The newest glasses from Viture bring a bigger and better experience for mixed reality entertainment and productivity — for only 15% of the cost of an Apple Vision Pro.
Viture Pro XR Glasses review
After my first review of the One and Lite versions of the XR glasses, the release of the Pro model in early September piqued my curiosity for what was next. In short, the glasses are easier to use on their own, and the visual experience is smoother and more pleasant.
Another major twist has occurred in the Epic vs Apple case that may end with everything getting thrown out thanks to new precedents and a lack of evidence from Epic.
Apple has filed for the court to set aside its injunction based on two new sets of precedents that didn't exist when the injunction was filed. The 32 page court document goes into excruciating detail, and was first shared by X user Vidushi Dyall.
Apple's 14-inch MacBook Pro has returned to $1,299 at Amazon, reflecting a $300 discount off MSRP on the current M3 model.
After jumping up to $1,399 earlier today, Amazon has reissued its $1,299 14-inch MacBook Pro deal, marking the return of the lowest price seen at the e-commerce giant in the last 30 days.
Police in Waterbury, Connecticut, were able to find a stolen Ferrari worth over half a million dollars, all thanks to a pair of Apple AirPods left behind by the vehicle's owner.
Police were able to find a stolen Ferrari thanks to the owner's AirPods, which were left in the car. Image Credit: Waterbury Police Department.
On September 16, the Waterbury Police Department (WPD) was notified about a stolen Ferrari 812 GTS, stolen from the city of Greenwich, Connecticut, and valued at approximately $575,000. The WPD's Auto Theft Task Force located the vehicle with the help of the owner's Apple AirPods, which were in the car when it was stolen.
Apple's $129 wireless earbuds support tracking through the Find My app, which is how police were able to locate the stolen Italian supercar. AirPods can broadcast their location to an iPhone whenever it is nearby.
Synchron has developed a non-invasive brain-computer interface capable of controlling devices like Apple Vision Pro, and it has reached the one-year milestone without serious adverse effects to patients.
Synchron brain computer interfaces could control Apple Vision Pro Illustration source: Synchron
Brain-computer interfaces are among the latest moonshot technologies being chased in the consumer market. Clinical trials began for Synchron's minimally invasive brain implant in 2022, and it has evolved from potential iPhone and iPad control to Apple Vision Pro control over the years.
According to a press release from Synchron, all six patients with the brain-computer interface had no device-related serious adverse events resulting in death or permanent increase in disability during the first-year post-implant period. Basically, the implanted device didn't cause any problems, and it demonstrated consistent results in capturing brain signals for motor intent.
Amazon is clearing out remaining Apple Watch Series 9 inventory, with clearance prices available on both aluminum and stainless steel models.
Image: Apple/AppleInsider
With the launch of the Apple Watch Series 10 and new Apple Watch Ultra 2 case color, retailers are making room for fresh inventory with blowout prices on closeout models to the tune of $150 off.
During E3 2014 on the PlayStation showcase stage, Hello Games showed off No Man’s Sky in a presentation which has now become iconic. Once an infamous example of a game failing to live up to its initial expectations, the launch of No Man’s Sky in 2016 was just the beginning. More than a decade on from its initial reveal and over 8 years from the game’s 1.0 launch, Hello Games’ No Man’s Sky is the epitome of the redemption story.
However, in the time since its announcement, there have been plenty of other games which have launched in a similarly poor state only to then eventually claw its way back into the good graces of its players. In my opinion, such comparisons have not only given Hello Games far less credit than they deserve, but have elevated other titles which are in no way comparable to the time, effort, work and passion put in by Sean Murray and co. to make No Man’s Sky what it is today.
Yes, Cyberpunk 2077 and even Fallout 76 are much better products now than when they were first released – but to try and make a direct comparison to No Man’s Sky is nothing short of folly.
Offering just a bit more historical context, No Man’s Sky was first announced at the VGX awards in December 2013, however it gained major attention the following year during Sony’s E3 presentation – marking the first time that an indie-published game was shown off during the console maker’s conference.
This influx of eyes upon what was ostensibly a small game being developed by a dozen or so people led to a snowball’s effect of promises and features which would not come to pass upon the game’s official release on the 9th of August 2016.
The rest of No Man’s Sky’s early life has been well-documented by now, with a plethora of promised or suggested features nowhere to be seen and seemingly impossible to implement after the fact. Of course, the most well known was the notion of being able to meet other online players when travelling – something which was quickly proven to be entirely false.
So, No Man’s Sky has launched and players are pissed, with countless refunds, protests and petitions presented by players, seemingly set to put No Man’s Sky in the grave within weeks of its launch. And what did Hello Games do? Well, from the outside looking in, it seemed as though they had taken the money and ran, with little in the way of communication or a direct response to all the issues. Then, after 3 months of silence, Hello Games returned – thus begins their redemption.
In November of 2016, Hello Games rose from the dead to announce No Man’s Sky’s first big update: Foundation. As is in the name itself, the update proved to be the foundational pillars which would support Hello Game’s redemption story henceforth, with just some of the MANY added features including:
3 new game modes
Base building
Farming
Deployable equipment
Freighters
New biome-specific resources and technology
Quality of Life improvements
Quick menu
UI enhancements
Ship immersion improvements
TAA and Motion Blur
From the off, we have seen Hello Games offer some features which were never promised, while also solving a couple present complaints from the game’s launch.
While a massive update in its own right, No Man’s Sky still had a long way to go if it wanted to become the game it was promised to be. The Redemption continues
Four months later, in March of 2017, Hello Games resurfaced once more, this time bringing the Pathfinder update. As with Foundation, the list of changes and additions is far too great to list here, but some of the more notable features included:
Visual overhaul
Enhanced textures
Crepuscular Rays from the Sun
HDR
Much more
Online base sharing
Starship specialisation and classes
Multi-tool specialisation and classes
Ship trading
Economy / progression overhaul with Blueprints and Nanites
Doubled the base building customisation options
Multiple new ship and multi-tool weapons
4th mode (permadeath)
Photo Mode
Discovery menu
Low-flight improvements
Exocraft
Nomad
Roamer
Colossus
Exocraft races
Already, we are seeing Hello Games begin to work on No Man’ Sky’s back-end, with the first instance of any type of multiplayer within the game arriving in the form of online base sharing – making the game’s universe suddenly feel that bit more connected.
But of course, Hello Games were nowhere near done as true redemption had not yet been achieved.
5 months on, during No Man’s Sky’s first anniversary, Hello Games released by far their biggest update yet – Atlas Rises, which added:
A whole new addition campaign
Featuring a new race
Ancient Portals
30 hours of new story content
Double the number of lore / interactions
Overhauled Galactic relationships
Adding wealth, economy and conflict levels to star systems
Revamped galaxy map with QoL improvements and more
Increased world variety
New, exotic planet types
Crashed Freighters and Salvage missions
New Missions agent and system which lets you build relationships and standing with different species
Interstellar Trading
Bringing countless new economic variables
Tiered crafting system
Combine crafted products to create increasingly valuable items
More depth to farming, mining and harvesting
Visual improvements
UI enhancements
Ancient portals can now be activated
Revisit previous planets
Other players’ bases
Jump randomly to new worlds
Overhauled space combat
New enemy AI
Dog-fighting
New weapons
Brand new HUD
Low-orbit flights
New class designs
Quality of Life improvements
New Save system
The first instance of multiplayer with floating orbs representing other players
One year on from its initial launch and No Man’s Sky has already begun to implement arguably the most difficult feature which they had promised at the start: multiplayer.
While yes, at the moment you can’t really interact or see the players, the creation of back-end systems to allow for seamless multiplayer is no small feat, and so this in many ways marks the first point in which I could truly say that No Man’s Sky was well on its way to redemption.
Even so, I never could have imagined just how early we still were in the overall journey of No Man’s Sky — and where it was going ‘next'.
The following major update came with the game’s second anniversary: NEXT. Of course, amongst all these major updates – past and future – were patches which addressed more immediate issues while adding various QoL fixes, and so it wasn’t as though Hello Games simply disappeared for a year while working on the update.
However, even if that had been the case, the wait would have been worth it, with just some of the more notable additions including:
Full multiplayer
Multiplayer missions
Complete and seamless co-op throughout the entire game
Weekly content and community events
Hundreds of new base building parts alongside being able to own multiple bases
Freighter enhancements with new Frigate fleet system
Frigates can assist in space battles
Real-time fleet missions
Freighter base building improvements
All core substances and resources were reworked and rebalanced
Planetary resources expanded, with unique substances and items to find and refine based on the planet’s biome and weather, as well as stellar classification
Procedural tech stat enhancements for your equipment
Overhauled opening section
6 new mission types
Visual overhaul
More dramatic terrain generation
Planet surfaces look more interesting and representative from orbit
Colour palette variety, dense forests and large trees, and abandoned and empty systems
Hazardous storms look more dramatic with new biome-specific particle effects
Planetary rings of asteroids and improved space visuals
Vast oceans of visually improved bodies of water with new continental terrain shapes
Dynamic volumetric clouds
Galactic Trade Terminal
Exploration, Fauna and Flora overhaul
New buried discoveries
Enhanced fauna AI
Revamped fauna animations
Sentinel AI improvements
New hazardous flora and fauna
Audio improvements/additions across the board
3rd-person mode
True low flight mode across the surface of planets
Gestures/emotes
Character customisation
Easily the game’s biggest update yet, the multiplayer implementation alone must have been a colossal task, with the team needing to create actual character models for the first time.
Of course, they went above and beyond in this regard, adding a whole 3rd person mode alongside character customisation – both features which were neither promised nor expected.
At this point, it was more than safe to say that Hello Games were committed to No Man’s Sky, with each update not only bringing a missing feature or two, but also adding whole new gameplay opportunities through a constant evolution to its core systems – making every subsequent function more dynamic, useful and fun.
However, over the course of the ‘next’ 6 years, Hello Games would take No Man’s Sky from the prime story of redemption to the ONLY game worth being listed as such, with just a hint of the hundreds of changes, additions and overhauls including but certainly not limited to:
Underwater overhaul with new creatures, biomes, discoveries and more
Underwater tech including submarines and more
New anomalous planet biomes create a weirder, more diverse universe to explore
New ‘bizarre’ creatures
Multiple visual and planet generation overhauls
Sentient Minerals
Uncompromised VR support
32-player multiplayer
Space anomaly social hub
Reworked mechanics for increased skill/rewards
Creature riding
Comprehensive companion/pet system
Hundred of recipes to create
New logic/electricity system, vastly expanding base building capabilities
Comprehensive music-making device
Complete starship building/customisation
New full campaigns
Exo-mech
Gunplay overhauls
Multiple universe variety overhauls
Over a dozen months-long community expeditions
Cloth and fur physics
Rideable flying companions
Comprehensive settlement system with multiple overhauls/improvements
Overhauled base building
Sentinel overhaul/expansion
New starship types
New and comprehensive pirating role-playing systems
Contraband goods/tech
Freighter overhaul
Complete difficulty customisation
Overhauled the original story
Discovery overhaul with records, milestones and more
Player can now be left-handed
Corrupted worlds with new variables across all those within
Complete multi-tool customisation/creation
Space station overhauls
The two most recent updates, Worlds Part 1 and Aquarius have not let up with the list of additions and improvements, with the former once again for the umpteenth time overhauling the world generation to make a game which is somehow even more visually diverse, pretty and worth exploring.
It essentially brought all of the tech created for their upcoming follow-up game ‘Light No Fire’ to No Man’s Sky; equivalent to an upgrade of the entire game’s engine.
While we wait for NMS Worlds Part 2, Hello Games’ most recent update ‘Aquarius’ dropped, adding a whole fishing mechanic to the game.
As with every other new feature, this is not half-assed, with players able to catch over 160 different types of sea creatures – all being trackable and catalogued to let you explore your personal milestones and fishing records.
Of course, as with every update, this did not arrive in isolation, as the fishing mechanic was also seamlessly integrated into the overall experience – letting you sell, trade, or cook the creatures you caught with countless different recipes.
Over a decade on from its initial reveal, No Man’s Sky both manages to remain the same game it was at launch while also bringing almost every single missing feature (and dozens of new surprise ones) into the title – implementing them intelligently and with great consideration for how it will affect the core of the game. They achieved their redemption years ago, yet continue diligently with massive update after massive update.
No other title has done what Hello Games have managed to achieve. And the best part? Every single update, patch and addition to the game was and is 100% free, with no falsified hype or build-up to each update.
In fact, you cannot pay Hello Games any extra money even if you wanted to, as despite the addition of cosmetics, new currencies and a decade’s worth of comprehensive expansions, everything is only earnable in-game – so you won’t have to pay thousands of real-world pounds to buy a new ship or anything of the sorts.
Easily the game to have been compared the most to No Man’s Sky in terms of its redemption is CD Projekt Red’s Cyberpunk 2077. Just like with No Man’s Sky, Cyberpunk 2077 promised a ton ahead of the game’s launch, only to then fail to add a great deal of them.
As with No Man’s Sky, CDPR did slowly improve the gamer over time, fixing glaring issues such as the broken police AI system and more. HOWEVER, unlike No Man’s Sky, even with years worth of updates and free patches (as well as a paid expansion), Cyberpunk 2077 remains a shell of its initial promise.
Contrasting to No Man’s Sky, which managed to implement pretty much every one of its promised features eventually – while also adding countless new and unexpected features/additions – a majority of Cyberpunk’s most exciting promises have not and will never come to fruition.
Yes, Cyberpunk 2077 did improve NPC AI, letting them cower more realistically when shot at as well as being able to now open umbrellas when it’s raining, but for every feature eventually added, there exists an even more impactful promise which fell to the wayside.
Cyberpunk 2077 will never get the previously-promised 3rd-person mode. The game will never add wall running or corrupt police or dynamic trauma team responses. We won’t be getting NPCs with unique AI and daily routines; free-use of drones; comprehensive brain dances; the ability to buy and alter properties; vehicle customisation; and of course, multiplayer.
Now, some of these will likely be added in the inevitable Cyberpunk 2077 sequel, but when that does happen, players will need to cough up an additional $70 on top of what they paid for the first game + the expansion.
Don’t get me wrong, I played Cyberpunk 2077 through to completion on versions 1.0/1.1 and loved it, but to say that Cyberpunk 2077’s redemption story is in any way comparable to No Man’s Sky is an objective lie.
There has never been a video game redemption story like No Man’s Sky, and most likely there will never be another one like it. I can’t wait to see what Hello Games does with No Man’s Sky’s 2nd World Update – and how it will once again overhaul the whole game.
KitGuru says: What do you think of No Man’s Sky’s redemption? Is there any game which can come close to it? Do you believe that Cyberpunk 2077 ‘s Redemption is comparable in your eyes? Let us know down below.
We've seen videogames handle cheaters in a number of interesting ways. For instance, in recent years, Call of Duty has experimented with making cheaters blind and deaf, making them an easy target in games of Warzone. Valve is trying its hand at its own amusing form of punishment, changing cheaters in Deadlock into frogs.
While Deadlock is still in early development and not close to release, the game has achieved wide popularity, becoming one of the most downloaded games on Steam in the past month. Due to the ease of access into Deadlock, a cheating problem has arisen over time, which Valve is now trying to deal with via in-game punishments.
Currently in Deadlock, if a cheater is detected in a match, everyone in the game will have a chance to vote – kick the cheater immediately or turn them into a frog to mess with them for a while until they inevitably quit.
Unfortunately, the term ‘detected' is very important here. Deadlock currently only has a rudimentary anti-cheat system in place, and cheat creators are constantly finding undetected exploits. With that in mind, those persistent enough will be able to avoid the croak and create unfair matches.
Deadlock is still in closed alpha testing, so it is unclear if or when the game will see a full release. Perhaps more light on that will be shed in 2025. Aside from Deadlock, Valve is also rumoured to be working on a new single-player Half-Life game and unlike Half-Life: Alyx, it won't be a VR title.
KitGuru Says: Have you been playing Deadlock recently? Have you run into any frogs in your matches?
The first Final Fantasy 14: Dawntrail major patch has arrived. Patch 7.1 will be a big one for players of the MMO, introducing new main scenario quests, a new dungeon, a new raid and more.
Titled ‘Crossroads', this major update will roll out in mid November, continuing the main scenario quest, as well as containing the first part of the Final Fantasy 11 crossover alliance raid series.
If you missed out on Final Fantasy 11 at the time, or want to go on a trip down memory lane, the new raid will be must-play content.
Here is the full list of new content coming with Final Fantasy 14 Patch 7.1:
New Main Scenario Quests
New Dungeon – Yuweyawata Field Station
New 24-Player Alliance Raid Series – Echoes of Vana'diel
New Trial– The Minstrel’s Ballad: Sphene's Burden
New Unreal Trial– The Jade Stoa (Unreal): Face off against Byakko, one of the Four Lords, at level 100
Chaotic Alliance Raid– The Cloud of Darkness (Chaotic): A new 24-player, high-difficulty raid
New Ultimate Raid– Futures Rewritten (Ultimate)
New Allied Society Quests – Players will be able to participate in new allied society quests for the Pelupelu that are designed for battle classes and jobs
A New Custom Delivery Client – Nitowikwe
Additional Role & Wachumeqimeqi Quests – A new role quest story will become available after completing all Dawntrail role quests, similarly a new Wachumeqimeqi story will become available when completing all of those associated quests
New Hildibrand Quest Series – Inconceivably Further Hildibrand Adventures
New Game+ Support for Patch 7.0 – Replay main scenario quests, job quests, and role quests
Duty Support Additions – Support for the non-main scenario quest dungeon Halatali will be implemented, with further additions in the future
Player Housing Update – The ability to select interior designs from different residential areas regardless of the location of the plot and new interior designs will be added
Miscellaneous Updates – Additional updates for the Hall of the Novice with training for a wide range of different battle mechanics, NPC voiceovers added to Doman Mahjong and more
KitGuru Says: Have you been playing through the latest Final Fantasy 14 expansion? Will you be diving back in for the Final Fantasy 11 crossover raid?
G.Skill is back with another set of ultra high-performance DDR5 memory kits. This time around, G.Skill is debuting its 48GB (24GB x2) DDR5-9000 memory kit, designed for high-end AMD Ryzen PCs.
This new kit from G.Skill comes with an AMD EXPO overclock profile that pushes the speed all the way up to 9000MT/s, with CL44-56-56 timings. This speed is achieved using a dual-channel configuration with two 24GB memory DIMMs.
G.Skill verified the memory kit on a system featuring a new ASUS ROG Crosshair X870E motherboard, paired with a Ryzen 7 8700G processor. It is unclear why this CPU was used rather than a newer Ryzen 9000 series desktop processor.
G.Skill also leveraged the new Asus NitroPath DRAM technology to reach these speeds, which uses a special signal routing layout to increase achievable memory speeds.
KitGuru Says: G.Skill has consistently pushed the envelope for memory speeds and that trend is continuing, with ultra high-speed kits for both AMD and Intel systems.
The Noctua NF series of fans are legendary for their high performance and low noise output. Now, Noctua is launching its next-generation flagship fan, the NF-A14x25 G2. Built with new materials and designed to improve on the strengths of its predecessor, the new fans will be available starting in October, priced at €39.90.
Noctua CEO, Roland Mossig, confirmed that this fan has been in development for almost a decade, and the end result is a fan that somehow manages to do the impossible and improve on a highly perfected formula.
Like the NF-A14 and NF-A12x25, the new NF-A14x25 G2 is a true all-rounder that yields superb results in all types of usage, regardless of whether it’s in low-impedance, airflow-oriented applications such as case cooling, or high-impedance, static pressure demanding scenarios such as on heatsinks and water-cooling radiators.
If you are equipping the fan to a heatsink or radiator, then you'll be good to go out of the box, thanks to a pre-installed anti-vibration gasket, which provides a righter seal on radiators. Additionally, the fan's Advanced Acoustic Optimisation frame can be combined with the optional NA-IS1-14 inlet spacer, which can help to achieve superior suction acoustics and flow rates in challenging intake configurations.
At the heart of the fan is the new ultra-low-loss etaPERF motor, which is more efficient and runs smoother compared to the previous generation. All of these little optimisations add up together to provide an even quieter and performant fan.
The fan is available in a standard PWM version with 1500rpm maximum speed, an ultra-quiet LS-PWM version with up to 800rpm as well as in an Sx2-PP set that contains two fans that are offset in speed by +/- ~25rpm.
For a single NF-A14x25 G2 fan, you'll need to spend €39.90. The LS-PWM variant will hit the market at the same price. Finally, there will also be a two-fan pack, priced at €76.90.
KitGuru Says: Noctua fans have reigned supreme for many, many years now. Given how good the previous generation fans were, it is no wonder that Gen 2 took almost a decade to create.
Thermal Grizzly's WireView GPU Pro is a new monitoring and measurement tool designed by renowned overclocker Jon Sandstrom, also known as “elmor”. This device uses a power passthrough to connect to the GPU via the 12V-2×6 connector, monitoring GPU power consumption and temperature and providing users with alerts for potential issues.
One of the standout features of the WireView GPU Pro is its sensor pin detection, which serves as a failsafe mechanism by detecting the proper insertion of the 12V-2×6 power connection into the power source, thus safeguarding the graphics card from potential damage. Furthermore, the Pro edition of WireView is equipped with temperature sensors on the PCB, enabling users to monitor the temperature at the power connections. This feature allows users to set customisable thresholds for temperature warnings and alerts, ensuring proactive temperature management.
In addition to these features, the WireView Pro GPU has two extra temperature sensors that can monitor other parts of the graphics card, such as the graphics card's memory or voltage regulators. The WireView Pro GPU also boasts an OLED display for convenient real-time monitoring. To use it, connect the WireView GPU Pro's male 12V-2×6 connector to the graphics cards and insert the 12V-2×6 connector from the PSU in the female 12V-2×6 connector of the monitoring tool.
Priced at $76.19/€69.90, the WireView Pro GPU offers a compelling combination of advanced features and performance monitoring capabilities, making it a valuable addition to any enthusiast's setup.
KitGuru says: Would you like to have a WireView GPU Pro in your setup?
In the past, we had already seen a few Geekbench entries of the Core Ultra 7 265KF, but none scored as high as this one. The latest Intel Core Ultra 7 265K entry puts it much closer to the top Core Ultra 9 285K entries in the database, showing a much more promising picture for the Core Ultra 7 200 series processors.
Previous results showed a modest improvement compared to the Core i7-14700K(F), suggesting an improvement of under 10%. However, recent benchmarks reveal a more optimistic performance boost, with the new CPUs nearly matching the performance of the high-end Core Ultra 9 285K category.
An entry (via Benchleaks) conducted on the Asus TUF Gaming Z890 WIFI motherboard, equipped with 64 GB of DDR5 RAM of unspecified speed, demonstrated shows the Core Ultra 7 265K scoring 3,283 points on the Geekbench 6 single-core test and 22,293 in the multi-core test. With 8x P-Cores and 12x E-Cores, all without hyperthreading, the new CPUs showcased an impressive 15% improvement in single-core and multi-core performance over the 14700K. A look at the running speeds shows that the processor boosted up to 5.5 GHz, which is within the CPU's rumoured specifications.
The Intel Core 200K series is slated for release on October 24th, leaving room for more details to surface between now and then.
KitGuru says: Are you impressed with the latest Intel Core Ultra 7 265K Geekbench scores?
CUDIMM has emerged as a game-changing innovation, offering a CPU-decoupled CDK clock driver that enhances signal integrity and allows memory makers to achieve higher frequencies independent of the memory controller. With support for speeds starting at 6400 MT/s, CUDIMM promises improved stability and reliability at higher rates. Some memory kits using CUDIMMs are already hitting the market at 9200 to 9600 MT/s, and plans to launch 10,000 MT/s kits are already in motion.
The recent announcement that Intel's Arrow Lake-S platform will support CUDIMMs via the GEAR 2 option has raised questions about AMD's future platform compatibility. AMD's X870 boards will also support CUDIMMs, with compatibility varying depending on the RAM, motherboard, and CPU.
This information comes from MSI (via VideoCardz), which recently announced in a press event that the Ryzen 9000 and 8000 series would support DDR5-8400(+) memory, which was only possible by adjusting the memory slot architecture. As for the Ryzen 7000 series, according to MSI's in-house overclocker TOPPC, CUDIMM is currently not compatible with the CPU series.
The overlocker explained that an incompatibility issue prevents CUDIMM memory from functioning on Ryzen 7000 CPUs. He speculates that future support for the Ryzen 7000 may be possible, with the potential for motherboards with CUDIMM to start at a lower frequency, which can be manually or automatically adjusted to the supported speed. However, further information is currently unavailable due to the scarcity of CUDIMM memory in the market.
KitGuru says: Do you think AMD's platforms can benefit from using CUDIMM running at such high speeds, or will it be better to maintain the 1:1 ratio between the memory's speed and the Infinity Fabric?
An iPhone showing "SOS" isn't a cry for help, but it does mean you're having connection issues. This is what the three letters really mean.
SOS Only on an iPhone
SOS is well known as a Morse Code distress signal, quickly and efficiently communicating that there is a major and potentially life-threatening problem. While SOS doesn't actually mean "Save Our Souls" and is really just an agreed-upon communications sequence, the meaning is immediately understandable to almost anyone.
Your iPhone or cellular-equipped iPad can also display SOS in the status bar. However, the meaning is less about the phone being in trouble and more about what it cannot do.
All of us should use iPhone passcodes and any of us can forget them, but few of us are New York City mayors being indicted for corruption and claiming to have changed the code to help investigators.
iPhone passcode
Following news of his indictment in September 2024, more details have emerged of how investigators seized the Apple devices owned by Mayor Adams in November 2023. The full court filing shows that while two of his cellphones were seized then, they did not include his personal iPhone.
"When Adams produced his personal cellphone the next day in response to a subpoena," says the filing, "it was 'locked,' such that the device required a password to open."
Apple CEO Tim Cook tweeted that the company intends to donate to relief efforts associated with fallout from Hurricane Helene.
Tim Cook on Apple's roof
Hurricane Helene made landfall on September 26 as a Category 4 hurricane, causing over 500 miles of destruction and resulting in a death toll of more than 100. Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina were the hardest hit, but the impact was also felt in other areas.
In response, Apple plans to donate an undisclosed sum of money to hurricane relief efforts. The announcement was made in a post to X by Cook on Monday.
Verizon customers are discovering their iPhones aren't properly working on the network, in an outage that seems to have affected hundreds of thousands of customers.
Verizon logo
Mobile phone networks can have the occasional downtime or outage, and they are usually limited to specific areas, a selection of customers, or a short period of time. For Verizon on Monday, it seems that the outage is quite serious.
Users have taken to social media to complain that they can't connect to the network. The comments generally ask if the network is down for anyone else, with devices seemingly deregistering from the network.
On this episode of the HomeKit Insider Podcast, a special guest from ADT joins to talk about the smart home as a whole, as well as cover all the news from the week.
HomeKit Insider Podcast
Chief Technology Office for ADT, Gilles Drieu, stopped by the podcast this week to offer his insight into the industry, as well as what the security company is doing themselves that's relevant to Apple users.
Drieu has spent more than 25 years in Silicon Valley, working at Apple, Adobe, and Google before making the move to ADT. In his current role as Chief Technology Officer and Senior Vice President of Product Engineering he's working on next-gen devices for the smart home.
One of the biggest gaming stories of 2023 was The Day Before incident. A small studio known as Fntastic had made grand promises about their in-development survival game, but within days of release, the game was taken down and the studio shut its doors. Now, Fntastic is hoping to make a comeback, starting with a Kickstarter campaign.
As The Day Before was largely viewed by gamers as an elaborate scam, the idea that ‘Fntastic 2.0' could exist seems ridiculous. The fact that the reformed studio wants the community to crowdfund its next project is the cherry on top.
In its return to social media, Fntastic opens up by saying “everyone deserves a second chance”. The company apologises for letting gamers down with The Day Before, and points to a new ‘Fntastic 2.0' PDF document to outline its plan to “regain trust”. This includes more direct and honest communication, which is a little odd, because direct communication wasn't really the issue with The Day Before, but the lack of honesty around the game and the state of development certainly was a sticking point.
Going along with its honesty policy, Fntastic also says that moving forward it will operate professionally, ditching its volunteer-based approach to development, although the words “job”, “hiring” and “pay” all are absent from the statement, so it is unclear if Fntastic has secured funding to actually pay people.
The remainder of the PDF document focuses on a rebranding effort, including new logos.
For anyone actually interested, Escape Factory is Fntastic's new game, a four to eight player co-op game, in which players must evade deadly threats to complete levels. Fntastic says that while some VFX assets have been acquired to aid in putting the demo together, all art assets were created in-house.
Currently, the Kickstarter campaign for Escape Factory has been backed by just 41 people, pledging a total of £1,733. The project still hgas 26 days to hit its funding goal of £11,668.
KitGuru Says: So far, it doesn't look like Escape Factory will hit its funding goal, but that could change over the next few weeks. It is a shame too, as Escape Factory looks to be more in-line with the studio's projects prior to The Day Before, like Prop Night. Prop Night wasn't a particularly polished game, but it was fun with friends and very cheap. Perhaps that is the niche Fntastic should have stuck with before chasing dreams of creating the most overhyped survival game ever announced.
NZXT has made some excellent looking motherboards over the years, leaving little PCB on show for a cohesive look inside of the PC case. Today, NZXT is announcing its first high-end motherboard for the Zen 5 generation, the NZXT N9 X870E ATX motherboard.
NZXT's new X870E motherboard is designed for Zen 5-based processors, like the Ryzen 9000 series desktop processors. The board boasts overclocking-ready power delivery, so you should be able to squeeze out as much performance as possible from your CPU, whether it is a Ryzen 7000 series chip or a newer Ryzen 9000 series processor. As AMD plans to support the AM5 platform until at least 2027, this motherboard is future-proofed, so you'll easily be able to upgrade your CPU without needing a new motherboard over the next few years.
To spice things up a bit, NZXT has redesigned the metal cover for the N9 X870E with RGB accents, so you can customise the look of your rig even further. Other key features include:
● AMD AM5 Socket: Ready for AMD Ryzen 9000, 8000, and 7000 series desktop processors.
● Advanced Power Solution: A robust 20+2+1 power stage design (110A SPS) and 8-layer, low-loss 2oz copper PCB ensure exceptional stability and overclocking potential.
● Optimized Thermal Design: Stays cool under pressure with a high-performance VRM heatsink array (optimal fin, thermal pads, dual PWM fans) and dedicated heatsinks for all M.2 slots.
● PCIe 5.0 M.2 Slot: Access PCIe 5.0 storage speeds with the top M.2 slot, plus three additional PCIe 4.0 M.2 slots, all with an easy-to-use quick release latch
● Connectivity Features: Built-in support for Wi-Fi 7, 5Gbe ethernet, two USB 4 ports for 40 Gbps speeds, and Bluetooth 5.4, and high-fidelity Realtek ALC4082 audio.
● DDR5 Memory: Four dual-channel DDR5 RAM slots accelerate load times, boost frame rates, and enable seamless multitasking.
● Integrated NZXT RGB Lighting: Included are two NZXT 8-pin combo fan headers for simple connection and control of NZXT RGB Core single-frame fans and integrated RGB onboard zone controlled through NZXT CAM.
The NZXT N9 X870E motherboard will be available in black or white colour options, starting in Q1 2025.
KitGuru Says: It will be a while before we can get some hands-on time with this motherboard. In the meantime, it does look like a solid pick for those looking to build an aesthetically pleasing gaming system with little additional effort required.
Remedy Entertainment has made more than a few moves to retain its independence in today's tougher gaming market. A couple of years back, the company took on investments from companies like Epic Games and Tencent, both in the form of publishing agreements and traditional stock trades. Now, Remedy has secured an additional €15 million to support in-development projects.
“Part of Remedy’s long-term strategy has been to strengthen our position in the value chain, to have more control over how our games are commercialized, and to grow our share of the value these games can create. As we move towards self-publishing, this financing will support us in developing and fully realizing the potential of the games we have in development and successfully carrying out the commercial activities of our next self-published games.”
While Remedy Entertainment is an independent studio, in the past, it has had to rely on publishing deals to get games out to the masses. This has resulted in lengthy periods of zero royalty payments for releases like Control and Alan Wake 2. With this move, Remedy aims to rectify that for future games, like Control 2, or Project Condor, both of which are moving into production this year.
The exception here is the upcoming Max Payne 1 & 2 Remake, as Rockstar owns the IP and will be publishing the title.
KitGuru Says: Tencent already owns around 15 percent of Remedy Entertainment, so this loan will no doubt work favourably for them. That is, as long as Remedy can continue to produce at a high level, as it did with Control and Alan Wake 2.
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