Apple : Intel CPUs at risk from new 'Snoop' attack

---

• Intel CPUs at risk from new 'Snoop' attack
• Apple launches the all-new MacBook Air 2020 with an attractive $999 price tag
• The best cheap monitor sales and deals for March 2020
• 9 essential pieces of tech for effective remote working
• Here’s how to exercise during the Covid-19 outbreak, according to Strava
• Best SEO tools of 2020: free and paid Search Engine Optimization software
• Apex Legends Season 4: latest update news, tips, patch notes and more
• Google is halting new Chrome updates
• Pokémon Go updates: all the news and rumors for what's coming next
• Best SSL certificate services to buy from in 2020: Get the cheapest price today
• The Xbox Series X release date was November 26, then Microsoft took it back
• Xbox Series X release date, specs, design and launch titles for the next Xbox
• Build your at home gym with deals on treadmills, bikes, weights and more
• Best website builders for photographers in 2020
• Final Fantasy 7 Remake release date, trailers, demo, news and features
• Disney Plus in April 2020: every movie and show in a slow month
• PS5 games: all the games confirmed and expected on the PlayStation 5
• PS5: release date, specs, news and features for Sony’s PlayStation 5
• PS5 will be backward-compatible with 'almost all' of the best PS4 games at launch
• New iPad Pro 2020 release date, price, news and everything you need to know

Intel CPUs at risk from new 'Snoop' attack Posted: 18 Mar 2020 02:26 PM PDT A new attack that can leak data from a CPU's internal memory or cache has been discovered which affects many popular Intel processors. The “Snoop-assisted L1 Data Sampling” attack, or Snoop for short, was first found by a software engineer at AWS named Pawel Wieczorkiewicz. Wieczorkiewicz promptly reported the issue to Intel and following its own investigations into the matter, the chipmaker realized that patches released back in August of 2018 to fix the Foreshadow vulnerability could also be applied to this new attack. Intel chips at risk from major new security flaw Intel’s getting serious about fixing security bugs – but is that enough? Intel's hopes for 'The Classroom of the Future' Many popular Intel processors, including those from the company's Core and Xeon lines, are vulnerable to Snoop attacks and you can check this list to see all of the CPUs that are affected. Snoop attacks The new Snoop attack takes advantage of CPU mechanisms such as multiple cache levels, cache coherence and bus snooping in order to leak data from a CPU core to other cores. Thankfully though, this new attack is very hard to pull off and does not leak large quantities of data. Intel explained that Snoop attacks require conditions that are hard to meet in the real world, saying: "Due to the numerous complex requirements that must be satisfied to successfully carry out, Intel does not believe Snoop Assisted L1 Data Sampling is a practical method in real world environments where the OS is trusted." For those running high-risk systems, the company recommends that you apply the Foreshadow (L1TF) patches from August 2018 to protect your systems from potential Snoop attacks. Additionally, disabling the Intel TSX (Transactional Synchronization Extensions) can greatly reduce the attack surface while also making this new attack harder to pull off. Also check out our roundup of the best antivirus software Via ZDNet This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

Apple launches the all-new MacBook Air 2020 with an attractive $999 price tag Posted: 18 Mar 2020 02:05 PM PDT This morning Apple has announced the MacBook Air 2020, and it's already available to order online.  The new and improved MacBook Air is priced at just $999/£999/AU$1,599 for the 256GB version, which is $100 cheaper than its predecessor. The MacBook Air 2020 price is not only more affordable, but you're also getting a more powerful machine with twice the performance and storage, and a new magic keyboard.  While we mentioned that the MacBook Air is available to order now, you can only purchase it online from Apple.com in the US, UK, and Australia. Apple's press release stated that it would also be available in stores starting next week, but that might be delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic.  If you'd like to get your hands on Apple's latest Macbook sooner than later, then see below for all the available information on the MacBook Air 2020 price, how to buy, and what you can expect. MacBook Air 2020 price: how much does it cost? The 2020 MacBook Air has a starting price of $999/£999/AU$1,599 for the 256GB model, which comes with a dual-core 10th generation Intel Core i3 processor and 8GB of RAM. If you're interested in more storage, the 512GB MacBook Air is priced at $1,299/£1,299/AU$1,999 and packs a 10th generation quad-core Intel Core i5 processor and 8GB of RAM.  Apple's 2019 MacBook Air launched with a starting price of $1,099/£1,099/ AU$1,699 and came with half the storage (128GB). We're delighted that 2020 MacBook Air is not only a more powerful machine but also priced more affordably. Apple has also announced that students can get the new MacBook Air at a further discount. MacBook Air 2020: what can you expect? The entry-level Macbook Air packs a 10th-gen 1.1GHz dual-core Intel Core i3 processor with Turbo Boost up to 3.2GHz, 256GB Storage, and 8GB of RAM. The 256GB MacBook Air packs a 1.1GHz quad-core 10th-generation Intel Core i5 processor with Turbo Boost of up to 3.5GHz and 8GB of RAM. The 13-inch MacBook also offers Touch ID,  two Thunderbolt 3 ports and is available in your color choice of Space Gray, Silver, and Gold. Last, but certainly not least, the MacBook Air 2020 comes with the new and improved Magic Keyboard. Unlike the 2019 model, the revamped scissor-switch keyboard will avoid issues that the troubled Butterfly keyboard encountered. How to buy the MacBook Air 2020 You can order the 2020 MacBook Air online at Apple.com in the US, UK, and Australia. Currently, you can't purchase it from other online retailers like Amazon and Best Buy, but we're hoping that becomes available soon. Apple has stated that the all-new MacBook Air will also be available to purchase in stores next week, but with Apple stores closing around the country due to the coronavirus, this will probably be delayed. Delivery for the MacBook Air seems to be unaffected at the moment, but that could change in the coming days. If you're interested in older MacBook Air models, you can see the best prices and deals that are currently available online. Shop deals on older models with our roundup of the cheapest MacBook Air prices, sales, and deals. You can also learn more about Apple MacBook Air 2020 here. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

The best cheap monitor sales and deals for March 2020 Posted: 18 Mar 2020 01:33 PM PDT If you're looking for a cheap monitor to improve your computing experience, then you've come to the right place. We've rounded up the best monitor sales and deals that are available online from retailers like Best Buy and Amazon. Whether you're looking for a display with 4K resolution, a massive screen, or want to improve your gaming experience, we've listed the best monitor options for any desk or budget.  Because you can use pretty much any device with an external display these days, we think you should use a monitor for everything from your iPad to your more powerful Surface Book 2. Otherwise, you’re depriving of yourself of some much-needed screen real estate – and, with these cheap monitor deals, you don’t even need to spend much to jump in on the action. To make things easier for you, we've split our selection of monitors into five categories, which include: the best Full HD monitor deal, best QHD monitor deal, best gaming monitor deal, best 21:9 monitor deal, and the best budget monitor deal. See our top cheap monitor sales below so you can find the right monitor for you at the best price.  The best cheap monitor deals The Dell UltraSharp U2414H is the cream of the crop of standard, 24-inch displays. The monitor offers a sharp, Full HD (1,920 x 1,080) picture with vibrant, but accurate colors and deep contrast. Best of all, Dell personally calibrates every U2414H unit, so you won't have to screw with the gamma, contrast or a multitude of other settings just for a decent picture. If you're looking for a little more sharpness in your computing life, a QHD monitor is the way to go, and the Omen 32-inch QHD screen from HP offers the best frequent deals we've found so far. With 2,560 x 1,440 rich pixels, this Omen display can make everything from movies, games and even websites look that much better. The display also comes packed with AMD's FreeSync technology to reduce gaming frame rate drops, though you'll need an AMD graphics card to use the feature. We're officially entering the 4K age, and finally we're beginning to see some sizable deals on the Ultra HD monitors we've been wanting for so long. The 27-inch ViewSonic XG2700-4K is arguably one of the best 4K monitors around with a 3,840 x 2,160 resolution. Its SuperClear IPS panel tech is no slouch either, with the ability to produce rich colors while outputting a gamer-grade 144hz refresh rate and 5ms response time. Gaming is a pricey hobby, but there are plenty of ways to penny pinch with mid-range components, budget accessories and, of course, excellent deals on displays. The Asus VG245H is one of the most budget gaming monitors we've ever tested. It's no 1,440p panel, but you do get a 75hz refresh rate, blue-light filter and, thanks to its TN panel, response times as quick as 1 millisecond. Read the full review: Asus MG248Q 21:9 monitors are deal for movie buffs; however, their price tags can be scary. Fortunately, the LG 29UM68 is a steal of a deal. Though it's technically just a Full HD monitor with its 2,560 x 1,080 pixel count, you'll likely be too busy immersed in its visual wingspan to care. This IPS panel produces 99% of the sRGB color gamut. Plus, that 21:9 aspect ratio is just too wide to pass up if you're tired of seeing letter-boxed movies on traditional, 16:9 screens. If you're looking for a cheap monitor to get the job done, then the ASUS VS239H-P is a fantastic option. The budget monitor features a 23-inch Full HD display with 1920x1080 resolution and IPS technology, which allows for a 178° wide-view angle. If you're a designer or serious gamer, this monitor won't live up to your high standards, but if you're looking for an affordable option that works, you should consider the ASUS VS239H-P. Learn more about the top monitors with our list of the best monitor 2020: the top 10 monitors and displays we’ve reviewed. You can also see the best cheap gaming monitor deals that are currently available. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

9 essential pieces of tech for effective remote working Posted: 18 Mar 2020 01:00 PM PDT In the past week or so, many companies have turned to remote working as a temporary solution to the coronavirus outbreak. Whilst we’re lucky that many of our jobs can be done from the comfort of our own homes, as a manager, you might be concerned about how your team is going to handle the change, especially if this is a completely new setup for them. However, there are some essential pieces of technology you can recommend to your team to make the experience of working from home as effective as possible. All of the platforms I've recommended are free to use, so won’t use up all of your budget during these unpredictable times. Slack Staying connected with the members of your team is a good idea when a large amount of your team is working from home, to ensure you are still able to support your team and help them stay on task. Messaging through Slack is less formal than email - so makes it easy for team members to shout for help when they need it. It also allows you to continue collaborative work and team brainstorming sessions throughout the day, as you would in the office. Skype Skype is a great tool for hosting your regular meetings online. As well as having a webcam and instant chat feature, it also allows screen share during calls to make explaining processes and delegating tasks easier. There are a range of tools that you can use for hosting meetings online, however Skype is a great choice because it’s free, easily accessible and has all the features you need for online meetings in one place. Trello Trello is a great project management tool that makes breaking down both solo projects and collaborative tasks easy. It’s straightforward to add members to a project and is very user-friendly with a simple layout that takes no time at all to learn. It’s responsive design means it can easily be used on all devices including laptops, computers and mobile phones. Splashtop If your team is new to working from home, Splashtop is a great way to make the transition from office to home easier. Splashtop is a software that allows you to access your work desktop from any device. It’s very reliable and secure, so sort of does the work for you when it comes to making your in-house system accessible outside of the office. Toggl Managing time effectively is one of the things people struggle most with when working from home. Toggl is an online timing system that allows you to break down your day by projects, tasks and clients to delegate your hours properly. Google Docs Google Docs are perfect for collaborative projects as you can easily share and collaborate on work. It also saves your changes automatically and is stored in Google Drive which has a large amount of free storage space that doesn’t take up memory on your laptop or computer. Multiple monitors Working with two monitors allows you to expand your workspace and can work online much easier, especially if you need to have a lot of tabs open at once. If your staff are used to working with two monitors on their desk, it might be a good idea to see whether you can allow them to take one home from the office. Mouse and keyboard Having a proper computer setup is essential for working from home, which means having a good quality mouse and keyboard. If you don’t have a need for them currently in the office, maybe allow your staff to take the keyboard and mouse from their desks home to ensure they’re properly equipped to work. Noise cancelling headset with microphone Noise cancelling headphones are a great idea for anyone working from home, as they can prevent distractions and help you stay in the zone whilst working. A headset with a microphone is also a good way to make sure that communications are clear during online meetings, as bad audio can be very distracting and can quickly throw a meeting off course. Katie Myers is a content writer for audio visual suppliers AV Installations. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

Here’s how to exercise during the Covid-19 outbreak, according to Strava Posted: 18 Mar 2020 01:00 PM PDT Your usual workout routine might no longer be possible if you're working from home and avoiding social contact, but regular exercise is still important for both your physical and mental wellbeing. Thankfully there are still lots of ways to get a good workout, even if you're self-isolating. Strava has collaborated with running coach and medical doctor Dr Megan Roche to create a guide to being active during the Covid-19 crisis.  “Exercise can help manage stress, boost the immune system, and improve energy levels," says Dr Roche, who is a champion trail runner and and epidemiology researcher. However, you might need to make some changes to your usual routine. It all comes down to density, and making sure you keep an appropriate distance from other people. Keep a safe distance Many sports governing bodies around the world now recommend avoiding club activities and training sessions – even if they don't involve physical contact with other athletes, coaches or instructors.  "We are advising that clubs and groups should not be undertaking training, competitive or other related activities during this period, and it is already apparent that parts of the sport are already showing their own leadership and are acting in this respect," UK Athletics said in a statement.  It's still possible to exercise outdoors if you can get away from the crowds, though. "If it will be easy for you to avoid other people (a minimum of six feet apart) during your run or ride and there aren’t restrictions on your outdoor movements in place or a quarantine, then it’s generally safe to exercise outdoors," says Dr Roche.  "For example, if your community backs up to a forest, rural or mountainous area and there’s plenty of room to roam, then exercise as usual and give any passersby a wide berth." If you live in a busy city and can't work out without bumping into others, home workout apps are a good option. Some are designed to work with a treadmill or exercise bike, but there are also lots of workouts that can be completed with weights, resistance bands, a yoga mat, or no equipment at all. The best home fitness apps feature workouts devised by professional instructors, and presented as clear videos that you can watch on your mobile device or cast to your TV for easier watching. The great outdoors If you're lucky enough to have somewhere quiet to run, walk or cycle alone, a fitness app like Strava, Garmin Connect or Runkeeper will let you log your activities, stay motivated with challenges, and keep in touch with your regular workout buddies or club. You can record your activity with your phone, but a smartwatch or dedicated fitness tracker will give you a lot more information, including your heart rate, estimated VO2 max, in addition to GPS tracking. Some even let you listen to music without carrying your phone. Working out solo can be lonely, particularly if you usually head out with a group, so it's also worth investing in a pair of good running headphones so you can enjoy your favorite feel-good music or podcasts on the move. The best running headphones provide a snug fit, so you can run without worrying about them coming loose or bouncing, and some even have a built-in heart rate monitor.  If you're going to be crossing roads, it's worth considering a pair of open-ear headphones like the AfterShokz Trekz Air, which use bone conduction to carry sound and leave your ears free so you can hear your surroundings. Don't overdo it While it's good to keep moving, Dr Roche advises against overdoing frequency or intensity of workouts to avoid putting your body under unnecessary stress. "Overtraining and/or rapid increases in training volume can burden the immune system," she said. "It’s also important to listen to any symptoms that may arise. Typically, I suggest that athletes with mild cold symptoms back off intensity and duration of exercise. "In our current situation, in the event of any symptoms, I suggest that athletes be more cautious, rest, and consult with their physician.” If you want a gentle workout, there are lots of excellent workout apps that focus on yoga and pilates rather than strength and endurance exercises. Asana Rebel, for example, features workouts for all abilities, plus guided meditation sessions and breathing exercises to help you sleep better. “Across the world right now, we are almost all experiencing varying levels of fear, anxiety, and foundational shifts in our daily routines,” says Dr Roche. “It’s unprecedented. But it’s also a remarkable opportunity to support each other in our shared experiences. Think about it as practicing physical distancing as opposed to social distancing – be extra engaged when you can "Call your running friends, give extra Strava kudos, support local businesses online, or tell someone you care about them. Every little action makes a difference as a collective athletic community.” The best fitness tracker 2020: the top 10 activity bands on the planet This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

Best SEO tools of 2020: free and paid Search Engine Optimization software Posted: 18 Mar 2020 12:43 PM PDT At its 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. Click here to jump to the best free SEO tools Best SEO tools - at a glance Google Search Console SEMrush SEO toolkit SEO spider Majestic SEO Tools Moz Pro Google Search Console (GSC) is an excellent way for newbie webmasters to get started with SEO.  Even 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. Help is available via the Webmasters Help Community, a place for webmaster's to connect and share troubleshooting and performance tips. You can sign up for Google Search Console here SEMrush SEO toolkit 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 per month which includes access to all SEO tools. A 14-day free trial is available for Techradar readers to try out the service. Read out review of SEMrush SEO toolkit here. You can sign up for SEMrush SEO toolkit here 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 URL's, as well as 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, as well as check the number of links placed on each page  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. This makes the 'Lite' version of SEO Spider suitable only for smaller domains. The paid version $180 per year and includes more advanced features as well as free tech support. You can sign up for SEO Spider here Majestic SEO tools 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 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. You can sign up for Majestic SEO Tools here Moz Pro 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 per month for the Standard plan which covers the basic tools. The Medium plan offers a wider range of features for $179 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. You can sign up to Moz Pro here Best free SEO tools 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. SEOQuake   SEOquake is one of the most popular toolbar extension. 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. 2. Google AdWords keyword planner   Knowing 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."  However, while useful for keyword research purposes it's important to realize the numbers provided are approximations rather than exact figures, and intended to provide a guide to popularity rather than exact real-time search volume. 3. Google Optimise  Yet 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. 4. Live Keyword Analysis  Any 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.  5. Ahrefs Backlink Checker Understanding backlinks (sites linking to you) allows website owners and publishers to see 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 over 17 trillion known links, covering 170 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.  Check out the best free website hosting services  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

Apex Legends Season 4: latest update news, tips, patch notes and more Posted: 18 Mar 2020 12:35 PM PDT EA surprised many with the sudden announcement of Apex Legends back in February 2019, a free-to-play battle royale shooter that sees the publisher going toe-to-toe with genre mammoths PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds and Fortnite Battle Royale. Developed by Respawn Entertainment and set in the Titanfall universe, Apex Legends is a squad-based battle royale shooter where teams of three go up against 57 other players to try to gather loot and be the last person (or squad) standing. However, unlike Fortnite and PUBG, Apex Legends sees players take on one of eight classes, each represented by a unique character (imagine Fortnite mixed with Overwatch and you’ll be on the right track.)  Apex Legends has now celebrated one year of play and is into its fourth season, Assimilation, which began on February 4 2020.  If you're new to Apex Legends and looking to see what you're missing or you've dropped off the map for a while and you'd like to catch up on the latest, we're here to keep you up to date on what's fresh in Apex Legends.  Apex Legends review: the official TechRadar verdict As we said in our full Apex Legends review: "Truth be told, the Battle Royale movement has never quite grabbed me. I dabbled in PUBG and spent a dozen hours or so with Fortnite, yet nothing ever quite stuck the landing. Apex though, has got me hook, line and sinker. Featuring intuitive controls, an outstanding comms system and remarkable rogue’s gallery, Respawn has created what feels like the AAA outing for the genre."  Apex Legends update news What's new? The System Override event is over but Respawn has confirmed that evo shields are hanging around First Global Series Major suspended EA has announced that it's suspending its live esports events, including Apex Legends' first Global Series Major, due to the recent coronavirus outbreak. Calling the outbreak "unprecedented" in its official announcement, EA said suspensions will be in place from March 13 until the global "situation improves" in order to protect all of those involved in the esport.  EA has said the suspension "includes EA-operated events as well as third-party events run under license from EA. Additionally, this includes all competitive gaming content except for broadcasts that can be individually produced remotely. Online events, where participants and staff are remote and separated will continue." It's important to note, however, that the second Global Series Online Tournament will still go ahead on March 21 and 23.  Evo Shields are sticking around Apex Legends' System Override event has now come to an end, taking its limited time mode Deja Loot with it. But, the new Evo Shield that was introduced during the event is sticking around. This shield, which isn't particularly powerful at first but comes stronger the more you inflict damage on other players, will now be found in Ranked, Play Apex and limited-time modes.  Apex Legends Assimilation As of February 4 2020, Apex Legends: Assimilation is underway. So what's new? Well, there's a new Legend, a new weapon, some map changes and an all new Battle Pass to get started on. Read on for a rundown of what to expect.   New Legend As with previous seasons, Apex Legends Season 4 has introduced a brand new Legend. This time, things went a little differently. Originally, Forge, a robotically enhanced fighter was introduced as the legend for Season 4. However, he was then murdered and replaced by Revenant (the character fans long-suspected to be the Season 4 legend anyway). Revenant, also known somewhat more tellingly as the "synthetic nightmare" was once human and the "greatest hitman the Mercenary Syndicate ever had". But when his programming failed, he saw what his employers and Hammond Robotics had turned him into: "a walking nightmare of steel and vestigial flesh.”  Revenant vowed to get revenge and killed everyone involved in ruining his life. Now, two centuries later Hammond Robotics has returned to the Outlands and he's renewed his vow to take out anyone involved with Hammond Robotics.  Those familiar with the Titanfall universe will know Hammond Robotics as the creators of the Titans and it seems that they're going to be playing a bigger role in Apex Legends this season.  As far as abilities are concerned, Revenant's tactical ability is "Silence" which allows his to throw a device that deals damage and disables enemy abilities for ten seconds. His passive ability is "Stalker", which makes it possible to crouch-walk faster and climb higher than the other Legends can. Finally, his ultimate ability is "Death Totem" which allows him to drop a totem that protects those who use it from death for a set amount of time. Instead of being killed or downed, a player will be returned to the totem instead.  New Weapon The Sentinel has been confirmed as the new weapon in Season 4 of Apex Legends. It's described as a powerful bolt-action sniper rifle which stands apart from other weapons of its ilk as it comes with a charge mechanic. In the dev stream released before the season launch, it was hinted that this mechanic will give players a little more decision making to do when making a shot and could provide some interesting gameplay.  Map Changes Season 4 has brought some map changes, the designs for which have been driven by a desire to "get players to make new decisions". The Planet Harvester is a key addition to the World's Edge skyline. Hammond Robotics are using the device to harvest materials from the core of the planet for unknown (but likely nefarious) reasons.  The Planet Harvester offers a large, multi-level space in which to play and since there's not been anything like it before, it brings new gameplay options. According to Respawn, fights in this area tend to be "self-contained as squads will tend to enter the fights through the long hallways that lead to the center of the structure." The expectation is that this will make third parties more predictable.  As well as being a change, Planet Harvester has wrought some changes of its own: it's split Capitol City in two.  Now the city is made up of two zones, Fragment East and Fragment West, with a large fissure of dead space between them. This fissure can only be crossed in two locations by means of a zipline and a fallen skyscraper bridge. If you do happen to fall into the fissure between the zones because of a poorly timed jump or sheer curiosity, you'll find yourself carried slowly back up and allowed to land on the other side you were probably trying to get to. The downside is you'll take 25 damage for the fall and, as you float up, you run the risk of being a sitting target for enemies.  A smaller addition is the Survey Camp. This area will have Weapon Racks which will have guaranteed weapons up for grabs, making it a tempting place to visit. Anniversary Event As Season 4 is launching on the one year anniversary of Apex Legends, there's going to be a special event. According to Respawn, those who log into the game in the first week of Season 4 (that's February 4 to February 11) will receive an Anniversary Gift. this includes a Year 1 Origami Flyer charm, a Year 1 loyalty badge and 10k XP for your first match of the day for every day the event is running.  Battle Pass It wouldn't be a new season of Apex Legends without a brand new Battle Pass. For 950 Apex Coins you can pick up this pass which offers 110 levels to climb by completing daily and weekly challenges, with more than 100 exclusive items including Legendary Skins, Apex Packs, Loading Screens and Music Packs to earn.  Players who pick up the battle pass immediately unlock the Legendary R99: Zero Point skin and three new Epic Legends skins. Getting through the rest of the levels could see you earn Rare and Legendary rewards like the Health Drain Lifeline, Blue Steel Crypto, Cyber Punked Wattson and Heat Sink Flatline. Ranked League Series 3 Alongside Season 4, Ranked League Series 3 has also launched.  Ranked League Series 3 brings a few changes, including Splits and a new tier: Master Tier. As Respawn is seeing more players move into the upper echelons of the rankings to become Apex Predators, it's finding that it's getting harder to "showcase the skill between any two Apex Predators this season." As a result, a new tier, Master Tier, has been added between Diamond and Apex Predator.  Players will need to reach 10,000 RP to make it to Master Tier as was the case with Apex Predator. The Apex Predator Tier will now be exclusive to the top 500 players per platform, so players who reach Apex Predator Tier could find that they drop down to Master Tier if other players earn more RP than them. Respawn has said "We feel this should give more prestige to making and keeping your Apex Predator rank, while still keeping the tiers above Diamond very exclusive." As far as Splits are concerned, after looking at the lengths of previous Ranked Series, Respawn has decided that Series 3 will be three months long, like Series 1, but that it will be divided into two Splits.  This means that Ranked Series 3 essentially comes in two parts, with Split 1 taking place on World’s Edge, while Split 2 will freshen things up by taking place back at King’s Canyon.  Split 1 is to take place between February 3 and March 23, and Split 2 will follow on from March 24 to May 5.  Soft resets will take place between each Split and Respawn has confirmed that "ranked rewards will be granted for the highest tier achieved in either split of the series, but exclusive animated badges will be granted if you can make it to the same tier both splits." There are also some new party restrictions as the game moves into the new Ranked Series. Players will find that once they get to Platinum Tier or higher, they'll only be able to party with players who have 1 Tier of difference from them. It's hoped this will keep matches more tight when it comes to higher skill levels.  As far as what's staying the same, players will still see soft resets take place going into the new series. So, "at the start of Series 3 everyone will be soft reset on their ranked position by 1.5 Tiers down. That means if you ended Season 3 in Gold II, you’ll be reset to Silver IV. Players in Platinum IV will be reset to Silver II, and Apex Predators will be reset to Platinum II." As previously said, the soft reset will also now take place at the beginning of each Split. Entry RP cost to Ranked Series is also the same and there won't be any further changes to the scoring system.  Apex Legends tips and tricks Apex Legends can be difficult to get to grips with. There are a lot of different characters each with their own abilities and skills, plus this battle royale arguably leans more heavily on strategy and teamwork than some of its competitors.  Get ahead of the pack with our selection of Apex Legends guides, designed to help you become a champion. Apex Legends beginners: essential tips and tricks Apex Legends characters: which Legend is best suited to your playstyle Apex Legends solo: here's how to win without a good team Apex Legends landing spots: here's where your Jumpmaster should touch down Apex Legends loot map: here's where to find the best in-game gear How to download Apex Legends Apex Legends can be downloaded for free from the PlayStation Store, Xbox Store, Origin Store or Apex Legends website. Simply search for the title, download the game and enjoy!  But do keep in mind that a good internet connect and subscription to either PS Plus, Xbox Live or Origin Access is required to play. The good news is that Apex Legends is also coming to mobile in the future, following in the footsteps of Fortnite and PUBG. Apex Legends roadmap - what's next? Respawn Entertainment has shared the season roadmap for Apex Legends. Apex Legends Battle Pass seasons run for approximately three months. Currently four seasons have officially been announced: Season One: March 19, 2019 until June 18, 2019.  Season Two: July 2, 2019 Season Three: September 2019 Season Four: December 2019 Now that Season 4's launch date has been confirmed for February 2020, we're reaching the end of the known world for Apex Legends. No doubt, in the coming months, Respawn will establish and reveal its new goals for the game's second year.  Is Apex Legends coming to mobile? Yes. In EA’s quarterly earnings report, the publisher announced that it’s looking at bringing the Respawn Entertainment-developed game to mobile platforms and to both South Korea and China.  “We’re in advanced negotiations to China and mobile”, EA’s CFO Blake Jorgenson stated, before later mentioning South Korea as another expansion point.  We shouldn't expect to see Apex Legends on mobile for at least a year, though. According to EA Chief Executive, Andrew Wilson, the game won't launch until the fiscal year 2021. Read more: Apex Legends Battle Pass - price, release date and roadmap This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

Google is halting new Chrome updates Posted: 18 Mar 2020 12:21 PM PDT As people all over the world are now working from home due to the ongoing coronavirus outbreak, Google has made the decision not to add any new features to both Chrome and Chrome OS in order to keep its software running as smoothly as possible. In a tweet, the Chrome development team explained that it will pause upcoming Chrome and Chrome OS releases, saying: “Due to adjusted work schedules, we’re pausing upcoming Chrome & Chrome OS releases. Our goal is to ensure they continue to be stable, secure, & reliable for anyone who depends on them. We’ll prioritize updates related to security, which will be included in Chrome 80. Stay tuned.” Everything you need to keep you secure when working from home Beware these new coronavirus email scams New Chrome build will allow you to block all cookies Halting Chrome updates While updates often bring useful new features, they can also introduce new bugs into software which is why Google's decision to halt Chrome and Chrome OS updates makes a great deal of sense. Imagine if everyone working remotely was unable to use Chrome to do their work as the result of a bug in an update, there would be chaos online and productivity would slow to a halt. The Chrome development team also made the case that it's difficult to balance the browser's stability and new features while its employees are so decentralized. As of now, we don't know when Chrome or Chrome OS will begin receiving updates again but in these trying times, it's better to have a browser or operating system that works as expected than one with new features and potential bugs. This is how to work from home Via The Verge This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

Pokémon Go updates: all the news and rumors for what's coming next Posted: 18 Mar 2020 12:16 PM PDT Pokémon Go: the world's first augmented reality app to become a household name. Niantic's mobile AR game is still going strong two years after it first released, with a constant drip of events and updates keeping budding trainers glued to their phones and pounding the streets. And while it hasn't managed to top the peak of its popularity in 2016, it's still going strong and finding plenty of new ways to improve its player experience. So what's the latest news for Pokémon Go? As you'd expect, brand new features are being added all the time and community events are still going strong. Plus we have some more themed events and brand new Pokémon being introduced at regular intervals.  But without further ado, here's our guide to all the latest Pokémon Go news and updates. Pokémon Go tips and tricks: how to get better at the game How to fix the biggest problems with Pokémon Go Pokémon Gone: how Pokémon Go can bring back lapsed trainers How to catch a Ditto in Pokémon Go Pokémon Go news and Pokémon Go updates What's new? Niantic is reacting to the Coronavirus pandemic with some temporary updates and changes Coronavirus changes Given Pokémon Go is a game which attempts to draw its players outside, Niantic is having to react to the Coronavirus pandemic and make some temporary changes which will make it easier for players to continue to catch 'em all without stepping over the door.  In a statement to Polygon, the developer has said that it's  “prioritizing updates to Pokémon Go features and experiences that can be enjoyed in individual settings.”  The changes are already in place and include increasing habitats so that more Pokémon should appear around player's homes.  Other moves from Niantic are a 99% reduction on incense packs so that players can attract Pokémon to where they are and increase spawns with the time they work increased to one hour rather than just 30 minutes.  Incubators will also result in hatches at double speed, while PokéStops will drop gifts more often.  Pokémon Go Battle League Its preseason now finishing up, the first season of Pokémon Go's competitive Battle League will begin on March 13. Trainers who took part in the preseason and achieved a rank of 4 or higher will receive a Premium Battle Pass as a reward.  Due to the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic, Niantic has waived the walk and pay entry requirements for Battle League. Players who are not in-game close friends will no longer need to be close to one another to Battle and will be able to challenge one another as long as they're only Good Friends, allowing for tournaments to be held remotely. Trainer Battles within the GO Battle League will rotate between three leagues and players will be able to rank against fellow Trainers, earning rewards for ranking. The GO Battle League is beginning with the Great League until March 27, which will be followed by the Ultra League until April 10, then the Master League until April 24, after which all three Leagues will be available until May 1. Season 2 is expected to begin on May 1, when each of these Leagues has been cycled through.  Players can earn Stardust depending on rank and number of battles won as well as items like Rare Candies and TMS as well as the chance to get exclusive Pokémon encounters.  Some changes are being made to Battle League based on learnings from the preseason. Winning will now matter much earlier than Rank 4, with Ranks 2 and 3 requiring platers to win a certain number of battles in order to advance to the next rank.  The Pokémon you can encounter as GO Battle League rewards are also changing for Season 1 with Metagross being the first guaranteed encounter reward. Players that reach Rank 4 will have the chance to encounter Bedlum, at Rank 7 it's Rufflet and, finally, Pikachu Libre at Rank 10. Reaching Rank 10 will also allow players to earn avatar items and an avatar pose exclusive to Season 1 inspired by Steven, a Pokémon League Champion in the Hoenn region.  At the end of Season 1, players who have reached Rank 7 or higher will receive an Elite Charged TM. Elite Charged TMs, along with Elite Fast TMs, allow players to select the attack their Pokémon learns.  What's the next Pokémon Go Event? A Drive To Investigate Niantic's ticketed story event, A Drive To Investigate, has been re-worked in light of the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic so that players can take part solo from the comfort of their own homes.  Initially intended to get players out of their homes and working together, the event's tasks have been reworked and Niantic has stated that as it's "prioritising updates to Pokémon Go features and experiences that can be enjoyed in individual settings, the Special Research story event 'A Drive to Investigate' has been designed to be playable without group gameplay." Tickets to the event cost £7.99/$7.99 and come with a host of in-game items like Premium Battle Passes, Incense, Star Pieces, Incubators and TMs. The event itself begins on March 20 and runs through to March 26.  Live Safari Zones Niantic has announced that Pokémon Go Live Events will be coming to Taiwan, the US and the UK this year. The first event in Taiwan which celebrated the Lantern Festival has passed, while the others are still to come and will be ticketed at a cost of $12/£12 for General Admission and $18/£18 for Early Admission.  Due to concerns over the COVID-19 outbreak, Niantic has stated that it will be postponing all of its Safari events with plans to look for alternate dates in the next 12 months. Players looking for refunds for their digital passes are encouraged to reach out through in-app support by March 25.  March 27 - 29: Safari Zone St. Louis, Missouri, US (Postponed) April 17 - 19: Safari Zone Liverpool, UK (Postponed) May 8 - 10: Safari Zone Philadelphia, US (Postponed) When's the next Pokémon Go Community Day? What date is the next Community Day? Postponed Who's the starring Pokémon? Abra Niantic has confirmed that the next Pokémon Go Community Day has been postponed due to the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic. When the community day does eventually go ahead, the Psychic-type Abra will be the starring Pokémon for the event and will appear more frequently in the wild to be caught. There'll also be the chance to catch a Shiny Abra.  There's also going to be a special event-exclusive move for those who can evolve Abra through to its final form of Alakazam, though that move has not been confirmed just yet.  Other bonuses available during the event include triple catch XP and a 3 hour period for Lure Modules rather than the standard 30 minutes.  As with previous events, this Community Day will take place at different times on March 15 depending on the hemisphere in which you're playing. Those playing in the Northern Hemisphere will take part from 11am to 2pm local time, while those in the Southern Hemisphere join in from 3pm to 6pm local time.  Pokémon Go update: what's next? Now that Go Battle League has arrived in Pokémon Go, Niantic has ticked another big promised feature off its list. At the moment, we're not sure what's next for the game aside from, naturally, new Pokémon being added. We'll update here when the roadmap becomes more clear. Check out the best and weirdest Pokémon Go stories so far Pokémon Go Plus deals Want to buy yourself a Pokémon Go Plus wearable? Check some of today's best deals down below. (Image credits: Niantic/Pokémon Company) Read more: Harry Potter Wizards Unite: everything we know This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

Best SSL certificate services to buy from in 2020: Get the cheapest price today Posted: 18 Mar 2020 12:12 PM 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. We’ve also rounded up the best overall website hosting services Below are the best SSL certificate providers of 2020:  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. But be warned, validation can take some time if the information required for Comodo SSL to complete the checking process isn’t available online. On the plus side, the company has excellent support people should you have installation or browser issues. ___________________________________________________________________________________ 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. Sign up for DigiCert SSL certification 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. Sign up for Entrust Datacard SSL certification 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. Sign up for GeoTrust SSL certification 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. Sign up for GlobalSign SSL certification 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. Sign up for GoDaddy SSL certification 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. Sign up for Network Solutions SSL certification 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. Sign up for RapidSSL certification 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. Sign up for SSL.com certification 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. Sign up for Thawte SSL certification Understanding SSL The 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 relationships When 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: Self-signed. At first glance, the idea of self-signed certificates seems mildly ridiculous, because looking in the mirror and confirming that the reflection is indeed you won’t work at passport control. However, if the purpose of these certificates is to control traffic on an internal corporate intranet, it works well enough, and avoids the browser repeatedly complaining about unsecured web locations. Domain Validation (DV). The next rung up is the Domain Validated SSL certificate, which is purely a confirmation that the web pages are truly coming from the expected domain and not some other. It says nothing about the person or business in question, just that they own a domain. Organization Validated (OV). The highest level of validation that an individual can aspire to, and high enough for many businesses. Company credentials and those of the named owners are checked against extensive databases, including those held by local governments. Extended Validation (EV). The pinnacle of SSL issuance is the fully authenticated SSL certificate, needed for any company that wants to offer their customers secure web locations, email and financial transactions. 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. Encryption The 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. Poor decisions can have big cost implications, and changing direction once you have a consumer-facing solution isn’t ideal. The following factors should play a part in picking the right issuance operation for you: Period of trial - Before anything goes live you’ll want to test it, yes? Browser compatibility - With so many computers still running Windows 7 and even older releases, working with older browsers is still a major concern. Issuance timeframe - When deadlines are in play, time can be critical should a new certificate suddenly be needed Trust level type - The trick is to match the needs of the web location with the level of security and trust needed. If you don’t do financial transactions, then EV level security probably isn’t required. Not all firms offer OV level certificates and some companies try to charge for self-signed, amazingly. Trust site seal - Providing a recognizable seal that the public can see is an easy way to let your customers know that a site is secure and that their information is safe. Support of SSL experts - The subtle nuances of SSL and certification can befuddle even the most astute IT people, so having an SSL support team available is critical. Refund policy - Entering a business relationship assuming it will go sideways isn’t a particularly positive viewpoint, but knowing that your money will come back if needed is a sensible precaution. Warranty policy - Some CAs cover errors in identification, loss of documents or intentional/accidental errors. These warranties might have implications for those companies that self-insure. You might also want to check out our hosting guides: Best WordPress hosting providers  Best cloud hosting providers Best Linux web hosting services Best e-commerce hosting Best dedicated server hosting Best small business web hosting Best Windows hosting services Best managed web hosting Best green web hosting Best colocation hosting Best email hosting providers Best web hosting resellers Best VPS hosting providers Best shared web hosting Best cheap web hosting Check out the best website hosting services This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

The Xbox Series X release date was November 26, then Microsoft took it back Posted: 18 Mar 2020 12:05 PM PDT The Xbox Series X release date is tentatively set for Thursday, November 26, 2020... or it was for a minute before a number of product pages reverted back to its previously announced Holiday 2020 release window.  For Americans, that day is better known as Thanksgiving 2020 - and one day before the biggest shopping day of the year, Black Friday. The release date appeared on a number of product pages for the Xbox Series X around the world, and was quickly circulated on Twitter before pages switched back to Holiday 2020.  A Microsoft spokesperson responded to TechRadar to clarify, saying "An Xbox product page in some regions inaccurately listed the launch date for Xbox Series X as Thanksgiving 2020. We are committed to launching Holiday 2020.” Something to be thankful for? Why would Microsoft pick Turkey Day to release a console? Well, probably to drum up business during Black Friday, a day known for breaking sales records. Last year, Americans spent $7.4 billion shopping online that day, which means retailers and manufacturers alike stand a lot to gain by releasing products around then.  Industry analysts have predicted a November release date for some time which would line up nicely with the American holiday - but for now Microsoft wants to stick to the open window of time, probably to allow for delays. The non-news followed the detailed specs breakdown that Microsoft released earlier this week, highlighting the console's expandable storage, 16GB of 14Gbps GDDR6 memory and 8-core, 16-thread processor with a maximum clock of 3.8 GHz. Sony then fired back with a specs reveal of its own by PlayStation's chief architect Mark Cerny in which the designer talked up the PS5's fast load times and 3D audio technology that would've taken place at GDC, but instead aired on the PlayStation blog. We'll be watching both consoles closely as we march ever closer to their holiday release windows, anxiously awaiting the final release date and any - and we mean any - confirmed games. Xbox Series X vs Xbox One X: will it be worth the upgrade? This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

Xbox Series X release date, specs, design and launch titles for the next Xbox Posted: 18 Mar 2020 11:58 AM PDT Xbox Series X is the next-generation Xbox, releasing on Thanksgiving 2020 - in other words, November 26, 2020. Previously known by its codename 'Xbox Project Scarlett', the Xbox Series X was officially revealed at The Game Awards 2019 with a trailer that showed off the next Xbox in all its glory. So far we know when the next Xbox will release, its official name, its full list of specs and a couple of the console's launch titles, as well as information on backwards compatibility and how cross-gen game ownership will work under the new 'Smart Delivery' initiative.  From what we've seen so far, it looks like the Xbox Series X will be a bit of a departure both design-wise and name-wise from its predecessors, sporting a blockier style that's similar to that of a small gaming PC. More importantly, now that we know the Series X's full specs, we know that that the new Xbox is going to be an absolute powerhouse.  We're due to find out even more about the Series X soon, as Microsoft is hosting two days of live streams on Mixer today, with a dedicated slot set aside to talk about the new Xbox. We were expecting to see the console fully unveiled at E3 2020 but, now that the show has been cancelled, Xbox is due to hold a digital event instead – with dates and times to be confirmed. But Xbox Series X will not be the only next-generation hardware on offer from Microsoft. The company has confirmed that the next-generation family of consoles will be called 'Xbox' and that 'Series X' is just one of the consoles within that family.  Sony's PS5 may be launching in the same late 2020 window as the Series X, but Microsoft looks like it's going to put up one heck of a fight in the next-gen console wars, with the Series X apparently boasting twice the power of the Xbox One X. So what exactly has Microsoft got to offer? Let's break down everything we know about the Xbox Series X. [UPDATE: Xbox Series X will release November 26, 2020 (AKA Thanksgiving). Read on to find out more.] What is it? Xbox Series X will be the next-gen Xbox console Xbox Series X release date: "Thanksgiving 2020" - so November 26, 2020 What can I play on it? Halo Infinite and Hellblade 2, while all previous generations of Xbox console games will be covered by backwards compatibility. What will the Xbox Series X cost? No prices yet, and we're not expecting it to be cheap. But Microsoft has said it won't be making the same pricing mistakes as last generation so perhaps we'll be pleasantly surprised. Will Xbox Series X have VR? Microsoft has confirmed Xbox Series X won't have VR at launch, with Xbox boss Phil Spencer saying the company is waiting until Xbox VR is a "no-brainer". Will coronavirus delay the Xbox Series X release? There have been rumors this could happen. We don't think that'll be the case and Microsoft is still citing the same release window. The Xbox Series X will release on November 26, 2020 (AKA US Thanksgiving). No, the PS5 and Xbox Series X probably won't be delayed by coronavirus Microsoft won't be pinned down on an Xbox Series X price point quite yet – unsurprisingly, given what a sore spot the price of the Xbox One was for fans. At launch, the original Xbox One cost a whopping $499 / £429 / AU$599, which was quickly reduced when Microsoft realized people weren't forking out. Microsoft has at the very least promised that it's learned from this pricing mistake, with Phil Spencer stating that this time "we will not be out of position on power or price.” That doesn't mean that the console will be cheap, mind you, it just means the price point will be better aligned with the console's power and the price points of the competition.  After all, Jason Ronald, director of the Xbox platform, gave only a vague reassurance when speaking to Windows Central, saying that Microsoft knew "what reasonable price points are for a console and kind of what customers expect about that". When it comes to the PS5 and Xbox Series X, players see 'affordable price' as the most important factor, according to a Twitter poll by Mortal Kombat co-creator Ed Boon. Boon asked Twitter users what the most important thing was for them when it comes to next-gen consoles. The poll received a total of 50,295 responses, with a 37.5% majority of users saying 'affordable price' was the most important factor. 'Plays last-gen games' (AKA backwards compatibility) came second with 30%, 'better graphics' received 19.2% of votes, while 'exclusive games' was the least important with just 13.2% of votes.  It's worth noting that a Twitter poll isn't exactly reflective of the overall player base, especially as it's unlikely younger players will be on the platform. So, while this poll can be useful as a steer, the reality is likely to be a lot more complex. Regardless, we expect price to be a key factor in whether players pick up a PS5 or Xbox Series X - even if it's not the most important. Price will at least in part be determined by the cost of the components going into the console: Xbox Scarlett is going to be a lot more powerful than either the Xbox One S or Xbox One X, and that will likely mean we're looking at an even higher price tag on any bundles and Xbox Series X pre-orders.  What are teraflops? Let us explain Cloud game streaming could decide the future of Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 Xbox Series X components. (Image credit: Microsoft) CPU: 8x Zen 2 Cores at 3.8GHz (3.6GHz with SMT) 7nm GPU: 12 TFLOPs, 52 CUs at 1.825GHz, Custom RDNA 2 Memory: 16GB GDDR6 Storage: 1TB custom NVMe SSD Optical drive: 4K UHD Blu-ray 120 fps support Potential 8K resolutions Ray-tracing technology Variable Rate Shading for more stable frame rates Compatible with Xbox One accessories We now know what Xbox Series X looks like and what it's packing under the hood, and it's going to be an absolute beast of a console.The next Xbox's gaming PC design is pretty apt, considering the next-gen console's internal hardware is comparable to one - so make sure you check out our Xbox Series X spec analysis. Microsoft has finally revealed the Xbox Series X specifications in full, leaving no one in doubt about how powerful its next-generation games console will be. The folks over at Eurogamer’s Digital Foundry got a close look at the hardware, and alongside Microsoft have announced the hardware that will be powering the Xbox Series X. According to Digital Foundry, the specs confirm that the Xbox Series X will indeed be twice as powerful as the Xbox Once X… in practise. Digital Foundry saw an unoptimized version of Gears 5 running on the Xbox Series X running at the equivalent of ‘Ultra’ graphics settings on PC, and it comes with enhanced shadows and ray tracing. Where the cut scenes ran at 30FPS on the Xbox One X, Digital Foundry reported that on the Xbox Series X, it runs at a ‘flawless’ 60FPS. Also, this is an early port – on release we should see even better results. As expected, the Xbox Series X processor is built into a custom Project Scarlett SoC (System on Chip), which uses an enhanced version of TSMC’s 7nm process. That seven nanometers is important. The smaller the process, the more efficient the chip can be. That means it can provide more performance for less power. Making sure the chip inside a games console can perform well without using lots of power (and getting hot) is incredibly important. The processor is a customised AMD Zen 2 CPU with eight cores and 16 threads, with a peak speed of 3.8GHz, and a base speed of 3.6GHz. As Digital Foundry reveals, these frequencies aren’t completely locked, which suggests the Xbox Series X could adjust the power of the CPU based on workload and thermals. So, if you’re playing a game that needs a lot of processing power, the Xbox Series X can give its CPU a boost, and then slow it down when you don’t need it. Meanwhile, the GPU of the Xbox Series X is revealed at a custom design with 12 teraflops of compute performance, with 3328 shaders allocated to 52 compute units, and runs at a locked 1,825 MHz. Interestingly, there’s no boost clocks for the GPU. It will always run at that speed. It also uses AMD’s RDNA 2 architecture, and offers ray tracing for photo-realistic lighting. What does this mean in the real world? It seems the Xbox Series X will have the graphical power acquirement to a gaming PC with an Nvidia RTX 2080 graphics card. So, a very capable device indeed, but maybe not able to compete with the most powerful gaming PCs. The Xbox Series X also gets 16GB of GDDR6 memory – an upgrade from the Xbox One X’s 12GB GDDR5. That won’t all be used in games, however. Games will get a total of 13.5GB – 10GB of GPU optimal memory and 3.5GB of standard memory, while the remaining 2.5GB is reserved for the operating system. The faster GDDR6 memory should also offer a big leap in performance. Match that with a super-fast NVMe SSD, and the Xbox Series X should feel very spritely when used. There’s still a lot of questions over what kind of performance we can expect from the Xbox Series X, but this is by far the best look at the hardware we’ve seen. Microsoft is aiming to get Xbox Series X games to run at 60 FPS in 4K, calling the challenge a "design goal". The console will support up to 120 FPS too. Despite 4K being the aim, Microsoft has said the Xbox Series X has 8K capability. Phil Spencer even changed his Twitter profile photo to (what appeared to be) a picture of the next-gen Xbox Series X's processor. It said 'Project Scarlett' on it, and was marked with '8K' (pictured above), suggesting Microsoft plans on doing more than simply talking the talk when it comes to 8K.  The Xbox Series X will also feature Variable Rate Shading, which prioritizes effects on different in-game characters and objects for a "more stable frame rate and higher resolution", according to Microsoft. Not only will games look better, they could be bigger. In an interview with PCGamesN, Samsung revealed that it's talking with Microsoft and pushing the gaming behemoth to adopt ultrawide support for the Xbox Series X. The Xbox Series X will make good use of having an SSD – a 'Quick Resume' feature for the console will let you "almost instantly" continue with multiple games, without the need to sit through load screens.  Microsoft also aims to improve latency through features such as Auto Low Latency Mode (ALLM) and Variable Refresh Rate (VRR).  According to Microsoft, "ALLM allows Xbox One and Xbox Series X to automatically set the connected display to its lowest latency mode". While "VRR synchronizes the display’s refresh rate to the game’s frame rate, maintaining smooth visuals without tearing". These features aim to minimize lag and make gaming more responsive. If you're less bothered about the specs and more concerned about whether you can still play physical games on the next Xbox, then you'll be pleased to know that Xbox Series X has a physical disc drive. Microsoft has also confirmed that all your current Xbox One accessories will work with Xbox Series X, including existing controllers and headsets. But we'd doubt that also includes the ill-fated Kinect motion tracker. That means that the Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2 will be forward compatible with Series X, but Microsoft is also launching a next-generation wireless controller to accompany the new console. But don't expect the Xbox Series X to launch with VR support as, according to Xbox boss Phil Spencer, Microsoft is waiting until VR on Xbox becomes a "no brainer". However, right now, the company doesn't see the feature as "so important" on its next-gen hardware. Can your TV show off Xbox Series X's jump in power? Read our guide to getting ready to upgrade your TV for Xbox Series X Xbox Series X has a completely different design to its predecessors. For a start, the next-gen console has an upright tower design - similar to that of a gaming PC. However, Microsoft has confirmed Series X can sit horizontally or vertically.  From what we seen in the Series X reveal trailer, the console is black with slightly indented cooling vent on the top (with what seems to be a green light inside). The Xbox logo sits small on the top left hand corner of the console and there's still a disc drive - which is placed vertically on the left hand side also. Windows Central estimates the console is 31cm x 16cm x 16cm, making it a tall cuboid.  The Xbox One measures 30cm x 24cm x 6cm, making the Series X considerably larger (volume wise) than its predecessor.  Unfortunately we haven't officially seen the back of the console yet so really we're taking the Series X on 'face value'. But, thanks to leaked photos that surfaced online, we may have some idea of the next-gen console's ports. Shared on forum site Neogaf, the photos seem to show a prototype of the next Xbox console, which will likely have been shared with devs working on titles for the Xbox Series X. The image below shows off the rear vents of the console, as well as ports for USB, HDMI, S/PDIF, power and Ethernet. There's also a mystery port of some sort (but we'll come back to that). While, the second leaked image shows a single USB port on the front of the console. Will this be the console's final design? It's unlikely and, like any leaked information, we're treating these images with suitable skepticism. While these images have been circling for a while now, we still weren't entirely sure what that mystery port was - until now. Thurrott claims that sources "familiar with the company's plans" have identified the port as being for storage expansion. Microsoft hasn't confirmed it this is the case, but we wouldn't be surprised if it was seeing as external storage was supported with the Xbox One - but whether we see it included in the final Series X product is still uncertain.  Microsoft is releasing a next generation controller to accompany its next generation console. The new Xbox Wireless Controller will apparently be more accessible to everyone, as Microsoft has made an effort to refine the size and shape.  This shouldn't be too surprising to anyone that's been following the tech giant, as it's been making waves for accessibility in gaming for a while now with products like the Xbox Adaptive Controller. Along with enhanced accessibility, we'll also be getting a dedicated share button (finally) that will let you share screenshots and videos with your friends. Microsoft has also revealed that it is optimizing latency in the "player-to-console pipeline" starting with our Xbox Wireless Controller, through a new feature called Dynamic Latency input. According to the company, this feature "synchronizes input immediately with what is displayed", making controls "more precise and responsive". However, apart from these details, we don't know exactly what other new features the new Xbox Wireless Controller will boast quite yet.  During the Xbox Series X's official reveal, Phil Spencer said Series X games will be "more lifelike, immersive and surprising" and that the Xbox Series X will "lead us into the future of gaming". He also stated that 15 Xbox Game Studios are building a huge next-generation library that includes Hellblade II: Senua's Saga and Halo Infinite. Not a Halo fan? Don't worry, Xbox Series X will be capable of four generations of backwards compatibility - with the feature available from launch. That means the Series X will be able to play existing Xbox One games, including backward-compatible Xbox 360 and original Xbox games. These games will apparently get more consistent frame rates, quicker load times and "improved resolution and visual fidelity", without requiring additional work from developers. Xbox One accessories will also be backwards compatible. Not only is Microsoft doubling down on backwards compatibility, but the company is also introducing a new system called “Smart Delivery” to the Series X that, in some respects, could be seen as forwards compatibility. With the Xbox Series X, Smart Delivery will seemingly ensure that you have the right version of a game, no matter which Xbox console you’ve bought it on. So, for instance, if you were to buy a cross-generation game on the Xbox One, you’ll have a souped-up version waiting for you as soon as you fire up the more-powerful Xbox Series X. Microsoft’s first-party titles will offer this by default, but it’s a feature that will be optional for third-party developers and publishers. In addition, Microsoft will avoid siloing by taking a cross-generation approach to its first-party games. Talking to Stevivor, Phil Spencer said Microsoft wants to create a console that utilizes Xbox Play Anywhere so you can move seamlessly between devices: "Our goal for our first-party games is that your entitlements will be cross-generation and your Achievements will move effectively with your save game because that’s where they stand.” Speaking of first-party games, Microsoft has been promising that it's investing in first-party studios in order to make a more competitive offering. Phil Spencer has also teased on Twitter that Microsoft is working on a "deep portfolio" of Xbox Game Studios titles for E3 2020. As far as third-parties are concerned, we already have confirmation that a remake of THQ Nordic's cult classic Gothic, Gollum, Cyberpunk 2077 and Outriders will land on Xbox Series X. In addition, Ubisoft has confirmed that Watch Dogs: Legion, Rainbow Six Quarantine, and Gods and Monsters are all coming to Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 - with a new Assassin's Creed and Far Cry also rumored to be coming to the platforms. We also know Rainbow Six Siege will be available on Xbox Series X and PS5 from launch. In addition, not only has EA has said that Battlefield 6 will be coming to Xbox Series X, but the company has sung the praises of the incoming next-generation machines during an investor call.  "The power of the new consoles is gonna be substantially greater than existing consoles," said EA CFO Blake Jorgensen. "We can do a lot more [with PS5 and Xbox Series X]. Things we’re doing will blow people’s minds." There's plenty to look forward to and now that next generation announcements are coming in, we'll be holding our breath waiting for updates from other publishers.  It seems, at least for now, that game developers are more interested in creating games for the PS5 than Series X. That's according to GDC's State of the Game Industry 2020 survey, which surveyed 4,000 game developers on a variety of industry topics ahead of GDC 2020 in March. And, of course, the next-gen consoles were top of the agenda. When asked which platform they planned to launch their next project on, 23% of those surveyed said the PlayStation 5, while 17% said the Xbox Series X and 19% said the Nintendo Switch. When it comes to the platform devs are most intrigued by, the PS5 once again leads the pack when it comes to consoles, with 38%, but the Switch only just behind on 37%. Again, the Xbox Series X is seriously lagging behind, piquing the interest of just 25% of devs.  The survey also revealed that 10% of developers are currently working on a game for the next-gen consoles. While there's more interest in the PS5 now, Microsoft could potentially shift the scale as it reveals more details on Series X. Microsoft's Xbox Game Pass is also gathering more and more steam, bringing players (and devs) back to the Xbox platform. We're also hoping that, by the time Series X launches, Microsoft's game-streaming service Project xCloud may be out of public testing and we should hopefully be able to enjoy Series X games on-the-go. For those who aren't quite sold on upgrading to Series X quite yet, but still want to check out the best upcoming games, Microsoft has stated that there won't be Xbox Series X exclusive games for at least a year and, for the foreseeable future, new games are planned to work across the Xbox family of devices. That means you'll still be able to play them on Xbox One. In an interview with MCV, head of Xbox Game Studios, Matt Booty, has said that as “content comes out over the next year, two years, all of our games, sort of like PC, will play up and down that family of devices.” The plan is that “if someone invests in Xbox between now and [Series X] that they feel that they made a good investment and that we’re committed to them with content.” Xbox Series X games: all the games confirmed and expected on the next Xbox Xbox Game Pass vs PlayStation Now: which is the best game subscription service? The Xbox Series X will not be the only console in Microsoft's next generation lineup. While we were all pretty excited when Microsoft unveiled the next Xbox (formerly known as Xbox Project Scarlett) at the Game Awards 2019, it appears that the upcoming console's name isn't quite what we thought - and it will belong to a family. While we assumed that the next generation console is called 'Xbox Series X', Microsoft has clarified that, in fact, the family of consoles will be called 'Xbox' and that 'Series X' is just one of the consoles within the family. We know, it's a bit confusing. Speaking to Business Insider after the reveal, a Microsoft representative tried to clear up any potential confusion. "The name we're carrying forward to the next generation is simply Xbox," the representative told Business Insider. "And at The Game Awards you saw that name come to life through the Xbox Series X."  "Similar to what fans have seen with previous generations, the name 'Xbox Series X' allows room for additional consoles in the future," the representative continued. This clarification from Microsoft serves to further fuel rumors that another next generation Xbox console is on the way. Rumors have circulated for some time about a lower-cost next-gen Xbox console that would sit just below the high-end Xbox Series X. The most solid information on this (so far) had come from a report by Kotaku’s Jason Schreier, who claims there is indeed a lower-specced console in the works from Microsoft that will still play all the next-gen games. Project Lockhart will be disc-less console - a trait that it will carry forward from the Xbox One S All-Digital Edition - but Kotaku's sources believe it will be substantially more powerful than Microsoft’s current disc-less box, and will come with both a solid-state hard drive and a faster CPU than any current game console. The report goes on to say that Microsoft told developers to shoot for a 1440p resolution and 60 frames-per-second frame rate with Project Lockhart and 4K/60 with Project Scarlett, and those same developers have likened the performance of the lower-end console to the PS4 Pro.  It seems Project Lockhart will primarily see use as a digital gateway for both Microsoft’s game-streaming service, Project xCloud, and its Xbox Game Pass service. From what we know, it will sit below Series X and be a less powerful - but more affordable - option. Xbox Series X vs PS5: what we know so far Why Google Stadia could spell trouble for the PS5 and Xbox Series X Xbox Series X games won't leave older Xbox One consoles behind, says Microsoft This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

Build your at home gym with deals on treadmills, bikes, weights and more Posted: 18 Mar 2020 11:51 AM PDT The coronavirus pandemic is affecting people all over the world, and as a result, gyms and workout studios are closing their doors among safety concerns. If you're worried about staying in shape, then building an at home gym can be a terrific solution. Luckily for you, several top retailers like Amazon, Walmart and Best Buy are discounting a selection of workout equipment like treadmills, bikes, weights, yoga mats, and more. Our top at home gym deals includes discounts on stationary bikes like the Echelon Connect Exercise Bike on sale for $499 and the Schwinn Upright Bike Series on sale for $199.99. Perfect for small spaces, Amazon has the OppsDecor Folding Treadmill on sale for $259.99 and a $49 price cut on the XTERRA Fitness TR150 Folding Treadmill. You can also find bargains on workout accessories like a set of dumbells on sale for just $25.18 and the Life Energy yoga mat on sale for $29.98. Shop more at home exercise equipment below and keep in mind, these discounts are limited-time offers so you should take advantage now before it's too late. Shop more of Amazon's at home gym deals Shop more of Walmart's at home gym deals Shop more of Best Buy's at home gym deals The best at home gym deals: You can also see our roundup of our top working from home essentials. Need a movie with your meal? You can see our list of the best Netflix movies: 21 amazing films you should watch in March 2020 and the best Netflix documentaries. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

Best website builders for photographers in 2020 Posted: 18 Mar 2020 11:50 AM PDT Plenty of online tools will help you create a website in just a few minutes with just a few clicks, but they're not all geared towards helping photographers – those people who want to show off big, beautiful galleries of images online. If you're looking for the best website builder that's going to help you showcase your work as stylishly as possible, we've picked out four of the best for you to consider. They all score highly for their pricing, features, ease of use, and the choice of templates they offer for getting a photo portfolio up on the web. Once you've picked your favorite, you'll soon be getting your photos up in front of a potential audience of millions. Some sites even give you options for selling copies of your images via the web. Find the best website builder for photographers Format sample photography site If you're after simplicity first and foremost in your website builder, then check out Format – it doesn't have as many advanced features or options as some of its competitors, but that means less hassle for you and a shorter time between signing up for the site and getting your photos online. You've got over 60 different themes to pick from (plus additional premium ones if you go down that route), all of which can be customized in terms of pages, layouts and colors. Every theme adapts automatically to desktop or mobile, and you can preview all this in your browser. As you would hope, getting images up on your site is simple, and once they're on the page they can be dragged and dropped into position as required. If you're happy with original design of the template you've picked – and the templates are all professional-looking and clean – then you really can be online within minutes. We also like Format because of the extras it throws in. The platform lets you bring in your own domain name, set up an online store, and add a blog, with video tutorials generously spread around to help if you get stuck. If you do know a little bit of website coding, you can edit the CSS of your site too. There is a 14-day free trial available to test out the service. Sign up for Format from $6 (about £4.50) per month, free trial available Carbonmade sample photography site On the scale of basic to advanced, Carbonmade is somewhere towards the former, but its service is specifically for creatives – and that means getting your work up in a cool-looking theme is very straightforward, and actually a lot of fun too. You only get a handful of templates to pick from, so if you'd rather spend time agonizing over a choice of hundreds, then Carbonmade perhaps isn't for you. Once you're in, the site builder has one of the best workflows we've seen, letting you easily create projects and pages, and get your pictures uploaded to the site.  It's one of those interfaces that you really don't need an instruction manual to get around. Everything from the published/unpublished status of your pages, to the use of thumbnails for navigation, is simple to configure. The customization tweaks you've got, like the option to drop in a logo or a favicon, are all well chosen too. There are some neat extras like the Carbonmade Messages (which lets you interact with all the people interested in your work) or the ability to connect your custom domain. Additionally, If you have a Dropbox account, you can upload files directly from there.  You don't get anything in the way of advanced features, like online sales or pages with password protection, but not everyone needs those anyway – if you'd rather get your site up, get it looking good, and then get on with your photography, Carbonmade is definitely worth a look. Sign up for Carbonmade from $6 (about £4.50) per month, free trial available Squarespace sample photography site Squarespace is one of the biggest names in website building, and it offers dozens of top-notch templates for getting your portfolio of pictures up on the web. Whether you want your images to show up at full-screen size or you prefer the grid look, Squarespace should have something to suit. All the image cropping and resizing is taken care of for you, so your site is going to look great on any kind of device, and there's actually quite a lot of flexibility when it comes to how your images are presented. You can use your own branding, fonts, and colors, or take the defaults that Squarespace gives you. To protect your images, the platform lets you password-protect certain gallery pages, and if you need to have text flowing alongside your pictures then that's simple to do as well. Embedding a contact form only takes a few minutes if you want to give clients a way to get in touch. Everything can be managed through an attractive web browser interface and you can also add and remove pictures from an iOS app if you need to. It's easy to see why Squarespace is one of the more popular website builders, and it's well suited to photographers. Sign up for Squarespace from £10/$12 per month, free trial available Dunked sample photography site Dunked doesn't have the same range of templates or the same depth of features as some of its rivals, but getting everything up and running is really simple and really fast. Take a look at the templates on the home page – if you like any of them, give Dunked a whirl. As with most similar services, you've got a basic drag-and-drop interface for getting your pictures in the right place. If needed, images can be split up into pages and categories, so whether you want to stick your whole career online or just a few select snaps, Dunked makes it possible. Even though the choice of templates isn't the widest, they're all designed to adapt to screens of any size, and if you know a bit of CSS then you can tweak various aspects of the site design – just don't expect a massive amount of help beyond the basics of colors and fonts. Changes can be applied at any time and only take seconds. We like the balance Dunked hits in getting you started very quickly and then giving you a few customization options later on. It's going to be too basic for some, but if you don't want to spend hours pondering over layouts, it may well suit you perfectly. You can try out the service free for 10 days. Sign up for Dunked from $8 (about £6) a month, free trial available How to make a website GDPR compliant The best CMS you can get in 2020 Editor's note: Wix has asked not be included in this article Check out the best website hosting services This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

Final Fantasy 7 Remake release date, trailers, demo, news and features Posted: 18 Mar 2020 11:43 AM PDT First released in 1997, Final Fantasy 7 immediately cemented its place as one of the best JRPG titles around and introduced millions of gamers around the world to the genre. Now, due to the success of Final Fantasy 7 over 20 years ago (and the pleads from die hard fans), Square Enix is releasing a remake.  Unfortunately, those high expectations have been both a blessing and a curse for the game as the path to release hasn’t been smooth.  But now, nearly five years after it was announced at E3 2015, we finally have a Final Fantasy 7 Remake release date: April 10, 2020, a date Square Enix chose after it pushed the original release date back from March 3, 2020.  The good news? The game has gone gold, with a three-hour demo available on the PlayStation Store now to tide you over until the game actually lands in April. Despite the delay, we are firmly on the hype train for Final Fantasy 7 Remake. We've now seen the game a half-dozen times in trailers – and even got hands on time at Gamescom 2019 and E3 2019 – but it can be hard to keep track of everything that's going on with the long-awaited remake. But we're here to help. [Update: Square Enix is releasing some videos ahead of the release of Final Fantasy 7 that offer a behind-the-scenes look at the game's development. And has provided an update on the game's release given the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic. Read on to find out more.] Hands on: Final Fantasy VII Remake review Cut to the chase What is it? A re-interpretation of the popular JRPG Final Fantasy 7  When can I play it? April 10, 2020 What can I play it on? It’s been confirmed the game will come to PS4 first but this is a timed exclusive so it could come to other platforms in 2021.  Final Fantasy 7 Remake release date Image credit: Square Enix Final Fantasy Remake is due for release on April 10, 2020 - after Square Enix announced its initial release date of March 3, 2020 had been pushed back.  It's unclear if this release date is for all of the episodes (remember, FF7R is an episodic game with more than two Blu-rays worth of content) or if that's just the release date of episode one. The latter seems likely as development on episode 2 is still underway.  The Final Fantasy 7 remake has had something of a troubled development, which makes it less surprising that the game's release date has been delayed. The game has been in the works since 2014 but, for a few years, there were few significant official updates since the E3 2015 reveal. During that time, development of the game moved from external developer CyberConnect2 to Square Enix’s in-house team.  The good news is that this new release date should be set in stone and PS4 players will get to play then. Fans using other platforms could potentially see a release in 2021, which is when the game's period of exclusivity on PS4 apparently ends. We're also expecting Final Fantasy 7 Remake to be a cross-generation release, likely releasing on both PS5 and Xbox Series X, alongside current generation consoles. Final Fantasy 7 Remake trailers The first trailer for the game was released upon the remake's announcement at E3 2015. The trailer is largely cinematic and you can watch it for yourself below: A further trailer (this time featuring gameplay) was revealed at PSX in 2015: There's also the Final Fantasy 7 Remake trailer that was revealed during a Sony State of Play event last year. In it, we got a great look at what the action-heavy combat would look like (think Kingdom Hearts and you'll be on the right track) and one of the series most well-remembered protagonists, Aerith.  Check it out below: The most important trailer we have is the one that was unveiled at a Final Fantasy 7 concert held in Los Angeles, where the game's director, Tetsuya Nomura, unveiled Remake's initial March 3, 2020 release date. It's only a minute long but it's important. Another Final Fantasy 7 Remake trailer was released as part of Tokyo Game Show 2019 and showcased a first look at characters, summons, mini-games and more. Check it out below: The most recent trailer for Final Fantasy 7 appeared at The Game Awards 2019. The trailer shows snippets of combat and flashes of some of the game's iconic characters. It's a minute and a half you don't want to miss.  We know, there's lots of trailers for Final Fantasy 7 Remake, but the latest is pretty great. Not only do we get to hear the theme but we also get a much better look at the cast of characters in all their revamped glory. Still not done with video? There's a trailer for the demo landing on PS4, and it's a quick one: Final Fantasy 7 Remake demo The first demo of Final Fantasy 7 Remake ─ the iconic Mako Reactor 1 bombing mission ─ is now available to download on the PlayStation Store. The download size is 7.55GB ─ which could present a problem for folks dealing with a data cap or slow download speeds ─ but is well-worth downloading if you can manage it. Link to the PlayStation Store (US) Link to the PlayStation Store (UK) For those who don't remember the game's opening, the Mako Reactor scene sees Cloud Strife's introduction as a mercenary for AVALANCHE, the eco-terrorist organization that's plotting to destroy the Shinra Company, as well as the leader of the group, Barret Wallace.  As you battle to the core of a Shinra Company extraction facility, the demo teaches you about the new ATB combat system and traversal techniques like avoiding environmental hazards. You'll also get a taste of the treasure system and some interactive environmental details, like smashable crates that have hidden items. Check out the demo video above to see more of what you can expect in the demo's hour-long experience. Final Fantasy 7 Remake news and rumors Coronavirus impact Square Enix has confirmed through a Twitter post that while the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic will not change Final Fantasy 7's global release date from April 10, there is potential that there could be "unforeseeable changes in the distribution and retail landscape which varies across countries". This means that some players will not be guaranteed to receive the game on its release date.  Square Enix has said it's "monitoring the situation on a daily basis" and working with its partners, retailers and teams to make sure as many fans as possible will be able to play the game on April 10.  A pre-release deep dive Ahead of Final Fantasy 7's April 10 release, Square Enix has started releasing a series of videos which offer a "deep-dive" into how the Remake has been made.  The documentary series will include interviews with those who worked on the game and will explore various aspects of how it came together, aiming to give fans "an exclusive look at some of the secrets" behind the game. The first episode for the series has already been posted and runs at around 22 minutes, offering an introductory look at the making of the game and some of the things players can expect to see with interviews with a few members of the development team, including producer, Yoshinori Kitase and director Tetsuya Nomura.  At the moment it's not clear how many episodes there will be in the series, nor when episode 2 will be posted but it's not long until the game's actual release date so we hope it won't be a lengthy wait.  You can watch the first episode of the series yourself below: Final Fantasy 7 Remake goes gold The game has now gone gold, says game director Tetsuya Nomura, in an interview with Japanese gaming site 4Gamer – meaning there shouldn't be any more delays. “We had some time to improve the quality of the final product," he said, "but we have already mastered it, so there is no further delay." Cross-generation If a recent investor Q&A is anything to go by, it looks likely that Final Fantasy 7 will be a cross-generation release.  A recent post by Twitter account @Nibellion highlighted a section from Square Enix's latest Financial Results Briefing, in which President Yosuke Matsuda announced plans to make “new titles available for both current and next-generation consoles”, with games exclusive to the PS5 and Xbox Series X generation not expected for a while yet. 100GB install According to a new leak, the game's install will take up over 100GB of storage.  An art cover for the physical edition of the game was leaked on Twitter (via TweakTown), showing the game's install size as being 100GB. Square Enix has already confirmed the game will be spread over two Blu-ray discs, so that's about 50GB per disc. Check out the art cover below: Exclusive on PS4 until April 2021 Perhaps unsurprisingly given its release date delay, it looks like Final Fantasy 7's exclusivity period on PS4 may now end in April 2021 rather than March as it was before the delay, still giving it a full year on the console before going to any other platforms. Though this news hasn't come from any official comment, it has been spotted (via PCGamer) as a change on the box art on the official Square Enix website. Release date delay Final Fantasy 7 Remake was originally due to release on March 3, 2020 but this release date has been pushed back by a month to April 10, 2020. In a statement, Final Fantasy 7 Remake producer, Yoshinori Kitase, explained that the delay was to allow the developer more time to polish the highly-anticipated remake. “In order to ensure we deliver a game that is in-line with our vision, and the quality that our fans who have been waiting for deserve, we have decided to move the release date to April 10, 2020.  "We are making this tough decision in order to give ourselves a few extra weeks to apply final polish to the game and to deliver you with the best possible experience. I, on behalf of the whole team, want to apologize to everyone, as I know this means waiting for the game just a little bit longer." Demo leak It's only a few months until the release of the first part of Final Fantasy 7 but a leak has resulted in some serious spoilers emerging online. After rumors that a demo could coming to the PlayStation Store before released surfaced in December 2019, some users have managed to find the demo, download it and then upload the footage online.  Even more significant than this is that files relating to the wider game have been found in the demo's code and now details of the game and changes that have been made from the original are leaking out. A rip of the game's soundtrack is even floating around out there. It's something of a disastrous start to the new year for the Square Enix team which had, before now, managed to keep much of Final Fantasy 7's specifics under wraps.  Those hoping not to be spoiled before the game's release ought to be vigilant when searching online while those who just can't resist will find the leaked demo on YouTube.  Timed exclusivity It seems that, as rumored, the Final Fantasy 7 Remake will be a timed exclusive for PS4. The North American box art for the game was posted to Twitter, with a banner stating that the game will be a timed exclusive until March 3 2021 - nearly a year after its first release. However, this has since changed (as you can read above). This isn't an outright confirmation that the game will be coming to other platforms but it does suggest it's a possibility. After all, Microsoft is adding a raft of the Final Fantasy games to its Game Pass service in 2020 which could be a precursor.  Work is underway on part 2 We already know that Final Fantasy 7 is going to be released in at least two parts but we don't know how much of a gap there's going to be between the release of part 1 in March 2020 and part 2.  At the very least, we do now know that development on part 2 is well underway. In a recent Square Enix blog, Tetsuya Nomura said "We’ve already begun working on the next one as well, but I’m confident that playing through this title will expand your expectations just like the world that extends beyond Midgar." From what Nomura has said with regards to the "density and volume" of part 1's Midgar, we may need a little space between releases to get through it all anyway.  Pre-orders available The Final Fantasy 7 Remake Deluxe Edition is available to pre-order now and contains a hardback art book featuring art, a mini-soundtrack CD, Summon Materia DLC (allowing players to summon Cactuar in game), and a Sephiroth steel book case. The Digital Deluxe Edition contains a digital art book, a digital mini-soundtrack selection, and Summon Materia DLC (allowing players to summon Carbuncle and Cactuar in game).  If you would rather pick up the 1st Class Edition, you'll get all the Deluxe Edition content, the Carbuncle Summon Materia DLC, as well as a Play Arts Kai Cloud Strife and Hardy Daytona box set. Those who pre-order any version of the game will also receive the Chocobo Chick Summon Materia DLC at launch. Those who pre-order any digital edition from the PlayStation Store will also receive the Cloud & Sephiroth Dynamic Theme for the PS4. Mini-games It looks like FF7 Remake will feature mini-games that involve button bashing tasks for exercise training and darts. Those are just what we've seen so far. Those Xbox One rumors After the Xbox Germany Facebook account posted a video which suggested that the Final Fantasy 7 remake would be coming to Xbox One on March 3 2020, the same date it was initially due to hit PS4, fans were left with some pressing questions.  However, Square Enix confirmed in a statement to IGN that Final Fantasy 7 will only release on PS4 on March 3, 2020 (we know know the release date is April 10) and that there are “no plans for other platforms”. Whether this means there are no plans for other platforms just on March 3 or whether there are no plans for other platforms for good is unconfirmed but so far it seems like the game will be a PS4 exclusive. Microsoft has deemed the Facebook video which was quickly removed an “internal mistake”.  Preview We got hands on with Final Fantasy 7 Remake at E3 2019 and were extremely impressed by what we saw. Remake brags seamless, Advent Children-tier cinematics and fluid, real-time combat. While the game is centered on the same story, characters and enemies, everything has been amped up to make for a modern gaming experience. Characters have new abilities and there's a few new cutscenes thrown in to add to the narrative, but essentially Remake is a game which is equally accessible to fans and newbies alike. Midgar The only FF7 Remake setting we have seen is the dark, steampunk city of Midgar. In order to increase Midgar's gothic atmosphere, Square Enix used lighting, coloring and effects to vary the iconic location while also including "surprises around every corner". Cast change Technology has come on leaps and bounds since Final Fantasy 7 was released, therefore it's no surprise that Square Enix is harnessing motion capture to enhance Remake's characters - adding more expression and therefore making the title more immersive. The Remake also has a new voice actor cast,  however developer plans to keep the original cast for other Final Fantasy games that include Final Fantasy 7's characters.  Image credit: Square Enix Deeper into story and characters Square Enix has explained during a behind-closed-doors E3 2019 presentation of Remake that while the title is a "reimagining" of FF7, it aims to dig deeper into the game's story and characters - making it the equivalent of a standalone Final Fantasy game in its own right.  Tactical Mode Final Fantasy 7 Remake includes Tactical Mode which is essentially a Matrix-style slow motion mode that that gives you time to select your next action and aims to please those who prefer turn-based combat. FF7 Remake is based around core values Square Enix has assured us that Final fantasy 7 Remake is based around three core values: innovation, pushing boundaries and surprising players. In that light, the developer is approaching Remake like a new game in an effort to create new exciting experiences for a new generation. However, many of the game's original development team are continuing to oversee the title, in order to keep its heart. E3 2019 news - two discs and new ATB system At E3 2019 we learned that there are more than two Blu-ray discs worth of content planned for the Final Fantasy 7 Remake. We also got an in-depth look at the combat mechanics of the game – including the new ATB system. The main takeaway is that switching between characters in the real-time battle system can be done by pressing a single button, and you'll need your entire party to beat tougher bosses.  So what's worth pointing out here is that the sedentary turn-based combat you may remember from the original has been replaced with a FF15-style approach that allows you to control the characters and move them around the battlefield. You'll still have some familiar options in combat - like Limit Breaks - but expect combat to be a bit more engaging this time around. During E3 2019 we also learned that Final Fantasy 7 Remake is not only episodic, but actually requires two Blu-ray discs to hold all the content. The first disc, released on March 3, 2020, will actually only take place in Midgar - that futuristic city you've seen so much of in the trailers.  Nomura admits an announcement was premature Square Enix's Tetsuya Nomura has admitted that both Kingdom Hearts 3 and the Final Fantasy 7 remake were announced too early. "I am well aware of the fact that we announced it too early," Nomura told Italian gaming mag Multiplayer (translated by Kingdom Hearts Insider) . "But even in the industry, word was beginning to spread that we were working on the game, so we just decided not to keep it more secret and officially reveal it." Image credit: Square Enix It’s a reconstruction, not a shot-for-shot remake  The Final Fantasy 7 remake will follow the original game’s narrative and feature the iconic characters and locations that fans love.  Considering it’s so beloved there’s a lot of pressure on Square Enix to not stray too far from the original source material but according to director Tetsuya Nomura it won’t be a completely direct recreation. In an interview with Wired, Nomura said “We're not intending for this to become a one-to-one remake, or just the original Final Fantasy VII with better graphics.” Nomura has said that he wants the remake to "apply to the current era" and "the current generation of players." He added the caveat that he doesn't "want to change it so much that it's unrecognizable" but it has to be offering something "fresh and new."  To accommodate modern consoles and gamers, changes will naturally have to be made to the game both in terms of gameplay, mechanics and perhaps even to some elements of the story. For starters, early trailers show a game more akin to Final Fantasy XV mechanically, with fixed viewpoints and static backdrops swapped out for full-3D terrain, and a turn-based battle system removed in favour of a real-time action-orientated one. Image credit: Square Enix It’s episodic A significant way the remake is going to differ from the original game is that its story will be told episodically. This is a detail that was confirmed back in December 2015.  The reasoning behind the decision, according to series producer Yoshinori Kitase is that “a proper HD remake” just wouldn’t fit into one instalment and maintain the “same feeling of density of the original.” “We've seen everyone's comments and reactions to the news that Final Fantasy 7 remake will be a multi-part series and many have speculated correctly as to the reason why we have made this decision,” he said, “If we were to try to fit everything from the original into one remake instalment, we would have to cut various parts and create a condensed version of Final Fantasy 7. We knew none of you would have wanted that. “I hope that by explaining a little more about our design decisions that you can appreciate the size of this project and what we have planned for this remake. Going beyond the scale and depth of the world, narrative and gameplay from the original to deliver something that feels familiar yet new. As I said before, we like delivering surprises.” Each episode will apparently be its “own unique experience” but as yet we don’t know how many episodes there will be or how they’ll be structured in relation to the original story.  Image credit: Square Enix No more turn-based battles  As mentioned above, a major element that’s changing from the original game is a move away from turn-based battles.  In an interview with Famitsu, Nomura said that battles in the remake will be “action-based” rather than command-based. Nomura didn’t go into much more detail with regards to the game’s combat system but it’s widely expected that we’re going to see a formula more similar to Kingdom Hearts and FFXV.  This would mean a more active and seamless style of battling involving party members whom the player will be able to switch between.  Though the loss of turn-based combat will be mourned, a move towards a system like Kingdom Hearts will be more accessible to new players.  A PS5 release? PS5 development kits are now said to be out in the wild, with Sony's first-party development teams working almost solely on titles for the as-yet-unannounced next-gen system. With the ambition on display here, could Square Enix be planning to shift Final Fantasy 7's remake to the next machine?  For Sony, it'd be a system seller right out of the gates for the new console generation, and for the developers you'd imagine it'd offer more processing grunt and a little longer in terms of the development window. This is speculation at this point, but as the sun sets on the PS4, and titles like Final Fantasy 7's remake being no closer to even having a release date, it starts to seem like the looming next generation machines may be now what they're being aimed at. Read more: PS5 games - all the games confirmed and expected on the PlayStation 5 This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

Disney Plus in April 2020: every movie and show in a slow month Posted: 18 Mar 2020 11:43 AM PDT Disney Plus has revealed everything coming to the streaming service in April 2020. The line-up looks okay, but after heavy hitter Frozen's surprise-released in March, it was always going to look a little fallow for the time being. Still, there are a few interesting movies and shows in there, including a David Lynch film, of all things.  Don't worry, Blue Velvet isn't coming to the family-oriented streaming service. Instead, it's the very un-Lynch The Straight Story, a biographical movie of Alvin Straight, who rode a lawnmower from Iowa to Wisconsin. It doesn't feature any of the trademark weirdness of the director, but it does feature one of his favorite collaborators, Harry Dean Stanton.  Highlights of Disney Plus in April include weekly episodes of The Clone Wars, and the pick of the older movies is probably Nicolas Cage flick National Treasure. Who knows, though: maybe Disney will drop another big hitter out of nowhere like it did with Frozen 2. Maleficent: Mistress of Evil and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker are yet to arrive on the streaming service. The next big Disney Plus show is The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, which is due out in August. Due to the current global health crisis, though, we're unsure if that'll affect the timeline of scheduled Here's everything coming to Disney Plus in April 2020.  Best Disney Plus movies Best Disney Plus shows Disney Plus price tiers explained April 1 Doctor Dolittle April 3 Life on the Edge (new episode) Dolphin Reef (new episode) Diving With Dolphins (new episode) Star Wars: The Clone Wars (new episode)  Disney's Fairy Tale Weddings (new episode, finale)  Shop Class (new episode) Disney Family Sundays (new episode) One Day At Disney (new episode) Be Our Chef (new episode) A Tale of Two Critters In a Nutshell Don’s Fountain of Youth Don’s Fountain of Youth Donald’s Dog Laundry Double Dribble Dragon Around Elmer Elephant Fish Hooks (S1-3) How to Play Football Lambert, The Sheepish Lion On Ice Out of Scale Penguins Pluto’s Party Sea Scouts Sonny with a Chance (S1-3) The Boy Who Talked to Badgers The New Neighbor The Small One The Straight Story April 10 A Celebration of Music from the Coco Premiere Star Wars: The Clone Wars (new episode) Shop Class (new episode) Disney Family Sundays (new episode) One Day At Disney (new episode) Be Our Chef (new episode) Life Below Zero (S14) Paradise Island (S1) Playtime with Puppy Dog Pals (S1) Running Wild with Bear Grylls (S5) Tut’s Treasures: Hidden Secrets (S1) April 12 PJ Masks (S3)  April 17 Star Wars: The Clone Wars (new episode) Shop Class (new episode, finale) Disney Family Sundays (new episode) One Day At Disney (new episode) Be Our Chef (new episode) Brain Games (S8) Let’s Stick Together Mickey and the Roadster Racers: Nutty Tales (S1-2) Pluto’s Purchase The Incredible Dr. Pol (S16) April 19 Just Roll with It (S1) April 20 Secrets of the Zoo: Tampa (S1) April 22 Fury Files Jane Goodall: The Hope April 23 Disney Rapunzel’s Tangled Adventure (S3) April 24 America’s Funniest Home Videos (S12-19, 23) Man in Space Mars and Beyond The Olympic Elk Star Wars: The Clone Wars (new episode) Disney Family Sundays (new episode) One Day At Disney (new episode) Be Our Chef (new episode) April 30 National Treasure This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

PS5 games: all the games confirmed and expected on the PlayStation 5 Posted: 18 Mar 2020 11:26 AM PDT PS5 games are almost here. Sure, you may not be able to play them yet, but with a confirmed release window for the next-gen PlayStation console – end of 2020 – and specifications for the PS5 starting to drop, it's no surprise to see developers start announcing titles for the hardware.  Among the games announced so far include Watch Dogs: Legion and Ubisoft's Gods and Monsters, and likely will extend to Ghost of Tsushima and Cyberpunk 2077, though neither has been confirmed for next-gen yet.  Until we get a games-focused reveal event (unlike the PS5 specs reveal that had nothing in the way of games), we can't say exactly which games will make the PS5's holiday 2020 launch window, but we now have a decent idea of which games will be coming to the system at some point. To that end, we've gathered together this handy guide to all the PS5 games that have been confirmed so far – and some that we expect to see. The PS5 games library will take a while to build up – here's why Confirmed PS5 games Gothic After gauging interest with a playable teaser, developer THQ Nordic has confirmed that it's going to remake its 2001 cult classic and bring it to PS5.  Nordic is planning to "stay as faithfully as possible to the original experience" and modernise gameplay mechanics but it's also promised fans that it'll be playing close attention to player feedback from the playable teaser; already the developer has said that it's hearing calls for a "grittier and less colourful world".  Development is still in the very early stages, though, and we shouldn't expect to see it in 2020.  Rainbow Six Siege Ubisoft has confirmed to Windows Central that it's planning for its online tactical shooter, Rainbow Six Siege, to be available on PS5 from launch day (whenever that launch day may be). In order to avoid forcing early next-gen adopters from having to leave their Siege friends behind, Ubisoft has also said that the game will support cross-generational multiplayer, so PS5 owners will still be able to play with their PS4 friends.  Outriders People Can Fly has confirmed that its upcoming co-op shooter Outriders will land on both PS5 and Xbox Series X in "Holiday 2020" (AKA between October and December this year) - the same release window that we have for both next-gen consoles. We don't know a huge amount about Outriders just yet, but the developer has described it as "a co-op RPG shooter for a new generation set in an original, dark and desperate sci-fi universe". The Lord of the Rings: Gollum Announced in March 2019, Daedalic's Gollum game has now been confirmed for PS5 and Xbox Series X.  The developer confirmed to Edge, that The Lord of the Rings: Gollum will be a "stunning next-gen adventure". Previously Daedlic confirmed Gollum will release in 2021 for PC and "all relevant console platforms at that time". Whether the game will be cross-generation (releasing on PS4 and Xbox One also) is still unconfirmed however. But what will the game actually be about? Gollum is an action-adventure which focuses on the ring-obsessed creature. According to Daedalic, the narrative-driven game"tells Gollum's story from a perspective never seen before ... while staying true to the legendary books." Godfall Announced at the Game Awards 2019, Godfall is an action RPG from Gearbox that kind of looks like Destiny with swords and shiny hardware. We don't know exactly what the gameplay is going to look like, but it can be said that Gearbox popularized the "looter shooter" with its Borderlands franchise, so we imagine that the gameplay loop will be just as satisfying.  But, because Gearbox hasn't really made a hack and slash before, we'll just have to wait and see what the actual gameplay will look like and whether the slashing will be as satisfying as Borderlands' shooting.  We don't have a specific release date, but we do know that Godfall will be coming to PlayStation 5 and Epic Games Store "Holiday 2020".  New Bluepoint Studios game The announcement of a new Bluepoint game was the first time a company came out into the open and said that it is indeed developing a title for Sony's next-generation console. Bluepoint Studios is the team best known for ports of classic games, having put out the incredibly well received Metal Gear Solid: HD Collection, Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection and astonishing Shadow of the Colossus remaster. Talk early in 2019 pointed to the studio's next project being yet another re-imagining of a classic game, and with rumors swirling around a Demon's Souls remake happening (an IP owned by Sony unlike the rest of the Bandai Namco franchise), it's looking like a relatively good guess that'll be the company's next title. Watch Dogs: Legion  First announced at E3 2019, Watch Dogs Legion was initially confirmed for a March 2020 release. However, since then Ubisoft has confirmed that the game will now be delayed into the next financial year which runs from April 2020 to March April 2021, meaning Watch Dogs Legion could see a delay of as little as a month or up to a year.  This delay does, however, make it more likely than ever that Watch Dogs Legion will launch on the PS5 platform, which was officially confirmed by Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot at the end of 2019. Gods and Monsters Just like Watch Dogs Legion, Gods and Monsters is another title from Ubisoft announced for PS4 at E3 2019 that's been delayed from its original early 2020 release into the next financial year.  We could see Gods and Monsters released any time between April 2020 and March 2021 and have now had official confirmation that it'll be coming to the PS5.  Rainbow Six Quarantine Rainbow Six Quarantine was first confirmed during Ubisoft's E3 2019 press conference. It was never given a solid release date but it has since been delayed into the 2020-2021 financial year.  So, while we still don't know a release date, this delay has pushed the game closer to the PS5 launch. And, according to Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot, it's one of a number of games that's been officially confirmed for the next-gen console. Who will win the next gen war? Check out Xbox Series X vs PS5: predicting the future Rumored PS5 games Cyberpunk 2077 Image credit: CD Projekt Red CD Projekt Red has been reticent to say whether or not its upcoming title will be releasing on the next generation of consoles.  In an interview with VG247 last year, CD Projekt Red revealed that Cyberpunk 2077 will be able to work with future gaming technology. “Next gen hasn’t been announced yet, so we can only speculate,” CD Projekt Red president Adam Kiciński explained. “Technology-wise, Cyberpunk is very advanced. Our technology is ready to interface with future generations. “The game is developed in such a way that it can use very powerful future equipment." However, since this time the developer has admitted (via GameSpot) that while the possibility of a PS5 release is being explored it's not in its "area of interest right now". Instead, the studio wants to focus on what it's doing right at this moment, rather than look too far ahead and lose sight of what's important: launching the game well.  This is perhaps unsurprising as Cyberpunk 2077 is due for release in September 2020 (after being delayed from April) and the PlayStation 5 is not due to launch until late 2020. If the game did launch on PS5 it'd be a cross-generational title. At the moment though, as far as CD Projekt Red is concerned, this is still only a "maybe." Death Stranding  Image credit: Kojima Productions Hideo Kojima and Sony have been pretty tight-lipped about whether we will be seeing Death Stranding as a PS5 game.  Death Stranding has already launched on the PS4 but in an interview with Wired, Sony's Mark Cerny hinted that we could be seeing the allusive title on PS5 too. When asked by Wired about the transition from PS4 to next generation, and how Death Stranding will fit into this process, Cerny gave a "pregnant pause" and a glib smile before a spokesperson interjected that game would be released for PS4.  It's not exactly a confirmation but Cerny's response has definitely fuelled speculation that Death Stranding will be a cross-generation release. Ghost of Tsushima  Perhaps more wishful thinking on our part, but we haven't heard much in the way of Ghost of Tsushima news since the new IP was revealed at Paris Games Week 2017.  SuckerPunch's historical open world adventure will take players back to Feudal Japan, and now we have a much clearer picture of when that will happen. At the Game Awards 2019, SuckerPunch revealed that Ghost of Tsushima will be hitting the streets in Summer 2020, which means the wait is very nearly over.  That means that the game will arrive ahead of the PS5, but given how beautiful the graphics have been so far, we wouldn't be surprised if it launches on Sony's new console. Still, we haven't heard word one from Sony about whether Ghost of Tsushima will be a PS5 game. The Last of Us: Part 2 Image credit: Naughty Dog We now know that The Last of Us: Part 2 will release on May 29, 2020 - much earlier than the PS5's late 2020 release date. However we think it's a safe assumption that any Sony exclusives coming in 2020 will likely be cross-generation titles. It would seem slightly odd for Sony to release one of its most eagerly anticipated sequels for just the PS4 at the end of the console's life cycle. So we think it's a safe bet to assume Joel and Ellie will make their way to the PS5, instantly becoming one of the best PS5 games. Starfield  Image credit: Bethesda Bethesda has quite a lot of projects in the works, but the one we seem to know the least about is Starfield. All we know so far is that Starfield is the gaming behemoth's first new IP for 25 years and will be a single player RPG set in outer space. Having only seen an announcement trailer, we don't expect Starfield to release until at least 2020 which means it will land in the prime window to become a PS5 game. Bethesda hasn't let slip if this will be the case but it seems likely we will be venturing into Bethesda's galaxy on next generation consoles. The Elder Scrolls 6  Image credit: Bethesda As we said, Bethesda has been pretty busy behind the scenes since E3 2018. Not only is Starfield on the cards, but the long-awaited Elder Scrolls 6 has also been confirmed to be in the works.  Bethesda's Todd Howard has already stated that The Elder Scrolls 6 won't be coming out until after Starfield. So it'll be a while before we venture into Tamriel again, likely on next generation consoles.  Grand Theft Auto 6  Image credit: Rockstar Games Ok, yes, we are being a bit hopeful here - mainly because Grand Theft Auto 6 has not been announced by Rockstar Games. But it's almost guaranteed that we will see a new instalation in the Grand Theft Auto series, and it's not going to be for a while.  Therefore, it is likely that a release date will fall into the next generation, making GTA 6 a PS5 game. Final Fantasy 7 Remake Image credit: Square Enix Again, the Final Fantasy 7 Remake has not been confirmed to be a PS5 game but Square Enix has confirmed the title will come to PS4 first - with an Xbox One and PC release likely in the future . Given the age of the PS4, and the ambitious nature of the game, a cross-generation title with next-gen platforms isn't out of the question. So we're definitely hoping to see the Final Fantasy 7 Remake on PS5. Horizon Zero Dawn 2 Now, it's worth noting this title hasn't been officially confirmed nevermind being confirmed for PS5.  Sony has had huge success with its PS4 exclusives, particularly post-apocalyptic RPG Horizon Zero Dawn. Horizon Zero Dawn is one of the best-selling games on the PS4, selling over 10 million copies and cementing itself as a must-have title. So it would make perfect sense for Guerrilla Games to develop a sequel, right? It seems that is exactly what's happening. While neither Sony nor Guerrilla Games have announced a Horizon Zero Dawn 2 is in the works, one of the game's voice actors spilled the beans earlier this year and essentially confirmed a sequel is on the way. But with no release date in sight, it looks likely that Horizon Zero Dawn will land on PS5. God of War 2  Much like Horizon Zero Dawn 2, God of War 2 hasn't officially been confirmed to be in the works.  It's only been a year since the critically acclaimed (and our Game of the Year 2018 winner) God of War reboot launched exclusively on PlayStation 4, but we're already looking to the future. Despite Sony remaining tight-lipped on the subject, the success of God of War means a sequel is probably on the way (perhaps another God of War 2?). In addition, Sony Santa Monica has posted job listings for a number of roles across its teams - with one listing clearly citing the God of War reboot.  At this point, it's most likely that God of War 2 will come to PS5 than the PS4. Battlefield 6 Electronic Arts has confirmed that Battlefield 6 is on the way, and that it's coming to next-generation consoles.  EA didn't confirm which consoles (so we will keep Battlefield 6 in the rumored section for not) but, regardless, it'll be a few years before we see the shooter on any next-gen consoles as the publisher wants to give the platforms time to build a strong player base. But a PS5 looks very likely. Gran Turismo  There are rumors abound that the next Gran Turismo title will be a part of the PS5's launch lineup. While nothing has been confirmed, it does seem likely that a Gran Turismo game will appear on the console at some point as it's PlayStation's landmark racing series.  Wired has reported that developer Polyphony Digital has Gran Turismo Sport running on a PS5 devkit while an even more recent leak has suggested that Gran Turismo 7 will release on November 20 as a launch title for the console.  We don't know for sure when a Gran Turismo title will appear on PS5, or what form it will take, but we think it's likely it will happen at some point.  PS5 vs PS4 Pro: will it be worth the upgrade? This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

PS5: release date, specs, news and features for Sony’s PlayStation 5 Posted: 18 Mar 2020 11:24 AM PDT More details about the PS5 (or PlayStation 5) have been unveiled by Sony in the firm's first official PS5 event. Sony held a live stream to give us our first official look behind the curtain of the firm's next-generation console. PS5 lead system architect Mark Cerny provided us with a deep dive into PS5's system architecture, revealing the technical inner workings of the PS5. And while we're still waiting to find out what the console will look like, and which games we'll be playing on it, at least we now know (almost) precisely how the console's innards will work, and how powerful they'll be. You can catch up with how the livestream unfolded at our PS5 live blog.  Cerny kicked things off with a slight downer: that there'd be more time for games to be revealed later in the year. But what we did find out was the PlayStation 5's key specs: CPU: AMD Zen 2-based CPU with 8 cores at 3.5GHz (variable frequency) GPU: 10.28 TFLOPs, 36 CUs at 2.23GHz (variable frequency) GPU architecture: Custom RDNA 2 Memory interface: 16GB GDDR6 / 256-bit Memory bandwidth: 448GB/s Internal storage: Custom 825GB SSD IO throughput: 5.5GB/s (raw), typical 8-9GB/s (compressed) Expandable storage: NVMe SSD slot External storage: USB HDD support (PS4 games only) Optical drive: 4K UHD Blu-ray drive What's interesting so far is Sony's commitment to custom silicon, with a full focus on raising gaming capabilities to the next level, without alienating developers now comfortable with developing on the PS4. Custom hardware in the PS3 proved to be a difficult element for devs to get their heads around, but the PS5 aims to be as developer-friendly as possible. The importance of the SSD As has already been explored, the SSD is key to the PlayStation 5 experience. Internal storage will be built in at 825GB for the custom SSD – that's less than you'll find in the Xbox Series X, but with just as clever an implementation of the technology. SSDs don’t just load faster, but allow for bigger open worlds, theoretically. Developers don’t need to make games with smaller worlds due to the limitations of mechanical hard drives, while SSDs will also allow system memory to be used more effectively. SSDs have more bandwidth, so data can be loaded from the SSD when it’s needed, rather than heaps of potentially needless data being loaded into RAM. In pure gameplay terms that means that games will suffer less from texture pop-in, while load times will be hugely reduced when using a game's fast-travel option. Booting up from standby should be generally much faster, too. As for expandable storage, Sony appears to be allowing for off-the-shelf NVMe PC drives, rather than proprietary storage systems that Xbox will primarily be relying on. However, there aren't many drives on the market right now that use the PCIe 4.0 interface required – they need to be capable of at least a 5.5GB/s transfer speed. "NVMe PC drives will work in PlayStation 5," said Cerny. "The only problem is that PC technology is significantly behind PS5. It'll take some time for the newer, PCIe 4.0-based drives with the bandwidth required to match Sony's spec to hit the market."  PS4 games on the PS5 will work just fine if saved to a regular HDD, however, so you won't need to tap into that precious SSD space unnecessarily.  A custom processor and GPU – what that means for backwards compatibility We were already aware that Sony will be using AMD's Zen 2 CPU processor tech, with eight cores and 16 threads. The stream, however, also revealed that the PS5 will be delivering 3.5GHz frequencies – so, the PlayStation 5 would be running 8x Zen 2 Cores at 3.5GHz (at variable frequencies) over the PS4's 8x Jaguar Cores at 1.6GHz. That's a huge jump in performance. Move over to the GPU, and you're looking at the AMD RDNA 2 GPU, itself customized. It makes use of 36 compute units capped at 2.23GHz. A compute performance peak of 10.28TF was stated. What's smart is that the combination makes it simple for the PS5 to easily handle PS4 backwards compatibility – through GPU architecture rather than hours of coding. Almost all of the top 100 PS4 games will be fully compatible at launch. PS4 games will be supported natively on the GPU silicon, but here the GPU seems to be emulating PS4 and PS4 Pro graphics chips, which is a strange solution, and not as interesting as Xbox Series X's method, which will also be capable of upscaling previous Xbox generation games and adding HDR to previously HDR-less titles. Tempest 3D audio tech Perhaps the biggest reveal of the day was the 3D audio support, thanks to the new Tempest Engine. It's an incredibly powerful system: if the PSVR can support "50 pretty decent sound sources," according to Cerny – with the PSVR's distinct audio system being one of the more complex audio systems in gaming at the moment – the PS5's Tempest Engine can support hundreds. The example Cerny used described it in terms of rainfall. Today, the sound of rain in a game is a single audio track, but the PS5 would theoretically be capable of letting you hear individual raindrops, in relation to where the player character is. "Where we ended up is a unit with roughly the same SIMD (single instruction, multiple data) power and bandwidth as all eight Jaguar cores in the PS4 combined," said Cerny.  "If we were to use the same algorithms as PSVR, that's enough for something like five thousand sound sources – but of course we want to use more complex algorithms, and we don't need anything like that number of sounds." Perhaps best of all is the way you'll get to experience this – even a lowly pair of headphones at launch will be able to take advantage of the sense of presence and directionality Sony is promising here, with the company also committing to later support multi-speaker surround systems with the tech. But this is an ongoing project for Sony. To accurately model surround data positioning, Sony needs to create a Head-related Transfer Function, or HRFT, map. Essentially, that's a distinct algorithm that works best if the system knows the precise shape of your ears. "Maybe you'll be sending us a photo of your ear, and we'll use a neural network to pick the closest HRTF in our library," Cerny teased. "Maybe you'll be sending us a video of your ears and your head, and we'll make a 3D model of them and synthesize the HRTF. Maybe you'll play an audio game to tune your HRTF, we'll be subtly changing it as you play, and home in on the HRTF that gives you the highest score, meaning that it matches you the best. "This is a journey we'll all be taking together over the next few years. Ultimately, we're committed to enabling everyone to experience that next level of realism." Below you'll find all the information and rumors we had on the PS5 ahead of Sony's March 18 technical reveal. Follow our PS5 Live Blog PS5 live stream: how to watch Sony's reveal event PS5 vs PS4 Pro: how will they differ? Beyond the deep dive on the technical specifications of the console, what do we know about the PS5 so far? The news began trickling out in early 2019, when Mark Cerny, the chief architect on Sony's next console, confirmed that the company was working on the successor to the PS4 Slim and PS4 Pro. We wouldn't get the official name or release date until much later, but Cerny was forthcoming about some of the next-gen console's capabilities, revealing that it would retain a disc drive, and would have something to do with Sony's game streaming ambitions; other than that there was little else to go on. Since then, Sony has been feeding us juicy tidbits such as an official PS5 release window, logo, name and a few key details about features. According to Sony, the PS5 still has big surprises to come.  We've been expecting a PS5 reveal event of some sort for a while, and that is still on the cards. After all, Sony can only keep the finer details of the next-generation PlayStation a secret for so much longer – especially with Microsoft having officially unveiled the Xbox Series X. We may have the specs now, but what of the console's actual industrial design, or the games we will be playing on it? Here's everything we know about the PS5 so far – and what we hope will be revealed the closer we get to launch. What is it? The Sony PS5 is the next-gen PlayStation console, replacing the PS4 Slim and PS4 Pro. When will it release? "Holiday 2020" in the US, says Sony, so between October and December 2020.  What can I play on it? Only a few titles have been confirmed, but expect all of Sony's big franchises, as well as in-development exclusives like Ghost of Tsushima. Will PS5 have VR? Oh yes. The next-gen console will be compatible with current PSVR hardware, and there are also rumors of PSVR 2. What will the PS5 cost? The PS4 and PS4 Pro were both $399 / £349 at launch, but we expect the PS5 will cost somewhat more. Leaks have suggested around the $499 mark. Can I play PS4 games on the PS5? The PS5 will definitely be backwards compatible with "almost all" PS4 games - earlier generations are still to be confirmed. It will launch with support for the majority of the top 100 PS4 games, according to Sony's Mark Cerny. Will coronavirus delay the PS5 release? Sony has confirmed the PS5 release date is not currently delayed by coronavirus. God of War (Image Credit: SIE) Sony has officially confirmed that the PS5 will release "in time for Holiday 2020" in the US, so likely some time between October and December 2020. A leak has suggested that the release date will be November 20, 2020 but that's yet to be confirmed – but it's in the right window, and it would leave time before Christmas to get those orders in. This would put the PlayStation 5 in direct competition with Microsoft's Xbox Series X (formerly Xbox Project Scarlett), which is releasing during the same period. Game on. According to a Sony PR, the PS5's release date has not been delayed by coronavirus.  We're expecting to find out the PlayStation 5's official release date in the coming months, having not been revealed at the March 18 technical talk. PS5 wishlist: the most wanted specs, features and games What E3 2020's cancellation means for PS5 and Xbox Series X Death Stranding Sony hasn't officially confirmed a PS5 price yet and, according to the company, that's because it hasn't actually decided how much the next-gen console will cost. In a quarterly earnings call (via Spiel Times), Sony's chief financial officer Hiroki Totoki revealed the company still hasn't nailed down the PS5 price. "What is not very clear or visible is because we are competing in the space, so it’s very difficult to discuss anything about the price at this point of time, and depending upon the price level, we may have to determine the promotion that we are going to deploy and how much costs we are prepared to pay," Totoki explained. “First, we must absolutely control the labour cost, the personnel cost, it must be controlled, and the initial ramp up, how much can we prepare initially, we will work on the production and the sales and we will have to prepare the right volume as we launch this," Totoki continued. “It’s a balancing act it’s very difficult to say anything concrete at this point of time," Totoki said. But we do know that Sony is aiming for "the best balance so that we will be profitable in the life, during the life of this product." While Sony may not have a price nailed down, there have been rumors about how much the PS5 could cost. One such rumor has suggested that the console will cost $499 in North America when it launches.  Naturally this should be treated with skepticism, but it would be welcome news if the console did launch at this price, as it's only $100 more than the launch price of the PS4 and PS4 Pro. However, a report in Bloomberg suggests that the rising costs of DRAM and NAND flash memory parts – crucial for the smooth functioning of the console’s onboard processor, and also in high demand for new smartphone releases – makes balancing the books for the PS5 retail price difficult, and that Sony may even be putting off its pricing decision to figure out what cost to put on consumers. The report states that manufacturing costs are expected to hit $450 per console unit – around £350 / AU$670. That makes it highly likely the RRP will start above that, not lower than £470, and probably closer to the $499 price tag that the Xbox One (and Xbox One X) first launched with. Microsoft’s plans for the Xbox Series X are key here, as Sony could well decide to sell the hardware at a slight loss to stay competitive with the other console. The PS4 benefited from a lower cost than the Xbox One, and Sony likely won’t be keen to reverse that for this generation. We can expect that the console's price will be in line with the technology it uses, but Sony will also have to be aware of its competition. It's unlikely, with the Xbox Series X, that Microsoft will repeat the mistake it made by launching the Xbox One at a prohibitively high price point, so Sony will have to ensure that it doesn't make a similar mistake by making the PS5 too expensive. When it comes to the PS5 and Xbox Series X, players see 'affordable price' as the most important factor according to a Twitter poll by Mortal Kombat co-creator Ed Boon. Boon asked Twitter users what the most important thing was for them when it comes to next-gen consoles. The poll received a total of 50,295 responses, with a 37.5% majority of users saying 'affordable price' was the most important factor. 'Plays last-gen games' (AKA backwards compatibility) came second with 30%, 'better graphics' received 19.2% of votes, while 'exclusive games' was the least important with just 13.2% of votes.  It's worth noting that a Twitter poll isn't exactly reflective of the overall player base, especially as it's unlikely younger players will be on the platform. So, while this poll can be useful as a steer, the reality is likely to be a lot more complex. Regardless, we expect price to be a key factor in whether players pick up a PS5 or Xbox Series X - even if it's not the most important. No, the PS4 will not cost more than $1,000, and here’s why PS5 vs PS4 Pro: will it be worth the upgrade? Ghost of Tsushima (Image Credit: SuckerPunch) Bespoke 8-core AMD chipset (based on third-generation Ryzen architecture and with Navi GPU) SSD storage system Backwards compatibility with PS4 games and PSVR hardware 3D audio 8K TV support So what is the PS5 packing under the hood?  That AMD one-two punch of CPU and GPU unlocks the powers of ray tracing, an advanced lighting technique that can bring next-level immersion to gaming visuals. It's Hollywood tech that's used in big-budget CGI spectacles, putting into context the levels of visual fidelity you can expect from the PS5. Ray tracing is enabled by GPU hardware rather than software level, Mark Cerny told Wired. “There is ray tracing acceleration in the GPU hardware,” he explained.  Sony has confirmed that the PS5 will support 8K gaming, and we think AMD SmartShift could be the secret sauce that makes this possible. With 8K TV support comes far more detailed textures, and much larger-scale ones at that. The news of a bespoke SSD drive will be heartening then – just because the games will be getting more complex, that doesn't mean they'll be slower to load. It's estimated that the new SSD is 19 times faster than traditional SSD storage methods (but given the speed difference between the SSD and the optical drive, installation of games will be mandatory). Not only that, but by harnessing the power of the SSD, developers could potentially reduce the install sizes of games because, as Cerny told Wired, “there is no need to duplicate data to compensate for slow seek times that optical drives and HDDs have”.  The PS5 will benefit from simplified data management due to its SSD, and this will allow players to have more control over installing and removing games, for example by allowing players to install (or remove) only certain parts of a game – so instead of installing the full game, you could choose to just install the single-player mode and then do multiplayer later, or vice versa. Uncharted 4: A Thief's End (Image Credit: Naughty Dog) Physical games for the PS5 will use 100GB optical disks, inserted into an optical drive that doubles as a 4K Blu-ray player, and the next-generation hardware will boast a completely revamped UI. Speaking about the new UI to Wired, Cerny said: "Even though it will be fairly fast to boot games, we don't want the player to have to boot the game, see what's up, boot the game, see what's up. "Multiplayer game servers will provide the console with the set of joinable activities in real time. Single-player games will provide information like what missions you could do and what rewards you might receive for completing them – and all of those choices will be visible in the UI. As a player you just jump right into whatever you like." Audio will reach a new "gold standard" on PS5 too, according to Cerny, thanks to the new 3D Tempest audio engine that will deliver immersive sound – particularly if you're using headphones. Expect something resembling the experience of a Dolby Atmos setup (though it's worth noting Sony will not be using Dolby Atmos itself, at least not in games). Sony's PS5 next-generation console will also offer improved cloud gaming performance, and "dramatically improved graphics rendering" power. That's the word straight from the company itself, as it showed off a sneak peak during a corporate strategy presentation. Marvel's Spider-Man (Insomniac Games) In a statement sent out following the presentation, Sony said the "two keywords for the future direction of PlayStation are 'immersive' and 'seamless'", with the 'immersive' experience "created by dramatically increased graphics rendering speeds, achieved through the employment of further improved computational power and a customized ultra-fast, broadband SSD". The company also reinforced the importance of its cloud-gaming plans with Playstation Now, and somewhat surprisingly doubled down on its underused Remote Play feature, saying the "evolution" of this would in the future "provide a seamless game experience anytime, anywhere". Remote Play is already available as part of the PS4 package, enabling you to stream a game direct from the console to a computer, smartphone, tablet or PS Vita handheld console. But Sony says that going forward it will be "leveraging the latest computing, streaming, cloud, and 5G technologies" to allow it, and the performance of PlayStation Now, to improve. If that's not enough, Sony has confirmed the PS5's "incredibly powerful" backwards compatibility will let you play online with PS4 players, with Ubisoft's CEO revealing the next-gen console can play "almost all" PS4 games. There have also been rumors that the PS5 could be backwards compatible with the PS3, PS2, and original PlayStation, meaning its games library could stretch right back to the glory days of the mid 90s. But that feels like an outside shot, given that the PS4 was only ever made compatible with select PS2 games, and no PS3 games at all.  What are teraflops? Let us explain Why Google Stadia could spell trouble for the PS5 and Xbox Series X The PS5 will look nothing like its dev kit if history is anything to go by There's still no official reveal of what the PS5 will look like. So for now, we're dealing with speculation. We've seen several leaked images of the PS5 dev kit, with each showing the same console design, along with the above render based on one of those images, courtesy of Let's Go Digital). What does the render above show us? There are a number of buttons: on/standby, reset, eject (for the double-layer 100GB-reading Blu-ray drive), system initialization and network initialization, all on the front-left. There are also a number of status lights, numbered '0' to '7', which likely relate to CPU cores engaged, but which could also be status lights for controllers connected. To the right are six USB ports (one USB 2.0 and five likely USB 3.0 ports – the final port being obscured by a cable). A small circle above could well be a camera built into the console, according to earlier patent filings. Interestingly, rubber feet appear to be on the top side of the console, suggesting that devs are being encouraged to either flip the console for stress testing and convenience, or to stack them when working on demanding games. However, these images should only really be used to speculate on what the final design of the consumer console will be, rather than considering it wholly indicative on the machine to come. If we look at older PlayStation dev kits, the final product rarely resembles the dev kit. Dev kits are specially designed to be robust, and to support a console working under extreme load so as to allow the developers to push their creations to the maximum without frying the hardware they're working on. They're also designed to help developers find any flaws in the final PS5 consumer hardware design.  With Sony still several months away from the launch of the PlayStation 5, there's plenty of time for its team to create something a little less alien-looking. While we may not know exactly what the PS5 will look like, Sony did reveal the PS5's official logo at CES 2020. It's essentially just the PlayStation 4 logo with a '5' replacing the '4'. But Sony PlayStation president, Jim Ryan, did tease during Sony's CES keynote that “there’s plenty to share about the PS5 in the months ahead. And we look forward to sharing more details, including the content that will showcase the platform and the future of gaming”. PS5 will double as a 4K Blu-ray player – here's why that matters How the PS5's 3D audio chip could transform your gaming experience The PS5 will come with a new controller, according to Sony. The PS5 controller (we don't know the official name yet, though DualShock 5 is a good guess) will include haptic feedback to replace the DualShock 4's rumble technology, designed to improve the controller's feedback and therefore player immersion.  The PS5 controller will also feature adaptive triggers, which Sony says have "been incorporated into the trigger buttons (L2/R2)". These adaptive triggers will allow developers to program the resistance of the triggers to simulate actions more accurately. In an interview with Business Insider Japan (translated by Gematsu), SIE CEO Jim Ryan said: “3D audio and the haptic feedback support of the controller are also things that, when you try them, you will be surprised at how big a change they are. Even just playing the racing game Gran Turismo Sport with a PlayStation 5 controller is a completely different experience. While it runs well with the previous controller, there is no going back after you experience the detailed road surface via haptic control and play using the adaptive triggers." Sony PS5 controller: release dates, news and rumors The majority of the PS4 library, including PSVR games, will be supported by the PS5; that much is known. But we're now hearing more about confirmed – and rumored – PS5 games. At this point, any first-party PS4 game in the pipeline – from Ghost of Tsushima to The Last of Us 2, would be prime candidates for PS5 cross-gen upgrades. We've also heard enough chatter around a Horizon Zero Dawn sequel and new God of War game to assume we'll be seeing both land on the PS5 console.  And while we don't know much about PS5 exclusives, we do know Sony will continue to focus on "strong narrative-driven, single-player games" with the PS5. But what about third-party titles? We've had confirmation that Gearbox's new IP Godfall is coming exclusively to PS5, as is a title from Bluepoint Studios that's rumored to be a Demon's Souls remake. We will also see a remake of THQ Nordic's cult classic Gothic, Gollum and Outriders land on PS5. In addition, Ubisoft has confirmed that Watch Dogs: Legion, Rainbow Six Quarantine, and Gods and Monsters are all coming to Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 - with a new Assassin's Creed and Far Cry also rumored to be coming to the platforms. We also know Rainbow Six Siege will be available on PS5 and Xbox Series X from launch.  It's likely that we'll see the likes of Starfield and The Elder Scrolls 6 coming to PS5 and Xbox Series X, too. In addition, not only has EA has said that Battlefield 6 will be coming to Xbox Series X, but the company has sung the praises of the incoming next-generation machines during an investor call – presumably including the PS5. "The power of the new consoles is gonna be substantially greater than existing consoles," said EA CFO Blake Jorgensen. "We can do a lot more [with PS5 and Xbox Series X]. Things we’re doing will blow people’s minds." While this is a good start, we're expecting plenty more third-party games to be announced in the coming months.  According to a survey by GDC, when it comes to developer interest it seems the PS5 is already beating Xbox Series X – and the Nintendo Switch. That's according to GDC's State of the Game Industry 2020 survey, which surveyed 4,000 game developers on a variety of industry topics ahead of GDC 2020 in March. And, of course, the next-gen consoles were top of the agenda. When asked which platform they planned to launch their next project on, 23% of those surveyed said the PlayStation 5, while 17% said the Xbox Series X and 19% said the Nintendo Switch . When it comes to the platform devs are most intrigued by, the PS5 once again leads the pack when it comes to consoles, with 38%, but the Switch only just behind on 37%. Again, the Xbox Series X is seriously lagging behind, piquing the interest of just 25% of devs.  The survey also revealed that 10% of developers are currently working on a game for the next-gen consoles. However, while we know of a few third-party games in the pipeline for the PS5, there's still no confirmation on what the PS5's launch titles will be, but we're expecting first-party games to take the lead. In addition, Sony has confirmed that the PS5 will prioritize AAA games over indie games in an effort to focus on "serious gamers". PS5 games: all the games confirmed and expected on the PlayStation 5 What Sony's history of backward compatibility tells us about PS5 Xbox Game Pass vs PlayStation Now: which is the best game subscription service? There have been rumors for some time that a PS5 reveal is on the horizon and it looks like they were true - kind of. The PS5 is got a live stream on March 18, delivering a deeper look at the specs and capabilities of the incoming next-gen PlayStation – but still holding back the full reveal of the console's external design, and the launch titles to expect with it. PS5 lead system architect Mark Cerny hosted the livestream, which offered a "deep dive into PS5's system architecture and how it will shape the future of games."  So, in other words, we're still waiting on the full, no-holds-barred look at the console. PS Now needs a serious upgrade for PS5 to beat Xbox Game Pass Rumors have cropped up suggesting that Sony will double down by launching the PlayStation 5 Pro at the same time as its base-model PS5. Spotted by Wccftech, noted Japanese games journalist Zenji Nishikawa made the claim in a video on his YouTube channel, and while that kind of thing wouldn't normally be considered a rock-solid lead, Nishikawa has been proven correct in the past with his predictions about the PS4 Pro and Switch Lite. According to Nishikawa, the PS5 Pro will cost around $100-$150 more than the basic PS5 console. The report states that Sony is taking this approach because it has "acknowledged the interest in a high-end model and wants to give players what they want right from the beginning of the generation". NeoGaf user FXVeteran (via TweakTown) has since added fuel to the fire by claiming Sony plans to release two PlayStation 5 models at the same time: a PS5 Pro and a PS5, with the PS5 Pro being "top of the line" to compete with the Xbox Series X's potential iteratively more powerful versions.  While a PlayStation 5 Pro is likely on the cards, we don't think it'll release at the same time as the regular PS5. In our opinion, it's more likely that Sony will wait around three years (2023) before giving the console an upgrade - usually this happens mid-cycle and the PS5 lifecycle is estimated to be around six to seven years.  Tired of future-gazing? Why not check out the best PS4 games right now. Already got a PSVR? These are the best PSVR games right now Here are 10 PlayStation games we want to see remastered for the PS5 This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

PS5 will be backward-compatible with 'almost all' of the best PS4 games at launch Posted: 18 Mar 2020 11:21 AM PDT The PS5 will be backwards-compatible with PS4 games, PlayStation's chief architect Mark Cerny has reiterated during the PS5's hardware unveiling, explaining that "almost all" of the top 100 PS4 games will be playable at launch. Those top 100 games are ranked by playtime. It doesn't seem like the PS5 is backwards compatible with PS3, PS2 or PSone, though, based on the presentation, which only focused on how PS4 games will work on the new console. "Running PS4 and PS4 titles at boosted frequencies has also added complexity," Cerny said. "The boost is truly massive this time around and some game code can't handle it. Testing has to be done on a title-by-title basis. Results are excellent, though. We recently took a look at the top 100 PlayStation 4 titles as ranked by playtime, and we're expecting almost all of them to be playable at launch on PlayStation 5." Expect every PS5 console that's ever made to retain backwards compatibility, and not to be stripped out to save money in the manufacturing of future versions of the console. "Once backwards compatibility is in the console, it's in," Cerny said. "It's not as if a cost-down will remove backwards compatibility like it did on PlayStation 3." Cerny is referring to the fact that the PS3 launched with PS2 backwards compatibility (the PS2 chipset was built into launch PS3s), but later had the feature removed as newer iterations of the hardware were created. That won't be a problem here, then, and backwards compatibility with PS4 games will always be part of the PS5 offering. What is backwards compatibility? The best PS4 games PS5 games: what you can expect to play on the console Is it enough? It sounds like compatibility with PS4 games is as far as the PS5 is going to go, at least based on what Sony has revealed about the console so far. We already knew PS4 games would work on PS5, but it's good to get more insight about the testing required to make all games work on the newer console.  Hopefully this means we'll be able to play the likes of Fortnite, Apex Legends and Warframe on day one when the new console lands. It's also good that your purchases from the last seven years on PS4 will have value for many years to come. Still, backwards compatibility is one area where Microsoft has an edge. With the Xbox Series X, four generations of Xbox games will work on the new console, which is quite an advantage when it comes to our PS5 vs Xbox Series X comparison. PS5 price and pre-orders: what we know This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

New iPad Pro 2020 release date, price, news and everything you need to know Posted: 18 Mar 2020 11:21 AM PDT Apple has launched two new iPad Pro models, building on the iPad Pro 11 and iPad Pro 12.9 that launched 2018 but adding in a more powerful, more functional and more expensive keyboard.  The ProMotion 120Hz display hasn't changed in a year-and-a-half, but the internals are faster and the camera should support more advanced augmented reality functions down the line. These are the top-end tablets that Apple offer to the market, so while you'll be paying a lot for one of these we fully expect them to be some of the best tablets money can buy. Some observers speculated that Apple might announce the iPhone 9 alongside its new iPads, but that never came to fruition. Instead, the company unveiled its new MacBook Air laptop alongside the new iPads, at a startlingly-similar $999 price point. But you're here to see about the new iPads - and we've put together everything we know so far about the iPad Pro 11 and iPad Pro 12.9 for 2020. Cut to the chase What is it? The next generation of Apple's premium iPad Pro tablets When is it out? Pre-orders began March 18, with first delivery on March 24 How much will it cost? A range of prices depending on size, but all rather pricey New iPad Pro 2020 release date and price The new iPad Pro models were announced on March 18, and you're able to order them from today on Apple's online store. Apple has closed its physical stores for the foreseeable future owing to the Covid-19 outbreak. The actual iPad Pro 2020 release date is March 24, according to Apple, although the online store says that first delivery date is March 25 in the US. You may have to wait an extra day to play with your brand new iPad. How much will the new iPad Pro 2020 cost? It really depends on whether you go for the 11-inch version or opt for the 12.9-inch model, and which storage size you go with. There's also the LTE cellular model that bumps up the price.  The 11-inch iPad Pro with 128GB of storage is $799 / £769 / AU1,329 for the Wi-Fi model, while the same storage size with cellular support is $949 / £919 / AU$1,579. The new iPad Pro 12.9-inch model starts at $999 / £969 / AU$1,649 and the cellular model comes in at $1,149 / £1,119 / AU$1,899. New iPad Pro 2020 design and display As in 2018, there are two models of the 2020 iPad Pro. You have the choice of one with an 11-inch display, or one with 12.9-inch.  It comes with 120Hz refresh rate, which brings a quick refreshing display that makes gaming and scrolling through your social media feeds look smoother than on standard 90Hz screens that you'll find on cheaper devices. If you opt for the smaller display, you'll get a resolution of 2388 x 1668. The larger model has 2732 x 2048, and both offer 264 pixels per inch. Both tablets are available in either silver or space gray. The bottom edge of the tablet comes with a USB-C port, but there's no 3.5mm headphone jack here for wired headsets. That's something Apple dropped on the iPad Pro 2018, and it hasn't made a return for this model. iPad Pro 2020 software and key features iPadOS 13.4 will be up and running on the new iPads if you buy them on day one. You can expect software updates from Apple over the next couple of years too. Previously, iPad products have used iOS software but last year the company spun out the software on its tablets to its own name. It works much the same, but there are a few improvements that are meant to help productivity. iPadOS 13.4 specifically brings trackpad-like support to the operating system for the first time.  Apple says, "The cursor appears as a circle that highlights user interface elements, text fields and apps on the Home screen and Dock, giving a clear indication of what users can click on. Fluid gestures on the trackpad make it easy to switch between apps, access the app switcher and activate the Dock, Control Center and apps in Slide Over." The camera is where Apple seems to have mostly improved its new iPad. That isn't a big focus for many people, but this is aimed at those who want to experience augmented reality experiences on their iPad. For the first time, Apple has included two rear cameras on the iPad Pro. One is a 12MP f/1.8 wide camera while the other is a 10MP f/2.4 aperture. There is also a new feature called a LiDAR Scanner that is designed for depth-sensing capabilities. That should improve Portrait photography on your iPad, but it's mostly set to be used to improve augmented reality apps. The scanner is capable of measuring the distance of items up to 5 meters away. The cameras are able to film in 4K too, so you can film your footage and edit it directly on the iPad. If that's your intention, the new iPad comes with five microphones in an attempt to pick up cleaner audio than on previous products. The microphones are still the same in number as 2018, but are higher quality - we'll test them out when our review appears to see if they allow for things like podcasting with no extra mic. New iPad Pro 2020 specs and performance Apple's new A12Z Bionic Chip is inside the tablet, and while we've yet to be able to test it Apple's claims on paper seem strong. The company says this chip is designed for demanding tasks like "editing 4K video or designing 3D models". Apple also claims the iPad Pro is now "more powerful than most Windows PC laptops". We've yet to see the evidence to back up that claim, but we'll ask Apple where it has got its details from. There are lots of storage options for the iPad Pro 2020, and both models have the same amount of variants. The lowest is 128GB, then if you need more there are three additional options: 256GB, 512GB and 1TB. As ever, Apple doesn't offer the option for adding a microSD card in so whatever storage you buy you'll be stuck with. You have the choice of a Wi-Fi-only model, or a cellular version. Note that this is just a 4G version, and Apple's new tablet won't be able to connect to emerging 5G networks like the Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 5G can. Maybe  that's being saved for the iPad Pro 2021. Apple hasn't shared with us the exact battery capacity specs, but it claims all models will be able to last up to 10 hours of watching video or internet browsing over Wi-Fi. That claim drops to nine hours if you're using a cellular network. New iPad Pro 2020 Magic Keyboard and accessories As you'd expect, the second-gen Apple Pencil will work with the new iPad. If you own the original, that won't be compatible with this product as it charges via Lightning and the new iPads have USB-C connectors. There is a new keyboard attachment from Apple that the company is calling the Magic Keyboard. It has a specific hinge that hasn't been included on previous accessories allowing for adjusted viewing angles up to 130 degrees, and has its own USB-C port to allow you to charge the iPad and keep the other port open for accessories too. The keys are backlit for the first time on an iPad keyboard, and the company calls it protective too. We assume that means it will protect the display when folded up in your bag. The worst part? It's set to cost $299 / £299 / AU$499 – and that's just for the 11-inch version. The Magic Keyboard 12.9-inch is $349 / £349 / AU$589. These are the best iPads you can buy right now This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

You are subscribed to email updates from TechRadar - All the latest technology news. To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google, 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, United States