Tag: PCs
Coming Soon to Xbox Game Pass: F1 2021, Shredders, Weird West, and More
This Pi Day, use your CPU to pointlessly calculate pi
Processing power is the core ingredient of March 14.
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IIoT: Programmable logic controller Vs personal computer in automated mobile robots, says Kivnon
One of the most crucial decisions in the initial design phase of a machine is the selection of the control system. Traditionally, PLCs (Programmable logic controller) have been used for the automation of industrial processes and the control of machinery, information shared by Kivnon. PCs have been used for operations related to non-critical processes, but
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5 Reasons Why PCs Are Better Than Gaming Consoles
Weirdly, Skyrim Special Edition hasn’t been tested for Steam Deck yet
The best Windows backup software
We need backup software for our PCs because our storage drives won't last forever. Backup software covers our butts when our primary drive finally up and dies.
It would be nice if Microsoft itself provided Windows users with something like Apple's Time Machine: an effective, set-it-and-forget-it, total system recovery and backup solution that requires little interaction or thought on the user's part.
Instead, Microsoft delivers a mishmash of restore points, recovery discs, file backup, and even the un-retired System Backup (Windows 7), which was probably originally put out to pasture for its propensity to choke on dissimilar hardware. Online backup services are another option, but desktop clients tend to offer far more flexibility.
Plenty of vendors have stepped in with worthy alternatives, and while none are quite as slick or transparent as Time Machine, some come darn close—and many are free. Read on for our top picks.
Updated March 11, 2022 to include our review of Retrospect Solo, an extremely versatile backup program that takes extra measures to guard against ransomware.
1. R-Drive Image 7 – Best overall
R-Drive Image has always been a favorite of ours—a low-resource-consuming product that was ultra-reliable in creating backup images of partitions and disks. But it didn't have as much polish as Acronis's backup program (below) and wasn't as feature rich. That has changed with this latest version, which now has a more modern, user-friendly interface and more versatility in the types of backups you can perform.
2. Acronis Cyber Protect Home Office – Best overall runner-up
There's a reason Acronis is renowned in the world of backup software. Cyber Protect Home Office (previously named Acronis True Image) is capable, flexible, and rock-solid reliable. Indeed, it's easily the most comprehensive data safety package on the planet.
Besides offering unparalleled backup functionality that's both robust and easy to navigate, it integrates security apps as well, which protect against malware, malicious websites, and other threats using real-time monitoring.
3. Retrospect Solo
The latest version (18.5) of this stalwart Windows backup program is every bit as feature-packed at we'd expect. It even adds an interesting pre-backup file scanning to root out anomalies before overwriting your previous backup—a nod to emergence of ransomware as a concern. It's got a bit of a learning curve, but once familiar, Retrospect Solo delivers the goods.
4. Cobian Backup 11
If you can overlook its very old-school aesthetic, Cobian Backup is freebie that capably takes care of file backups, and can even run the same backup task to multiple destinations. It doesn't offer any system imagining functionality, so you'll need another solution for that.
5. Iperius Backup
There is a lot to like about Iperius Backup. It offers an impressive degree of versatility and performance, even if its UX is a bit befuddling at times. A single license is a modest $32 per year; and the free version is worth using for lighter PDF duties.
6. Backupper 6 Standard – Best free option
Among the free programs we tested, Backupper Standard wins primarily because it has the most features, including imaging, file backup, disk cloning, and plain file syncing, plus multiple scheduling options. This was the case with Backupper 4, and the latest version has only added more options, making it a surprisingly well-rounded free offering. We hit a few performance snags with less-conventional system setups, but for the average user, it should perform as expected.
7. CloudBerry Backup Desktop
CloudBerry is a good solution for a mixed storage scenario—i.e., you want to back up data from various sources to various destinations. It's also highly configurable. But it's not as user friendly as some of the other popular solutions. Luckily there's a free version you can try out before plunking down any cash.
8. IvyBackup
IvyBackup sports a clean look, and saves in common Zip and VHD formats. However, it didn't check if there was enough space for its image backups, which caused some unlogged failures.
What to look for in backup software
As with most things—don't over-buy. Features you don't need add complexity and may slow down your system. Additionally, if you intend to back up to a newly purchased external hard drive, check out the software that ships with it. Seagate, WD, and others provide backup utilities that are adequate for the average user.
File backup: If you want to back up only your data (operating systems and programs can be reinstalled, though it's mildly time- and effort-consuming), a program that backs up just the files you select is a major time-saver. Some programs automatically select the appropriate files if you use the Windows library folders (Documents, Photos, Videos, etc.).
Image backup/Imaging: Images are byte-for-byte snapshots of your entire hard drive (normally without the empty sectors) or partition, and can be used to restore both the operating system and data. Imaging is the most convenient to restore in case of a system crash, and also ensures you don't miss anything important.
Boot media: Should your system crash completely, you need an alternate way to boot and run the recovery software. Any backup program should be able to create a bootable optical disc or USB thumb drive. Some will also create a restore partition on your hard drive, which can be used instead if the hard drive is still operational.
Scheduling: If you're going to back up effectively, you need to do it on a regular basis. Any backup program worth its salt allows you to schedule backups.
Versioning: If you're overwriting previous files, that's not backup, it's one-way syncing or mirroring. Any backup program you use should allow you to retain several previous backups, or with file backup, previous versions of the file. The better software will retain and cull older backups according to criteria you establish.
Optical support: Every backup program supports hard drives, but as obsolescent as they may seem, DVDs and Blu-Ray discs are great archive media. If you're worried about optical media's reliability, M-Disc claims its discs are reliable for a thousand years, claims that are backed up by Department of Defense testing.
Online support: An offsite copy of your data is a hedge against physical disasters such as flood, fire, and power surges. Online storage services are a great way to maintain an offsite copy of your data. Backup to Dropbox and the like is a nice feature to have.
FTP and SMB/AFP: Backing up to other computers or NAS boxes on your network or in remote locations (say, your parent's house) is another way of physically safeguarding your data with an offsite, or at least physically discrete copy. FTP can be used for offsite, while SMB (Windows and most OS's) and AFP (Apple) are good for other PCs or NAS on your local network.
Real time: Real-time backup means that files are backed up whenever they change, usually upon creation or save. It's also called mirroring and is handy for keeping an immediately available copy of rapidly changing data sets. For less volatile data sets, the payoff doesn't compensate for the drain on system resources. Instead, scheduling should be used.
Continuous backup: In this case, ‘continuous' simply means backing up on a tight schedule, generally every 5 to 15 minutes , instead of every day or weekly. Use continuous backup for rapidly changing data sets where transfer rates are too slow, or computing power is too precious for real-time backup.
Performance: Most backups proceed in the background or during dead time, so performance isn't a huge issue in the consumer space. However, if you're backing up multiple machines or to multiple destinations, or dealing with very large data sets, speed is a consideration.
How we test
We run each program through the various types of backups it's capable of. This is largely to test reliability and hardware compatibility, but we time two: an approximately 115GB system image (two partitions), and a roughly 50GB image created from a set of smaller files and folders. We then mount the images and test their integrity via the program's restore functions. We also test the USB boot drives created by the programs.
Bypassing outrageous limits in Windows 11’s new video editing app isn’t cheap
Microsoft has never been shy about asking its customers for money — the $9.99 per month price for Microsoft 365 Family is proof of that. But you need to pay more, far more, than that to use Microsoft's new video editing app, Clipchamp, in the way you'd expect.
Clipchamp is being added to the stable of Windows apps as part of a new update this week. Though ostensibly for members of Microsoft's Windows Insider program, Clipchamp is an app that you can download from the Windows Store, and it seems reasonable that Microsoft will quietly foist Clipchamp onto new PCs, too.
The question is: Are you willing to pay for it?
Clipchamp is offered in a variety of pricing tiers, and, to be fair, there is a free version. Microsoft doesn't limit the number of video files that you can edit and export, nor does it limit the in-app features. All tiers of Clipchamp include a number of useful additions: a screen and camera recorder for meetings, synthesized text to speech, and access to stock footage, audio, and images. Microsoft also believes that a key selling feature of Clipchamp will be its professional-style timeline, allowing you to edit together video clips.
But Clipchamp clamps down hard once you want to export anything for uploading to a video service, sharing on social media, or submitting the finished video for a class assignment. The free tier is limited to a potato-like 480p video quality, and it's this video quality that Microsoft uses as the stick to force you to pay.
The next “Creator” tier, for example, limits output to 720p resolution, and charges you $9 per month for the privilege. Sure, there's unlimited cloud storage to go along with it, a precious resource that vanishes quickly when uploading video. Audio stock files, as well, are also unlimited.
However, it's only the Business tier, at $19/mo, where Clipchamp allows you to export video at 1080p resolution. For that, you get everything that the Creator tier offers, plus a “brand kit” where you can apply your own superimposed logos. The Business Platinum tier (at $39/mo, ouch!) is where you can unlock Clipchamp's full potential: unlimited cloud storage, audio, video, and image stock — but still, 1080p resolution.
Microsoft hasn't said whether it will adjust Clipchamp's pricing, offer discounts to those who already subscribe to other services like Microsoft 365, or otherwise ease the financial burden. (When PCWorld asked these questions of Microsoft, we were told via email: “Nothing to share at this time.”)
We can hope that Microsoft will: “Clipchamp is a natural fit to extend the cloud-powered productivity experiences in Microsoft 365 for individuals, families, schools, and businesses,” Chris Pratley, Microsoft's corporate vice president of the Office Media Group wrote in announcing the new acquisition.
It's easy to say that Clipchamp's pricing pales in comparison to Adobe: a subscription to Adobe Premiere Pro, for example, is $20.99 per month, while After Effects' motion graphics app is also $20.99/mo and access to Adobe's stock footage, Adobe Stock, is an extra $29.99/mo. But these are professional applications for professional budgets.
Still, there certainly has to be room for some adjustment. Sharing a 480p video is grounds for mockery on social media, rather than marveling at what the video actually shows. People won't be creating many homemade videos of a child's birthday party, graduations, and weddings at that bitrate. And there's something intrinsically unsettling about Microsoft adding what's essentially another upsell onto Windows PCs. We tolerate antimalware subscription promotions, trials of Hulu and Netflix, and cloud storage offerings like Dropbox, but a fundamentally basic app like video editing?
Yes, Microsoft still offers a free video editor in Windows (Video Editor), but now there's two? Ugh. Figure it out, Microsoft. Between Microsoft 365 and Adobe and cloud gaming and Netflix and the entirety of streaming services, another damn subscription se ems entirely too much to bear.
Why the biggest laptop vendors are ignoring Microsoft’s Pluton security tech
Two of the biggest laptop vendors have chosen to pass over Microsoft's blossoming vision for PC chip security, Pluton. But the reason why may be less complex than it appears: Both companies are apparently sticking with an established relationship with Intel's vPro technology, instead.
The Register reported this week that both Dell and Lenovo planned to skip Microsoft's Pluton technology in its commercial PCs, which Microsoft introduced two years ago as a better way of integrating security directly into the CPU. The technology originally received somewhat tepid endorsements from both Qualcomm and Intel, and a more enthusiastic response from AMD — which had helped develop the technology to secure the Xbox game console.
Now, Dell told El Reg that “Pluton does not align with Dell's approach to hardware security and our most secure commercial PC requirements” and that it won't include the Pluton technology in most of its commercial PCs. Lenovo, too, said that it would ship Intel ThinkPads without Pluton, and that laptops with AMD Ryzen (and Pluton-enabled) chips inside them would be turned off by default.
That sounds alarming, but the reality of the situation might be simpler: The majority of the world's commercial laptops ship with Intel's Core chips inside, specifically with its vPro security enabled.
According to Bob O'Donnell, the president of Technalysis Research, Intel's vPro technology can't currently work with the Microsoft Pluton security core. “You can't do both,” O'Donnell said. “My guess is at the end of the day, Lenovo and Dell have invested a fair amount of time, money and effort into supporting vPro. So, as a result [Pluton] becomes a bit of an unnecessary thing.”
What's Microsoft Pluton, again?
Pluton is, and was, Microsoft's ongoing effort to secure the PC. Microsoft announced Pluton in 2020, the year before the company began laying down the law on Windows 11's security requirement: Windows 11 PCs need a Trusted Platform Module, or TPM, whether discrete or integrated. Most processors for commercial and consumer PCs alike integrate a TPM function inside the processor, even if it doesn't always go so well. Pluton is Microsoft's approach — a secondary logic block that integrates security functions into the processor as well. Its selling point is that Microsoft used it to help secure the Xbox, which hasn't suffered from any notable high-profile hacks. More importantly, it's secure enough to allow firmware updates via Microsoft's standard Windows Update channels.
But to be fair, worrying about Pluton may be jumping the gun. AMD originally said that even if it implemented Pluton, which it has, it wouldn't replace AMD's own TPM implementation — just sit alongside it. And Intel said that it would partner with Microsoft to add the Pluton technology to future platforms, “in the next few years.” More significantly, Intel never acknowledged Pluton as a feature in its recent Alder Lake platforms, including those for its most recent vPro systems. Even with its sliver of PC sales, Qualcomm may turn out to be Pluton's biggest backer, as the company said in December that it plans to enable Pluton inside of its upcoming Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3 processor.
So with minimal chip support, what can PC makers do?
Lenovo's decision is the most interesting, since the Pluton technology was included within the Ryzen-powered Lenovo ThinkPad Z13 and Z16, which were announced at CES 2022. Leaving the technology turned off for the entirety of 2022, as The Register reported, would put the burden of securing those PCs on AMD. Lenovo representatives didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
So what does this mean for Pluton? For Microsoft, its customers' lukewarm response to Pluton is a bit of an embarrassment. But it's not like commercial PCs powered by either AMD or Intel will be unsecured going forward, which is really what matters.
Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 (2022) review
Dying Light 2: Stay Human Patch 1.2 Fixes Some Of The Game’s Biggest Bugs
Dying Light 2: Stay Human has just rolled out a brand-new patch, adding a number of player-requested features and fixing many of the game's worst bugs--including lingering issues with "deathloops." The patch is live now for PC, and will be coming to console soon, according to developer Techland.
The patch includes a number of quality-of-life improvements, including better ragdoll physics, performance upgrades for older PCs, and what Techland describes as "more immersive details in melee combat." Digging into the patch notes for update 1.2, these details include tweaks that take into account the weight of blunt melee weapons being used, a buff for the Biter, and changes to sharp weapons that allow more gory slicing, dicing, and general bloodshed.
In terms of fixes, the patch has cleaned up the remaining known instances of what have been referred to as "deathloops," where players find themselves dying over and over in certain circumstances. The patch also adds a number of fixes to story quests where progression could potentially be blocked.
Some work has also gone into stability issues with Dying Light 2, with fixes for known crashes and black screen scenarios. The full patch notes, included below, have a number of big fixes and tweaks designed to give players a better experience in Dying Light 2's open world.
Given Techland's pre-launch advertising for Dying Light 2 often focused on the sheer size and scale of the game, it's not surprising so many bugs have cropped up, and the developer has been hard at work issuing hotfixes and post-release patches. Techland has committed to supporting the game for five years post-release, including not just fixes but new content including new locations, story DLC, characters, and more.
Dying Light 2 Patch 1.2
Story Progression Fixes
- All known cases with “Deathloops” eliminated.
- Fixed blocks in multiple quests – Into The Dark, Assassination, Sophie in The Raid Quest, Hubert in The Only Way Out, Veronika, Nightrunners, The Lost Light, Double Time.
- Solved problems with safe zones (in-game clock stops, can’t sleep).
Co-op Fixes
- Stability issues fixed: crashes or black screens in certain situations
- Numerous story progress blocks fixed
- Fixed issues with accepting invites
- Challenges issues fixed: no weapon when inventory full, difficulty balance improved, tools requirements properly handled
- Fixed co-op parties spawning in distant places
- Improved/fixed replication of city open world activities: windmills, hanging cages, loot chests, NPC rescue issues
- Fixed enemies and players falling through the ground in certain situations
- Several performance drops fixed
Nightrunner Tools Fixes
- Paraglider and Grappling Hook upgrades can be applied correctly for players that obtained them during cooperative sessions.
- PK Crossbow reward is correctly given to players in cooperative mode. This fix will prevent new cases from appearing.
- Important Combat Improvements
- Improved Biter behavior during the day. The enemy latches onto the players more frequently which diversifies enemy encounters.
- Performance of blunt weapons improved to reflect the sense of weight.
- Improved enemy reaction depending on the type of weapon – to better reflect the weight of the weapon.
- Human opponents can now block players’ attacks during light hit reaction time.
- Light hit reactions for human enemies have been shortened.
New Ragdoll Behaviors
- Opponents enter ragdolls more often.
- Ragdoll works more naturally.
- Ragdoll behaves differently depending on the used weapon type.
- Appropriate forces are applied when falling from a height and when hitting different parts of the body while maintaining the force given from the direction of the blow.
- When a ragdoll collides with its surroundings – the appropriate sound and FXs are played depending on the surface the body falls on.
- Improved spikes detection. The enemy is now always stamped on the spikes after a hit. Additionally spikes audio feedback is now improved and new FXs were added (displayed based on the body’s physical momentum).
Night Improvements and Balance
- Howler’s senses range increased.
- Increased the Howler resistance to range weapons.
- The chase is triggered when a Howler is hit by a ranged weapon and is still alive.
- Volatiles come out of hiding spots faster during the chase.
- Level 4 of the chase is now more difficult.
UI/UX Improvements
- Survivor Sense now works correctly and can be triggered without any cooldowns after getting hit or performing specific parkour actions.
- Improvements to the Options Menu information architecture incl. a dedicated Accessibility Tab.
- Added feature to show, hide or dynamically display Player Health Bar, Item Selector, and Time of Day Indicator.
- The dynamic setting for Player Health Bar is the new default and hides the bar when the player is at 100% health.
- The dynamic setting for Item Selector is the new default. The Item Selector becomes visible when in combat and when performing combat actions or using D-Pad.
- The dynamic setting for the Time of Day Indicator is the new default setting. The Time of Day Indicator becomes visible during day-night transitional periods.
- All of the widgets that are set Hidden or Dynamic become visible in Extended HUD.
- Visual Improvements to Player HP and Stamina bars. These elements are lighter and their colors are more neutral.
- Visual Improvements to the enemies’ stance meter to more clearly indicate its connection to blunt weapons.
Improvements to the Final Boss Fight
- Fixed an issue where the opponent does not react correctly to other players and does not change behavior that might lead to several glitches during CO-OP play.
- Alternate opponent behaviors in Phase 2 during CO-OP play.
- Opponent performs area attacks more frequently during CO-OP sessions.
- Shortening the narrative scenes between the phases in a boss fight.
- Boss fight pacing improvements.
Outro Improvements
- Improvements of the game endings sequences. Additional end-of-game scenes have been added to better align gameplay and outro scenes.
Balance Tweaks
- Higher Rank Bows are now more easily accessible at Merchants and in the world.
- Banshees and Chargers are now more easily spotted in the Infected hordes during the night.
Technical Improvements
- Introduced high-performance preset that optimizes the displayed graphics which allows you to play Dying Light 2 on older computers and laptops.
- PC DX12 cache-related improvements. The game now works smoother upon the first launch.
- AVX technology is no longer used in the game, improving issues related to a game crashing on the launch.
- Improvements in outdoor lightin g.
- Improvements to sun shadows.
- Improvements to spotlight shadows.
- Improvements to Motion Blur – added intensity and distance blur customization.
Brutality Pack
- Player hits with sharp weapons are now more precise and allow Players to chop off body parts of opponents and cut them in half more easily (vertically and horizontally).
- Reworked audio for enemy hit response – different sounds are played depending on the strength of the hit and the damage the player deals.
- Blood splats on the ground appear when Player hits the opponent.
- If a player is close to the enemy during the attacks, the opponent’s blood will splash on the screen.
- Improved blood effects on enemy bodies after hits.
- A dead enemy is now interactive and reacts accurately to blows and injuries.
- A new effect of bloodstains on the enemies’ bodies after hit.
- New blood FXs have been added
… and numerous additional bug fixes and quality improvements.