Nvidia’s new DLSS 3.5 works on all RTX GPUs to improve the quality of ray tracing

Image: Nvidia

Nvidia is introducing DLSS 3.5 this fall with a new AI-powered Ray Reconstruction technique that’s designed to improve the quality of ray tracing. Unlike DLSS 3’s Frame Generation, which was limited to just RTX 40-series GPUs, DLSS 3.5 will boost ray tracing across all RTX-series GPUs going back to the RTX 20 series.

Nvidia is primarily targeting DLSS 3.5 at games that offer path tracing, often known as full ray tracing, as opposed to titles that use ray tracing just for select elements like shadows or reflections. Cyberpunk 2077 will get support for DLSS 3.5 with its Phantom Liberty DLC releasing on September 26th, which also adds the path tracing previewed earlier this year. Alan Wake 2 will also launch on October 27th with DLSS 3.5...

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Gillette x Razer gamer razor has no lights and has no lasers

Razer’s new razor has no RGB, but it’ll shave ya. | GilletteLabs

After all this time, Razer made a razor. Well. Technically, Gillette made a razor and put Razer’s branding on it. Finally, a razor for gamers!

Don’t confuse this with the Razer Razer, this year’s April Fool’s Day joke. That was an RGB gaming mouse with an electric shaver built into it. As fun as it would be to have a quick way to get a bunch of beard hair into your keyboard, the reality here is both smarter and more disappointing.

To be more specific: they took the five-blade GilletteLabs with Exfoliating Bar and slapped Razer’s acid-green-and-black color scheme and snake logo on it. No RGB, which feels like a missed opportunity to tie into Razer’s vast Chroma ecosystem and sync your razor to your laptop, headset, keyboard, mouse, mouse_p..._

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Fauna Query Language tamed to appeal to developers

Latest revision takes inspiration from TypeScript, Python, and GraphQL

Fauna, which offers a distributed document-relational database service, on Tuesday introduced a new version of its Fauna Query Language, promising a better developer experience with less database code.…

Threads on the web is here

Image: The Verge

Meta is finally launching a much more capable web app for Threads, the company announced on Tuesday. You’ll be able to post, interact with other posts, and look at your feed, spokesperson Christine Pai tells The Verge. It’s set to roll out over the next few days.

So far, Threads on the web has essentially been a glorified way to look at somebody’s profile — you couldn’t even like or reshare a post even though the web app included the buttons to do so. (If you clicked them, Threads would show you a QR code to download the mobile app.) The new desktop web interface looks a lot like the one in the mobile app, though with some small differences; the navigation icons are on the top of the page, and to switch between the For You and Following...

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Microsoft is bringing Python to Excel

Image: Microsoft

Microsoft is bringing popular programming language Python to Excel. A public preview of the feature is available today, allowing Excel users to manipulate and analyze data from Python.

“You can manipulate and explore data in Excel using Python plots and libraries, and then use Excel’s formulas, charts and PivotTables to further refine your insights,” explains Stefan Kinnestrand, general manager of modern work at Microsoft. “Now you can do advanced data analysis in the familiar Excel environment by accessing Python directly from the Excel ribbon.”

You won’t need to install any additional software or set up an add-on to access the functionality, as Python integration in Excel will be part of Excel’s built-in connectors and Power Query....

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Half-Life 2 is getting remade into a ray-traced beauty thanks to modders

That precious suit has never looked better. | Image: Nvidia

A community of modders is developing a ray-traced Half-Life 2 remake using Nvidia’s early access RTX Remix platform, and Nvidia is debuting its first trailer for Gamescom. Half-Life 2 RTX: An RTX Remix Project will not win any awards for good naming, but the beautified update to the PC’s iconic first-person shooter from 2004 may easily win the hearts of those of us with a soft spot for a little nostalgia and high-res headcrabs.

The project is the combined efforts of four Half-Life 2 mod teams, now formed as Orbifold Studios, using RTX Remix to rebuild the game using PBR (physically based rendering — not the cheap beer) properties and adding new geometric details. The remake uses RTX IO for fast and smooth asset loading, seen recently in P...

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Netflix is launching a new series of story games, starting with Love is Blind

Love is Blind. | Image: Netflix

Netflix is announcing not only a new game today but also a new line of narrative-driven experiences. It’s called Netflix Stories: Love is Blind, and — unsurprisingly — it’s a mobile game based on the popular Netflix reality show, where players can take on the role of a new contestant. It seems similar to the existing title Too Hot to Handle: Love is a Game, which Netflix says is one of its most popular games.

The Love is Blind game launches in September, and interested parties (who are also Netflix subscribers) can preregister to download it now. Perhaps more interesting than the single new game, however, is that the streamer says that more of these “Netflix Stories” titles are also in the works, though none have been announced just...

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Microsoft’s PC Game Pass arrives on Nvidia’s GeForce Now service this week

Image: Nvidia

Nvidia is starting to roll out access to PC Game Pass and Microsoft Store titles on its GeForce Now streaming service this week. PC Game Pass subscribers will be able to start streaming titles through GeForce Now on August 24th, including first-party Microsoft games like Deathloop and Grounded as well asthird-party titles like No Man’s Sky and Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord.

While PC Game Pass and Microsoft Store games will be available on GeForce Now, not all of them will be available to stream immediately on Nvidia’s service. Nvidia has done the work to integrate the Microsoft Store into GeForce Now, but it still needs to onboard all the games that are available on a PC Game Pass subscription.

That means PC Game Pass subscribers and...

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It’s now easier than ever to get Windows apps running on ChromeOS

You can have Windows apps living alongside Google Drive ones on your ChromeOS hotbar. | Image: Cameyo / Google

If you’ve been hunting for a way to bring your favorite Windows apps to Google’s ChromeOS without a virtual desktop, your life might have just gotten a little easier. Today, software virtualization company Cameyo announced that its integration with ChromeOS now supports Virtual App Delivery (VAD) services, allowing Windows applications to coexist with Chrome ones on Chromebooks.

Cameyo claims its ChromeOS VAD integration enables organizations to deliver any application — including Windows, Linux, SaaS, and internal web apps — over the web, without access to specific cloud data centers or devices. It essentially looks like ChromeOS is running Progressive Web Apps, allowing companies to affordably make third-party apps more accessible on...

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PwC partners to be paid £906,000 this year

Payment is a slight fall on last year’s £1m record as profits fall despite rising revenues

• Business live – latest updates

Partners at the UK division of “Big Four” accounting firm PwC will be paid £906,000 this year, a slight fall on last year’s record payout as profits fell despite rising revenues.

Unaudited accounts released by the company showed that PwC’s UK profit fell from £1.5bn to £1.3bn in 2022, although last year’s figure was boosted by a £139m gain from the sale of its global mobility business.

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Photoshop these edible amphibians [Photoshop]

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Mystery ‘phantom post snatcher’ on Snowdonia Slate Trail boggles walkers

Local people puzzled over motive for theft of signs on route around a lonely moor in north Wales

The culprit has been called the “phantom post snatcher”, who for some unfathomable reason has taken to whisking away signs installed to help guide ramblers across a lonely moor in north Wales.

The snatcher, or snatchers – there may be more than one – has been pinching way-markers from a remote spot on the 83-mile Snowdonia Slate Trail, putting walkers at risk of wandering off the beaten path in misty weather into the mire.

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African Union issues ambiguous view on possible Niger military intervention

AU announces nuanced position on any Ecowas intervention after some had expected it to clearly oppose it

The African Union (AU) appears to have left room open for military intervention by a west African political bloc to restore democracy in Niger, as Algerian state radio said it had refused a French request to fly over its airspace for a military operation.

Algeria opposed any foreign military action in Niger and favoured diplomacy to restore constitutional order, state radio said. French authorities did not immediately comment.

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Bodies found in wildfire zone in north-east Greece

Officials working to identify 18 people found in Alexandroupolis region as firefighters battle second wave of fires

The bodies of 18 people have been found in an area of north-east Greece where firefighters are battling a major wildfire, authorities have said, as a record-breaking late summer heatwave continues to sear much of Europe.

Hundreds of firefighters were struggling on Tuesday to contain dozens of outbreaks, including several that are burning out of control and have forced widespread evacuations, in the second deadly wave of blazes in Greece in a month.

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Dating app users say manipulative algorithms suppress the good matches. Yes, THAT'S the reason that they're still single [Awkward]

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Alabama can enforce ban on treatments for trans children, court says

Decision leaves families of transgender children, who had been receiving puberty blockers and hormones, scrambling for care

A federal appeals court ruled Monday that Alabama can enforce a ban outlawing the use of puberty blockers and hormones to treat transgender children, the second such appellate victory for gender-affirming care restrictions that have been adopted by a growing number of Republican-led states.

A three-judge panel of the 11th US circuit court of appeals vacated a judge’s temporary injunction against enforcing the law. The judge has scheduled trial for 2 April on whether to permanently block the law.

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Write a witty tagline that is better than the original headline [Amusing]

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Loose Lunch Meat Floats In Watery Cooler

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UK cannot ignore calls for slavery reparations, says leading UN judge

Exclusive: Patrick Robinson says reparation for transatlantic slavery ‘is required by history and is required by law’

A leading judge at the international court of justice has said the UK will no longer be able to ignore the growing calls for reparation for transatlantic slavery.

Judge Patrick Robinson, who presided over the trial of the former Yugoslav president Slobodan Milošević, said the international tide on slavery reparations was quickly shifting and urged the UK to change its current position on the issue.

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Annoying Parent Spends Whole Eulogy Yammering On About Kid

SACRAMENTO, CA— Trying not to roll their eyes as the doting mother went on and on about her child, sources confirmed Tuesday that local woman Corinne Lesseder spent the whole eulogy yammering about her kid. “I’m not keeping time, but she’s been talking uninterrupted about nothing but ‘Callen, Callen, Callen’ for…

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Budget satellite drag sail shows space junk how to gracefully exit orbit

Students prove $30 device could help declutter Earth's backyard

A prototype satellite built to test a deployable drag sail to de-orbit satellites appears to have fulfilled its purpose, burning up on re-entry earlier this month after spending just 445 days in orbit.…

Pubs urge licensing change as Women’s World Cup fans left waiting for beer

Drinks should be served outside usual hours during ‘national moments’, says trade body

Licensing rules should be changed to allow pubs to serve alcohol outside their usual hours during “national moments”, the leading UK pub industry body has said, after restrictions limited sales during Sunday’s Women’s World Cup final.

Early indications show trading was up by between 14% and 28% during the Lionesses’ defeat to Spain, the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) said, with millions choosing to watch the match at their local.

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Could AI-Generated Porn Help Protect Children?

It's uncomfortable to see AI-generated child porn as anything but abhorrent—but simulated imagery might help in the fight against child sexual abuse.

PSP Alpha IQ Speakers Review: Small and Mighty

If you’re looking for a pair of compact hi-fi speakers that can do anything, look no further.

How to watch Gamescom Opening Night Live 2023

Photo by Franziska Krug/Getty Images for game

It has been a busy summer of video game events, but we’re not quite done yet. Gamescom is currently underway in Germany, and that means a new edition of the Opening Night Live keynote (or ONL for short). The event is hosted by Geoff Keighley, he of the Game Awards and Summer Game Fest fame, and like those streams, it’s going to be a lengthy deluge of video game news.

Based on early teases, it seems like the show will be primarily focused on games that have already been announced. But that does include some major titles, like Mortal Kombat 1, Assassin’s Creed Mirage, Sonic Superstars, Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty, Zenless Zone Zero, and the recently unveiled Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III. There will also be some news outside of...

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