Latest News - Page 792

NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, despite its age, is hard at work documenting the cosmos, and one of the images it has snapped showcases true cosmic beauty.

The space agency's iconic space telescope, which has been in operation for more than 30 years, has pointed its sensitive instruments at the spiral galaxy known as NGC 4654, which resides approximately 55 million light years away from Earth within the constellation Virgo. NASA writes in its official blog post that NGC 4654 features characteristics of both unbarred and barred spirals. Additionally, NGC 4654 is located slightly north of the celestial equator, meaning it is observable from both the northern and southern hemispheres.

The space agency explains that NGC 4654 is just one of many Virgo Cluster galaxies, and astronomers theorize that NGC 4654 may be currently undergoing a process called "RAM pressure stripping". NASA writes that this process is a result of the gravitational pull of the Virgo Cluster putting pressure on NGC 4654 as it "moves through a superheated plasma made largely of hydrogen called the" intracluster medium.""

Intel is only days away from unveiling its next-gen 14th Gen Core "Raptor Lake Refresh" family of processors, where we've got some new details from marketing materials leaked by VideoCardz.

There are details on Intel's upcoming Core i9, Core i7, and Core i5 models -- without providing their exact names, of course -- with the materials confirming that Intel will indeed have reached the lofty peaks of 6.0GHz frequencies on its flagship Core i9-14900KF processor. Intel will have 24 cores (8 Performance, 16 Efficiency) and 32 threads of CPU power at up to 6.0GHz, which is damn high.

You might be thinking... but, TweakTown, Intel already HAS a processor on the market clocked at 6.0GHz, and you'd be right. Intel has the Intel Core i9-13900KS processor that has clock speeds that burst up to 6.0GHz, but the new Intel Core i9-14900KF (and possibly other 14th Gen Core i9 processors) have a lower 125W default TDP, compared to the higher 150W of the Core i9-13900KS. Intel's upcoming Core i9-14900KF will also hit 6.0GHz without being a special edition (hence the "S" on the 13900KS) processor.

Apple recently recognized the complaints coming from many iPhone 15 Pro users about their devices heating up to extreme temperatures during strange times of use.

Some buyers of Apple's latest generation of iPhone took to social media platforms to report that their smartphone temperatures were reaching uncomfortable levels. Some users even tested the temperatures, which were reported to reach as high as 48C (118F). These extreme temperatures presented themselves when the phone was charging, during general use, updating, during setup, and in specific apps.

Speculation initially attributed these irregular temperatures to Apple's new A17 Pro SoC, as well as the new design. However, Apple stated recently that it identified a bug within iOS 17 that causes some third-party apps to overload the system, as well as another bug that "is impacting some users". Furthermore, Apple recognized a "few conditions which can cause iPhone to run warmer than expected".

Rumors surrounding the upcoming launch of the still-to-be-announced Nintendo Switch 2 (if it ends up benign called that) have been ramping up in recent weeks. According to multiple sources, the new console was shown to developers at Gamescom in September, with demos showcasing 4K visuals thanks to new NVIDIA DLSS-powered hardware. And with that, several insiders and industry analysts are predicting a second-half of 2024 launch for the Switch 2.

Where does this leave the current Nintendo Switch? According to a new interview with Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa over at the Japanese publication Nikkei (translated via VGC), it's business as usual for the current Switch. For the current fiscal year ending March 2024, the company will focus primarily on the Switch, with support and game releases continuing to the next financial year ending March 2025.

"We are still working on software for the Switch for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2025," Furukawa said in the interview. "In the fiscal year ending March 31, 2024, we hope to sustain the momentum of Zelda and the [Super Mario Bros] movie, with a focus on the holiday sales season. As for hardware, we will maximize not only new demand for the hardware but also for those buying second consoles and replacements."

Microsoft's new AI Copilot feature is rolling out with the latest Windows update, giving millions of Windows users their very own AI assistant or "companion" to help with whatever might benefit from some machine learning. It arrives as part of Windows 11 22H2 'Moment 4' that brings around 150 new features to the OS, including updating Paint with AI goodness (yep) and more.

But as with any major update, there can be issues with things that were previously working that no longer work due to strange glitches or even outright crashes. From a PC gaming perspective, AMD GPU owners have been the hardest with the latest Windows 11 update, with users reporting that AMD Radeon Adrenalin Software resets after each system reboot.

When you factor in the recent release of HYPR-RX for Radeon RX 7000 Series GPU owners, which lets users enable things like Anti-Lag+, Fluid Motion Frame, and other effects at the driver level and customize game profiles not to mention one-click overclock settings - this is not a good thing.

NASA researchers have cracked open the capsule containing the space agency's first asteroid sample, collected from the asteroid named Bennu.

NASA took to its official website to announce that the curation process for NASA's OSIRIS-REx asteroid sample is moving slower than was previously anticipated and that a problem presented itself when officials got the capsule back to the Johnson Space Center. However, this problem is a good one to have, at least according to the space agency.

When NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft landed on the surface of Bennu three years ago, researchers discovered the density of the surface material was much looser than what they expected, as the landing resulted in a lot of material being ejected from the asteroid's surface. Much of this loose asteroid material coated the outside of the Touch-and-Go Sample Acquisition Mechanism) head, which was used to collect the bulk of the asteroid sample.

The mystery behind what is inside the Moon, or more specifically, what makes up the inner core of Earth's closest neighbor, may have finally been solved.

Newly published research published in the scientific journal Nature details a set of measurements researchers conducted on the Moon using lunar lasers, and collected data from space missions. The team created a profile that contained various lunar characteristics, such as its degree of deformation as a result of being gravitationally bound to Earth, the different distances it orbited Earth, and its density. With this data, the researchers created models containing different core types and attempted to match the profile data with a core type.

What they found was that the inner core of the Moon is likely a solid ball that has a similar density to iron, and that deep beneath the mantle, there is active overturn, which means denser material close to the core is falling inward while less dense material moves outwards, toward the surface of the Moon. This point ties perfectly into the evidence of volcanic activity seen on the surface of the Moon.

AMD is all systems go to unveil its next-gen Ryzen Threadripper PRO 7000 "Storm Peak" CPUs on October 19, according to sources over at Wccftech. The new AMD Ryzen Threadripper PR0 7000 series CPUs will come packing up to 96 cores and 192 threads of Zen 4-powered CPU power... annihilating the competition: Intel.

AMD won't just be amping up the core and thread count on its upcoming Ryzen Threadripper PRO 7000 "Storm Peak" CPUs, but it'll be dumping in huge amounts of cache that will be a boon for workstation users, as well as content creators. More cores, more threads, more cache, more everything across the board. We're looking at up to 75% more performance over AMD's current Ryzen Threadripper PRO 5000 series CPUs... which, well, is quite simply massive.

Just like its current-gen Ryzen Threadripper PRO 5000 series CPUs, we'll see AMD offering its new Ryzen Threadripper PRO 7000 "Storm Peak" processors inside of premium workstation systems in the DIY market with limited (I'm sure, very, very limited) quantities, while system builders will have next-gen workstation PCs powered by the new Storm Peak CPUs.

ASUS has a wide range of new Z790-based motherboards in all different shapes, sizes, and colors... but now we're getting a look at the new ASUS ROG Maximus Z790 Formula motherboard, and boy, does it look GOOD.

We've already been introduced to the ASUS ROG Maximus Z790 Dark Hero, the ROG Strix Z790-A Gaming Wi-Fi II, and the TUF Gaming Z790-Pro Wi-Fi motherboards... while also being teased with the ROG Maximus Z790 APEX Encore motherboard, and now we're being teased by the ASUS ROG Maximus Z790 Formula motherboard. The new ASUS ROG Maximus Z790 Formula motherboard sports a black-and-white design, which would make it PERFECT for your new black-and-white-themed gaming PC build.

Intel won't have its next-gen LGA 1851 socket out until 2024, so we're seeing a new wave of 700 series chipsets with the flagship Z790 sitting in pole position. ASUS is capitalizing on this with its upcoming ROG Maximus Z790 Formula motherboard, matching the look and style of its predecessor in the ASUS ROG Maximus Z690 Formula motherboard.

Windows 11 has been out for two years, so you might wonder how it's doing regarding market share. According to the latest report from StatCounter, there has been growth over the past year, with Windows 11 now accounting for 23.64% of the PC market as of September 2023 - a sizable jump from the 13.61% from a year ago. However, users aren't upgrading from Windows 10.

Looking at the StatCounter data, it's clear that as more people upgrade to Windows 11, far fewer people are still running Windows 7 and Windows 8. Even though Microsoft's latest OS is the successor to the popular Windows 10, Windows numero 10 is still the dominant Operating System with a whopping 71.64% market share.

And to make the situation even more interesting, Windows 10 market share hasn't changed over the past year, with the September 2023 figures being just about identical to the September 2022 ones.

NVIDIA has just formally announced its annual GTC (GPU Technology Conference) 2024 event for next year, with GTC 2024 returning on March 18-21, 2024. What should we expect? Read on, dear readers, read on.

We traditionally see NVIDIA unveil new GPU architectures at GTC, with the next-gen Blackwell GPU architecture expected to be unveiled during the event. NVIDIA has told the world to mark their calendars for March 18-21, when the company will return to the San Jose Convention Center, teasing to stay tuned for more details on in-person and virtual programs that will be coming soon.

NVIDIA is expected to unveil a bunch of products at GTC 2024, including the NVIDIA L4/L40, NVIDIA H100 NVL, NVIDIA's Grace Hopper CPU, cuLitho software library for computational lithography, Isaac Sim platform (a remote global team collaboration system), and the NVIDIA AI foundations -- a suite of cloud services for generative AI and Large Language (LL) models.

Intel Graphics Driver 31.0.101.4885 for Intel Arc A-Series Graphics is here, and it's a big one; it not only adds day one support for Assassin's Creed Mirage and Forza Motorsport on PC but fixes some issues with EA Sports FC 24 (the new re-branded FIFA) and Starfield. According to the full driver release notes, there are still outstanding issues regarding Bethesda's latest RPG, like Dynamic Resolution Scaling, but it's great to see progress nonetheless.

Plus, there's a massive list of DirectX 11 games getting a performance boost compared to older Intel drivers, including Payday 3, Final Fantasy XIV Online, Tom Raider, Rainbow Six Siege, and a bunch of older Call of Duty games. With Intel improving DX11 performance on its Arc Graphics cards per game, it's great to see the team continuing to add to the list like this.

And there are some substantial improvements, with Deus Ex: Human Revolution (DX11) getting up to a 119% uplift at 1080p with High settings on an Intel Arc graphics card and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare getting up to 90% improved performance at 1080p.

NVIDIA's powerhouse GeForce RTX 4090 graphics card is the only choice for enthusiast gamers who are chasing frames, pushing 4K 120FPS in even the hardest-to-run games on the market... but it seems globally supply is running quite low, at least according to some Japanese retailers.

It seems interest in NVIDIA's second most powerful Ada Lovelace GPU -- the GeForce RTX 4080 -- isn't too strong, as people are just thirsty for the GeForce RTX 4090. According to a staffer at The PC Workshop Akihabara Store in Japan, the demand for the GeForce RTX 4090 has been "constant" but it is becoming "a bit difficult to get in stock".

Another staffer added that the models priced in the 250,000 yen range "are still on backorder" and that the showcase for the GeForce RTX 4090 in their store "does indeed have noticeable gaps". Another Japanese retailer said that the intentionally low stock of the RTX 4080 is due to an "overlap" and that people are instead opting for the GeForce RTX 4080. More gamers are opting for the GeForce RTX 4070 Ti if they seek high-end performance, while ultra-high-end performance chasers are still jumping into the warm embrace of the GeForce RTX 4090. The staffer added, "Therefore, we deliberately limit our stock".

Spotify hosted an event in its New York office on Tuesday where it announced it will be adding to the audiobook side of its product.

Spotify has announced it's expanding the audiobook side of its service with 150,000 additional titles for its Premium subscribers. The music-streaming platform launched its audiobook side with 300,000 titles in September 2022, and the platform said it will continue pushing into the market as its been going 20% year-over-year, with audiobooks only taking 6% to 7% of the wider book market.

The music-streaming platform has said that audiobooks are currently suffering from a distribution and discovery problem, which it believes it will be able to solve as it's done with music and podcasts. Notably, Spotify co-president and chief business officer Alex NorstrÜm said about 2 billion people will read a book throughout 2023, but the percentage of those people listening to an audiobook is still very small.

Diablo IV's second season, the Season of Blood, is set to kick off on October 17 and is set to be alongside the massive Patch 1.2.0. Outside of details on Class and balance changes and new item details, Blizzard has lifted the lid on a big chunk of the new content coming with Season of Blood, including some big updates to the endgame.

With each new Diablo IV season bringing a character wipe (meaning you need to start leveling up with no access to existing items, some recent complaints about the game have centered on how grindy the late-game leveling feels and how there's not much variety to the endgame outside of running dungeons and picking up the same gear.

Well, Season of Blood is bringing new and returning 5 Endgame bosses and the Boss ladder, which will allow players to target farm Uniques and Uber Uniques with a higher drop rate at these boss battles. Blizzard notes that Legion Events and World Bosses will frequently spawn alongside other "endgame improvements."

When you think about playing a Blizzard title on PC, whether that's World of Warcraft or even something like the original StarCraft - you think of Battle.net, the developer's PC launcher and online service that it has been running ever since gamers first went online to matchmake in Diablo II.

And with the long-awaited release of Diablo IV this year, its PC release was naturally on Battle.net. However, in a surprising (and very cool) move, the game is officially coming to Steam on October 17, coinciding with the release of the game's second season, the 'Season of Blood.' And yes, this means Steam Achievements for the game are coming, and the option to invite Steam friends to play.

Blizzard notes that it's all about opening up the game to a wider audience, and with seamless cross-play and cross-progression, Diablo IV is playable on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S. As with the game's console versions, those who purchase the game on Steam will need to link their account to an existing or new Battle.net account to enable the cross-play features.

Publishers and developers are using Xbox Game Pass subscriptions to help catalyze growth of newer monetization methods, signalling another disruptive shift across gaming.

Xbox Game Pass is kind of like a river of revenue, and like a major river, there's all sorts of smaller tributaries and streams that feed into the flow. The main draw of Game Pass is being able to access hundreds of games for a flat fee, but it's the myriad of smaller synergistic monetization paths that help turn the river's flow from a meandering waterway into white water rapids.

The temporary-access, all-you-can-play model behind Game Pass gives way to other avenues, two of which are being leveraged to what appears to be great success. These include early access and incredibly attractive pricing discounts.

The ad-free plan for Discovery Plus is going up in price in the US, and it's a fairly hefty jump.

Currently the subscription runs to $6.99 per month, but that is being hiked to $8.99 (and then applicable taxes on top).

The change will kick in with the next billing cycle for subscribers after (or on) November 2, so as you might expect, nothing is happening this month.

A new hotfix has been applied to Baldur's Gate 3, the eighth one to be issued for the RPG (with some major patches in-between, too), and it has some important fixes - as well as a rather more off-the-wall tweak.

There are some cures for crashing here, including the resolution of a multiplayer crash that happens after listening to a dialogue following an active roll. The game could also fall over when re-assigning characters in split-screen play, and that issue has been cured.

Another important one is that Larian has fixed a problem which was causing saved games to be invalid - nasty indeed.

With the emergence of AI-powered tools used to generate uncomfortably accurate video and audio representations of public figures, we are starting to see a rise in the number of phony advertisements.

AI-powered tools capable of deep-faking actors into promoting specific products have begun to rise, with prominent figures such as Joe Rogan and Dr. Andrew Huberman already having to battle individuals creating ads to sell specific products. Now, Tom Hanks has been added to the growing list as the actor recently took to his personal Instagram account to warn the public of a seemingly AI-generated ad of him promoting a dental plan.

Hanks wrote, "I have nothing to do with it", with Gizmodo being able to track the owner of the image used in the deep fake back to Los Angeles. Another AI story on the same day joined Hank's public warning of the ad. Zelda Williams, Robin Williams' daughter, took to her Instagram Story to issue her own warning about AI being used to create versions of actors without their permission.