Latest news

AMD has unveiled some new processor hardware that might get you excited, especially if you've been waiting for new midrange gaming CPUs.

AMD's new 3000XT Series brings XT branding first time ever to Ryzen series with three new CPUs. The new 3rd gen Ryzen desktop chips are: AMD Ryzen 9 3900XT, AMD Ryzen 7 3800XT and AMD Ryzen 5 3600XT.

According to the company, these new chips provide better clock speeds and Boost performance thanks to improved Zen 2 architecture compared to their predecessors (3600X, 3800X, and 3900X). The performance has been upgraded from previous 3000 Series but TDP values stay the same.

The CPUs are meant for content creation and gaming in mind and excel in these aspects thanks to their multi-core and multi-thread capabilities. The top line Ryzen 9 3900XT provide 12 cores and 24 threads and gets up to 3.8 GHz with a Boost clock maxing at 4.7 GHz. TDP stands at 105 W.

The middle variant, Ryzen 7 3800XT, features 8 cores and 16 threads at 3.9 GHz and 4.7GHz Boost with same 105 Watt TDP and the cheapest of them all, Ryzen 5 3600XT, is a 6 core processor with 12 threads and clock speeds of 3.8 GHz and 4.5 GHz. Power consumption is slightly lower at 95 W.

European Commission has begun investigating Apple's services for violations in EU law. Two different branches of the investigation take Apple Store and Apple Pay under magnifying glass.

The investigators belief that Apple might has managed its app store and payment platform in a way that violates EU's antitrust rules sparked the investigation.

This comes after music streaming giant Spotify, shopping network Rakuten, and others claimed that App Store and Apple Pay are squashing the competition with fees and compatibility issues.

Apple's management fee for competing music platforms is a very steep 30 percent. This almost third of a cut makes it very hard for the likes of Spotify to compete against Apple Music on the App Store. Memberships bought elsewhere can bypass this fee, which is why Apple also thinks they are not in the wrong.

In fact, previously Apple has argued Spotify barely pays any fees at all. The spat has been ongoing for a while now with both sides with their own arguments.

One of the Europe's largest food delivery companies, Foodora, has confirmed that its user account data has been compromised. Company, owned by its parent, Delivery Hero, is based in Germany, but operates in 14 countries, mostly across Europe.

In data breach, more than 700'000 user accounts have been leaked. Leaked data included user names, addresses, phone numbers and full names of Foodora customers. Additionally, at least some passwords were leaked, too. Foodora maintains that none of the payment information or credit card details have been breached.

According to reports, many of the Foodora users involved with the security breach, have started getting suspicious emails, typically localized to the customer's language or country of residence. It is strongly recommended to check whether your data has been compromised - you can use services like this to see if your account was one of the compromised ones.

Facebook-owned messaging platform WhatsApp has introduced a new payment feature to its app. The company has announced WhatsApp payments that will be introduced first in Brazil.

According to the press release, WhatsApp's new feature will allow people to send money securely and use it for making purchases with local businesses while on the chat.

This is especially important for the small and micro businesses in Brazil's communities that rely on easy and cheap payment methods.

WhatsApp has profiled itself as the messaging platform for small businesses. The app lets customers ask questions in the chat, browse catalogs, and now finally pay their purchases in-app.

The feature, however, is not only for businesses and business transactions. The company says that it can be used to sending money to loved ones, and makes it as easy as sending a message.

The backbone of WhatsApp's payment feature is Facebook Pay, and this will allow users to use the same payment information in all Facebook-owned apps in the future.

When it comes to security, the app requires a fingerprint or a six digit PIN to approve payments.

Sony showed off the upcoming PlayStation 5 (PS5) console in an online launch event on Thursday.

It provided the first glimpse of the PS5 console itself after it had previously shown off the DualSense controller (which features haptic feedback). The reveal was online rather than a live event due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Resembling the controller, the PS5 console contains a black core and features two curved white sides sitting atop a black base (upright). It also features a blue glow. Some have likened its appearance to a large Wi-Fi router - you be the judge!

There will be two PS5 consoles available at launch, with the key difference being a basic console will feature a Blu-ray drive while an all-digital version will not.

During the roughly hour-long event, Sony showed off a variety of games that will catch the eye, among them the likes of Grand Turismo 7, Hitman 3, Horizon: Forbidden West, and Spider-Man: Miles Morales.

You can watch the hardware reveal at:

Damn. It is once again time for me to look back and realize how old I am. And how long it has been when we originally launched this little project of ours, called AfterDawn. Exactly 21 years ago we launched our site - to the whopping userbase of appx. five people (our friends who we bombarded with links to our site via IRC).

To somehow put this time in some kind of a context: when our site was launched, the dominant search engine was called AltaVista and majority of our first year users were still using dial-up modems to connect to the Internet.

Technologies have changed - we started AfterDawn as a source of information for people interested in MP3 technology and software. Somehow we then pivoted to cover DVDs, video technologies and P2P. And then, online services. And then mobile phones. And, and.. Only thing that has been constant in this business, is the fact that everything changes. The way how people read news has changed dramatically, as have the technologies people use and we cover. We have simply adapted to the new realities. And will continue to do so, in order to stay relevant.

These past 21 years have been an incredible journey for me and my colleagues. To get some kind of an idea what this journey has involved, you might want to read my last year's coverage where I tried to summarize all the changes we've gone through over these past 21 years.

Sony was meant to have a PlayStation 5 themed virtual conference of sorts last week but due to tragic death of George Floyd in police custody and the following protests, the company decided to reschedule.

Fortunately the postponing didn't move the event too far back, since they've already decided to share with us the new date.

Although around the world protests have still gathered tens of thousands to voice their opinions about race relations and police brutality, while some are turning to violence by attacking police officers, destroying property and looting stores, Sony has decided the atmosphere has calmed down enough.

Sony's event will be held this Thursday, two days from now on the 11th, and will include showcasing PS5 games played on the actual console. They've also announced that they hope viewers of the event are using headphones to get everything out of the audio experience they are going to demonstrate.

Sony has already introduced the new, improved, and much more futuristic PS5 controller, which in addition to new looks and features dropped the name DualShock for DualSense.

Apple is planning on extending their Apple Card payment plan benefits. Previously iPhone buyers would get interest-free payment plans by using their Apple Card. Now other products are joining iPhone.

Last year the company introduced Apple Card to iPhone users. The credit card developed in cooperation with Goldman Sachs offers benefits like a three percent cash back and previously mentioned interest-free iPhone payment plan.

Bloomberg reports that Apple is going to extend the payment plans soon to include iPads, Macs and other Apple products.

The plan consists of either 6, 12 or 24 months of interest-free payments depending on the device. The program is going to include the likes of AirPods, HomePod, or Apple TV with 6-month plan and iPad, Mac, Apple Pencil or iPad keyboard with 12-month plan.

The iPhone remains as the one with 24-month payment plan that is de facto practice in the smartphone business.

Amazon will stream a few Premier League matches for free when the English top division of football returns later this month.

The Premier League has been on hold for several months as a protective measure during the COVID-19 pandemic. Premier League matches are attended by tens of thousands every weekend and broadcast around the world to millions of football fans. Of course, games are also streamed by broadcasters and services around the world.

In the UK, Amazon first started to stream Premier League matches on its Prime service last year. Sky Sports and BT Sport typically dominate the rights to broadcast the Premier League in its home country, but services like Amazon are looking to break into the business in gradual steps over the coming seasons.

Amazon has announced that when the Premier League returns from June 17, it will be streaming an additional four matches. Those additional four matches will be available to view for free, and the viewer will not require an Amazon Prime membership to watch.

Amazon is not alone in showing games for free either, with 33 being free to view across a variety of services from the 92 remaining matches of the season. BBC Sport will also be showing some matches for free, making it the first time the national broadcaster in the UK will air games from the Premier League live.

The death of George Floyd in police custody in Minneapolis, Minnesota, has sparked protests around the nation's largest cities against police brutality and racial justice.

Peaceful protests have often turned violent as the sun goes down, and the riots have resulted in both private and public property damage as well as loss of life on the side of the police and protesters.

Perhaps the most often seen image of the riots are police cars on fire and stores being looted. Needless to say that many entrepreneurs and companies have suffered tremendously from looting.

Some companies are, however, better equipped against stealing of their products. One the more targeted brands is Apple but they are also the ones that are prepared for people stealing their very expensive iPhones.

A lawsuit is targeting Google over the collection of data while users are browsing in 'private' mode.

Google's Chrome browser has provided Incognito Mode for users for several years now. When browsing in Incognito Mode, a user's visited websites and other information is not saved to the web browser itself, or to the device that the software is installed on.

Surfing in 'Incognito Mode' does not prevent third-party websites from tracking users' activities however, including running Google Analytics code.

The lawsuit alleges that Google engages in the "covert and unauthorized data collection from virtually every American with a computer or phone." However, Google has denied the charge and says that it is very clear about the implications of browsing in Incognito Mode.

"As we clearly state each time you open a new incognito tab, websites might be able to collect information about your browsing activity," said Google spokesman Jose Castaneda, reports the BBC.

Indeed, a look at a new Incognito Tab does spell out the limits of Incognito Mode browsing.

Now you can browse privately, and other people who use this device won't see your activity. However, downloads and bookmarks will be saved.

Google has targeted an application that would check a device for installed software from China and aid in its removal.

Developed by One Touch AppLabs, which is based in India, the app specifically targeted "Chinese software" on mobile devices. It was available on the Play Store for ten days in which time it clocked up more than a million downloads. Its popularity was strongest in India, which is currently in an ongoing period of tension over Himalayan borders with China.

According to the developers, Google has removed the app from the Play Store, but did not elaborate on the exact reason why. It thanked its users for all their support while the app was online.

The app did cast quite a wide net in software it flagged as Chinese. For example, it highlighted the Zoom video conferencing software, which is actually developed in the United States. The fact that its founder was born in China seemed enough to lump it in with other Chinese apps.

Another popular app targeted was TikTok, which is owned by Bytedance, based in Beijing.

'Remove China Apps' gained popularity amid calls for boycotts against China following the movement of Chinese military personnel into a territory India claims as its own in the Kashmir region.

Sony's upcoming fifth-generation PlayStation gaming console is on the way but current situation in the United States has made the Japanese company second guess the release schedule.

In fact, Sony has decided to postpone a PS5 event date scheduled for June 5th due to the political situation in America. According to their statement they don't want to celebrate in these times and have decided to give room for "more important voices to be heard."

The statement itself doesn't say how much they are intending to postpone the event, we'll probably hear back from them after the situation has calmed down.

The event is still likely hold demos of upcoming PS5 games on the actual console. The launch, which is scheduled later this year, is likely not affected at all by the delayed event.

The suspected killing of George Floyd in police custody sparked protests around the country that have in many cities turned into violent rioting.

Samsung's has an upgrade program for smartphones, incidentally just like the one Apple has, for a while now. However, the company seems to have wanted a more comprehensive hold on their customers, and they've now introduces a new Access program.

Uncovered by the good folks at xda-developers, Samsung seems to have quietly added a new type of subscription service to their portfolio.

Samsung Access is a subscription service that allows you to every now and then switch to a new smartphone without having to pay for it separately. The service works similarly to Samsung Upgrade Program but has some new additions that might tempt you in.

It comes with Microsoft 365 subscription and 1 TB of cloud storage. This means that you can access Microsoft's wide variety of apps in Office Suite, including the likes of Outlook, Word, Excel, Powerpoint, and Teams. Another benefit is Samsung Premium Care, which allows the user to replace a broken phone for a $99 deductible up to three times a year.

Currently Samsung Access seems to be available only for the S20 family and starts at $37 a month for regular S20 and climbs up to $48 for the Ultra.

While HP isn't the one name you come up with when discussing VR, the company has been challenging more committed VR companies for some time now.

Their initial claim for VR fame was HP WMR that was released in 2017 but they stepped it up last year by introducing Reverb headset with visuals and features.

Now the company has come out with their newest VR headset. The second-gen Reverb, the Reverb G2. The company claims it offers the best resolution in a VR headset of this type, although it doesn't improve upon the predecessor.

Reverb G2 provides 2K resolution for both eyes like the originals Reverb, but they've improved upon the lenses which should provide much clearer picture.

It's been developed in cooperation with both Valve and Microsoft to seemlessly integrate with VR systems, including SteamVR and Windows Mixed Reality. This should make it a better fit for both platforms.

The size of the displays are 2.89 inches with a resolution of 2160 x 2160 and a refresh rate of 90 hz. The headset, also like it's predecessor, supports six degrees of freedom but is now tracked with four cameras mounted on the headset instead of two.