Author: Randy Smith

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News Tech

USB4: Twice As Fast As USB3 And Compatible With Thunderbolt 3

The next USB has just been announced by the USB Promoter Group, and it will bring a major improvement in data transfer speed. How fast will the USB4 be?

USB4 Comes With Double the Bandwidth and Performance Compared to USB3

The next USB is said to support a speed up to 40Gbps, using two-lane operation – each of 20Gbps, and according to Digital Trends, it matches the speed of Thunderbolt 3. The USB4 will use the Thunderbolt protocol but will have different functionality.

Back in 2017, the USB 3.2 was announced, and it was recently released – but it only supports 20Gbps. With this latest announcement, everyone got a little confused – the USB 3.2 was here, and there was a new USB called USB4. Was it a new version of the 3.2? The details of the USB4 showed that it was compatible with the previous standards, such as the 3.2 and 3.1. However, the name USB4 should make it clear that it is a next-gen USB, and not the 3.2 getting a new name or a new version.

According to the USB Promoter Group Chairman, Brad Saunders, the USB aims to “deliver the best user experience combining data, display and power delivery over a user-friendly and robust cable and connector solution,” adding that the USB4 will enhance the experience and optimize it “over a single connection and enabling the further doubling of performance.”

USB4 and Thunderbolt 3

Meanwhile, Intel’s Thunderbolt protocol is being shared with USB Promoter Group, and Intel plans to enable “other chip makers to build Thunderbolt compatible silicon, royalty-free.”

USB4 and its 40Gbps will be a universal standard for all USB ports, and the Thunderbolt 3 will also be featured in more devices.

Considering the USB 3.2 needed a lot of time to be released, expect the USB4’s technical specs to be revealed at the USB Developer Days conference during the second half of the year and then perhaps be used in hardware starting with 2020-2021.

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Markets News Tech

Tesla Model Y Crossover To Be Revealed on 14 March, Says Elon Musk

This Sunday, Elon Musk was planning to surprise his friends and fans on Twitter by revealing more news about the latest Tesla vehicle, the Model Y crossover.

The car will be revealed at LA Design Studio on 14 March during an event, Elon Musk adding the following details:

“Model Y, being an SUV, is about 10% bigger than Model 3, so will cost about 10% more & have slightly less range for same battery.”

“Detailed specs & pricing will be provided, as well as test rides in Y.”

Model Y – The Reveal Is Too Early

The Model Y is the fifth vehicle created by Tesla and the second SUV after the Model X. The vehicle will also come with normal doors, and not Falcon Wing doors which were used on the Model X.

However, according to Joseph Spak, RBC Capital Markets analyst, this early unveil is not a good strategy, even if Model Y will be an in-demand product:

“[…] We view the timing of the announcement as more fodder for the bears vs being a positive catalyst for the stock. We had thought the company would unveil the vehicle closer to start of production to avoid likely cannibalization. Now, that risk seems greater.”

According to Ben Kallo, Baird analyst, the car should be available to customers a lot later, and not earlier than 18 months. But the sales could get higher if a new SUV/CUV vehicle with a competitive price appears.

Last week, Tesla announced the Model 3 with standard range battery for US$35,000, also shifting from the flashy store sales to the more cheaper online sales for a lower price on the vehicles.

The production of the Model Y could be in Nevada, at the Tesla factory that makes batteries and powertrains, reports Financial Post.

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News Tech

Enable Facebook Messenger Dark Mode With Just An Emoticon

You can finally make your Facebook Messenger app on your Android or iOS phone as dark as night with just a little trick which was introduced by Facebook recently. The popular dark mode has been an option highly requested by many users, but nobody saw or heard about it rolling out. Last year in May, news of Messenger getting this mode surfaced, then in September, some users got to test it. The dark theme was only accessible by getting root access, which meant not many people actually bothered to do it.

Dark Mode on Facebook Messenger – ?

But now, to activate Facebook Messenger Dark Theme, users only need to use an emoticon in their chat when talking to a person. It’s a crescent moon (this one ?) and after exiting the app and entering again, long press on the moon emoji a popup will notify you that you can toggle this mode. Some users double tapped the moon to make this option work.

The app’s dark mode is still being tested, and it’s in progress, so some things might not be completely transformed into dark colors, but it seems to be working just fine.

A redesigned UI, integrating Messenger, WhatsApp, and Instagram and encrypting the messaging services will be a good step towards keeping the users interested in these apps.

According to XDA Developers, this “easter egg trick works — there are legitimate strings present inside the APK, and several of our own team members who use Facebook Messenger have managed to activate dark mode through the emoji.” This method also works on Android and iOS.

One person wrote that on iOS, the latest Messenger version, the dark mode only got activated after sending the moon emoji, leaving the app and going to the app’s settings to toggle Dark Mode on.

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Games News

Catch Smeargle In Pokemon GO in Four Easy Steps

We’ve said about the Generation 2 Pokemon that we didn’t see at all in the game a few days ago. It’s Smeargle, the ‘Mon with the most exciting moves in the game. Niantic has finally added it in Pokemon Go v.0.135.1, with the GO Snapshot that will let you take photos of the Pokemon you have in your collection.

But did you pay attention at the game hints in the loading screen? Somebody who was lucky enough did it and posted it on the Pokemon Go Twitter post which announced the following:

Trainers, #GOsnapshot is now live for Trainers level 5 and up! ? For Trainers level 5 and below, we encourage you to keep catching Pokémon and exploring the world of Pokémon GO, as level 5 will be the minimum level for Trainers to access this feature.

During the GO Snapshot sessions, you might encounter Smeargle that will photobomb your photo. You know that this Pokemon will copy the move of another Pokemon, so choose one that has a favorite move. Here is how to catch this elusive Pokemon.

Find and Catch Smeargle in Pokemon Go

  1. Choose a Pokemon with the move you want to copy and head to the Snapshot mode.
  2. Take photos of the Pokemon.
  3. Check if the snaps were photobombed by Smeargle.
  4. If Smeargle photobombed your shot, go to the map and catch Smeargle!

After you capture Smeargle, it will have the same move which it copied from the Pokemon you kept photographing. Smeargle will only show up once a day, so if you didn’t catch it or want to catch more, you can only get one per day. Also, some players took a long time before being photobombed by Smeargle – some waited for it for 200 shots, and others caught it in just 45 snaps!

Good luck!

Categories
Games News

‘Devil May Cry 5’ Will Have Only One DLC: Bloody Palace

The highly awaited game from Capcom is only a few days away, and we cannot wait to get our hands on the hack and slash action game. But if you thought that you would get more from DMC 5, you’re in for some bad news – or good news?

The Bloody Palace

The good news about Devil May Cry 5 is that it will be released on 8 March for  PS4, Xbox One, and PC. It will get an update that will bring the free Bloody Palace DLC, but Capcom Producer Matt Walker announced in a Twitter response that for the moment there are no other future plans:

Looking back at the awesome Monster Hunter World getting many DLC’s, updates and themed events, we thought that it would be the same for DMC 5. We hope that Capcom changes their minds and add more stuff if the game sells well. The previous Devil May Cry games got post-launch support, which can only mean that Capcom could rethink their decisions in the future.

Moreover, a few weeks ago, Devil May Cry 5 director Hideaki Itsuno stated in an interview with Gameshot that there would be more playable characters added to the game if players demand it.

Preorder Devil May Cry 5 for PS4, Xbox One, and PC

Nevertheless, all Devil May Cry fans will surely buy this game, especially since they played the demo and got to taste the new installment. You can preorder the game and get five different colored costumes and 100,000 Red Orbs.

You can opt for the Devil May Cry 5 Standard Edition which is $59,99 on all retailers for PS4, Xbox One and PC.

The Devil May Cry 5 Deluxe Edition will come with the game and some more in-game goodies at $69,99 for PS4 and Xbox One, while on Steam for PC it is – $70.42.

The most expensive edition is the Devil May Cry 5 Collector’s Edition, which comes with the deluxe edition and physical items – at $149.99, and can only be bought on Amazon and the Capcom store.

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