AMD’s eSports push improves performance in ‘PUBG’ and ‘Dota 2’

As AMD seeks to remain competitive in the PC gaming hardware space, it’s focusing on optimizing performance for some of the most popular eSports titles around, including Overwatch, Dota 2 and PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds. Its latest edition of the Radeon Software Adrenalin Edition (18.3.1) packs tweaks courtesy of an internal group — unveiled during the Vega launch — called Project ReSX (Radeon eSports Experience), that it says worked directly with developers to optimize performance.

The fruits of their labor (measured on a PC with 8GB Radeon RX 580, Intel i7 7700K CPU (4.2GHz), 16GB DDR4-3000 Mhz system memory, and Windows 10 x64) mean an 11 percent better framerate in PUBG running at 1080p (69.6 fps), 3 percent improvement for Overwatch at 1440p (117.9 fps) and 6 percent better in Dota 2 at 4K res (95.9 fps). Other tweaks are implemented to improve “99th percentile” frame performance of the frames that are hardest for a GPU to render, and input response time.

We’re not sure if that’s enough to pull gamers away from NVIDIA cards they might have, but if you’re using one of the Radeon setups, then you can grab the newest drivers right here. In a time when good GPUs are hard to find thanks to cryptocurrency mining, we need as many good options as we can get.

Source: AMD

China’s tests for a global satellite network will start this year

Last month SpaceX launched a couple of satellites to test plans for a global internet provider (you can watch another non-internet satellite launch tonight), and now the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corp (CASIC) said it will perform a test of its own later this year. CASIC Second Academy president Zhang Zhongyang announced today that the first satellite will be placed in low-Earth orbit to test its broadband tech, capable of transmitting 500MB per second, to prep for the Hongyun project’s planned 156 satellites.

After the first one goes up, four satellites will launch before 2020, with the full network scheduled to be in place by 2022 providing coverage around the world. While most satellites orbit at about 36,000 km above the Earth, these will stay at just 1,000 km. The Nation quotes Zhang saying “Hongyun will enable our users to enjoy broadband internet service no matter whether they are in the desert, on the sea or onboard an airliner.”

Via: Parabolic Arc

Source: China Daily, The Nation

Apple’s Spike Jonze-directed HomePod ad makes lofty promises

Silly us. We worried that Apple’s HomePod could fall behind because Siri isn’t quite as capable as competing virtual assistants. As the just-debuted HomePod advertisement helpfully illustrates, the $349 speaker can do so much more than that. As near as we can tell, each purchase will include built-in apartment expansion, Spike Jonze visuals and dance-offs with FKA Twigs set to a brand-new Apple Music-exclusive Anderson .Paak song (Til It’s Over). Or maybe it will just sound that way?

Source: Apple (YouTube)

Tangled ‘particle’ helps scientists model rare ball lightning

Ball lightning (those bright spheres of light during some thunderstorms) remains mysterious despite decades of study. But how are you supposed to get a better look at it in a lab? Researchers might have discovered how through a happy accident: create a tangled atomic mess. They created a Shankar skyrmion, a quasiparticle whose artificial magnetic field, it turns out, mimics the electrical and magnetic fields of ball lightning. The team applied a magnetic field to a Bose-Einstein condensate (a state of matter for boson gas cooled to near absolute zero), in this case made of rubidium, to get the atoms to spin along the surface of a ball yet twist inside that ball.

It sounds complex (and it is), but it leads to one clear advantage: you can take snapshots of the gas and examine the inner workings of its structure. This could help understand the behavior of ball lightning, of course, but it could be also be useful for the next generation of computing. Quantum computers need to maintain a coherent state despite the outside environment — since skyrmions can be deformed without losing their properties, they could be ideal for quantum machines that can function outside of ideal conditions.

Via: Gizmodo

Source: Science Advances

Ubisoft clamps down on ‘Rainbow Six: Siege’ hate speech

It’s not just Blizzard taking more aggressive steps to fight toxic behavior. Ubisoft has revealed that it’s implementing an upgraded system for banning players who use hate speech in Rainbow Six: Siege matches. The developer now tracks how often players are reported using hate speech and issues bans accordingly, ranging from 2 days for the lightest uses to a permanent ban for the most egregious offenders. And if you do get a ban, Ubisoft won’t beat around the bush — it’ll tell you that the ban was due to “toxicity.”

This is a “first step” toward controlling toxic behavior in Siege, the company said, and more is coming in the future.

Ubisoft has always forbidden racism, sexism, homophobia and harassment in the tactical shooter, but that hasn’t stopped bigots from hurling slurs and otherwise making life miserable for others. That’s a problem in any game, but it’s particularly bad in a popular title whose audience is still growing over 2 years after launch. If Ubisoft doesn’t do something, it risks alienating newcomers and limiting its audience to those willing to endure the abuse.

Via: Kotaku, Gamasutra

Source: Reddit

What’s on TV: ‘Jessica Jones,’ ‘Darwin Project’ and ‘Lady Bird’

This week we double up on Marvel releases as Thor: Ragnarok is available on Blu-ray (in 4K and HDR), and Netflix premieres season two of its Jessica Jones series. For gamers Life is Strange: Before the Storm wraps up its episodic run with a bonus episode and boxed set release, while The Darwin Project launches in Early Access on PC and Xbox One. Amazon Prime is streaming the second season of Sneaky Pete and NBC starts the next season of Timeless. Look after the break to check out each day’s highlights, including trailers and let us know what you think (or what we missed).

Blu-ray & Games & Streaming

• Thor: Ragnarok (4K)
• I, Tonya (VOD)
• Blue Planet II (4K)
• Lady Bird
• The Dark Crystal (4K)
• Death Wish (Steelbook)
• Duck, You Sucker
• Lords of Dogtown
• The Strangers
• Life is Strange: Before the Storm – Farewell (PC, Xbox One, PS4)
• Way of the Passive Fist (PS4, PC)
• North (PS4, Xbox One)
• Scribblenauts Showdown (Switch, PS4)
• Fear Effect Sedna (PS4, Xbox One)
• Final Fantasy XV Royal Edition (PS4, Xbox One, PC)
• Rangi (PS VR)
• Bravo Team (PS VR)
• Midnight Deluxe (PS4, Switch)
• VR Football Club (PS4, PC)
• I, Zombie (Switch)
• TT Isle of Man – Ride on the Edge (Xbox One, PS4)
• ACA NeoGeo Real Bout Fatal Fury (Switch)
• Nine Parchments (Xbox One, PS4)
• One Eye Kutkh (Xbox One, PS4)
• Audio Beats (PS VR)
• The Darwin Project (PC, Xbox One Early Access – 3/9)
• Train Sim World: Founders Edition (Xbox One – 3/9)

Monday

• The World’s Most Extraordinary Homes (S1), Netflix, 3 AM
• D.C.’s Legend’s of Tomorrow, CW, 8 PM
• Kevin Can Wait, CBS, 8 PM
• Lucifer, Fox, 8 PM
• The Voice, NBC, 8 PM
• Man with a Plan, CBS, 8:30 PM
• The Alienist, TNT, 9 PM
• iZombie, CW, 9 PM
• The Resident, Fox, 9 PM
• Superior Donuts, CBS, 9 PM
• Living Biblically, CBS, 9:30 PM
• Siesta Key (season finale), MTV, 10 PM
• American Dad, TBS, 10 PM
• McMafia, AMC, 10 PM
• Shoot the Messenger, WGN, 10 PM
• Good Girls, NBC, 10 PM
• Final Space, TBS, 10:30 PM

Tuesday

• Borderliner (S1), Netflix, 3 AM
• Gad Elmaleh: American Dream, Netflix, 3 AM
• The Fosters, Freeform, 8 PM
• Lethal Weapon, Fox, 8 PM
• NCIS, CBS, 8 PM
• WWE Smackdown, USA, 8 PM
• The Voice, NBC, 8 PM
• Black Lightning, CW, 9 PM
• Bull, CBS, 9 PM
• The Challenge, MTV, 9 PM
• LA to Vegas, Fox, 9 PM
• This is Us, NBC, 9 PM
• The Mick, Fox, 9:30 PM
• Baskets, FX, 10 PM
• Drunk History (spring finale), Comedy Central, 10 PM
• Bellevue, WGN, 10 PM
• Hate Thy Neighbor, Viceland, 10 PM
• Kevin (Probably) Saves the World, ABC, 10 PM
• NCIS: NO, CBS, 10 PM
• The Quad, BET, 10 PM
• Undercover High, A&E, 10 PM
• Unsolved: The Murders of Tupac and The Notorious B.I.G., USA, 10 PM
• Chicago Med, NBC, 10 PM
• Another Period, Comedy Central, 10:30 PM
• The Detour, TBS, 10:30 PM

Wednesday

• The Path, Hulu, 3 AM
• The Looming Tower, Hulu, 3 AM
• Hard Sun (S1), Hulu, 3 AM
• The X-Files, Fox, 8 PM
• Grown-ish, Freeform, 8 PM
• The Goldbergs, ABC, 8 PM
• Survivor, CBS, 8 PM
• The Blacklist, NBC, 8 PM
• Speechless, ABC, 8:30 PM
• Alone Together, Freeform, 8:30 PM
• Life Sentence (series premiere), CW, 9 PM
• Law & Order: SVU, NBC, 9 PM
• 9-1-1, Fox, 9 PM
• Modern Family, ABC, 9 PM
• The Magicians, Syfy, 9 PM
• Seal Team, CBS, 9 PM
• American Housewife, ABC, 9:30 PM
• Channel Zero, Syfy, 10 PM
• Designated Survivor, ABC, 10 PM
• American Crime Story: The Assassination of Gianni Versace, 10 PM
• Slutever, Viceland, 10 PM
• Catfish, MTV, 10 PM
• Corporate, Comedy Central, 10 PM
• Criminal Minds, CBS, 10 PM
• Trixie & Katya Show, Viceland, 10:30 PM
• Full Frontal with Samantha Bee, TBS, 10:30 PM

Thursday

• Marvel’s Jessica Jones (S2), Netflix, 3 AM
• Ladies First, Netflix, 3 AM
• Bad Guys: Vile City (S1), Netflix, 3 AM
• Liberation Day, Sundance Now, 3 AM
• The Oath (S1), Crackle, 3 AM
• Gotham: A Dark Knight, Fox, 8 PM
• The Big Bang Theory, CBS, 8 PM
• Superstore, NBC, 8 PM
• Grey’s Anatomy, ABC, 8 PM
• Beyond, Freeform, 8 PM
• Supernatural, CW, 8 PM
• A.P. Bio, NBC, 8:30 PM
• Young Sheldon, CBS, 8:30 PM
• American Ninja Warrior: Ninja vs. Ninja, USA, 9 PM
• Scandal, ABC, 9 PM
• Arrow, CW, 9 PM
• Will & Grace, NBC, 9 PM
• Showtime at the Apollo, Fox, 9 PM
• Champions (series premiere), NBC, 9:30 PM
• Life in Pieces, CBS, 9:30 PM
• Lip Sync Battle, Paramount, 9:30 & 10 PM
• Atlanta, FX, 10 PM
• Black Card Revoked, BET, 10 PM
• How to Get Away With Murder, ABC, 10 PM
• S.W.A.T., CBS, 10 PM
• Portlandia, IFC, 10 PM
• Thursday Night Darts, BBC America, 10 PM
• The Rundown with Robin Thede, BET, 11 PM

Friday

• Sneaky Pete (S2), Amazon Prime, 3 AM
• Love (S3), Netflix, 3 AM
• Collateral (S1), Netflix, 3 AM
• A.I.C.O. (S1), Netflix, 3 AM
• The Outsider, Netflix, 3 AM
• Nailed It (S1), Netflix, 3 AM
• The Remix (S1), Amazon Prime, 3 AM
• My Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman: Malala Yousafzai, Netflix, 3 AM
• Dreamworks Trolls: The Beat Goes One (S2), Netflix, 3 AM
• Fly Guys, Facebook, 12 PM
• Macguyver, CBS, 8 PM
• Once Upon A Time, ABC, 8 PM
• Blindspot, NBC, 8 PM
• The Dynasty, CW, 8 PM
• Jane the Virgin, CW, 9 PM
• Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., ABC, 9 PM
• Hawaii Five-0, CBS, 9 PM
• Taken, NBC, 9 PM
• ELeague Road to the Boston Major, TBS, 10 PM
• Blue Bloods, CBS, 10 PM
• Strike Back, Cinemax, 10 PM
• High Maintenance, HBO, 11 PM
• This Is Not Happening, Comedy Central, 12 AM

Saturday

• Big East Basketball Tournament Championship Game, Fox, 6:30 PM
• Stalked by a Reality Star, Lifetime, 8 PM
• Spurs/Thunder, ABC, 8:30 PM
• Planet Earth: Blue Planet II (making of), BBC America, 9 PM
• Falling Water (season finale), USA, 10 PM
• Saturday Night Live: Sterling K. Brown / James Bay, NBC, 11:30 PM

Sunday

• The Good Fight, CBS All Access, 3 AM
• American Ninja Warrior: USA vs. the World, NBC, 7 PM
• Fear Factor, MTV, 7 PM
• 60 Minutes, CBS, 8 PM
• American Idol (season premiere), ABC, 8 PM
• Our Cartoon President, Showtime, 8 PM
• The 2018 iHeartRadio Music Awards, TNT/TBS, 8 PM
• O.J. Simpson: The Lost Confession?, Fox, 8 PM
• Top Gear, BBC America, 8 PM
• Counterpart, Starz, 8 PM
• American Dynasties (series premiere), CNN, 9 PM
• The Walking Dead, AMC, 9 PM
• Unsung: Blue Magic Now, HBO, 9 PM
• Homeland, Showtime, 9 PM
• Ash vs. Evil Dead, Starz, 9 PM
• NCIS: LA, CBS, 9 PM
• The Chi, Showtime, 10 PM
• Madam Secretary, CBS, 10 PM
• Pope: The Most Powerful Man in History (series premiere), CNN, 10 PM
• Naked & Afraid (season premiere), Discovery, 10 PM
• Timeless (season premiere), NBC, 10 PM
• Deception (series premiere), ABC, 10 PM
• Talking Dead, AMC, 10 PM
• Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, HBO, 11 PM

[All times listed are in ET]

Six more tech companies join fight to save net neutrality

Opposition to the FCC’s repeal of net neutrality grew this week, as six more tech companies filed suit against it. Etsy, Kickstarter, Foursquare, Shutterstock, Automattic and Expa petitioned the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit as part of a group called the Coalition for Internet Openness. The group’s goal is to stop the FCC from overturning the rules that ensure a free and open internet.

“We believe that everyone has the right to access information on places, spaces and people, and that business leaders and brands need to be able to interpret trends and patterns as they truly exist,” said Marc Ellenbogen, Foursquare’s chief compliance officer and general counsel.

This is just the latest group pledging to fight the FCC. Earlier this year, internet giants like Amazon, Facebook, Google, Netflix and Twitter sued the regulatory body as part of the Internet Association lobbying group. 23 attorneys general have also filed a challenge to the repeal, and the Senate is working on a resolution that might undo the FCC’s vote as well. In the meantime, states like Oregon, New Jersey and New York have attempted to come up with their own solutions to keep net neutrality alive. The FCC had voted to repeal net neutrality back in December of last year.

“The fight for net neutrality is the fight for civil liberties, and a more vibrant culture,” said Candace Martin, Kickstarter’s commercial counsel, in a statement. “Without it, the free and equal exchange of ideas is at risk.”

Source: CNET

Survey Explores Why iPhone Owners Haven’t Upgraded to iPhone X

iPhone users who haven’t upgraded to the iPhone X were recently queried on why they’ve held out on purchasing a new phone, with the majority citing reasons like high price and a lack of compelling features.

A survey conducted by Piper Jaffray analyst Michael Olson and shared by Philip Elmer-DeWitt this morning asked 1,500 people who own an iPhone but didn’t upgrade to the iPhone X to explain their reasoning.

44 percent of respondents said they hadn’t upgraded because their iPhone works fine, suggesting there were no standout features compelling them to purchase a new device, while 31 percent said the iPhone X was too expensive at a starting price of $999.

Eight percent of respondents said the iPhone X’s screen isn’t large enough, while 17 percent had another reason entirely.

Piper Jaffray believes the iPhones coming in 2018 will address most of these issues, with Apple rumored to be planning to introduce three devices. One will be a followup to the iPhone X with a 5.8-inch OLED display, a second will have a larger 6.5-inch OLED display, and a third will feature a 6.1-inch LCD display with a lower price tag.

All upcoming 2018 iPhones are rumored to feature an edge-to-edge display with no bezels and a TrueDepth camera system for Face ID, along with other improvements like a faster A12 processor.

Piper Jaffray believes Apple will sell 233.8M iPhones in fiscal 2019, with the 2018 iPhones set to drive ongoing upgrades well into next year.

Related Roundups: iPhone X, 2018 iPhonesBuyer’s Guide: iPhone X (Buy Now)
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‘Life is Strange: Before the Storm’ ends with ‘Farewell’ DLC episode

If looking for more nostalgic content from episodic prequel Life is Strange: Before the Storm, you’re in luck. A new bonus episode, titled “Farewell,” is available now on Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and Steam (PC). It stars Chloe and Max’s original voice actors Ashly Burch and Hanna Telle, too, so you know it will be up to snuff. In addition, the boxed retail version of the game will launch March 6th in the US, with PAL versions available on Friday, March 9th. The box will contain a physical art book and the licensed soundtrack on CD.

Before the Storm is set in Arcadia Bay three years before the events of the first game, Life is Strange. You play as 16-year-old Chloe Price as she makes friends with Rachel Amber, a popular girl who seems set for success until a family secret threatens to destroy it all. “We can’t wait for fans to play ‘Farewell.’ Max’s return is the perfect way to end the season and we can’t wait for fans to experience Life is Strange with her one last time,” said Deck Nine Games’ Jeff Litchford. “We want to thank the fans who have enjoyed this incredible journey with us, we know they will miss Chloe, Rachel and Max as much as we will.”

Bentley’s first plug-in hybrid is an ultra-luxurious SUV

Bentley has been promising a hybrid version of its Bentayga SUV for over 3 years, and it’s finally here… although you might not want to pat yourself on the back if you buy one. The simply-titled Bentayga Hybrid delivers the same ultra-luxurious design of the regular model, but replaces the usual powerplant with a 3.0L V6 and an electric motor. However, that motor will only get you about 31 miles of pure electric driving — fine if you’re a footballer driving to the local nightclub, but not very useful for visiting family. It’s meant more to offset the lousy fuel economy from the V6, which musters just 12MPG in the city and 19MPG on the highway.

You do get some perks that you won’t find in many other PHEV models. For one, famed designer Philippe Starck crafted the charging station — you may not mind that it takes 2.5 hours to top up, but at least you’ll have something pretty to look at while you wait. Also, Bentley uses the GPS positioning to calculate the best times to use the electric motor when in hybrid mode, so you should only run out of electricity right when you’re arriving at your destination.

The in-cabin tech might offer more than you’re used to, as well. The 8-inch touchscreen in the center stack is complemented by a 10.2-inch removable Android tablet that offers LTE and WiFi data for those in the back.

Bentley hasn’t outlined pricing, although orders won’t start until the second half of 2018. As it is, you can safely say that the automaker is targeting a fairly narrow audience. You have to be wealthy enough to buy a luxurious SUV and eco-friendly enough to buy a hybrid, but not so eco-friendly that you’re ready to buy a fully electric option like the Tesla Model X.

Click here to catch up on the latest news from the 2018 Geneva Motor Show.

Via: Autoblog

Source: Bentley