Asus TUF 15.6-inch laptop |$999.99$899.99 at Best Buy
(roughly £700) With a GeForce RTX 2060 graphics card and AMD Ryzen 7 4800H processor, this Asus is easily the most powerful laptop for under $1000 right now. The 512GB SSD and the $100 discount are just the cherry on the top ahead of Black Friday. View Deal
If you've been searching for a solid workhorse laptop that can also be used after dark as a gaming powerhouse, then you might want to consider the 15.6-inch Asus TUF FA506IV-BR7N12 - available for just under $800 at Best Buy - that’s $200 off.
With an eight core AMD Ryzen 7 4800H processor, a 512GB PCIe SSD and a GeForce RTX 2060 graphics chip (with 6GB GDDR6 memory), this beastly Asus device is probably the most powerful laptop you can buy for under $1000 right now.
You seldom see components this powerful even in machines priced at $999.99, so in terms of bang for your buck, it's definitely up there.
The specs on this machine are so powerful, in fact, that it could even have plenty of applications outside of gaming, such as 4K video editing or CPU intensive music production.
It's also a prime candidate for a cheap VR laptop, as the 60Hz refresh rate display won't matter at all when you're inside your headset and the RTX 2060 will keep frame rates super silky smooth.
This machine comes with 8GB memory (DDR4 3200MHz), which is probably the bare minimum you'd want for gaming. At $800, and with an RTX 2060 and Ryzen 7, this is pretty understandable in our books.
Luckily, RAM is the easiest and cheapest component to upgrade in a laptop, so picking up another stick and installing it won't set you back much, and should yield great results.
It's also worth noting you get a free six-month antivirus package (Webroot Internet Security) for three devices, which itself is worth $29.99.
Here's the rundown on when a second stimulus check could make its way to you, how to estimate your total payment, and what to do if you didn't receive your first check.
Vengeful witches, angry ghosts, killer cults, evil clowns and body-snatching aliens. Watch these unusual scary films and TV shows, screaming (er, streaming) now.
A US judge in Pennsylvania blocked a US Commerce Department order set to take effect on November 12 that would have effectively barred Chinese-owned app TikTok from operating in the United States.
Doogee S96 Pro -$239.99 pre-order at Aliexpress
(£191.06/AU$431.93) The latest rugged smartphone from Doogee is now available to pre-order. Its main selling point is a 20-megapixel night vision camera and it also comes with an 18-month warranty and massive 6,350mAh battery. The only issue is its mediocre HD display.View Deal
While the rest of the world has to contend with Black Friday, the Chinese have their own version, known as Singles Day (a.k.a 11.11).
Some vendors use the occasion as the perfect excuse to pre-launch new products and slash prices ahead of the expected tsunami of orders.
Doogee, for example, has announced that the S96 Pro - billed as the first infrared night vision rugged smartphone that runs Android 10 - is now available. The device is priced at $299.99, but you can grab it for $239.99 instead if you pre-order at the Singles day price and don't mind waiting.
The S96 Pro’s unique selling point is a night vision camera based on the Sony IMX350 sensor chip, with four infrared lights and four LED lights. Doogee claims you will be able to clearly photograph any object, even in total darkness.
Note, this is different to the heat-seeking FLIR technology found in devices like the Blackview BV9900 Pro.
The rest of the spec sheet includes three rear cameras (including a 48-megapixel Samsung model), a 16-megapixel selfie camera, a Mediatek G90 chipset, 8GB of RAM, and 128GB storage (that uses Samsung’s faster UFS technology).
The only real weakness is its 6.22-inch, 1520 x 720px display; that's not even full HD resolution.
Laxmmi Bomb / Laxmii, The Mandalorian season 2, IPL 2020 final, Lego Star Wars Holiday Special, The Wonderful World of Mickey Mouse, Marvel’s 616, Inside Pixar, Grey’s Anatomy season 17, His Dark Materials season 2, A Teacher, Big Sky, Industry HBO — the biggest movies, TV series, and sporting events on Disney+ Hotstar in November 2020.
If you receive federal benefits such as Supplemental Security Income or Social Security Disability Insurance and Congress passes another stimulus relief bill, you might qualify for a second payment. Here are all the twists and turns.
Vengeful witches, angry ghosts, killer cults, evil clowns and body-snatching aliens. Watch these unusual scary films and TV shows, screaming (er, streaming) now.
Chuwi AeroBook Plus 4K laptop -$559.99 at Banggood This laptop from little-known manufacturer Chuwi is the most affordable 4K machine on the market. It certainly looks the part and its specs are decent, but shame about the outdated Intel Core i5-6287U processor. Still, this could be a great option if a super sharp display is your top priority.View Deal
Since its appearance last July, the Chuwi AeroBook Plus is still by far the cheapest 4K laptop on the market, costing hundreds of dollars less than rivals.
You can pick up this new Chuwi machine for just under $560, excluding region-specific coupons and delivery. Banggood, the marketplace where Chuwi sells its gears, ships globally (including the US, UK and Australia).
On paper, the Chuwi Aerobook Plus looks a fantastic piece of kit, especially if you're after a screen with one of the highest pixel densities on the market (making it super sharp), spread over 15.6 inches.
With a full-metal chassis, the Aerobook Plus doesn't look like a cheap device, but corners have been cut in order to reach this exceptionally low price point.
It runs on an Intel Core i5-6287U processor - a dual-core processor that was launched five years ago. It's still quite competitive thanks to a very high base clock speed and the onboard Intel Iris Graphics 550 graphics, but we can't see why Chuwi didn't opt for a more recent model (other than the usual stock issues).
The rest of the specification is decent; 8GB of DDR4 RAM, a 256GB SATA SSD, Bluetooth 5.0 and 802.11ac Wi-Fi, a 55WHr battery that can power the laptop for an estimated eight hours, a plethora of ports and a weight starting at 1.7kg.
If this product comes from mainland China, it will take at least a month to reach either the US, UK or Australia (and potentially more). You may be levied a tax either directly or through the courier.
If you've managed to get your hands on a cheaper product with equivalent specifications, in stock and brand new, let us know and we'll tip our hat to you.
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To avoid falling victim to a malware infection, users first need to be aware of which malware strains are actively being used by cybercriminals in their attacks which is why Webroot releases a list of the nastiest malware each year.
In its third annual nastiest malware list, the cybersecurity firm examined this year's biggest cyber threats and ranked them based on their severity.
According to Webroot, phishing and remote desktop protocol-related breaches remain the top methods its has observed cybercriminals using to launch their attacks. However, new malware strains and tactics are being deployed each day while others have received upgrades that made them more powerful.
This year the main trend the firm observed is modularity as cybercriminals have adopted a more modular malware methodology in which they combine attack methods and mix-and-match tactics to ensure their attacks reach their intended targets.
Nastiest malware of 2020
Emotet has once again taken the top spot on Webroot's list of the nastiest malware for the third year in a row. The malware is deployed by cybercriminals in a botnet that is used to spread ransomware and it often appears alongside TrickBot, Dridex, QakBot, Ryuk, BitPaymer and REvil.
Next up on the list is the Gozi trojan, IcedID trojan and Maze ransomware which are often deployed together. In a potential attack scenario, Gozi could end up on a machine through a malicious email, botnet or even TrickBot and then drop the IcedID trojan to help improve an attacker's chances of obtaining the credentials or information they want.
Just like TrickBot, Dridex is another popular banking/info-stealing Trojan that made Webroots's list this year. It has been around for years and is dropped via Emotet or through malicious spam campaigns. Also in a similar manner to TrickBot, Dridex spreads laterally and typically deploys ransomware such as BitPaymer/DoppelPaymer.
While these malware strains were the nastiest this year, they aren't the only ones to make the list. Other notable contenders for the nastiest malware of 2020 including the REvil and Dharma ransomware, the multi-functional malware distribution tool Valak and the info-stealing trojan QakBot.
To prevent falling victim to malware, Webroot recommends organizations lock down RDP, educate their employees about phishing, install a reputable security suite, develop a disaster recovery plan and backup up their important data.
Cloudflare has announced a new tool to help customers detect and analyse the presence of bots on their website. Called Bot Analytics, the new solution provides more detailed detection, informing users of how many bots are present and whether they can be classified as ‘good bots’ or ‘bad bots.’
Although bots have a bad reputation online, not all of them are malicious. In fact, many helpful services that employ some level of automation use bots. These are completely above board and as long as they are open about the practice, shouldn’t be prevented from visiting any sites.
On the other hand, ‘bad bots’ can be an unwelcome presence. They may be hoarding inventory or scraping content from a particular site. However, because bots represent an estimated 40% of all online traffic, determining which bots to block and which ones to allow isn’t easy. This is where Cloudflare’s Bot Analytics comes in.
“Beginning today, we are going to show you the bots that reach your website,” Ben Solomon, product manager for Bot Management at Cloudflare, explained.
“You can see these bots with a new tool called Bot Analytics. It’s fast, accurate, and loaded with information. You can query data up to one month in the past with no noticeable lag. To accomplish this, we exposed the data with GraphQL and paired it with adaptive bitrate (ABR) technology to dynamically load content. If you already have Bot Management added to your Cloudflare account, Bot Analytics is included in your service.”
Boy Analytics can be found under the Firewall tab of the Cloudflare dashboard. Enterprises without Bot Management access will only see a snapshot of their bot traffic, but that should still be enough to determine whether bots are swarming all over a webpage.
Website admins can also set their own bot threshold to determine how much automated traffic they allow. Of course, there’s no sure-fire way of keeping out all bots, but setting the right limit should ensure that more bandwidth is given to genuine website visitors.
As employees worldwide have transitioned to working from home during the pandemic, many organizations have found that the VPN services they used to use to access corporate networks securely are unable to support their massive remote workforces.
For this reason, a number of companies have begun offering new remote access tools that aim to be more secure and faster than existing corporate VPNs. Twingate is one such company and it recently announced that its new VPN alternative is now available worldwide after three months of testing.
Twingate was founded by Tony Huie, Alex Marshall and Lior Rozner and its team built their new VPN alternative by focusing on security and ease of management in the same way they did while building products at Dropbox and Microsoft. In the about page on its site, the founders explained what led them to begin building Twingate back in 2018, saying:
Also check out our roundup of the best antivirus software
“We started building Twingate in 2018 to solve the challenges every company faces around securing remote access. Although almost every technology evolved over the preceding 15 years and moved to the cloud - and although the way that people work has also changed - we were amazed to learn that remote access was still overwhelmingly provided via VPNs, a technology that has been largely unchanged since the 1990s. We discovered the reason for this was that organizations felt that complex migration paths and lack of ease of use were intimidating barriers to adopting a better, more secure approach.”
Twingate
Twingate was built from the ground up to support today's work from anywhere world and the new solution enables companies to secure their critical resources while offering a seamless experience for remote workers with simple management for IT admins. In fact, Twingate can be deployed in less than 15 minutes.
Twingate offers a number of benefits for end users including a mesh network overlay that gives them direct access to the information and applications they need, smart tunneling which 'auto-segregates' traffic, patented network congestion optimization technology and a 'Dropbox-style' experience that runs in the background and requires minimal user interaction.
On the security front, the solution supports zero trust, multiple cryptographic security checks per connection and network cloaking. Twingate also integrates with major identity providers such as Okta, Google and Microsoft to provide secure access.
In terms of pricing, Twingate offers both a free Starter plan as well as plans for Teams, Business and Enterprise.
The Starter plan allows for up to two users to use the service on two devices each and they can set up one remote network. The company's Teams plan costs $5 per user per month and allows for up to 50 users, five devices per user and five remote networks. Twingate's Business plan raises the number of users to 150 and allows for 10 remote networks as well as resource-level access control for $10 per user per month. Twingate also offers an Enterprise plan with no user or device limits and more advanced features but you will need to contact the company for a quote.
Honeywell has introduced its next-generation quantum computer the System Model H1 which features its differentiated quantum charge-coupled device (QCCD) and trapped-ion technology with a design ready to be rapidly upgraded throughout its lifetime.
The company's new quantum computer will initially offer 10 fully connected qubits, a proven quantum volume of 128 and unique features such as mid-circuit measurement and qubit reuse. Going forward though, Honeywell has committed to rapidly increase the quantum volume of its quantum computers by at least an order of magnitude annually over the course of the next five years.
Enterprises will be able to directly access its System Model H1 via a cloud API as well as through Microsoft Azure Quantum and channel partners including Zapata Computing and Cambridge Quantum Computing through a subscription-based model.
President of Honeywell Quantum Solutions Tony Uttley explained how its H1 generation of quantum computers will be continually updated throughout their lifetime in a press release, saying:
"Honeywell's aggressive quantum computing roadmap reflects our commitment to achieving commercial scale for our quantum business. Our subscription-based model provides enterprise customers with access to Honeywell's most advanced system available. Honeywell's unique methodology enables us to systematically and continuously 'upgrade' the H1 generation of systems through increased qubit count, even higher fidelities and unique feature modifications."
System Model H1
In addition to announcing its new System Model H1 quantum computer, Honeywell has also confirmed that it has already begun interaction activities for its future System Model H2 generation as well as development activities supporting its H3 generation and beyond.
Demand for access to the company's quantum computer is already high among enterprise customers according to Uttley, who said:
"The introduction of the System Model H1 is a significant milestone in shaping and accelerating the development of quantum computing and bringing its power to enterprises. We've seen demand skyrocket in 2020 and are thrilled to partner with customers seeking to solve real business problems via quantum computing."
Honeywell also revealed that DHL and Merck are the latest enterprise companies with access to its quantum computer. These organizations have already demonstrated the wide range of quantum computing use cases which include pharmaceuticals and logistics as well as Honeywell's own internal applications in its Aerospace and Performance and Technologies businesses.
We'll likely hear more about the company's System Model H1 quantum computer once enterprise customers begin testing it out for themselves.
AliExpress, an online retail service owned by China’s Alibaba Group, has launched the world’s first real-time livestreaming translation feature. The technology should help e-commerce merchants overcome language barriers and expand into new markets.
Often one of the biggest obstacles facing SME merchants selling through AliExpress, which is active across more than 200 countries, is communication. When native live streamers prove difficult to come by, sellers may advertise their products using silent livestreams or through poorly-worded English.
With the new translation feature, this should no longer be a problem. Available translations include Chinese to English, Russian, Spanish and French, as well as from English to Russian, Spanish and French.
“As an industry pioneer, we are dedicated to empowering both content creators and sellers to react fast and to break language barriers by taking advantage of cross-border livestreaming, a testament of our commitment to technological innovation,” Wang Mingqiang, general manager of AliExpress, explained.
Express translations
AliExpress already supported a content translation service but livestreamed audio posed problems with background noise, accents and colloquialisms.
However, a new speech model pioneered by the Alibaba DAMO academy is not only able to reduce inaudibility but also recognise accented speech. The model is powered by Alibaba’s award-winning AI technology.
The real-time translation service is already proving popular among merchants, with 65% of sellers on the AliExpress platform leveraging the service. What’s more, evidence suggests that the feature is having a major impact on sales figures, with the conversation rate for livestreaming session increasing by 300% when real-time translation is enabled.
AliExpress aims to gradually upgrade its real-time translation solution, adding more languages and improving functionality. In the meantime, the technology should prove useful for merchants taking part in the Global Shopping Festival next month.
Blitzwolf BW-VP8 business projector -$99 at Banggood (£72.53/AU$132.75) An HD projector with Wi-Fi 5, Bluetooth 5.0, two USB ports and an HDMI connector for less than $100 is a pretty good bargain indeed. Add in a legacy VGA port, an audio port, the ability to mount it on the ceiling and AV-in and you have a solid budget projector.View Deal
If you’re looking for budget business projector that doesn’t come with a massive price tag, you can’t go wrong with the BW-VP8 from Blitzwolf.
The company is one of many challenger brands that have emerged from mainland China over the past few years and usually ply their trade on ecommerce sites (in this case, Banggood).
What makes this projector particularly interesting is the presence of 802.11ac (otherwise known as Wi-Fi 5) and Bluetooth 5.0. In practice, this means better connectivity over larger distances, higher data transfer rates and other QoS (quality of service) improvements.
In terms of specifications, it’s ahead of what we’d expect from a device that costs less than $100. This is an HD projector with a native resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels and the manufacturer claims it has a brightness of up to 6000 lumens and 2000:1 contract ratio (although we have not verified this).
You should be able to cast pictures to it using either a cable (for iOS systems) or wirelessly (on Android systems). Note, it also has a single 4W speaker and supports a number of audio formats.
However, don’t expect a visual miracle; this is no short throw projector, so you will need to be at least 1 meter away in order to cast a focused picture. You will also need to manually tweak the Keystone correction.
If this product ships from mainland China, it will take at least a month to arrive in the UK or US. You may be levied an additional tax, either directly or through the courier
If you've managed to get hold of a cheaper product with equivalent specifications, in stock and brand new, let us know and we'll tip our hat to you
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Online gaming websites could be banned by the government next, including EA.com, MiniClip, and Zapak. Andhra Pradesh CM YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has asked Union Minister RS Prasad to ban 132 websites owing to the dangers posed by online gambling. However, in the letter sent by the CM to the IT minister, which Gadgets 360 has accessed, there are several sites that have no...
It's obvious that everyone's eager for the launch of the next generation of gaming consoles, with both the PS5 and Xbox Series X pre-orders selling out in a matter of minutes when they went live.
If you were lucky enough to grab a pre-order of the flagship Microsoft console, or its slimmer sibling the Xbox Series S, then you'll likely want to pair it with one of the awesome titles available on the console at launch.
While the next-gen gaming titles have brought with them a necessary yet unpleasant price hike, there's still a good chance to save on the boosted retail price of Xbox Series X games.
We've had a good hunt around at the current prices on offer in Australia and found the best bet across the board is buying physical copies of the games from Amazon Australia.
Below, we've selected some of the best games and lowest prices, so have a browse so you can stock up in time for the November 10 launch.
Nab yourself another generation of Call of Duty to go with your next-gen console. Although this isn't strictly a launch title (it actually releases on November 13), it's close enough for us.View Deal
Assassin's Creed: Valhalla is sure to continue the series' tradition of being absolutely sprawling, packing in as much Viking action as you could dream of. It'll also look great on Series X, with 4K Ultra HD support and 60 frames-per second.View Deal
Technically, Watch Dogs Legion is already available in Australia, but this is a Series X launch title because it'll enjoy the benefits of its next-gen patch a whole fortnight before PS5. That patch will roll out November 10, adding raytracing, 4K support and more.View Deal
For the car enthusiast, racing fan, or person-who-likes-fun among us, this is one of the most hyped Xbox Series X launch titles on offer. It promises to be a graphics showcase: you'll be able to put your TV through the wringer with frame rates of up 120, and it also supports native 4K resolution. View Deal
Most Xbox games making the transition to Series X are pretty straightforward: they'll just work, some will receive a patch. But if you want the next-gen version 2K21 you can't just buy the current-gen version, which is AU$59. Only the current-gen Mamba Forever Edition version gets a free next-gen upgrade, and that currently costs AU$137.16, so this is still the better deal.View Deal
The seventh mainline Yakuza game features a new protagonist and a pivot into turn-based combat. In other words: it's a landmark instalment, and it's going to look silky smooth on Xbox Series X.View Deal
Realme has announced a new variant of its budget-oriented Realme C15 smartphone. The only difference in both the variants is the chipset that powers the phone. The latest one comes with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 460 chipset compared to the octa-core MediaTek Helio G35 chipset that powered the original phone.
Initially launched in August along with Realme C12 and Realme Buds, the Qualcomm version of Realme C15 retains everything from the MediaTek variant, including the price.
It sports a 6.5- inches HD+ LCD panel and as mentioned above, is powered by a Snapdragon 460 chipset. The Realme C15 comes with up to 4GB of RAM and up to 64GB of onboard storage. Like most budget devices these days, this phone as well comes with a quad rear camera setup with a primary 13-megapixel sensor, an 8-megapixel ultra-wide-angle sensor, a 2-megapixel monochrome sensor, and lastly a 2-megapixel retro sensor. On the front, you get an 8-megapixel selfie shooter housed in a waterdrop notch.
The new Realme C15 retains the massive 6000mAh battery which was seen for the first time on any Realme device with the original C15. To top up this mammoth battery, the phone comes with an 18 W fast charging support via a Micro USB port. The phone runs on Realme UI based on Android 10 and comes with a rear-mounted fingerprint sensor. The other features onboard include Dual 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.0, GPS/GLONASS/Beidou, and 3.5mm headphone jack.
Realme C15 Qualcomm Edition pricing and availability in India
Realme has not changed the pricing of the Qualcomm edition of Realme C15 and the 3GB+ 32GB variant is priced at Rs. 9,999 while the 4GB+32GB variant is priced at Rs. 10,999. As an introductory offer, both the phones can be bought for Rs. 500 less starting October 29 from Flipkart. The Realme C15 Qualcomm edition is available Power Blue and Power Silver colour options.
As is often the case whenever a brand new season of an awesome show arrives, it can be tricky to remember everything that happened in the previous one.
And, with the second season of The Mandalorian due to land on Disney Plus tomorrow, chances are you might need a refresher course on everything that took place in the action-packed season 1.
Thankfully, Disney has provided just that, dropping a handy recap video of the first season that should refresh your memory in just a little over a minute and a half.
Apart from offering a quick rundown of The Mandalorian season 1, the recap below quickly brings us up to speed with all the show's main characters, reminding of which side they're on and what their goals are.
It also gives us a chance to relive some of Baby Yoda's most adorable moments, which we can all agree is definitely welcome.
The Mandalorian season 2 lands on Disney Plus this Friday on October 30, 2020. Not a Disney Plus subscriber yet? Sign up with the handy links below.
Happiness during the stress and uncertainty of COVID-19 can seem elusive. Here's how scientists, writers, comedians, a yoga teacher and others are finding glimmers of it.
Cisco has unveiled a number of new software-delivered solutions aimed at simplifying IT operations across on-premise data centers and multicloud environments.
As applications have become more distributed, workforces more mobile and the demands on organizations' systems are greater than ever, IT teams require greater insights and automation in order to deliver true technology agility. With its new agile IT platforms, Cisco will help IT teams and businesses better respond to these market transitions.
SVP and GM of Cisco Enterprise Networking and Cloud, Todd Nightingale explained how its new solutions can help IT become more agile in a press release, saying:
"Complexity can paralyze our teams. Our systems can no longer be powerful, but brittle. For IT to be as agile as their businesses require, they need solutions obsessed with simplicity. This year, technology groups around the globe were tested by unprecedented change. This fundamental shift in how businesses, schools and governments operate requires IT teams to transform how they function. Today, Cisco is announcing IT platforms for multicloud operations that provide advanced insights and automation to help organizations transform faster."
New platforms and services
Cisco's first new solution is Cisco Intersight which aims to become the world's simplest hybrid cloud platform to connect private data centers to private clouds. With the company's new Intersight Kubernetes Service, infrastructure teams can automate the lifecycle management of Kubernetes and containerized applications across any environment. At the same time, Intersight Workload Optimizer simplifies application resource management to provide organizations with real-time, full stack visibility and insights.
Cisco Nexus Dashboard is a single insights and automation platform that organizations can use to operate multicloud data center networks spanning on-premise, virtual edge and cloud sites. The platform brings together the company's orchestration, insights and assurance services along with critical third party services.
Finally, the Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) allows employees to work from home by simplifying secure network access across all domains by extending the zero-trust workplace to any device at any time. Customers will be able to use the company's ISE to identify a variety of IoT endpoints to enforce consistent policies from the cloud.
Cisco ISE is available now while Cisco Intersight innovations and the Cisco Nexus Dashboard will be available by the end of the year. The company's Intersight Kubernetes Service will be made available during the first half of next year.
Gaming on Linux systems could be about to get a lot more inclusive thanks to the work of one open-source company.
Headquartered in Cambridge, Collabora specializes in open source consultancy and development. The company has been working to improve the Linux kernel to better support gaming on the behest of Valve, who has been sponsoring the work.
While gaming on Linux has made major positive strides in the last few years, a vast majority of games still continue to be developed exclusively for Windows. Valve’s approach to bring this Windows-only gaming ecosystem to Linux is through emulation.
To that end it has developed an open source tool called Proton (forked from the open source Wine compatibility layer), which allows Windows-only games to run atop Linux, without any noticeable performance penalties.
Major milestone
Speaking at the recent Open Source Summit, Europe 2020, being held virtually for the first time, Gabriel Krisman Bertazi from Collabora talked about the "State of Linux Gaming".
During his presentation Gabriel talked about all the work Collabora has been doing to fulfill Valve's requirements to further improve support for Windows games on Linux with Steam Play (via Proton).
One of the big missing pieces of the puzzle is support for anti-cheat mechanisms, which causes quite a lot of Windows games to fail to load on Linux. Gabriel discussed the various strategies Collabora employed to remove this hurdle and how he expects their work in this regard to make its way into Linux Kernel 5.11.
While Gabriel’s talk was aimed at developers it shows Valve’s positive intentions when it comes to improving gaming on Linux. In addition to Collabora, the popular game developer and distributor is also working with CodeWeavers and other developers to improve the Linux graphics stack.
The Samsung Galaxy S20 FE has received a limited period price cut in India. The smartphone was launched just a few weeks back in India. During this festive season sale, the Samsung Galaxy S20 Fan Edition will be available for Rs 5,000 less than the usual selling price.
The Samsung Galaxy S20 FE’s price in India at the launch was Rs 49,999 for the 8GB + 128GB variant and Rs 53,999 for the 8GB + 256GB variant. Now, they are being sold for Rs 44,999 and Rs 48,999 respectively. On top of the Rs 5,000 flat discount, you can also avail Rs 4,000 additional cashback with HDFC debit card and credit card transaction. However, this is valid only on Samsung's e-commerce store.
The device is now listed for Rs 44,999 on both Amazon and Flipkart. The offer will be valid until November 17. On Flipkart, you can also avail Rs 3,000 instant discount with Axis Bank credit card from October 29 to November 3 during the Big Diwali sale which will bring down the price to Rs 41,999. For those who shop with HDFC card on Samsung.com, the price will go down to Rs 40,999 for the base variant.
The Samsung Galaxy S20 FE is available in multiple colour options which include Cloud Navy, Cloud Lavendar, Cloud Mint, Cloud Red and Cloud White.
Samsung Galaxy S20 FE specs
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Samsung S20 FE offers a 6.5-inch Super AMOLED panel with a 120Hz refresh rate. The Infinity-O display’s resolution is 2,400 x 1,080. There’s an optical in-display fingerprint scanner too. IP68 water-resistance makes the cut too.
The Indian variant of the S20 FE is powered by the Exynos 990 chipset along with 8GB of LPDDR5 RAM and comes with up to 256GB of internal storage. For context, the global variant is powered by the Snapdragon 865 and is also 5G capable. The storage can be expanded by up to 1TB via a micro SD card.
It follows the matte finish design that was popularized by the Note 20 series and is available in a bevvy of fresh colours. The back is made of polycarbonate “glasstic”, with the cameras residing in a large housing towards the corner. There’s a 12MP f/1.8 primary camera with OIS followed by a 12MP ultra-wide shooter with a 123-degree field-of-view and an 8MP telephoto lens with OIS. The selfie camera has a resolution of 32MP.
The battery on the S20 FE is rated at 4,500mAh and supports 25W fast charging. However, only a 15W charger is included in the box. Other standards such as Fast wireless charging 2.0 and USB PD 3.0 (PPS) are also supported. It runs on Samsung's OneUI skin based on Android 10.
Boat, a homegrown brand who makes affordable accessories such as earphones, speakers, and cables has now announced its first smartwatch. The Boat Storm smartwatch is the company’s second wearable after the fitness tracker.
The Boat Strom smartwatch comes in Black and Blue colour option and will go on sale starting October 29 in India. The Boat Strom will be available on Flipkart for the price of Rs 1,999.
First up the display, the Boat Strom offers you 1.3-inch touch screen colour display with a resolution of 240 x 240 pixels. It has a 2.5D curved glass design built on a metal body casing. For navigating, apart from the touch screen, you also get a button on the left on the watch. The Boat Strom smartwatch is said to offer over 100 watch faces which will be available via OTA later.
The Boat Strom watch offers 9 tracking modes including Running, Hiking, Riding, Treadmill, Climbing, Spinning, Yoga, Workout, and Walking. Apart from this, the watch shows you how much steps you have taken and calories burnt in a day and will also give you the week’s overview. As for the sensors, there is a Heart rate sensor, SpO2 sensor to measure the blood oxygen level, and there is also a menstrual cycle tracking feature onboard.
On a single charge, the Boat Strom can is said to last for about 8 days and up to 30 days in standby mode. Since it is an entry-level affordable smartwatch, there are only a few smart feature-packed in. The Boat Strom can vibrate when you get a call, text, social media notifications, sedentary alerts, and alarms. You can also control music via this watch. It is also 5ATM water-resistant meaning it can survive in water up to 50 meters.
For connectivity, it comes with Bluetooth 4.2 and is compatible with Android devices with 4.4 or higher and iPhones running on iOS 8.0 and up. Apart from the Boat Strom also coms with guided breathing, Accelerometer, and, G-sensor.
Sterling conducts background checks so that businesses can verify the identity of prospective employees and uncover problematic incidents in their past, the likes of which may jeopardize company culture going forward.
In this Sterling review, we’ll assess if it provides one of the best background check services available today. We’ll analyze every aspect of Sterling’s service, including price, functionality, and features. Finally, we’ll compare Sterling against its competitors, so you can decide if it’s the right service for your organization.
Sterling's pricing tiers increase with the extensiveness of the background check(Image credit: Sterling)
Plans and pricing
Businesses who intend to conduct over 100 background checks a year must contact a Sterling representative, who’ll provide a tailored quote suitable for their organization’s demands.
Small business users who intend to conduct less than 100 background checks a year can choose a pricing tier based on the extensiveness of the background check required. The cheapest one is a driver’s check, which costs $9.95 per check. Education and employment verification are also affordable, costing only $19.95 per check.
Check packages begin with the Basic Check pricing tier. It costs $29.95 per check, discloses criminal records, and traces social security numbers (SSN). The Preferred Check is $59.95 per check, improving upon the capabilities of the Basic Check by revealing federal criminal files by location and disclosing terror suspect status. The most expensive check is the Pro Check, at $79.95 per check, which discloses all information in the prior two checks, plus multi-state booking records and all federal criminal information.
Sterling uses legal means to find hidden information(Image credit: Sterling)
How it works
Sterling conducts all checks legally by consulting publicly available records. They aim to help business leaders determine if potential employees are trustworthy by revealing financial information (such as bankruptcies), workplace compensation demands, and criminal record data. Be aware that all credit and criminal background checks are only legal when the potential candidate agrees to them.
Using an SSN trace, Sterling searches criminal records archives not only by name but also by social security number, revealing undisclosed addresses and aliases on the way. Arrest records or convictions are then verified for accuracy before they’re presented to business leaders for review.
Sterling’s background checks are thorough and profession appropriate(Image credit: Sterling)
Features and services
Sterling has a wide range of services, so hiring managers can simply wait for their candidate’s background check to arrive on their desk. These include the below:
Sterling checks criminal records of county courthouses in areas the prospective candidate has lived (for up to 10 years). Most employers want this background check as standard, which is why it’s inclusive to Sterling’s Basic Check and all other tiers.
All check packages include searches for your candidate’s names on the National Registry of Sex Offenders, so you can ensure the safety of individuals within your organization and protect any children who may be on your business premises.
Preferred and Pro Checks consult the database of the Office of Foreign Assets to identify if your candidate is present on any lists as a domestic or international terror suspect.
SSN tracing is included with every check package. Because SSN trace identifies public records connected to a social security number instead of a name, information normally concealed from public records concerning address history and potential aliases is revealed. SSN trace demonstrates whether or not your candidate is being truthful about their previous employment and location history.
Sterling’s Preferred and Pro Checks assess whether your candidate’s name occurs on any federal crime databases so you can ensure your assets are safe in their hands. Furthermore, a federal criminal search confirms whether your candidate’s been honest about their location in the past 7–10 years.
Customer support that’s great for clients but not for candidates(Image credit: Sterling)
Support and customer care
Sterling has extensive customer support available. Help can be solicited via phone, 24 hours a day, across all American, European, and Asian business timezones, including Pacific Time and Eastern Time for clients in the United States.
Customer support teams are trained in specific industries. For example, there are specific support teams for hiring departments in healthcare, retail, and government. When you first speak with a Sterling customer support representative, they’re already well acquainted with the specific background check demands of your industry.
However, candidates don’t enjoy the same positive experience of customer service as business clients do, as they can only solicit help via an onsite form. Candidates regularly critique Sterling on review aggregators for delays processing documents, poor communication, and impossible deadlines imposed at the last minute.
The competition
In contrast with competitor GoodHire, Sterling’s method of conducting background checks seems outdated. Sterling delivers the results of the background check at the close of the process. GoodHire integrates checks into your team’s workflow via your Applicant Tracking System platform, so you can see exactly what stage of the process is ongoing and receive notifications with each update.
Certn is one of Sterling’s leading competitors. Rather than conducting background searches and presenting them to your hiring manager, Certn enables hiring departments to conduct independent background checks using its software. Despite the convenience of inhouse software, outsourcing background checks can be beneficial from a legal standpoint, as it diminishes responsibility in case of civil suits.
Final verdict
Sterling is undoubtedly a market-leading background check service to evaluate the character of potential hires based on their legal and employment history. All the checks Sterling offers indicate whether your candidate is trustworthy, with more extensive checks required for professions that handle sensitive data, deal with vulnerable people, or hold valuable assets. As an outsourced background check service, Sterling will help distance your organization from culpability in case any civil suits arise as a consequence of the process. We’d recommend Sterling for small businesses that must verify their employee’s integrity to protect assets.
LG Wing will be launched in India at a virtual event at 11.30am. The smartphone sports two displays — one of them is a swivel screen that rotates clockwise in 90 degrees. The handset features a triple rear camera that comes with Gimbal Motion Camera feature.
Laptops have evolved rapidly in recent years. Thanks in large part to the growing demand for gaming devices, portable PCs have been getting increasingly powerful – and often, they’ve been able to do so without sacrificing their sleek, go-anywhere designs.
This hardware trend hasn’t just benefited gamers, however – it’s also paid off for professionals, who’ve been able to adopt these new devices for business, design and development tasks.
Laptop makers have generally responded to this demand in a couple of ways, such as offering powerful laptops in more sober and office-friendly designs, and producing cooling systems to make them run quieter to avoid distracting colleagues.
However, many of this new breed of “work” laptops are still fundamentally just consumer notebooks in corporate clothing, with little to distinguish them from their mainstream counterparts. A gap in the market has developed where desirable, professional-spec laptops are few and far between. This is where HP’s new G7 ZBooks come in: a range of laptops for professionals that have all the style, power, design, portability and features to get even the toughest jobs done.
HP's ZBook Firefly mobile workstations mix together pro-grade specs with a sleek, go-anywhere chassis.(Image credit: HP)
Laptops for designers, creators and pros
HP’s G7 ZBooks offer a wide variety of sizes, designs and capabilities, with a portable workstation to suit every type of power user. At the most accessible end of the range are the ZBook Firefly G7 laptops, which come in both 14-inch and 15-inch flavours.
They don’t just look good with their aluminium chassis and suave styling – they also offer military-grade robustness and HP’s top, corporate security features, including a smartcard reader. At 1.69kg (15-inch) and 1.34kg (14-inch) and with sub-20mm thickness when closed, they’re light enough to go anywhere, while the 17-hour battery life ensures that you can work remotely all day long. There’s even a built-in 4G modem to ensure that a fast connection to the internet (and your office) is available when out and about.
All models utilise top-shelf 10th Gen Intel® Core™ processors, support up to 32GB RAM and can provide up to 2TB of super-fast NVMe storage. However, boosting them into true, workstation territory is the Nvidia Quadro P520 graphics processor, which is perfect for CAD users, designers, developers, data scientists and coders alike.
The ZBook Firefly line may be sleek, you can still easily plug in external peripherals or a monitor thanks to its full-sized USB 3.1 and HDMI 1.4b ports.(Image credit: HP)
The premium, work-focused features you need
Such professionals will also warm to the Firefly’s 4K UHD screens which offer a new, all-round, super-thin bezel, up to 550-nit brightness and VESA DisplayHDR 400 contrast certification. They also employ HP Sure View Reflect technology to fend off wandering eyes from nosey neighbours, narrowing viewing angles to just 45o to ensure what’s on your screen stays private.
The new keyboard is quieter and more comfortable to type on, the webcam has a privacy slider and a new standby feature allows for instant-on power resume. Intriguing audio features include a third, ‘world facing’ microphone which can either be used to better-capture colleagues’ conversations in a meeting room or provide superior ambient noise reduction. There are also Bang & Olufsen-tuned speakers, which offer HP noise cancellation technology and, despite the svelte chassis, are able to deliver a punchy 74dB of audio volume with an impressive 450Hz bass roll-off.
Connectivity upgrades over previous generations see Thunderbolt-3 compatible USB-C ports added to the mix along with blistering, Wi-Fi 6 wireless speeds.
Other optimisations involve creative workflows with a variety of certified applications like Adobe Creative Cloud, SOLIDWORKS and AutoCAD plus remote access to high-end, rendering and 3D visualization workflows using ZCentral Remote Boost. Ultimately, the Firefly ZBooks are perfect for technical and creative managers, power users and STEAM students.
The ZBook Studio G7 offers a DCI-P3 factory-calibrated display with Pantone validation, so it's ready to handle demanding design-oriented tasks out of the box.(Image credit: HP)
Step up a notch
Dialling things up a notch is the 15-inch ZBook Studio G7. This offers the core features of the Firefly models but with added performance in key areas for professionals who can’t compromise. For the first time on a laptop, HP’s one-billion-colour Pantone-validated DreamColor technology is made available, which can display 100% of the complex DCI-P3 colour space. Other display options include a Full HD, low-power (1W) variant, Sure View privacy filtering, and there’s a Gorilla Glass 6-fabricated touchscreen model. Audio technology enables an even deeper 150Hz bass roll-off.
If you’re considering coming over from a Mac, there’s also an optional Z Command keyboard layout, which makes using function key modifier shortcuts simpler for switchers.
Bespoke cooling technology uses custom, composite fans, vapor chambers and Z Predictive fan algorithms to keep the Studio’s operation whisper-quiet, even when under load. With just a 17.5mm thickness, 1.7kg weight and 17.5-hour battery life, this powerful, professional machine remains incredibly portable.
Design pros may also want to note that the ZBook Studio G7 has a sibling called the ZBook Create G7. The latter sports an HDMI 1.4 socket as opposed to a Mini DisplayPort, but otherwise the key difference is that Nvidia’s consumer-oriented RTX graphics processor is used in preference to the Studio’s Quadro P520 GPU.
Ready for the jobs of today – and tomorrow
With built-in Bang & Olufsen speakers, the ZBook Firefly and Studio can output powerful sound.(Image credit: HP)
All of HP’s ZBooks are VR-ready to enable 3D designers and engineers to use headsets to create within a virtual space, test schematics and layouts and offer a deeper level of engagement to stakeholders – allowing them to better understand projects.
HP has created the ZBooks with an eye on sustainability too. Ocean-bound plastics are reused where possible and the devices are EPEAT Gold certified by the Green Electronics Council.
Whether you want a professional laptop for 3D design, CAD, graphics rendering, compiling code, streaming media, professional photography, videography or to design and play games, HP’s latest ZBook G7 range has you covered. The sleek, go-anywhere tools can tackle any creative or professional task, and don’t sacrifice portability or looks to get there.
Of course, not everybody wants to take their work with them – and some users need a machine with the kind of unbridled power that can’t easily be moved around. For designers, creators and other professionals who require ultimate computing performance, there’s the HP Z4 G4 Workstation range.
Supporting Intel® Xeon® processor with up to 18 cores, multiple operating systems, ECC memory and over 40 PCIe lanes, this range of powerhouse PCs is highly configurable and can use multiple Nvidia and AMD workstation graphics cards, plus multiple superfast network ports.
The new industrial chassis design befits the coolest office, while rigorous testing and certification processes ensure ultimate reliability and longevity. Discover the Z4 desktop workstation here.
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