Microsoft just released its new Xbox Series X/S lineup, but the company is also selling refurbished models at a discounted rate.

The new Xbox Series X/S models are currently out and Microsoft is selling its disc-less Xbox Series X for about $450, which is a savings of $50 off the retail price of the main disc-based console. The value proposition here is just upfront savings--paying less to be forever locked out of any kind of physical media being played or read on the console.

But Microsoft is also selling fully-fledged Series X consoles with disc drives on its website for the same price. These are refurbished units and are guaranteed to work and operate, and they also come with the standard one-year hardware warranty. There's also two Xbox Series S variants being sold as refurbished stock--the newer 1TB Series S for $299 and the 512GB Series S for $249.

It seems that Windows 11 24H2 has another bug, and a pretty nasty one at that, affecting some of those who have a Western Digital SSD.

After installing the 24H2 update, owners of certain NVMe drives are finding that Blue Screen of Death crashes are being triggered randomly, seriously disrupting their PC usage - or even worse, they're ending up in a boot loop, one of the most-feared negative outcomes from an update.

TechSpot, which noticed the problem being reported on WD's community forum, notes that the bug seems to mainly hit those with WD_BLACK SN770 and WD Blue SN580 SSDs (which don't have DRAM-based cache).

NVIDIA is rumored to have a Q1 2025 launch schedule of January 2025 for the GeForce RTX 5090 and RTX 5080, February for the RTX 5070, and March for the RTX 5060.

In the latest rumors from Chinese Board Channels, we're hearing reports that the final launch plans for NVIDIA's upcoming GeForce RTX 50 series "Blackwell" gaming GPUs will be staged out across Q1 2025. The post explains: "The latest news reveals that the release dates for the NVIDIA RTX 50 series are mostly confirmed. This time, the various models of the RTX50 series may be launched rather quickly, with a near-monthly release schedule".

It continues: "Based on the information available, the estimated release timeline is as follows: the tentative release dates for the RTX50 series have been set. At CES in January 2025, NVIDIA will launch the RTX5090D and 5080 series. In February, the RTX5070TI and 5070 series will be released, followed by the RTX5060TI and 5060 series in March. This means the entire lineup will be released within Q1 of 2025. As of now, there are no plans for any SUPER models".

Ubisoft is experiencing one of its most tumultuous periods in recent memory. Following the controversy surrounding the Assassin's Creed Shadows, which delayed its launch until next year, Ubisoft has found itself in another potential boiling pot of negativity.

Gamerant has reported that Ubisoft is considering ending XDefiant after its fourth season if developers are unable to attract a significant increase in players. Previous rumors suggested XDefiant was suffering from a dwindling player base, which was denied by the game's executive producer, Mark Rubin, a Call of Duty veteran who worked on some of the franchise's biggest releases. However, insiders speaking to Gamerant said that despite Rubin's assurances that XDefiant isn't dying, Ubisoft is ready to put it on the chopping block.

Industry insider and leaker Shaun Weber posted on October 14 that he has learned Ubisoft's research team is actively asking their playtesters to host an in-house test session to gather new feedback on XDefiant and that if player counts aren't increased, support for the title could be severed post Season 4.

Are we about to see Intel reveal its discrete Battlemage graphics cards to take the baton from standalone Alchemist GPUs? Maybe, if a hint that Team Blue has dropped pans out.

Leaker HXL on X pointed out that Intel has its Partner Alliance BaseCamp event coming up on October 29, and there are a few key topics that the company highlights:

It's the top one which is interesting, as the theory is that 'client graphics updates' must surely refer to Battlemage, and with the integrated GPUs for 2nd-gen Arc already having arrived, perhaps this is a reference to the desktop graphics cards finally getting an unveiling.

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is expected to be rolled out in the form of hands-on previews, according to a recent report from Insider Gaming.

Insider Gaming's Tom Henderson penned a new story that states he has learned preview copies of Indiana Jones and the Great Circle will get hands-on previews this month and that, as part of these previews, both Microsoft and Bethesda are hosting media events where press and content creators will get to experience the game first-hand. Patrick Maka, the creator behind @Maka91Productions, took to X, formerly Twitter, to share an image of what is clearly Indiana Jones with the caption, "On my way to San Francisco. Hope I picked a good movie for the flight".

Maka also added in a reply to an X user asking what he is doing in San Francisco, "Hopefully learning whip skills and wearing a cool leather jacket" - a clear reference to Indiana Jones. As for what is officially known, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle will launch on December 9, 2024, on the Xbox Series S|X and on PC. Fans of Indy should know the title's developers have designed the game in such a way that makes guns a "fallback solution" and that gunplay won't be the primary "way forward". Instead, gamers will be encouraged to "use your wits and your whip," much like Indy himself.

Google is planning on removing one of the most popular ad blockers available on Chrome, as the company informs users who now attempt to download it that it "may soon no longer be supported."

That ad blocker is uBlock Origin, and according to reports Google has been informing ad blockers such as uBlock that it will be severing support for them after it rolled out the Chrome Manifest V3 extension update. uBlock appears to be included in that as BleepingComputer reports Google's Chrome Web Store is now warning users uBlock may soon be removed "because it doesn't follow best practises for Chrome extensions." Additionally, Google's support bulletin cited user privacy and security as one of the reasons why uBlock is being removed.

BleepingComputer reports that uBlock Origin is not invasive or insecure and that Google's mention of privacy and security has to do with its deprecation of the Manifest V2 extension in favor of Manifest V3. Google's introduction of Manifest V3 ruffled the feathers of extension developers as V3 presented technical challenges, particularly with those such as ad blockers that require greater control over web browsers.

NASA has taken to its blog to confirm the Sun has now reached the peak of its 11-year solar cycle, meaning we can expect a lot more activity out of our local star.

The space agency informed reporters on Tuesday, along with representatives from the Solar Cycle Prediction Panel and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), that the Sun has entered its solar maximum period, which can continue throughout next year. NASA explains that during the Sun's solar maximum, the Sun's magnetic activity is at its highest, which increases the number of sunspots that lead to solar eruptions that can and have impacted Earth.

Solar activity can affect critical infrastructure on Earth, such as communications systems, satellites, and power grids, which can all be disrupted during intense geomagnetic storms caused by solar blasts. On the positive side, increased solar activity means the frequency of auroras have increased. An example of the Sun's 11-year solar cycle paying off in the form of impressive auroras only occurred in May this year when Earth was hit with a barrage of coronal mass ejections (CMEs), or blasts of charged particles that created the strongest geomagnetic storm Earth has experienced in the last two decades.

Elon Musk has been accused of ripping off the popular blockbuster movie "I, Robot" starring Will Smith with his Tesla Optimus robot designs, which were recently showcased at a Tesla event.

Alex Proyas, the director of the cult-classic movie I, Robot, has taken to his personal X, formerly Twitter, account to share an image that directly compares scenes from the movie with mockups of Tesla designs. Proyas wrote, "Hey Elon, Can I have my designs back, please?" The only real product Tesla has made in the image or at least is planning on bringing to market in the immediate future is the humanoid robot the company calls Optimus.

It was only recently that Musk showcased the Optimus robot at the Robotaxi event, where they were seen serving drinks, dancing, answering questions, and playing games. While it may have appeared that these Optimus robots roaming around the event were fully autonomous, they were actually being remotely controlled by humans, which explains the almost uncanny response time when it came to speech. As for the similarities with I, Robot, Tesla hasn't officially said Optimus' design is inspired by I, Robot, but the company did name the event "We, Robot".

Microsoft has announced it's releasing a new build of the world's most popular operating system despite its scheduled appearance on the proverbial chopping block next year.

That operating system is Windows 10, and according to a new Windows blog post, the operating system has gotten Windows 10 22H2 19045.5070 (KB5045594) in both the Beta Channel and Release Preview Channel for Insiders. For those who don't know, Microsoft will end support with Windows 10 in October 2025, which will cause millions of PCs around the world to become exponentially vulnerable to security breaches - not to mention obsolete if they don't meet the hardware requirements for a Windows 11 upgrade.

Beta and Release Preview channel users for Windows 10 may begin to notice new changes to the account manager and the Star Menu. One user described the changes as unnecessary and the equivalent of a supermarket reorganizing its shelves just because management believe it's the right thing to do. Notably, when Microsoft severs support with Windows 10 in October next year the operating system will continue to function, but it will no longer receive security updates.

It was only a matter of time before lawsuits began flying in the academic space for the use of artificial intelligence-powered tools, but who thought they would come from the parents of a child who was busted using the AI tools?

That's right, the parents of a child who was busted using AI tools to help them complete their history project are now suing the school after it disciplined the student. The parents claim that the disciplinary measures issued by the school have now harmed the students' chances of getting into prestigious universities such as Stanford. According to Dale and Jennifer Harries, the parents of the student, their son's punishment of a Saturday detention and a grade of 65 out of 100 on the history project has now impacted their son's future and his "exemplary record".

Hingham Public School in Massachusetts claimed the use of AI tools is prohibited, and that is stated within the student's handbook, "unauthorized use or close imitation of the language and thoughts of another author and the representation of them as one's own work." The district dealing with the case stated in a recent motion to dismiss that Harris' son received a "relatively lenient" punishment and that siding with the parents would only "invite dissatisfied parents and students to challenge day-to-day discipline, even grading of students, in state and federal courts."

It isn't unusual for researchers to take something incredible in nature, such as a cat's eye or vision system, and attempt to create that in the laboratory.

Biologically inspired engineering happens all the time, and researchers from South Korea have become another example of it with a new artificial vision system inspired by Feline or cat eyes. For those that don't know, cats have a very impressive vision system that enables them to see very well in well-lit environments and also in complete darkness. Cats are able to do this through an eye adaptation that changes their pupil slit to vertical during the day, which helps to reduce glare, while at night, their pupils widen.

Additionally, at night a cat's eyes will develop a reflective layer called the tapetum lucidum, which boosts night vision performance and gives the eyes the reflective glow. The South Korean researchers penned a new study published in the journal Science Advances that details a new artificial vision system directly inspired by a cats vision system. The team created a slit-like aperture designed to filter unnecessary light and assist in focussing on key objects, while also creating a special reflective layer that is similar to the one found on a cats eye. The team says its artificial protective layer also boosts nighttime vision performance.

SpaceX achieved what previously only appeared to be possible in science-fiction movies with the launch and catch of the world's most powerful rocket, Starship.

Starship launched from Starbase on October 13, and after seven minutes of flight, the 233-foot-tall booster called Super Heavy descended back to the launch pad to be perfectly caught by the launch tower named Mechazilla. The tower's arms, or as SpaceX calls them, "chopsticks," act as support for Super Heavy as it slowly touched back down on the launch pad. The success of Flight 5 puts the company one step closer to achieving rapid reusability of Starship, which is a critical component in SpaceX's overarching quest to put humans on the surface of Mars.

To celebrate the monumental achievement of Super Heavy touching back down on the launch pad, SpaceX has released some video footage of the launch and catch that shows what both events would have looked like if you were positioned on the launch tower. It shouldn't be understated what an achievement this catch is, as Super Heavy is a 233-foot-tall rocket booster, which is the equivalent of a 20-story building, and at the time of catch, it weighs multiple tons. Perhaps an analogy that lines up with SpaceX's description of Mechazilla's arms is Mr. Miyagi from The Karate Kid catching a fly mid-air with his chopsticks.

When it comes to GPU hardware for consumers and professionals, NVIDIA dominates the desktop and laptop PC markets with its GeForce RTX line-up. This is especially true in the AI era, where RTX AI performance and app support are second to none.

However, with the rise of SoC devices running AMD, Intel, and Qualcomm processors with CPUs, NPUs, and GPUs rolled into one, Team Green doesn't have a presence in this market. At all.

So, it makes sense why there have been rumors that NVIDIA is partnering with MediaTek to create a new PC chip incorporating a MediaTek processor, NPU, and NVIDIA GPU for release in 2025. According to the latest report, mass production is apparently on track for late 2025, and the new chip will be built using a cutting-edge 3nm process.

MechWarrior 5: Clans, from developer Piranha Games, is a new single-player and co-op story-driven game in the iconic PC gaming franchise. Built using the latest Unreal Engine 5 technology, the game launches this week - October 17, to be exact - with support for NVIDIA Reflex, DLSS Super Resolution, and DLSS Frame Generation.

Like all great MechWarrior titles, you can customize your BattleMech to support various tactics and battlefield strategies. The fact that it features a dynamic cinematic standalone campaign with support for up to five players to tackle it in co-op as they take control of Clan Smoke Jaguar sounds like a must-play for fans of the series.

Also out this week, on the same day, is Stormind Games and Saber Interactive's A Quiet Place: The Road Ahead, a new single-player horror adventure based in the same universe as the A Quiet Place movies. With aliens using sound alone to hunt down and exterminate humanity, it's an excellent premise for a video game adaptation.

AMD has launched its new Ryzen AI PRO 300 Series processors for business laptops and productivity rigs. These processors leverage AMD's 'Zen 5' architecture, RDNA 3.5 graphics, and dedicated AI hardware to offer 50+ NPU TOPS (Trillions of Operations Per Second) of AI performance. This is enough to meet and exceed Microsoft's Copilot+ PC requirements.

"Enterprises are increasingly demanding more compute power and efficiency to drive their everyday tasks and most taxing workloads. We are excited to add the Ryzen AI PRO 300 Series, the most powerful AI processor built for business PCs, to our portfolio of mobile processors," said Jack Huynh, senior vice president and general manager of the Computing and Graphics Group at AMD.

Three variants have been announced: the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX PRO 375, AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX PRO 370, and AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 360. AMD notes that more than 100 Ryzen AI PRO PCs are on track to launch throughout 2025; here's a look at each chip's specs.

The Corsair iCUE LINK 9000D RGB AIRFLOW Super-Tower PC Case is a beast. We first saw it at Computex 2024, where it earned one of our best-in-show awards. This is the PC Case sequel to the popular OBSIDIAN 1000D Super-Tower case, albeit with modern iCUE LINK features and supped-up specs.

Corsair refers to the case's interior as "cavernous," it's not hard to see why. It accommodates 18 x 120mm, 7 x 140mm, or 4 x 200mm fans. Yeah, incredible. To give you more of an idea of the sheer size and build scope of Corsair 9000D RGB AIRFLOW Super Tower, the front and top panels support up to dual 480mm radiators installed side-by-side. And even with all that, there's still room to mount a 240mm radiator on the rear.

Thankfully, Corsair is aware that dealing with this many fans and radiators can quickly become an installation and cable management nightmare - which is why the Corsair InfiniRail mounting system helps to make this process as smooth as possible.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 is out October 25, and today, Activision announced the game's PC hardware requirements and released a new PC Launch Trailer. The trailer features footage captured with AMD hardware, and the game is set to launch with AMD FSR 3.1 support that includes the latest FSR Super Resolution and FSR Frame Generation technology.

Activision studio Beenox is leading the development of the PC version, working alongside primary developer Treyarch Studios. On PC, the game will ship with various graphics modes, Ultrawide display support, and over 500 individual customization options covering all aspects of the game. As seen with the recent beta, the game also supports NVIDIA DLSS and other RTX technologies.

In addition, we now have the hardware requirements and specs covering Minimum, Recommended, and Competitive/4K Ultra settings. The good news is that the game will run fine on most PCs; the minimum specs call for at least an AMD Radeon RX 470, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960, or Intel Arc A580 GPU - and just 2GB of VRAM.

Corsair has launched its latest flagship gaming headset, the VIRTUOSO MAX. The spec sheet is impressive, with 50mm Graphene drivers, high-res Dolby Atmos spatial audio, Active Noise Cancellation technology, and a "broadcast-grade microphone." The physical design and look are also slick and stylish; the large cushions are reminiscent of audiophile at-home headphones.

There's also dual Bluetooth and low-latency 2.4 GHz wireless connectivity, so you can play games and still receive calls or seamlessly switch between the two. Corsair notes that gaming with the VIRTUOSO MAX delivers around 60 hours of battery life (with the RGB turned off). And with Active Noise Cancellation and Transparency Mode technology, you can choose between blocking out all background noise or being aware of your immediate surroundings.

Throw in a durable metal build and spacious memory foam ear cushions, the new Corsair VIRTUOSO MAX's "spectacularly clear, precise audio" doesn't come cheap - it's priced at $329.99 USD.

Micron and its sub-brand Crucial have just unveiled their new DDR5 CUDIMM memory modules, featuring an on-module Clock Driver (CKD) which improves the speed and stability of the modules, packing higher rbandwidth than regular DDR5 kits, and more.

This style of memory is also known as unbuffered dual inline memory, which was released alongside clocked small outline inline memory modules (CSODIMM) that were made for laptops. But now, Crucial has announced its next-gen DDR5 CUDIMM and CSODIMM memory modules are shipping in volume.

We can expect far higher speeds than what Micron and Crucial have announced today, with CUDIMM memory modules expected to skyrocket towards 8000MT/s or even 9000MT/s with some companies already teasing that they're working on DDR5 CUDIMM memory modules with a blistering 10,000MT/s that are launching in 2025.