The Valorant Masters Bangkok was a great event. Credi: Colin Young-Wolf / Riot GamesT1 has won the Valorant Masters Bangkok tournament after beating G2 Esports in the grand final 3-2. The win sees them crowned as the first major international champions of the 2025 season, and nets them some important VCT points.Valorant Masters Bangkok featured the eight top Valorant teams from around the world competing on LAN for the first time this season. With a fair few changes to the game over recent weeks and the offseason changes in the pro scene, this was the first real look we got at international play in 2025, and it did not disappoint.Both G2 and T1 provided some great entertainment throughout the competition. Both lost one match in the Swiss stage, giving them tougher matchups in the opening round of the playoffs. However, G2 turned into a different beast after their loss, not dropping a single map after their 2-1 loss to EDward Gaming until the grand final. T1 on the other hand, lost in both the Swiss stage and the opening round of the playoffs, but then went on an impressive lower bracket run to reach the final.The grand final kicked off shortly after new Valorant agent Waylay was revealed, who is already proving a little controversial. But once the action got underway for the final it was back to business as usual, with the two teams getting started on Lotus. It was G2 who took the first blood, comfortably winning 13-5 in what was a pretty dominant performance to kick off the final.Next things went to Haven, and it was a little more even between the two sides right from the off. At the half it was 6-6, but things started to get scrappy in the second half, with some wild rounds that could have gone either way. In the end, it was T1 who took control of the second half, and ended up winning 13-9, with G2 faltering for the first time since the second round of matches in the Swiss stage.On Abyss, things got off to an unexpected start. Despite being G2s map pick, T1 got off to a 6-0 start before G2 managed to put a round on the map, but the American roster managed to pull it back to 8-4 in the half, avoiding total disaster. As we reached the end of the map, the two teams were neck and neck, tied at 11-11, creating a nail-biting end to map three. In the end, it was G2 who moved onto championship point with an impressive 13-11 win.With G2 on championship point, the teams headed to Split. Despite losing the opening two rounds, G2 looked ridiculously good here, taking seven consecutive rounds before T1 could put another on the board. A massive ace clutch from Kim "Meteor" Tae-o gave T1 a chance of a comeback, with the half ending 8-4 in G2s favour, and T1 kept their momentum going in the second half. They evened it up to 8-8 quickly, before extending to a surprising 10-8 lead and eventually taking the map to overtime, where they won 15-13 to force a map five.The final map was Pearl, and after being so close to winning the championship, G2 looked like a defeated team to start the map. T1 took a 5-1 lead early on, before G2 started to fight back, however the half still end 8-4 in the Korean teams favour. G2 managed to fight back to 9-9, setting up for a tense end to one of the best Valorant finals ever. The even footing continued, with the final map of the best of five going to overtime. Eventually the map would end 16-14 to T1, giving them a hard fought win and of course, the Valorant Masters Bangkok trophy.The win sees T1 take home the Valorant Masters Bangkok trophy, five VCT points that should help them qualify for Champions later in the year, and the first place prize of $250,000, which isnt a bad payout. G2 gets three VCT points and $100,000 for second, while EDward Gaming took third and $65,000 and Team Vitality walks away with $35,000 for fourth.

The big picture: AMD finally revealed the specifications, pricing, and performance details of Radeon RX 9070 and Radeon RX 9070 XT graphics cards, with full reviews expected in the coming days. While we await those, we've already discussed the potential performance implications, FSR 4 upscaling, and now we want to provide additional context on improvements in the new Radeon's encoding quality an often overlooked aspect of new GPUs (including by us). AMD's GPU encoders have long been criticized for poor video encoding quality when using popular formats and bitrates for game streaming, leaving Nvidia as the clear choice for anyone who wants to use video encoding.With RDNA 4, AMD claims encoding quality is significantly improved, and the examples they showcased were certainly attention-grabbing. AMD is specifically highlighting 1080p H.264 and HEVC at 6 megabits per second one of the most commonly used setups demonstrating a substantial increase in visual quality.Whether this will hold true across a broad variety of scenarios remains to be seen, but historically, AMD's discussions on encoding quality have revolved around supporting new formats like AV1. With RDNA 4, AMD is focusing on tangible improvements in real-world use cases, suggesting they are far more confident in their encoder's quality.AMD is touting a 25% gain in H.264 low-latency encode quality, an 11% improvement in HEVC, better AV1 encoding with B-frame support, and a 30% boost in encoding performance at 720p. These numbers likely refer to VMAF scores.Beyond encoding, there are several other notable improvements. The ray tracing core now features two intersection engines instead of one, doubling throughput for ray-box and ray-triangle intersections. A new ray transform block has been introduced, offloading certain aspects of ray tracing from shaders to the RT core.The BVH (Bounding Volume Hierarchy) is now twice as wide, and numerous other enhancements have been made to the ray tracing implementation one reason why RDNA 4's ray tracing gains exceed its rasterization improvements.Compute, Memory, and Display EnhancementsThe compute engine also includes several optimizations, along with a PCIe 5.0 x16 interface and a 256-bit memory bus using GDDR6. AMD claims enhanced memory compression, and the GPUs are equipped with 16GB of VRAM, which should be sufficient for most modern games.The display engine, however, is a mixed bag. While it supports DisplayPort 2.1, its capabilities remain unchanged from RDNA 3, with a maximum bandwidth of UHBR 13.5 instead of the full UHBR 20 now used on some 4K 240Hz displays and supported by Nvidia's Blackwell architecture.HDMI 2.1b is also included. On a positive note, AMD claims lower idle power consumption for multi-monitor setups, and video frame scheduling can now be offloaded to the GPU. // Related StoriesThe Navi 48 die is 357mm of TSMC 4nm silicon, featuring 53.9 billion transistors. This makes it 5% smaller than Nvidia's Blackwell GB203 used in the RTX 5080 and 5070 Ti, yet it contains 18% more transistors, meaning the design is more densely packed.However, Nvidia still holds an advantage in terms of die area and transistor efficiency, as the RTX 5080 is expected to be about 15% faster in rasterization and possibly over 50% faster in ray tracing based on AMD's RX 9070 XT claims all while using fewer transistors and a smaller die. That said, the TDP of the RTX 5080 is 360W, compared to 304W for the 9070 XT, an 18% higher power draw though actual power consumption in games may vary. The 9070 XT should be closer to the RTX 5070 Ti with its 300W TDP.A couple of additional details to round things out: AMD is not producing reference models for the RX 9070 XT or RX 9070, meaning all designs will come from board partners. These partners include ASUS, Gigabyte, PowerColor, Sapphire, XFX, and other familiar names.Availability is expected to be strong on March 6th, as these cards have reportedly been ready since early January.Additionally, AMD is releasing a new version of its driver-based frame generation technology, AFMF 2.1, which will be available for the Radeon RX 6000 series and newer GPUs.This version promises superior image quality and includes Radeon Image Sharpening, which can be applied to any game, video, or application at the driver level. AMD also claims improved quality for this feature. There are also some AI-related features, though nothing particularly groundbreaking.

Teleperformance SE, the world's largest call center operator, is implementing an artificial intelligence system designed to soften the accents of English-speaking Indian workers in real-time. The company claims this technology will enhance customer understanding and satisfaction."When you have an Indian agent on the line, sometimes it's hard to hear, to understand," Deputy Chief Executive Officer Thomas Mackenbrock told Bloomberg. "[This technology can] neutralize the accent of the Indian speaker with zero latency, [creates] more intimacy, increases the customer satisfaction, and reduces the average handling time."The technology analyzes speech input and modifies it to match a specified accent while preserving the speaker's original voice and emotion. The system uses speech recognition to capture the speaker's voice in real-time. Advanced algorithms then transcribe the spoken words into text, accounting for various accents and speech patterns. Once the system transcribes the speech, the core accent translation process analyzes the speaker's accent and pronunciation patterns. Then, it applies AI models trained on datasets of various accents to modify the voice.During the conversion, the software modifies intonation, stress patterns, and phoneme pronunciation to align with the target accent. The system employs text-to-speech (TTS) technology to synthesize the phonetic pattern and convert the text into a synthesized voice that maintains the speaker's original tone, emotion, and identity.Teleperformance is deploying technology with background noise cancellation in Indian call centers, providing customer support for international clients. Its customers include major tech companies like Apple, TikTok, and Samsung Electronics.The technology is part of a larger Teleperformance AI investment strategy. The company plans to invest up to 100 million ($104 million) in AI partnerships in 2025. Palo Alto-based startup Sanas developed the accent technology after a $13 million Teleperformance investment earlier this year.The software comes as the call center industry faces challenges from the rise of AI chatbots. Last year, Teleperformance experienced a significant drop in share prices after Swedish fintech firm Klarna Bank announced that its AI assistant was doing the work equivalent to 700 full-time agents. In response, Teleperformance has focused on using AI to enhance rather than replace its workforce of 490,000 employees. // Related StoriesSanas states that its goal is to reduce "accent-based discrimination." However, while the software may not replace workers directly, there are concerns about the potential impact on call centers in places like the Philippines, which have built their market position on high-quality English speakers.Currently, the software supports Indian and Filipino inflections. Sanas is developing versions for other regions, including Latin America. Mackenbrock emphasized that while AI will be ubiquitous, "the human element will be incredibly important" in building connections and enhancing customer experiences.

Table of ContentsTable of ContentsDiving into Honors software commitmentWhy this commitment mattersHow does this compare with the competition?Software and security updates are the new displays, cameras, and batteries, as each phone maker looks for another way to differentiate its phones from the competition. The latest to join the crazy is Honor, who unveiled a new commitment to software and security updates during its AI strategy unveil today.Honor makes some of the more interesting phones on the market, and until the launch of the Oppo Find N5, its Magic V3 was the worlds thinnest folding phone at just 4.4mm. Now, future folding phones and flagship devices will all get seven years of software and security updates.Recommended VideosHeres which phones will get the updates and what it means for you.RelatedJoe Maring / Digital TrendsIn essence, Honors commitment is straightforward: seven years of security and software updates for flagship Honor Magic series phones. This is starting in the EU unsurprising given that Honor phones arent sold in the US but its unclear whether the commitment is just for EU buyers or a global commitment.The first phone covered by the commitment is the Honor Magic 7 Pro, although its unclear whether any other existing devices will get the same support. The company says that in the future, it will offer the same support to other flagship devices, including both bar phones and folding phones.This essentially means that any Magic flagship device should get this support, but its also unclear what will constitute a flagship device. Theres also no commitment to a specific timeline for updating phones, although most companies fail to hit these stated timeliness goals as it relies on several different variables.Bryan M. Wolfe / Digital TrendsYou may be wondering, why does this even matter? And truth be told, for most people, it wont matter. However, as more consumers feel the pinch and smartphones become more expensive, theres a growing contingent of phone users who are opting to keep their phones for longer.In the UK, YouGov found that more than 55% of smartphone users want to keep using their phones for more than three years. In the US, analysis of trade-ins last year suggested that 33% of iPhone users and 22% of Android users had their phones for over three years, with the average lifetime of a device increasing to 3.7 years.Honor 300 HonorHonors commitment wont impact users in the US, but for those in the UK and especially those buying very expensive folding phones it provides some reassurance that their phone wont become obsolete, at least not for a few years.Its worth noting that this is for phones going forward, so devices like the Honor Magic V3 almost certainly wont get an increase from their current commitment of four years of Android software updates and five years of security updates. The new commitment is a healthy increase and also brings Honor in line with the competition.Honor Magic V3 next to the Galaxy Z Fold 6 Nirave Gondhia / Digital TrendsThe biggest competition or rather, the most globally available competitor is Samsung. Recent devices like the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and the Galaxy S25 series all get seven years of software and security updates. Samsung first adopted this commitment last year with the Galaxy S24 series, so any devices launched before will likely get four years of software and five years of security updates.Honors other big competitor is Oppo (and OnePlus, depending on the market). For the flagship Oppo Find N5 foldable, the company has committed to just four years of major OS updates and six years of security updates. The same update schedule applies to the OnePlus 13, which is further surprising given it is a flagship like the Magic 7 Pro and Galaxy S25 Ultra.HonorHonors commitment to updates also brings it in line with Googles Pixel 9 lineup, with the Pixel 9, Pixel 9 Pro, Pixel 9 Pro XL, and Pixel 9 Pro Fold all getting seven years of guaranteed software and security updates.Todays commitment makes Honor only the third Android phone maker to commit to this update schedule, and while its disappointing that existing devices apart from the Magic 7 Pro wont get the update, it makes future phones like the Honor Magic V4 more appealing.Editors Recommendations

html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd" Table of ContentsTable of ContentsWhat does the Honor Alpha Plan mean for you?Honor is aiming for the big leaguesHonor has been pushing the boundaries of foldable phone hardware with the Magic V2 and Magic V3 in recent years. Its flagship Magic 7 Pro also outperforms the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra in a few ways. But hardware isnt the whole story when youre in the market for a new phone. Software plays a big part in buying decisions, and Honor finally seems to be working in that direction. At MWC 2025, the company announced a $10 billion Alpha Plan aimed at propelling it into the big leagues alongside Apple and Samsung.Joe Maring / Digital TrendsHonor wants to transition from a smartphone company to an AI device ecosystem company. This means you can expect more Honor productssuch as wearables, tablets, and laptopsto launch globally, with better cross-device integration than ever. The company has announced deeper collaborations with Google Cloud and Qualcomm to help revolutionize human-to-device interaction with AI. Honor will invest $10 billion over the next five years in the Alpha Plan.Recommended VideosFor now, Honor has revealed only a couple of AI features focused on its promised human-to-device interaction. One demo showcased Honors AI agent making a table reservation through a third-party service while considering traffic conditions and appointments saved in Honor Calendar. Theres no specific rollout date yet, but it is expected to arrive in international markets in the near future.Please enable Javascript to view this contentThe Alpha Plan also includes a new imaging technology brand called AIMage, featuring an AI Upscale tool that can restore old portraits. It will launch this month for the Honor Magic 7 Pro and Magic 7 RSR.Theres a new all-ecosystem file-sharing technology, which can help you transfer data from Android to iOS and vice versa. Like Oppos O+ Connect for data transfer between iOS and Android, youll need to install the Honor Connect app on your iPhone to use this feature. Honors AI deepfake detection will also soon arrive on its latest flagship bar phones and foldable devices.Prakhar Khanna / Digital TrendsA focus on cross-device integration, along with seven years of Android OS upgrades, makes Honors approach sound a lot like Samsungs and Apples, both of which already have well-established ecosystems.From my experience, Honors current cross-device integration isnt bad, but its design needs an overhaul to feel more modern. The collaborations with Google Cloud and Qualcomm are promisingHonors hardware has been top-notch for years, but its software has lagged behind. The Alpha Plan collaborations could help bridge that gap for the better.Editors Recommendations

As the world waits to see whats next forPower Rangers,the superhero franchise may return to its past with the help of generative AI. During this weekends New York Toy Fair, attendees learned Playmates, which has the franchises toy license, was teaming with Hasbro to re-releaseMighty Morphin Power Rangerson YouTube and Netflix in July, with the age-old goal of trying to bring new audiences into the morphin fold. Thats nothing terribly new, as MMPRgot a rebroadcast on ABC back in 2010 with updated visual effects and a new intro sequence. Whats different with this new versionsubtitledRe-Ignitionis that itll employ the controversial technology to remaster the series, and it may be used for later seasons of the series going down the line. Generative AI has been divisive ever since it started taking off. In the past year, eagle-eyed viewers have called out studios for using genAI on remasters of films like True Lies and Aliens, or creating cover art for classic films. (This goes well beyond movies: any company in any visual medium thats used the technology, or employed someone who used it but failed to disclose that, tends to get harsh backlash.) At time of writing, Hasbro and Playmates havent shown off anything for MMPR: Re-Ignition. But if true, this is another blowlongtime Power Rangersfans, whove wanted the frequent returns to Mighty Morphin to end for some time now, and are still burned by last years unceremonious auctioning off of decades worth of props and costumes. io9 has reached out to Playmates for confirmation onRe-Ignitionsuse of generative AI, and will update when a response is given. Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, whats next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.

By Lucas Ropek Published March 2, 2025 | Comments (0) | DVIDS / DoD photo by U.S. Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Alexander Kubitza It appears that the U.S. no longer considers Russia a significant cyber threat, according to multiple new reports on a drastic policy reversal that has taken hold under the new Trump administration. The cybersecurity outlet The Record originally reported that under Trumps new Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, U.S. Cyber Command has been ordered to stand down from all planning against Russia, including offensive digital actions. The outlet cites three anonymous sources who are familiar with the matter. The order reportedly does not apply to the National Security Agency. The policy shift represents a complete 180-degree turn from Americas posture over the past decade, which has consistently considered Russia one of the top cybersecurity threats. Credible reporting and government investigations have shown that Russia has hacked into U.S. systems countless times. The Guardian has reported that a memo recently circulated to staff at Americas Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) established new priorities for the agency and, while mentioning the threat of digital incursions by China and other enemies, failed to mention Russia. Russia and China are our biggest adversaries. With all the cuts being made to different agencies, a lot of cyber security personnel have been fired. Our systems are not going to be protected and our adversaries know this, a source, who was familiar with the internal memo, told The Guardian. People are saying Russia is winning. Putin is on the inside now.Another anonymous source, who said that CISA staff had been verbally informed that they were not to follow or report on Russian threats, expressed concern for the shift: There are thousands of US government employees and military working daily on the massive threat Russia poses as possibly the most significant nation state threat actor. Not to diminish the significance of China, Iran, or North Korea, but Russia is at least on par with China as the most significant cyber threat, they said. The U.S.s new Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, recently fired about 100 National Security Agency employees after they were exposed for having sexually explicit chats on work computers. They were brazen in using an NSA platform intended for professional use to conduct this kind of really, really horrific behavior, Gabbard told Fox News.As far as layoffs go, the NSA purge is a drop in the bucket for Americas signals intelligence agency. One of the intel communitys biggest outfits is reputed to employ at least 20,000 employees but has been estimated to useas many as 50,000. In general, despite Trumps promise to smash the deep state, Americas dark and powerful national security state has remained largely untouched since he took office, with his administrations wrecking ball DOGE content to spend most of its time smashing agencies that dispense services to the public.Daily NewsletterYou May Also Like By Thomas Maxwell Published February 24, 2025 By AJ Dellinger Published February 21, 2025 By Thomas Maxwell Published February 21, 2025 By Matt Novak Published February 20, 2025 By Matthew Gault Published February 14, 2025 By Matt Novak Published February 7, 2025

Wooden Parking Garage Wendlingen / Herrmann + Bosch ArchitektenSave this picture! Roland HalbeArchitects: Herrmann + Bosch ArchitektenAreaArea of this architecture projectArea:10880 mYearCompletion year of this architecture project Year: 2024 PhotographsPhotographs:Roland Halbe, Achim BirnbaumManufacturersBrands with products used in this architecture project Manufacturers: Lamberts, Carl Stahl ARC, IBC Solar, Schmitt + Sohn Aufzge, Sherpa, Zinco Steel Construction: SchmidMore SpecsLess SpecsSave this picture!Text description provided by the architects. Germany's largest wooden parking garage as a source of materials for the future. Designed by the Stuttgart-based firm herrmann+bosch architekten, this parking garage sets new standards in multiple aspects, combining high demands for design, user-friendliness, and sustainability. The parking garage is located along an important pedestrian route between the planned OTTO Quartier, which is being developed from the industrial monument of the former weaving company Heinrich Otto & Shne, and the train station. With 349 parking spaces across five levels, it plays a significant role in the traffic concept of the city of Wendlingen. It replaces the existing parking spaces located on the "Behr Areal" and promotes environmentally friendly mobility due to its favorable location near the train station, numerous electric charging stations for cars and e-bikes, as well as secure parking for 200 bicycles. Its Park+Ride function also helps alleviate traffic for the entire Stuttgart region.Save this picture!Save this picture!Save this picture!The garage will stand out for its unusual oval shape, which is derived from the limited plot of land available and allows for maximum space efficiency. Additionally, its sustainable wooden construction is eye-catching. Instead of a typical steel or concrete structure, herrmann+bosch architekten has designed a forward-looking construction primarily made from cross-laminated timber slabs and glulam supports. Only the ramp floors and stairwells will be made of concrete for structural and fire safety reasons. The floors will feature a durable surface made of cast asphalt. A particularly high level of user-friendliness is achieved through column-free parking spaces, which can be adjusted in width at any time.Save this picture!Construction of the parking garage is straightforward, as all wooden elements are prefabricated and brought to the site, where they are assembled using simple plug-in systems. This guarantees a short construction time and high economic efficiency. The lightweight construction and minimal use of CO2-intensive materials like steel and concrete can save large amounts of CO2. To ensure the building's recyclability, no composite materials will be used, and nearly all connections will be bolted. This guarantees easy dismantling, clean separation, and thus the reusability of materials. The flexibility of the building is also ensured, with floor heights planned at a clear height of 2.35 meters and between the beams at 3.40 meters, rather than the conventional height of 2.10 meters in a typical parking garage. This height and the absence of columns enable easy conversion of the parking garage into a residential or working space with a pleasant, naturally lit courtyard instead of centrally located ramps.Save this picture!Save this picture!Save this picture!The north side of the building will feature a soundproof facade made of translucent profile glass across all levels. This will effectively shield the planned residential development of the new OTTO Quarter from the noise of the parking garage, the adjacent railway line, and the road bridge. The south side will have an open facade, showcasing the wooden construction and incorporating green facades to enhance the building's attractiveness and that of its surroundings. The roof will also be greened, and a photovoltaic system mounted there will provide renewable energy. The aim is to cover the electricity needs of the charging stations entirely through the photovoltaic system. Natural ventilation will eliminate the need for troublesome, maintenance-intensive ventilation technology and fire protection systems, increasing the building's economic viability.Save this picture!The roof and facade greening are also part of a sophisticated rainwater management concept that considers the changes caused by the climate crisis. The project's rainwater management plan, designed to be highly resilient to heavy rainfall and climate-friendly, contrasts with conventional approaches that seek to quickly divert rainwater into sewer systems. The goal of this specially developed concept is to ensure a natural water balance, promoting groundwater replenishment and evaporation while only diverting excess water into the sewage system at a controlled rate. This complex plan includes various runoff-reducing measures (green roofs, green facades, infiltration basins, cisterns, tree pits, and permeable surfaces). It positively impacts existing vegetation, provides improved flood protection, and positively influences the local microclimate. The concept follows the forward-looking model of the "sponge city," which serves as the basis for the entire urban development project "OTTO Quarter."Save this picture!Project gallerySee allShow lessProject locationAddress:Wendlingen, GermanyLocation to be used only as a reference. It could indicate city/country but not exact address.About this officePublished on March 02, 2025Cite: "Wooden Parking Garage Wendlingen / Herrmann + Bosch Architekten" 02 Mar 2025. ArchDaily. Accessed . <https://www.archdaily.com/1026856/wooden-parking-garage-wendlingen-herrmann-plus-bosch-architekten&gt ISSN 0719-8884Save!ArchDaily?You've started following your first account!Did you know?You'll now receive updates based on what you follow! Personalize your stream and start following your favorite authors, offices and users.Go to my stream

Popular Sciencestarted writing about technology more than 150 years ago. There was no such thing as gadget writing when we published our first issue in 1872, but if there was, our mission to demystify the world of innovation for everyday readers means we would have been all over it. Here in the present, PopSci is fully committed to helping readers navigate the increasingly intimidating array of devices on the market right now.Our writers and editors have combined decades of experience covering and reviewing consumer electronics. We each have our own obsessive specialtiesfrom high-end audio to video games to cameras and beyondbut when were reviewing devices outside of our immediate wheelhouses, we do our best to seek out trustworthy voices and opinions to help guide people to the very best recommendations. We know we dont know everything, but were excited to live through the analysis paralysis that internet shopping can spur so readers dont have to.Find out more about our product evaluation process.

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