Some say bay leaves are full of flavor, others call them a fraud.

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The developers at NetEase Games have released the newest hero shooter, Marvel Rivals. This game features thirty-three characters from Marvel, each with its own pros and cons. While the launch is considered mostly smooth, it is a hero shooter, and it would be a miracle if it launched without some imbalances and heroes that are considered overpowered.

The Outer Worlds was a breakthrough release for Obsidian Entertainment. After spending years working on smaller-scale titles, the Irvine-based developer finally created a new AAA first-person RPG, the first from the company since the launch of 2010's Fallout: New Vegas. Although the game wasn't the Fallout New Vegas 2 that many fans had hoped for, The Outer Worlds was still, in many ways, Obsidian's answer to the Fallout franchise. It shared a lot of the same dark humor as the post-apocalyptic series, and it was violent and choice-driven, like many of the company's previous works. The Outer Worlds did receive criticism from some corners of the internet, but it was nonetheless a big hit for Obsidian, both critically and commercially.

A new update coming to The Elder Scrolls Online is set to add new dungeons and revamp the game's starting zones. The upcoming Elder Scrolls Online update will be the first major content drop of the year.

Our talent: - Programmer- Game Director & Programmer- Concept Artist- Game Designer & Animator- Composer & Sound DesignerVisit our website: https://insensestudios.com/Project: We are developing a roguelite-shooter for VR via Unreal Engine 5.4. Later it is planned to port the game to PC as well. Game takes place in undergr

As CES began this year, one topic came up over and over again among reporters: Wheres Ballie?" The personal robot that Samsung showed at CES 2024 left a huge impression on everyonerolling around on the floor, following people around, while projecting images up onto the floor or wall. While not having as large a presence at CES as it did last year, Ballie popped up in the Samsung booth, presentation, and materials, with the news from Samsung that Ballie should be available this year. Its been a long road for Ballie since it was introduced at CES in 2020. At that point, Ballie was merely a concept that looked as if it had been 3D printed at home. By last year, Ballie was a fully functional model; as the centerpiece of the Samsung CES presentation, it promised to be a companion, a security team, and living embodiment of your voice assistant for SmartThings. (SmartThings is Samsung's smart home platform, arguably the fourth largest behind Apple, Google and Amazon.)And then we heard nothing for most of the year.By the time Ballie popped back up at IFA (an international tech expo) in September, it had improved dramatically as it inched closer to a real consumer-ready model. This Ballie interacted using real language and expressed emotions, results of tightly integrated AI. It could follow commands, call people, and predict the needs of people and pets in the home. It could recognize items you held and then give you information about them. It could make decisions about whether to project small bites of information or more detailed data, and then choose the right location to project that info.In this years iteration, Ballie is being actively demonstrated for attendees, rather than simply having a one-time, spotlight demo. It projects choices for the user as virtual buttons on the floor, and can control devices via SmartThings integration. Seeing Ballies current design (a sphere on two front wheels with a back fin for balance), I am reminded of the Enabot Rola, a tiny personal robot Ive been testing the last few months. While I havent thought much of the Enabot generally, the design makes the robot surprisingly resilient. Regardless of what it bumps into or encounters (including the jaws of my Doberman), the low center of gravity allows the Enabot to recover its position upright quickly. I suspect Ballie might have the same resilience of movement.While I dont yet have any sense of pricing or availability beyond the loose commitment Samsung has offered reporters this week of a pending release within the next calendar year, what is abundantly clear is that with each appearance, Ballie becomes a more viable consumer product.

During CES 2025, Dell announced plans to get rid of all of its existing computer brands, including the iconic XPS line of performance laptops. Also gone are Inspiron, Latitude, Precision, and other brands. The entire lineup will now be divided into three categories: Dell, Dell Pro, and Dell Pro Max. The strategy, clearly inspired by Apple, was created in hopes of simplifying the product catalogue, but in the short term, some confusion is warranted.In theory, it is simple, and brings the focus on Dell, the company, rather than sub brands. But there are two issues. The "Pro" and "Pro Max" brand names are already done to death, and not just by Apple. Second, every Dell brand will have three tiers, so now you are looking at nine different combinations only to find a new computer. It is a mess, but we can hopefully help you make sense of it when you step into the big box store and are confused with all the new Dell-speak.Dell's new, nine-tier product strategy Credit: Dell Let's start with some general definitions: Standard Dell machines are mainstream computers aimed at general consumers. You'll find them sold at big box stores, and they are designed for school, work, and casual gaming. The Dell Pro line, which is primarily intended for businesses, and designed for productivity work. The Dell Pro Max line is designed for maximum performance and features higher-end computer and workstation builds.Thankfully, the Dell strategy doesn't extend to Alienware, so all the gaming laptops and monitors from that brand are safe, at least for now.But, the rebranding doesn't stop there: Within each of these three families, there are three different product tiers: Base, Plus, and Premium. Credit: Dell As you'd expect, the Base model lineup across Dell, Dell Pro, and Dell Pro Max will all be entry level machines, albeit with increasingly beefy specs, befitting their classification as standard, Pro, or Pro Max. So far, so good.Things start to get a bit more confusing with the Plus and Premium tiers: The Plus tier serves as a mid-range option, while the Premium label will be reserved for the most powerful machines.Dell says that the rebranding is going to be a slow process, and the phasing out will only happen when new models are released and older models are discontinued, which may extend through the end of 2025. How will you be able to spot the new laptops? The old machines featured a Dell logo with a circle around it, while the new laptops just read "Dell," sans the circle. How to find the Inspiron and XPS laptops after the rebrandingWondering which new machines will match the former, budget-friendly Inspiron and Inspiron Plus laptop lines? They are now called Dell (Base) and Dell Plus, respectively. Yes, that means a laptop called Dell 15that's it. It's weird. But these are the models most consumers will be looking for if they want a cheaper but still capable laptop.If you're looking for the former XPS models, you should now look at the Premium tiers in Dell Pro and Dell Pro Max. For example, the new Dell Pro 13 Premium is a Copilot+ PC, designed for business users, and it will come with an industry first Tandem OLED option later this year.Business users should look at the Dell Pro Plus range, available in 13-, 14-, and 16-inch models. These are equipped with system BIOS that simplifies management for IT professionals, and they offer USB, HDMI, and Thunderbolt port options. They can even be equipped with optional 5G Modems (only in the Plus and Premium configurations). The regular Dell Pro range is where you'll find cheaper business laptops.The Dell Pro Max range is reserved for high-performance workflows, people who are working with CAD models, AI, engineering apps, and more. The Dell Pro Max devices will shop with Intel Core Ultra Series 2 and will support NVIDIA RTX 2000 Ada Generation Laptop GPUs.If you're really curious to see what the new models look like, Linus Tech Tips has a sponsored video where they walk you through the changes and a couple of important new models. All this rebranding does come with a couple of nice changes. First of all, the USB-C ports on all the machines are modular, and can be replaced with a couple of screws. This is a huge win for sustainability and longevity of laptop use, especially in business. Second, the top of the line Dell Pro Max computers are getting full-size SD card slots and dual Thunderbolt 5 ports.RIP to XPS, a real oneYes, this rebrand is confusing, and losing out on the XPS brand is, for this tech enthusiast anyway, actually quite sad. XPS did what Sony VAIO couldn't do: create a premium PC brand, and keep it going. XPS was the first to pioneer bezel-less laptop displays, way before Apple even got into the game.Alas, all good things come to an end, and if you believe Dell, this is all for the ultimate good. For the TL,DR, here are the specifics one last time:Choose Dell and Dell Plus PCs if you're looking for everyday, run-of-the-mill laptops. The Dell Pro and Dell Pro Plus lines are where all the business laptops are (what used to be Latitude series).XPS laptops are distributed across the Premium tier, so you'll find them in Dell Pro Premium, and Dell Pro Max Premium. (Generally, Dell Pro Max is the new branding for high-end machines offering the fasted processors, and cutting-edge technology.)[Dell]

Because Ive always had a dog, Ive also always had a pet door. Even the most expensive models are still terribly simplistic it is nothing more than a hole cut in your door (or wall) with a plastic flap hanging down that allows your pet to access the outside autonomously. They leak air, are a big security risk for your home, and they get quite dirty as your pet bolts in and out. Pawport introduced a solution this week at CES: a smart door that retrofits your existing doggie door on both the inside and outside, opening only when your pet approaches it. CES was impressed enough to award Pawport the Innovation Award.This isnt Pawports first time at CES; the company showed an earlier prototype last year, but the new version vastly improves on the original. While last years version only had a smart door on one side of the pet door (the inside), by adding a matching door for the outside that syncs and works in tandem with the inside door, your pet will be able to identify if the door is closed from both sides. More importantly, the door is actually on pre-order now, with release plans for early 2025.The build looks solid: thick, powder-coated steel and aluminum, with two solid deadbolts, meaning the door is likely to be built better than the existing pet door, which are often constructed with a lot of plastic parts. It features a French door design, so the two half doors open toward the pet as it approaches the door.Heres why Im excited to try the Pawport on my doggie door: First, the dual door design is going to solve the leaking air issue. Pet doors are terrible for your heating and cooling billseven the really nice ones. Keeping the door sealed unless your pet needs it will stop that problem immediately, and the double-door design on the inside and out provide double the insulation.While any intruder would have to get past my doberman, having what is basically a person-sized hole in my back door is a screaming gap in my security system. Pawport is installed securely enough to also solve this issue. The door has safeties built in to never close on your pet, and also to prevent your kids from getting out through it.A small, wearable Bluetooth device alerts the door as your pet approaches it. Controls on top of the door allow you to manually open and close the door, but that function can be disabled via the app to prevent kids from accidentally (or purposely) activating the door.The doggie door itself is always dirty. The function of a dog sliding through the door means that the flaps pick up all the dirt and oil on your pet. I far prefer to look at the Pawport, which will come in three styles (Standard, Designer, and Signature) and price points to match almost any home (although it will always look futuristic due to the persistent LED light that you can customize).The covers that come with pet doors now, to keep pets in or out, are largely worthlessany pet worth its salt can paw that plastic off easily.Pawport looks impervious to such assaults.But regular pet doors, with or without their covers, cant offer the insight into your pet that Pawport can, either. The Pawport app allows you to set access to the door based on a curfew (keep my pet inside after 10 p.m.) or weather (keep them inside if it starts to rain). You can see how many times your pet went in and out over the course of the day, and know whether they are in or out right now.The door has a number of power options: consistent power via usb or plug, hard wiring, or rechargeable battery. With the battery installed, the door is usable even when power and wifi go out.Pawports start at $499 and are expected to hit the market in early 2025. They are available for pre-order now.

According to a well-placed Apple analyst, the iPhone 17 Air is going to measure 5.5 mm from front to back.