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Using data from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory, researchers have confirmed a massive, monstrous hole has opened up in the Sun's atmosphere, and it's spewing solar wind directly at Earth.

The surface of the Sun is constantly going through changes as the massive fireball powering life on Earth's magnetic field contorts, causing solar flares, coronal mass ejections, and coronal holes. Researchers discovered that a massive hole has opened up in the Sun's atmosphere starting on December 2, officially called a "coronal hole," and within 24 hours, it reached its maximum size of an astounding 497,000 miles wide.

Beginning on December 4, the massive coronal hole has been pointing directly at Earth, spewing fast radiation or solar wind in the direction of our planet. When the massive hole was discovered, space weather experts predicted it would cause geomagnetic storms in the Earth's upper atmosphere, which could potentially trigger radio blackouts and auroras closer to the equator. Initial predictions for the severity of the storm this coronal hole could cause were a moderate G2-level storm.

Full ray tracing or path tracing is only available in a handful of titles, but the results are as mind-blowingly impressive as they are taxing on a graphics card. Cyberpunk 2077, Alan Wake II, and Portal with RTX are three examples that offer full ray-tracing modes where you need a GeForce RTX 40 Series GPU with DLSS 3.5 Ray Reconstruction and Frame Generation to achieve a playable frame rate.

As part of the latest GeForce Game Ready Driver WHQL Driver 546.29 release from NVIDIA, which adds day-one support for Ubisoft's Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition, and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III and Warzone Season 1, we got the surprise news that Call of Duty and Warzone are getting full ray tracing and DLSS 3.5 Ray Reconstruction "to enhance the appearance of your loadout, characters and vehicles," with Warzone also finally getting DLSS 3 Frame Generation support.

Now, you might be wondering what sort of impact full ray tracing will have on in-game performance - you don't have to worry about that because the full ray tracing applies to the multiplayer lobbies for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III and Warzone. And not in-game.

Samsung has reportedly ordered a "significant number" of 2.5D packaging equipment from Japanese company Shinkawa, according to the latest reports.

We're hearing the news from TheElec's sources, who said Samsung has ordered 16 units of the equipment from the packaging firm, with the South Korean giant receiving 7 of the units already, and will request the rest of them when they need them. We should expect Samsung is preparing to supply NVIDIA with its new HBM3 memory and 2.5D packaging for its next-gen Blackwell B100 AI GPUs coming in 2024.

Now that Samsung has 7 of them in-house, the other 9 units will be ordered when NVIDIA begins ordering the parts required from Samsung for its new B100 AI GPU. Samsung should be providing HBM3 memory, the interposer, and 2.5D package from Samsung while its main partner for fabrication will still be TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company).

A new report from Jon Peddie Research presents some great news for the PC gaming market: GPU shipments from AIBs for the desktop rigs have increased by 37.4% in the last quarter. When you factor in all desktop PCs and not those custom-built for gaming or sold as-is, GPU shipments increased 16.8% in Q3 2023 compared to the last quarter.

All three big players in the GPU space benefited from recovery, and the report proudly proclaims that the post-COVID slump for PC gaming hardware "is over." However, AMD and the Radeon line-up look to have benefited the most as AMD's shipments increased by 36.6%, NVIDIA's by 25.2%, and Intel's by 10.4%.

This sees AMD's overall market share increase by 2.4% compared to the last quarter, with NVIDIA's growing by 1.3%. The report notes that iGPUs and APUs account for the shift, and part of that will undoubtedly be due to the rise in popularity of PC gaming handhelds like Steam Deck and ROG Ally.

The ASUS ROG Ally gaming handheld is a haven for modders, with most of the mods voiding the warranty on your expensive new gaming handheld. Be careful... however, some are doubling the RAM, and increasing its speed through mods.

We've now got memory modifications being applied to the ASUS ROG Ally, with SlickBuys Mods and Repairs changing over the 16GB of LPDDR5 memory inside of the handheld, with 32GB of LPDDR5X memory. Twice the memory, and it's faster: from 6400MT/s to 7500MT/s inside of the ASUS ROG Ally.

Inside, the ROG Ally features 4 memory modules that need to all be removed and swapped over. Once you've taken out and replaced the RAM modules, you'll need to remove and reprogram the BIOS chip so that it recognizes and works with the increased capacity and speed (16GB to 32GB and LPDDR5 to LPDDR5X memory).

ASUS has a new GeForce RTX 4070 model in the form of the ASUS Turbo GeForce RTX 4070 12GB GDDR6X, and based on the images, it features a more old-school blower fan design. A design choice that helps keep the dimensions down to a slim and compact 2-slot form factor and opens the door for multiple ASUS Turbo GeForce RTX 4070s to be used for AI and workstation builds.

The blower fan design is noisier than the chinkier cooling found on modern PC gaming GPUs but is the ideal solution for workstations, servers, and AI rigs because all of the hot air is vented through the I/O plate. And with that, the redesigned shroud of the ASUS Turbo GeForce RTX 4070 features "a raised edge to preserve air intake in cramped environments."

The rise of generative AI and powerful AI tools is slowly entering the enthusiast and desktop market. The AI-powered Windows 12 is expected to arrive in 2024 alongside dedicated AI PCs, so even though the specs point to the ASUS Turbo GeForce RTX 4070 being pretty great for PC gaming - its arrival helps mark the arrival of the AI PC market.

NVIDIA and GeForce RTX just passed an impressive milestone - 500 games and apps out in the wild that feature RTX technologies. This includes DLSS and/or ray tracing, where often the two go hand-in-hand. GeForce RTX GPUs first hit the scene back in August 2018, with the GeForce RTX 2080 Ti (check out Anthony's review from back then!) and RTX 2080 being the first consumer desktop graphics cards to feature hardware-accelerated ray-tracing capabilities and AI hardware in the form of dedicated Tensor Cores.

In 2018, real-time ray tracing in games was viewed as something still several years from becoming a reality, and with GeForce RTX GPUs featuring RT Cores and AI Tensor Cores, the combination of DLSS rendering to boost performance proved to be the secret ingredient. Game support was slow at first, and DLSS took a few revisions to get to the 'essential tech' place it is right now, but in 2023, having 500 RTX games and apps proves that NVIDIA was ahead of the game.

To celebrate the milestone, NVIDIA has provided some cool stats to showcase how prevalent RTX technologies have become - especially DLSS. Free performance without a noticeable hit to visual fidelity, DLSS is arguably the most important innovation in game rendering in the past decade.

Well, Grand Theft Auto 6 has been officially announced, and it looks incredible... Rockstar has been cooking, that's for sure... but we should expect an even better visual treat for the timed console exclusive on the higher-end PlayStation 5 Pro console.

Rockstar will most likely be targeting 1440p 30FPS on the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X, and probably a lower rendering resolution for the Xbox Series S at up to 30FPS. I'd like to see Grand Theft Auto 6 feature a 60FPS mode on the PS5 and XSX consoles at a lower rendering resolution (and using upscaling to look better).

But... what about a beefed-up PlayStation 5 Pro console?

SABRENT's latest UDB-C Hub is one of those devices that packs in the right amount of features while remaining compact to feel essential. Per the headline, the big thing here, apart from the USB-C Hub action, is the addition of an M.2 SSD Slot that comes with a thermal pad for cooling to make the most out of the main USB-C 10Gbps (USB 3.2 Gen 2x1) connection.

There's also up to 90W bypass charging power delivery, with three USB Type-A ports, two 5Gbps (USB 3.2 Gen 1x1) with power, and a single legacy USB 2.0 port for connecting devices like keyboards and mice. As with all SABRENT hubs, the new SABRENT USB-C Hub 6-Port Dock with M.2 SSD Slot (HB-6PNV) is plug-and-play.

The features don't stop there, as there's a lot more to this little USB-C Hub - including the ability to connect to an external display for 4K@60Hz video, which is awesome for Steam Deck and ASUS ROG Ally owners.

Microsoft gaming boss Phil Spencer clarifies that the company has 'no plans' to migrate Xbox Game Pass onto rival consoles like Nintendo or PlayStation, but neither really wants such a service on their platforms anyway.

A bit ago at a Wells Fargo tech conference, Xbox finance officer Tim Stuart said that Microsoft wants to bring Game Pass to "all screens," including competing platforms like PlayStation and Nintendo. This won't be happening.

In a recent interview with Windows Central's Jez Corden, Xbox gaming CEO Phil Spencer confirms that offering Game Pass on PlayStation or Nintendo isn't part of the strategy.

GTA VI trailer's outlandish Florida Man moments aren't just satire--they actually happened.

Florida is a crazy place. Having lived here all my life, I confidently say with all of the gusto of Harrison Ford in the Force Awakens--it's true, all of it. That's the case with the GTA 6 trailer, as Rockstar sourced real-world events to inspire its internet-breaking debut trailer for one of the most anticipated games in existence.

Like real life, GTA 6 is filled with TikTok and Instagram captures of outrageous things that people do here in Florida, from watering their lawn naked to twerking on the roof of a car speeding down a Miami highway. Oh, and we can't forget the terrifying lady with hammers. Hurricanes, gators, and crazy people--here in Florida you just never know what you're going to get.

NVIDIA has swiftly deployed a hotfix for its new Game Ready Driver which was released yesterday, and had a couple of annoying bugs - one of which was much more frustrating than the other.

We're talking about bouts of stuttering affecting the smoothness of gameplay when V-Sync is turned on. The other problem was when streaming on Discord, colors could appear muted.

Both of these are known issues with Game Ready Driver 546.29 and are cured by the hotfix which is version 546.31.

Xbox boss Phil Spencer reiterates and underscores Microsoft's multi-platform business model for gaming.

Xbox hasn't been a console for many years now. Instead, Xbox is now a service-oriented ecosystem that spans online content, subscriptions/services, and hardware. Instead of relying exclusively on Xbox consoles to act as spending gateways, Microsoft has adapted Xbox across all major touchpoints, offering its content and services everywhere that games can be played. From PCs to smartphones and even console-free gaming access directly on TVs via cloud game streaming, it seems like Xbox is expanding quickly.

This is all part of Microsoft's grand unified vision for gaming. Not only is the company seeking to create a Universal Store that will sell games, content, and services cross consoles, PCs, mobiles and more, but Microsoft also wants to continue leveraging its core strengths as a service-first, infrastructure-driven company and usher in a new wave of cross-platform access for consumers. The idea is to have every consumer become a gamer, and have all gamers spending either time or money in monetized, online-connected worlds.

The road will be able to wirelessly charge electric vehicles while they are stationed, idling, and even driving. But where is it?

A team of engineers have installed what's being described as the United States' first wireless-charging road that involves the use of copper inductive charging coils positioned beneath the road to charge electric vehicles.

The road is located in west downtown Detroit and stretches a quarter mile of 14th Street. Engineers plan on using this location as somewhat of a testing ground for the technology, and will make the road available to the public within a few years, per the Michigan Department of Transportation.

AOC has announced it will be launching two new ultrawide gaming monitors that will have the same resolution, but one has a better refresh rate.

If you are in the market for a new gaming monitor and have always been curious about picking up an ultrawide display, take a look at AOC's AGON line-up and, in particular, the CU34G2XE and CU34G2XP. AOC's AGON line has proved the company is dedicated to producing high-quality gaming monitors at an affordable price. It's able to do this by concentrating on the specifications that truly matter to gamers, such as resolution, refresh rate, and response time.

First up, we have the CU34G2XE, a VA panel display that comes with a curvature of 1500R, a 21:9 aspect ratio, 3440 x 1440 (WQHD) resolution, a 144Hz refresh rate, and a 1ms response time (MPRT). This ultrawide comes with support for HDR10 and comes equipped with DisplayPort 1.4 and HDMI 2.0. Next is the CU34G2XP, and while being an extremely similar gaming monitor by coming with all of the aforementioned features of the CU34G2XE, the CU34G2XP separates itself with an increased refresh rate of 180Hz, two DisplayPort 1.4 ports, and two HDMI 2.0 ports.

Tesla has started making deliveries of the highly anticipated Cybertruck, and while it's incredible to finally see the strange new EV take to the streets, the finalized version is slightly different than the one that was initially promised.

Tesla's CEO Elon Musk initially promised consumers that they would be able to purchase a 500-mile range Cybertruck for just $69,900, and, unfortunately, the one that was showcased on the Cybertruck Delivery Event was quite different than what was first mentioned. The $69,900 Cybertruck has a total range of 250 miles, and the top-tier Cyberbeast has a total range of 320 miles.

To account for the discrepancy between what was initially promised, Tesla has announced a range extender that comes in the form of a battery pack that takes up 1/3 of the truck bed. Elon Musk took to X to explain the range extender is "meant for very long trips or towing heavy things up mountains". The optional range extender increases the Cybertruck's range by 120 miles, which would bring the Cyberbeast, a $100,000 vehicle, to 440 miles. Sixty miles short of what was originally promised.

In what marks the third time this year, Spotify has announced it will be laying off 1,500 employees that have already been notified of their departure.

The news of the layoffs comes from company CEO Daniel Ek, who explained in a newsroom post that the cuts of 17% of the company's workforce was decidedly made to be immediate instead of incrementally over time. This decision was made by Ek, who wrote that he considered Spotify's financial goal state and its current operational costs, and elected to "right-size our costs" to "accomplish our objective".

Additionally, Ek explained that the workforce reduction of this caliber might come as a surprise to many employees considering the "recent positive earnings report and our performance". However, Spotify's CEO writes that this decision was made to close the gap "between our financial goal state and our current operational costs."

Last Friday, genetic testing company 23andMe announced it was hacked, and the personal data of 0.1% of its customers, or 14,000 people, were stolen.

However, that isn't the worst of the news, as the company has said that due to the hackers accessing those accounts, they were able to gain access to a "significant number of files containing profile information on other users' ancestry."

What was the number of "other users"? In an email sent to TechCrunch, 23andMe spokesperson Katie Watson confirmed the hackers were able to gain access to the personal information of 5.5 million people who chose to opt-in to 23andMe's DNA Relatives feature.

The world's most powerful space telescope, NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, has honed its extremely sensitive instruments on a mysterious object millions of light years away from Earth.

The object in question is officially called AzTECC71, a dusty star-forming galaxy that dates back to the early stages of the universe, nearly 1 billion years after the occurrence of the Big Bang. Notably, NASA's Hubble Space Telescope was unable to see the galaxy with its instruments, but follow-up observations from Webb has captured a faint image of the distant galaxy, revealing qualities that previously went unnoticed.

Webb has captured an image of one of the oldest objects in the known universe, and while that is exciting in itself, astronomers are more excited for the implications of such a discovery - stellar nurseries like AzTECC71 could be three to ten times more common than previously thought.

Earlier this week, Amazon announced it was jumping into the AI chatbot arms race with its own chatbot called Q.

Amazon Web Services (AWS) announced that Q isn't designed to directly compete with goliath AI-powered tools developed by OpenAI, such as ChatGPT, but instead will go head to head against Microsoft's AI developer assistant called Copilot. AWS CEO Adam Selipsky announced that Amazon Q would be the AI assistant businesses would query about their business using their own business data. Examples of this would be employees asking Q about relevant company information and sifting through large swaths of data.

Leaked documents obtained by Platformer has revealed that Q has begun to suffer "severe hallucinations" and is, unfortunately, "leaking confidential data". Notably, this wasn't just a small leak of confidential data, as reports indicate AWS engineers were forced to work through the weekend to repair an error labeled "sev 2". This error actually leaked the locations of AWS data centers and unreleased features.