A few weeks ago, Apex Legends began to experience a massive influx of negative Steam reviews as fans of the battle royale shooter flocked to the listing to voice their frustrations with the Season 22 Battle Pass rework.

Respawn Entertainment and EA made some changes to the Battle Pass in Season 22, which were marketed to gamers as a way of providing more value to players. Unfortunately, this statement didn't ring true at all, as the Battle Pass was split into two halves, each priced at $10. Additionally, and in what was likely the biggest transgression made by the developers/publishers, players would no longer be able to purchase the Battle Pass with Apex Coins, which are awarded to players for simply playing the game.

The changes to the Battle Pass were deemed clear strategies to milk more money from players, which resulted in the immediate fiery backlash from the community that reduced Apex Legends' concurrent players to drop considerably. The stacking of negative Steam reviews pushed Apex Legends' "Recent Reviews" status down to "Overwhelmingly Negative".

Tractor beams are one of the most iconic pieces of science-fiction technology, most likely popularized through movies and TV shows such as Star Wars, Star Trek, and anything to do with advanced alien lifeforms operating UFOs.

While those pop-culture depictions of tractor beams are certainly very far away, researchers may be able to create a small tractor beam that would be used for health benefits. A team of researchers penned a new study in the scientific journal ACS Photonics, which details the creation of a tractor beam that's specifically designed to target cells that could lead to health complications. The invention would reduce the invasive nature of removing tissue through physical slicing, and thus, the chance of infection and further health complications.

The team used three strands of light that were twisted together like a Raspberry Twister, but the light formed together into a small tunnel or tube. These three forms of light are created by passing normal light through a surface that has an extremely thin nanopatterned silicon placed over a small plane of glass. The result is a triple helix solenoid beam that works like a tractor beam, except it's extremely thin.

Microsoft has rolled out a new Windows 11 update to its Insider program that improves the interoperability between Android and Windows PCs.

The Redmond company has been working on improving the connection between smartphones and Windows PCs with its Phone Link app, and now a new update rolled out to the Insider program enables users to access their devices files within Windows File Explorer. The update is just for Android devices and take advantage of the new functionality users must be running Android 11 or higher, along with Phone Link beta version 1.24071 or higher.

To enable this feature users will head to Settings > Bluetooth & Devices > Mobile Devices > Manage Devices and enable the option to show the connected smartphone in File Explorer. Once enabled, users will be able to access the device's files, which means adding/removing files and reorganization - all wirelessly. Notably, files that are deleted through the Phone Link app will be sent to the smartphone's recycle bin, not the Windows PC recycle bin.

NASA's Mars rover has discovered a rock on the surface of the Red Planet that shows possible signs of ancient life once existing on Earth's desolate neighbor.

The team monitoring the progress of NASA's Perseverance rover, which landed in the Jezero Crater in early 2021, is excited over the discovery of a rock that shows three signs of possible evidence of ancient microbial life once existing on Mars. The signs the rover discovered are often associated with the Earth's fossilized record of microbes living in the subsurface, and never before has NASA found all three together.

NASA explains via the above video that one of the first signs of possible microbial life is the discovery of calcium sulfate veins running up and down the rock. Calcium sulfate veins are "clear" evidence that water once ran through the rock. This discovery coincides with the overall theory that Mars was once home to large quantities of running water systems that caused the landscape observed by Perseverance to resemble dried up river systems similar to what is seen on Earth.

Meta has been training on its new Llama 3 405B model on a cluster of 16,384 x NVIDIA H100 80GB AI GPUs. Half of the issues during its 54-day training run were caused by the onboard HBM3 memory.

Meta released a new study detailing its Llama 3 405B model training, which took 54 days with the 16,384 NVIDIA H100 AI GPU cluster. During that time, 419 unexpected component failures occurred, with an average of one failure every 3 hours. In half of those failures, GPUs or their onboard HBM3 memory were the blame.

In a system with truck loads of components like CPUs, motherboards, RAM, SSDs, GPUs, power systems, cooling systems, a supercomputer is exotic and ultimately powerful, but it's completely normal for issues to happen every few hours. But, it's how developers work on those issues and get the system to remain operational no matter what local breakdowns are happening.

Lenovo has just launched its new YOGA Portal Ultimate PC to fight the Apple Mac Studio system, powered by a desktop Intel LGA1700 socket and desktop NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 graphics. Check it out:

The new Lenovo YOGA Portal Ultimate PC is aimed at the Chinese market, inside powered with an Intel Core i7-14700 processor and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 graphics. The global market version of the Neo Ultra variant features up to an Intel Core i9-14900 processor and RTX 4060 graphics, so the Chinese version has a less powerful CPU, but much more powerful GPU.

Lenovo isn't using the Laptop GPU variant of the GeForce RTX 4070, but the actual full desktop RTX 4070. Lenovo's new YOGA Portal Ultimate PC can have its CPU swapped out because the company is using Intel's desktop LGA1700 socket, but the GPU might be a harder upgrade given that the custom cooling inside of the system is designed for this form factor.

AMD's new Ryzen 9000 Series CPU launch might have been delayed by a few weeks, but it's still around the corner. And with the new Zen 5 processors fully supported by existing AM5 boards, GIGABYTE has announced that it's now rolling out BIOS updates for its X670, B650, and A620 Motherboards for the new CPUs.

GIGABYTE notes that AGESA 1.1.7.0 Patch A (Release) and AGESA 1.2.0.0a Patch A (Beta) are critical updates for "compatibility and optimized performance" when paired with one of the new AMD Ryzen 9000 series processors.

Although listed as Beta, AGESA 1.2.0.0a Patch A is definitely for those looking to pick up the flagship AMD Ryzen 9 9950X or the Ryzen 9 9900X. It allows users to "harness the full potential of these next-generation processors." This means full support for AMD's new memory overclocking features and the new Curve Shaper tool.

AMD has introduced Amuse 2.0, a new AI image generation tool currently in Beta. Amuse is a fully local experience, meaning it doesn't require plugging into the cloud. It requires either an AMD Ryzen AI 300 Series processor or a Radeon RX 7000 Series graphics card to run. Thanks to their AI-based XDNA architecture, it also runs on systems with AMD's mobile Ryzen 8040 processors.

This is important because Amuse includes AMD XDNA Super Resolution integration, which upscales lower-resolution images on AMD mobile devices. According to AMD, it "increases output size by 2X at the end of the image generation stage."

As seen in other AI image generation tools, Amuse uses Stable Diffusion models from Stability AI to create its images. Amuse takes the widely used and available Stable Diffusion AI models and creates a "painless, easy to use and optimized end-user experience" for its customers. In creating Amuse, AMD partnered with the New Zealand-based TensorStack to help develop the user-friendly UI.

AMD has launched its new Ryzen AI 300 series "Strix Point" APU-powered laptops, which see the combination of Zen 5 CPU cores, RDNA 3.5 GPU cores, and an XDNA 2 NPU for AI workloads.

AMD had the first "AI PC" processor with its Phoenix APUs back in 2023, improving things across the board with the Hawk Point APUs with higher TOPS out of the NPU. Now, we have the far more powerful and advanced Strix Point APUs which make them the most powerful Copilot+ PC processors on the planet.

The company is doing things a little different here with the Ryzen AI 300 series "Strix Point" APUs as AMD is converging its portilio and doesn't rely on a fixed TDP for a selected SKU anymore. This means that there are no U, H, HS series branding, and that AMD is now giving OEMs the flexibility to adjust Strix Point APUs to their demands with TDPs ranging between 15W and 54W.

Oh... well, Intel's issues with its 13th Gen and 14th Gen Core CPUs goes from bad to worse, with the company admitting that there is no fix coming, and that there is no recall for its crashing CPUs to The Verge.

Any degradation to the processors is irreversible, with an Intel spokesperson not denying that fact when asked by The Verge. Intel said that it is "confident" that the coming patch will keep it from happening in the first place, but if your defective CPU has been damaged, there is no method to reverse it... all you can do is tweak some BIOS settings to get around the issues.

Intel confirmed that high voltages aren't the only reason its 13th Gen and 14th Gen Core CPUs are crashing, and that Team Blue is still investaging the issue. Intel isn't stopping any of the inventory of its affected CPUs from getting out of its doors, and the company wouldn't share just how many chips would be irreversible damaged, nor did Intel explain why it's continuing to sell these chips ahead of any fixes coming.

We're sure that you've heard of the instability and other issues plaguing Intel 13th Gen and 14th Gen Core CPUs, but now we're hearing that there are some bigger issues troubling Intel right now:

In a new video from Moore's Law is Dead, we're hearing the issue plaguing Intel 13th Gen Core "Raptor Lake" and 14th Gen Core "Raptor Lake Refresh" processors experiencing failures is because of the Ring Bus "getting cooked" because of high voltages being fed into it.

MLID's sources said that the "leading theory inside Intel right now" is that the Ring Bus is "getting cooked because it's fed the by the same rail as the P-Cores and E-Cores". Intel's 13th Gen Core "Raptor Lake" CPUs needed to hit incredible high voltages in order to "be competitive" with AMD's new Zen 4 platform at the time.

Alright, this new Telsa Cybertruck Mini-PC is the coolest thing I've seen today: inside, featuring the AMD Ryzen 7 8845HS "Hawk Point" APU and you even press the hood of the system to power it on.

Taku Udon has now reviewed the new Cybertruck Mini-PC, and instead of looking like a regular -- but modded -- PC, it looks like a Tesla Cybertruck RC that is actually a PC. We're talking about having shock absorbers; all four doors can be opened, and you can even steer the wheels. Oh yeah, the trunk has an expanding ramp because you'll never use it, but it's there. So cool.

Under the Cybertruck's rear bumper, you'll find all of the connectors hidden away, with the power button hidden under the front shock absorbers. This means you'll have to press the truck down to start the PC, which is so cool to hear.

According to new reports, AMD has inked a deal to build a new research and development (R&D) center in Taiwan.

In a new article by CNA in Taiwan, we're hearing that Qiu Qiuhui, the Director of Industrial Technology of the Ministry of Economic Affairrs, confirmed the "secret of the operation" that AMD's GPU and AI software platforms are open architectures, listing 33 manufactures in Taiwan to participate in R&D.

It's expected that an estimated 15 billion yuan (around $2 billion USD or so) in new investment, with over 1000 new AI staffers employed every year in Taiwan. Twiwan has the advantage of being home to the biggest semiconductor industry cluster, with major AI chip companies like AMD and NVIDIA applying to set up new R&D centers in Taiwan. This is on top of TSMC making the most advanced chips for the biggest companies on the planet.

Amazon is currently letting around half a dozen engineers test out a "closely guarded" new server design through its paces, according to the latest reports.

In a new article from RReuters, the outlet reports that the server in question was "packed" with Amazon's artificial intelligence (AI) chips that will compete with the likes of NVIDIA and its market-leading AI GPUs. The news is coming directly from Amazon executive Rami Sinno, said on Friday to Reuters during a visit to the Amazon AI chip lab.

Amazon is developing its own AI processors to limit its future reliance on more expensive NVIDIA AI GPU offerings and the so-called NVIDIA tax. Amazon uses AI all across its Amazon Web Services (AWS) with the company planning to spend $100 billion on data centers used for AI in the future.

The US Department of Energy (DoE) is working on its next-generation Discovery supercomputer, which will be a whopping 3-5x faster than its existing Frontier supercomputer.

The DoE has put out requests for proposals for its new Discovery supercomputer, with interested parties having until August 30, 2024 to submit their proposals. The next-generation Discovery supercomputer would be delivered to the Oak Ridge Leadership Facility (OLCF) at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) in Tennessee, by early 2028.

Discovery will succeed the Frontier supercomputer, which is the world's fastest supercomputer on the biannual Top500 list, which lists the world's fastest supercomputers -- of which Frontier is #1 -- for the fifth consecutive time in May 2024.

MSI has just unveiled a slew of new AMD Ryzen AI 300 series "Strix Point" APU-powered laptops in high-end gaming, content creation, and workstation laptops. Check them out:

The company unveiled its entire family of AMD Ryzen AI 300 series "Strix Point" APU-powered laptops due ing the ChinaJoy 2024 event recently, with new Strix Point-powered laptop for gamers, creators, workstation users, and everyone in between.

MSI's new TITAN 18 PRO Ryzen Edition 2024 laptop features AMD's new flagship Ryzen AI 9 370 and Ryzen AI 9 365 "Strix Point" APUs with 12 cores, 24 threads and 10 cores, 20 threads, respectively. Inside, the new Strix Point APUs featured beefed-up RDNA 3.5-based GPU cores (up to 16 CUs) at up to 2900MHz.

GEEKOM has just unveiled its new Mega Mini G1 PC: an interestingly designed Mini-PC that would look crazy good on any gaming desk.

The new GEEKOM Mega Mini G1 is a futuristically-styled new Mini-PC that measures 250 x 150 x 150mm, already showcased at MWC and Computex earlier this year, it's now bigger and will be shown in prototype form at IFA in September. Inside, GEEKOM will pack up to an Intel Core i9-13900H processor (14 cores, 22 threads) with up to an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 discrete GPU.

GEEKOM includes OCulink connectivity, so if you wanted faster GPU performance than what the RTX 4060 is capable of, you can hook up an external graphics card with far more power. GEEKOM says that the RTX 4060 GPU inside of its new Mega Mini G1 PC runs at up to 120W, showing some performance metrics to back up those claims:

TSMC has reportedly received a ton of "super rush orders" from mainland Chinese customers, who are looking to stock up on chips so fast they're willing to pay a 40% premium on them.

The Chinese companies buying chips made at TSMC are expecting a big impact from the 2024 US presidential election to have (more) negative effects on China's access to the latest chips, according to CNyes.

In a new report picked up by the site, "people familiar with the matter" said that TSMC's excellent gross profit margin for Q2 2024 was "unexpectedly" driven by a large number of orders from mainland China, many of which were super-urgent orders.

Intel's 13th-gen and 14th-gen processors are seeing much higher levels of returns than expected, according to a new report, due to the widely reported instability problems that these CPUs suffer from.

Les Numeriques, a French tech site (via Digital Trends), observes that an unnamed European retailer claims to have received four times as many returns for 13th-gen Raptor Lake processors compared to 12th-gen (Alder Lake) chips.

That's a pretty astonishing quadrupling of problems requiring a chip to be sent back, and we're further told that the frequency of returns has only increased to this level in recent times.

PlayStation's live service game won't have a battle pass, developer Firewalk Studios has confirmed.

Sony has a unique game plan with its live service ambitions: Instead of going free-to-play, the PlayStation-maker wants to merge the worlds of premium and GaaS in one package. The company's next live game, Concord, will be sold at a premium $40 and will not rely on a battle pass to secure post-release monetization.

"You own Concord, Concord doesn't own you," said gameplay animation director Mark DeRidder. SIE and Firewalk are taking a similar approach as Helldivers II, which was also sold for $40 and includes a lot of free updates and content. Concord will likewise get a host of free updates that include new maps and characters. But unlike Helldivers II, Concord won't rely on the battle pass structure.