Amazons Prime Video had a bunch of strong releases in 2024, ranging from a surprisingly great video game adaptation to a visually pleasing fantasy spinoff. Theres even an update to the raunchiest superhero show in streaming. It had plenty of other series worth watching, too even with the pesky commercial breaks Prime Video started showing during shows and movies. Heres our list of some of the best shows that came out on Prime Video this year.Its hard to find a television adaptation of a video game that stays true to the source material, but Prime Videos Fallout does just that. The first eight episodes take place in the aftermath of a global nuclear disaster, and the show stars Ella Purnell as Lucy MacLean, who emerges from Vault 33 one of the many shelters for survivors with a mission to track down her kidnapped father. As she traverses the postapocalyptic wasteland, she encounters Brotherhood of Steel squire Maximus (Aaron Moten) and a ghoul bounty hunter (Walton Goggins). Hijinks ensue.The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power returned for a second season this year, and its just as impressive as the first. The series set thousands of years prior to the events in J.R.R. Tolkiens The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings picks up at a more peaceful time in Middle-earths history. The show goes over the origins of the Rings of Power, introducing you to some familiar characters like Galadriel (Morfydd Clark) and Elrond (Robert Aramayo), along with some new names created for the series.Prime Video has released a fourth season of The Boys, the brutally bloody series that shows what happens when the worlds most powerful superheroes get out of control. The latest season builds on the story laid out in the first three seasons, which has the non-superpowered Hugh Campbell (Jack Quaid) working with Billy Butcher (Karl Urban) and other misfits to expose corruption within The Seven, an elite group of heroes closely managed by a multibillion-dollar corporation.The Second Best Hospital in the Galaxy is sort of like what youd get if you crossed Futurama with Greys Anatomy. Set in the year 14002, this animated comedy series follows two alien surgeons, Dr. Sleech (Stephanie Hsu) and Dr. Klak (Keke Palmer), who deal with a range of strange and often silly conditions, while also managing their relationship with each other and their coworkers. You might hear some other recognizable voices throughout the show, as it features appearances from Natasha Lyonne, Maya Rudolph, and singer Sam Smith.Prime Video has released yet another video game adaptation this year: Like a Dragon: Yakuza. The series is loosely based on the Yakuza game franchise, which is known for its goofy take on Japanese gangster life. However, Prime Videos Yakuza takes on a more serious tone and features a lot more violence. The six-episode series centers around Kazuma Kiryus (Ryoma Takeuchi) evolution as a yakuza member across two timelines: 1995 and 2005.Cross is the latest take on James Pattersons Alex Cross book series, with Aldis Hodge playing the titular forensic psychologist and detective. At the start of the series, Cross is ready to take a break from police work following the murder of his wife, but a new case involving the death of a Black Lives Matter activist draws him back to the job, where he must unravel a string of murders across Washington, DC.If youre a fan of animated shows and superheroes, you might want to check out Batman: Caped Crusader. The series, made by Batman: The Animated Series producer Bruce Timm, places a young Batman (Hamish Linklater) inside a version of Gotham City thats inspired by DCs classic comic books. The series showcases the rampant criminal activity from across the city over the span of 10 episodes, with appearances from well-known villains like Harley Quinn (Jamie Chung) and Harvey Dent (Diedrich Bader).Mr. & Mrs. Smith offers a twist on the 2005 movie of the same name, following a couple who must pose as a husband and wife despite being complete strangers. While under the guise of John (Donald Glover) and Jane Smith (Maya Erskine), the duo must carry out a series of missions, all while navigating a fake relationship that starts turning into the real thing.Just like the novel My Lady Jane, Prime Videos adaptation offers an alternative look at 16th-century England, in which Lady Jane Grey (Emily Bader) and her husband Lord Guildford Dudley (Edward Bluemel) were never beheaded and live under the rule of King Edward VI (Jordan Peters). The series, which also features some fantasy elements, was unfortunately canceled after the first season but its still worth a watch if youre into historical dramas.With The Legend of Vox Machina reaching its third season (and with a fourth on the way), nows a good time to binge-watch the show if you havent yet. Its based on the first campaign played out during the Dungeons & Dragons web series Critical Role, expanding on the story behind the eclectic seven-member group known as Vox Machina as they traverse the world of Exandria. All the voice actors who starred in the original web series, including Matthew Mercer, Marisha Ray, Laura Bailey, Taliesin Jaffe, and others, take on their original roles.

Apple is working on a new smart doorbell camera that uses Face ID to unlock your door, according to Bloombergs Mark Gurman in todays Power On newsletter. The camera could be released by the end of 2025 at the soonest, Gurman writes.The lock would work just like your iPhone, automatically unlocking your door when you or another resident looks at it. Like biometric login info on other Apple devices, the camera would be equipped with the companys Secure Enclave chip that stores and processes Face ID information separately from the rest of the systems hardware.RelatedGurman writes that this device will likely work with existing third-party HomeKit smart locks and that the company may also partner with a smart lock company to offer a complete system on day one. He expects the camera will make use of Apples in-house Proxima combination Wi-Fi / Bluetooth chip thats rumored for new HomePod Mini and Apple TV devices next year.This doorbell camera joins a broader collection of rumors surrounding a renewed Apple push into the smart home thats centered around Apple Intelligence. Those include another new smart home camera, a possible Apple-branded TV, and new smart home displays one a simple iPad-like device that magnetically attaches to wall mounts or speaker bases, while another display sits on the end of a robotic arm attached to a larger base.

From now through December 24th, Apple will be offering free two-hour delivery from your local Apple Store for last minute holiday gifts. This offer went live yesterday. Of course, you have to live close to an Apple Store in an eligible area in the US & Canada to take advantage of this offer, and your nearest store would need to have the products in stock. This free delivery offer is only available on iPhone, iPad, Mac, AppleWatch, AirPods, AppleTV, and Beats, which should cover most peoples needs. Normally, this 2 hour delivery service costs an extra $9. Apple partners with local couriers such as DoorDash and Uber to make this service possible.If you want to pick up an Apple gift for a loved one, now would be the time to do so! Apple doesnt offer the best deals most of the time, but this is a surefire way of making sure your gift arrives in time for the holidays.Ive also gathered a list of good Apple deals on Amazon that should deliver before Christmas at the time of writing, though your mileage may vary. These prices will be lower than what Apple currently offers:Follow Michael:X/Twitter,Bluesky,InstagramAdd 9to5Mac to your Google News feed. FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.Youre reading 9to5Mac experts who break news about Apple and its surrounding ecosystem, day after day. Be sure to check out our homepage for all the latest news, and follow 9to5Mac on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to stay in the loop. Dont know where to start? Check out our exclusive stories, reviews, how-tos, and subscribe to our YouTube channel

When to watch the Cardinals vs. PanthersSunday, Dec. 22, at 1 p.m. ET (10 a.m. PT). Where to watchThe Cardinals-Panthers game will air on Fox. See at ExpressVPN Best VPN for streaming ExpressVPN See at ExpressVPN See more details See at Sling TV Carries Fox in Phoenix (KSAZ) Sling TV Blue: $45 (in some markets $40) See at Sling TV See more details See at YouTube TV Carries Fox for $83 a month YouTube TV See at YouTube TV See more details See at Fubo Carries Fox for $92 per month Fubo See at Fubo See more details See at Hulu Plus Live TV Carries Fox for $83 a month Hulu Plus Live TV See at Hulu Plus Live TV See more details See at DirecTV Stream Carries Fox for $87 a month DirecTV Stream See at DirecTV Stream See more details Table of Contents The Cardinals put a stop to a three-game slide last week and need another win today against the Panthers to keep pace in the race for the NFC West crown. The Cards are 7-7, which puts them one game behind the Rams and Seahawks in the division. The Panthers might be only 3-11 on the season, but have looked better the past few games with Bryce Young back under center. Arizona can't overlook Carolina this week with a division matchup looming next week against the Rams.The Cardinals and Panthers kick off in Carolina at 1 p.m. ET (10 a.m. PT) on Fox. Here's how you can watch, even if the game isn't available on your local Fox channel. Arizona Cardinals playmaker Kyler Murray failed to find the end zone in Week 15. Harry How/Getty ImagesCardinals vs. Panthers game today: When and where?This matchup sees the Panthers host the Cardinals at1 p.m. ET (10 a.m. PT) on Sunday. The game will take place at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina, home of the Panthers.How to watch the Cardinals vs. Panthers game online from anywhere using a VPNIf you find yourself unable to view the game locally due toincorrectly applied blackout restrictions, you may need a different way to watch it. That's where using a VPN can come in handy. A VPN is also the best way to stop your ISP from throttling your speeds on game day, as VPNs encrypt your traffic. Plus, using a VPN is also a great idea for when you're traveling and find yourself connected to a Wi-Fi network and wanting an extra layer of privacy for your devices and logins. With a VPN, you're able to virtually change your location on your phone, tablet or laptop to get access to the game. So if your internet provider or mobile carrier has stuck you with an IP address that incorrectly shows your location in a blackout zone, a VPN can correct that problem by giving you an IP address in your correct, non-blackout area. Most VPNs, like ourEditors' Choice, ExpressVPN, are very easy to use.Using a VPN to watch or stream sports is legal in any country where VPNs are legal, including the US and Canada, as long as you've got a legitimate subscription to the service you're streaming. You should be sure your VPN is set up correctly to prevent leaks: Even where VPNs are legal, the streaming service may terminate the account of anyone it deems to be circumventing correctly applied blackout restrictions. Looking for other options? Be sure to check out some of the other greatVPN dealstaking place right now. James Martin/CNET 2024 Latest Tests DNS leaks detected, 25% speed loss in 2024 testsNetwork 3,000 plus servers in 105 countriesJurisdiction British Virgin Islands ExpressVPN has servers in the Phoenix area, where this game is being shown. The service isour current best VPN pickfor people who want a reliable and safe VPN, and it works on a variety of devices. It's normally $13 a month, but if you sign up for an annual subscription for $100 you'll get three months free and save 49%. That's the equivalent of $6.67 a month.Note that ExpressVPN offers a 30-day money-back guarantee. 82% off with 24mo plan (+6 free months) See at ExpressVPN How to watch Cardinals vs. Panthers in the USSunday's Cardinals vs. Panthers game is on Fox. The good news for football fans is that Fox is available on most of the majorlive TV streaming services. The least expensive such service is Sling TV Blue. Sling/CNET Sling TV's Blue plan includes NBC, Fox and the NFL Network, though it does not have CBS, ABC or ESPN. Enter your addresshereto see which local channels are available where you live. NFL RedZone is also available for an extra $11 a month.Note that to get ABC and ESPN, you'll need to switch to the similarly priced Orange plan (which drops Fox, NBC and NFL Network) or go for the combined $60 a month Orange and Blue bundle that includes channels from both packages. With the combined plan, the Sports Extra add-on, which has RedZone, is an extra $15 a month.One important caveat: In our experience, Fox local affiliates will only be available if your billing address is in one of the18 metropolitan areas covered in Sling's agreement. If you're outside of one of these areas, you're probably better off going with one of the alternate services listed below. See at Sling TV Numerous other live TV streaming services carry local Fox stations as well, namely YouTube TV, Hulu Plus Live TV, DirecTV Stream and Fubo. They all cost far more than Sling, but they also carry a full complement of live channels, including football broadcasting channels like CBS and ESPN. Check out ourlive TV streaming services guidefor details. Sarah Tew/CNET For $83 a month, you'll get all the major football channels with YouTube TV. Plus, RedZone is available for an extra $11 per month. Plug in your ZIP code on YouTube TV'swelcome pageto see which local networks are available in your area. See at YouTube TV Fubo Fubo costs at least $92 per month when you factor in theRSN fees it charges, which you don't need for NFL games but must pay for anyway. Fubo's base plan costs $80 but it charges an extra $12 a month if you get one RSN or $15 a month if you have two or more in your area. RedZone is available for an extra $11 per month, and you can get 4K broadcasts with its $90-a-month Elite plan. It's worth noting that Fubo has recently introduced a new $30 off for the first month offer for its Pro, Elite With Sports Plus and Deluxe plans.Click hereto see which local channels you get in your region with Fubo.Read our Fubo review. See at Fubo Sarah Tew/CNET Hulu Plus Live TV includes Fox in most markets. On its live news page, you can enter your ZIP code under the "Can I watch local news in my area?" question at the bottom of the page to see which local channels you get. Read our Hulu with Live TV review. See at Hulu Plus Live TV DirecTV DirecTV Stream's basic $87-a-month Entertainment package includes Fox in most markets. You can use its channel lookup tool to see which local channels are available where you live. Read our DirecTV Stream review. See at DirecTV Stream All the live TV streaming services above offer free trials, allow you to cancel anytime and require a solid internet connection. Looking for more information? Check out ourlive TV streaming services guide. An over-the-air antenna connected to your TV provides another option for Fox. The best part about antennas is that there are no streaming or monthly fees required, although you will need to make sure youhave good reception.Quick tips for streaming the Cardinals vs. Panthers game using a VPNWith four variables at play -- your ISP, browser, video streaming provider and VPN -- experience and success may vary.If you don't see your desired location as a default option for ExpressVPN, try using the "search for city or country" option.If you're having trouble getting the game after you've turned on your VPN and set it to the correct viewing area, there are two things you can try for a quick fix. First, log into your streaming service subscription account and make sure the address registered for the account is an address in the correct viewing area. If not, you may need to change the physical address on file with your account. Second, some smart TVs -- like Roku -- don't have VPN apps you can install directly on the device itself. Instead, you'll have to install the VPN on your router or the mobile hotspot you're using (like your phone) so that any device on its Wi-Fi network now appears in the correct viewing location.All of the VPN providers we recommend have helpful instructions on their main site for quickly installing the VPN on your router. In some cases with smart TV services, after you install a cable network's sports app, you'll be asked to verify a numeric code or click a link sent to your email address on file for your smart TV. This is where having a VPN on your router will also help, since both devices will appear to be in the correct location.And remember, browsers can often give away a location despite using a VPN, so be sure you're using a privacy-first browser to log into your services. We normally recommendBrave.

Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl dev is working on a "next-gen patch" for Stalker: Legends of the Zone TrilogyPlus expect a Stalker 2 development roadmap next year, too.Image credit: Eurogamer/GSC Game World News by Vikki Blake Contributor Published on Dec. 22, 2024 As Stalker 2 developer GSC Game World marks the close of 2024 with patch 1.1, the studio confirmed it is also working on a next-gen patch for the console version of Stalker: Legends of the Zone Trilogy.Although only able to commit to a fairly broad "next year", the team said, "we know you've asked us to update the PC versions of the original Stalker games, and we also plan to do that"."Keep an eye on our social media so you don't miss the exact dates," the studio teased.S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl Launch Trailer.Watch on YouTubeIn an end-of-year message, GSC said: "Yesterday, a major patch 1.1 for Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl was released. All the time between the release and the Christmas holidays has been dedicated to improving your experience with our game. We hope that many of you will find the time to start, continue, or finish Stalker 2 during the holidays." To see this content please enable targeting cookies.GSC said that it will continue to update Stalker 2 in the upcoming year, and will "be ready to share the content roadmap for the game at the beginning of 2025"."The next-gen patch for the console versions of Stalker: Legends of the Zone Trilogy will be released next year," GSC added. "We know you've asked us to update the PC versions of the original Stalker games, and we also plan to do that."The amount of support you've shown us since the game's launch still amazes us. Your support is truly a miracle of the Zone. We will see you next year!"At its launch in November, Stalker 2 was criticised for its performance issues. However, in an interview with Eurogamer, GSC Game World's CEO Ievgen Grygorovych said delaying the game was not an option."You're so tired that you would just die if you say let's run an additional marathon," Grygorovych said at the time. "We didn't have a chance to say let's do it more. We just had a chance of 'let's do until this moment - the release date - as much as we can'."Earlier this week, GSC Game World released the first major patch for Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl, which addressed over 1800 issues.

PlayStation and Final Fantasy have been closely linked for nearly the entire history of Sonys console efforts. 1997's Final Fantasy 7 was a touchstone in storytelling and computer graphics on PS1, and nearly every single mainline Final Fantasy game since then has made its console debut exclusively on a PlayStation system. That close relationship extends to Sony's PS5 Pro, as this year's Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth has been overhauled for the new enhanced system. Plus, Game Boost should provide a bonus to older Final Fantasy software, even games that havent been formally enhanced for PS5 Pro. So exactly how does Rebirth fare on PS5 Pro? And can the PS5 Pro overcome frame-rate limitations in Final Fantasy 14 and 16?Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is widely acclaimed, but is also well known for substantial image quality woes. The game suffered from softer-than-usual imagery on a 4K screen, especially in performance mode, making for a somewhat unsatisfying 60fps experience. That's not really a concern on PS5 Pro. In stills, the clarity difference is pretty enormous. We're going from an image that appears quite 1080p-like - despite technically usually running a somewhat higher res - to a crisp, sharp 4K resolve on Pro. On a 4K set sitting from a normal viewing distance, the old performance mode looked obviously soft and lacking detail, while PS5 Pro is razor sharp, at least by the standards of modern temporal AA techniques.A lot of this was obvious in the pre-launch preview we conducted a couple months ago - but it's especially clear in the final game. When you can actually sit down and examine shots closely, you get a great sense of the benefits of PS5 Pro in this title. Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth presents large, sprawling environments, and the base console just didn't do a good job of resolving distant detail effectively.Join Oliver Mackenzie for a look at every Final Fantasy game on PlayStation 5, tested on the new, professional model.Watch on YouTubePixel counts show a mild Pro advantage, but that's not particularly relevant: the new console is using Sony's new PSSR upsampling technique to hit a full 4K resolution, while the base machine is using Unreal Engine's TAA with just a naive upscale to 4K. That means that the Pro is actually resolving 4K-like detail despite its typically sub-native pixel count. The game looks pretty solid in motion as well, clearly resolving extra detail. That said, it's not flawless, with some sub-pixel shimmer and moire patterns on some surfaces.Those issues also appear to some degree on the base machine, so the fact that PSSR isn't free of problems isn't really a strike against it comparatively - but there are some issues that seem to emerge just on PS5 Pro. The foliage, for instance, has some odd scanline-like patterns at a distance on Pro. At closer ranges, it can sometimes blur excessively, with a kind of accumulation smear trailing behind. Additionally, the image at rest can appear slightly unstable, with a kind of PSSR noise that we've come to expect in a lot of titles that use the technique.The biggest criticism is that Square-Enix hasn't touched graphical issues inherent to the game itself. The key issue comes down to draw distance, as pop-in for elements like bushes and ground clutter can be quite severe and it's a near-constant issue in most natural environments. That makes that Rebirth would look a bit unstable in these scenes even with perfect anti-aliasing treatment. PSSR actually makes the issue a bit more pronounced, because you have a clearer view of the bits of foliage and model detail that are updating to more detailed variants. The game's documented lighting and texture work issues are unchanged as well, as are all other major visual settings.Overall, it's definitely a big improvement over the performance mode, and produces a suitably detailed image for a 4K television set. The stability of the anti-aliasing treatment is also generally acceptable, if well short of the kind of pristine images we've seen out of the Horizon PS5 Pro patches, for instance. It also falls somewhat short of the old graphics mode. The higher internal resolution - which is usually at or around 4K - produces a pretty clean result with TAA. Graphics mode is generally free of visual gremlins like problems with foliage, or issues with shimmer or noise. In a few specific areas, the graphics mode produces a substantially better result. PS5 Perf Smooth PS5 Graphics Mode PS5 Pro 60fpsAn at-a-glance look at the quality improvement. These shots are taken from a preview build of the Pro version, but the final version is identical. PS5 Perf Smooth PS5 Graphics Mode PS5 Pro 60fpsThis shot is remarkable in that PS5 Pro here is delivering a crisper image than the standard PS5's 30fps quality mode. PS5 Perf Smooth PS5 Graphics Mode PS5 Pro 60fpsDetail on the fur here is higher on PS5 Pro at 60fps than either of the PS5 options. PS5 Perf Smooth PS5 Graphics Mode PS5 Pro 60fpsAnother hair quality comparison across both PS5 modes, up against the 60fps footage we have from PS5 Pro. PS5 Perf Smooth PS5 Graphics Mode PS5 Pro 60fpsMore patched imagery from the two graphics modes on standard PlayStation 5, compared against the broadcast quality PS5 Pro capture we have. PS5 Perf Smooth PS5 Graphics Mode PS5 Pro 60fpsMore patched imagery from the two graphics modes on standard PlayStation 5, compared against the broadcast quality PS5 Pro capture we have.But the PSSR-powered PS5 Pro does produce a clearer, sharper image, both at rest and in motion. The game's old TAA tended to blur the game a little bit excessively, even at 4K resolution, which isnt a problem with PSSR. There are definite tradeoffs then, although I'd give the nod to the graphics mode in aggregate. Everything I've said so far only applies to the PS5 Pro's versatility mode, which is the new mode option enabled on PS5 Pro. But the old modes are still available on Pro. A quick comparison suggests they are substantially similar to the same modes on base PS5, without large visual changes.I do think Square-Enix's naming conventions are a bit odd here and there's little suggestion in-game to indicate that the versatility mode is the preferred option for PS5 Pro. The in-game descriptions could certainly be better, or they could nudge the player towards the mode using a start-up prompt like Naughty Dog does for their Last of Us titles. Alternatively, cutting the other mode options out of the PS5 Pro code would also be reasonable, as the old modes are clearly worse in my opinion.That's because the versatility mode manages to pull off an essentially locked 60fps, in addition to its generally good image quality. I tested the game in a variety of stressful encounters and it rarely dropped a frame, outside of the occasional missed frame on camera cuts. I did manage to provoke a few brief dips in this boss fight, but elsewhere the game seemed like a locked 60fps. Of course, Rebirth is a huge game and I don't have time to test everything, but I do feel like performance is generally very strong. In essence then, the versatility mode addresses image quality concerns with better upscaling. It's the best way to play - until the PC version lands, at least.Final Fantasy 16 is next up, Square-Enix's 2023 action-RPG epic. Technically, this isn't actually a PS5 Pro enhanced game, but Game Boost produces some compelling results. A quick side-by-side reveals considerably more detail on PS5 Pro, in both the frame-rate and graphics modes. FF16's TSCMAA and FSR 1 combination actually leaves a lot of the underlying pixel structure of the image intact, so we can make out less aliasing on Pro. Certain fine details resolve more clearly in the final frame. Internal resolutions appear to be higher on Pro, unsurprisingly, though the difference tends to be larger in the graphics mode than in performance mode. FF16 would probably benefit from a technique like FSR 2 or PSSR, but the Pro at least gives us more samples effectively to work with to produce a less aliased image.Another classic series - Resident Evil - also benefits across a range of titles on PS5 Pro, thanks to both native upgrades and Game Boost enhancements.Watch on YouTubeIn performance terms, the Pro actually delivers a considerably better visual experience and I noted frame-rate uplifts in the region of 24 percent. Sometimes this just means a frame-rate that is a bit higher, typically at least sitting within the Pro's VRR window, but a lot of the time this means 60fps or close to it, while the base machine is struggling a little. The graphics mode remains at 30fps however, just like PS5. Overall it's a nice little upgrade, especially in frame-rate mode where the performance could flag a little bit before.Up next is Final Fantasy 14, which again runs boosted - but not formally enhanced - on PS5 Pro. Interestingly, running at native 4K there are some of the largest Pro boosts we've seen so far, running up to about 40 percent faster than the base console across these scenes. It's enough to bring the game to a reasonably consistent 60fps in a lot of game content at 60Hz output, which wasn't the case before. It takes relatively heavy loads - like the lower decks of Limsa Lominsa - before we start seeing consistently sub-60 readings at full 4K.At a lower 1440p resolution, the Pro notches pretty substantial wins here, clocking in about 32 percent faster when not vsync limited. The level of image fluidity we can get out of the Pro - while still at a perfectly reasonable 1440p res - is quite impressive, at least when VRR is enabled. It's certainly an enormous improvement from my first point of contact with this game, when I played it in 2013 on a launch-era PS3 console!Finally we have Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin, which is technically a Final Fantasy game too. On PS5 in performance mode, it targets 60fps but has a habit of dropping frames fairly often, often dipping to the 50s and sometimes lower during combat encounters. The resolution mode is actually pretty similar, taking dips in the same instances, though the drops are larger. The performance mode comes in at roughly 1440p, and curiously the resolution mode clocked in at the same 1440p pixel count in my tests, though it's possible dynamic res may be in play. I think the checkerboard technique Team Ninja employed in the launch version of the game has been dropped here, but there still isn't effective TAA and the image looks pretty messy.To see this content please enable targeting cookies. On PS5 Pro, those performance drops are a lot less frequent and impact the game less substantially. Stranger of Paradise actually delivers a semi-credible 60fps update on Pro, which is a solid upgrade, considering how the base console struggled. Both modes feel fairly similar here in my experience. Again, there's no formal Pro enhancement to take advantage of, but the GPU enhancement is delivering some reasonably good results.There are two other PS5-native Final Fantasy games as well - Crisis Core Reunion and Final Fantasy 7 Remake. These games ran with pretty impeccable performance originally on PS5 with relatively high rendering resolutions, so there's no urgent need for a Pro boost. But they do employ dynamic resolution setups, so it's likely they run with somewhat less aggressive DRS on Pro.PS4 titles don't seem to get a dramatic frame-rate boost from PS5 Pro in particular, so the outcomes in games like Final Fantasy 15 and 12 seem similar to the base PS5 and as expected, the Pro doesn't do anything to fix the incorrect frame pacing in FF15 either.So, ultimately, the PS5 Pro's Final Fantasy improvements are mostly isolated to the four games I highlighted up-front. Rebirth obviously gets the best of the lot, with an excellent Pro patch offering a compelling 4K60 gameplay mode. FF16 gets a welcome mix of resolution bumps and frame-rate enhancements, FF14 runs quite a lot faster than the base machine, and Stranger of Paradise gives a more convincing 60fps lock. Looking forward, I'd love to see an actual FF16 patch if at all possible. Dropping TSCMAA in favour of FSR 2 or PSSR would be a win and there's probably a lot of headroom to push image quality on PS5 Pro. If Square-Enix revisits the game for release on other platforms, maybe they could take another look at the PS5 code. But even with just one proper Pro patch, I think the PS5 Pro presents compelling upgrades over the base platform for Final Fantasy titles. Its a surprisingly strong showing for Square-Enix's flagship fantasy franchise.

ByRomane Armangau Published on 19/12/2024 - 19:09 GMT+1 The EC preliminary findings under the DMA indicate that Apple must take steps to enable the operability of devices from other brands with its iPhones. The EC has launched public consultations with interested companies to gather feedback on compliance. ADVERTISEMENTApple must offer developers and businesses free interoperability with hardware and software features controlled by its operating systems, the European Commission said today, presenting preliminary conclusions from a probe into Apples iOS system under the new Digital Markets Act (DMA), the new regulatory code for the tech sector.The Commission launched a probe last September, quizzing Apple on how it planned to ensure its devices work with third-party smartwatches, headphones, and virtual reality headsets. The inquiry covers features such as notifications, device pairing, and connectivity, amid concerns Apple may restrict competition to favour its own products, such as AirPods and Apple Watch.The Commission has also proposed measures to enhance transparency regarding internal iOS features.Under the DMA, Apple must provide developers and businesses with free and effective interoperability with hardware and software features controlled by its operating systems iOS and iPadOS, which are core platform services for which Apple was designated as gatekeeper, a Commission press release stated.The EC believes that opening iOS features to third-party devices will drive innovation and benefit users. CODE, a coalition of companies advocating for Open Digital Ecosystems, including Google, Meta, and Lenovo, supports this view. "We believe that hardware interoperability will drive innovation and increase competition," CODE told Euronews. "It will give everyday users meaningful choice across devices, applications, and services, regardless of brand."The Commission is now gathering feedback from third partiescitizens, companies, and organisationson how best to ensure effective implementation, focusing on technicalities, timelines, and feasibility. Interested parties have until 9 January to respond to the public consultations.After analysing the feedback, the European Commission is expected to issue its final decision around March 2025.In response, Apple has released a report titled: "It's Getting Personal: How Abuse of the DMA's Interoperability Mandate Could Expose Your Private Information." The company argues that sharing the inner workings of its systems with competitors could stifle innovation. Apple is the only company being forced to share its innovations in this way with everyone else, including those who do not share its commitment to user privacy," the company said to Euronews.In June the Commission issued preliminary findings indicating that Apple may have breached EU competition law, this time over excessive fees linked to its App Store.Go to accessibility shortcuts You might also like

Mewing at 2AMHow Pokmon TCG Pocket reignited my love for competitive card games (and yelling at my phone at 2AM)Now even moreso, thanks to the Mythical Island pack launch.Image credit: Pokemon Article by Connor Makar Staff Writer Published on Dec. 22, 2024 I have a vicious love-hate relationship with Pokemon TCG Pocket. It is, without a doubt, my favourite mobile game released this year. It is a wonderful game, taking a snapshot out of the physical TCG and morphing it into this easy to endearing virtual collectathon. It has, also, manifested a side of me I thought died once I turned 21 years old. An angrier me, with a visceral hatred for strangers around the world.Pokemon TCG Pocket has me up at 2AM on the regular, at an age where doing so has become far less appealing. I go to bed annoyed, and wake up with the ghost of that still haunting me. Drinking coffee on a beautiful morning thinking about Mewtwo EX decks, and how carried those who play them obviously are. This isnt the sign of a bad game. Quite the opposite. Only a truly great game demands such emotional investment.To see this content please enable targeting cookies. A while ago we wrote about how the game needed some form of competitive ranked match, some way to try your might against other pokemon trainers across the world. Since then, the game has featured something that isnt quite what we wanted, but got competitive juices flowing nonetheless. First, a basic PvP mode that rewarded players for earning wins. Only a few weeks ago, a similar mode that required consecutive wins. This last one sank its hooks into me.Its the perfect mode to highlight the highs and lows of a meta, but it also encourages a community-wide push towards building the best deck possible before new cards come around and mix it all up again. A celebration of the games 1.0 winners, if you would. The greedy Charizard EX deck, the evil Mewtwo EX deck, the diabolical Starmie / Articuno EX plus Misty deck. As of writing we recently got a new basic PvP event alongside the Mythical Island pack, which means all these doozys plus the current Deck of the Month: Celebi EX are back and giving migraines.The developers really do deserve the success theyre getting. Sure, the Pokemon IP and card game is doing a lot of work popularity-wise, but theyve managed to make a game thats intensely appealing for players at all skill levels, while popping in little events here and there to keep those with more specialized priorities interested. That I think is the key to why so many people are still busting open packs. Its moorish.With new cards on the way, I can safely say this game has me down bad. I popped the premium pass free trial back when it first came out (another smart move by the way), and I dont see myself turning off that sub any time soon. In my mind, its money well earned. How else am I gonna have the cards to beat top tier decks in a pitch black room in the early hours of the morning?

Set your Alarmos.We've been waiting for that sweet Nintendo Switch 2 announcement for what feels like years now hold on, it has been years but, as of today, we are finally on the home straight. That is if your 'home straight' consists of 100 days to go.We know that an announcement is coming "this fiscal year", and if you take today (22nd December) as Day 1, then there are only 100 possible days left for Nintendo to announce "the successor to Nintendo Switch" before we hit 1st April and enter the next fiscal year. Things get slippery when you start to take pesky hours into account, but if today = Day 1, 31st March = Day 100. Got it? Good.Read the full article on nintendolife.com

Cristian Ponce was wearing an Indiana Jones costume when he met his co-founder Tho Schfer. It was at a Halloween party in 2023 thrown by Entrepreneur First, a startup program that introduces founders to one another before they launch an idea.The two hit it off, Ponce remembers. Schfer had studied at MIT with a masters in underwater autonomous robots and worked at NASAs Jet Propulsion Lab exploring Jupiters moons for alien life. Crazy stuff, Ponce grins. I was coming from Cal Tech, doing bioengineering where he worked on E. coli.The two bonded over stories about the drudgery of being a lab technician. Ponce (pictured above left) especially complained about all the manual labor involved in genetic engineering. The lowly lab tech can spend hours with a scientific syringe pipette, manually moving liquids from tube to tube.Attempts to automate the process have not taken off because the robots capable of doing it are specialized, expensive, and require special programming skills. Every time the scientists need to change an experiments parameters which is all the time theyd have to wait for the programmer to program the bot, debug it, and so on. In most cases, its easier, cheaper, and more precise to use a human.The company they founded, Tetsuwan Scientific, set out to address this problem by modifying lower-cost white label lab robots.But then in May 2024, the cofounders were watching OpenAIs multi-model product launch (the one that ticked off Scarlett Johansson with a sound-alike voice). OpenAI showed people talking to the model.It was the missing link Tetsuwan Scientific needed. Were looking at like this crazy breakneck progress of large language models right before our eyes, their scientific reasoning capabilities, Ponce said.After the demo, Ponce fired up GPT 4 and showed it an image of a DNA gel. Not only did the model successfully interpret what the image was, it actually identified a problem an unintended DNA fragment known as a primer dimer. It then offered a very detailed scientific suggestion on what caused it and how to alter the conditions to prevent it.It was a light bulb moment, Ponce described, where LLM models were already capable of diagnosing scientific outputs, but had no physical agency to actually perform the suggestions that theyre making.Tetsuwan Scientific robotic AI scientist looks more like a glass cube.Image Credits:Tetsuwan ScientificThe co-founders were not alone in exploring AIs use in scientific discovery. Robotic AI scientists can be traced back to 1999 with Ross Kings robot Adam & Eve, but really kicked off with a series of academic papers starting in 2023.But the problem, Tetsuwans research showed, was that no software existed that translated scientific intent what the experiment is looking for into robotic execution. For instance, the robot has no way to understand the physical qualities of the liquids it is pipetting.That robot doesnt have the context to know. Maybe its a viscous liquid. Maybe itis going to crystallize. So we have to tell it, he said. Audio LLMs, with hallucinations tamped down by RAG, can work with things that are hard to hard code.Tetsuwan Scientifics robots are not humanoid. As the photo shows, they are a square glass structure. But they being built to evaluate results and make modifications on their own, just like a human would do. This involves building software and sensors so the robots can understand things like calibration, liquid class characterization, and other properties.Tetsuwan Scientific currently has an alpha customer, La Jolla labs, a biotech working on RNA therapeutic drugs. The robots are helping measure and determine the effectiveness of dosage. It also raised $2.7 million in an oversubscribed pre-seed round led by 2048 Ventures, with Carbon Silicon, Everywhere Ventures, and some influential biotech angel investors participating.Ponces eyes light up when he talks about the ultimate destination of this work: independent AI scientists that can be used to automate the whole scientific method, from hypothesis through repeatable results.It is the craziest thing that we could possibly work on. Any technology that automates the scientific method, it is the catalyst to hyperbolic growth, he says.Hes not the only one to think this way. Others working on AI scientists include on-profit org FutureHouse and Seattle-based Potato.