a “bulletproof hoster” meant to conceal illicit activities from the eyes of the authorities according to investigators on the scene. A number of illegal online platforms were hosted from the data center including the drug-dealing portal, Cannabis Road, the world's largest online criminal marketplace for drugs, hacking tools and financial malware, Wall Street Market and sites dealing in synthetic drugs such as Orange Chemicals. A botnet attack which disabled 1m Deutsche Telekom customer routers in late 2016 also appears to have originated from the illegal data center. Regional criminal police chief Johannes Kunz explained that the raid on the complex was a huge success for the authorities, saying: “I think it’s a huge success ... that we were able at all to get police forces into the bunker complex, which is still secured at the highest military level. We had to overcome not only real, or analog, protections; we also cracked the digital protections of the data center.”
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| Best SSDs 2019: the top solid-state drives for your PC Posted: 30 Sep 2019 09:35 AM PDT With the best SSDs dominating the computing market, you no longer have to put up with those slow, loud and unreliable hard drives. Fortunately, the best SSDs are more affordable than ever. If you still have one of those old clunkers inside your computer, now’s the time to invest in the best SSDs. After all, the best SSDs are here to free you from the mechanical shackles of hard drives. Got a computer that’s not exactly the most powerful on the market? Don’t worry; you won’t need one of the best PCs to take advantage of the huge speed boost the best SSDs offer. The best Ultrabooks are practically designed to take advantage of the best SSDs, thanks to their unparalleled durability and speed. You can even slot one of the best SSDs into your PS4 Pro to seriously slash loading times. There are a lot of high-quality SSDs on the market right now, which means it might be trickier to find your most ideal match. On the upside, you may just find the SSD for you on our best SSDs list, no matter your budget and requirements. Whatever you’re looking for, you’ll have found one of the best SSDs once you’re done going through the list, refreshed for TechRadar's PC Gaming Week 2019.
Image Credit: Samsung Samsung is no stranger to creating some of the best SSDs, so when it launched the Samsung 970 Evo Plus with higher speeds and new silicon, even we were surprised. The Samsung 970 Evo Plus is simply one of the fastest drives on the market, but the fact that Samsung is selling it at such a bargain price is just the icing on the cake. Because of how affordable this drive is, it’s not hard to recommend it as the best SSD for anyone. Read the full review: Samsung 970 Evo Plus Image Credit: Western Digital Western Digital has been busy making a name for itself producing many of the best SSDs and hard drives for a few years now, and the WD Black SN750 continues that tradition, claiming the best gaming SSD throne. This NVMe SSD has extremely high random read speeds of 412.5MB/s, which should make games load before you get a chance to chug some of that Mountain Dew. And, when you consider that this is one of the most affordable NVMe SSDs, it’s easy to recommend it to any gamer looking for a new SSD, whatever their budget. Read the full review: WD Black SN750 NVMe SSD Image credit: Intel The Optane SSD 905P is hardly a newcomer, but with a random read rated at 575,000 IOPS and random write rated at 555,000 IOPs, it’s definitely one of Intel’s fastest drives. Granted, its 2,600MB/s sequential read and 2,200MB/s sequential write speeds might seem a bit pedestrian, especially next to the Samsung 970 Evo and WD Black NVMe SSDs, that doesn’t stop it from being a fast solid-state drive, not to mention one of the best SSDs on the market. Image Credit: Samsung Again, Samsung has been behind some of the best SSDs that have been hitting the streets for years, and even though other manufacturers like Western Digital and Adata are trying their best to give it a run for its money, the Samsung 970 Evo is still the best SSD you can buy if you’re after raw speed. The read speeds haven’t improved over the previous generation’s 960 Pro, but the write speeds see a significant bump – up to 2,700MB/s – which is how it retains its ‘fastest SSD’ crown. If you’re looking for the best SSDs to choose from, with no compromises, you can’t go wrong adding the Samsung 970 Pro to your list. Read the full review: Samsung 970 Pro Image Credit: Toshiba If you're looking for several options, looks- and size-wise, then Toshiba OCZ RD400 series of drives are some of the best SSDs to consider. They come in 4 sizes and three different form factors: M.2, M.2 2280, and add-in card (AIC). Not all sizes are in all form factors, so if you're looking for a fast 1TB drive, make sure you have room in your computer case. Read the full review: Toshiba OCZ RD400 Image Credit: Adata If you’ve been waiting to jump on the M.2 train for an SSD that’s both fast and affordable, you’ve come to the right place. The Adata XPG SX8200 isn’t one of the best SSDs because it’s the fastest drive on the market, but because there isn’t a single drive out there that can match the raw price to performance ratio that it offers. Sure you can get any of the much faster, much more pricey SSDs on the market, but this is the drive we can recommend to anyone. Read the full review: Adata XPG SX8200 Image Credit: Samsung People might not be going crazy about SATA 3 anymore, but the Samsung 860 Pro proves that there’s still plenty of life in the aging interface after all. With storage up to 4TB and transfer speeds that approach the theoretical maximum of the SATA 3 interface – not to mention top-of the-line reliability and security – the Samsung 860 Pro is among the best SSDs for anyone still clinging to SATA 3. Read the full review: Samsung 860 Pro Image Credit: Intel The U.2 standard allows for bigger SSD capacities and uses your computer's PCIe x4 slot to send all that data back and forth. The Intel 750 series includes a cable so you can mount the drive in the bay on your case and still plug it into the PCIe slot on your motherboard, making it among our favorite, as well as among the best, SSDs on offer today. Read the full review: Intel 750 Series Image Credit: Samsung Samsung had a hard act to follow – the Samsung 850 Evo was beloved for its stunning performance and affordability. Luckily, the Samsung 860 Evo absolutely succeeded in, well… succeeding it. Though limited by the SATA3 interface, the Samsung 860 Evo delivers performance that iterates on its predecessor with improved read/write speeds and an array of form factors, while still maintaining its budget price. The 860 Evo is, without a doubt, best SSD for anyone looking for an entry-level SSD without having to break open their piggy banks. Read the full review: Samsung 860 Evo Image Credit: HP If you need an SSD that will last through multiple computers, the HP S700 Pro is exactly what you want. Its life will far exceed its warranty, offering up to 2 million hours of use and up to 650 terabytes written. This is one of the best SSDs you can buy if you need something that’s built to last, even if the SATA interface may slow things down a bit in the read/write department, as this technically helps it last even longer. Read the full review: HP S700 Pro
Image Credit: Intel The best NVMe SSDs used to be way too expensive for most users. But, those days are coming to an end – the Intel 760p Series SSD changes everything. This SSD features impressive performance that’s only slightly behind the beloved Samsung 960 Evo, boasting speeds of 3,056 MB/s read and 1,606 MB/s write. But, what really makes the 760p stand out is the fantastic price to performance ratio. Yeah, there are faster NVMe drives on the market, but you’ll be paying a premium them, and frankly, it’s not worth it. This is one of the best SSDs out there, not just because it’s fast, but because the Intel 760p makes us excited about the future. Read the full review: Intel 760p Series SSD Image Credit: Samsung If you’re a creative or a professional, and you need an external NVMe SSD that’s going to save you time rather than waste it, you might want to give the Samsung X5 Portable SSD a look. Thanks to its use of Thunderbolt 3, rugged magnesium build and AES 256-bit encryption, it’s fast, secure and durable – everything you want in an external SSD in which to store all your hard creativework. This isn’t a cheap accessory, but this is one of the best SSDs and is priced as such. Everyday users may want to look elsewhere, this is all about sheer speed. Read the full review: Samsung X5 Portable SSD Welcome to TechRadar's PC Gaming Week 2019. We're celebrating the most powerful gaming platform on Earth with in-depth articles, exclusive interviews and essential buying guides that showcase everything PC gaming has to offer. Visit our PC Gaming Week 2019 page to see all our coverage in one place. Gabe Carey has also contributed to this article This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| AMD just announced a Ryzen PRO lineup, powerful processors for businesses Posted: 30 Sep 2019 09:22 AM PDT Over the last couple weeks, we heard word of an AMD Ryzen 9 3900 hitting the street, and now it seems like those rumors were accurate – mostly. AMD just announced a new lineup of PRO processors, led by the AMD Ryzen 9 PRO 3900. This processor's TDP (Thermal Design Power) is lowered to 65W from the Ryzen 9 3900X's 95W, which should mean it'll emit less heat and consume less power. But, it does also mean it won't be as fast.
The AMD Ryzen 9 PRO 3900 is accompanied by the Ryzen 7 PRO 3700 and Ryzen 5 PRO 3600, along with a bunch of G-series Ryzen processors with Radeon Vega graphics. It should be noted, that because these are all 65W parts, you shouldn't expect boost clocks to be as high – the Ryzen 9 PRO 3900 only reaches up to 4.3GHz, compared to the Ryzen 9 3900X's 4.6GHz. Though, Ryzen processors are having trouble reaching their rated boost clocks anyways. We went ahead and listed out the new AMD Ryzen PRO processors below:
Who are these for?It's important to note that these processors aren't intended for everyday users. If you're just trying to build a gaming PC, you're better off getting any other Ryzen 3rd Generation chip. These processors are primarily intended for business use, and will be included in a ton of pre-built desktops for that purpose. There are a ton of features in these new processors that are particularly useful for businesses, but probably won't make much sense for everyday consumers. For example, each of these AMD Ryzen PRO processors come with a built-in security processor packed with AMD's GuardMI tech. This will help protect PCs from some of the most severe cold boot cyber attacks. AMD has also partnered with HP and Lenovo, and is able to include Lenovo ThinkShield and HP SureStart support at the silicon level for pre-built systems, like the HP EliteDesk 705 G5 and Lenovo Thinkpad M75q-1. So, while we don't think these processors will be featured in any of the hottest gaming PC builds any time soon, we definitely expect some businesses to make the jump, especially media companies who can use that extra horsepower for editing video.
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| How to build a cheap gaming PC that doesn't suck Posted: 30 Sep 2019 09:17 AM PDT PC gaming has a reputation for being really expensive to get into. It’s easy to scrounge the internet, finding examples of extremely high-end systems that can cost thousands of dollars to build. But, there’s more to the best gaming PCs than what the 1% can afford. To prove that point, we’ll show you how to build a cheap gaming PC that doesn’t, well, suck. The system we’ll walk you through here won’t be able to play Control at 4K with ray tracing maxed out, but 1080p at high settings? Easy. If you’re building a system out of new parts, you’re not going to be able to beat the Xbox One X at the same price point. 4K gaming is pretty much out of the question until you get to the mid-range. You can get around this by picking up used parts, but that’s not something we’d recommend if you're afraid of your PC components spontaneously combusting. But, the other benefits that a gaming PC can offer more than make up for the higher price tag. And, even if PC gaming has a higher entry price, you’ll still save a ton of money over time on PC games. So, if you’re ready to build a cheap gaming PC that can still handle modern AAA games at 1080p, you’ve come to the right place. We've picked out the best PC components that you can get for cheap, and we've already got a guide to building a PC that is still totally valid – PC building really hasn't changed much in a few years. We’ve been building PCs for years, so you can be sure you won’t run into any compatibility issues with our suggested builds. What you'll needDespite what you may have thought, you don’t need too much in the way of tools to build a cheap gaming PC. A phillips head screwdriver is the only absolutely necessary tool. However, there are a couple things that can help you out. Because you’ll be dealing with a lot of screws, having a parts tray helps a lot. If you don’t have one of those lying around (who can blame you), you can just use a couple bowls to keep things sorted. Also, you have to be on the lookout for static electricity. An anti-static wristband is a godsend if you have one, but if you don’t, just make sure you’re not standing on carpet when building, and discharge any latent static electricity by touching some metal, like your power supply or PC case. Most importantly, however, you need a clean space to build. If you can clear off the dining room table for a couple hours, that’s perfect. You just need enough space to hold all of your PC components. The partsThere are so many PC components out there these days that you could theoretically build dozens of PCs without having the same parts list. Luckily, we follow PC components literally every day, so we used our expertise to pick out the best bang-for-your-buck PC components for this cheap gaming PC, and why those parts are the best choices for a budget PC build in 2019. And, once you’ve gathered up all the best PC components that don’t suck we’ll show you how to build a PC. This AMD Ryzen processor (CPU) is the holy grail of budget PC components. It’s a quad-core chip with a boost clock of 4.0GHz, which would be enough to get some PC gaming done on its own. Where this chip really gains its budget bragging rights, however, is in the on-board Radeon Vega 8 graphics. This integrated graphics processor (GPU) isn’t powerful enough to play top-end games, but it should be enough to try some of the best indie games while saving up for a beefy graphics. Intel alternative: we’d suggest the Pentium G4560. It’s only a dual-core chip, but with high clock speeds and hyper-threading it can keep up with the latest PC games. When you’re picking out a motherboard, you don’t want to skimp too much. It’s one of those components where if something goes wrong, you have to rebuild the entire PC. The ASRock Fatal1ty B450 Gaming will get the job done, while saving you plenty of cash. It’s not the most feature-rich motherboard out there, but you’re just looking for a dependable board. Just keep in mind that you'll have to update the BIOS to at least version P3.20 to use the Ryzen 3 3200G. But, if you're not comfortable with that, you can always pick up the Ryzen 3 2200G instead – you won't lose much performance. Intel alternative: if you’re going with Team Blue, you can save quite a bit on the motherboard by going with the ASRock B250M-HDV motherboard. It’s an older chipset, so you can find a bargain. For budget gamers, sticking with 8GB of memory (RAM) is reasonable. There are some heavy duty games that will really start to push past that limit, but those are few and far between – especially at 1080p. So, we recommend picking up an 8GB kit of G.Skill Ripjaws V DDR4. It’s not the fastest or the flashiest, but it gets the job done. A 128GB SSD may sound small to you, and it is, but when you’re just trying to get an affordable PC build done, it’s perfect. The Adata Ultimate SU800 128GB is big enough to fit your operating system on, which means your computer will be nice and fast, and more importantly, it’s dirt-cheap. This drive is just $20, and you should be able to find it for even cheaper during seasonal sales like Black Friday. Unfortunately, SSDs are so much more expensive than the best hard drives when it comes to mass storage – that’s just a fact of life. That’s why picking up a 1TB hard drive, like the WD Caviar Blue, just makes sense for a cheap gaming PC. You’ll install your OS and maybe like one game on your SSD, and everything else can just go on your hard drive. When you’re shopping for the best graphics card for your build, the most important advice we can give you is to consider what you’re going for. A lot of people will tell you that the Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 Ti is the best graphics card out there, but not everyone has $1,200/£1,200to throw at a GPU. That’s why the AMD Radeon RX 570 8GB is such a gem. It’s extremely affordable, and should be good enough to handle most games at 1080p at high settings. Nvidia alternative: If you’re looking for an affordable Nvidia card that trades blows with the AMD Radeon RX 570, you’ll want to take a look at the GeForce GTX 1650. It’s not super powerful, but it will get you through your 1080p gaming. With a PC case, you really don’t need the most badass tower to get the job done. And, the Corsair 100R s a perfect example of a cheap PC case that doesn’t suck. It doesn’t have all the RGB lights and tempered glass panels that a more expensive case might, but what matters is that there’s plenty of room for case fans, and more than enough space for full length graphics cards if you want to upgrade later. When you’re setting out to build a cheap gaming PC that doesn’t suck, it's easy to find the cheapest power supply and toss it into your PC. But, because that could literally present a fire hazard, you should at least find something like the Corsair VS550K. This budget power supply just has an 80+ efficiency rating, rather than the Gold, Silver or Bronze efficiencies of more expensive PSUs, but it should still be good enough to get the job done. Just keep in mind that this power supply isn’t modular, so you might have to find some creative ways to hide the extra cables. Welcome to TechRadar's PC Gaming Week 2019. We're celebrating the most powerful gaming platform on Earth with in-depth articles, exclusive interviews and essential buying guides that showcase everything PC gaming has to offer. Visit our PC Gaming Week 2019 page to see all our coverage in one place. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Nikon D6: everything we know so far Posted: 30 Sep 2019 09:06 AM PDT You could be forgiven for thinking that DSLRs are dead in the water, what with the leading camera manufacturers throwing much of their development weight behind mirrorless – and those manufacturers include Nikon. However, in September 2019, Nikon announced that the Nikon D6 was in development, just in time for the Olympic Games in 2020. Its predecessor, the D5, was announced all the way back in January 2016, but these kind of camera behemoths don’t tend to be as updated as frequently as cheaper and mid-range offerings.
2019 marks the 20th anniversary of the Nikon single-digit D series, which launched in 1999 with the Nikon D1, and the company promises that the D6 will be “the most advanced digital SLR to date”. At the moment, we don’t have any official specifications – just the knowledge that the camera is coming – but we can engage in a fair amount of speculation based on what we think is likely to appeal to professional photographers four years on from the D5. At the time of the D5’s launch, the camera market was in a very different place. Mirrorless existed – even full-frame mirrorless – but the number of players was limited, with Nikon and Canon yet to enter the full-frame mirrorless market. Many may wonder why the D6 is even in development – after all, why not just go full pelt with a highly-specced pro mirrorless model, such as the Sony A9 (and the upcoming Sony A9 II), and get out of the top-flight DSLR game altogether? Well, one reason is that if you’re a seasoned pro you’re likely to already have a kitbag packed full of Nikkor DSLR lenses – it’s one thing asking pros to splash the cash on a new body, but an entirely new kit? That’s a tougher challenge. Give it another five years though, and pros might be more willing to make the leap. For now, what can we expect the Nikon D6 to include? Nikon D6: release date and priceWe haven’t heard anything about an exact – or even rough – date, but given that the Olympics will be starting in Tokyo towards the end of July 2020, we’d expect the launch date to be a few months before that to give pros chance to get hold of, and get used to, the new model. An obvious candidate for a launch event would be the Japanese CP+ camera show, which takes place every year in February. Although we know that there's a Nikon announcement coming before the end of 2019, it seems unlikely that we’ll see the D6 before the new year. As for price, the Nikon D5 launched with a body-only price of £5,200 / $6,500, and we’d expect something similar for the D6 – it certainly won’t be loose change. Nikon D6: sensorAgain, we have no concrete information on the D6’s sensor specifications, other than the fact that it'll be full-frame. The D5 uses a 21.3 million-pixel CMOS sensor, and Nikon will surely go for a higher-resolution one. Rumors suggest the impending Sony A9 II will have a 36-megapixel sensor, and given that Nikon models often use Sony sensors, it would make sense for the D6 to also go down that route. On the other hand, Nikon may feel that keeping the resolution on the low side will appeal to sports photographers rattling off lots of frames. News and sports photography rarely requires super-high resolutions, and having a higher-resolution sensor would make it more difficult – though not impossible – for frame rates to be boosted beyond the current 12fps which the D5 offers. Nikon D6: video featuresThe Nikon D5 was the first Nikon DSLR to be capable of recording high-definition 4K/UHD movies in-camera, and we can expect the D6 to build on that – professional shooters are increasingly being asked to supply video content as well as stills. Perhaps we’ll see 6K recording capability make its debut with the D6 – perfect for capturing those 100m finals – while we’ve also seen other manufacturers hint that 8K will be ready for the Olympics; if Nikon was to jump on board with that kind of technology in the D6, it’d be mighty interesting. Nikon D6: designNikon was kind enough to supply a small picture of the impending D6 in its development announcement. It's presumably a mock-up, rather than a final rendering, and it looks pretty much exactly like the D5, but with a 6 in place of the 5 in the name. It would come as no surprise to see Nikon keep to a very similar form factor as the D5's for the D6 – after all, expecting pros to get used to a drastically new way of working is a big task. The square shape of the D5 allows it to incorporate a battery grip for extended battery life, and we expect the D6 to blow its mirrorless rivals out of the water for longevity by doing the same thing. Also announced as being in development at the same time as the D6 was a new 120-300mm f/2.8E FL ED SR VR telephoto lens, which looks set to be a bit of a beast – the Nikon D6 will have to be large enough to balance well with such lenses, which are popular with sports and wildlife shooters. Nikon D6: mirrorless features?Given the popularity of mirrorless models, it would make a lot of sense for Nikon to incorporate some of the features we’d more commonly associate with mirrorless cameras into the D6. There is of course a limit to what those features might be, thanks to a pesky thing called physics, but there’s every possibility that we might see improved in-body image stabilization, plus a new silent shooting mode for those quiet moments (something which has proved incredibly useful and popular on the Sony A9). We’d also expect to see an improved autofocus system on board. It’s not like the D5 was a slouch, but perhaps Nikon could bring over the on-sensor PDAF (phase detection autofocus system) from its Z-series cameras to enable better live-view autofocus. Nikon D6: card slots and connectivityDual memory card slots are pretty much a given. The Nikon D5 can be bought with either 2x XQD slots, or 2x CF slots, but Compact Flash is pretty old hat now, so we’d expect the D5 to be equipped with slots for two CFExpress memory cards (which are the same size and shape as XQD cards), with backwards compatibility for those who already have a stack of XQD cards in their possession. New dual Expeed processors will likely feature, and we may even finally see the appearance of Wi-Fi on a top-of-the-line pro DSLR. Nikon has previously claimed that it wasn’t possible to include Wi-Fi inside the thick, sturdy bodies of its professional-level cameras, but not having this feature would make a camera launched in 2020 feel extraordinarily outdated – hopefully Nikon can come up with a solution. So that’s about all we have on the Nikon D6 for now – a set of educated guesses. We’ll update this page regularly as more rumors begin to appear, so stay tuned. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Best blogging platforms of 2019 Posted: 30 Sep 2019 09:04 AM PDT The popularity of blogging (which originally derives from ‘personal web log’) continues, whether for profit, or just to have a voice on the web, since over a decade ago when it first captured the internet as the ‘next big thing’. Some blogs are standalone sites, but others are a more personal section that fits into a larger, corporate web site. In order to blog, a blogging platform is required, which takes care of formatting the content in the form of text and images, and provides a framework for getting it onto a website. The blogging platform also makes it easier for a search engine to categorize the blog entries, and to be able to take advantage of marketing and advertising opportunities. So before you start cranking out posts, and welcoming your virtual visitors from around the world, you need to choose the best blogging platform to suit your needs. Check out these great options.
Blogger Ask any old-time blogger about what platform they started their blog with, and chances are they'll answer that it was Blogger. To this day, Google’s offering in the blogging space still retains several advantages, including that your existing Google account already means you have a Blogger account. A broke startup blog will appreciate that it is free to use, and it will even provide the blogspot.com domain name, as well as the option for a custom domain name. It is also one of the easier platforms to use, and provides a choice of templates that can be flexibly modified. As it is a Google offering, it easily integrates with other Google products, including Google Analytics that can provide information about your website’s visitors that should be used to help grow traffic. Also, your blog can be integrated with Google’s Adsense, that will analyze your content, and display relevant ads to monetize your blog, so you can pay for the coffee as you sit in Starbucks and blog into the night. With all that going for it, is there any reason not to use Blogger? Well, the problem is that as your blog grows, its simplicity means that you may outgrow Blogger at some point. In addition, it can be difficult to transition from Blogger to another platform. WordPress WordPress is a popular blogging platform which is used on a claimed 30% of web sites, that offers an excellent balance between ease of use, and more powerful options. They can handle all the details, and take care of the domain name, the security and the hosting for a one stop shopping option. WordPress offers hundreds of themes, with flexibility in fonts and options for a custom look. They also offer expert support, and credit card payments can be accepted via an available plugin. Pricing starts at the Personal plan for $5 (€4.5, £4.1) monthly billed annually, which removes all WordPress advertising. There is also a free tier available, which is suitable for a noncommercial blog as there is WordPress advertising, and no way you can monetize it. Jekyll The latest version of Jekyll (4.0.0.) is a “simple, blog-aware, static site generator.” Content gets created in TXT files, which get placed into folders. Then you build your site via Liquid language templates. Jekyll then merges the content and the template together, and voila, a website is generated that can be uploaded to a server. For those that need a host, there is integration with Jekyll to host the website for free on GitHub. While there is a comprehensive ‘quick-start guide’ on the Jekyll website, it hardly offers the simplicity of some competing blogging platforms that can do this all from a web interface. However, the benefits that Jekyll offers are the advanced features, which include options for paginating posts, available plugins, templates, and community maintained themes. It also supports blog migration from other platforms. The plus here is that there is no cost to the platform, but the downside is that there is only community support, and the work takes place in the Ruby development environment, so many newbies will be put off. Tumblr While some blogs are well developed, and blur the line between a blog, and a full fledged website, at the other end of things we have Tumblr. It seems to be doing something right as it claims a staggering 450+ million different blogs. It focuses on the more concise end of the spectrum, with an emphasis on shorter content, like just an image, or link, that can appear as more of an alternate social media platform. Content is definitely more short-form, with posts consisting of a variety of material, for example, pics, jokes, quips, Spotify tracks, and video (just remember that adult content is no longer welcome). Like a social media platform, you can also follow other blogs, and republish posts you like to your own blog. The pro is that Tumblr is quite simple to use, costs nothing, and is ideal for use on a mobile device. However, this is not ideal for a more developed blog, as the content remains in the Tumblr ecosystem, and there is no way to monetize it. Typepad Typepad is a fully developed blogging platform, designed for the professional blogger. It offers a ton of flexibility, including the ability to publish from email, a web browser, or mobile. It also easily integrates with Google Analytics, and has its own affiliate plan. Typepad supports design customization with a Theme Builder for a custom look, and the option for creating your own custom template or modifying a theme with custom CSS. Typepad is also fully hosted, and has support available. After the initial 14-day trial, plans start at $8.95 (£8) per month for up to four blogs with unlimited storage.
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| You can now get up to 3 new games when you buy an AMD processor or graphics card Posted: 30 Sep 2019 09:04 AM PDT If you’re thinking of taking the plunge with AMD for your new processor or graphics card, perhaps with the swiftly incoming Black Friday in mind as a good time to make a move, then some new promo deals are giving away top-class games for free. If you buy an AMD Ryzen 3rd Generation processor or an AMD Radeon graphics card, you'll be able to claim some free games, including Borderlands 3 and The Outer Worlds. And, if you buy both an AMD Ryzen processor and a Radeon GPU, you'll be able to get three games. The best part? These promotions will remain live until the end of the year (December 31).
First up, AMD’s Radeon ‘Raise the Game’ bundle means those who purchase a Radeon RX 5700 series, RX 590, RX 580 or RX 570 graphics card – or certain Radeon-powered desktop PCs or laptops – can choose between a PC copy of either Borderlands 3 or Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Breakpoint. And the Ryzen ‘Equipped to Win’ bundle gives purchasers of a Ryzen 7 3700X, Ryzen 5 3600X, Ryzen 7 2700X or Ryzen 7 2700 processor a choice of either Borderlands 3 or The Outer Worlds for free. If you step up and buy a Ryzen 7 3800X or any Ryzen 9 3000 series chip, you’ll get both Borderlands 3 and The Outer Worlds (although at least right now, it’ll likely be challenging to even find the 3900X on sale – and the flagship 3950X isn’t out until November). Triple threatSo, you can probably see where this is going if you want all three of those games. AMD fans who buy both a Ryzen 9 3000 or Ryzen 7 3800X CPU along with a Radeon RX 5700 GPU, or RX 590, RX 580, or RX 570 graphics card get the full trio: Borderlands 3, Ghost Recon Breakpoint and The Outer Worlds. Buy any of the above graphics cards with a Ryzen 7 3700X, Ryzen 5 3600X, Ryzen 7 2700X or 2700 processor and you can have your pick of two games from those three. Borderlands 3 is already out – offering a “rollicking good time”, as our review concluded – and you’ll get the other games after they launch, which is on October 4 for Ghost Recon Breakpoint, and October 25 in the case of The Outer Worlds. As an added bonus, all these bundles come with a free three-month subscription to Xbox Game Pass for PC, so you can give that a spin. There are bound to be some solid deals on Ryzen 3rd-gen chips and AMD Navi graphics cards come Black Friday, given that they’ve now been out for a while – although certainly in the case of the former, we’re expecting that still excellent Ryzen 2nd-generation chips will get some even more tempting seriously beefy discounts. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| AMD Vega II release date, news and rumors Posted: 30 Sep 2019 08:53 AM PDT AMD Vega II brings a new 7nm GPU architecture that lets AMD pack its latest graphics cards with more transistors than ever before, without rising the power draw. AMD launched this lineup off with the Radeon VII, and while it wasn't officially announced as part of the Vega II lineup, it lined up with what we were anticipating from Vega II. This is why we're treating it as part of that lineup, even if it's not considered as such officially. The AMD Radeon VII is priced the same as the Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 and delivers equal performance – albeit without Nvidia Turing’s ray tracing or DLSS features. The Radeon VII by itself promised that 2019 would be an exciting year, and that was even before Apple got in on the action. Apple announced that the Radeon Pro Vega II will be in the new Mac Pro at WWDC 2019. This workstation will be able to hold a number of Pro Vega II GPUs, thanks to some new cooling design choices with the MPX Module that Apple states is the 'world's most powerful graphics card' – though that remains to be seen. Beyond the AMD Radeon VII and the Radeon Pro Vega II GPUs, we're sure we'll see much more in the Vega II lineup. So, be sure to keep this page bookmarked, and we’ll update this page with any Vega II news that comes our way. Cut to the chase
The AMD Vega II GPU is now widely available. AMD Vega II release dateAMD announced the Radeon VII at CES 2019 as the first 7nm consumer graphics card, and it released it about a month later on February 7, 2019. At that time, AMD offered buyers Devil May Cry V, Resident Evil 2 and the Division 2 as complementary additions. The AMD Radeon VII had some supply issues when it first hit the streets, but the high-end GPU is now widely available. Then, at WWDC 2019 in June, Apple unveiled the new Mac Pro rocking AMD Radeon Pro Vega II GPUs. These will be available later this year, when Apple's pro-level desktop is released. The AMD Vega II cards might compete with Nvidia's Turing product stack directly. AMD Vega II priceCurrently, there’s only one AMD Vega II card, the Radeon VII, which was launched at $699 (£649, AU$1,109) bundled with three games. AMD has since filled out the product stack with lower priced GPUs – the AMD Radeon RX 5700, for example, is only $349 (about $275, AU$500). We don’t know what the pricing will look like quite yet, but you can probably assume it’s going to compete with Nvidia’s Turing product stack directly. As far as the AMD Radeon Pro Vega II is concerned, we're not sure what the pricing will look like, especially since we haven't seen the pricing of the Mac Pro equipped with it. But, with 32GB of HBM2 memory, it probably won't be cheap. The switch to a 7nm process allows AMD to pack even more power into each AMD Vega II GPU. AMD Vega II specsThe switch from a 14nm process to a 7nm process allows AMD to pack even more power into each GPU. For its graphics cards, this move means more transistors in each GPU without needing to increase the die size or power requirements. And, the AMD Radeon VII is the first 7nm graphics card for gamers, with 3,840 stream processors, 16GB HBM2 VRAM and 1TB/s of memory bandwidth. This goes directly against the Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080, which has 2,944 CUDA cores, 8GB of GDDR6 VRAM and 448GB/s of memory bandwidth. The Radeon VII will categorically outperform its competitor in some workloads thanks to sheer horsepower. However, it’s going to shine particularly in creative workloads, which means that it’s going to be the best graphics card for hobbyist video editors and content creators who don’t have the cash to drop on a professional product. On the downside, the AMD Radeon VII won’t offer the double-precision capabilities that the enterprise Radeon MI60 does, according to ExtremeTech, so it’s still very much a consumer graphics card. There’s also the AMD Radeon Pro Vega II, packed in the Apple Mac Pro, which is packed with 32GB of HBM2 memory with 1TB/s memory bandwidth. This GPU will be capable of up to 14 teraflops of FP32 performance and 28 TFLOPS of FP16 performance, which makes it one of the best graphics cards for creatives. And, rather than the standard CrossFire, AMD Vega II will boast Infinity Fabric Link GPU technology, which should boost multi-GPU performance by up to 5X, with up to 84GB/s memory bandwidth between GPUs. This 7nm graphics card for creatives should massively boost productivity, and help make the new Mac Pro one of the best computers for creatives. Besides the standalone cards, it seems all but guaranteed that the Vega II series will find its way into mobile and lower-power devices as integrated graphics processors. With a new generation of Ryzen processors expected, a new generation of Vega graphics to integrate into APUs is only fitting. In fact, laptops will soon see a flurry of 2nd Gen Ryzen Mobile processors equipped with brand new Vega graphics.
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| Best managed WordPress hosting 2019 Posted: 30 Sep 2019 08:48 AM PDT As a content management system, WordPress offers one of the easiest and quickest ways to set up your own blog or website. With a few clicks of the mouse, you can select from one of hundreds of templates, as well as create interactive content such as contact forms. The usefulness of WordPress has not been lost on web hosting providers. In this guide, you’ll discover some of the very best vendors on the market today who offer managed WordPress hosting. This is a great way to avoid the time and trouble of hosting your content from scratch as they take the trouble of creating and maintaining your website away from you. Don't underestimate the importance of managing an online property. Between SEO, admin, content and social marketing, there's more than enough work for a small business.
WP Engine WP Engine is the leading WordPress digital platform. It hosts excellent uptime, WordPress specific security and unlimited monthly transfers. WP Engine includes many great tools needed for web hosting. These range from automated backups to 24/7 support (phone support on Growth and Scale packages). You can use WP Engine’s ‘actionable intelligence’ to gain insight into the performance of your pages, content and applications. WP Engine has four different price plans. All include free migration and free page performance. If you pay for a year’s subscription upfront, you get three months free. Prices start off at $35 per month which include a 60-day risk free guarantee. WP Engine also have a ‘Custom’ tier for larger businesses who want a plan more tailored for their individual needs. Some users have asked for a mid-range pricing option between the $35 and $115 tiers with the most expensive tier, Scale, costing $290 per month and offering support for up to 15 sites. At the moment, if you choose monthly billing, there is a 10% discount on all plans for your first payment. GoDaddy Pro GoDaddy Pro is part of GoDaddy Inc, founded in 1997. It offers users a more robust, wider range of tools for developers and businesses. While it doesn't mention WordPress in the opening few introductory phrases, GDP is actually wholly focused on WordPress installs. GoDaddy Pro offers client management tools and advanced support. This solution allows developers to add multiple clients and manages their accounts from one single dashboard. GoDaddy gives users access to a management dashboard. From here all products and clients can be viewed. The dashboard can alert the user via SMS and email to any issues the client may have. As GoDaddy Pro has been designed to make developer’s lives easier, the platform is user-friendly and everything is at your fingertips via the dashboard. Access to the dashboard is free and includes reporting and basic maintenance for as many WordPress sites as needed. Paid services include cloud backups, migration, uptime monitoring and automated security checks. These can be purchased as add-ons to your free plan. Users have noted that bandwidth monitoring is not included. Bluehost Bluehost is a web hosting company owned by Endurance International Group. It was founded in 2003. It’s part of a web hosting family that includes HostMonster, FastDomain and iPage. Bluehost tries to make the daunting task of starting a new web site easy. It offers plenty of options to those new to web hosting while still offering tools for the more experienced user. All new subscribers can set up a WordPress site with a single click of their mouse. Also, newbies can rely on Blue Spark, a specialized service that helps new users with everything WordPress related. Bluehost are currently offering all their WordPress plans at a reduced rate. Prices start at $2.95 (£2.2) a month for a single WordPress site complete with 50GB of website space. The ‘Plus’ and ‘Premium’ packages are on offer for $5.45 (£4.10) per month. These both include unlimited WordPress sites and unlimited website space. The ‘Premium’ package includes domain privacy and SiteBackup Pro. Furthermore, WP Pro plans are available, which bring additional improvements and features with prices starting at $19.95. More inexperienced users have reported that the dashboard can be difficult to navigate if you do not know all the terminology. WordPress VIP WordPress VIP is a fully managed cloud platform. Users of VIP have access to expert guidance, code review and around the clock support. Users get their own Git repository and ZenDesk account. Once your code is ready, you send it to the VIP team. Experts at VIP go through each line of code in your repository. This can take 4-6 weeks. If any issues are found, they’re raised on GitHub. Once these have been removed the code is transferred to your project and you are online. VIP adhere to strict coding standards. One of the main attractions of VIP, is their ‘always on’ support. VIP engineers watch for any issues that may arise and fix them proactively on behalf of the client. Once rectified, a report will be sent to you explaining what occurred. Users will need to contact VIP directly in order to get a quote. Some users have reported delays with setting up and building sites. SiteGround SiteGround was founded in 2004. It provides shared hosting, cloud hosting and dedicated servers. SiteGround lets you choose from one of their four data centers on which to host your website. These are based in the US, Amsterdam, Singapore and the UK. SiteGround offers users CloudFlare CDN, free SSL certificates and daily backups of their website’s data. All of their shared hosting plans include managed WordPress. The platform’s customer support includes live chat as well as a phone in option. All support services are available 24/7. The ‘StartUp’ plan begins at $11.95 (£9.28) per month ($3.95 for initial payment) which includes one website, 10GB web space and is suitable for 10,000 visits monthly. The ‘GrowBig’ plan for $19.95 (£15.47) monthly ($5.95 for initial payment) allows for multiple websites, 20GB of web space and is suitable for 25,000 visits. SiteGround’s ‘GoGeek’ plan starts at $34.95 (£27.08) per month ($11.95 for initial payment) which includes 30GB of web space and is suitable for 100,000 visits monthly. SiteGround do not offer a free trial but do have a 30-day money back guarantee. Some users reported issues with being automatically logged out when signing in on multiple devices. DreamHost DreamHost is owned by New Dream Network, LLC which was founded in 1996. It’s both a web hosting provider and a domain name registrar. DreamHost’s ‘Shared Starter’ plan starts at $2.59 (£2) per month. This includes a shared hosting server, 1 WordPress website, unlimited traffic, 1-click SSL certificate, fast SSD storage, 24/7 support and an upgrade to add email. The ‘DreamPress’ (the managed WP plan) package starts at $16.95 (£12.8). This includes all of what the ‘Shared Starter’ plan has to offer along with 30GB SSD storage, JetPack free preinstalled, daily backups and a few other things. All of DreamHost’s hosting solutions are a fully managed service. Inexperienced users have reported issues with getting started. InMotion InMotion Hosting is an employee-owned and -operated domain name and web hosting company founded in 2001. InMotion offers dedicated, shared, virtual private server and WordPress hosting along with several Ecommerce tools. Their WordPress hosting plans start off at $4.99 (£3.8) per month (for initial payment) and include one website, 40GB SSD storage and is suitable for 20,000 visitors a month. InMotion have six price plans available and all of them offer unlimited data transfers. Besides having numerous price plans for each of their hosting options, InMotion have numerous free add-ons, free ecommerce tools and unlimited emails. While they do not have a free trial, they do include a 90-day money back guarantee. Some users have complained that InMotion is not as competitively priced as other hosting providers. HostGator HostGator was founded in 2002. It provides shared, reseller, VPS and dedicated web hosting. HostGator’s Website Builder comes with a handy drag and drop feature. The builder includes a wide range of themes. Some of the features are pre-built to help make the process easier and faster. HostGator claims that load times for WordPress sites are up to 2.5 times faster when compared to its own shared hosting due to the superior server architecture of its managed WordPress hosting. The utility offers a WordPress Cloud Interface where you can manage backups, access all your email accounts and other hosting options. You can also allocate server bandwidth from here. HostGator offer three WordPress cloud hosting plans. The ‘Starter’ plan is currently $5.95 (£4.64) per month for 1 site, 100,000 visits per month, 1GB free backups and a free SSL certificate. The ‘Standard’ plan is on offer at $7.95 (£6.19) per month for 2 sites, 200,000 visits per month, 2GB backups and a free SSL certificate. HostGator’s ‘Business’ plan is also on offer at $9.95 (£7.73) per month. This includes 3 sites, 500,000 visits, 3GB backups and a free SSL certificate. According to online commentators, the purchase price for additional domains can be quite steep. 1&1 IONOS 1&1 (called 1&1 IONOS since October 2018) is owned by German company, United Internet. It was founded in 1988. It offers domain registration, cloud servers, virtual private servers and dedicated servers. 1&1 boasts excellent customer support and easy to use web creation tools. More inexperienced users might find this provider more suitable to their needs. 1&1’s ‘Basic’ packages starts at $1 (£1 for UK) per month for the first 12 months and then $9 (£6 for UK) per month thereafter. This includes 1 WordPress project, 25GB SSD storage, unlimited visitors and managed WordPress. Upon registration you are offered a domain name free for 12 months. This is only valid upon purchase of any of their plans. Users that sign up for the ‘Business’ plan receive 2 WordPress projects, 100GB SSD storage and unlimited visitors. This plan starts at $1 (£1 for UK) per month for the first 12 months and then $11 (£8 for UK) per month thereafter. The ‘Pro’ plan starts at $1 (£1 for UK) for the first 12 months and then $15 (£11 for UK). It includes 5 WordPress projects and 200GB SSD storage, as well as SiteLock malware protection and RailGun CDN. Online commentators have complained about long periods of downtime. You might also want to check out our other website hosting buying guides:
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| Nvidia Titan RTX release date, news and features Posted: 30 Sep 2019 08:37 AM PDT Nvidia has unleashed the Nvidia Titan RTX to the consumer market, a high-end graphics card aimed at creatives and professionals, after announcing it late last year. The Nvidia Turing line of graphics cards has been out for a while, with the Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 Ti and RTX 2080 comfortably sitting at the top of the pack. But now, the Nvidia Titan RTX is now officially the world’s most powerful consumer GPU. Nvidia’s Titan lineup of graphics cards has always been aimed at high-end users, rather than the GeForce line for gamers. This means with all that power, much more power than is necessary for 3D gaming – although it seems to have met its match in Gears 5 at 8K – comes a premium price tag to match, and that’s true of the Titan RTX. We wouldn’t recommend saving up to buy this card for a gaming build. However, if you’re in the business of video creation and 3D modeling, and you need the most powerful GPU, you’re going to want to consider the Nvidia Titan RTX. We’re going to dive into everything we know about the Nvidia Titan RTX, and we’ll update this article with any information that comes our way. Cut to the chase
The Nvidia Titan RTX officially hit the streets on December 18, 2018. Nvidia Titan RTX release dateIf you’re looking to pick up the Nvidia Titan RTX, you’ll be happy to know that it officially hit the streets on December 18, 2018, not too long after it was announced. As for whether or not we’ll see a follow up, like what happened when the Titan X Pascal followed the Titan Xp, we’ll just have to wait and see what Intel has in store for its enterprise GPU. The Nvidia Titan RTX is undoubtedly pricey. Nvidia Titan RTX priceBrace yourself, because this might knock the wind out of you: the Nvidia Titan RTX will set you back a whopping $2,499 (£2,399, AU$3,999). That’s more than double the price of the already-expensive GeForce RTX 2080 Ti. You should keep in mind that this graphics card is aimed at a professional market, but it does come in higher than the last consumer Titan card, the Nvidia Titan X Pascal, which launched at $1,299 (£1,159, AU$1,590). However, the Titan V, the card the Titan RTX likely follows, retails for $2,999 (£2,800, AU$4,699). This card is a bit more powerful, but has less video memory (VRAM) than the new Titan RTX. The Nvidia Titan RTX promises to be an extremely powerful card, if you can afford it. Nvidia Titan RTX specsIt shouldn’t be surprising that the Nvidia Titan RTX looks like a beast on paper. With 24GB of VRAM and 4,608 CUDA cores, you’ll be getting a lot of GPU for your money, which is good as you will be paying a lot of money for it. Compared to its predecessor – the Nvidia Titan X Pascal, with 12GB of VRAM and 3,840 CUDA cores — the gains in performance are going to be exponential. Still, the Titan RTX is a Turing card, which means Tensor cores for AI and deep learning, and RT cores for real-time ray tracing. And, as you’d expect from a card that costs nearly twice as much, the Nvidia Titan RTX absolutely blows the RTX 2080 Ti out of the water. With 576 Tensor cores and 72 RT cores, compared to the 2080 Ti’s 544 and 68 respectively, users can expect much better performance. Specifically, Nvidia claims that the Titan RTX will be able to achieve 11 GigaRays per second and 130 teraflops of deep learning performance. The Nvidia Titan RTX, then, should be especially useful for scientists and animators. The Nvidia Titan RTX is also compatible with NVLink – the next-generation version of SLI. Unlike other multi-GPU configurations of the past, your VRAM will scale with NVLink, which means two Titan RTX cards will get you 48GB of graphics memory with 100GB/s speeds. So, the Nvidia Titan RTX promises to be an extremely powerful card — as long as you can afford that astronomical price tag.
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| Epic Games Store vs Steam: a tale of two digital storefronts Posted: 30 Sep 2019 08:36 AM PDT Epic made quite a few ripples when it opened its digital game store back in December 2018. Tantalizing developers with a generous 88% profit share (as opposed to Steam’s 70%), the Fortnite publisher nabbed exclusivity deals for some notable new games. Meanwhile, it’s reeling in droves of gamers by offering a free game every, ahem, fortnight to those who use the store. But those ripples amassed into a full-on tidal wave when Epic announced that big-name shooter Metro Exodus would be exclusive to the Epic Game Store until 2020. Some called it a dirty trick, others called it good business. Either way, it made using the Epic Store that bit less avoidable. So, now that the Epic Store has brute-forced its way into our task bars, we decided to compare it with Steam – the de facto platform of PC gaming. What works, what doesn’t, and what does Epic need to do to have a chance of competing? Epic Games Store vs Steam: the storefrontsThe Steam storefont The Steam Store is a bit like a vast warehouse that just so happens to have a few of its most popular products in front of the shutters. Down the left side there’s a pane showing all the criteria you’ll realistically want to search for a game by: genre, category, tags, recommended by friends and so on. In the center, you have the big flashy thumbnails for various games, most of which are tailored based on what you play. In truth, it’s pretty inaccurate. By the logic of us playing games as diverse as PUBG and Dead Cells, Steam combines their tags – ‘Shooter’, ‘Indie’ – together and shows us stuff like … this. Steam isn't always spot on with its recommendations. So, there’s still room for refinement, but the wealth of categories – which include a ‘Discovery Queue’, curated game lists, and games that are trending among your friends – make it a comfortable store to browse. Early Access games are clearly labelled, with their store pages prioritizing update info and community discussion. Steam offers early access to some games to test before they release. Steam has an automated 14-day refund policy, which lets you return games for whatever reason so long as you haven’t played them for more than two hours. The Epic Games Store storefront Meanwhile, the Epic Games Store storefront starts strong. Across the top there is a banner featuring a free game and a notification saying that users will get another free game every two weeks – a program that's still going strong even in 2019. Beyond that though, it’s a bit sparse: a block of contiguous tiles streaming down the page in one long list. It feels too busy, with games failing to stand out from each other, and no way of finding a genre or specific game other than by scrolling down the page. If we were an indie developer with an exclusive game on the Epic Games Store – like Rebel Galaxy Outlaw or Untitled Goose Game – we'd be worried about a lack of exposure. Crass though it may seem, an ‘Only on Epic Store’ category on the storefront would be useful, giving those tied-in developers a bit more of a platform, and showing users the things Epic has that other stores don’t. The Epic Games Store also offers early access games. Another concern is that Early Access labelling is unclear. In the case of Hades, the only mention of it was in small writing in the game’s thumbnail, and a rather generic FAQ. An early access game should really foreground updates, news and dev diaries, none of which is there at the moment. There’s no review system as yet, with Epic previously saying that it wants to avoid the toxicity of Steam reviews – with their review-bombing and other vendettas against developers. Users weren’t too happy about this, and Epic has since revised its stance, saying that it’s working on a review system that developers can choose to opt into. Like Steam, the Epic Games Store now has a 14-day, two-hours-played refund policy. Epic Games Store vs Steam: DRMYou can share your Steam library with members of your family. DRM (Digital Rights Management) is the method of copyright protection for digital games, helping to prevent people from playing games they haven't paid for. On Steam, DRM is set in stone: you buy a game, and you need to have Steam open to run it. If you don’t have an internet connection, that’s fine, because Steam has an offline mode. One Steam DRM feature that doesn’t get enough credit is Steam Family Sharing, which lets you share your entire library with up to five other Steam users, and authorize up to 10 devices. The only caveat here is that if the game’s owner starts playing anything in their library, you have five minutes before you’re kicked from the game. If you want to run a game through its executable file, or a Windows shortcut to it, it will automatically open Steam at the same time as opening the game. However, at this point, there doesn’t seem to be a consistent DRM policy on the Epic Store. Of the three games we've tested – Fortnite, Subnautica and the Jackbox Collection – each one seems to play by its own rules. The Jackbox Collection seems to be DRM-free, and can run irrespective of whether you have the Epic Store open or not. Subnautica is DRM-tied to the Epic Store, though we did find a neat workaround should you want to run it without the Epic Store (directly through the executable, say, or through Steam as a ‘non-Steam game’.). Just right-click Subnautica’s ‘exe’ file or entry in your Steam library, click Properties, then in the Target box enter "-EpicPortal" after the game’s directory. This will connect through the game through the Epic Portal without requiring the Epic app. You can run some Epic Games Store games through Steam Fortnite, meanwhile, has the tightest DRM of the games we tested. It doesn’t allow the "-EpicPortal" workaround, and requires the Epic Launcher to be open in the background when you play. There’s no problem with having a range of DRM levels on a digital platform, but each game’s DRM policy should be completely clear to avoid confusion. At this point, there’s just no way of knowing what kind of DRM a given game has until you work it out for yourself. Epic Games Store vs Steam: game managementThe new, improved Steam beta library Steam is built for a lot of games, and its no-nonsense default library view reflects that, showing a long list of your games in a pane. Select a given game, and you see news about it, some highlighted mods from the Steam Workshop, screenshots you’ve taken and so on. It’s practical, and distinctly ‘PC’ in its no-nonsense presentation - but some might see it as a little bit dated. Clicking the ‘List View’ in your library shows whether your saved game data is synced to the cloud, as well as the game’s Metascore (handy if you have more games than you know what to do with, and want to quickly find something new in your library to play). Custom categories let you organize games into as many different lists as you want. In Steam’s settings, you can set multiple default install directories, so when the time comes to install you can quickly pick one from a dropdown menu. And, if you want a more modern library on Steam, and you're not afraid of downloading a beta version, you're in luck. Right now, you can go to the top left corner of the steam desktop client, click "Steam" then "Settings", and where it says "Beta participation", click "Change", then "Steam Beta Update". You'll be prompted to restart Steam, and it will download an update. When that's done, you'll get an all-new, less ancient-looking Steam library. The Epic Games Store library But what about the Epic Games Store? For a storefront hoping to be ‘The Future,’ game management here feels a little old-hat. There’s no way to change the default install directory through the Store’s settings. You can only change the install path on a per-game basis, which takes you to the Windows or Mac file explorer and lets you manually choose a directory. Installed games don’t appear in the Apps & Features list in Windows 10, so the only way to uninstall them is through the Epic Store. And, if you uninstall Epic Store before uninstalling any of the games you have on it? Well, you’ll need to go and manually delete the game folders in your OS like it’s 1995 again. Not great... At this point, the games you own are simply displayed as tiles with no organizational options. That’s fine for now, but will need to change as Epic’s store takes on more games and your library fills up. Epic Games Store vs Steam: which is the best?It’s inevitable that at this point Steam offers a significantly better experience for gamers. Even so, the Epic Games Store is so threadbare that it barely feels fit to accommodate the games it’s secured with its Fortnite millions. Yes, Epic needs to be aggressive in the market to compete, but it also needs to create an appealing user experience in which it’s easy to find these much-touted exclusives it’s procured, and maximises the convenience for gamers once they’re installed (in-home streaming, cloud saves and community hubs should be a top priority in Epic’s roadmap). No doubt Epic will work on these features, but at this point it’s very likely that those exclusive games spearheading the store will suffer due to its rudimentary state. Epic has probably secured developers’ financial security for now, and we mustn’t forget about the 18% extra cut for developers, but if these games are getting into less gamers’ hands, then everyone loses. The Epic Store is being hailed as a ‘developer-friendly’ platform, but for now it’s not very gamer-friendly. It needs to evolve, and fast, lest its shortcomings for gamers eventually hurt the developers it’s supposed to be supporting. Welcome to TechRadar's PC Gaming Week 2019. We're celebrating the most powerful gaming platform on Earth with in-depth articles, exclusive interviews and essential buying guides that showcase everything PC gaming has to offer. Visit our PC Gaming Week 2019 page to see all our coverage in one place. First published February 2019 This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
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