Building the Ultimate Home Entertainment Server with an ASUSTOR NAS and Viper Gaming NVMe SSDs

Building the Ultimate Home Entertainment Server with an ASUSTOR NAS and Viper Gaming NVMe SSDs

What happens when you combine the compact ASUSTOR AS5402T NAS with four Patriot Viper Gaming VP4300 Lite M.2 PCIe Gen4 SSDs? Magic.

The Apple Vision Pro's marketing chief has left Apple after 36 years

The Apple Vision Pro went on sale in February and now the man who led the marketing for the spatial computer, Frank Casanova, has reportedly left the company. Casanova had worked at Apple for 36 years across a number of different roles including leading the expansion of the iPhone to new carriers.

The Apple Vision Pro's marketing chief has left Apple after 36 years

Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports that Casanova left the company last week to retire. He was named Apple's first head of marketing for augmented reality in 2019 before taking the lead on the headset, Gurman says. His role involved attending the release of Apple's new spatial computer at the Grove shopping mall in Los Angeles alongside Apple's services head Eddy Cue. Dan Riccio, currently the executive who oversees Apple Vision Pro development, is also nearing retirement.

The Apple Vision Pro was heavily rumored for years before it was finally announced in June of last year and then we had to wait until February for it to finally go on sale. However, the Apple Vision Pro is only currently available to buy in the United States although a global launch is expected to happen before the end of the year. Apple hasn't yet confirmed which countries will receive the Apple Vision Pro this year, however, nor has it offered any hard release timeframes, either.

Continue reading: The Apple Vision Pro's marketing chief has left Apple after 36 years (full post)

The fourth season of the popular Apple TV+ show Trying has its first trailer

Oliver Haslam | TV, Movies & Home Theatre | Apr 25, 2024 2:30 PM CDT

Apple has shared the first trailer for the fourth season of the critically acclaimed comedy series Trying, starring BAFTA Award nominee Esther Smith and SAG Award nominee Rafe Spall. The show has been one of the hits of the Apple TV+ stable and is getting ready to premiere that fourth season.

The fourth season of the popular Apple TV+ show Trying has its first trailer

Apple says that season four of Trying will premiere on Wednesday, May 22 with the first two episodes available on day one. Then, a new episode will be made available to stream online every Wednesday through to the season's conclusion on July 3.

In this new season, Apple says that the story will fast-forward six years to discover that Nikki (Smith) and Jason (Spall) are experienced adopters. However, their teenage daughter causes the pair to find themselves struggling again, and their parenting skills are sure to be put to the test.

Continue reading: The fourth season of the popular Apple TV+ show Trying has its first trailer (full post)

Watch the trailer for Apple TV+ docuseries Hollywood Con Queen Right Here

Oliver Haslam | TV, Movies & Home Theatre | Apr 25, 2024 2:15 PM CDT

Apple TV+ has today released the first trailer for Hollywood Con Queen, a new documentary series that will run across three different episodes and premiere on May 8.

Watch the trailer for Apple TV+ docuseries Hollywood Con Queen Right Here

The new series tells the story of a figure dubbed the Con Queen who impersonates the most powerful women of Hollywood. That sees the impersonator lure unsuspecting victims to Indonesia, Apple's explainer says, offering them the promise of a life-changing career opportunity. The con sees them use their personal finances to try and make it big while being explored in the process.

The whole thing continues until investigative journalist Scott Johnson of The Hollywood Reporter and private investigator Nicole Kotsianas set out to get to the bottom of things - only to find that the story is stranger than they might have originally thought.

Continue reading: Watch the trailer for Apple TV+ docuseries Hollywood Con Queen Right Here (full post)

MSI's advice for Core i9 CPUs hit by game crashes includes 'workarounds recommended by Intel'

Darren Allan | CPU, APU & Chipsets | Apr 25, 2024 2:00 PM CDT

MSI is the latest motherboard maker to pop up with advice for those who are experiencing PC games crashing with their Core i9 14th-gen or 13th-gen processors - and it includes "some workarounds recommended by Intel."

MSI's advice for Core i9 CPUs hit by game crashes includes 'workarounds recommended by Intel'

This advice is delivered in a blog post from MSI on the topic of 'Improving Gaming Stability for Intel Core i9-13900K and Core i9-14900K' processors.

So, let's dive in: Suggested workaround number 1 is simply notching back the processor's power limit to Intel's default of 253W.

Continue reading: MSI's advice for Core i9 CPUs hit by game crashes includes 'workarounds recommended by Intel' (full post)

No, your Apple trade-in hasn't been canceled - no matter what Apple says

Oliver Haslam | Mobile Devices, Tablets & Phones | Apr 25, 2024 1:30 PM CDT

If you received a strange email earlier today saying that your Apple Store trade-in has been canceled, panic not - you can safely ignore it. The whole thing seems to have been an unfortunate glitch.

No, your Apple trade-in hasn't been canceled - no matter what Apple says

When buying a new iPhone, via the iPhone Upgrade Program or any other way, trading in your old device is a good way to save money. Buyers mail off their old handset and get a credit for the correct amount and everything normally goes well. But that hasn't been the case today, it seems, with Apple sending emails to people saying that their trade-ins have been canceled even if they haven't.

In some examples, the trade-ins took place months ago. One user took to the X social network to say that they traded in an old iPhone in September and have the receipt to prove it. But that didn't stop Apple from sending them an email today saying that their trade-in had been canceled because they didn't send their old iPhone in.

Continue reading: No, your Apple trade-in hasn't been canceled - no matter what Apple says (full post)

WhatsApp is rolling passkey support out for iPhone users

Oliver Haslam | Software & Apps | Apr 25, 2024 1:15 PM CDT

WhatsApp, the meta-owned instant messaging platform, has been testing support for passkeys for some time now and the feature is already available for Android users - in fact, it has been since October. Now though, WhatsApp has started to roll out passkey support for those who also happen to have an iPhone for the very first time.

WhatsApp is rolling passkey support out for iPhone users

The news was first reported by Engadget which reported that iPhone owners now have the option to use passkeys. It's rolling out to WhatsApp users right now, but it could take a few weeks for it to become available to everyone because of the way that WhatsApp tends to make these new features available.

In a statement provided to Engadget, Alice Newton-Rex, WhatsApp's head of product said that the support for passkey verification will make signing into WhatsApp easier and more secure. It's seen as an additional layer of security, she continued.

Continue reading: WhatsApp is rolling passkey support out for iPhone users (full post)

Elon Musk is launching a separate app to watch X videos on your TV

Jak Connor | Software & Apps | Apr 25, 2024 11:32 AM CDT

X is preparing to make the jump to your home TV, or any smart TV that is capable of downloading a new app, with the company preparing to release its own TV app dedicated for X video.

Elon Musk is launching a separate app to watch X videos on your TV

As part of Elon Musk's intention to create the "Everything App" X is now making the jump to TV's with a new separate app that will bring X video content to your couch. X's likely hoping the impact of bringing X to TVs will at least slightly shift the brand into being recognized as a video app as well - something Musk and X have been working on since the Tesla CEO purchased the company.

X CEO Linda Yaccarino, took to her personal X account to announce the X TV App and what it will entail. According to the X CEO the new app will come with a "trending video algorithm" that will enable users to stay updated with popular video content, AI-powered topics that will create a personalized user experience, cross-device support that will let users start a video on their phone and continue you it on your TV through casting, and an advanced video search.

Continue reading: Elon Musk is launching a separate app to watch X videos on your TV (full post)

Meta's Twitter clone 'Threads' already has more users than Elon Musk's X

Jak Connor | Software & Apps | Apr 25, 2024 11:16 AM CDT

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has shared new insights into the number of users on Threads, the company's direct competitor to X, formerly Twitter.

Meta's Twitter clone 'Threads' already has more users than Elon Musk's X

Zuckerberg revealed during a recent earnings call that Threads has gained more than 28 million daily users in the US, beating Elon Musk's X, according to Apptopia's VP of Research Thomas Grant to Business Insider. Notably, reports indicate that Threads has gained 20 million users since December and is currently sitting in third place in the App Store for the most popular app, while Threads is in position 41.

X has definitely had a turbulent experience since being acquired by Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, with the current battle being fought against the Australian government for refusing to remove a piece of video content the nation's online safety agency deemed a "terrorist attack". X responded by locking all Australian users out of that content, which the agency said wasn't enough, and demanded the video content be removed completely from the platform.

Continue reading: Meta's Twitter clone 'Threads' already has more users than Elon Musk's X (full post)

AMD's new GPU driver supports most-wished-for game Manor Lords, boosts Helldivers 2 performance

Darren Allan | Gaming | Apr 25, 2024 11:02 AM CDT

AMD has released a new GPU driver and it brings in support for a high-profile game - Manor Lords - plus it improves another big hitter, performance-wise.

AMD's new GPU driver supports most-wished-for game Manor Lords, boosts Helldivers 2 performance

So, the headline here is the mentioned support for Manor Lords in AMD's Adrenalin 24.4.1 driver, the much talked about city builder set in medieval times which became the most wish-listed game on Steam - and it's released tomorrow.

Two games are also getting expanded HYPR-Tune support, and those are Nightingale along with Skull and Bones.

Continue reading: AMD's new GPU driver supports most-wished-for game Manor Lords, boosts Helldivers 2 performance (full post)

Spreadsheets are boring? Not anymore they're not, someone made a Fallout RPG in Excel

Darren Allan | Gaming | Apr 25, 2024 10:26 AM CDT

Fallout is very much flavor of the month, thanks to the success of the hit Prime Video show (we just finished it last night - what a finale), and so what next? Fallout games, of course, and here's something out of left-field.

Spreadsheets are boring? Not anymore they're not, someone made a Fallout RPG in Excel

For those who don't want to rekindle Fallout 4 - which has a current-gen update landing later today - you might want to play a new Fallout-inspired post-apocalyptic outing in Excel.

Yes, Excel is the medium in which you run 'Mercer' which describes itself as a Fallout-inspired adventure game.

Continue reading: Spreadsheets are boring? Not anymore they're not, someone made a Fallout RPG in Excel (full post)