meta content='PcpJKOmoday5SZ2ES5Jk' name='bulletprofit'/> Ayyobpatel.bloggr.com: 05/29/19

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China has no good options for retaliating against Trump’s Huawei ban

US president Donald Trump has made Huawei the biggest story in tech right now by banning it from doing business with US companies. Huawei, China’s tech champion, has lost access to Google’s Android and Intel’s chips, and it’s even seen other international partners like ARM and Panasonic bowing to American influence and discontinuing trade. Having previously been on track to becoming the world’s biggest smartphone maker, Huawei is now in such dire straits that the best metaphor its founder could come up with to allay fears is that the company is like a plane with a hole in its side: not doing great, but still up in the air.

Bludgeoning Huawei with the ban hammer is, by Trump’s own admission, a negotiating tactic to focus China’s attention...

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Laptops are getting weird and wonderful again

Steelseries’ new keyboard has adjustable switches for gaming and typing

Mechanical keyboard enthusiasts often don’t need an excuse to buy new keyboards, but for those who do, there really hasn’t been a one-switch-fits-all solution to date. If you’re into competitive gaming, for example, you’ll probably want something like ultra-responsive red switches with low actuation points. But if you need something for longform writing, you’ll likely want a higher actuation point to provide more satisfying feedback and help prevent typos.

Steelseries’ latest keyboard, the Apex Pro, is designed to be the best of both worlds: a keyboard that both gamers and writers alike can use. (As someone who often writes about PC gaming hardware, I can’t deny that the idea is appealing.) It’s all down to the new switch design, which...

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from The Verge - All Posts http://bit.ly/30KjNYO

Laptops are getting weird and wonderful again

Steelseries’ new keyboard has adjustable switches for gaming and typing

Mechanical keyboard enthusiasts often don’t need an excuse to buy new keyboards, but for those who do, there really hasn’t been a one-switch-fits-all solution to date. If you’re into competitive gaming, for example, you’ll probably want something like ultra-responsive red switches with low actuation points. But if you need something for longform writing, you’ll likely want a higher actuation point to provide more satisfying feedback and help prevent typos.

Steelseries’ latest keyboard, the Apex Pro, is designed to be the best of both worlds: a keyboard that both gamers and writers alike can use. (As someone who often writes about PC gaming hardware, I can’t deny that the idea is appealing.) It’s all down to the new switch design, which...

Continue reading…



from The Verge - All Posts http://bit.ly/30KjNYO

iRobot’s new cleaning robots can team up to vacuum and mop your house

iRobot has a pair of new cleaning robots, the Roomba s9+ and Braava Jet m6, that can work in tandem to vacuum, mop, and dust your house. You coordinate the process from the iRobot app, which will automatically tell the mopping and dusting $499 (€699) Braava Jet m6 to clean your wood or stone floors after the $1,299 (€1,499) Roomba s9+ has vacuumed.

Although the Braava Jet m6 can also synchronize with last year’s Roomba i7+, you get a couple of advantages if you pair it with this year’s vacuum. iRobot claims the Roomba s9+ is much better at handling the edges of your rooms thanks to its wider brushes and a new corner brush that’s designed to sweep dust from the corners of your room into the path of its main rollers. The company also says...

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from The Verge - All Posts http://bit.ly/2X8gQ22

iRobot’s new cleaning robots can team up to vacuum and mop your house

iRobot has a pair of new cleaning robots, the Roomba s9+ and Braava Jet m6, that can work in tandem to vacuum, mop, and dust your house. You coordinate the process from the iRobot app, which will automatically tell the mopping and dusting $499 (€699) Braava Jet m6 to clean your wood or stone floors after the $1,299 (€1,499) Roomba s9+ has vacuumed.

Although the Braava Jet m6 can also synchronize with last year’s Roomba i7+, you get a couple of advantages if you pair it with this year’s vacuum. iRobot claims the Roomba s9+ is much better at handling the edges of your rooms thanks to its wider brushes and a new corner brush that’s designed to sweep dust from the corners of your room into the path of its main rollers. The company also says...

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from The Verge - All Posts http://bit.ly/2X8gQ22

Logitech made a VR stylus you can use on a table or in the air

Logitech has announced a new VR stylus called the Logitech VR Ink Pilot Edition that’s designed to make it easier to draw and sculpt in virtual reality. Unlike existing VR controllers from the likes of HTC, you hold Logitech’s VR stylus like a traditional pen, and it can seamlessly transition between drawing in the air and drawing on a flat surface.

It’s a neat idea, but it sounds like Logitech is still going through the process of working out its reason for being. A teaser video shows the stylus being used mainly for 3D CAD work to design cars and planes, but the company also says it’s seeking industry partners and app developers to work out more use cases for the accessory. Either way, Logitech seems to be aiming this squarely at...

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Google says its Digital Wellbeing software isn’t affecting performance on Pixel phones

Google has responded to accusations that its Digital Wellbeing software slows down performance on Pixel phones. Commenting via an official Google account on Reddit, the company said it had “conducted a thorough analysis” of the software after receiving complaints from users, and concluded there were “no performance issues associated with the Digital Wellbeing app on Pixel.”

However, the company did note that during its investigation it found “unrelated” problems that did adversely affect performance. It said it was in the process of rolling out software updates that would fix these bugs and “make your Pixel device better.”

Complaints about the Digital Wellbeing app have been bubbling for a few weeks now. The software (which is available...

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The Asus Prime Utopia is a radical concept for the future of motherboards

Asus is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, and as the company got its start as a motherboard maker back in 1989, it’s fitting that it presents an idea of where it sees things going in the future. This concept is called Prime Utopia, and demonstrates what might be possible if we move away from the ATX standard that has dominated full-size desktop motherboard design since Intel introduced it in 1995.

Prime Utopia rearranges various components for greater efficiency. The PCIe slots are on the back, so the GPU can free up space while moving into a more stable position. There are four M.2 slots with a dedicated heatsink. Asus has also designed a proprietary “Hydra Cortex” fan header that lets individual fans be controlled...

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Facebook should do more to stop malicious propaganda videos

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) speaks during her weekly news conference on May 23rd in Washington, DC. 

I.

On Friday, the Washington Post reported that a video purporting to show House Speaker Nancy Pelosi slurring her words was racking up millions of views and shares on social networks, with Facebook leading the way on engagement. In reality, the (still unknown) creator of the video had slowed footage of Pelosi to 75 percent the speed of the original, while adjusting the pitch of her voice to make it sound more natural. The result was catnip for conservative partisans eager to paint the congresswoman as a drunken buffoon.

The video’s rapid spread around the internet sparked new fears that our politics were on the cusp of being radically and irreversibly changed by the introduction of digitally altered propaganda. Over the weekend, the...

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Apple Pay can be used to ride New York City’s MTA transit starting May 31st

New Yorkers can use Apple Pay to ride the Metropolitan Transportation Authority starting May 31st, the company announced today. Previously, the company’s CEO Tim Cook had said Apple Pay would begin rolling out to the MTA’s subways and buses in “early summer.”

People who want to use Apple Pay to ride the MTA will need to download the latest version of iOS (12.3) and watchOS (5.2.1), and then authenticate a credit or debit card to use with a new feature called Express Transit. After that, you won’t need to open an app or unlock your phone to use it with the MTA.

It’s part of the MTA’s public test of its new fare payment system called OMNY, which stands for “One Metro New York.” To start out, this tap-to-pay system will only be available...

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Apple’s former app approval chief says he’s ‘really worried’ about company’s anticompetitive behavior

The rules that govern what gets approved and what doesn’t in Apple’s App Store have always been a little mysterious. But a new Bloomberg interview with Phillip Shoemaker, a former Apple exec who oversaw the App Store’s approval process between 2009 and 2016, offers some interesting insight. It’s particularly relevant at a time when Apple faces antitrust challenges in both the US and the EU over its management of the App Store.

In the interview, Shoemaker says that Apple has long feared that rival apps from companies like Google and Facebook would replace core iOS features like calling and messaging. He notes that this fear is “absolutely the reason” that the company still doesn’t let users set third-party apps as the default service for...

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শরীর-স্বাস্থ্য ও চিকিত্সার দিকে সম্পূর্ণ নজর দিতে চান, মন্ত্রিসভায় থাকতে চান না, মোদিকে চিঠি দিয়ে জানালেন জেটলি

নয়াদিল্লি: নরেন্দ্র মোদিকে চিঠি লিখে স্বাস্থ্যের কারণে নতুন মন্ত্রিসভায় থাকতে চান না বলে জানিয়ে দিলেন অরুণ জেটলি। বিগত মোদি মন্ত্রিসভার অর্থমন্ত্রী জেটলি চার পৃষ্ঠার চিঠি লিখে ফের মন্ত্রিত্বের দায়িত্ব পালনে অপারগতার কথা জানিয়েছেন। কিছুদিন ধরে শরীর ঠিক নেই তাঁর। বিদেশে গিয়ে চিকিত্সাও করিয়ে এসেছেন, কিডনি প্রতিস্থাপন করিয়েছেন। কিন্তু তারপরও

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পার্ক সার্কাসে রেললাইনের ধারে বাঁশ-প্লাইউডের একাধিক দোকানে আগুন, এলাকায় আতঙ্ক

<strong>কলকাতা:</strong> পার্ক সার্কাসে রেললাইনের ধারে রাইফেল রেঞ্জ রোডে ভয়াবহ আগুন। বাঁশ-প্লাইউডের একাধিক দোকানে আগুন। কীভাবে আগুন লাগল, এখনও তা স্পষ্ট নয়। আগুনের জেরে এলাকায় আতঙ্ক। আগুনের জেরে ব্যাহত ট্রেন-পরিষেবা। ঘটনাস্থলে দমকলের চারটি ইঞ্জিন। বিস্তারিত একটু পরে...

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জাত তুলে ‘খোঁটা’! তফসিলি উপজাতিভুক্ত জুনিয়রের আত্মহত্যায় গ্রেফতার তিন সিনিয়র মহিলা ডাক্তার

মুম্বই: জাত তুলে খোঁটা দেওয়ার জেরে জুনিয়র সহকর্মীর আত্মহত্যার ঘটনায় গতকালের পর এখানকার এক সরকারি হাসপাতালের আরও ২ ডাক্তার গ্রেফতার হলেন আজ। পুলিশ বুধবার জানিয়েছে, সব মিলিয়ে ধৃত তিনজনই মহিলা। গতকাল প্রাথমিক জিজ্ঞাসাবাদের পর গ্রেফতার হন ভক্তি মেহেরে। আজ ভোরে গ্রেফতার করা হয় হেমা আহুজা ও অঙ্কিতা খান্ডেলওয়াল নামে

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অর্জুনের বিরুদ্ধে ‘দ্বিচারিতা’র অভিযোগ, কী জবাব দিলেন অভিনেতা?

মুম্বই: মালাইকা অরোরার সঙ্গে সম্পর্ক নিয়ে ইদানীং বারবার আলোচনায় অভিনেতা অর্জুন কপূর। তিনি ৩৩। আর মালাইকার বয়স ৪৫। বয়সে বড় বান্ধবী মালাইকার সঙ্গে সম্পর্ক নিয়ে ইদানীং বেশ খোলামেলা অর্জুন। কিন্তু এই বিষয়টি মেনে নিতে পারেননি অনেকেই। সম্প্রতি টুইটারে অভিনেতা বরুণ ধবনের এক ভক্ত অর্জুনকে আক্রমণ করেছেন চাঁচাছোলা ভাষায়। তাঁর

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রাজনৈতিক হিংসায় ৫৪ বিজেপি কর্মীর হত্যার খবর মিথ্যা, ট্যুইট, মোদির শপথে যাচ্ছেন না মমতা

কলকাতা: আগের সিদ্ধান্ত বদলে নরেন্দ্র মোদির শপথ গ্রহণ অনুষ্ঠানে যাচ্ছেন না বলে জানিয়ে দিলেন মমতা বন্দ্যোপাধ্যায়। নতুন মন্ত্রিসভার শপথ গ্রহণে সাম্প্রতিক কালে এ রাজ্যে রাজনৈতিক হিংসায় নিহত বলে দাবি করা ৫৪ জন বিজেপি কর্মীর পরিবারের লোকজনকে হাজির থাকার আমন্ত্রণ জানানোর খবরের জেরে এই সিদ্ধান্ত নিয়েছেন তিনি। মমতা ট্যুইট করেছেন,

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পার্ক সাকার্সে বাঁশের গোলা ও প্লাইইডের দোকানে ভয়াবহ আগুন, দমকলের ১২টি ইঞ্জিন চেষ্টায় নিয়ন্ত্রণে

পার্ক সাকার্সে রেললাইনের ধারে ভয়াবহ আগুন। দাউ দাউ করে জ্বলছে পরপর বাঁশ ও প্লাইইডের দোকান। ধোঁয়ায় ঢেকেছে আকাশ। আগুন ছড়িয়েছে পার্শ্ববর্তী ঝুপড়িতে। ঘটনাস্থলে দমকলের  ১২টি ইঞ্জিন। আগুন নেভানোর কাজে হাত লাগিয়েছেন স্থানীয়রাও। কীভাবে আগুন লাগল, এখনও তা স্পষ্ট নয়। আগুনের জেরে আতঙ্কিত এলাকাবাসী।

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দেখুন, ফিল্ডারকে ঠিক জায়গায় দাঁড় করাও, বাংলাদেশের সাব্বির রহমানকে পরামর্শ দিলেন ধোনি

<strong>কার্ডিফ</strong><strong>:</strong> ক্রিকেট ম্যাচে ফিল্ডিং সাজান অধিনায়ক ও বোলার। বিপক্ষ দলের ব্যাটসম্যানরা শুধু সেদিকে নজর রাখেন। কিন্তু গতকাল ভারত-বাংলাদেশ ম্যাচে অভিনব ঘটনা দেখা গেল। ভারতীয় দল ব্যাটিং করার সময় ৪০-তম ওভারে বাংলাদেশের লেগস্পিনার সাব্বির রহমানকে থামিয়ে দিয়ে স্কোয়্যার লেগের ফিল্ডারকে ঠিক জায়গায় দাঁড় করাতে বলেন মহেন্দ্র সিংহ ধোনি। বাংলাদেশের অধিনায়ক

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ভোটের আগে আমি ছিলাম খারাপ আলু, যিনি টাটকা ছিলেন, তাঁর ওয়ার্ডে তৃণমূল প্রার্থী হেরেছে, সুজিতকে আক্রমণ সব্যসাচীর

<br />ভোটের আগে আমি ছিলাম পচা আলু। যিনি ভালো ছিলেন, তাঁর ওয়ার্ডে তৃণমূল প্রার্থী হেরেছে। নাম করে সুজিত বসুকে আক্রমণ সব্যসাচী দত্তর। এরপরেও মন্ত্রিসভায় ওনার পদোন্নতি হয়েছে বলে কটাক্ষ। বললেন, লোকসভা ভোটে এই ফল হয়েছে মানুষের রায়ে। শুধু সাইরেন বাজিয়ে ঘুরে বেড়ালে ফল এমনই হয়। মন্তব্য বিধাননগরের মেয়র সব্যসাচী

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রবার্ট বঢরাকে ফের নোটিস ইডি-র, কাল হাজিরার নির্দেশ, বিদেশযাত্রার আবেদনেরও বিরোধিতা

<strong>নয়াদিল্লি</strong><strong>:</strong> বিদেশে বেআইনিভাবে সম্পত্তি কেনা সংক্রান্ত অর্থপাচারের মামলায় কংগ্রেস সাধারণ সম্পাদক প্রিয়ঙ্কা গাঁধীর স্বামী রবার্ট বঢরাকে নতুন করে নোটিস দিল এনফোর্সমেন্ট ডিরেক্টরেট (ইডি)। আগামীকাল সকাল সাড়ে দশটায় ইডি দফতরে তদন্তকারী আধিকারিকের কাছে হাজিরা দিতে বলা হয়েছে রবার্টকে। তিনি চিকিৎসার কারণে ইংল্যান্ড এবং আরও দু’টি দেশে যাওয়ার অনুমতি চাইলেও, তার

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দুর্গাপুরে যুবক অপহৃত, মধ্যমগ্রামে বধূ নির্যাতনের অভিযোগ, সঙ্গে ২৩ জেলার আরও খবর, এক ঝলকে

দুর্গাপুরে যুবক অপহৃত, মধ্যমগ্রামে বধূ নির্যাতনের অভিযোগ, সঙ্গে ২৩ জেলার আরও খবর, এক ঝলকে

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দুর্গাপুরের ফরিদপুরে তৃণমূলের কার্যালয় ভাঙচুর ও দেওয়ালে পদ্মফুল এঁকে দেওয়ার অভিযোগ বিজেপির বিরুদ্ধে, অপপ্রচার রুখতে দেওয়াল মুছল বিজেপি

দুর্গাপুরের ফরিদপুরে তৃণমূলের কার্যালয় ভাঙচুর ও দেওয়ালে পদ্মফুল এঁকে দেওয়ার অভিযোগ বিজেপির বিরুদ্ধে, অপপ্রচার রুখতে দেওয়াল মুছল বিজেপি

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পশ্চিমবঙ্গে রাজনৈতিক হিংসায় মৃতদের পরিবারের সদস্যদের প্রধানমন্ত্রীর শপথ গ্রহণ অনুষ্ঠানে আমন্ত্রণ

পশ্চিমবঙ্গে রাজনৈতিক হিংসায় মৃতদের পরিবারের সদস্যদের প্রধানমন্ত্রীর শপথ গ্রহণ অনুষ্ঠানে আমন্ত্রণ। দিল্লিতে আগামীকাল নরেন্দ্র মোদির শপথ গ্রহণ অনুষ্ঠান। গত ৬ বছরে পশ্চিমবঙ্গে রাজনৈতিক হিংসায় যাঁদের মৃত্যু হয়েছে, তাঁদের পরিবারের মোট ৫৪ জনকে ওই অনুষ্ঠানে আমন্ত্রণ জানানো হয়েছে

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Logitech made a VR stylus you can use on a table or in the air

Logitech has announced a new VR stylus called the Logitech VR Ink Pilot Edition that’s designed to make it easier to draw and sculpt in virtual reality. Unlike existing VR controllers from the likes of HTC, you hold Logitech’s VR stylus like a traditional pen, and it can seamlessly transition between drawing in the air and drawing on a flat surface.

It’s a neat idea, but it sounds like Logitech is still going through the process of working out its reason for being. A teaser video shows the stylus being used mainly for 3D CAD work to design cars and planes, but the company also says it’s seeking industry partners and app developers to work out more use cases for the accessory. Either way, Logitech seems to be aiming this squarely at...

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Google says its Digital Wellbeing software isn’t affecting performance on Pixel phones

Google has responded to accusations that its Digital Wellbeing software slows down performance on Pixel phones. Commenting via an official Google account on Reddit, the company said it had “conducted a thorough analysis” of the software after receiving complaints from users, and concluded there were “no performance issues associated with the Digital Wellbeing app on Pixel.”

However, the company did note that during its investigation it found “unrelated” problems that did adversely affect performance. It said it was in the process of rolling out software updates that would fix these bugs and “make your Pixel device better.”

Complaints about the Digital Wellbeing app have been bubbling for a few weeks now. The software (which is available...

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The Asus Prime Utopia is a radical concept for the future of motherboards

Asus is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, and as the company got its start as a motherboard maker back in 1989, it’s fitting that it presents an idea of where it sees things going in the future. This concept is called Prime Utopia, and demonstrates what might be possible if we move away from the ATX standard that has dominated full-size desktop motherboard design since Intel introduced it in 1995.

Prime Utopia rearranges various components for greater efficiency. The PCIe slots are on the back, so the GPU can free up space while moving into a more stable position. There are four M.2 slots with a dedicated heatsink. Asus has also designed a proprietary “Hydra Cortex” fan header that lets individual fans be controlled...

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Apple Pay can be used to ride New York City’s MTA transit starting May 31st

New Yorkers can use Apple Pay to ride the Metropolitan Transportation Authority starting May 31st, the company announced today. Previously, the company’s CEO Tim Cook had said Apple Pay would begin rolling out to the MTA’s subways and buses in “early summer.”

People who want to use Apple Pay to ride the MTA will need to download the latest version of iOS (12.3) and watchOS (5.2.1), and then authenticate a credit or debit card to use with a new feature called Express Transit. After that, you won’t need to open an app or unlock your phone to use it with the MTA.

It’s part of the MTA’s public test of its new fare payment system called OMNY, which stands for “One Metro New York.” To start out, this tap-to-pay system will only be available...

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Facebook should do more to stop malicious propaganda videos

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) speaks during her weekly news conference on May 23rd in Washington, DC.&nbsp;

I.

On Friday, the Washington Post reported that a video purporting to show House Speaker Nancy Pelosi slurring her words was racking up millions of views and shares on social networks, with Facebook leading the way on engagement. In reality, the (still unknown) creator of the video had slowed footage of Pelosi to 75 percent the speed of the original, while adjusting the pitch of her voice to make it sound more natural. The result was catnip for conservative partisans eager to paint the congresswoman as a drunken buffoon.

The video’s rapid spread around the internet sparked new fears that our politics were on the cusp of being radically and irreversibly changed by the introduction of digitally altered propaganda. Over the weekend, the...

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Apple’s former app approval chief says he’s ‘really worried’ about company’s anticompetitive behavior

The rules that govern what gets approved and what doesn’t in Apple’s App Store have always been a little mysterious. But a new Bloomberg interview with Phillip Shoemaker, a former Apple exec who oversaw the App Store’s approval process between 2009 and 2016, offers some interesting insight. It’s particularly relevant at a time when Apple faces antitrust challenges in both the US and the EU over its management of the App Store.

In the interview, Shoemaker says that Apple has long feared that rival apps from companies like Google and Facebook would replace core iOS features like calling and messaging. He notes that this fear is “absolutely the reason” that the company still doesn’t let users set third-party apps as the default service for...

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Microsoft hints at new modern Windows OS with ‘invisible’ background updates

Microsoft still hasn’t officially confirmed the existence of its rumored Windows Lite operating system, but the software giant is dropping some pretty big hints about the future of Windows today. Nick Parker, Microsoft’s corporate vice president of consumer and device sales, appeared on stage at Computex today to detail the company’s vision for a modern operating system. While Parker didn’t unveil Windows Lite, a rumored lightweight version of Windows for dual-screen and Chromebook-like devices, he did reveal how Microsoft is preparing for new device types.

These new devices will require what Microsoft calls a “modern OS,” that includes a bunch of “enablers” like seamless updates. We’ve seen various promises about Windows Updates being...

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Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker Rumor May Reveal Rey’s Real Father

In 2017’s Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Rian Johson shocked us all when it came to Rey’s parentage with the revelation that they were, in fact, “nobody,” or as Kylo Ren put it, they were just “filthy junk traders” who sold her in an effort to get some drinking money. But with Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker due to drop later this year, director J.J. Abrams has already teased that he’ll revisit the plot thread, and plans to somehow expand on the twist.

What exactly he’s got in store for us remains to be seen, but a juicy new rumor doing the rounds may’ve let the cat out of the bag. You see, over on Making Star Wars’ Patreon podcast, the outlet claims that Rey’s father is actually none other than Han Solo. But her mother isn’t Leia, as Han had an affair with another woman.

Here’s how one of the podcast’s listeners on Reddit broke it down for those who weren’t able to tune in for themselves:

Rey is Han Solo’s daughter. But she is not Leia Organa’s daughter–and therefore is not a Skywalker. Leia and Han were estranged when she began training with Luke. When she did not complete that training she returned to Han, but Ben Solo knew of the affair (although not necessarily about Rey), and began acting out, and this was when he was sent to Luke.

If true, this could explain a few things. For one, being half-siblings might explain Kylo and Rey’s connection that they share with one another, while Han being Rey’s father would also explain her piloting abilities. And as for Kylo telling Rey her parents were nobodies, well, perhaps he was referring to her adoptive parents and not her real ones?

In any case, we’ll be filing this one firmly in the rumor cabinet for now, but it’ll certainly be interesting to see what Abrams has planned and if he can continue to explore the character’s roots without watering down the message of The Last Jedi. While the humble origins of Rey might’ve gone against the franchise’s old mentality that being a great hero was a matter of winning the birth lottery, making Han Solo her father and revealing that he had an affair while married to Leia might not be the best route to head down in Episode IX, for a number of reasons which we won’t get into right now.

Either way, though, we’ll find out soon enough who Rey’s real parents are, as on December 20th, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker lights up theaters across the world and will bring an end to the Skywalker Saga.



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Marvel Asked For Loki To Be As Good A Villain As Magneto In 2011’s Thor

Thanos was a pretty darn great villain in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, but something tells us that Loki will go down as the MCU’s finest baddie yet. Tom Hiddleston’s God of Mischief has just been such a treat to watch over the years – the definition of a bad guy you love to hate. It seems Marvel didn’t simply luck out in getting such an excellent antagonist, though, as the writer of 2011’s Thor has revealed he was under strict instructions to create a brilliant villain.

While a guest on The Fanboy Podcast, screenwriter Zack Stentz spoke about how he knew when working on the script for the God of Thunder’s origins movie that the plan was for Loki to go on to become the main antagonist of The Avengers. Because of his importance, Marvel told the writer to make sure he was as good a villain as Magneto.

“It’s a complicated issue because we had a very clear mandate when we were writing Thor. They already knew that they were building towards The Avengers and they already had the notion that Loki was going to be the villain. They knew that their villains thus far in the MCU had been a bit underwhelming, and they said — one of the executives literally said, ‘Look, if you fail at everything else, give us a villain as good as Magneto in Loki.’ We need someone at that level because that’s going to be our villain for The Avengers.”

If Marvel wanted a villain on a par with Magneto, they came to the right person in Stentz, as he and his writing partner Ashley Edward Miller also provided the script for the same year’s X-Men: First Class, which introduced Michael Fassbender’s acclaimed take on Erik Lensherr.

Stentz went on to explain how he and Miller went about making sure Loki was a top-tier villain, with the key proving that he had to be “sympathetic” despite his evil actions.

“We always put a lot of effort into our villains, but in this case we really worked hard giving Loki an interesting story and making him sympathetic at the same time as he’s doing these terrible things.”

Well, when it comes to attempting to make Loki a first-class foe, it was definitely mission accomplished. The trickster might have died in Infinity War, but Endgame resurrected him in an alternate timeline. Hiddleston is set to reprise his role, too – at least in a voiceover capacity – for the upcoming Disney Plus series.



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