Network and Beyond NaB

Earlier this week, Xbox Insiders reported they were testing an "optimized" Minecraft build with ray tracing options. The inclusion indicated that Mojang would have RT support ready in an upcoming update. Unfortunately, that doesn't seem to be the case. https://www.techspot.com/news/94011-minecraft-not-getting-ray-tracing-support-after-all.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

TSMC Chairman Mark Liu said demand for smartphones, PCs and televisions is waning, especially in China. Part of the problem is the fact that costs for components and materials are on the rise due to supply chain issues, pushing up production costs in the process. "Such pressure could eventually be... https://www.techspot.com/news/94009-tsmc-consumer-demand-smartphones-pcs-tvs-slowing.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

This week, Intel announced its new Arc A-series dedicated GPUs for laptops, adding more competition for Nvidia and AMD. For now only the entry-level Arc 3 series are ready to hit the market, while the heavy hitters like Arc 5 and Arc 7 series which have more graphics cores, VRAM,... https://www.techspot.com/news/93999-intel-offers-first-look-arc-limited-edition-desktop.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

It was almost exactly one year ago when Boston Dynamics introduced Stretch. Unlike some of the company's other machines, such as the quadrupedal Spot and humanoid-like Atlas, Stretch has a specific use case. Its robotic arm and smart vacuum gripper allow it to pick up, move, and put down warehouse... https://www.techspot.com/news/94002-companies-can-now-purchase-stretch-warehouse-robot-boston.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

Podnews claims to have received a presentation sent by YouTube to podcasters, which lays out upcoming features to support podcasts. They appear designed to facilitate searching for and monetizing podcasts. https://www.techspot.com/news/93996-youtube-reportedly-planning-increase-support-podcasts.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

Chrome OS is marking the release of version 100 with a new app launcher. Now, users will be able to organize apps by color or name. They'll also have the option to arrange them manually. Additionally, the launcher will now display more information in search result previews. https://www.techspot.com/news/93994-google-chrome-chrome-os-reach-version-100.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

Ditto stores every item you save to the clipboard: text, images and other formats. You can also keep clipboards from multiple computers in sync. https://www.techspot.com/downloads/3670-ditto.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

FedEx has announced a partnership with California Bay Area-based Elroy Air to test the company's autonomous vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) cargo system next year. https://www.techspot.com/news/93985-fedex-test-autonomous-drone-cargo-delivery-2023.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

Citing people familiar with the matter, The Wall Street Journal reports that Chinese authorities are currently drafting the new regulations, which will cap the amount internet users can tip livestreamers. Additionally, content creators will have daily limits on how much they can receive from fans and they may see a... https://www.techspot.com/news/93981-china-set-hammer-30-billion-livestreaming-industry-new.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

The Dyson Zone air-purifying headphones will make wearers stand out even more than if they were sporting Razer's Zephyr facemask, given the way it wraps around much of the head. But looking like a quest giver from Shadowrun does have its advantages: Dyson says it's ideal for city life, able... https://www.techspot.com/news/93979-dyson-unveils-noise-canceling-headphones-filter-air-you.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

Apple began introducing Force Touch (aka 3D Touch) to its devices in 2014 with the Apple Watch. It subsequently brought it to the MacBook's trackpad and the iPhone 6S. However, in 2018 Cupertino engineers decided to start phasing it out, starting with the iPhone XR and then the Apple Watch... https://www.techspot.com/news/93973-apple-force-touch-might-making-comeback-according-recently.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

Juice will leave Earth on an Ariane 5 rocket from Europe's Spaceport in Kourou in April 2023. The spacecraft will leverage four gravity assist maneuvers over the next several years to help propel it towards our solar system's largest planet while conserving as much propellant as possible. https://www.techspot.com/news/93971-european-space-agency-outlines-plan-jupiter-moon-tour.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

GPU prices have been trending down for the past several months, with some regions seeing the lowest prices since the start of 2021, and some lower-end models selling below MSRP. The situation on eBay has also improved, with the average selling price of GPUs dropping by 10 percent between February and March. https://www.techspot.com/news/93960-asus-slash-gpu-prices-up-25-percent-starting.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

According to Counterpoint Research's Market Pulse Service, Lenovo-owned Motorola was the number three smartphone firm in the US last year. In 2008, back when feature phones were the dominant variant, Motorola was the largest handset (smartphones and feature phones combined) OEM in the US, but 2021 marked the first time... https://www.techspot.com/news/93964-motorola-becomes-third-largest-smartphone-brand-us-filling.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

Intel writes that the Core i9-12900KS, which it refers to as the world's fastest desktop processor, will be available on April 5 with a recommended price of $739. The company will be showing off the chip and talking about its features in a Talking Tech livestream on the same day... https://www.techspot.com/news/93961-intel-core-i9-12900ks-launches-april-5-maingear.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

On Friday, anime streamer Crunchyroll announced it was removing simulcast content from its ad-supported tier. To continue watching new episodes of a series, viewers must lay down at least $8 per month or more for one of Crunchyroll's premium tiers. https://www.techspot.com/news/93954-crunchyroll-doing-away-free-simulcasts-starting-spring-season.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

"We are very grateful for all his contributions, and wish Mike the very best," Jones added. https://www.techspot.com/news/93957-amazon-games-boss-mike-frazzini-steps-down-focus.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

Max Weinback from Android Police shared schematics for the next-gen iPhone on Twitter last week. According to the leaked documents, Apple's next iPhone will feature a rear camera array with dimensions that are roughly five percent bigger. The bump will also protrude further out from the device. https://www.techspot.com/news/93950-flagship-iphone-14-models-could-have-larger-camera.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

Kaspersky Lab joins Chinese telecom firms Huawei Technologies Co and ZTE Corp on the list, along with China Mobile (USA) and China Telecom (Americas), both of which were added at the same time as the Russian company. https://www.techspot.com/news/93946-kaspersky-lab-becomes-first-russian-company-added-national.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

First reported by the Los Angeles Times, Reeves' catalog of movies, including the John Wick and Matrix franchises, has been removed from Chinese streaming platforms following his participation earlier this month in a benefit concert for Tibet House, a non-profit affiliated with the Dalai Lama. https://www.techspot.com/news/93945-china-cancels-keanu-reeves-over-support-tibet.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

A series of images were captured on March 7. The crown jewel of the set was photographed using the Extreme Ultraviolet Imager (EUI) at a distance of roughly 46.6 million miles from the Sun, or about halfway between the Earth and the Sun. https://www.techspot.com/news/93935-european-probe-captures-highest-resolution-image-sun-corona.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

The Nvidia GeForce Now RTX 3080 tier debuted in late 2021, priced at $100 for a semestral membership. With it, users can play games for up to eight hours straight at a maximum of 120FPS in 1440p resolution (1600p on Mac) or 60FPS at 4K with HDR enabled via Nvidia Shield TV. https://www.techspot.com/news/93728-nvidia-geforce-now-rtx-3080-tier-gets-one.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

On Wednesday, Microsoft released a new Windows 11 preview build to Insiders on the Dev Channel, which includes several fixes under the hood, some cosmetic changes, and a new video editing tool that will supposedly fill the hole left by the discontinuation of Movie Maker. https://www.techspot.com/news/93723-microsoft-planning-bring-tabs-file-explorer-windows-11.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

Have you upgraded your monitor to one with a higher refresh rate? Not feeling the difference? Here are some tips around monitor refresh rates and how to adjust these settings in Windows. https://www.techspot.com/article/2423-how-to-change-refresh-rate/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

Blender lets you create animated movies, visual effects, 3D printed models and even games. It's open source and available for Windows, macOS & Linux. https://www.techspot.com/downloads/638-blender.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

Earlier this month, someone curious enough to test Samsung’s Galaxy S22 performance claims found that they only held true while running benchmark apps. It turned out the company had been throttling thousands of popular apps on its flagship phones, presumably to preserve battery life and prevent them from overheating during... https://www.techspot.com/news/93715-samsung-s22-throttling-spawns-talk-regulatory-investigation-class.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

The information was first posted by a user on the Chinese social media platform Bilibili and then shared on Twitter. In the original post, the forum user also shared the first picture of the processor, which has the OPN and QR codes blurred out to prevent AMD from finding the... https://www.techspot.com/news/93713-you-may-not-able-overclock-amd-ryzen-7.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

Intel has already started shipping mobile Arc Alchemist GPUs for devices like the Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming 3i and Samsung’s Galaxy Book2 Pro, which pairs 12th generation Alder Lake-P and Alder Lake-U processors with an Arc A380 GPU. Early benchmarks from credible sources suggest the A300 series won’t blow socks off... https://www.techspot.com/news/93710-intel-arc-alchemist-rumored-launch-sometime-may-june.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

Still among the best GPUs you can buy, let's take an updated look at the battle between the GeForce RTX 3080 and the Radeon RX 6800 XT in a massive 50 game benchmark test. https://www.techspot.com/review/2427-geforce-rtx-3080-vs-radeon-6800-xt/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

The new Apple Studio Display is a 27" 5K retina screen with a resolution of 5120 x 2880 pixels at 218 pixels per inch. While it isn’t as big as the 32” Pro Display XDR released in 2019, nor does it offer HDR, the Studio Display starts at $1,600 as opposed to the Pro Display's $5,000. https://www.techspot.com/news/93703-apple-unveils-27-5k-display-isnt-5000.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

Pre-orders for the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series versions of GTA V and GTA Online, which launch March 15, are now open. While not free like many other cross-generation upgrades, there is a steep discount that lasts until June. The PS5 upgrade is cheaper, owing to Sony’s deal with Rockstar. https://www.techspot.com/news/93699-rockstar-reveals-discount-launch-prices-gta-v-ps5.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

The Bundle for Ukraine brings together work from more than 700 creators and consists of nearly 600 video games, more than 300 analog tabletop RPGs, and dozens of asset packs, books, zines, comics and soundtracks / music. https://www.techspot.com/news/93697-bundle-ukraine-includes-nearly-1000-items-10.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

AMD’s main focus for their big multi-die chips has been the server market. The demand for Epyc Milan CPUs has been extraordinary and so the majority of CPUs that might become Threadripper parts have been going to servers since the launch of Milan almost exactly one year ago. https://www.techspot.com/news/93683-amd-threadripper-pro-5000-now-official-plus-mainstream.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

The object of Xbox Cloud Gaming is to make Xbox games more accessible by bringing them to a wider variety of devices. Asobo Studio confirmed mouse and keyboard support is coming to Xbox Cloud Gaming in an interview last week. There is no firm date on the feature, but it's... https://www.techspot.com/news/93679-xbox-cloud-gaming-gets-mouse-keyboard-support.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

PCMag reports that during a Morgan Stanley investment meeting on Monday, Nvidia CFO Colette Kress hinted at the possibility of both current and next-gen cards being produced and sold alongside each other. https://www.techspot.com/news/93685-nvidia-hints-rtx-3000-series-rtx-4000-cards.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

The vulnerabilities, labeled CVE-2022-26485 and CVE-2022-26486, are both use-after-free (UAF) vulnerabilities that were reported to Mozilla by Chinese Internet security company Qihoo 360. As Kaspersky highlights, these types of vulnerabilities relate to the incorrect use of dynamic memory during a program’s execution. https://www.techspot.com/news/93680-mozilla-patches-two-actively-exploited-zero-day-vulnerabilities.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

Grab the HyperX Alloy Origins Core TKL for $70 (normally $90), or the HyperX Cloud 2 Wireless for $130 (normally $150) and the HyperX Cloud Flight for just $90. That's $50 cheaper than its regular price. https://www.techspot.com/products/keyboards/kingston-hyperx-alloy-origins-core.213247/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

Nvidia confirmed the long-rumored RTX 3090 Ti during its CES keynote at the start of January. Senior VP Jeff Fisher announced some details, promising that more would be revealed before the month was out. https://www.techspot.com/news/93672-nvidia-rtx-3090-ti-rumored-arrive-march-29.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

Our first look at VRM thermal performance of entry-level Intel B660 motherboards. On hand we have models boards from Asus, Gigabyte, MSI, Asrock, Soyo and Maxsun. Pricing starts at $100 up to $140. https://www.techspot.com/review/2426-intel-b660-motherboards/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

News of the motherboard comes from prolific leaker momomo_us (via Tom’s Hardware). The H610M+ board is made by Onda, and it supports DDR4-3200 and DDR5-4800 memory modules up to a maximum capacity of 32GB. https://www.techspot.com/news/93667-there-now-alder-lake-motherboard-supports-both-ddr4.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

The statements from Visa and Mastercard echoed similar sentiments, citing Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine and the unprecedented nature of the current conflict. The decision comes on the heels of recent sanctions that limited or removed Russian banks from the SWIFT messaging system, a move that cut off most Russian... https://www.techspot.com/news/93664-visa-mastercard-paypal-suspend-russian-operations-response-ukrainian.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

Lost Ark's launch in February was widely considered to be a massive success, hitting over 1.3 million concurrent users for the MMO in its first two days of launch. However, in the month since its release, players all over social media and on the game's official forums decried the rampant... https://www.techspot.com/news/93665-lost-ark-bans-over-one-million-bot-accounts.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

On Wednesday, March 2nd, Göran Marby, President of ICANN, replied to the government of Ukraine that it did not have the authority to grant its request to disconnect Russia from the internet. This is a rare instance of an organization acting in Russia’s favor, more so at a time when... https://www.techspot.com/news/93658-icann-rejects-request-ukraine-kick-russia-off-internet.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

Originally reported by the Washington Post, the move is meant to inhibit Russia's ability to spread propaganda and conduct cyberattacks against Ukraine and its allies. Cogent claims the termination is being pursued to maintain compliance with the recently passed EU regulation 2022/350. https://www.techspot.com/news/93659-internet-service-provider-cogent-terminating-service-russian-based.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

The Xingda plant, run by Taipower, supplies an estimated one-seventh of Taiwan's total electrical output. The outage lasted 90 minutes and affected an estimated five million households. The cause of the incident was attributed to a failure in the station's turbine room, which triggered an emergency shutdown to avoid further... https://www.techspot.com/news/93657-unplanned-power-outage-taiwanese-plant-interrupts-semiconductor-production.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

On Friday, Russian authorities announced they are blocking Facebook in response to the company’s recent actions against Russian state media. Reports indicate Russia has already blocked multiple social media networks, app stores, and Western news networks. This comes following restrictions Russia had already begun at the end of last week.... https://www.techspot.com/news/93655-russia-blocks-social-media-platforms-response-actions-against.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

In a recent post on Twitter, Kuo said he expects the new iPhone SE to enter mass production this month. The handset will feature a form factor similar to the current iPhone SE, Kuo added, and be offered in your choice of white, black or red colorways. https://www.techspot.com/news/93654-ming-chi-kuo-what-expect-third-gen-iphone.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

As it stands today, access to Disney+ commands $7.99 per month, or $79.99 per year when paid up front which works out to roughly $6.67 per month. There’s also the Disney Bundle, which consists of Disney+, ESPN+ and Hulu (the ad-supported tier) for $13.99 a month or $19.99 a month... https://www.techspot.com/news/93650-disney-get-ad-supported-tier-later-year.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

There are plenty of reasons to be fed up with corporate America, from excessive job demands to companies paying people to extoll their virtues online. Fortunately, people have wisened up. https://www.techspot.com/news/93627-get-microsoft-office-windows-or-mac-85-off.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

Bloomberg reports that Apple’s relaxing of its mask rules comes a week after the company removed its mask mandate for customers at many of its retail outlets but left the requirement in place for staff. However, it does still recommend that both shoppers and employees wear masks and is providing... https://www.techspot.com/news/93644-apple-begins-removing-mask-requirements-workers.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger