Month: July 2023
New PS5 beta adds support for Dolby Atmos, 8TB SSD storage and more
Your PS5 might have some fresh features coming its way, with Sony announcing a new PS5 software beta update with Dolby Atmos support, more accessibility components, and greater M.2 SSD storage. The addition of Dolby Atmos support should let you play the PS5’s 3D Audio powered by Tempest 3D AudioTech on any compatible Dolby Atmos-enabled HDMI device, like your home theater or soundbar. Storage-wise, the beta increases M.2 SSD limits from 4GB to 8GB — giving your PS5 more storage space.New PS5 system software beta features revealed:🎮 Added accessibility features🔈 Support for compatible @Dolby Atmos-enabled audio devices🖥️ Social feature enhancements💾 Larger-capacity M.2 SSD support➡️ Full details at PS Blog: https://t.co/RyzgdMeWrSpic.twitter.com/DdtUahSyGj— PlayStation (@PlayStation) July 31, 2023There are two big accessibility features available with the beta, including the ability to add a second controller for assistance during gameplay. You can try this option when using a DuelSense Edge or classic controller — it will turn off features like motion sensor and haptic feedback — or a third-party controller supported by the PS5. However, you can’t use the DuelSense Edge as your second controller. Sony has also introduced the option to turn haptic feedback effects on while gaming with either of the DualSense controllers or the PS VR2 Sense controller.Sony is trying to change how people interact in games, adding a “join” button next to your friend’s name if they’re playing a game you can hop into. Plus, you can now invite people to your parties without adding them to an existing group or needing to form a new one — or send an invite to an entire group versus to each person individually.The beta will be available to certain PS5 users in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, Japan and France. These features should be widely available within a few months if it follows the timeline of other updates. In the meantime, you can sign up to be a PS5 beta tester on the PlayStation website.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/new-ps5-beta-adds-support-for-dolby-atmos-8tb-ssd-storage-and-more-113512511.html?src=rss
Your PS5 might have some fresh features coming its way, with Sony announcing a new PS5 software beta update with Dolby Atmos support, more accessibility components, and greater M.2 SSD storage. The addition of Dolby Atmos support should let you play the PS5’s 3D Audio powered by Tempest 3D AudioTech on any compatible Dolby Atmos-enabled HDMI device, like your home theater or soundbar. Storage-wise, the beta increases M.2 SSD limits from 4GB to 8GB — giving your PS5 more storage space.
New PS5 system software beta features revealed:
🎮 Added accessibility features
🔈 Support for compatible @Dolby Atmos-enabled audio devices
🖥️ Social feature enhancements
💾 Larger-capacity M.2 SSD support
➡️ Full details at PS Blog: https://t.co/RyzgdMeWrSpic.twitter.com/DdtUahSyGj
— PlayStation (@PlayStation) July 31, 2023
There are two big accessibility features available with the beta, including the ability to add a second controller for assistance during gameplay. You can try this option when using a DuelSense Edge or classic controller — it will turn off features like motion sensor and haptic feedback — or a third-party controller supported by the PS5. However, you can’t use the DuelSense Edge as your second controller. Sony has also introduced the option to turn haptic feedback effects on while gaming with either of the DualSense controllers or the PS VR2 Sense controller.
Sony is trying to change how people interact in games, adding a “join” button next to your friend’s name if they’re playing a game you can hop into. Plus, you can now invite people to your parties without adding them to an existing group or needing to form a new one — or send an invite to an entire group versus to each person individually.
The beta will be available to certain PS5 users in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, Japan and France. These features should be widely available within a few months if it follows the timeline of other updates. In the meantime, you can sign up to be a PS5 beta tester on the PlayStation website.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/new-ps5-beta-adds-support-for-dolby-atmos-8tb-ssd-storage-and-more-113512511.html?src=rss
Salesforce Executive Shares ‘Four Ways Coders Can Fight the Climate Crisis’
Saleforce’s chief impact officer, writing in Forbes:
Code and computer programming — the backbone of modern business — has a long way to go before it can be called “green…” According to a recent report from the science journal Patterns, the information and communication technology sector accounts for up to 3.9% of global emissions… So far, the focus has been on reducing energy consumption in data centers and moving electrical grids away from fossil fuels. Now, coders and designers are ready for a similar push in software, crypto proof of work and AI compute power…
Our research revealed that 75% of UX designers, software developers and IT operations managers want software to do less damage to the environment. Yet nearly one in two don’t know how to take action. Half of these technologists admit to not knowing how to mitigate environmental harm in their work, leading to 34% acknowledging that they “rarely or never” consider carbon emissions while typing a new line of code… Earlier this year, Salesforce launched a sustainability guide for technology that provides practical recommendations for aligning climate goals with software development.
In the article the Salesforce executive makes four recommendations, urging coders to design sites in ways that reduce the energy needed to display them. (“Even small changes to image size, color and type options can scale to large impacts.”) They also recommend writing application code that uses less energy, which “can lead to significant emissions reductions, particularly when deployed at scale. Leaders can seek out apps that are coded to run natively in browsers which can lead to improvement in performance and a reduction in energy use.”
Their article includes links to the energy-saving hackathon GreenHack and the non-profit Green Software Foundation. (Their site recently described how the IT company AVEVA used a Raspberry Pi in back of a hardware cluster as part of a system to measure software’s energy consumption.)
But their first recommendation for fighting the climate crisis is “Adopt new technology like AI” to “make the software development cycle more energy efficient.” (“At Salesforce, we’re starting to see tremendous potential in using generative AI to optimize code and are excited to release this to customers in the future.”)
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Saleforce’s chief impact officer, writing in Forbes:
Code and computer programming — the backbone of modern business — has a long way to go before it can be called “green…” According to a recent report from the science journal Patterns, the information and communication technology sector accounts for up to 3.9% of global emissions… So far, the focus has been on reducing energy consumption in data centers and moving electrical grids away from fossil fuels. Now, coders and designers are ready for a similar push in software, crypto proof of work and AI compute power…
Our research revealed that 75% of UX designers, software developers and IT operations managers want software to do less damage to the environment. Yet nearly one in two don’t know how to take action. Half of these technologists admit to not knowing how to mitigate environmental harm in their work, leading to 34% acknowledging that they “rarely or never” consider carbon emissions while typing a new line of code… Earlier this year, Salesforce launched a sustainability guide for technology that provides practical recommendations for aligning climate goals with software development.
In the article the Salesforce executive makes four recommendations, urging coders to design sites in ways that reduce the energy needed to display them. (“Even small changes to image size, color and type options can scale to large impacts.”) They also recommend writing application code that uses less energy, which “can lead to significant emissions reductions, particularly when deployed at scale. Leaders can seek out apps that are coded to run natively in browsers which can lead to improvement in performance and a reduction in energy use.”
Their article includes links to the energy-saving hackathon GreenHack and the non-profit Green Software Foundation. (Their site recently described how the IT company AVEVA used a Raspberry Pi in back of a hardware cluster as part of a system to measure software’s energy consumption.)
But their first recommendation for fighting the climate crisis is “Adopt new technology like AI” to “make the software development cycle more energy efficient.” (“At Salesforce, we’re starting to see tremendous potential in using generative AI to optimize code and are excited to release this to customers in the future.”)
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
The Morning After: The Zuck vs Musk fight may not happen
It looks like the Mark Zuckerberg vs Elon Musk cage match isn’t happening, according to audio exclusively heard by Reuters. In the recording, the now surprisingly buff Zuckerberg told Meta employees at a company town hall he’s “not sure if it’s going to come together.”Zuck didn’t actually say the match is off, just unlikely. For those of us excited by the prospects of billionaires punching each other in the face, let’s hold out hope. Musk hasn’t issued a response – which is odd when he responds to so much – but given Zuckerberg’s continued training in jiu jitsu (and some competition success), Musk could be relieved.– Mat SmithYou can get these reports delivered daily direct to your inbox. Subscribe right here!The biggest stories you might have missedTor’s shadowy reputation will only end if we all use it Indie games have entered the era of bespoke publishing Hitting the Books: The dangerous real-world consequences of our online attention economyApple is aware of bug that may affect Screen Time restrictions for kidsIt’s working on updates to ‘improve the situation.’Apple has promised to fix a bug in iPhones, iPads and iPod Touch devices that may affect Screen Time restrictions for kids. It affects the Downtime function parents use to remotely set hours when kids can’t use their devices. “We are aware that some users may be experiencing an issue where Screen Time settings are unexpectedly reset,” a spokesperson told the WSJ. “We take these reports very seriously and we have been, and will continue, making updates to improve the situation.”Continue reading.’Final Fantasy XIV’ is coming to Xbox next springPossibly ready in time for the next expansion.Square EnixIt took a decade, but Square Enix’s premier massively multiplayer online role-playing game is finally coming to Xbox consoles. The developer has revealed Final Fantasy XIV will be available for Xbox Series X/S in spring 2024. An open beta is expected for patch 6.5X, and given the dates, the Xbox port should be ready in time for the new Dawntrail expansion, due next summer.Continue reading.Engadget Podcast: Samsung’s foldable summerAnd, of course, we discuss Twitter’s X rebrand.EngadgetFollowing Samsung’s first Unpacked event in Seoul, South Korea, Cherlynn, Devindra and Senior Writer Sam Rutherford dive into all of Samsung’s news: the Galaxy Z Fold 5, Z Flip 5, Watch 6 and Tab S9. Is Samsung playing it safe this year, or is it bringing something new to the world of foldables? Also, we discuss Twitter’s rebrand to X (sigh). And talk alien balls.Continue reading.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-morning-after-the-zuck-vs-musk-fight-may-not-happen-111516235.html?src=rss
It looks like the Mark Zuckerberg vs Elon Musk cage match isn’t happening, according to audio exclusively heard by Reuters. In the recording, the now surprisingly buff Zuckerberg told Meta employees at a company town hall he’s “not sure if it’s going to come together.”
Zuck didn’t actually say the match is off, just unlikely. For those of us excited by the prospects of billionaires punching each other in the face, let’s hold out hope. Musk hasn’t issued a response – which is odd when he responds to so much – but given Zuckerberg’s continued training in jiu jitsu (and some competition success), Musk could be relieved.
– Mat Smith
You can get these reports delivered daily direct to your inbox. Subscribe right here!
The biggest stories you might have missed
Tor’s shadowy reputation will only end if we all use it
Indie games have entered the era of bespoke publishing
Hitting the Books: The dangerous real-world consequences of our online attention economy
Apple is aware of bug that may affect Screen Time restrictions for kids
It’s working on updates to ‘improve the situation.’
Apple has promised to fix a bug in iPhones, iPads and iPod Touch devices that may affect Screen Time restrictions for kids. It affects the Downtime function parents use to remotely set hours when kids can’t use their devices. “We are aware that some users may be experiencing an issue where Screen Time settings are unexpectedly reset,” a spokesperson told the WSJ. “We take these reports very seriously and we have been, and will continue, making updates to improve the situation.”
‘Final Fantasy XIV’ is coming to Xbox next spring
Possibly ready in time for the next expansion.
It took a decade, but Square Enix’s premier massively multiplayer online role-playing game is finally coming to Xbox consoles. The developer has revealed Final Fantasy XIV will be available for Xbox Series X/S in spring 2024. An open beta is expected for patch 6.5X, and given the dates, the Xbox port should be ready in time for the new Dawntrail expansion, due next summer.
Engadget Podcast: Samsung’s foldable summer
And, of course, we discuss Twitter’s X rebrand.
Following Samsung’s first Unpacked event in Seoul, South Korea, Cherlynn, Devindra and Senior Writer Sam Rutherford dive into all of Samsung’s news: the Galaxy Z Fold 5, Z Flip 5, Watch 6 and Tab S9. Is Samsung playing it safe this year, or is it bringing something new to the world of foldables? Also, we discuss Twitter’s rebrand to X (sigh). And talk alien balls.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-morning-after-the-zuck-vs-musk-fight-may-not-happen-111516235.html?src=rss
Possible Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus benchmark suggests it’s no match for the iPhone 15 Pro
A benchmark for the possible Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus using a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 points to modest improvements.
The Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus is sure to be a powerful phone, but it could still trail Apple – and not just the iPhone 15 Pro, which is set to arrive before the Galaxy S24 line, but in some ways even last year’s iPhone 14 Pro.
At least, that’s the impression a Geekbench benchmark gives. This listing – spotted by NotebookCheck – doesn’t mention the Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus by name, but it is for a Samsung phone with a codename that matches what we’re expecting from this handset, and it’s shown to be using the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset.
That’s as expected, given that the Samsung Galaxy S23 line uses the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, but the performance isn’t as good as you might have hoped.
The phone achieves a single-core result of 2,233 and a multi-core result of 6,661. For reference, the iPhone 14 Pro has a single-core score of 2,511 and a multi-core result of 6,347 in Geekbench’s iOS benchmark charts, with the iPhone 14 Pro Max achieving similar results.
(Image credit: Geekbench)
Higher is better here, so Apple’s 2022 flagships outperform the Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus in single-core results, but come in slightly lower for multi-core based on this benchmark. Samsung does at least beat the standard iPhone 14 for single-core tasks, but that phone uses an older chipset, so it’s no wonder.
And while Samsung might have Apple’s current top phones beat for multi-core results, these won’t be the top phones by the time the Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus lands, as the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max are expected in September, and they will likely perform much better than the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max.
However, these benchmark results are at least a significant upgrade on the Samsung Galaxy S23 Plus, which sits at 1,866 for single-core and 4,945 for multi-core, in Geekbench’s Android benchmark charts.
Now, it’s not unusual for Apple’s phones to outperform even the best Android phones, but a previous leak suggested that the Samsung Galaxy S24’s chipset could beat even the upcoming A17 Bionic that we’re expecting to see in the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max.
This leak added that the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 would achieve this in part thanks to an extremely fast 3.7GHz primary core. If this benchmark is to be believed though then that’s not to be, with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 listed here as having a 3.3GHz primary core, along with three 3.15GHz cores, two 2.96GHz cores, and two 2.27GHz cores.
Things might get better
However, we still might see improvements, even assuming this benchmark is accurate. For one thing, this benchmark will be using pre-release versions of both the chipset and the phone, so both could improve.
For another, it’s not clear whether what we’re seeing here is the standard Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, or an overclocked Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy, as Samsung got access to an overclocked version of the Gen 2 for the Galaxy S23 series.
We’d expect the same again with the S24 line, but since this is an early benchmark it’s possible that the overclocking hasn’t happened yet, especially as a 3.3GHz primary core would be a slight upgrade on the 3.2GHz Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, but no better than the overclocked Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy.
It’s still unlikely that an overclocked version would reach the rumored 3.7GHz, but it could potentially hit 3.4GHz or maybe even 3.5GHz. All of which is to say we’d take this benchmark with a pinch of salt – and whatever happens, the Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus is sure to be plenty powerful.
Chipset aside, this benchmark also mentions 8GB of RAM – which is a match for the Galaxy S23 Plus – and Android 14, which is exactly what we’d expect the Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus to run.
Samsung is likely to announce this phone – alongside the standard Galaxy S24 and the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra – in early 2024, so there’s a while to wait yet.
As such, we haven’t heard a huge amount about these phones so far, but from what we have heard the Galaxy S24 Plus might not be all that much different from its predecessor, so this boost in performance – even if it’s less than we’d hoped – could end up being one of the main reasons to upgrade.
Tekken 8 roster partially leaked thanks to Steam’s Cheat Engine
After several closed network tests for the upcoming fighting title Tekken 8, multiple unannounced characters have been leaked.
Six unannounced characters from Tekken 8‘s roster have been leaked after one too many closed network tests.
Beginning in July, Bandai Namco hosted several closed network tests for Tekken 8. The first of which was exclusive to PS5 owners; after this, another test was opened up to players on Steam. Unfortunately, this was the first mistake.
One of the many programs that are available to PC players is a tool called Cheat Engine. This can be downloaded by anyone and allows the user to scrub the memory of games revealing hidden content or even, in some cases changing the game to give players more resources, health, or ammo.
Thanks to Cheat Engine, PC players were able to exploit the copy of Tekken 8 and scrub its memory and data for unannounced content. While not all games work with Cheat Engine, players have particular luck with single-player Steam games.
After the compatibility was confirmed, those with Cheat Engine installed managed to find six previously unannounced characters; Alisa, Raven, Steve, Shaheen, Yoshimitsu, and Zafina. This partial roster leak still leaves some expected characters out. There’s Kuma, Panda, and Robert “Bob” Richards. However, his inclusion was hinted at the new Times Square stage.
Before this leak, the most recent roster news we had heard from Tekken 8 was Bryan Fury back in May. Fury’s character announcement was different from the usual ones as instead of launching straight on social media; he debuted as part of a tournament.
VGC reported that Fury was originally meant to debut during the Combo Breaker fighting tournament. Unfortunately, the teaser video was uploaded to an official Instagram account before intended and was seen by too many fans before it was taken down.
It seems as if Tekken 8 is going from one string of bad luck to the next when it comes to announcing its roster. While it’s great to see what this upcoming title has in store for players, it’s hard to see years of hard work cut short by those with short patience.
While the release date has yet to be confirmed, Tekken 8 will be available to play on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.