Latest Tech News

Best Buy's most recent sale has yielded some superb gaming laptop deals - so many, in fact, that I'm having trouble deciding which is the best right now.

There are two deals in particular that have caught my eye - this MSI Stealth 14 for $999 (was $1,499) and this Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 for $1,049 (was $1,599). 

Both of these gaming laptops are at least $500 off right now, feature speedy RTX 4060 graphics cards, and come in bag-friendly 14-inch form factors. Put simply, they're both fantastic choices if you're looking for a sleek machine that won't weigh you down too much.

Which is best? Well, it's close - first, let's take a look at each model in full, including the components each one is featuring:

RTX 4060 gaming laptop deals

MSI Stealth 14 gaming laptop: was $1,499 now $999 at Best Buy
Processor: Intel Core i7-13620H
Graphics card: RTX 4060
RAM: 16GB
SSD: 1TB

With a powerful configuration of components wrapped in a sleek, lightweight package, the MSI Stealth 14 is back down to its lowest price at Best Buy today with a deal that matches the one we saw over Black Friday. With a 13th gen Intel Core i7 chipset, RTX 4060 graphics card, 16GB of RAM, and 1TB SSD, this machine is more than capable of maxing-out the graphical settings on most games at 1080p resolution. View Deal

Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 gaming laptop: was $1,599 now $1,049 at Best Buy
Processor: AMD Ryzen 9-7940HS
Graphics card: RTX 4060
RAM: 16GB
SSD: 512GB

One of the best gaming laptops money can buy, the Asus Zephyrus G14 has always been a favorite of ours here at TechRadar. Not only does it look fantastic, but the combination of an RTX 4060 graphics card, a Ryzen 9 chipset, 16GB of RAM, and 512GB SSD gives it plenty of power for a 14-inch laptop. If you're looking for a mix of performance and portability, then the G14 is never a bad choice - and today's deal brings this model down to its Black Friday price again. View Deal

• See more: check out all of today's gaming laptop deals at Best Buy

Which is the better buy right now?

(Image credit: Future)

So, we've got two gaming laptop deals here at Black Friday-level record-low prices. Of the two, I'd say the Asus has the more stacked line-up of specs with its Ryzen 9 chipset and 1440p display, but the MSI does have the advantage of a 1TB SSD straight out of the box. The 512GB SSD on the Asus can suffice, but you'll probably want to upgrade sometime down the line if you're planning on having a large library of games installed at once. If you're happy with upgrading the SSD (a very easy install), then the Asus could be a great all-around option for you.

That said, both laptops will perform similarly in most games due to the RTX 4060 graphics card, which is a respectable GPU for 1080p gaming; depending on the game, you may also get decent performance at 1440p - although only the Asus' display supports this higher resolution. 

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It all comes down to this. After two frantic semi-finals, France and Denmark will play each other in the EHF Euro 2024 handball final. It has been a while since both these sides have made it to this showpiece game. Neither will want to leave empty-handed. Read on as we explain how to watch a FREE Handball EURO 2024 live stream – no matter where you are in the world.

• Just want to get watching? Watch FREE on EHFTV (may require a VPN)

EHF EURO 2024 live stream: France vs Denmark

Date: Sunday, January 28

Time: 4.45pm GMT / 11.45pm ET / 8.45am PT / 3.45am AEDT (Jan 29) 

Venue: Lanxess-Arena Cologne

Live stream: watch FREE on EHFTV

Watch anywhere: try ExpressVPN 100% risk-free

France needed extra time to see off Sweden. Elohim Prandi converted a free throw at the end of normal time and his side went on to win 34:40. It means they remain unbeaten in this year’s EHF Euro. Denmark, meanwhile were two goals down at half-time in their semi-final against hosts Germany but fought back to win 29:26. 

The final will feature some top scorers. Frenchmen Dika Mem goes into the game joint second in the table, having netted 47 times. He will have to overcome top goalkeeper Mikkel Hansen to add to that. Denmark’s Mathias Gidse has scored 46 times himself.

This match is a replay of the 2014 final. More presciently, these sides also met in last year’s World Championship final. On that occasion, the Danes came out on top. Can they do it again, or will the French get their revenge? Read on to find out how you can watch all of the EHF Euro 2024 action live and for FREE.

• More sport: watch Australian Open tennis 2024

How to watch Handball European Championships: France vs Denmark live stream FREE of charge

While the TV rights to EHF Euro 2024 have been sold to paid-for streaming services in many countries, it's worthing noting that a few lives streams are available, notably:

• RTVE (Spain)
• RTS / SRF (Switzerland)

We have the full list of other EHF 2024 broadcasters below. If your country isn't listed, though, you can watch FREE on EHF TV. Full details just here:

The EHF has made it super easy to tune into the European Handball Championships in most regions by showing live streams of all the EHF EURO 2024 tournament games on FREE EHFTV streaming service.

All you need to do is register with EHFTV and away you go.

EHFTV is completely FREE to watch. However, the free EHFTV live stream is not available in Norway, Iceland, Denmark, Sweden, France, US, UK and other regions where a broadcaster has picked up the rights. Fans in Ireland, for example, can watch free on EHFTV.

If you're an Irish handball fan abroad, you will need to use a VPN to log into your EHFTV account while away from home.

NB: If you have any problems logging in, you may need to empty the cache on your browser.

How to watch EHF EURO 2024 from outside your country

EHFTV is easily accessible in many countries around the world. However you may find yourself geo-blocked from EHFTV free live streams when travelling abroad. If you'd like to access EHFTV, or any of your regular home streaming service as normal, then use a good VPN.

A good VPN can let you get around these digital borders legally, while also offering robust protection from cybercriminals and government snooping, making everyday tasks like online shopping and banking much safer.

Use a VPN to live stream 2024 Handball European Championships from anywhere:

ExpressVPN is the world's top VPN right now
We've taken the time to try out all the biggest VPN providers and we found ExpressVPN to be the pick of the bunch. It works with lots of devices and offers super fast connections across its many servers. 

Throw in its robust set of security features and ExpressVPN is the best all-round VPN for streaming - and perhaps best of all, it has a 30-day money back guarantee when you subscribe for a year.

Access ExpressVPN via your laptop, iPhone, tablet, Android phone, PlayStation, Xbox and plenty more. Express is a do-it-all service that also benefits from 24/7 customer support.

- Try ExpressVPN 100% risk-free for 30 days

How to use a VPN

Using a VPN is as easy as one-two-three...

1. Download and install a VPN - as we say, our top choice is ExpressVPN

2. Connect to the appropriate server location - open the VPN app, hit 'choose location' and select the appropriate location.

3. Go to the broadcaster's stream - head to your home broadcaster's site or app and watch as if you were at home - so that's EHFTV for most places.

2024 European Handball Championships TV rights

You can find the 2024 European Handball Championships matches streamed on the following TV services and platforms according to the TV rights listed below.

You can also watch all of the games for FREE on EHFTV although geo-blocks for certain regions may apply. Anyone travelling abroad can use a VPN to avoid this and access their regular streaming service as usual. Full details in the VPN section above.

• Albania: Arena Sport
• Austria: ORF, DYN
• Bosnia and Herzegovina: Arena Sport 
• Canada: DAZN
• Croatia: RTL, Arena Sport 
• Czechia: AMC, Czech TV
• Denmark (incl. Faroe Islands): TV2 Denmark
• Faroe Islands: KVF
• France: beIN Sports, TF1
• Finland: Viaplay
• Georgia: Silknet
• Germany: ARD, ZDF, DYN
• Greece: Cosmote
• Hungary: MTVA
• Iceland: RUV
• Israel : Charlton 
• Italy: pallamano.tv
• Japan: DAZN
• Montenegro: RTCG, Arena Sport
• Netherlands: Ziggo
• North Macedonia: MKRTV, Arena Sport
• Norway: Viaplay
• Poland: Eurosport 
• Portugal: RTP
• Romania: PrimaTV, Digi
• Serbia: RTS, Arena Sport 
• Slovakia: AMC, RTVS
• Slovenia: RTVSLO, Arena Sport
• South and Central America: ESPN
• Spain: TVE
• Switzerland: SRG, DYN 
• Sweden: Viaplay
• Türkiye: beIN Sports
• UK: Viaplay
• Ukraine: Poverkhnost 
• USA beIN Sports

EHF EURO 2024 schedule

Friday, January 26

• France vs Sweden - 40:34
• Germany vs Denmark- 26:29

Sunday, January 28

• France vs Denmark - 5.45pm CET / 4.45pm GMT / 11:45pm ET / 3.45am AEDT

What is the EHF?

The European Handball Federation (EHF) is the umbrella organisation for all things European handball. Founded on 17 November 1991, it is headquartered in Vienna, Austria, and comprises 50 member federations and two associated federations (England and Scotland).

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Latest Tech News

Sony has announced significant upgrades to its Ci Media Cloud platform, a cloud-based media management and collaboration service. The updates include a new plan tailored for small and medium businesses, the introduction of a desktop file transfer app, and enhanced support for Dolby Atmos audio files.

The new Ci Transfer desktop app (available to download for free for all Ci users) allows for high-speed transfer of files and folders to and from the Ci Media Cloud platform. 

Available for both Mac and PC, the app supports multi-gig speed transfers, retries transfers after interruptions, and is optimized to handle hundreds of files. It also features pause and resume functions, transfer reports, and can be paired with a new sidecar ingest workflow for larger organizations migrating archive libraries.

Enhanced Dolby Atmos support

In addition to the Free, Pro, and Team online plans, there's a new Business Plan for small and medium organizations which Sony says is a step up from Ci's initial Team subscription. 

Priced at approximately $249 a month, it offers unlimited Workspaces, 1TB of active storage, 4TB of archive storage, and 500GB of monthly data transfers. The plan also includes advanced features such as custom branding and usage analytics.

The platform's enhanced support for Dolby Atmos audio files allows users to upload and play video and audio files with immersive, authentic sound. 

Integrated with Dolby.io, the platform supports ADM BWF Atmos audio, and users can visually see Loudness Unit Full Scale (LUFS) and True Peak levels in Ci’s built-in media analysis tool. This enables creative and quality assurance teams to work with immersive content as it was intended to be heard. 

“We’re continually evolving our Ci platform to better address users’ needs and become an even more intrinsic part of their daily workflow,” said David Rosen, Vice President of Cloud Applications and Services, Sony Electronics.

“With the addition of a plan created to address the requirements and budget of small and medium businesses, a rich new desktop app experience, and Dolby Atmos audio for immersive, authentic sound, we’re making Ci even more accessible, easy to use, and powerful for creatives and organizations in every facet of the industry.” 

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Google Chrome is coming to Windows 11 devices running on ARM processors. A new version of the browser has been released through the Canary release channel which will allow users with ARM-based devices to run Chrome natively - rather than having to use an emulator (which brings its own complexities and performance issues). 

ARM-based mobile devices are very common already, and ARM processors and ARM-based chips (like Apple’s M1, M2, and M3 silicon chips) are becoming more commonplace in devices like PCs. Unfortunately, those running Windows on a device with an ARM chip couldn’t use Chrome natively and would have to use a workaround like running Chrome in emulation mode. 

This isn’t the end of the world, but if you’re emulating a virtual device within your device, you’re relying on the processing constraints of the virtual device. This limited how well Chrome performed on ARM-64 processor devices, until now, thanks to the latest release in the Canary channel, which is for very early and potentially unstable versions of Google Chrome, and which users can download and test at their discretion.

(Image credit: Arm)

Chromium, an open-source web browser project mainly developed and maintained by Google, has supported ARM-64’s architecture for many years. Oddly enough, Google Chrome itself (which is based on Chromium) has been available for most ARM-oriented operating systems – except Windows. It’s uncertain why Google Chrome has taken this much time to support Windows on ARM-based computers. Google has two operating systems that are designed to run on ARM hardware – Android for mobile devices and ChromeOS for Chromebooks – and Windows on ARM is a direct competitor, which could be one (rather cynical) reason.

MSPowerUser investigated for itself if this Canary version actually worked on a machine with an ARM processor that runs a recent version of Windows 11, and found that it worked on at least one such device that had an older Snapdragon 835 SoC processor. 

(Image credit: Unsplash)

What to consider before downloading and installing 

It’s worth remembering that even if you have an ARM-based Windows 11 device, this is a Canary channel build that you should carefully consider before downloading and installing. It's prone to instability and is specifically intended to be the first round of external testing by Google for Chrome. It will probably make its way down through the slightly less frequent, but more tested and more stable, release channels. If you have an ARM-based Windows 11 device, and you're not a tester or developer, it’s probably worth waiting for one of these later releases. 

This release is not far from Qualcomm’s upcoming Snapdragon X Elite chip debut and this is forecasted to significantly step up the performance of ARM64-based devices, which could see a resurgence in Windows on ARM devices to take on Apple’s ARM-based MacBooks.

With more devices on offer with ARM processors that run Windows, we could see ARM processors continue to play an important part in PCs and laptops - and challenging the dominance of Intel and AMD. Google extending Google Chrome support to these devices could help make this happen, and I'm betting that other processor manufacturers (cough, Intel) are paying attention.  

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The EHF Euro 2024 tournament is coming to a crescendo and four big hitters have made it to the semi-final stage. The first match-up is France vs Sweden, who will battle it out on Friday for a place in Sunday's final. Read on as we explain how to watch a FREE Handball EURO 2024 live stream – no matter where you are in the world.

• Just want to get watching? Watch FREE on EHFTV (may require a VPN)

Watch EHF EURO 2024 France vs Sweden live stream

Time: 5.45pm CET / 4.45pm GMT, January 26

Venue: Lanxess-Arena Cologne

Live stream: watch FREE on EHFTV

Watch anywhere: try ExpressVPN 100% risk-free

Sweden are the defending champions of this tournament, having beaten Spain last year. It was the fifth time they had won and it's underlined their resurgence.

France are a serious challenge, though. They made it to the semi-final stage last time around, eventually finishing fourth. More notably, the French are the defending Olympic champions, and have picked up the gold medal at three of the last four Olympic Games. However, they have not lifted the EHF Euro title since 2014 and will be keen to put that right.

There will be plenty of talent on display in both sides. Look out for France star Fabregas Ludovic and Sweden’s Wanne Hampus. The French have scored 239 goals in their last seven matches, compared to 218 from their opponents.

There are scores to be settled and this should be a high-octane clash. Read on to find out how you can watch all of the EHF Euro 2024 action live and for FREE.

• More superb sport: here's how to watch the Australian Open tennis 2024

---

How to watch Handball European Championships: live stream FREE of charge

While the TV rights to EHF Euro 2024 have been sold to paid-for streaming services in many countries, it's worthing noting that a few lives streams are available, notably:

• RTVE (Spain)
• RTS / SRF (Switzerland)

We have the full list of other EHF 2024 broadcasters below. If your country isn't listed, though, you can watch FREE on EHF TV. Full details just here:

The EHF has made it super easy to tune into the European Handball Championships by offering live streams of all the EHF EURO 2024 tournament games on FREE EHFTV streaming service.

All you need to do is register with EHFTV and away you go.

EHFTV is completely free to watch. Just head over to the EHFTV website and you can live stream all the games through the browser on your laptop, tablet or mobile phone.

However, the free EHFTV live stream is not available in Norway, Iceland, Denmark, Sweden, France, US, UK and other regions where a broadcaster has picked up the rights. Fans in Ireland, for example, can watch free on EHFTV.

If you're an Irish handball fan abroad, you will need to use a VPN to log into your EHFTV account while away from home.

NB: If you have any problems logging in, you may need to empty the cache on your browser.

How to watch EHF EURO 2024 from outside your country

EHFTV is easily accessible in many countries around the world. However you may find yourself geo-blocked from EHFTV free live streams when travelling abroad. If you'd like to access EHFTV, or any of your regular home streaming service as normal, then use a good VPN.

A good VPN can let you get around these digital borders legally, while also offering robust protection from cybercriminals and government snooping, making everyday tasks like online shopping and banking much safer.

Use a VPN to live stream 2024 Handball European Championships from anywhere:

ExpressVPN is the world's top VPN right now
We've taken the time to try out all the biggest VPN providers and we found ExpressVPN to be the pick of the bunch. It works with lots of devices and offers super fast connections across its many servers. 

Throw in its robust set of security features and ExpressVPN is the best all-round VPN for streaming - and perhaps best of all, it has a 30-day money back guarantee when you subscribe for a year.

Access ExpressVPN via your laptop, iPhone, tablet, Android phone, PlayStation, Xbox and plenty more. Express is a do-it-all service that also benefits from 24/7 customer support.

- Try ExpressVPN 100% risk-free for 30 days

How to use a VPN

Using a VPN is as easy as one-two-three...

1. Download and install a VPN - as we say, our top choice is ExpressVPN.

2. Connect to the appropriate server location - open the VPN app, hit 'choose location' and select the appropriate location, eg: Ireland, Spain or Switzerland.

3. Go to the broadcaster's stream - head to your home broadcaster's site or app and watch as if you were at home – so that could be EHTV or RTVE or SRF.

2024 European Handball Championships TV rights

You can find the 2024 European Handball Championships matches streamed on the following TV services and platforms according to the TV rights listed below.

You can also watch all of the games for FREE on EHTV although geo-blocks for certain regions may apply. Anyone travelling abroad can use a VPN to avoid this and access their regular streaming service as usual. Full details in the VPN section above.

• Albania: Arena Sport
• Austria: ORF, DYN
• Bosnia and Herzegovina: Arena Sport 
• Canada: DAZN
• Croatia: RTL, Arena Sport 
• Czechia: AMC, Czech TV
• Denmark (incl. Faroe Islands): TV2 Denmark
• Faroe Islands: KVF
• France: beIN Sports, TF1
• Finland: Viaplay
• Georgia: Silknet
• Germany: ARD, ZDF, DYN
• Greece: Cosmote
• Hungary: MTVA
• Iceland: RUV
• Israel : Charlton 
• Italy: pallamano.tv
• Japan: DAZN
• Montenegro: RTCG, Arena Sport
• Netherlands: Ziggo
• North Macedonia: MKRTV, Arena Sport
• Norway: Viaplay
• Poland: Eurosport 
• Portugal: RTP
• Romania: PrimaTV, Digi
• Serbia: RTS, Arena Sport 
• Slovakia: AMC, RTVS
• Slovenia: RTVSLO, Arena Sport
• South and Central America: ESPN
• Spain: RTVE
• Switzerland: SRG, DYN 
• Sweden: Viaplay
• Türkiye: beIN Sports
• UK: Viaplay
• Ukraine: Poverkhnost 
• USA beIN Sports

EHF EURO 2024 schedule

Friday, January 26

• France vs Sweden - 5.45pm CET / 4.45pm GMT / 11:45pm ET / 3.45am AEDT
• Germany vs Denmark - 8.30pm CET / 7.30pm GMT / 2.30pm ET / 6.30am AEDT

Sunday, January 28

• Final - 5.45pm CET / 4.45pm GMT / 11:45pm ET / 3.45am AEDT

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The digital wall around iPhones that has prevented users from downloading non-App Store-approved software to their handsets is about to crack in Europe. But according to a new report, Apple is already planning to patch up the holes punched out by the European Union (EU) laws – meaning sideloading might not be as free as we hoped.

First, let’s step back to April 2022 when the EU – a collection of 27 European countries including France, Germany, and Spain – agreed on the Digital Markets Act. It went into force in November of that year and is designed to tackle issues surrounding Apple’s control of what apps can and can’t be downloaded to iPhones. 

By March this year (2024) platforms will need to comply with the EU’s or face disciplinary action.

The law won’t just apply to Apple. Google (which makes Android) and other platforms will also have to abide by the new rules but unlike iPhones, Android phones can already install software that isn’t on the Play Store – Android’s version of Apple’s App Store. By the way, this practice of downloading apps from sources other than the official app stores is called sideloading.

You’re about to experience a new Spotify if you live in the EU. One where you can see all subscription pricing, promotions or deals, and even make purchases, all seamlessly within the app. Find out what this means for you: https://t.co/j1hYRC3S5c pic.twitter.com/p1GDY6PNddJanuary 24, 2024

See more

Apple has fiercely defended its anti-sideloading stance saying it makes iPhones safer and relatively virus-free. Its critics – such as Spotify – will loudly call its system anticompetitive because the App Store takes up to 30% commissions on all purchases made through it and gives Apple’s apps an unfair advantage.

According to a Wall Street Journal report (behind a paywall), Apple’s current plans will still give it oversight of apps downloaded outside of the App Store. What’s more, it plans to take fees from these apps as well. So there might not be all that much difference between App Store and non-App Store apps.

The specifics haven’t yet been revealed but most probably Apple will be able to maintain this level of control by adding new rules to its dev tool license agreement. You need these tools to develop working apps for iPhones whether you publish them through the App Store or not. By altering the license agreement to include the checks and restrictions it normally imposes on the App Store, Apple could comply with the new laws without the situation changing all that much.

Your home screen might soon feature non-App Store apps (Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)

As with all leaks, we should take this report with a pinch of salt. We don’t yet know exactly what approach Apple will take, or even if the EU will see this leaked approach as compliant, but recent history suggests Apple will do the bare minimum it can. 

Earlier this year Apple was forced to allow developers to direct app users to payment systems that weren’t Apple’s – the one that currently takes 30% of most third-party payments made through it (small businesses pay a 15% commission). The kicker? Apple will put a 27% commission on payments made using an alternative system. Given the hassle and minimal incentive, many developers have complained this won’t change anything.

Not European? You should still care 

The App Store changes might not be EU-exclusive (Image credit: Shutterstock / BigTunaOnline)

If you’re in the US or a post-Brexit UK then you’re probably wondering what all this EU legal stuff has to do with you.

Well, firstly it wouldn’t be the first time EU action has affected the iPhone for everyone. The iPhone 15 models only made the USB-C port switch when they did because of EU legislation and discussions in European nations about tech repairability saw Apple preemptively launch Self Service Repair everywhere.

Even if Apple decides to digitally gate these App Store changes to just the EU it's likely other nations like the US and UK will consider following suit. And if you have one of the best VPN services installed there’s a chance you could make Apple think you’re in the EU and force it to give you access to non-App Store software.

So be on the lookout for changes to how you can use your iPhone in March, though don’t hold your breath for them to be anything too substantial.

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Latest Tech News

Parrot traffic direction system (TDS), a malicious script that redirects website visitors to dangerous destinations, was observed evolving and becoming harder to detect.

Cybersecurity researchers Unit 42, from Palo Alto Networks, recently analyzed 10,000 Parrot landing page scripts, gathered between August 2019 and October 2023. 

They concluded the majority of the scripts (75%) were new, representing the fourth iteration of the code. Another 18% were of the previous version, while the remaining 7% were running older scripts.

Different payloads for different victims

Compared to the older versions, the fourth iteration comes with a number of enhancements, including improved obfuscation with complex code structure and encoding mechanisms. Furthermore, the fourth version has different array indexing and handling that disrupts pattern recognition and signature-based detection, and comes with a variation in the handling of strings and numbers. 

As for its efficiency and productivity, Parrot TDS remains as useful as ever. It profiles the victim’s environment and, depending on the conditions found, drops different payloads. Unit 42 found a total of nine different payloads who, among themselves, don’t differ that greatly. There are “minor obfuscation changes” and target OS checks. 

In most cases (70%), Parrot will drop the second version of the payload with doesn’t come with any obfuscation.

To remain secure, website owners should search their servers for suspicious php files. They should also scan the ndsj, ndsw, and ndsx keywords, and use firewalls to block webshell traffic. Finally, they should deploy URL filtering tools to block traffic coming from known malicious URLs and IP addresses. 

Parrot TDS was first discovered in April 2022, by cybersecurity researchers from Avast. It was then said that the script was probably active since 2019, managing to infect more than 16,500 websites.

Via BleepingComputer

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Various developers have spoken out against this year's Global Game Jam (GGJ) list of diversifiers and sponsors which incudes two AI tool websites. 

A Polish game developer, Sosowski, took to Twitter/ X to voice his disdain over the latest list of diversifiers at GGJ. "[I] didn't expect [GGJ] to be this tone-deaf," the developer admitted. 

Another indie game developer, Rami Ismail, explained on Twitter/ X that while "I understand needing sponsors to run an event that tries to do good, I really do - I get it. This is an incredibly unfortunate example, though, and I'm not sure any amount of income can offset the reputational damage here, especially amidst the student & dev audiences GGJ serves." 

The Global Game Jam is a nonprofit that was set up with the goal of giving indie developers a space in which to create and show off their games and designs. It's a place where many devs can come together to experiment and meet new people in a safe environment. 

The diversifiers are also an important part of GGJ as they act as sponsors for the event. "Diversifiers are a great way to add more fun or a challenge to your jam weekend," the official GGJ website explains. "Sometimes they can be very helpful to limit your scope or refine your ideas. It can help your game stand out from the crowd, and you can choose up to 4 when you submit." However, the website goes on to explain that these are totally optional additions that you can use and add to your GGJ game alongside the main focus of the theme. 

This year devs can use two AI tools in the GGJ. The first is ReadSpeaker, an AI plugin that can add "dynamic runtime voice dialogue, enhance player immersion, and make your games more inclusive," according to the GGJ website. There is also Leonardo.Ai, a tool that can enhance or generate images and 3D textures using AI. 

One of the biggest creators of free indie game assets, Kenny, spoke out against these tools on Twitter/ X: "I think what's the worst about Global Game Jams' questionable sponsors is that the event is held at schools and attracts a lot of young developers. Give them proper resources, please."

If you're in the market for creative and fantastic games, then check out the best indie games and the best indie horror games that are available right now.

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It's official: The Marvels will finally make its way onto Disney Plus on Wednesday, February 7.

The Marvel Phase 5 film, which is the biggest box office bomb in Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) history, will make its official streaming debut on the Disney-owned platform early next month. The announcement was made via Marvel's social media channels, with the Disney subsidiary confirming its latest big-screen offering will be available to watch at home in just over two weeks (at the time of writing, anyway).

Hold on for an action-packed ride!#TheMarvels is coming to @DisneyPlus February 7. pic.twitter.com/0cSF1lgXofJanuary 22, 2024

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The Marvels' forthcoming arrival on Disney Plus comes two weeks after it was initially made available to rent and/or buy on select digital stores. Indeed, in early January, The Marvels received a streaming release date of January 9, but fans were left waiting for a confirmed Disney Plus launch as Marvel opted to distribute the superhero film on the likes of Apple TV, the Amazon store, and Google Play first.

Before then, we speculated on when The Marvels would make its Disney Plus bow and, not to blow our own trumpet, but we suggested the Brie Larson-starring flick would join the streaming's movie library in February 2024. We're glad, then, that we were proved right.

With its February 7 release date now locked in, The Marvels will follow its MCU brethren in debuting on Disney Plus around three months after its original theatrical launch. Even better (well, for us, anyway), we'll be able to give our new Disney Plus movies guide a proper update, as the Nia DaCosta-directed movie will be the first film to arrive on the service since The Creator on January 17 (on Disney Plus UK) and 2000's X-Men on January 5 (on Disney Plus US).

Yeah, the box office numbers don't make for great reading, Carol... (Image credit: Marvel Studios)

Unfortunately for The Marvels, we won't be adding it to our best Disney Plus movies article. As I mentioned, its theatrical performance was, particularly in Marvel movie terms, a disaster. Per Box Office Mojo, The Marvels made a paltry $206.1 million globally – a timid haul that made it the lowest-grossing MCU movie of all-time. With an eyewatering reported budget in the region of $270 million, The Marvels failed to recoup its production costs, let alone make a profit for Marvel.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, its critical reception, poor word of mouth, and general audiences' apparent superhero fatigue didn't aid its cause. But, considering it holds a positive 82% viewers' rating on Rotten Tomatoes, coupled with the prospect of fans waiting for it to debut on Disney Plus before watching it, The Marvels might surprise us all and draw in a sizeable audience next month. We'll be on hand to report on that possibility when The Marvels makes the superpowered jump from the big to the small screen in February.

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