India's largest telecom operator Reliance Jio is offering a new range of prepaid plans that come bundled with unrestricted access to all content on Disney+ Hotstar, starting from Rs 499.
Jio’s new plans, in addition to offering 1 year subscription of Disney+ Hotstar, comes bundled with unlimited voice, data, SMS, Jio Apps and other benefits, a company statement said.
Jio earlier bundled Disney+ Hotstar VIP subscription (access to live sports, Hotstar specials, movies and TV shows and dubbed content in 3 Indian languages) in its plans that started from Rs 401.
The new Jio plans will offer all the old benefits on Disney+ Hotstar plus new library of international content in English language including Disney+ originals, TV shows from Disney, Marvel, Star Wars, National Geographic, HBO, FX, Showtime.
(Image credit: Reliance)
The new plans will be available for recharge from today (September 1, 2021.)
All Jio customers on active Disney+ Hotstar plans will continue to enjoy the existing benefits until their current subscription expires.
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In the race to deliver the cheapest 5G smartphone in Australia, a new contender has landed in pole position thanks to the arrival of Samsung's Galaxy A22 5G handset, which is available to purchase from today for an incredibly affordable price.
At AU$349, Samsung's 5G-ready Galaxy A22 has snuck ahead of Oppo's A54 by AU$10, despite offering twice the internal storage capacity. It's also AU$20 cheaper than Vivo's Y52 smartphone.
Sporting MediaTek's MT6833 Dimensity 700 5G (7nm) chipset, the Samsung Galaxy A22 offers ultra-fast cellular network speeds – so long as your phone plan allows for 5G access.
You also get a 6.6-inch FHD TFT 'Infinity-V' display with a 90Hz refresh rate, 4GB of RAM, 128GB of onboard storage (with slot for microSD expansion up to 1TB), a side-mounted fingerprint scanner and a 5,000mAh battery with 15W fast charging capability.
Additionally, the Galaxy A22 offers a rather decent triple camera array on its rear, led by a 48MP f/1.8 primary camera, a 5MP f/2.2 ultra-wide lens and a 2MP f/2.4 depth sensor. On the front, you get an 8MP f/2 selfie camera.
Offered in Grey and Mint colour options, Samsung's Galaxy A22 is available to purchase now from JB Hi-Fi and Samsung's online store. You can also pick it up on one of the following plans:
The Boult Audio Encore are priced at Rs 1,999 and they are now available on Amazon. They are available in Black and White colour options.
Boult Audio Encore specs and features
The Boult Audio Encore true wireless earbuds come with a uniquely designed oval-shaped bud with a nozzle angled at 60-degree. This new design approach is said to deliver the audio directly into the ear canal. The nozzle along with soft silicone ear tips is said to offer additional isolation.
They also come with quad microphone technology that is set to cut out the environmental noise to offer a noise-free audio and video experience. It features ENC which works for calls as well. The quad mic setup should also make this ideal for calls on the go. Further, the Boult Audio Encore are said to come with an aerospace-grade aluminium alloy encased micro woofer with focus on the bass.
(Image credit: Amazon)
These are in-ear style earbuds with interchangeable eartips packed inside the box. The Boult Audio AirBass Encore are also IPX7 rated for protection against sweat and water making it a gym friendly product. As for the controls, the buds come with touch control and you can skip track, answer calls and control volume. Additionally, you can also access voice assistants such as Google Assistant or Amazon Alexa.
Lastly, in terms of battery life, the Boult Audio Encore is rated to last up to six hours on a single charge with six additional charges with the included charging case. The total battery life can go up to 36 hours according to the company. For charging, you get a USB Type-C fast charging which can fully charge the device in 90 minutes. A quick 15 minutes charge is said to deliver 100 minutes of music playback.
The Siemens-owned software company surveyed 2,025 individuals including 1,209 IT pros and 816 software developers in the US, China, UK, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands to compile its new “The State of Low-Code 2021: A Look Back, The Light Ahead” report.
The report's findings revealed that 77 percent of enterprise in six countries have already adopted low code while 75 percent of IT leaders said “it's a trend they can't afford to miss”. In addition to allowing organizations to develop custom applications faster, low code also removes the barriers associated with traditional programming while making software development more accessible to a broader range of people.
As low code adoption has increased, the number of staff needed to develop software and the costs to do so have also risen significantly. For instance, nearly six in 10 (57%) of IT pros said the number of staff needed for software development is increasing at a time when 76 percent of respondents said that demand for developers has reached a fever pitch.
US leads for now
Mendix's report also took a closer look at which countries and regions have already adopted low code to discover that four-fifths of US organizations have done so compared to 75 percent in China and 74 percent in Europe.
However, 90 percent of Chinese IT pros are eagerly embracing low code which suggests that China could soon overtake the US as the global low code leader. In fact, the Chinese are also the most likely to consider low code to be a trend they can't afford to miss (84% vs 72% globally).
In the US, the greatest barrier to low code adoption is being tied to legacy systems that are still running core and mission-critical workloads. US organizations that are not yet using low code also suggested that other barriers include reluctance from IT decision makers (28% vs 19% globally) and reluctance from business decision makers (25% vs 18% globally).
As more low code platforms become available and demand for custom software continues to remain high, we'll likely see even more organizations adopting low code in order to take some of the strain off of their developers.
The Xbox Series X restock today at GameStop happened and if you follow ourXbox restock Twitter tracker Matt Swider– and turn on notifications for alerts– you will get a notification when the Xbox is in stock next. The big GameStop Xbox Series X restock today, August 31, focused on the Halo Infinite Xbox Series X console, priced at $549 for this limited-edition version. Only a few US retailers have will have this special edition Xbox console in 2021 and it goes fast. We're also tracking the normal Xbox Series X at a dozen other stores, including Best Buy, Target, Walmart, Amazon and Antonline to name a few. What's the best? Our Walmart Xbox restock alerts help thousands get a console, and while it has some long shipping times, it's become the most reliable retailer for Xbox Series X in the US.
► Never buy from other Twitter users – ever. They're all scams. Only buy from the US stores Matt alerts you to. No one will sell an Xbox Seres X for just $550.
Directions to get our Xbox alerts: Click on this image of this Walmart Xbox Series X restock alert from Matt Swider and turn on notifications (that little bell icon) for instant alerts.
GameStop Xbox Series X restock update: The Hao Infinite Xbox Series X stock was limited, as expected, but it did become available at 12:30pm EDT, according to our Xbox restock Twitter tracker Matt Swider. It lasted a few seconds in two waves, with just enough time to check out if you got it into your cart right away.
This is why our Xbox restock alerts are so important:
⚠️😮⚠️Cool Xbox Series X Halo Infinite console (LIMITED Edition) 🛑 GAMESTOP 🛑♻️RT this + follow @mattswider $549 Halo Xbox console➡️ https://ift.tt/3jzkNdY Halo Xbox Elite Series X controller, too💡Meant for Pro members (worth it for $15/yr) pic.twitter.com/hng52uEdfoAugust 31, 2021
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What about the regular Xbox? The first GameStop in months happened in August, and we're hoping that's a trend that continues at the largest game retailer in the US. With the launch of Madden NFL 22, GameStop offered a tempting Xbox console bundle – for its Pro members.
The GameStop PowerUp Rewards Pro membership costs $15 annually and it, along with bundles, scares off most resellers who can't profit, and that's a good thing for true gamers who want to play games and have an extra controller. You'll spend a little bit more for the Xbox than the console alone at the MSRP of $499, but the price for everything included is at face value.
While GameStop has had the PS5 almost every week or every other week in recent months, it stopped doing consistent online Xbox restocks in June (around the time is had that in-store GameStop Xbox Series X restock on June 15 [the only in-store console restock of any major retailer in the US in all of 2021]).
We haven't seen the Best Buy restock Xbox Series X since mid-July, according to our restock Twitter tracker Matt Swider, and even though he's issued Twitter alerts about a few Best Buy PS5 restock dates in August. Microsoft's console has suddenly become harder to buy in the second half of 2021.
The good news is that Best Buy often restocks next-gen consoles during the daytime (it has never done weekend or overnight restocks in 2021, so you won't be asleep if it continues to follow that pattern) and we feel we're overdue for the console. It's also holding back on the Halo Infinite-themed Xbox Series X, but does have a product page up for the snazzy-looking limited-edition console with a grayed-out add-to-cart button that promises it's 'Coming soon'.
The Walmart Xbox Series X restock has been on always a Thursday (but we didn't say it's every Thursday) in 2021 – except for last week when the big-box retailer decided to put Xbox consoles for sale a day earlier than usual. It had a restock at both 12pm EDT and 9pm EDT, meaning more people were able to buy the video game systems no matter their schedule.
Walmart also had a special pre-order of the Halo Infinite Xbox Series X at 8:30pm EDT that same night (maybe this is part of the reason for the off-schedule date?). The normal Xbox Series X is back-ordered until October, according to shipping estimates of followers of Matt Swider, but sometimes Walmart deliveries earlier. When Walmart can fulfill those orders dictates when the next Xbox Series X restock will happen. We're still tracking it for the normal Thursday at 3pm EDT time, just in case.
Target Xbox Series X restock: daily online locally
Target Xbox restock are online locally now almost every morning
Only a few zip codes have the Xbox Series X for sale – and only a few consoles at that
This is very different from the nationwide Xbox Series X restocks before
Update:The Xbox restock dates at Target happen randomly as the consoles come in to the individual stores. So these are still online orders, but locally restocked with a few zip codes having even fewer consoles on hand.
Every weekday morning – and sometimes on Saturdays – Target has the Xbox Series X in stock at random stores to be bought online (no, you cannot buy the Xbox in stores in the US at this time). The problem is that it's hard to issue Twitter alerts when it's usually select stores in a city and there are as few as five consoles as part of the Xbox restock.
Target has switched from a nationwide restock date to offering the Xbox Series X at a local level (again only to be bought online buy picked up in stores) and it has the Xbox consoles for sale as they come in every morning.
Next Xbox Series X restock date at Microsoft: Overdue, usually Sundays or Thursdays
Last Microsoft Xbox Series X restock date: Thursday, August 26, July 29 at 6pm EDT
Microsoft did divert some Xbox console stock to its Xbox Insiders program
Beta testers (of new dashboards) get access to buying a console
It requires powering up your Xbox One console
Microsoft has locked in Thursdays at its go-to restock date, and we just saw some Xbox consoles go live last Thursday at 6pm EDT, according to Xbox restock tracker Matt Swider. This has become the most consistent time frame for Microsoft to offer the Xbox Series X for sale.
However, in the past months, it has diverted thousands of Xbox consoles from its own online retail store to a new pilot program. The Xbox Insiders Xbox Series X upgrade plan, first discovered by Bradon Hofer, is actually a great incentive for people who want to beta test dashboard tweaks and other system updates that Microsoft is developing for its consoles. And if you're stuck testing things out on an old Xbox One and wanting to upgrade to the new Xbox Series X, really you should be the first in line.
Note: Microsoft hasn't said if it'll continue to offer this program throughout 2021, but if you want to try it, power up your old Xbox One console in order to log into this particular Xbox Insiders menu. You access it online, nor can you find the menu on an Xbox Series X. This prevents Xbox Series X owners from ordering a second console from their brand new system.
Believe it or not, Amazon hasn't had an Xbox Series X restock since Prime Day in late June. That means the online retailer is also overdue to put up the Xbox for sale, and that many of its customers are going to clamor for the opportunity to buy it due to all of the pent-up demand. It's going to be chaotic to say the least.
Something that Amazon has been doing overseas with restocks is limited sales to Prime customers. This would overcome the many troubles that Amazon (and also Walmart) has with resellers scooping up all of the consoles with the use of bots. So far, the Prime-only restock events haven't come to the US.
With the launch of the Halo Infinite beta, there's going to be growing demand for the Xbox Series X, and we're live tracking all of the major US retailers and updating our exclusive restock reporting every step of the way.
Xbox All-Access is often the silent restock
Walmart and GameStop had Xbox Series X in stock through All Access for weeks and no one noticed
The pay-as-you-go program does hook you into a 24-month contract
Stores like Walmart and GameStop often restock the Xbox Series X through the Xbox All Access bundle, which works a lot like a smartphone plan. You pay for the console over time, but you're also signed up for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate (which is actually something you should look into buying alongside an Xbox anyway).
After 24 months, you save a couple of dollars with this Xbox Series X plan, but you're on the hook being required to pay for it for two years.
The Xbox Series X restock news continues through the remaining days of August and into September. We're hitting crunch time, however. Demand started to fall for the new Xbox but so did supply. And the trouble we see brewing is that the Xbox is going to become harder to buy from October onward when every parent begins to realize they need this console for Christmas. All of a sudden, millions of new shoppers, who weren't looking for the Xbox Series X for sale before today, are going to join the chaos.
Thai regional airline Bangkok Airways has acknowledged it fell victim to a cybersecurity attack, which has robbed it off personally identifiable information (PII) of customers.
In a statement, the airline admitted that threat actors had managed to steal sensitive information about its passengers including their name, physical and electronic contact details, passport information, historical travel details, as well as “partial credit card information.”
“On 23 August 2021, Bangkok Airways Public Company Limited discovered that the company had been a victim of [a] cybersecurity attack which resulted in unauthorized and unlawful access to its information system,” the company added.
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The airline adds that when the incident came to light, the company took steps to contain the event, and is currently not just investigating the breach, but also trying to verify the compromised data and the affected passengers.
Between a rock and hard place
The airline however hasn’t specified the number of customers whose details have been exfiltrated, as that aspect appears to be under investigation.
Strangely, even though it has acknowledged losing “partial credit card” details, the company hasn’t yet offered subscriptions to identity fraud prevention services, which companies usually do in cases of ransomware gangs getting their hands on such sensitive PII.
According to ZDNet, Bangkok Airways’ statement came just when the LockBit ransomware gang announced that it had laid its hands on 103 GB of compressed data from the campaign against the airline.
Originally the group had threatened to release the data on August 30 if its ransom demands weren’t met. However, there aren’t reports of the data being disclosed publicly, which probably means that the two parties are at the negotiating table.
Quentin Rhoads-Herrera, Director of Professional Services at Managed Detection and Response (MDR) services provider, CriticalStart believes the airline is in a tight spot. Irrespective of whether it decides to pay the ransom or risk damaging its reputation, the company has to muddle through the murky waters of disclosure compliance.
“It is up to Bangkok Airways to notify the customers impacted which might cause complications due to customers residing in several different countries. Adding on top of that the different regulatory bodies like GDPR might require responses from the airways further adding complexity,” suggests Rhoads-Herrera.
While we’d just heard a rumor that the Google Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro will be revealed on September 13, potentially launching ahead of the iPhone 13, a new rumor claims Google will unveil both phones in mid-October, with a Google Pixel 6 release date on October 28.
The new dates were announced by leaker Jon Prosser via Front Page Tech; he cited his own sources for both the Google Pixel 6 release date of October 28 when the phone is available in stores and when both are open for pre-order on October 19. While he wasn’t sure when the expected #MadeByGoogle launch event would be, he guessed that the latter date would be a good guess.
EXCLUSIVE: NO. The Google Pixel 6 is NOT launching the day before the iPhone 13 event 😂Here’s when it’s actually coming 👇https://t.co/1vitXLfLMTAugust 31, 2021
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In the post, Prosser admonished media (and by inclusion, TechRadar) for repeating the previous claim of a September 13 launch date, which came from leaker Bald Panda on Weibo. Per Prosser, it makes little sense for Google to try to beat Apple to market, especially since it goes against both companies’ typical launch windows.
Analysis: Google Pixel 6, reclaiming the October launch window?
Yes, it would make sense for Google to keep its usual October launch window, especially if Apple is rumored to launch on September 14. Google has launched every flagship Pixel phone in October, though it bounced between both months when releasing its later Nexus phones.
While Apple has consistently launched iPhones in September, last year’s Covid-related delays resulted in the larger iPhone 12 Pro Max and smaller iPhone 12 mini releasing later in October. We haven’t heard much about whether Apple’s expecting the same supply issues this year, but either way, Google would have an uphill battle trying to steal the spotlight from the latest iPhone.
We wouldn’t sell the Pixel 6 short, though: the new Google-built Tensor chipset bundled with its eye-catching new (officially revealed) design and Android 12 features will probably make it a contender among flagship phones – but we’ll have to wait and see how they all combine for a top phone.
South Korea has passed a new bill that forces app stores to let developers use payment systems of their choice. Essentially, this means app devs can sidestep Apple and Google’s up to 30% cuts by transacting directly with consumers or using a service that takes a smaller cut.
The Telecommunications Business Act bill passed by South Korea’s National Assembly will become law when it’s signed by President Moon Jae-in, Bloomberg reported, which could be as early as next month.
The bill has obvious implications for Apple and Google’s businesses, as well as the ongoing legal suits Epic Studios brought against both companies. Epic would now be able to secure payments from users directly by using its own pay system and avoid giving Apple or Google any cut of the revenue.
Apple has used its App Store as a gatekeeper for software, requiring developers to run through its approval process to release apps intended to run on iPhones (on iOS) and iPads (on iPadOS). Google permits ‘side-loading’ apps for phones and tablets running its Android operating system, but both it and Apple have forced apps to pay through first-party stores: if you’re making money on your app, the tech giant that owns the OS and associated app store will take its cut.
While this rigid control hasn’t been popular with app developers, it’s gone largely unchallenged until Epic engaged in simultaneous legal battles with both Apple and Google. Epic wants to put its own software store on iOS and Android devices, presumably but not officially to pay less or none of the revenue cuts to both tech giants.
But the South Korean bill wasn’t passed specifically to advocate for expanding software availability on mobile platforms – it only frees up developers to use a different payment service if they choose. Korean lawmakers reportedly passed this legislation to get ahead of Google closing a loophole that exempted the country from needing to use its payment system (and apply its 30% revenue cut) to non-gaming apps, per Bloomberg.
Should Apple, Google or other companies fail to comply, they could be fined up to 3% of revenue made in South Korea, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Analysis: the first domino to opening up app store payments worldwide?
Both Apple and Google have claimed that restricting software through their app stores has kept users safe, with Apple claiming its efforts prevented a supposed $1.5 billion in fraud. But maintaining their hold on iOS, iPadOS and Android revenue is very lucrative: the Apple App Store and Google Play Store brought in a combined $64.9 billion in revenue in the first half of 2021, per a June report by analyst firm Sensor Tower.
The big question is: what does this mean for app markets outside South Korea? While we knew that South Korean lawmakers were going to make a decision about Apple and Google’s app stores, other countries have not introduced similar legislation – at least on a national level.
The US state of Arizona’s lawmakers proposed a bill in March similar to South Korea’s that would free developers from being forced to use Apple and Google’s payment systems. While the bill died in committee before the month’s end, reportedly due to heavy lobbying by both tech giants just before the votes according to The Verge, it shows that some legislators elsewhere in the world are interested in the issue.
That interest could reignite now that South Korea’s efforts have become law – especially showing that legislation can succeed despite pushback from Apple and Google. We’ll have to see whether laws succeed where Epic’s legal trials have not.
As the pandemic has left SMBs short on funds at a time when cyber threats are increasing, Kaspersky has unveiled a new free platform with tips and tricks to help them quickly improve their organization's security posture.
According to the cybersecurity firm's “How small businesses got through 2020-2021” report, more than half (52%) of all businesses surveyed said that financial difficulties seen during the past 12 months will likely become permanent. At the same time, 47 percent of SMBs said they struggle with funding cybersecurity improvements even if they realize the importance of protection from cyber threats.
As a result, organizations are less likely to spend more on cybersecurity going forward despite increased risks from malware and ransomware.
This is why Kaspersky has created its new Kaspersky Cybersecurity On a Budget platform that provides a set of short but actionable recommendations that are relevant for any company as well as specific tips for different verticals and business needs.
Kaspersky Cybersecurity On a Budget
In the main three sections of Kaspersky Cybersecurity On a Budget, visitors can learn best practices around most general routines and processes in any business like how to safeguard client databases, reports and other important data, how to spend less on IT and how to organize a company's internal and external communication.
The platform also includes guidelines for specific business needs such as organizations operating in the healthcare sector, those working with intellectual property and businesses that hire freelancers. These 'to-dos' are presented in an interactive format where a user must answer a short question before getting a tip to help them quickly receive the recommendations they need.
All of the advice including on the Kaspersky Cybersecurity On a Budget platform is short but actionable with instructions that can be implemented quickly and don't require difficult IT or cybersecurity skills.
EVP of corporate business at Kaspersky, Evgeniya Naumova provided further insight on how SMBs can benefit from the company's new free cybersecurity-focused platform in a press release, saying:
“At Kaspersky, we are confident that by following basic rules, organizations can achieve an essential level of cyber protection in a short time and without additional resources. Be it a small construction company, a cafe or a marketing agency, the platform works for anyone. The pandemic hit small businesses hard so finance and resources may be limited today. This is one more argument towards investing a few minutes to read and a few hours to implement recommendations that will then help to keep your business protected."
In just the past few years, 4K TVs plowed through the market with a ton of features and technologies that made them almost irresistible. The best 4K TVs for gaming are offering high refresh rates and adaptive sync technologies to contend with gaming monitors, but the wide color gamuts and staggering peak brightness levels for HDR on these TVs put most gaming monitors to shame — even our favorite one, the LG UltraGear 38GN950.
A select few gaming monitors borrow TV tech like 10-bit color depths and full-array local dimming to keep up, but these “monitors” are just as large as the TVs they’re competing with. And even smaller monitors do boast HDR specs to compete with TVs, they often cost as much or more than those TVs. This leaves PC gamers who want the best visuals at their desk in a pickle: stick to a smaller monitor without the latest TV tech, pay big-screen prices for a smaller monitor, or just go big. But, how practical is it really to use a TV-sized display as a PC gaming monitor? We decided to find out the hard way.
(Image credit: Future)
The setup
We didn’t want to let a poor choice of panel or features skew the results of our experiment against the big display, so we picked up a 55-inch LG CX OLED TV to get one of the most compelling, large gaming screens on the market. The display offers a 120Hz variable refresh rate at 4K with a wide color gamut, high peak brightness, and a contrast ratio no gaming monitor can match. This left its size as the main variable as to how well it worked in our setup.
We mounted the LG CX on our 52-inch wide desk, of which it took up almost the entire width, but we still had space for a desk-size mouse pad for our mouse and keyboard in front of the display. That’ll be a warning flag for some – not every desk is going to be able to hold such a large display.
Setting up a desk space with such a large display is also harder. It’s not easy reaching around to the back of such a big display to plug in HDMI cables or to route USB cables for peripherals. And, of course, hoisting the TV onto the desk can present its own difficulties. If you’re regularly changing things around in your setup, a big screen just makes it harder.
With the TV in position, we were able to use our gaming PC either seated up close at the desk or we could roll our chair back and play at a distance. Since our focus here is how well a large display can serve in place of a gaming monitor and not for couch gaming, though, the ability to play at a distance is just a perk to note.
(Image credit: LG)
The experience
The presence of a 55-inch display on our desk was almost immediately overwhelming and took some getting used to. It effectively fills the majority of our field of view. A 34-inch ultrawide gaming monitor might seem fairly expansive, but it pales in comparison to the scale of a 55-inch TV sitting the same distance from our eyes.
As a workspace, it’s almost magical. The ability to move windows to just about anywhere and fit plenty on the display at once can’t be overlooked. But, we quickly found the drawbacks adding up.
4K is for farther away
For one thing, the much-praised 4K resolution that has become ubiquitous in TVs doesn’t hold up so well from the usual viewing distance at a desk. To put things into perspective, a 55-inch 4K TV is akin four 27-inch 1080p monitors, which isn’t the paramount of sharpness. At even arms length, we noticed individual pixels clearly enough. This would be less of an issue on a 48-inch display or 43-inch like Gigabyte’s Aorus FV43U. But even in the case of a 43-inch display, you’re looking at a pixel density of 102 PPI that falls short of the 27-inch 1440p monitors that are almost a staple in PC gaming.
The ability to peep pixels on that granular level hurts the gaming experience some, too. Though having a lot of graphics in motion helps distract from each pixel, it still stands out when we stop to appreciate the fine details in games. If you hate seeing jagged edges because of weak anti-aliasing, you won’t stand for this.
Bright for our eyesight
While there’s no knocking a wider color gamut, the high peak brightnesses of big screens is also a different experience up close. The LG CX isn’t the brightest TV you can get, as OLEDs are more about contrast ratio where QLED TVs are doing more for peak brightness, but the display is still a lot brighter than the many VESA DisplayHDR 400 monitors popping up on the market. Despite not being the brightest, the LG CX can be a strain on our eyes, and we even went as far as dialing down the brightness levels, which definitely helped with usability.
But, limiting the brightness may defeat the purpose for some. The main thing smaller PC monitors fall behind on (besides size, of course) is brightness — just have a look at how few monitors below 43 inches earned the DisplayHDR 1000 certification. If the reason for buying a massive display for your PC gaming setup is so you can enjoy higher peak brightnesses but the actual brightness is so high you have to turn it down, is there actually a point in buying that bigger display?
Framing things differently
It’s not all bad, though. We found some perks to the massive size of the display. Playing shooters, the area for scoped fire was so huge, it was incredibly easy to make out targets and keep them in the crosshairs. What might have been a 2X scope gave us the viability of a 4X scope. Similarly, distant details were easier to perceive. That said, the size of the display also meant some part of the scene would be out in our peripheral vision, making those bits harder to see in the heat of the moment.
Since our field of view was so full, the experience was almost like VR — but the motion sickness-inducing kind. Running animations that bring a lot of camera movement were dizzying.
There are some options to tweak the display, though. If the full expanse of the display is useful in some games and a hindrance in others, you don’t have to use the whole display. It’s possible to output video at a different resolution and aspect ratio from the display’s native specs, such as going for a 21:9 or 32:9 area. This could still take full advantage of the display width without expanding so much into the vertical area, and it can be a lot cheaper than ultra-wide options like the Samsung Odyssey G9. It will result in letterboxing, but on a premium display with a high contrast ratio or local dimming, those black bars may not be too distracting (or will be pure black, in the case of an OLED display like the LG CX).
(Image credit: Future)
Is it practical or worth it?
While it was an interesting experiment, the up-close-and-personal nature of gaming made a TV-size display feel more absurd than anything. For the few cases where it showed utility, it wasn’t achieved practically. For example, setting up a bunch of windows to work on was still held back by the low sharpness and the reality that only one or two of them would be anywhere close to ergonomically centered. And running at a different aspect ratio and resolution just illustrates that the screen is too large otherwise.
Price comes into the practicality equation, too. The bigger displays that offer high-end features tend to cost a lot. Gigabyte’s Aorus FV43U is on the smaller side and costs $1,100 (£1,000 / AU$1,699), and our review still found it too big for up-close use. The best gaming TVs don’t come cheap either.
None of this is to say you can’t go for a big screen to enjoy PC games on. If you’re setting up your gaming PC in the living room or plan to play at some distance, it can be a great setup. But, for traditional PC gaming at a desk, you’re better off waiting for some of these premium features to eventually make it to the gaming monitor market rather than opting for a big TV or a display acting like a monitor despite having the proportions of a TV.
Welcome toTechRadar’s PC Gaming Week 2021, our celebration of the greatest gaming platform on Earth. Despite the global pandemic and ongoing GPU shortages, PC gaming has never been more vibrant and exciting, and throughout the week we’ll be reflecting this with a selection of in-depth articles, interviews and essential buying guides.
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The Labor Day TV sales event has arrived early with fantastic deals on a range of 4K TVs from retailers like Best Buy, Walmart, Amazon, and more. To help you find all the top offers, we're rounding up the best early Labor Day TV sales that are happening right now.
The Labor Day sales event is the perfect opportunity to score massive discounts on a wide range of 4K TVs from brands like Samsung, LG, Sony, and more. You'll find summer clearance prices on last year's sets as well as record-low prices on newer models, so whether you're looking for a budget HD TV or a premium OLED, our Labor Day TV sales will have you covered.
While Labor Day takes place on Monday, September 6 this year, retailers like Best Buy and Walmart have already kicked off their official Labor Day sales, and we've included those top bargains below. We should start to see more deals popping up in the coming days, and we'll be updating this page with all the latest offers leading up to the holiday weekend event.
TCL 32-inch Smart LED Roku TV:$199.99$173 at Walmart
Save $26 - You can get this budget 32-inch smart TV from TCL on sale for just $173 at Walmart's Labor Day sale. That's the best price we've found for the LED TV that includes the Roku experience, which allows you to stream your favorite content from the home screen of your TV.
Toshiba 32-inch Smart HD Fire TV:$199.99$179.99 at Amazon
Save $20 - This 32-inch Toshiba is a great TV if you're looking for something that'll cover the basics for the kid's rooms, studies, or bedrooms. While it's not a 4K display, it does come with Fire OS and Amazon Alexa built right in for handy smart assistant support and is on sale for $179.99.
Toshiba 43-inch 4K UHD Fire TV (2021):$369.99$349.99 at Amazon
$20 - Amazon has cut this 2021 Toshiba Fire display price down to $349.99 this week. The 43-inch set comes with the Fire OS and an Alexa voice remote so you can use your voice to adjust the volume, change the channel, browse for movies, and more.
Labor Day TV deals: 50-59 inches
Hisense 50-inch A6G Series 4K UHD Smart TV:$429.99$369.99 at Best Buy
Save $60 - Best Buy has this Hisense 50-inch TV marked down to $369.99, which is a fantastic price for a feature-packed 4K TV. The A6G series set comes with Dolby Vision HDR, DTS Virtual: X, Chromecast, and a voice remote that works with the Google Assistant.
TCL 55-inch 4-Series 4K UHD Smart Roku TV:$499.99$449.99 at Best Buy
Save $50 - One of our favorite early Labor Day TV deals from Best Buy is this TCL 55-inch 4K that's on sale for $449.99. While this isn't the lowest price we've seen, it's the best deal you can find right now and a fantastic price for a 4K Ultra HD set that includes the Roku experience for seamless streaming.
Samsung 50-inch 4K Crystal UHD Smart TV:$899.95$567.99 at Walmart
Save $331 - You can score a massive $331 discount on this stunning Samsung 50-inch 4K TV at Walmart. That's the best price you'll find for the 4K set that delivers bright, bold colors thanks to the powerful Dynamic Crystal technology.
Labor Day TV deals: 60-75 inches
TCL 65-inch 4-Series 4K Smart Android TV:$699.99$529.99 at Best Buy
Save $170 - This TCL 65-inch 4K TV is on sale for just $529.99 thanks to today's massive $170 discount at Best Buy's Labor Day sale. You're getting Google Assistant and Chromecast built in, excellent smart capabilities, plus an easy-to-use remote that features voice search and control.
Hisense 65-inch A6G Series 4K UHD Smart TV:$599.99$539.99 at Best Buy
Save $60 - At just $539.99, this Hisense 65-inch smart TV is offering an excellent budget price point in Best Buy's latest TV deals. Featuring HDR, DTS studio sound, and a massive range of channels thanks to the Fire operating system, this already cheap TV is offering a particularly compelling discount this week.
Sony 65-inch X85J Series 4K UHD Smart TV:$1,599.99$1,099.99 at Best Buy
Save $500 - This stunning Sony 75-inch 4K TV gets a massive $500 discount at Best Buy. That's the best price we've found for the X85J series set, which delivers a gorgeous picture with rich colors and detailed contrasts thanks to the powerful X1 4K HDR processor.
LG C1 48-inch 4K UHD Smart OLED TV:$1,499$1,296.99 at Amazon
Save $203 - Pick up TechRadar's best-rated OLED TV of 2021 for its lowest ever price this week at Amazon. Available at a hefty discount in all sizes, the LG C1 series is a fantastic choice if you're looking for something that's the perfect balance of features, picture quality, and price. With an industry-leading 4K upscaling processor, excellent WebOS platform, and four HDMI 2.1 ports, this is a versatile premium TV that's great for both content and games.
Kingston has announced that its new high performance USB-C flash drive the DataTraveler Max is now available.
The DataTraveler Max (DT Max) is one of the fastest USB drives on the market with read speeds of up to 1000 Mbps and write speeds of up to 900 Mbps.
According to Kingston, the company designed the DT Max with portability and convenience in mind. However, the flash drive also features a unique ridged casing that protects its USB-C connector when its not in use and is easily moved in a single motion.
Flash product manager at Kingston, Carissa Blegen provided further details on the DT Max in a press release, saying:
“DT Max offers industry-leading speeds and uncompromised storage space to enable consumers to create and keep up with today’s content demands. We deliver unparalleled performance that our customers have come to know and expect, and with this launch we are proud to set a new bar for USB-C flash drives.”
Kingston DataTraveler Max
Kingston's DT Max flash drive features the latest USB 3.2 Gen 2 Standard to provide record-breaking performance when it comes to read and write speeds.
In addition to a convenient one-handed sliding cap, the device also has a LED status indicator to let you now when its reading or writing data as well as a functional keyring loop so it can easily be attached to a laptop bag.
The DT Max, which is compatible with Windows, macOS, Linux and Chrome OS, is available in three storage capacities and interested users can pick up Kingston's latest flash drive with either 256GB, 512GB or 1TB of storage. The device also ships with a five year warranty with free technical support in case you run into any issues.
Even if you're using a cloud storage service to store your files online, having a hard copy of your most important data that you can bring with you can help you work from anywhere.
Standard shared web hosting packages are cheap and user-friendly, but they're also slow, inflexible, and don't have the power or functionality that professional and business users often need.
If you need more than a basic host but can't afford a dedicated server or don't want to deal with the complexity of these beasts, VPS (Virtual Private Server) hosting could be a smart choice.
Buying a VPS plan means that you get your very own virtual server environment. You have full control over the operating system, the extensions and apps you install, and all their settings. Each physical server will still host multiple VPS customers, but not as many as with shared hosting, and typically each VPS will be allocated a share of key resources – RAM, storage space, CPU cores – for their use alone.
This can be easier to manage than you might think. Many VPS plans include standard tools like cPanel to help monitor and configure your site. Some hosts will manage the service for you, monitoring for problems like a crashed service, and fixing them as soon as they're detected.
VPS prices and specs vary from a few dollars a month to hundreds, depending on your requirements. There's a lot of choice out there, but don't panic – our list of five best VPS providers will point you in the right direction.
Exclusive: This cheapest VPS starts from $0.50 per month
Save an incredible 90% on yearly plans. Starts from only $6 per year for one CPU core with 1GB of RAM, 40GB NVMe disk capacity (SSD) and 1TB bandwidth transfer. Note that the offer is applicable for the first year only. For subsequent years, normal charges are applicable.
Hostgator delivers an impressive range of hosting services, ranging from domains to dedicated servers at very competitive prices and backed by a 99.9% uptime guarantee. This applies as much to their VPS hosting as any of their other hosting options.
Hostgator offer three specific VPS hosting plans, starting with the Snappy 2000, which comes with 2GB RAM, 2 cores of CPU, and 120GB of diskspace. The allocations are generous and should accommodate all but the most demanding websites.
An upgrade from that, if required, is the Snappy 4000, which upgrades RAM to 4GB and storage to 165GB. For more demanding sites that don't yet require their own server, you can opt for the Snappy 8000, which comes with 8GB RAM, 4 cores CPU, and 240 GB storage.
Pricing depends on whether you pay monthly or commit to one of their annual plans. For example, the Snappy 2000 VPS hosting plan costs $29.95 if you only want to pay from month to month, but if you commit to a 3-year contract it comes down as low as $19.95 a month.
Additional benefits include a 45-day money-back guarantee, not to mention free transfers for new accounts within the first month after you’ve signed up. There’s lots to like here considering the minimal impact on your wallet, if you're happy to commit.
Bluehost has been around for quite some time and always offered powerful plans for a variety of users, and their VPS range is no different.
You have three plans to choose from, with the cheapest plan starting at $17.99 per month for the first term and $29.99 per month on renewal. That gets you 2 CPU cores (2x Xeon Gold 5220), 30GB SSD storage, 2 GB RAM, 1 TB bandwidth and one IP address. The top-tier plan called Ultimate, gives you 4 CPU cores (2x Xeon Gold 5222), 120GB SSD storage, 8 GB RAM, 3 TB bandwidth and two IP addresses, and it’s priced at $57.99 per month for the first term and $119.99 per month on renewal.
All plans come with a free SSL certificate and a 1-year domain. You also get unlimited subdomains and email accounts, and cPanel is included too. Domain privacy and protection, and SiteLock are categorized as optional add-ons, so you’ll have to pay extra if you need them.
Support is available 24/7 so if you encounter any difficulties you’ll be able to call them at any time of the day. All in all, Bluehost is a capable provider for both newbies and experienced users so they are definitely worth a try.
iDrive is an amazing cloud storage provider and with iDrive Compute, the company has a great VPS offering as well.
There are shared CPU plans and dedicated CPU plans. Naturally, shared is less powerful but more affordable and it’s a good choice if you don’t need too many resources. The least powerful configuration you can get with a shared CPU is 1 CPU, 1 GB RAM, 40 GB NVMe storage, and 1 TB bandwidth. The most powerful configuration available gives you 32 CPU, 64 GB RAM, 1280 GB NVMe storage, and 12 TB bandwidth. The pricing starts at only $6 for the first year.
On the other hand, dedicated CPU plans are more expensive but you get more resources and you’re not sharing it with anybody. Dedicated CPU pricing starts from $48 for the first year, renewing at 480$ per year. The packages range from 2 CPU, 4 GB RAM, 25 GB NVMe storage, and 72 TB bandwidth, to 8 CPU, 32 GB RAM, 480 GB NVMe storage, and 480 TB bandwidth.
The company has servers in over 20 locations, and all plans come with secure backup, user management, block storage, and on-demand snapshots. If you encounter any problems the customer support can be contacted via email, 24/7 live chat, and phone. Unfortunately, the phone support isn’t available 24/7.
VPS poetry? InMotion is certainly a strong provider…
Good hardware
Generous resource allocations
Smart features
Check out a few VPS hosting providers and it's easy to be tempted with low headline rates, but don't be fooled – companies use a range of tricks to keep their charges down.
The hardware specs of a starter product are often kept unrealistically low, for instance, to keep the price right down. Important items – backups, cPanel – may be expensive extras. And even then, the headline rate may only apply if you pay for two or three years upfront, increasing dramatically on renewal.
InMotion Hosting is refreshingly different. Its baseline VPS 2GB plan has a special 6 month term price of $17.99/mo! The product has a better specification – 2GB RAM, 45GB SSD storage, 4TB bandwidth, 1 dedicated IP – than some high-end plans from other providers, backups and a cPanel licence are included for free, and there's a 90-day money-back guarantee.
A recent VPS refresh from InMotion Hosting brings dedicated CPU cores to their VPS plans. The 2GB VPS offers two full CPU cores with options ranging up to 14 Cores!
Welcome bonus touches include a feature called Launch Assist, which essentially means you get two hours of free time with one of InMotion's server administrators. Whether you need to change domain settings, configure cPanel, migrate WordPress or database files, they can help you get the job done.
Put it all together and you're getting a very capable set of VPS hosting plans. If you'd prefer a package that comes with unexpected surprises, rather than hidden catches, we'd give InMotion a try.
Some VPS hosts focus on first-time users, others go for big business, but Hostwinds does its best to appeal to everyone. This means offering both managed and unmanaged plans.
Additionally, along with support for the usual Linux variants – CentOS, Ubuntu, Fedora, Debian – you can choose Windows Server 2008, 2012 or 2016 for only a $5 a month premium. That's very good value, and if you're more familiar with Windows than Linux, it could save you from lots of management hassles later on.
Managed Linux VPS plans start from $8.24 for 1 core and 1 GB RAM, which is a little low but decent for starter websites, with plans increasing resource allocations at a reasonable pricing rate.
For unmanaged Linux, plans start from just $4.99 for the same 1 core and 1GB RAM spec. However, there are far more VPS hosting plans available for unmanaged Linux, with the top tier offering as much as 16 cores and 96 GB of RAM.
Windows plans follow a similar pattern, though for managed VPS with a single core and 1 GB RAM pricing starts a little more at $12.74. Unmanaged options are similar in terms of specs to the unmanaged Linux, though pricing again is a little higher at $10.99 a month.
Whichever you're after, Hostwinds offers plenty of choices.
An outfit that focuses on quality, albeit at a cost
Top-notch configuration options
Quality service and support
On the expensive side
Liquid Web is a premium web hosting provider which has been offering top quality managed solutions for more than 20 years, and now handles 500,000 sites for more than 32,000 customers worldwide.
The company doesn't try to beat the competition on price, instead focusing on delivering comprehensive products which will deliver quality results.
The cheapest Liquid Web plan may cost $59 a month (you can reduce that to $15 a month by paying for 2-years), for instance, but that gets you 2GB RAM, 40GB storage, a very generous 10TB of bandwidth, and 100GB backup.
There are lots of configuration options. Instead of just telling you that you're getting CentOS 7, Liquid Web allows you to select CentOS 6, Debian 8, Ubuntu 14.04 or 16.04, and often with multiple options of their own: cPanel, Plesk, CloudLinux and more.
This is a managed product, too. Liquid Web fully supports the base operating system, and the support team will proactively restore failed services as soon as they're detected. Getting a managed VPS with other providers could cost you an extra $30 a month, or more.
If your VPS still has issues, there's speedy 24x7x365 support from knowledgeable professionals who will do their best to solve your problems at speed.
Liquid Web may not have the most appealing headline prices, but it's still cheaper than many others considering the features you get, and the excellent support will help keep your site running smoothly down the line.
