Author: News Room
Search for “SimCity 4” on YouTube, and you’ll see players constructing multilevel highway interchanges and intricate railroad networks, or maybe even a swooping flyby of a sprawling metropolis. None of these features came with the original game, which was released just after the turn of the millennium. They’ve been developed slowly and painstakingly over the 22 years since its release by dedicated aficionados — a thriving community that continues to push the game’s limits.The work is a labor of love, and it’s a lot of labor and love. Modder Tarkus says that after all these years, he’s drawn to the…
5. Asus Vivobook E510MA Asus Vivobook E510MA specsScreen15.6-inch FHDProcessorIntel Pentium Silver N5030RAM4GBStorage128GOSWindows 10Dimensions45.79 x 29.2 x 6.4 cm; 1.4 kg18 x 11.5 x 2.5 inches; 3.1 lbs The second-cheapest notebook on our list is another Asus entry, and can currently be bought for a very wallet-friendly price. Despite its cheap price, it’s not a Chromebook — it’s running Windows 10 as standard. We think this makes it an ideal laptop for slightly older children who are looking to use fully-fledged apps and software for school/hobbies, or other casual users. Its 15.6in screen doesn’t have a Full HD resolution (running 1366…
When asked about the technology inside the Switch 2’s Joy-Cons that “feels so different to the original Switch’s analog stick” during a recent interview, Nate Bihldorff, the Senior Vice President of Product Development & Publishing at Nintendo of America, told Nintendo Life that “the Joy-Con 2’s controllers have been designed from the ground up. They’re not Hall Effect sticks, but they feel really good.”Following Nintendo’s Switch 2 presentation last week, the company shared an Ask the Developer discussion with the console’s designers that touched on technical aspects of its upgraded controllers. According to Switch 2 producer Kouichi Kawamoto, the company…
Samsung’s latest huge free software update – One UI 7 – is finally here. And surprise, surprise, it’s all about AI. The latest update to Samsung’s flavour of Android was in beta testing, but is rolling out to Samsung phones from today. The best part is that while the latest smartphones will get it, so will older Samsung handsets. What is Samsung’s One UI 7 update? One UI 7 integrates Galaxy AI features more deeply into the system. That gives you features like smarter writing assistance, upgraded call features, and a more streamlined design. The writing assistant can now help users…
If you’re eyeing up a new smartphone, the £1000 price that the latest handsets typically come with is somewhat off-putting. That’s why I love more affordable phones, and some of the latest releases are arguably a better buy than their flagship counterparts. But the next affordable phone to launch is the CMF Phone 2 Pro from Nothing, and I couldn’t be more excited. Nothing will launch the CMF Phone 2 Pro on 28 April. There’ll be a launch event video at 2pm BST/9am EST if you want to tune in and see the latest as it launches. The new smartphone will launch…
If you’ve got a robot vacuum looking after the inside of your house, it only makes sense for a robot lawnmower to look after the outside. I’ve got one and I’m a fan. So much so, that I’ve set one up for two lots of family members now. But one of my biggest gripes comes to mapping out your garden. While my Yarbo mower is a tank, I had to manually map it out with a remote control. And while I’d say I did a decent job, it’s far from perfect. Others work in a similar way now, replacing the old wire…
Tried to score tickets to Glastonbury this year but didn’t get lucky? Vodafone might just be your golden ticket. Literally. The UK carrier is dishing out 100 pairs of Glastonbury Festival tickets via the VeryMe Rewards app. Anyone on a Vodafone plan for one of the top smartphones can be in with a chance of winning. This giveaway is happening between 7 and 20 April 2025. To enter, all you need is to be a Vodafone customer and have the My Vodafone app installed. In there, you’ll find the VeryMe Rewards section, which is Vodafone’s rewards scheme. Tap into that,…
Introduction It wasn’t too far back into PC gaming history that “integrated graphics” was considered a curse word. An Asus ROG device without a dedicated GPU would’ve been unthinkable. Madness, even. Fast forward to 2025, though, and the Z13 Flow is very much flying solo in the graphics department – yet I couldn’t be happier. Chip-maker AMD has pulled off some silicon wizardry with its Strix Halo processors, letting this 13in tablet deliver impressively high frame rates in the latest games, but also last for an entire working day while away from the mains when handling desktop duties. So it…
When you’re on the look-out for a set of the top headphones, things often look pretty similar. But if you want a hi-fi set for the highest quality audio, you usually have to look towards wire options. That’s where things get pretty pricey, with big driver over-ears selling for a pretty penny. But Campfire Audio’s latest earphones are a more affordable hi-fi audio option. They’re an updated version of the Axion earphones. These aren’t just some token budget buds with the label “hi-fi” slapped on for clout. They pack everything you need to dip your toes (or ears, rather) into high-fidelity…
Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is planning to hold a “hackathon” next week in order to create a “mega API” for accessing Internal Revenue Service data, reports Wired. The outlet says the API would be used to move the data into a cloud platform — potentially a third-party one — to serve as the “read center” of the agency’s systems.DOGE’s hackathon plan includes pulling together “dozens” of IRS engineers in DC to build the API, writes Wired. Among the third-party providers the department has reportedly discussed involving is Palantir, a company known for its vast data collection and…
After a long stretch of slim pickings, the last couple of years have been huge for Android smartwatches. Now there are more good options than ever.But the market is fragmented. Wear OS 5 is here for Samsung’s Galaxy Watches, Google’s Pixel Watch 3, and soon, the OnePlus Watch 3 when it ships later this month. However, the larger ecosystem is catching up. Some features, like Google Assistant, are not yet available on certain Wear OS 3 smartwatches, and Wear OS 4 still isn’t widely available. Even so, the Android wearable ecosystem is barreling ahead.$230The Galaxy Watch 6 Classic is an…
If you’re taking your laptop away from the safe environs of your home or office desk and still want to stay online, you’ve got a couple of choices (assuming it doesn’t have cellular connectivity built in): hunt around for a Wi-Fi network you can connect to or run a Wi-Fi hotspot from your phone.Running a hotspot from your phone comes with advantages and disadvantages. It’s more secure than a public Wi-Fi network, as you’re in charge, and you may well get better upload and download speeds, too — though this will, of course, depend on the 4G and 5G coverage…