Category Archives: Comes Next

Business, Comes Next, Computer Chips, Gaming, Streaming, TechNews

Nvidia GeForce Now adds mobile touch controls to a new collection of games

Nvidia has expanded the list of titles available on its cloud gaming platform that work with touch controls.

GeForce Now has already offered some onscreen controls for mobile gamers – notably for Fortnite and Genshin Impact. This list is now expanding to include a number of games that work without a joypad on phones and tablets.

These include Trine 2, Slay the Spire, and Dota Underlords. There are also some games that only work with touch controls on the tablet, including Shadowrun Returns, Talisman: Digital Edition, and Magic: The Gathering Arena.

Image: Video Game, Free Stock Picture, MorgueFile.com.
Image: Video Game, Free Stock Picture, MorgueFile.com.

The full list of touch-enabled games:

Mobile and tablet

  • Dota Underlords (Steam)
  • Fortnite (Epic Games)
  • Genshin Impact (HoYoverse)
  • Into the Breach (Steam und Epic Games)
  • Papers, Please (Steam)
  • Slay the Spire (Steam)
  • Tabletop Simulator (Steam)
  • Trine 2: Complete Story (Steam)

Tablet only

  • Bridge Constructor Portal (Steam)
  • Door Kickers (Steam)
  • Magic: The Gathering Arena (Wizards.com und Epic Games)
  • March of the Empires (Steam)
  • Monster Train (Steam)
  • Shadowrun Returns (Steam and Epic Games)
  • Talisman: Digital Edition (Steam)

Nvidia’s GeForce Now works with your own games purchased from various supported digital stores such as Steam and Epic Games Store. Some, like Fortnite, are free to play.

The GeForce Now app for Android also now has a new Mobile Touch Controls row where you can find supported games. The Android app now also includes Apaptive VSync support for select games to improve performance.

Comes Next, Gaming

CD Projekt Red is working on new Witcher trilogy and Cyberpunk 2077 Sequel

New Witcher trilogy and Cyberpunk 2077 Sequel are coming.

Image: Programming, Free Stock Picture, MorgueFile.com.
Image: Programming, Free Stock Picture, MorgueFile.com.

CD Projekt Red have announced on Twitter that they are working on several new games, including a new Witcher trilogy and Cyberpunk 2077 sequel and a new IP codenamed Hadar.

It looks like there are several projects in the works for fans to look forward to.

New Witcher trilogy

It’s been a long time since The Witcher 3 Wild Hunt was first released, but we’ve known for a while that CD Projekt Red had plans for a new Witcher game after they finished Cyberpunk 2077. In fact, this isn’t even the first time we’ve heard that a new trilogy is in the works .

However, now we have further confirmation of the plans and more details on them as well.

CD Projekt Red has said that the first installment in the series will be codenamed Polaris and aim to be a new triple-A RPG title. Other Witcher games are also in the works, including Canis Majoris – also a full-fledged Witcher game being developed by a different studio.

Meanwhile, CD Projekt Red’s The Molasses Flood studio is working on a bold foray into The Witcher universe , codenamed Sirius , that will feature both a multiplayer experience and a single-player story.

So let us look forward for a new Witcher trilogy and Cyberpunk 2077 sequel!

Business, Comes Next, Computer Chips, Notebooks, TechNews

Intel discontinues Pentium and Celeron for new Intel processor

Image: Intel, Free Stock Picture, MorgueFile.com.
Image: Intel, Free Stock Picture, MorgueFile.com.

Intel is set to retire its long-used Pentium and Celeron CPU brands and has instead opted for a new, unified naming structure for Intel processors.

Starting in 2023, Intel notebooks will be powered by an Intel processor that spans multiple processor technology families.

“Intel is committed to driving innovation for the benefit of users, and our entry-level processor families have been instrumental in raising the standard of PCs at all price points,” said Josh Newman, the company’s interim general manager of Mobile Client Platforms.

“The new Intel processor branding will simplify our offering so users can focus on selecting the right processor for their needs.”

An Intel Pentium chip was first used in a consumer PC in 1993, and many generations have come since then. The Celeron chips were introduced in 1998.

Intel is looking to simplify the entire naming structure, with “Intel Processor” set to join the flagship Intel Core, Intel Evo, and Intel vPro brands.

The idea behind this change is to make it easier for consumers to buy products. However, mostly only the branding will change, since the product lines that the chipmaker plans to serve remain largely the same.

Comes Next, Science, TechNews

USB 4 version 2.0 is supposed to transfer 80 GBit/s

The first update of USB 4 should support twice the data rate as before and bring improvements for USB 3.2.

Image: USB, Free Stock Picture, MorgueFile.com.
Image: USB, Free Stock Picture, MorgueFile.com.

The USB Promoter Group has announced the forthcoming specification of USB 4 Version 2.0 . The biggest innovation is said to be support for data rates of up to 80 Gbit/s over existing USB-C cables and ports. The committee thus doubles the maximum possible transmission rate of the Universal Serial Bus compared to USB 4, which supports a maximum of 40 Gbit/s. The specification for USB-C and USB Power Delivery should be adjusted accordingly.

In addition to the existing passive USB-C cables, the new higher data rate should also be able to be achieved via newly specified active USB-C cables, as the announcement states. In practice, the higher transmission rate is achieved through changes to physical layer 1 in the OSI layer model, which means that changes to the controller will probably be necessary.

Higher transmission rate thanks to new modulation

A few weeks ago, an Intel manager accidentally disclosed the work on 80G Phy Technology, i.e. a new transmission standard with 80 GBit/s. It is now clear that this should be USB 4 version 2.0. It also follows from this how the higher data rate is to be achieved.

A pulse amplitude modulation with three states (-1,0,+1), PAM-3 for short, is probably used. Only two states (0,+1) are possible with the Non Return to Zero ( NRZ ) used so far. Two consecutive signals are combined to form a 3-bit data signal for data transmission. PAM-4, on the other hand, uses four symbols, i.e. two bits, which are transmitted per cycle.

If only PAM-3 is used for USB 4 Version 2.0, the clock rate of the transmission compared to USB 4 must also be increased in order to double the data rates. Among other things, PAM-3 is also used for 100 Mbit/s Ethernet (100BASE-T1).

Backwards compatible and protocol updates

The improved transfer rate should also come into play in the other USB specifications. Specifically, the announcement promises, for example, that the tunneling of data in USB 3.2 should be able to exceed the previously possible maximum of 20 Gbit/s. The new standard should also be backward compatible with USB 4 Version 1.0 , USB 3.2, USB 2.0 and Thunderbolt 3.

In addition, the USB standard is to be adapted to the current display port and PCIe standards. This should be Displayport 2.0, which also transmits 80 GBit/s, which can already be possible with a USB-C cable . In addition, there is probably PCI Express 5.0 , which theoretically enables transfer rates of up to 128 GB per second when using 16 lanes. With USB 4 Version 2.0, of course, this cannot be achieved. 

Business, Comes Next, Financial, Streaming, TechNews

Disney+ with advertising in December

Disney will launch Disney+ with advertising in December, but you won’t save anything. It will cost $7.99 per month – the same as the current ad-free plan.

Disney has revealed more details about its ad-supported offering, including how much it will cost and when it will be available. Interestingly, this doesn’t make Disney+ any cheaper for existing subscribers.

If you were hoping for an even cheaper version of Disney+ with ads, costing well under $8, that’s not going to happen. Starting December 8, 2022, you’ll be able to watch Disney+ with ads for $7.99 a month. This is the current price for the original ad-free offer. On the day the ad-supported plan launches, Disney will increase to $10.99 per month ad-free in the US. This news shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise, as Disney has been telling investors for months that its flagship streaming service will include advertising, and has never promised any savings.

Image: Disney Direction Signs, Free Stock Picture, MorgueFile.com.

Still, when the Disney+ advertising schedule rolls out later this year, it will feature “a reduced advertising load and frequency to ensure a great experience for viewers,” Disney CEO Bob Chapek said during the company’s third-quarter earnings call . Disney is reportedly planning to limit commercial breaks to four minutes per hour. The company also confirmed during Wednesday’s conference call that no ads will be running on child profiles.

Disney plans to expand the promotional schedule internationally in 2023. You will only be able to get it on a monthly basis. (Also, the annual subscription for Disney+ without ads will be increased by $30 to $109 per year).