TechAmok News Archive
Intel Ice Lake-SP and Cooper Lake-SP Details Leaked - [hardware]
05:26 PM EDT - Oct,31 2019 - post a comment Brainbox, a Korean media outlet, has information on Intel's newest Ice Lake and Cooper Lake server processors from a presentation ASUS held for its server lineup. With Cooper Lake-SP paving the way for the first server CPU model to be released on the new "Whitley" platform, it is supposed to launch in Q2 of 2020. Cooper Lake-SP comes with TDP of 300 W and will be available with configurations of up to 48 cores, but there also should be a 56 core model like the Xeon Platinum 9282, that has a TDP of 400 W. Cooper Lake-SP supports up to 64 PCIe 3.0 lanes, 8 channel memory (16 DIMMs in total) that goes up to 3200 MHz and four Ultra Path Interconnect (UPI) links.
Ice Lake-SP, built on the new 10 nm+ manufacturing process, is coming in soon after Cooper Lake-SP release, with a launch window in Q3 of 2020. That is just few months apart from previous CPU launch, so it will be a bit hard to integrate the launches of two rather distinct products. As far as the specifications of Ice Lake-SP goes, it will have up to 38 core for the top end model, within 270 W TDP. It supports 64 PCIe 4.0 lanes with three UPI links. There is also 8 channel memory support, however this time there is an option to use 2nd generation Optane DC Persistent Memory. Both CPU uArches will run on the new LGA 4189 on the P+ socket. |
Intel Announces Core i9-9900KS - [hardware]
04:07 PM EDT - Oct,28 2019 - post a comment Intel today announced full details and availability for the new 9th Gen Intel Core i9-9900KS Special Edition processor. Delivering up to 5.00 GHz all-core turbo frequency out of the box for the ultimate gaming experience, the 9th Gen Intel Core i9-9900KS will be available beginning Oct. 30, with recommended customer price starting at $513. This special edition processor will be available for a limited time only and can be found at retailers worldwide.
"Intel has raised the bar for desktop gaming with the new 9th Gen Intel Core i9-9900KS Special Edition processor. Based on the 9th Gen Intel Core i9-9900K architecture, it's the world's best gaming desktop processor made even better and created specifically for extreme gamers who want the most performance possible. This processor demonstrates another innovation milestone for Intel, following last year's limited edition 8th Gen Intel Core i7-8086K," said Frank Soqui, Intel vice president and general manager of the Desktop, Workstation and Channel Group. The i9-9900KS processor is unlocked and boasts eight cores and 16 threads, up to 4.00 GHz base frequency, 127 W TDP, 16 MB Intel Smart Cache, and up to 40 platform PCIe lanes for gaming and overclocking.
Key Features and Capabilities:- Up to 5.00 GHz all-core turbo frequency; up to 4.00 GHz base frequency, which allow games to run faster when they scale across more cores for higher frame rates
- Eight cores, 16 threads, 127 W TDP, 16 MB Intel Smart Cache, and up to 40 platform PCIe lanes
- Compatible with existing Z390 motherboards
- Up to 27% faster mega-tasking when you simultaneously game, stream and record compared with a 3-year-old PC
- Up to 35% more frames per second compared with a 3-year-old PC
- Up to 17% faster 4K video editing compared with the previous generation and up to 78% faster compared with a 3-year-old PC
- One-year warranty
- Overclock confidently with new and enhanced features like Intel Performance Maximizer, which makes it easy to dynamically and reliably custom-tune the unlocked processor based on the processor's individual performance DNA
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Apple AirPods Pro Add Active Noise Cancellation - [briefly]
04:05 PM EDT - Oct,28 2019 - post a comment Apple AirPods Pro are the company's new premium true wireless earbuds, adding active noise cancellation (ANC) to silence background noise. 200 times a second, the H1 chip uses an outer microphone to detect outside noise and generate a counter-sound. It also uses an inner microphone to cancel any remaining background noise. An optional Transparency Mode allows outside sound in, but "leaves just the right amount of noise cancellation active", so users can hear announcements and safety hazards. Unlike standard AirPods, the Pro model is designed to seal against your ear canals. A special vent system equalizes pressure for comfort. Three sizes of silicone ear tips are included and an "Ear Tip Fit Test" feature measures sound levels to tell you whether you're using the correct size. Adaptive EQ automatically tunes the low- and mid-frequencies of music to the shape of an individual's ear. They're rated IPx4 for basic sweat- and water-resistance. The buds are controlled via new "force sensors" on the stem. Like standard AirPods, the new model responds to Siri requests, supports Audio Sharing, and can be ordered with custom engraving. The buds themselves offer 5 hours of battery life. The included charging case - which supports Qi wireless charging - offers up to 24 hours of total battery life. The AirPods Pro are available to order online today for $249. They will start shipping and be available in stores on October 30th |
Supercars Accelerating - AC SCHNITZER ACS8, F12Tdf, BRABUS 700... - [off-topic]
02:30 PM EDT - Oct,27 2019 - (1 comments) During the 2019 Zoute Grand Prix in Belgium I have filmed a lot of supercars doing a accelerating! You will see the AC SCHNITZER ACS8, Mercedes-AMG GT63s, Ferrari F12Tdf, 488 Pista, SLS AMG Black Series, Porsche 991 GT2 RS, Audi R8 V10 Plus and a lot more!
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AMD Releases Radeon Software Adrenalin 19.10.2 Drivers - [briefly]
07:14 AM EDT - Oct,25 2019 - (1 comments) AMD has released the Radeon Software Adrenalin 19.10.2 beta drivers. These drivers bring improved support for "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare," which sees up to 18% better performance on the Ultra preset when using a Radeon RX 5700 XT. "The Outer Worlds" also sees improved support and sees 8% better performance at the Very High preset again on the Radeon RX 5700 XT. Improved support and better performance are always welcome; however, this release also offers some much-needed fixes, including application hang in Borderlands 3, which will likely make quite a few gamers happy. For a full list of fixes and known issues, check the full change-log below.
Support For- Call of Duty : Modern Warfare
- With ultra presets on the Radeon RX 5700 XT, achieve up to 18% better performance playing Call of Duty: Modern Warfare with Radeon Software Adrenalin 2019 edition 19.10.2 than with Radeon Software Adrenalin 2019 Edition 19.10.1. RS-322
- The Outer Worlds
- With very high presets on the Radeon RX 5700 XT, achieve up to 8% better performance playing The Outer Worlds with Radeon Software Adrenalin 2019 edition 19.10.2 than with Radeon Software Adrenalin 2019 Edition 19.10.1. RS-321
- Chernobylite Early Access
Fixed Issues- Launching League of Legends may cause the display to remain blank for a few seconds.
- Radeon Chill may create an incorrect registry entry when enabled or disabled.
- Borderlands 3 may experience an application hang after running the in-game benchmark or changing resolutions.
- Flicker may be experienced while playing media in Movies and TV application when using some displays connected via USB Type-C.
- Some Radeon RX Vega and Radeon RX 5700 series graphics products may intermittently experience a thread stuck crash or TDR when there is a high GPU load active.
Known Issues- The Outer Worlds may experience character models being rendered incorrectly on the inventory screen.
- Radeon RX 5700 series graphics products may experience stutter in some games at 1080p and low game settings.
- Performance Metrics Overlay may cause stutter or screen flashing on some applications.
- Radeon RX 5700 series graphics products may experience display loss when resuming from sleep or hibernate when multiple displays are connected.
- Toggling HDR may cause system instability during gaming when Radeon ReLive is enabled.
- Stutter may be experienced when Radeon FreeSync is enabled on 240hz refresh displays with Radeon RX 5700 series graphics products.
- AMD Radeon VII may experience elevated memory clocks at idle or on desktop.
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TSMC Begins 3 nm Fab Construction - [technology]
02:18 AM EDT - Oct,25 2019 - post a comment TSMC has been very aggressive with its approach to silicon manufacturing, with more investments into its R&D that now match or beat the capex investments of Intel. That indicates a strong demand for new technologies and TSMC's strong will not drop out of the never-ending race for more performance and smaller node sizes.
According to the sources over at DigiTimes, TSMC has acquired as much as 30 hectares of land in the Southern Taiwan Science Park to begin the construction of its fabs that are supposed to start high-volume manufacturing 3 nm node in 2023. Construction of 3 nm manufacturing facilities are set to begin in 2020 when TSMC will lay the groundwork for the new fab. The 3 nm semiconductor node is expected to be TSMC's third attempt at EUV lithography, right after the 7 nm+, and 5 nm nodes which are also based on EUV technology. |
Intel announces the Tremont CPU microarchitecture - [hardware]
05:31 PM EDT - Oct,24 2019 - (1 comments) Intel has announced a new low-power CPU microarchitecture codenamed Tremont, which will be at the heart of the company's Lakefield chipsets. Lakefield uses a new 3D packaging technology called Foveros, and it promises more power efficiency and a smaller package, making it ideal for small and thin form factors. You may recall that, a few weeks ago, Microsoft announced that the upcoming Surface Neo would be powered by Lakefield.
Tremont makes use of a 6-wide (2x3-wide clustered) out-of-order decoder to offer better performance, as well as "significant gains" in instructions per cycle over the previous generation of low-power chips from Intel. It also has 4-wide allocation, 10 execution ports - seven for integer execution and three for vector execution -, a dual load/store pipeline, and up to 4.5MB of L2 cache. It can also come with configurations between single- and quad-core. Intel also touts Core-class branch prediction. Tremont also packs a few new technologies from Intel, such as Accelerator interfacing Instructions, Intel Speed Shift, Trusted Execution Technology, Boot Guard, and Total Memory Encryption, all of which should help both performance and security. Tremont and Lakefield don't yet have a set release date, but it's been almost a year since Lakefield was first announced back in 2018, so it shouldn't take too much longer now.
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T-Mobile's 5G Phones Can Support Sprint 5G - [mobile]
05:29 PM EDT - Oct,24 2019 - (1 comments) When T-Mobile launches low-band 5G later this year, the two phones that support it will also be capable of supporting Sprint's already-launched mid-band 5G network, should the two companies be allowed to merge. The OnePlus 7T Pro 5G McLaren and Samsung Galaxy Note 10+ will both support 5G in bands 71 (T-Mobile's 600 MHz) and 41 (Sprint's 2,500 MHz). Those two phones do not, however, support 5G in the mmWave bands, which T-Mobile has launched in several cities. T-Mobile does sell the Samsung Galaxy S10 5G which supports its mmWave 5G network but not the upcoming low-band network. When T-Mobile launches low-band 5G this year, it will cover 200 million people, far more than any other US 5G network to date. |
Mophie Juice Packs Now Available for iPhone 11 Series - [mobile]
05:28 PM EDT - Oct,24 2019 - post a comment The popular Mophie Juice Pack Access battery case accessory is now available for Apple's iPhone 11, 11 Pro, and 11 Pro Max. The cases include a large extra battery that keeps the iPhone topped up via wireless charging, and can themselves be charged wirelessly. Wireless charging leaves the iPhone's Lightning port free. The Juice Pack Access includes its own USB-C port for charging. Pass-through charging will charge the phone first, and then the case. The versions for the 11 and 11 Pro add a 2,000 mAh battery to the phone, while the case for the 11 Pro Max contains a 2,200 mAh battery. All versions are $100. They're available now in black, and coming soon in pink and (PRODUCT) RED. |
T-Mobile' 2nd 5G Phone is the OnePlus 7T Pro 5G McLaren - [mobile]
05:28 PM EDT - Oct,24 2019 - post a comment OnePlus announced the OnePlus 7T Pro two weeks ago, saying that the phone would not come to the US. That was half true. The 5G version of the phone will come to T-Mobile later this year, and it will be the special McLaren limited edition of the phone. The OnePlus 7T Pro 5G McLaren is the second 5G phone to be announced by T-Mobile, after the Samsung Galaxy Note10+ 5G. The new OnePlus will support sub-6 GHz 5G, specifically in band 71, T-Mobile's low-band 600 MHz spectrum that reaches farther than most other frequency bands. The OnePlus 7T Pro is based on the 7 Pro, with updated specs to match and best the newer 7T. It packs a Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ chip, 12 GB of RAM, three cameras (including a 48 megapixel main camera and 3x optical zoom), 4085 mAh battery, and Warp Charge 30T fast charging. Its 6.67-inch OLED display sports HDR, 90 Hz refresh, and quad-HD resolution; it's curved at the sides and covers the whole face with no notch, thanks to a pop-up selfie camera. The McLaren design sports a carbon-fiber back with a wood-grain look, and accents in McLaren's "hallmark papaya orange racing tint." It comes with a case accented in carbon fiber and Alcantara. T-Mobile is not yet announcing pricing nor a specific release date. |
LG Brings G8X ThinQ with Dual Screen to US - [mobile]
06:30 PM EDT - Oct,22 2019 - post a comment LG is bringing its dual-screen concept to the US along with a new variant of the G8: the G8X ThinQ. The G8X drops the 3D depth camera and quad-HD display resolution in favor of a 32-megapixel selfie camera, full-HD display, stereo speakers, and a larger 4,000 mAh battery. It also has an in-display fingerprint reader instead of the standalone sensor on the G8. Other features of the G8X are similar to the G8, including a Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 chip, standard and wide-angle rear cameras, high-end audio chip, extra-loud speakers, 3.5mm headphone jack, IP68 water resistance, NFC, wireless charging, fast charging, 6 GB RAM, 128 GB storage, and a memory card slot. The snap-on Dual Screen sports a full-HD OLED screen identical to that on the G8X, including the small notch. It also has an extra "cover" display on the outside that shows notifications, date, time, and battery life. The hinge folds a full 360deg, and locks in place at 120deg, 140deg, 180deg (flat), and 27deg (tent). The phone + Dual Screen together will sell for $700 unlocked. Both AT&T and Sprint will offer the LG G8X ThinQ. AT&T is including the Dual Screen for free for a limited time. Sprint will offer an online rebate form for a Dual Screen, which will ship from LG. Sprint will have "more details to share next week" on its launch offer. Pre-orders start Friday, will full availability on November 1st.
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Xiaomi Launches Mi Surface Display Gaming Monitors - [hardware]
01:40 PM EDT - Oct,22 2019 - post a comment Xiaomi, the China-based electronics juggernaut that has carved itself into most markets with its aggressive price/performance ratios, has just announced two new gaming monitors in its new Mi Surface Display lineup. First up is a 34", 21:9 UltraWide monitor with a resolution of 3440 x 1440. This one also carries a 144 Hz refresh rate monitor with support for AMD FreeSync (which might also mean it is G-Sync compatible). This same panel offers a 1500R curvature, which is somewhat treated as a must in larger diagonal 21:9 monitors, and Xiaomi is quoting a 5 ms GtG response time, which, paired with the 144 Hz refresh rate, should be more than enough for all but the most seriously competitive gamers. Color coverage is being quoted at 121% of the sRGB color gamut. The bezels are reportedly around the 2mm mark in the 34" model. The stand and the monitor's connection is ensured by a magnetic clasp. The 34" monitor is being joined by a 1080p, 24" monitor as well, of which there were no additional details being shared. Connectivity details also weren't shared at time of writing. Xiaomi's new Mi Surface Display 34" is priced at 2,499 Yuan (around $352).
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NVIDIA Releases GeForce 440.97 WHQL Game Ready Drivers - [briefly]
01:36 PM EDT - Oct,22 2019 - post a comment NVIDIA today released the latest version of its GeForce Software suite. Version 440.97 WHQL comes game-ready for "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare," and "The Outer Worlds," including SLI support for the latter on "Turing" GPUs. SLI support is also added for "The Darwin Project." The drivers also introduce G-SYNC support for OpenGL and Vulkan games and applications.
Among the bugs fixed are crash-to-desktop (CTD) on FIFA 19 and FIFA 20; random flickering in "Apex Legends," CTD on "Star Wars: Battlefront II," an application crash with "Growtopia," missing objects in "Tradesmen," flickering in the character-selection screen in "World of Warcraft," a ghosting effect when moving the brush tool in Cinema 4D; a game crash with "Shadow of the Tomb Raider" in DirectX 12 mode, color corruption in "Forza 4," and problems with boosting GeForce GTX 970M.
Game Ready
Provides increased performance and the optimal gaming experience for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and The Outer Worlds.
Gaming Technology
Adds support for windowed G-SYNC for OpenGL and Vulkan-based applications.
Application SLI Profiles
Added or updated the following SLI profiles:- Darwin Project
- The Outer Worlds (NVIDIA Turing GPUs only)
New Features and Other Changes- G-SYNC is now supported on windowed OpenGL and Vulkan applications.
- Fixed flashes or frame drops in several Notebook models when running G-SYNC in the lower of the two system refresh rates.
Fixed Issues in this Release- [FIFA 19/FIFA 20]: The game may crash to the desktop. [2690624/2713659/200559659]
- [Apex Legends]: Random flickering occurs on the screen. [2709770]
- [Star Wars: Battlefront II]: Random crashes to the desktop occur. [200550245]
- [Growtopia][GeForce RTX]: The game crashes when launched. [2709649]
- [Tradesmen OS3DE]: Objects are missing in the game. [2691363]
- [World of Warcraft]: Flickering occurs on the character select screen. [2684628]
- [Cinema 4D]: Trailing ghosting effect appears when moving the brush tool. [2633267]
- [Shadow Of The Tomb Raider][DirectX 12]: The game crashes after hitting a TDR error.[200549489]
- [Forza Horizon 4]: Colored corruption appears in the game during gameplay. [200544234]
- [Notebook][GeForce GTX 970M]: GPU clock cannot be boosted beyond base clock speed. [2683147]
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NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER launches October 29th - [hardware]
12:50 PM EDT - Oct,22 2019 - post a comment NVIDIA has confirmed that a new variant for its GTX1660 GPUs, the GTX 1660 SUPER, will come out on October 29th.
According to Videocardz, the GeForce GTX 1660 Super will launch at $229 (MSRP). Pricing will naturally vary on custom models, depending on things like the cooling solution and whether or not there is a factory overclock, among other features. However, the $229 MSRP is just $10 more than the regular GeForce GTX 1660.
It's nice to see so little movement in the price for an upgraded card-$10 is not much of a spike. Granted, both the GeForce RTX 2080 Super and GeForce RTX 2070 Super launched at the same MSRPs as the non-Super variants ($699 and $499, respectively), but the GeForce RTX 2060 Super debuted for $50 more than the GeForce RTX 2060 ($399 versus $349). As for the specifications, here's how the GeForce GTX 1660 Super compares to its neighboring Turing cards, based on leaked data:
- GeForce GTX 1660 Ti: 1,536 CUDA cores, 1,500MHz base / 1,770MHz boost, 6GB GDDR6 (12Gbps) on 192-bit bus
- GeForce GTX 1660 Super: 1,408 CUDA cores, 1530MHz base / 1785MHz boost, 6GB GDDR6 (14Gbps) on 192-bit bus
- GeForce GTX 1660: 1,408 CUDA cores, 1,530MHz base / 1,785MHz boost, 6GB GDDR5 (8Gbps) on 192-bit bus
- GeForce GTX 1650: 896 CUDA cores, 1,485MHz base / 1,665MHz boost, 4GB GDDR5 (8Gbps) on 128-bit bus
In short, the GeForce GTX 1660 Super will get an upgrade from GDDR5 (8Gbps) memory to GDDR6 (14Gbps), while retaining the same number of CUDA cores and clockspeeds as the non-Super model. This in turn will bump up the memory bandwidth, from 192GB/s to 336GB/s.
The memory bandwidth is even higher than the GeForce GTX 1660 Ti, which is a nice perk. That said, the TI card is still the burlier model by way of having more CUDA cores enabled.
One thing that will be interesting to see is what kind of discounts might emerge on the regular GeForce GTX 1660. Vendors will likely be looking to clear out existing inventories, and with Black Friday and Cyber Monday right around the corner, there could be some tantalizing sales. |
Microsoft Pushes Intel 'Haswell' Microcode Update to Harden Against - [security]
06:13 PM EDT - Oct,20 2019 - post a comment Microsoft started deploying microcode updates to some of Intel's older Core, Pentium, and Celeron processor generations through Windows Update. The latest Cumulative Update packages chronicled under "KB4497165" apply to machines running Intel's 4th generation Core "Haswell" processors, and low-power Pentium and Celeron chips based on "Apollo Lake," "Gemini Lake," "Valley View," and "Cherry View" microarchitectures.
The microcode update provides firmware-level hardening against four major variants of the MDS class of security vulnerabilities, namely CVE-2019-11091 (MDS Uncacheable Memory), CVE-2018-12126 (Microarchitectural Store Buffer Data Sampling), CVE-2018-12127 (Microarchitectural Load Port Data Sampling), and CVE-2018-12130 (Microarchitectural Fill Buffer Data Sampling). |
This 'Invisibility Cloak' Technology Is Mind-Boggling - [technology]
07:04 AM EDT - Oct,19 2019 - post a comment Harry Potter's invisibility cloak appears closer to reality as Canadian camouflage manufacturer Hyperstealth Biotechnology has applied for patents on its Quantum Stealth material.
The inexpensive and paper-thin technology works by bending light around a target to either alter its position or make it vanish altogether, leaving only the background visible. It is touted to be able to obscure the positions of heavy artillery, ground troops or even entire buildings from certain viewpoints.
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Windows 10 v1903 and 1909 CPU requirements - [briefly]
01:19 PM EDT - Oct,18 2019 - post a comment Microsoft is ready to release its next feature update for Windows 10, the November 2019 Update. As usual, the company has updated its processor requirements for the new version, but there are some surprises in there. For one thing, it retroactively changed the requirements for version 1903 while it was at it. It's a reasonable thing to do, since Windows 10 version 1909 is really just version 1903 with an enablement package to light up some new features. If 1909 supports certain new processors, then 1903 must support them as well.
On the Intel side of things, Microsoft updated them to say that they support 10th-generation Core processors, along with Xeon E-22xx. There's also support for Atom J4xxx/J5xxx and N4xxx/N5xxx, Celeron, and Pentium, although specific models of Celeron and Pentium aren't listed. On a side note, Intel 10th-gen is listed as Core i3/i5/i7/i9-10xxx, despite no 10th-gen Core i9 existing just yet.
In the AMD department, there's still support for the company's seventh-generation processors, including A-series, E-series, and FX-9000, along with Athlon 2xx, Opteron, and EPYC 7xxx. What's new for AMD is support for Ryzen 3xxx CPUs, where previously only Ryzen 2xxx processors were listed.
What's more interesting is the Qualcomm CPUs that are listed. Previously, version 1903 supported the Snapdragon 850, but that's removed and replaced with both the Snapdragon 855 and the Snapdragon 8cx. It's unclear if this is a misprint, but the Snapdragon 855 was never supposed to be a PC chipset; it's for smartphones. It's possible that Microsoft meant to write Snapdragon 850, which is a PC chipset that's based on the Snapdragon 845. |
Intel Could Unveil First Discrete 10 nm GPUs in mid-2020 - [hardware]
04:20 AM EDT - Oct,18 2019 - post a comment According to the sources close to DigiTimes, Intel will unveil its first discrete 10 nm graphics cards named "Xe" very soon, with the first wave of Xe GPUs expected to arrive some time in 2020. Said to launch mid year, around July or August, Intel will start selling initial Xe GPU models of the long awaited product to consumers, in hope of gaining a share in the massive market using GPU for acceleration of all kinds of tasks.
Perhaps one of the most interesting notes DigiTimes reported is that "... Intel's GPUs have already received support from the upstream supply chain and has already been integrated into Intel's CPUs to be used in the datacenter and AI fields.", meaning that AIB partners already have access to first 10 nm graphics chips that are ready for system integration. First generation of Xe graphics cards will cover almost whole GPU market, including PC, datacenter, and AI applications where NVIDIA currently holds the top spot. |
Get Observer and Alan Wake's American Nightmare for free - [gaming]
05:09 PM EDT - Oct,17 2019 - post a comment The Epic Games Store is giving away not one, but two creepy games in time for Halloween - both Alan Wake's American Nightmare and Observer are available for free from October 17 to October 24. The psychological horror games will replace Surviving Mars and its DLC as the free weekly content offered in the Epic Games Store.
Alan Wake's American Nightmare is a spin-off of the classic thriller Alan Wake. Much of the game is structured around an episode of Night Springs, an in-universe show that's an obvious homage to The Twilight Zone. Alan Wake's friend is asleep in a motel room while the show plays on the TV, and a narrator explains the action as it plays out. In the episode, Alan is trying to chase down his evil doppelganger, Mr. Scratch, but gets stuck in a time loop and must keep repeating his actions.
Observer is a cyberpunk horror game from Layers of Fear developer Bloober Team that stars Rutger Hauer (you know, the guy from Blade Runner). It's set in a futuristic Poland, where you play as Daniel Lazarski, a detective who can hack people's brain implants in order to interrogate them. When Daniel receives an unexpected call from his estranged son, a fragmented, trippy mystery lays itself out before you.
After that
another
Free Game Collection will take its place, offering
Layers of Fear and Q.U.B.E.
2 at no charge. |
PCI-Express Gen 6.0 Specification to Finalize by 2021 - [briefly]
05:23 AM EDT - Oct,16 2019 - (2 comments) With 64 Gbps bandwidth per lane, 256 Gbps in x4, and a whopping 1 Tbps in x16 (128 GB/s per direction), PCI-Express 6.0 will debut in 2021 as 5G adoption hits critical mass in markets across the globe, to support server nodes, high-bandwidth network infrastructure, and lighting fast I/O for HPC and AI applications. Development of the new standard is already underway, with the specification having achieved a pre-release version 0.3, according to the PCI-SIG, the body that develops and maintains the PCI IP.
Further development, prototyping, and testing of the standard will run through 2020 as drafts of the standard are dispatched to interested parties. With the specification published in 2021, the first devices implementing it could arrive the following year. Granted, very few devices need 1 Tbps bandwidth, but the exercise of doubling bandwidth every 3 or so years has its maximum impact on devices that only have wiring for one PCIe lane, and directly impacts bandwidth of other I/O specifications that are derived from PCIe, such as USB, Thunderbolt, CXL, etc. |
Data for a whopping 26M stolen payment cards leaked in hack of fraud b - [security]
05:30 PM EDT - Oct,15 2019 - (1 comments) A thriving online bazaar selling stolen payment card data has been hacked in a heist that leaked the records for more than 26 million cards, KrebsOnSecurity reported on Tuesday. The 26 million figure isn't significant only to the legitimate consumers and businesses who own the stolen cards or the financial institutions that issued them. Fortunately for the card owners, the database is now in the hands of affected financial institutions, who can invalidate and replace the cards.
The number, therefore, is perhaps a bigger deal because it represents a significant fraction of the world's stolen-card inventory. Krebs said that Gemini Advisory, a company that monitors dozens of underground markets trafficking stolen card data, currently tracks a total of 87 million credit and debit card records. The haul of 26 million cards means that about a third of that supply has been taken out of circulation in a single swipe.
The hacked market is called BriansClub, a site available at BriansClub[.]at that, for years, has imitated Krebs' site and likeness. The data taken in the hack shows that BriansClub acquired 1.7 million cards in 2015, 2.9 million in 2016, 4.9 million in 2017, 9.2 million in 2018, and 7.6 million in the first eight months of this year. Most of the pilfered data is composed of "dumps," the term card thieves use to describe data that's stored on the magnetic stripe of payment cards. The stolen dumps can be transferred to new cards that crooks use to buy electronics, gift cards, and other large-ticket items from big-box stores. An analysis based on how many of the cards had expiration dates in the future suggests that more than 14 million of the leaked records could still be valid. |
Streaming Game Services Launching - [briefly]
01:10 PM EDT - Oct,15 2019 - post a comment Google today announced that its Stadia game-streaming service will launch on November 19th. Separately, Microsoft has formally launched a public preview of its xCloud game streaming service, starting with Android.
Stadia Founder's Edition will start arriving on gamers' doorsteps on November 19, 2019. If you were one of the first gamers who pre-ordered and have received your Founder's Editions, you'll be able to buy and play your favorite games beginning at 9AM PST/5PM BST/6PM CET on November 19. You can play Red Dead Redemption 2, Mortal Kombat 11, Kine, and more on your TV, laptop, desktop, and select tablets and phones.
Whether you ordered Stadia Founder's Edition or Premiere Edition, you'll have three months of Stadia Pro, with access to Destiny 2: The Collection. Using the included Chromecast Ultra and Stadia Controller, you'll be gaming in up to 4K HDR with 5.1 surround sound when playing on your TV. For any questions on what devices are supported, broadband internet connection requirements, and the details on Stadia Pro, visit stadia.com.
Stadia Founder's Editions and Stadia Premiere Editions will begin shipping in the same order that pre-orders were received. You'll get an email when your package ships, and soon after, will receive a code to activate your Stadia account and Stadia Pro.
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Google Pixel 4 Uses RADAR to Read Hand Gestures - [mobile]
01:04 PM EDT - Oct,15 2019 - post a comment Google has unveiled the Pixel 4 and Pixel 4 XL, its new own-brand flagship Android phones. The phones have Motion Sense, which uses a tiny RADAR sensor to read mid-air hand gestures, and power advanced face recognition for phone security. Google claims its face unlock is the fastest on the market, and requires no screen touch at all. This technology was first developed as Google's Project Soli. The OLED display supports an auto-adjusting refresh rate, up to 90 Hz. The Pixel 4 also reacts to squeeze gestures. The Pixel 4 comes with Google Recorder, which includes real-time, on-device voice recognition and dictation that produces searchable transcripts. The camera includes both standard (12 megapixel, f/1.7, 77-degree field of view) and telephoto (16 megapixel, 52-degree field of view) lenses, as well as multi-frame hi-res digital zoom. The improved HDR+ now supports live preview and dual exposure controls for greater creative control. An AI-powered white balance feature recognizes scene elements to provide better color. The improved portrait function uses both cameras. The new night mode supports astrophotography with long exposures up to 4 minutes. The larger XL model has a 6.3-inch QHD+ display and 3,700 battery, while the smaller model has a 5.7-inch FHD+ display and 2,800 mAh battery. Both models have a Snapdragon 855 processor, 6 GB of RAM, 64 or 128 GB of storage, and 18W fast charging. The Pixel 4 will be available from all major US carriers on October 24th, with pre-orders available today. It will start at $799 ($899 for the XL) and come in Just Black, Clearly White, and Oh So Orange.
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You can now play 2500 MS-DOS games in your browser for free - [gaming]
12:55 PM EDT - Oct,15 2019 - post a comment Internet Archive has released a new update, allowing you to play 2500 MS-DOS games on your browser for free. In case you didn't know, Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library that archives digital versions of old PC/MS-DOS games, books, audio recordings and videos.
According to the team, this latest update ranges from tiny recent independent productions to long-forgotten big-name releases from decades ago. Therefore, you can now play for free Mortal Kombat, Doom, Jurassic Park and Alone in the Dark. You can also find Shadow Warrior, Duke Nukem 3D, Redneck Rampage and more classic PC games.
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What if We Nuke a City? - [briefly]
05:07 PM EDT - Oct,14 2019 - post a comment Nuclear weapons and their destructive powers are frequently portrayed in popular culture, but we're less informed of their real impact. Here's what would happen if a nuclear weapon was actually detonated in a city today.
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Nvidia's GeForce Now streaming service is now available for Android - [gaming]
04:46 PM EDT - Oct,14 2019 - post a comment Mobile gaming, and especially game streaming to mobile devices, is about to hit the market in a pretty big way, and Nvidia is ready to join the fight. After it initially announced back in August that it would be bringing its GeForce Now streaming service to Android devices, the respective app is now available on the Play Store, at least in South Korea, according to 9to5Google. The GeForce Now app for Android does pretty what you'd expect it to do. Just like on PC, Mac, or Nvidia's own Shield, it enables you to play your games by streaming them from the cloud, rather than rendering them on the device. For Android, it also enables touch controls if you don't have a separate controller at hand - though you'll probably want to.
While the Play Store listing is currently not working in many countries around the world, you can find the installer package online and sideload the app. Note, however, that downloading software from unofficial sources can be risky, and you shouldn't do it if you're concerned about keeping your device secure.
Nvidia's GeForce Now service has been in beta testing for a while, and it's been free during that period, though you will have to pay for it once it's out of beta. It includes over 1,000 titles, which should give the company a bit of a head start over rivals coming into the market now. |
Low-flying helicopter wrecks VIP podium at Indonesian army parade - [off-topic]
05:29 AM EDT - Oct,12 2019 - post a comment Something went profoundly wrong when pilots manning a Russian-built attack helicopter flew too low during #Indonesia's spectacular #military event.
Footage shared by netizens shows a Mil Mi-35 #helicopter approaching a VIP podium heavily decorated with patriotic banners. Seconds later, the entire installation collapses like a house of cards as the powerful aircraft makes the devastating fly-by.
Fortunately, no one was hurt at the parade marking the 74th anniversary of the Indonesian armed forces.
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Nubia Red Magic 3S Offers Gaming Specs for $479 - [mobile]
06:16 PM EDT - Oct,10 2019 - post a comment The Nubia Red Magic 3S gaming phone will launch next week - October 16th - starting at $479. It has a faster processor (Snapdragon 855+) and storage (UFS 3.0) than original Red Magic 3, but the specs and design are otherwise almost identical. It has a 6.7-inch, full-HD OLED display with 90 Hz refresh rate, 240 Hz touch sampling rate, 5,000 mAh battery, shoulder buttons, liquid+air cooling with integrated fan, and a customizable light-up strip on the back. It also has a 48-megapixel Sony main camera, 3.5mm headset jack, fingerprint reader, and 27W fast charging. It does not have NFC, wireless charging, nor a memory card slot. It supports LTE 2/4/5/12/25/26/30/41/66 for US networks, giving it better support for AT&T's network than many other unlocked phones. The base version has 8 GB of RAM / 128 GB of storage, and is available in black or silver for $479 direct from the Red Magic web site. An upgraded "Cyber Shade" version has 12 GB RAM / 256 GB storage and a red/purple gradient design for $599. |
Microsoft won't fix an important security flaw in Windows 10 Mobile - [security]
04:50 PM EDT - Oct,10 2019 - post a comment Microsoft has published details of CVE-2019-1314, a security vulnerability in Windows 10 Mobile that allows users to access your photo library from Cortana without unlocking the device. Naturally, you're only at risk if you have Cortana enabled on the lock screen, so the workaround is to turn that feature off. What's more interesting is that Microsoft isn't going to fix it, as it clearly pointed out in the bulletin. While support for most versions of Windows 10 Mobile - including 1511, 1607, and 1703 - has ended, support for version 1709 doesn't end until December 10; indeed, it still receives new cumulative updates on every Patch Tuesday. The updates it receives aren't exactly meaningful or even specific to Windows 10 Mobile. The various changelogs only ever say that the update includes the same fixes as the update for Windows 10 version 1703 or 1709. It's not surprising that Microsoft is putting minimal effort into Windows 10 Mobile though, given that most users have moved on to iOS or Android by now. The severity of the security feature bypass is listed as 'important', but the good news is that the person trying to access your photos needs to have physical access to the device. Of course, you can always just turn off Cortana on the lock screen. |
Adobe Pulls the Plug on Venezuela - [briefly]
04:40 PM EDT - Oct,09 2019 - post a comment With U.S. economic sanctions on Venezuela taking effect, Adobe discontinued its Creative Cloud (CC) subscription service in the country, stranding thousands of creators without their creative apps. Adobe switched to SaaS-only in several markets and the only legal way for creators to use popular Adobe apps such as Photoshop, Premier, Acrobat, Lightroom, and Illustrator, is through CC. Much like Steam, CC is a DRM platform that lets you subscribe to Adobe apps on monthly or annual payment plans, and provides you with the latest versions of the apps, with regular updates. You also get access to cloud-storage an asset library, and a social network of creators.
Adobe's exit from Venezuela isn't sudden, the company has given Venezuelan creators until October 28th to download any content stored on their accounts. From October 29th, Adobe's servers will longer respond to requests from Venezuela. This also means Creative Cloud apps will break. CC authenticates users by dialing home each time an app is launched. If a user is falling behind on subscription payments or if the app can't reach Adobe servers, they are usually given a 14-day grace period before the app stops working. Executive Order 13884 signed by President Trump strips Venezuela of all U.S. businesses, which would include payment processors such as Visa and MasterCard. |
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